Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Holiday Gift Guide
Gift ideas & reviews for this holiday season
Start Browsing
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Entertainment
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Film
Music
People
Television
Arts
Industry
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
You Witness
The Great Debate
Blogs
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
You Witness News
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Holiday movies offer escape from economy's gloom
Thu Nov 27, 2008 9:17am EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Looking for some holiday spirit to escape the economic gloom? Never fear, Hollywood is here.
This weekend marks the formal kick-off to the annual U.S. holiday season during which the major movie studios release many of their best films that will either lure huge audiences to theaters or gain traction in the race to February's Oscars.
Wednesday's debut of films such as relationship comedy "Four Christmases," action-packed "Transporter 3" and epic romance "Australia," as well as Oscar hopeful "Milk," provide the spark for six more weeks of red hot moviegoing that will account for nearly 20 percent of annual ticket sales.
"The thing about holiday movies, as usual, is that there really does seem to be something for everybody," said Dave Karger, movie writer for Entertainment Weekly magazine.
Already, the box office is on a roll with the latest James Bond flick "Quantum of Solace" and teenage vampire romance "Twilight" beating expectations two weekends in a row. Each took in about $70 million their respective opening weekends.
Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office watcher Media by Numbers, noted that only one weekend in the past two months has seen ticket sales dip from the same time last year.
"Momentum is with us, and momentum is key because the more people are in theaters, the more they see (promotion) trailers and marketing materials. It's a snowball effect," he said.
Overall U.S. and Canadian box office receipts are up only slightly at $8.34 billion this year compared to $8.32 billion at the same point one year ago. Attendance is down 4.2 percent, according to Media by Numbers.
But if the rule holds true that escapist movies do well in tough times, the gloomy economy could bring glad tidings for Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Keanu Reeves, Will Smith, Jim Carrey and many others.
ESCAPIST FLICKS AND OSCAR BAIT
After Jackman and Kidman finish romancing each other in epic "Australia," or Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn have had their fill of family issues in comedy "Four Christmases," along comes action-packed "Punisher: War Zone" on December 5.
The weekend of December 12 sees Reeves bring out "The Day the Earth Stood Still," a remake of 1951's classic sci-fi adventure about an alien whose presence on Earth causes a global stir. Also that weekend comes family comedy, "Nothing Like the Holidays" starring Debra Messing.
One week later, Will Smith brings audiences the drama "Seven Pounds" about an IRS agent with the ability to change the lives of seven strangers. Jim Carrey seeks laughter in comedy "Yes Man," which tells of a man who just can't say "no," and for families there is animated "The Tale of Despereaux."
The big movie onslaught continues December 25 with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson in a comedy about a dog, "Marley and Me," and family adventure, "Bedtime Stories," which has Adam Sandler as a man who tells wild tales that start to come true.
Frank Miller's "The Spirit," also debuts on Christmas Day and is based on the comic books by Will Eisner about a rookie cop who returns from the dead to fight crime. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
"WALL-E" and "Thunder" top DVD charts
Also on Reuters
Blogs feed information frenzy on Mumbai attacks
Slideshow
Balloons over Broadway for Macy's Thanksgiving parade
Scientists crack iceberg mystery
Video
"Australia" leads holiday line-up
Play Video
More Video...
Editor's Choice
Pictures
Video
Articles
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Robotic Faces
Kidman's plea
Brazil Floods
Science: New hope for beating leukemia?
Entertainment: TV writers look to economy for cues
Lifestyle: Soccer gives Afghan girls some freedom
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Recommended
Militants, commandos fight on in India's Mumbai | Video
Citigroup bailout slammed by New Yorkers
South Korea seeks to jail actress for adultery
UBS says finds some U.S. tax fraud cases
Q+A: Who could be behind the Mumbai attacks and why?
Holiday sales begin before turkey grows cold
China downturn deepens, European rate cut sought | Video
NY warns of possible al Qaeda attack
Apple gears up for Black Friday sale | Video
Plumes from Saturn moon may come from liquid water
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Inside the Oberoi
Mumbai attacked, tourists targeted
Attacks kill scores in Mumbai
India attacks
On-scene report from Mumbai
Sounds of gunfire from Mumbai's Taj
Huge flames at Mumbai hotel
Mumbai's Taj Mahal hotel attacked
Gunmen attack Mumbai
Thai PM declares state of emergency
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
pictures
Slideshow
Balloons over Broadway
Highlights from the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Slideshow
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.