Fast Five
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The Playlist40 commentslike7tweet2
Idiot Woman Sues Distributor Of 'Drive' Because It Wasn't 'Fast Five'
We've all had that feeling where we walk out of a movie and realize that we've been sold something quite different from the finished product. It's particularly prevalent with more "difficult"' projects; distributors will play up the sexier, genre-led elements in order to bring in the crowds. It's a ...
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Mission IMAXible: Tom Cruise Spy Sequel To Hit Large-Format Screens Five Days Early On Dec 16th
Plus 'Inception,' 'Star Trek' & 'Fast Five' To Get IMAX Re-ReleasesThough overruled when it came to our fall preview last week -- too many other staff members have been burned by mediocre franchise installments in the past -- this writer is really kind of excited about "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," the fourth installment in the Tom Cruise-led spy franchise. J.J. Abrams, who got closest to getting it right with "Mission Impossible III" (which has great moments, but doesn't quite hang together), has returned to produce, there's an intriguing, eclectic cast, including Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, Tom Wilkinson, Josh Hollowa...
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The Playlist13 commentslike0tweet0
Weekend Box Office: $56 Million 'First Class' Opening Isn't X-actly What Fox Had In Mind
As the only major opening of the week, it was not a surprise to see “X-Men: First Class” reign with a $56 million total. For those keeping track at home (why are you doing this?), this is the lowest-scoring opening weekend for any of the four films in the “X-Men” series save for the eleven-year old ...
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The Playlist39 commentslike0tweet0
Weekend Box Office: Despite All Warnings, Everybody Sees 'The Hangover Part II'
In the future, sequels to all our popular films will not require writers, directors, or even new talent. Sure, they might re-hire some of the people responsible for the first film, but by and large, the leading users of Xerox technology will be Hollywood executives. At least, that’s if the mammoth opening for “The Hangover Part II” is any indication, as the film took advantage of the holiday weekend to score an expected $137 million over this five day period. Critics seemed to do everything short of design spreadsheets to illustrate just how Todd Phillips and company were replicating the exact story of the first film (arguably, the marketing ...
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The Playlist21 commentslike0tweet0
Weekend Box Office: 'Thor' Holds #1 With $34.5 million, 'Bridesmaids' Surprises
If you enter the blockbuster business in Hollywood, you essentially enter the $80 million opening weekend business. Which is to say, it’s part of a pray/hope/accept/die model. Considering most blockbusters cost $150-$200 million, with marketing sometimes adding up to $100 million, a 3x’s multiplier after an $80 million opening ($240 million) might be the best-case scenario, unless you‘ve released a much-better-than-expected film (not likely). You double that number with overseas receipts, you’ve potentially got $480-$500 million worldwide on a possible $300 million expenditure. The studio earns 55% of that take, meaning that you’ve approached...
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The Playlist4 commentslike0tweet0
Weekend Box Office: 'Thor' Soars, Romcoms Prosper, 'Beaver' Gets Plugged
As far as blockbuster debuts go, “Thor” didn’t perform too badly. The first big release of May thundered its way to a $66 million weekend, slightly above what industry analysts predicted for the God of Thunder. The film benefited from the biggest 3D berth of any major release...
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The Playlist27 commentslike0tweet0
Weekend Box Office: 'Fast Five' Starts Off Summer With $83 Million Weekend
Hooray for Hollywood, or something. The 2011 box office finally snapped out of its doldrums with more reheated crap, “Fast Five” opening to a spectacular-for-Universal $83 million. The car blockbuster’s weekend surpasses “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” as the biggest opening weekend in Universal his...
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In Theaters: 'Fast Five' Ready To Drive Over 'Prom' & 'Hoodwinked Too'
In theaters this week: THE ROYAL WEDDING!! JK, we already watched that this morning. Who got up at 5 am for the most splendid celebration of the year?! EEE!! So exciting, but this is neither the time nor the place for wedding recap so let's move on to entertainment of the cinematic variety. As always, there's a range of selections at the theaters, but the pickins are rather slim this weekend. Aside from the muscles n' 'splosions fest "Fast Five," from the inexplicably tenacious "Fast and Furious" franchise, there's not much else big opening this weekend. Of course, there's an offering for the children in "Hoodwinked Too" in 3D, and something ...
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The Playlist11 commentslike0tweet0
Review: 'Fast Five' Keeps Enough Fuel In This Aging Franchise To Still Be Fun
It's sort of amazing how dexterous the "Fast and the Furious" franchise has been. Originally conceived as a kind of hot rod version of "Point Break," directed by the perpetually midlife crisis-gripped Rob Cohen, complete with a trashy title lifted from an ancient American International Pictures cheapie, it has evolved over the years, with each successive sequel equipping the original concept of a sturdy undercover cop (Paul Walker) who flirts with the dark side of underground car racing (led by Vin Diesel) with new flourishes. John Singleton helmed the sequel, "2 Fast 2 Furious" and turned it into a live action anime (for better or worse it w...
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The Playlist4 commentslike0tweet0
'Fast & Furious' Franchise May Be Moving From Cars To Heists In Future Films
The Onion Hilariously Interviews Screenwriter Chris MorganOn the face of it, this weekend's "Fast Five" pretty much seems like yet another rote entry in the series, but for Universal, the film is anything but usual. According to the LA Times, the film is budgeted somewhere between $125-170 million, the most expensive film yet in the series that thus far has kept expenses on each outing under triple digits. But more importantly, it will find the franchise shifting gears (pun intentional) moving away from the gearhead origins and shifting into something else, a heist series that won't require new viewers to know anything about the previous film...
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