Foreign Box Office Report: Record Summer Box Office Looms as 'The Smurfs' Takes No. 1 Spot Again

What looks certain to be a record box office summer on the foreign theatrical circuit for the big Hollywood studios ended over the Labor Day weekend with The Smurfs narrowly taking the No. 1 spot with $23.3 million drawn from 8,360 screens in 71 overseas markets.

Although final numbers won’t be in until later this week, extraordinarily strong offshore returns from May through Labor Day for several mega-hits indicate a new seasonal high for the big six majors. Fueling the action were several factors including a weak dollar (good for film exporters), continued foreign enthusiasm for 3D formats and for animation sequels.

“Without having the numbers in front of me, I feel that (a record summer) has got to be the case given the scale at which some of these (seasonal releases) have come in (at the box office),” said Paul Hanneman, co-president of Fox Theatrical International.

Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 has drawn foreign box office of $937 million, two-and-half times its U.S. and Canada gross. Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides registered $800.9 million, a full three-and-a-third times more than its domestic tally. Paramount’s foreign box office record holder, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, has delivered $762.2 million, more than double its domestic return.

(The biggest hit on the foreign circuit in summer 2010 was Pixar/Disney’s Toy Story 3, which grossed $606.1 million offshore during the season.) For its part, Sony Animation’s The Smurfs had collected a total gross of nearly $300 million ($295.8 million) offshore, nearly two-and-a-half times its domestic cume. Weekend action for the live action-computer generated animation title included No. 1 openings in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, Sweden, Kuwait and Finland. The 3D animation finished No. 1 at the overseas box office for the fourth consecutive stanza.

Finishing No. 2 once again was 20th Century Fox’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which grossed $19.35 million from 5,973 situations in 52 markets, and lifting its market cume to $186.5 million (versus $160 million in the U.S. and Canada). No. 1 debuts in five Latin American markets were led by Mexico ($5.2 million from 1,403 venues).

No. 3 was Warner Bros./New Line’s Final Destination 5, the latest in the 11-year old horror series, which tallied $18.7 million derived from some 4,300 screens in 35 territories, for an overseas gross total of $58.3 million. A No. 1 France premier delivered $4.7 million from 361 screens.

Fourth was Paramount’s Cowboys & Aliens, the sci-fi-western with Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, which collected $9 million from 4,518 locations in 46 markets, lifting the total foreign gross to $50 million. A No. 1 Spain debut came up with $2.1 million from 376 sites. Fifth was Warner’s Horrible Bosses, which generated $8.1 million from more than 2,600 screens in 52 markets for an overseas cume of $68.7 million.

Maintaining No. 1 status in the U.K. is Entertainment Films’ teen comedy The Inbetweeners Movie, which generated an estimated $6.5 million in its third round at some 490 locations for a market cume of $56 million. Also coming in at $6.5 million on the weekend was Pixar/Disney’s Cars 2, which played in 53 territories, and pushed its foreign cume to $351.7 million (versus $188.6 million domestic).

Warner’s Green Lantern has generated nearly $100 million in overseas box office ($98.2 million) after a $5.7 million weekend at some 3,000 situations in 40 markets. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 bagged another $5.5 million derived from 4,100 screens.

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Film review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Having always preferred the HP books over the movies, I find it hard to compare the last movie with the original text. The film series has been an able adaptation of the extraordinary novels by JK Rowling but if you want to explore the wonderful world of magic that she portrays so elegantly in her writing, your first choice should be the books.

As expected, there are certain structural dissimilarities between the two, and many important and fun details are missing. Also, a flashback from the previous movies in the beginning of this film could have helped viewers ease into it.

However, the last movie is perhaps the best in the series, re-enacting the final battle between Harry Potter and the Dark Lord with excellent acting on the part of Daniel Radcliffe and Ralph Fiennes and great graphics — the 3D experience adding to its powerful impact on the audiences.

A beautiful conclusion to the great saga of Harry Potter movies that we have all come to love over the years, the second part takes up where the first part left off, showing the ingenious trio — Harry, Ron and Hermione — continue their ardent quest of searching for the remaining horcruxes and destroying them to annihilate Lord Vodlemort for good.

Unlike the previous movies, this one is loaded with action, showing the main characters taking on different disguises and embarking on the wildest of adventures, the most sensational being their robbery of the wizarding bank Gringotts with the mischievous help of a goblin. Their dramatic escape on a dragon is quite a treat for the faithful fans. Naturally enough, the story takes us to Hogwarts for the final showdown.

It’s amazing how the quality of movies and cast has improved with time. Daniel Radcliffe has grown comfortable with his role and gives the most convincing performance of his career. Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have done a good job as well. Alan Rickman left me overwhelmed with emotion in his last scene as Severus Snape.

The battle for life and death that is waged on the once-serene grounds of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, will keep you on edge till the end, touching the hearts of those who have laughed and cried with Harry and his companions.

It was quite an arduous task to conclude the movie with an end befitting the epic story and David Yates manages to do just that. I find it outside my power to sum it up here. You need to watch the movie to see and feel the brilliant and touching finale of the movie. ‘It all ends’ says the poster of the movie. However, with the new JK Rowling venture Pottermore on its way, we can confidently hope that the end is just a new beginning.

Critical responses to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• The film was rated 8.5/10 on IMDB.
• The film was rated 8.4/10 on popular review site rottentomatoes.
• The Guardian says of the movie: “It’s dramatically satisfying, spectacular and terrifically exciting, easily justifying the decision to split the last book into two.”
• Film critic Roger Ebert says: “After seven earlier films reaching back a decade, the Harry Potter saga comes to a solid and satisfying conclusion in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”
• From The New York Times’ review of the film: “All three [Harry, Ron and Hermione] have nice moments in this movie, but it’s the older adults who take centre stage. Here it’s Ralph Fiennes and Alan Rickman who give the master class in acting.”

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LUX to sponsor Reema’s ‘Love Mein Ghum’

Reema Khan is lucky to have corporate giant LUX stepping forward to sponsor her film ‘Love Mein Ghum’ which is scheduled to release on this Eid, Fashion Central reported.

Love Mein Ghum is expected to bring a breeze of fresh air and quintessential Lollywood romance to the cinemas. The film stars the actress along with Nadeem, Jawed Sheikh, Momi Rana, Gia Ali, Nabeel Khan, Rambo, Ali Saleem and Bollywood actor Johnny Lever. With pop sensation Ali Zafar, singing for the title track of the song, dazzling styles done by stylist Nomi Ansari and an array of glamorous tinsel town inspired dresses, the film seems to be a pure slice of chocolate romance far from reality.

A large number of media personalities, show biz stars, Momi Rana, Resham, Nadeem, Johnny Lever, Jawed Sheikh, Nabeel Khan, Sahiba and Rambo attended the press unveiling in Karachi. Love Mein Gum will be screened at leading cinemas of all cities during Eid.

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Movie Review: Life in a Day

In early July 2010, Academy Award–winning director Kevin Macdonald uploaded a video on YouTube announcing his next film: Life in a Day. This film was quite literally to be a documentary about life on one random day. Macdonald requested people from all over the world to send in footage of what they would be doing on July 24, 2010. Four simple questions asked were meant for inclusion in the personal clips: What do you fear most? What do you love? What makes you laugh? What’s inside your pocket?

The response the makers got was nothing short of overwhelming, with submissions equalling about 4,500 hours of raw footage. It took about two months to view and edit the output, but the final result is a moving portrait that celebrates life with all its ups and downs.

Filmmakers are increasingly coming up with innovative ways to make films and Life in a Day is certainly an innovation in more ways than one – especially in the area of technology. With endless numbers of people uploading hundreds of videos every day, one might say that this project was an inevitability waiting to happen.

Produced by YouTube itself and well-known directors Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, every person whose submission made it to the final cut is credited as co-director.

The film unravels chronologically, ensuring that there is a clear pattern of day and night, sunrise and sunset, waking up and going to sleep. And considering that the filmmakers have managed to create a cohesive narrative from over 80,000 videos, it is an astounding achievement.

We see people from all over the world; different cultures, different ages and different dreams. There are funny one-liners like, “I love my fridge because it doesn’t talk and just stands in the corner” and endearing ones like a little straight-faced girl saying, “I fear all kinds of monsters.” There are a couple of stories that recur like leitmotifs throughout the documentary: those of a Korean cyclist who has been on the road for almost nine years, a family whose mother is fighting cancer, an old man in hospital about to have open-heart surgery, and a little boy who shines shoes for a living.

One poignant moment in the film portrays by chance an actual catastrophe. On that July 24 many people were squashed to death in a tunnel during a ‘Love Parade.’ Moments like these in the film make us realise that while Life in a Day might primarily be an uplifting and happy film, they also remind us that anything can happen on any day, tragic or wonderful. We also begin to understand that what might seem mundane to one person may be interesting to another and what stirs our senses might be of total disinterest to another.

The purpose of this film, according to the producers is to serve as a sort of time capsule. Future generations will be able to look at this film 50, 100 or 500 years from now and understand what it was like to be alive on July 24, 2010, in different parts of the world. While only future generations will be able to determine whether this experiment will successfully serve the expressed aim, for now, one can definitely say that Life in a Day is an interesting, entertaining and fresh slice of cinema, and it shows us how as people, wherever we may hail from, we are connected in one way or another.

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Aamir was keen on acting in 'Delly Belly'

Producer-actor Aamir Khan, who is looking forward to the release of his upcoming home production 'Delhi Belly', says he was keen on acting in the movie but stepped back due to weight issues.

"I was very keen on acting in the movie. I wanted to play the role of Kunal Roy Kapoor...I just loved his character.he is fat. For that character I had to gain lot of weight. I did not want to gain weight...as I know how it is...it is really tough to lose it," Aamir told reporters here after unveiling the first theatrical promo of the movie along with director Abhinay Deo.

About the film, he said, "there is no skin show in the movie but it is bold and irreverent. Its not meant for kids."'Delhi Belly' is a comic caper targeted at the young audience. "People who can't identify with disrespectful and unclean language ought to stay away from it. Its an adult film. But it was an amazing script and I just had to produce this film," the 46-year-old actor said.

The movie has been given 'A' rating and the promos boldly feature scenes of sexual connotations. "When we went to the Censors, we approached them for an A-certificate. Censor Board hasn't cut any scenes from the film, and in fact seems to have enjoyed the film themselves," Aamir said.

The film stars Imran Khan, Kunal Roy Kapoor, Poorna Jagannathan, Vir Das, Shenaz Treasurywala in pivotal roles. The promos of 'Delly Belly' will be played in cinemas alongside Ekta Kapoor's 'Ragini MMS' from this Friday. The film releases on July 1.

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'American Pie' reunion in the works

Universal Pictures is helping itself to another serving of “American Pie.”The studio has completed deals with Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott and Eugene Levy to reunite for what is being called “American Reunion.”The studio is currently working to bring in many of the other members of the original cast and is in negotiations with Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Chris Klein, Mena Suvari and Jennifer Coolidge to reprise their roles.

The first two films in the comedy franchise grossed a combined $523.2 million at the worldwide box office. “American Wedding,” the third, grossed $231.4 million. Universal also made several direct-to-DVD releases, which set sales records at the height of the DVD market. Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who wrote and directed “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay” have written the script and will direct the film.

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Kangana Ranaut turns a bad girl

After Kareena Kapoor mouthing bad words in Golmaal 3, followed by Rani Mukerjee in No One Killed Jessica, it's now Kangana Ranaut, who will be seen uttering Hindi bad words in her next flick, Tanu Weds Manu. Kangana will be seen in a total new avatar in Tanu Weds Manu. Unlike all her past films, in this film, Kangana plays a loud small town girl, someone who has a zest for life and is bold and fun loving at the same time.

Kangana will be heard mouthing some typical Hindi bad words to Madhavan. For a scene in the film Tanu Weds Manu, where Kangana is supposed to threaten Madhavan to say no to their arranged marriage, she had to give all kinds of bad words to him and bully him. Earlier Kangana was feeling reluctant to give such abuses to him, but when Maddy and the film's director Anand Rai explained Kangana the need of the scene, she took it on from there and ended up enjoying every bit of her dialogues. In the film, Madhavan plays a gentle boy from London, who comes to India to get married to an Indian girl and falls for Tanu.

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After Tees Maar..., Akshay, Farah reunite for Joker

The trio of Akshay Kumar, Farah Khan and Shirish Kunder are coming together again for their next 3D film Joker after Tees Maar Khan, which has garnered mixed response at the box office. While Akshay Kumar will stay on to be the central protagonist, Farah and Shirish would switch roles in their next outing. Farah will be handling the production department while her husband Shirish would be calling the shots as a director.

"We will begin work on Joker in January. We are already through with the ground work and it is time to start the principal shoot. The film will be made in 3D," Farah told PTI. Joker stars Sonakshi Sinha opposite Akshay Kumar and is a joint production of Farah-Shirish's Three's Company and Akshay's 'Hari Om Entertainment Co'.

"It should be a good experience to work with the same team after Tees Maar Khan. I have always believed that you should enjoy the filmmaking process instead of worrying about the fate of a film," Farah added.

The verdict is still out on Tees Maar Khan. Despite receiving a record opening at the box office, the reviews have not been too favourable for the movie but Farah says she will continue producing her films in near future.

"The films that we are making now are for our kids. It is also for their secure future. Till you don't have kids, you tell people that 'Ok, pay me whatever that you may want to.' But then not anymore when you have responsibilities of your own."

Once Joker would be through, the next production will see Farah getting back behind the camera and begin her next directorial outing. "Not many production houses can boast of two in-house directors. This way we don't have to rely upon outside directors to make films for us. Shirish and I can take turns. All we are looking for now are some great scripts to get us rolling."

Meanwhile plans are being put together to kick start the shoot of Joker in January 2011. "Our first schedule would begin on 24th January. After that the next schedule would take place in April-May time frame. Yet again we would be going to Malshej for the film's shoot."

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Tees Maar Khan: Farce far from Farah's best

There are a few things you just don't try in India.

1. Farce: It's never easy to make a farce, let alone make a farce that a mass audience will gladly lap up. Why not? Well, name one farce that you actually remember that was made in India. Ok, now that you have barely found one or two after much thought, let's shortlist it to one that made truckloads of money. No, Gadar was not a farce. Also, most people probably even don't know that farce is a legitimate sub-genre of comedy.

2. Films About Films: Ok, Om Shanti Om… directed by Farah Khan herself. But that had Shah Rukh Khan and every other star from Bollywood's telephone directory making a cameo and taking many digs at the most worshipped stars from the business.

What are the chances it would still work without SRK, without the whole galaxy of star cameos or even half the irreverence that Om Shanti Om had?

3. Remake a flop film: Okay, now this is really pushing your luck. You pick a farce, don't cast your lucky charm despite the film demanding a Khan and worse, pick a film that didn't do well in the first place, don't bother changing it much except adapting it to the Indian milieu. The original Peter Sellers-starrer After The Fox, directed by Vittorio De Sica, itself had a botched up climax… So how do you stay loyal to a flawed film?

4. THE Item Song 20 minutes into the film: Why would people want to stay once they have seen ‘Sheila Ki Jawani'?

5. Hype, then pre-empt reviews and defend the film saying it's for the people and not for critics. Now, that's just invitation for a massacre of your work.

So yes, Hats off to Farah Khan for doing a few things that are considered suicide. Too bad the writing doesn't back her vision up nor does the cast have the energy and charm required of such an endeavour. The jokes are silly and this is not necessarily a bad thing if you have an actor who can bring the corniest line alive. Shah Rukh Khan could do that. Not this Tees Maar Khan who only speaks in forced, contrived analogies. To borrow one from the film, saving a mistress's honour and/or reviewing Tees Mar Khan are equally futile.

She does stay quite loyal to the original and makes only a few cosmetic changes. The sister is now the girlfriend, the MacGuffin has to be robbed off a train and not a ship, it's an Oscar-hungry hero here, not an aging star, and the villains now are conjoined twins.

Within the framework of the remake, Farah throws in some moments of pure fun — like Katrina having a Marilyn Monroe moment with her skirt, the twins wondering why their informer didn't tell them the score or more about the match and just hung up abruptly saying Over and Out, Akshaye Khanna sulking watching Anil Kapoor's Oscar glory and abusing his manager for mistaking Danny Boyle for Danny Denzongpa when approached for Slumdog Millionaire or Akshay Kumar breaking Salman Khan's hug with Katrina at the end of a song and yes, that delightfully energetic ‘Sheila Ki Jawani', of course.

So there are at least a dozen gags that will make you laugh but the point is from Farah, we expect a lot, qualitatively and quantitatively, more.

There's this just brilliant dig at the neo-realistic art-house cinema when the film within the film ends with a voyeuristic camera catching a sight of a villager who flees from the fields, holding the mug before The End sign comes up abruptly.

Farah obviously does not care much for that. She cares for Happy Endings. The film wouldn't win awards, so what? She would give everyone in her crew a statuette. Do stay till the very end to see what happens to her award. Now, that's a statement by itself. And, that's the Farah we know.

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Subhash K Jha speaks about Tees Maar Khan

You have to hand it to Farah Khan. The zany spirit never leaves her side. Tees Maar Khan (TMK) is a goofy oddball of a film, replete with the most outrageous takeoffs on the dreaded Hindi Film 'formula' seen in recent times.The film, we understand, is inspired by a 1966 Peter Sellers comedy After The Fox. But the foxiness of this feisty farce comes entirely from Farah Khan's own sensibilities as a storyteller. The laughter never deserts the belly of the plot. In TMK, she pulls out all stops to tell a tale that never grows pale under the gaze of the camera.

The plot is the kind of kinky concoction that one associates with the literature of P.G Wodehouse and the drama of Sheridan. As hard to put down on paper as it is to pin down on camera, Farah Khan manages to just about hold the myriad madcap characters into a firm comic grip. The clasp of the comic is strong and engaging.

The grin ever slips off. The spirit of a spoofy satirical homage to the larger-than-life hero-giri of the Formula Fillum never slips up. Yes, some parts of the takeoff refuses to take off. At times the storytelling becomes a casualty of its own parodic intentions. You never know when the narration slips into a parody of its own parody. That, you realize, is a part of this film's chirpychalu charm.

The energy-driven narrative propels the parody from one gag to another. The gasbag narration is never short of tricks to seduce us into a state of helpless laughter.

When the dialogues fail to lift the satire(and this fuel-shortage happens frequently), Akshay Kumar steps in to do his number. No stranger to comedy, Akshay turns in one of his zaniest performances since Priyadarshan's Hera Pheri. To say his comic timing is impeccable would be stating the obvious. Akshay just blends into the no-man's-land ambience of the film with unquestioning sincerity.

Tees Maar Khan Akshaye Khanna as the Oscar-crazy superstar comes up with a comically compelling performance. We've never seen him having so much fun before. Maybe it's the company he 'quips'. Katrina Kaif's airheaded eyelash-batting makeup-splashing item-girl act gets its rippling rhythms from her lately-honed comic aptitudes. Her 'Sheila Ki Jawani' item number which was the film's selling-point before release is performed with a gusto and elegance that could have easily overpowered the film. Happily TMK manages to hold its own right up to the crazy chaotic finale.

The plot is crammed full with empty-headed and moronic characters. Farah Khan's vibrant vision encompasses the entire gamut of giggles chuckles and guffaws in one swift confident sweep. You are hooked from the word go.

The supporting actors too furnish the hectic hilarity with enormous zaniness.Particularly notable are Aarya Babbar (fully in form as a boorish slightly dimwitted cop), Apara Mehta(endearingly nutty as Akshay's filmy mother) and Ali Asgar(as one of Akshay's sidekicks).

Tees Maar Khan is a kind of subverted homage to the cinema of Manmohan Desai. There are no lost-and-found kids in this 'ever-grin' film. But there's plenty of that spirit of daring destiny to do what it can.

Yup, MKD would've smiled on watching this one. Go for Tees Maar Khan. Ignore all the negative comments you've been hearing about. It's great unpretentious fun. To actually put so many IQ-challenged characters into an intelligent piece of comedy couldn't be easy. So who said being the new-age Manmohan Desai was easy?

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