‘Prince Caspian’ Rules at the Box Office
“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” dethroned “Iron Man” as ruler at the box office, pulling down $56.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Walt Disney’s action sequel, starring Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian, took in less domestically in its opening weekend than “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe,” which sold $65.6 million in North America in its debut weekend in 2005. “Caspian” also raked in $20.7 million overseas.
But Disney expects the PG-rated movie, based on the C.S. Lewis fantasy series, to ride high through the coming Memorial Day weekend. The first “Narnia” tale grossed $745 million worldwide over its theatrical run.
“This is a film that we think is going to play all summer long and it’s got nothing but school holidays in front of it,” said Mark Zoradi, president of the Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Group.
“Caspian” has a fight on its hand. The most anticipated movie of the summer, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” opens Thursday. The fourth Indy installment, starring Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf, was screened twice Sunday at the Cannes Film Festival, with fans even cheering during the opening credits.
Rounding out the top five at the weekend box office was “Iron Man” at No. 2 with $31.2 million; “What Happens in Vegas” at No. 3 with $13.9 million; “Speed Racer” at No. 4 with $7.6 million; and “Baby Mama” with $4.6 million.
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‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’ Set For Box Office Crown
Two weeks after “Iron Man” opened to $99 million at the North American box office, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” will likely earn almost as much this weekend.
Industry observers expect the fantasy sequel will gross $85 million or more during the three-day period beginning Friday. Its 2005 predecessor, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” opened to $65.6 million, and finished with $292 million.
The Disney release has been scoring high in prerelease surveys for must-see sentiment among all demographics and has drawn solid early reviews from critics.
The second book in a 1950s children’s literature series written by the theologically rooted C.S. Lewis, the sequel features a more adult central character via the title role, played by Ben Barnes (”Stardust“). Both films were directed by Andrew Adamson.
Disney distribution president Chuck Viane said:
“This is the quintessential general-audience film — moms and dads, families, date-pic couples, teens by themselves — this plays to everybody”.
Walden Media, a family-friendly production company owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, is a co-financer and equity partner on the film, which totes production costs of nearly $200 million.
After two weekends at No. 1, “Iron Man” will pass the $200 million mark. As of Wednesday, the Paramount and Marvel superhero saga had earned $188 million.
But the Warner Bros. dud “Speed Racer” will likely crash again, a week after the costly adventure opened at No. 3 with just $18.6 million.
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‘Speed Racer’ - First 7 Minutes
The first seven minutes from “Speed Racer” have been released online to entice you to check out the film in theaters.
The movie is based on the classic 1960’s Japanese animated series chronicling the aspirations of a young race car driver as he attempts to obtain glory, with the help of his family and the Mach 5, the advanced car created by his father.
“Speed Racer” is scheduled to hit both conventional and IMAX theaters TODAY (May 9th).
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Christina Ricci tired of playing tortured souls
Christina Ricci has revealed that she wants to concentrate on family films in the future.
The actress said she is tired of playing tortured souls and enjoyed the opportunity to star in her first action movie Speed Racer.
She is quoted as saying:
“I wanted to do a kids’ movie again. I wanted to do a family film. There are so many family movies for kids but they don’t actually teach you anything.”
“Speed Racer really stresses integrity and morals and a love of family, and that’s something I think is really important and a trend we need to bring back.”
Ricci played a nymphomaniac in Black Snake Moan, the lesbian lover of a serial killer in Monster and a damaged teen in films such as The Ice Storm and Prozac Nation.
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Three Minutes of ‘Speed Racer’ Movie
Warner Bros. released three minutes trailer for the Wachowski Brother’s film.
It is scheduled to hit conventional theaters and IMAX on May 9
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The Wachowski Brothers aid in ‘Ninja Assassin’ Filming!
Ricky Yune, who went toe-to-toe with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in The Fast and The Furious, as well as battling 007 in Die Another Day, and who recently left the upcoming Street Fighter movie, has signed on to star as the antagonist in Ninja Assassin, the Wachowskis-produced action film James McTeigue is directing, says The Hollywood Reporter. Also boarding the production are Naomie Harris as the female lead and Ben Miles.
Yune has recently spoken about the role and gives a brief hint at how this ass kicking will ensue…
“Not to give too much away, (but) my character stays within what he was brought up with, and they go up against each other,” Yune said. “I’m not a heavy. The characters are ninjas, they are assassins, and there’s this mix of morality the Wachowskis are exploring.” )
The martial arts extravaganza stars Korean actor-singer Rain, who also appears in the siblings’ Speed Racer, as a man brought up in an orphanage functioning as a ninja farm. The man turns his back on his tradition to make his way in the modern world, which brings him into conflict with a ninja (Yune) from the clan.
A release date still hasn’t been set. The movie was written by Matthew Sand and
J. Michael Straczynski. The Wachowskis and James McTeigue previously worked to gether on McTeigue’s directorial debut, V for Vendetta. Read the rest of this entry
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‘Speed Racer’ World Premiere Photo Gallery
Warner Bros Presents the World Premiere of Speed Racer starring Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Christian Oliver, Susan Sarandon and Matthew Fox.Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Rain, Aimee Teegarden, Stanton Barrett, Rick Schroder, Emmy Rossum, Christian Oliver, Lisa Rinna, Dancer Karina Smirnoff and many others walked down the red carpet of the World Premiere of Speed Racer held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, CA.
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