‘The Vow’ breaks records, ‘Safe House’ opens huge

By Scott Mendelson

TrendPK.com: Wow. Just wow. Four major releases debuted this weekend and every single one of them opened with superb numbers. On one hand, that means that every respective demographic was ably served this weekend. On the other hand, one can only wonder how much cash was sacrificed by opening these four movies on the same weekend. Anyway, the top film of the weekend was the Rachel McAdams/Channing Tatum romantic drama The Vow. The $30 million Screen Gems drama, which by the way is NOT based on a Nicholas Sparks novel (it’s a true story), debuted with an eye-popping $41 million, a record for the studio. That’s well-over $10 million more than the $30.4 million debut of Dear John, which was the previous record-holder for an opening weekend for a pure romantic drama. The film played 55% under-25 years old and 72% female. Obviously everything clicked on the marketing for this one, and Channing Tatum is now the official king of the romantic drama, having headlined the first one to open with more than $30 million and now the first one to open with over $40 million, while Rachel McAdams is the queen, now holding the first and fourth-biggest opening weekend for an unfiltered romantic drama ($18 million for The Time Traveler’s Wife). Where it goes from here is an open question, as Dear John did not have the strongest legs, topping out at $80 million (or just below the $81 million gross of Rachel McAdam’s The Notebook). On the plus side, The Vow doesn’t have the same-demo blockbuster Valentine’s Day nipping on its heals like Dear John did. Plus, even if The Vow has the same quick-kill performance (2.6x weekend-to-final multiplier), it will become the first pure romantic drama (no explosions, no action scenes, no mass-disaster in the third act) to cross $100 million since Jerry McGuire in 1996.

The second major opener was the Denzel Washington/Ryan Reynolds thriller Safe House. The R-rated film opened with $39 million, which is one of the biggest non-sequel/non-animated openings in Universal Studios history. This is Denzel Washington’s second-biggest opening, behind the $43 million debut of Universal’s American Gangster (which also starred Russell Crowe) while it’s Reynold’s third-biggest debut, behind Green Lantern ($52 million) and his glorified cameo as Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine ($85 million). The ads sold this one as a CIA-ops variation on Training Day, with rogue and uber-cool special agent Washington ‘schooling’ rookie Reynolds while engaged in a painfully generic action/thriller narrative (this is not among Washington’s better thrillers, folks). Washington has made a string of old-school, adult-skewing thrillers over the last ten years or so, and this picture is right in his comfort zone. The biggest debut as a by-himself lead was The Book of Eli, which debuted with $31 million two years ago, so how much of that extra $8 million you want to credit Ryan Reynolds is up to you (I’d say enough to keep his agent’s phone ringing). Still, in an era when the modern movie star is an endangered species, Washington is among the last of his breed, a ‘put my face on the poster and they will flock’ box office draw. The picture played 62% over the age of 30 and 50% female. In terms of racial demos, it played 38% African American, 31% Caucasian, and 23% Hispanic. If it has even the relative legs of The Book of Eli (3x its opening weekend), it will end up with $118 million and become Washington’s second-biggest domestic grosser (American Gangster grossed $130 million).

Opening in third place was the second entry in the ongoing series of ‘add The Rock to your ongoing franchise and watch your grosses go up!’ (following Fast Five and proceeding this summer’s GI Joe: Retribution). Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is a very loose sequel to the 2008 3D-ground breaker Journey to the Center of the Earth, which Brendan Fraser powered to $101 million domestic off a $21 million debut and $140 million overseas. Journey 2 opened with a robust $27 million, as it played like an old-fashioned family film (IE – it went WAY up on Saturday). The film had already grossed just under $50 million overseas prior to this debut, so it’s well on its way to eclipsing the $241 million worldwide total of the first film. Still, the idea of a live-action 3D fantasy film isn’t quite as novel as it was in the summer of 2008 (Journey to the Center of the Earth was literary the first modern live-action 3D picture, although Spy Kids 3 did the old-school red/blue 3D back in 2003). Also, Journey 2 cost $79 million, versus the first film’s relatively meager $45 million budget, so it will have to perform better if it wants a similar profit margin. Nonetheless, a win is a win. If G.I. Joe: Retaliation significantly improves on G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra this summer, expect Dwayne Johnson to be shoe-horned into every ailing/rebooted franchise around. Coming soon – The Rock in Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair, Saw 8, and Bridget Jones’s Diary 3!

The last major opener was the 3D-converted re-release of Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace, which debuted with a solid $23 million, bringing the overall domestic total to $454 million. This is the first of what is to be annual re-releases of George Lucas’s six Star Wars films starting this year (the 35th anniversary of Star Wars) and ending with Return of the Jedi in 2017 (the 40th anniversary). Whether you like the prequels or not, this was a chance for the generation who grew up with Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith to see those films again on the big screen, just as our generation feasted on the now-infamous ‘special editions’ of the original trilogy back in 1997. No one should have been expecting anything approaching the $35 million debut of Star Wars: Special Edition back in 1997 (about $47 million adjusted for inflation), as the marketplace has changed in the last 15 years. In a pre-DVD era, that was the first-ever opportunity for many younger fans to see the films in widescreen or on a screen larger than 25″. In today’s DVD/Blu-Ray and 60″ LCD world, it’s actually pretty impressive that this 3D-converted version actually opened larger than the 1997 releases of The Empire Strikes Back ($22 million) and Return of the Jedi ($16 million). At the very least, it’s good to see technical pros like Lucas and Cameron (Titanic 3D drops in early April) showing us how a real 3D-conversion is supposed to look. Even if the six movies top out at $50 million respectively, that’s still $300 million domestic and at least that overseas over the next six years. And since Lucas has signed that ‘Giving Pledge’, at least 1/4 of that money (depending on the studio/distributor/theater chain split) will be going to various charities.

There isn’t much holdover news, as the massive influx of new releases caused some large drops across the board, spurred both by the appeal of new product and inevitable screen losses to compensate for the four new films. Even The Artist ($24 million), on the verge of several major Oscar wins, is losing 200 screens as even popular films like The Grey ($42 million) loses 400 screens in just its third weekend and Underworld: Awakenings ($58 million) and Red Tails ($45 million) lose nearly 1,000 and 800 screens in their respective fourth weekends. Point being, there is a cost for the sheer volume of new product week-in and week-out. There is almost no opportunity for real legs and casual/general moviegoers no longer have the option of seeing new releases at their convenience, fostering a ‘see it now or don’t see it at all’ environment. So when I say that Chronicle (now with $40 million), The Woman In Black ($35 million), and Big Miracle ($13 million) dropped 44%, 50%, and 49% respectively in their second weekends, it’s as much to due with the flood of new product as it is with the respective popularity of last weekend’s openers. Thus, the three drops are even more impressive when you factor in the competition (although Miracle is a tank by virtue of its small numbers overall). It will be interesting to see how leggy the late-February/early-March releases are when you realize that there are only nine new wide releases in the entire month of March (21 Jump Street and likely juggernaut The Hunger Games open unopposed on the 16th and 23rd).

That’s it for this weekend. Join us over Presidents’ Day weekend when Fox unveils the Reese Witherspoon/Chris Pine/Tom Hardy action-romcom This Means War, Sony attempts to revive Nicholas Cage’s Ghost Rider franchise with Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Disney releases an English-dubbed animated fable from Studio Ghibli (founded by, among others, Hayao Miyazaki) onto an uncommonly wide 1,300 theaters with The Secret World of Arrietty. Until then, take care, keep reading, and share your thoughts below.

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3 Injured in Peshawar School Blast

Peshawar, trendpk: At least three people were injured in an attack near a private school at Pallosai road in Peshawar.

According to police, the blast occurred near New Modern Collegiate School near Agriculture University due to which two rooms of the school were destroyed. Two children and a teacher are among the injured. The injured were shifted to Khyber Teaching Hospital for treatment.

Dubai film festival kicks off

DUBAI: The seventh edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) has started in the modern city of the gulf oil-rich United Arab Emirates, which will unveil 157 films from 57 nations, including a large portion for Chinese movies.

The event kicked off on Saturday and will run until Dec. 19.

International film stars like Sean Penn have announced their coming. Penn, usually known as an actor of thoughtful action movies such as “Colors” “The Translator” or “Mystic River” will be honored with an award for his life achievement, shows a new production of his own called “Into the wild.”

With its theme “Bridging Cultures, Meeting Minds,” however, the DIFF does not highlight the usual Hollywood-style glamour movies, but roles out the red carpet to mostly young directors, giving them a chance to leave an impression to a multinational audience and further develop their careers.

Among the gala screenings, the Chinese-Taiwanese martial-art movie “Reign of Assassins” will be shown, produced by Hong-Kong- based John Woo and Chao-Bin Su from Taipei.

In the Asia-Africa film block, another Chinese movie will bring the Far East closer to the Middle East: “The Piano in a Factory” was directed by Meng Zhang, who graduated at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. As a director of the Changchun Film Studio, he made his directorial debut with “Lucky Dog” in 2007.

US government defends drone attack policy

The US government has decided to defend its Drone-policy publicly. According to the Pentagon, a drone attack just causes damage within 40-feet of the target.
According to a Pentagon report, air attacks during the Vietnam War used to cause damage within a range of 400 feet from the target; however the modern drone technology utilizes laser guided missiles to reduce the collateral damage. Pentagon also revealed that before a drone attack six-step process is followed.
1- Target is finalized2- Finalizing the intensity of danger the target poses3- Acquiring intelligence approval for the attack4- Analyzing attacks advantage for US interests5- Complete scrutiny of local and international laws before the attack6- Analyzing consequences after the attack takes place
The report has been presented in a court after a petition was filed by American Civil Liberties Union against Obamas administrations drone attacks and drone policy.

Poet Mustafa Zaidi’s 40th death anniversary today

Staff Report

KARACHI: Today marks the 40th death anniversary of Mustafa Zaidi. He is remembered as one of the few progressive Urdu poets of the 20th century. His work and literary accomplishments remain popular and relevant today. He died under mysterious circumstances on October 12, 1970, leaving behind many controversies.

Zaidi was born on October 16, 1930 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh (UP), India to Syed Lakhte Hasnain and Binte Haider. His father was a senior official in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the UP Province with roots in Meman Saadat, a village in district Bijnor. Mustafa Zaidi grew up in a household with five older half brothers and was the second of three biological brothers.

Mustafa Zaidi received his early education at home from a Maulvi Saheb and a local madrassa in Allahabad. From 1936 to 1945, he attended Modern High School

Poet Mustafa Zaidi’s 40th death anniversary today

Staff Report

KARACHI: Today marks the 40th death anniversary of Mustafa Zaidi. He is remembered as one of the few progressive Urdu poets of the 20th century. His work and literary accomplishments remain popular and relevant today. He died under mysterious circumstances on October 12, 1970, leaving behind many controversies.

Zaidi was born on October 16, 1930 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh (UP), India to Syed Lakhte Hasnain and Binte Haider. His father was a senior official in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the UP Province with roots in Meman Saadat, a village in district Bijnor. Mustafa Zaidi grew up in a household with five older half brothers and was the second of three biological brothers.

Mustafa Zaidi received his early education at home from a Maulvi Saheb and a local madrassa in Allahabad. From 1936 to 1945, he attended Modern High School

Taliban pulled from Medal of Honor game

Electronic Arts has given in to protests and pulled the ability to play as Taliban fighters from its upcoming Medal of Honor video game.
The game, which is being released for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on Oct. 12, is set in the early stages of the current Afghanistan conflict. It was to allow gamers to fight as Taliban against U.S. and allied troops in its online multiplayer mode, a feature that sparked criticism from some military officials and families of soldiers who have died in Afghanistan.
Critics said allowing people to play as the enemies in a current conflict would be insensitive to the families of soldiers who have died.
The Redwood City, Calif.-based company relented Friday and said it will cosmetically change the feature so that players will instead control generically named fighters.
Because the heartbeat of Medal of Honor has always resided in the reverence for American and allied soldiers, we have decided to rename the opposing team in Medal of Honor multiplayer from Taliban to Opposing Force, executive producer Greg Goodrich said in a statement on the game’s website. While this change should not directly affect gamers, as it does not fundamentally alter the gameplay, we are making this change for the men and women serving in the military and for the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice this franchise will never willfully disrespect, intentionally or otherwise, your memory and service.
Gamers were divided on the change. Some criticized the company for setting the game in a current conflict in the first place. I just do not feel right knowing I am buying a game about a current war going on to loin sic the pockets of EA executives with money, said one gamer in a Gamespot forum.
Others were critical of the company for backing down. What a contradiction of what this game means, wrote a gamer. This whole time they were preaching about realism and they can’t even say who the enemies are. Many gamers also accused the media of practising a double standard. Films such as last year’s The Hurt Locker set during the conflict in Iraq can win best-picture awards while video games dealing with similar topics evoke controversy. EA president Frank Gibeau commented on that trend in August. At EA we passionately believe games are an art form, and I dont know why films and books set in Afghanistan dont get flak, yet games do, he told the Develop-Online website. Whether its Red Badge Of Courage or The Hurt Locker, the media of its time can be a platform for the people who wish to tell their stories. Games are becoming that platform. The new Medal of Honor game is a reboot of the long-running series, which was created by film director Steven Spielberg and saw its first release on the original PlayStation in 1999. All of the games in the series have taken place during the Second World War, with the new game representing the first time a new setting has been used. The switch to using Opposing Force brings Medal of Honor closer to another successful war game franchise, Activision’s Call of Duty. The most recent game in that series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 released a year ago used fictional Middle Eastern characters in its multiplayer mode also named OpFor. Japan’s Konami drew similar criticism last year over Six Days in Fallujah, a game it planned on developing in conjunction with Iraq war veterans. The company dropped plans for the game just over a month after announcing it.

Akshay-Bhansali-Prabhu Deva: A killer combination

Over the week gone by, there have been speculations galore around the latest movie being signed by Akshay Kumar. It is being whispered in the industry circles that the actor has signed a film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Prabhu Deva would be calling the shots as a director. It was also being assumed that with Bhansali around, the film would have a period setting and due to Prabhu Deva’s inclination towards dance, the film would require some intense Indian classical dancing by Akshay Kumar.

We bring to you the real truth exclusively at Bollywood Hungama.

Yes, it is confirmed that Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Prabhu Deva would be collaborating for a film. The film would be co-produced by Bhansali and Akshay while Prabhu Deva would be directing his second Hindi film after Wanted.

However, the speculation around this being a period dance drama is incorrect. The film is being set in the modern times and has a contemporary feel to it. Also, dance would form one of the many ingredients of this hardcore commercial masala flick which would go on floors early next year once Akshay Kumar wraps up the shoot of Desi Boyz to be directed by Rohit Dhawan – son of David Dhawan.

Confirms a highly placed source connected to the film, “That’s right, this is going to be the most ambitious project ever by Bhansali. It was him who thought of bringing together Akshay Kumar and Prabhu Deva. He has been known for certain aesthetics of cinema and that would remain intact in this new venture as well. However, this time around the target audience would be a wider segment of masses. Bhansali wanted to expand his horizon and conceived a mega project like this.”

“For Akshay too, it is all set to be a new experience because he has established himself amidst the top league without working with filmmakers like Chopras, Johars and Bhansalis of the world. A project like this adds on a reputed filmmaker to his repertoire”, he adds, “Since Prabhu Deva too has shown his commercial bent with Wanted, his coming together with Akshay only makes this a killer combination in the making. One can well imagine the kind of hype that just this announcement is going to make.”

This yet untitled film doesn’t have a leading lady finalised yet. However, given the huge canvas that this film is expected to boast of, it is imperative that one of the top actresses would come on board. Would Bhansali be repeating Aishwarya Rai or Sonam? Or would Kareena, Katrina or Deepika make the cut?

Watch this space!

President Zardari open to Taliban talks

LONDON: President Asif Ali Zardari said Friday he”s willing to consider reopening negotiations with the Taliban in his country — a statement that came amid a flurry of criticism that some elements within Pakistan remain sympathetic to the extremist group.

Zardari told a foreign news agency that his country had never closed the door to talks with the Taliban.

“We never closed the dialogue,” Zardari told agency, skirting the question of when talks could actually resume. “We had an agreement, which they broke. (Talks will resume) whenever they feel we”re strong enough and they realize they can”t win, because they won”t win. It will be a painful difficult task, but defeat is not an option.”

Last year, the Pakistani government struck a deal with the Taliban in the Swat Valley that gave them effective control over the region. The militants did not abide by the agreement and moved into another region, prompting an all-out offensive by the Pakistani army. Some 2,500 Pakistani security forces have been killed.

Although some believe the only way to win the war will be to talk to extremists, the United States and Pakistan”s other Western allies have been urging the country to continue fighting the Pakistani Taliban, not talk to them. The movement has been behind dozens of bloody attacks inside Pakistan.

The group, which is loosely based in the tribal regions close to the Afghan border, was involved in the failed Times Square car bombing and the suicide attack on a CIA base in December in Afghanistan that killed seven CIA employees. It has links with al-Qaida and the Afghan Taliban fighting across the border in Afghanistan.

Zardari, the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, called accusations by British Prime Minister David Cameron and others that Pakistan was exporting terrorism “exaggerated.” He also said the military was doing more than what it ever had.

He said the military was working hard to rid the Swat Valley and South Waziristan of extremist elements.

“We have more soldiers on the border now and have lost more soldiers in this war than anyone else,” Zardari said, referring to the hundreds of troops killed in battles with militants over the years. “We have also lost more citizens in this war than any other country. Should we have the capability, we would definitely do more.”

He dismissed assertions that some in the Pakistani government may know the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden.

The international community has all the modern technology available to it, Zardari said. “We do not have the technology. We do not have the intelligence like they do,” he said.

Zardari urged the international community to equip his military with drones and other equipment. He also called for more help in opening up international markets to Pakistani trade and products.

When asked why so few militants had ever been brought to justice — including those alleged to have killed his wife — Zardari said “most of them we don”t catch alive.”

Paintings worth euro500M stolen from Paris museum

PARIS: Police and prosecutors say a lone thief has stolen five paintings worth a total of euro500 million ($613 million), including works by Picasso and Matisse, in a brazen overnight theft from a Paris modern art museum.

The paintings were reported missing early Thursday from the Paris Museum of Modern Art, across the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower, according to Paris police. Investigators have cordoned off the museum.

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