The Step-Files
The big story this weekend was, of course, Space Chimps, which managed to gross $7.4 million instead of the anticipated $7.3 million.
Oh, and The Dark Knight did okay, I guess.
It is very gratifying, actually, to see a movie with a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes beat the opening weekend record set by a movie with a 61% rating.
Oh, and if you haven’t watched this yet, get on that. Be sure to watch the HD option. It’s worth it. (Same goes for this if you haven’t seen it yet.)
7/25
Wide
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are the title.
WILL IT SUCK?
Understand, there are good Will Ferrell movies and bad Will Ferrell movies. Some of the better ones (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, The Landlord) were co-written by Ferrell and Adam McKay and directed by McKay. So was this one. It’s also interesting to see Reilly get a story credit here, as it’s interesting to watch him re-invent himself as the Big Budget Comedy Sidekick instead of his previous gig as the Low Budget Drama Guy Who Gets Shit On.
Early buzz is good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Some of the better performing Ferrell flicks have also been Ferrell/McKay outings. $112mil.
THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Mulder! Scully! Aaah!
WILL IT SUCK?
They’ve got Chris Carter directing and co-writing with long-time X-Files scribe Frank Spotnitz, so it’s coming from the heart. It’s also a stand-alone, monster-of-the-week ep, which should suffer less from convolution. And it’s got Xzibit. What more do you want?
Early buzz is good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
For better or worse, X-Files is its own thing and doesn’t really suffer from competition. And the residual audience is stronger than you might think, especially if they don’t have to deal with the mythology which, by the end, had become a mess. $84mil.
Limited
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Doc profiling several teens at a midwestern high school.
WILL IT SUCK?
It’s very good. Infectious even. More here.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The The Wackness of summer docs. $7mil.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Kid commits horrible crime. After he gets out of jail, tries to start over as an adult. You can guess how well that goes.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. From the writing/directing team behind Intermission. Apparently on British TV first, as it was nominated for a bunch of BAFTA TV awards, taking home Best Actor and Best Director.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Not much to make this stand out. $1mil.
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Remember when you were talking about Brideshead and I was all, “Let’s revisit that later.” I wasn’t bullshitting.
WILL IT SUCK?
I’m more psyched than I probably should be given my lack of enthusiasm for literary adaptations. But when you put Michael Gambon, Emma Thompson and Matthew “If this doesn’t break him, Watchmen will” Goode in the same flick, I pay attention. Not to mention that one of the scribes here penned the 400-hour-plus-but-you-should-see-it-anyway BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth and the other co-wrote The Last King of Scotland. The director has done loads of British TV (Cracker, Touching Evil) and last year’s Becoming Jane.
Early buzz is good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Once it hits wider release, look for this to be the August counterpunch to all the suck. $11mil.
Next Week: Is Jet Li my Mummy?