edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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Slumdog Millionaire

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The Betrayal

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No "Bourne" surge above $50 million?

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I've been told that a $70 million-plus haul for The Bourne Ultimatum this weekend is out of the question. I've been thinking that it might just happen because the word is out that it's the best action film in many a moon -- an instant genre classic -- and that it's not particularly sadistic or even brutal, and that these elements may result in heavier-than- normal patronage from teens, women and family auds. The counter-argument is that Casino Royale opened to $40.8 million and The Bourne Supremacy did $52.5 million "so there's very little family/four-quadrant element to this, so it virtually can't jump to those upper numbers," as one guy put it.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 31, 2007 at 12:01 PM

comment #1

Mark says ...

Brutally hot weekend forecast + brutal summer movie season to date = chance for an addition $10 to $12 million.

Posted by Mark at July 31, 2007 12:34 PM

comment #2

Howlingman says ...

What was the opening weekend difference and cumulative takes for IDENTITY and SUPREMACY? I recall people being surprised at how well the sequel did back in 2004. A lot of that audience were those who discovered the first on video and DVD. The fact the Bourne films have actually been good will bring in those who were nut-punched by SPIDEY, SHREK and PIRATES.

Posted by Howlingman at July 31, 2007 1:16 PM

comment #3

OddDuck says ...

Sure, I'd be excited if it did, but frankly it doesn't need to. There's no plan for a fourth, and I think we can rest assured that both Damon and Greengrass will be able to make high quality interesting and/or commercial movies for the foreseeable future. And $70M opening or not, the movie will make its money back, even with the larger than expected budget. You know it's gonna at least do solid at the theaters, make a killing on DVD and is the kind of movie you'll see on TV, often, even a decade from now, so it'll justify its budget over time.

Posted by OddDuck at July 31, 2007 1:17 PM

comment #4

Rob says ...

What did the budget end up being, OddDuck, just out of curiosity?

Posted by Rob at July 31, 2007 1:24 PM

comment #5

insidah says ...

at long last, a threequel that doesn't blow.

See spidey 3, pirates 3, dreck 3

or don't

Posted by insidah at July 31, 2007 1:50 PM

comment #6

Joe Leydon says ...

And, even worse, Halloween III: Season of the Witch. And Smokey and the Bandit III.

Posted by Joe Leydon at July 31, 2007 1:57 PM

comment #7

christian says ...

i'm a fan of HALLOWEEN 3. they tried something unique: to make a COMPLETELY UNIQUE film so they could make a series of scary halloween movies every year. that was brave. and H3:SOTW is fun.

happy happy halloween, silver shamrock!

Posted by christian at July 31, 2007 2:08 PM

comment #8

Josh Massey says ...

Jaws 3-D. The worst of all.

Ok, fine, Smokey 3 is the worst of all.

Posted by Josh Massey at July 31, 2007 2:22 PM

comment #9

christian says ...

JAWS 3-D was in 3-D so it was okay it sucked.

and i'm still waiting to find that original cut of SMOKEY 3 with gleason playing bth bandit and the bear...could make SKIDOO look like... antonioni.

Posted by christian at July 31, 2007 2:31 PM

comment #10

The Movie Man says ...

I'm backing Christian on Halloween 3, a nostalgia favorite of mine, will never forget that creepy scene when you see what happens when you watch the program with the mask on (especially remember that snake.) H3, even though it has nothing to do with Myers, is still the best Halloween sequel. I still can't believe they agreed to do that in the middle of a franchise like that. And whatever happened to Tom Atkins? He had major genre cred in the 1980s with The Howling, Season of the Witch, Lethal Weapon and the underlooked, overwrought, but still creepy Cujo.

Posted by The Movie Man at July 31, 2007 2:38 PM

comment #11

christian says ...

and atkins in NIGHT OF THE CREEPS ruled.

Posted by christian at July 31, 2007 2:50 PM

comment #12

Howlingman says ...

Sometimes I just love these forums. I love how a discussion about the opening weekend of a Matt Damon film can dovetail so nicely into a serious discussion of the oeuvre of Tommy Lee Wallace.

And count me among the Halloween 3 admirers. Just think; if it had been a hit we may have been spared Halloween(s) 4-8.

Posted by Howlingman at July 31, 2007 4:11 PM

comment #13

Ogami Itto says ...

"What did the budget end up being, OddDuck, just out of curiosity?"

I read that the budget for Ultimatum was $150m, whereas Identity and Supremacy cost somewhere between $75m and $100m (each).

And I'll take Halloween 3 over Return of the Jedi any day of the week (except Sunday. That's the Lord's day).

Posted by Ogami Itto at July 31, 2007 7:13 PM

comment #14

fallguy2478 says ...

My personal fave Atkins line in Night of the Creeps:

"I've got good news and bad news; the good news is your dates are here. The bad news is they're dead"

He's great in The Fog as well.

Posted by fallguy2478 at July 31, 2007 7:39 PM

comment #15

lazarus says ...

Part of the reason Ultimatum is being received so well is because it was a pre-planned third installment. I'm sure there wouldn't have been any sequels had Identity tanked, but the point is that they were adapting a trilogy of novels from the outset and left the first one open-ended because of that. There was an arc they were following from the beginning.

It's the Lord of the Rings of action films? Wow, that sure doesn't sound right.

Posted by lazarus at July 31, 2007 11:34 PM

comment #16

OddDuck says ...

I think Wells posted a week or two ago that the budget may have exploded to as high as $175M. Be interested to know the full story behind that. The other day I listened to a podcast interview with Matthew Vaughn that I think was recorded in mid July, and he remarked that Bourne was still shooting like two weeks earlier. Wow, that seems like really cutting it close. Still, Greengrass has basically done no wrong (yet) and I think any money he gets to make a movie is money well spent. Man, it's gonna be so great to see a REAL action picture again, one based in the real world (more or less) with an emphasis on practical effects/stunts versus CGI cartoonery. Can anyone imagine how Die Hard IV would have turned out with a fully unleashed Greengrass at the helm? Of course he would never take that project because he wouldn't be allowed to do it his way, but still, would have been nice...

Posted by OddDuck at August 1, 2007 7:32 AM

comment #17

D.Z. says ...

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news07/damon.php

Posted by D.Z. at August 1, 2007 7:46 AM

comment #18

iamanerd says ...

fallguy,
Good call with Atkins in The Fog.

2 more days to Halloween,
Halloween,
Halloween,
2 more days to Halloween,
silver shamrock...

Posted by iamanerd at August 1, 2007 8:21 AM

comment #19

The Movie Man says ...

So, yeah, in case anyone is still reading this, I was did combine the work of Tom Atkins and Christopher Stone (Dee Wallace's husband, and her costar in both The Howling and Cujo), that doesn't change the fact that both actors were awesome though.

Posted by The Movie Man at August 1, 2007 4:33 PM

comment #20