Posted on 11/26/2006 11:46:01 PM PST by L.A.Justice
A dancing penguin was king of the Thanksgiving birds among movie-goers. The animated penguin romp "Happy Feet" remained the No. 1 movie with $37.9 million in ticket sales from Friday to Sunday, while the James Bond adventure "Casino Royale" stayed in second place with $31 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Over the Wednesday-to-Sunday holiday period, "Happy Feet," from Warner Bros., took in $51.5 million while Sony's "Casino Royale" did $45.1 million.
Disney's thriller "Deja Vu," starring Denzel Washington as a police officer bouncing back in time to try to prevent a deadly ferry explosion, led new movies with $20.8 million for the weekend and $29 million since opening Wednesday.
The 20th Century Fox comedy "Deck the Halls," with Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito as neighbors feuding over excessive Christmas lights, debuted at No. 4 with a $12 million weekend and $16.9 million since it premiered Wednesday.
It was a sturdy but unremarkable holiday weekend overall, with the top 12 movies taking in $208.1 million from Wednesday to Sunday, down 3.4 percent from last year, when "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" took in $81 million to lead Hollywood to its second-best Thanksgiving ever. The best Thanksgiving period was in 2000, when the top 12 films grossed $232.1 million.
A flurry of movies debuted or expanded from limited release, led by writer-director Emilio Estevez's "Bobby," weaving together the stories of 22 characters gathered at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel the night Robert Kennedy was assassinated in 1968.
"Bobby," from MGM and the Weinstein Co., came in at No. 9 over the weekend with $4.9 million.
Warner Bros. debuted director Darren Aronofsky's fantasy "The Fountain," starring "Happy Feet" co-star Hugh Jackman as a man who lives a 1,000-year adventure. "The Fountain" had a $3.7 million weekend to finish at No. 10.
New Line's "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny," with Jack Black and musical partner Kyle Gass in a spoof of how their folk-rock duo came to be, opened at No. 11 with $3.3 million over the weekend.
Christopher Guest's Hollywood satire "For Your Consideration" pulled in $2 million in its first weekend of wide release.
Debuting in limited release, Fox Searchlight's "The History Boys" took in a solid $100,721 in just seven theaters. Adapted from the Tony-winning stage play about British teens angling for acceptance to Oxford and Cambridge, the film gradually expands to nationwide release through Dec. 22.
While "Happy Feet" started out mainly a family film, good reviews and word-of-mouth pulled in more adults without children, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner Bros.
Along with ravishing computer-animated visuals, the adult appeal of "Happy Feet" includes a positive environmental statement and wall-to-wall pop tunes reinterpreted by its vocal cast, led by Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, Jackman and Robin Williams.
"I think it's just a good message, and it's just well made. And we all like the music," Fellman said. "Happy Feet" raised its 10-day total to $100.1 million.
With a 10-day domestic total of $94.2 million and a worldwide haul of $224 million, "Casino Royale" is on course to pass 2002's "Die Another Day ($161 million domestically and $432 million worldwide) to become the top-grossing Bond flick, said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Happy Feet," $37.9 million.
2. "Casino Royale," $31 million.
3. "Deja Vu," $20.8 million.
4. "Deck the Halls," $12 million.
5. "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," $10.4 million.
6. "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause," $10 million.
7. "Stranger Than Fiction," $6 million.
8. "Flushed Away," $5.8 million.
9. "Bobby," $4.9 million.
10. "The Fountain," $3.7 million.
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The article quotes an executive from the Warner Brothers...HAPPY FEET had a "positive" environmental message. He thinks that helped HAPPY FEET to be number one in the box office. I don't know...Maybe the film did well DESPITE the environmental message. Michael Medved did not like HAPPY FEET. One reason he gave was the enviromental message in the film...
CASINO ROYALE had no environmental message...I don't know if the film had any message.
CASINO ROYALE will probably become the top-grossing Bond film...I guess the Sony will not ask Pierce Brosnan to come back for one more Bond.
In 1969, ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE did not do well in the box office. United Artists dumped George Lazenby after that film. UA gave a huge amount of money to Sean Connery to come back for DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER in 1971. (I thought that DAF was an OK film.)
I heard about the attempted poisoning of a Russian defector in London. In CASINO ROYALE, Bond gets poisoned as well.
Eva Green was great in CASINO ROYALE...She would be remembered as one of the more memorable "Bond girls". She looked great without any makeup on...in the bathroom.
I noticed the original was on TCM over the weekend.
From watching the trailers the new Bond looks more like a thug than a handsome Bond character. Most women i have spoken to agree the guy sucks.
Other than that, it was a pretty fun movie. Do you ever wonder why a studio doesn't produce an entire computer animated movie with Robin Williams providing all the voices? I don't know that he would be as good as Mel Blanc, but I think Robin Williams would be willing to give it a shot.
The envirowhackos are still trying to brainwash people, especially kids. Witness "Hoot" and now Happy Feet, among others. And I frequently see commercials spewing disinformation such as "killing trees to make paper".
I have not seen Happy Feet, although my wife and son went yesterday.
I would appreciate if you could tell me the gay propaganda in it. Many thanks in advance.
I saw about 2/3 of "Happy Feet" on Saturday. The story line was weak.
I saw the enviro message coming...but the kids wanted to leave before they had a chance to beat us over the head with that one.
I am a long time fan of 007, and I think this was one of the two or three best ones.
If Daniel Craig is as good in the next one as he was in this one, I will proclaim him the best Bond ever.
Ive seen it twice.
He's the british Jack Bauer.
I've been a James Bond fan ever since I was a kid and I though Casino Royale was great. Craig is a tough guy assassin in the spirit of Connery's more serious turn in Dr. No. He's a neccessary antidote to the cheese that killed Die Another Day. Most importantly Casino Royale is a spy thriller first and a "Bond Movie" second -- that means good acting and a tight plot with twists and turns instead of just a slapdash formula.
We took the kids and they loved it, but I was troubled by the blatant environazi theme and moreso by the veiled pro gay/ anti church agenda. Mumble is "different" and the elders of the flock blame his difference for the fish shortage. Of course they use "thy", "thee", "thou", and "bretheren" when they speak. All the other penguins realize that Mumble is different, but it really is OK for him to be that way and the elders are full of crap. Maybe I took it the wrong way....
"Happy Feet"-- an awfully boring movie I had the misfortune to sit through. Not to mention it was nothing but enviro-wacko propaganda. Very little plot, and much too long and tiring singing and dance sequences. Moral of the movie: fishermen are bad but the killer whales and sea lions that try to eat the peguins, well, no mention about them. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
About being a "thug"...After all, Bond has a license to kill.
About being "sophisticated"...I guess Roger Moore was "sophisticated". I agree that he was sophisticated. Moore was an OK James Bond...
However, even "sophisticated" Roger Moore did act like a "thug" in some Bond films. In MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, he twists the arm of Scramanga's mistress to get information. (He does not care when she complains of pain.) In FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, he confronts a villain at the edge of a cliff. The villain is in the Mercedes, helpless. (Bond wounded him.) Bond tells the villain that the latter killed a British agent...Then he kicks the Mercedes over the edge. ( I don't have to explain what happened to that bad guy.)
In CASINO ROYALE, Bond is not portrayed as a guy with absolutely no feelings...He does fall in love.
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