Disney remaking another of its animated classics as a live action film

You’d think Disney would learn that some expensive projects (“John Carter”, “The Lone Ranger” with Johnny Depp) just aren’t worth it. I mean, with Pixar, you’ve made “Toy Story”, “Up” and more. You have animated classics like “The Lion King” and “Cinderella”. For many, the animated “The Jungle Book” is on the list of their favorite animated films. Get ready for a new live action version of it. Now “The Jungle Book” was a live action film in 1994, but who remembers that one? Exactly. It seems to be a trend with Disney with “Maleficent” (“Sleeping Beauty”) and “Cinderella” also future live action films based on Disney’s animated classics. Don’t forget they made “Alice in Wonderland” from Tim Burton. Ugh. At least one of these films is going to flop…big time.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” getting a sequel…without Tim Burton

Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” was a box office smash, even though it wasn’t all that great. But Disney of course is making a sequel called “Into the Looking Glass”. The sequel brings back Mia Wasikowska as Alice and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. Here’s the surprising news. Burton isn’t coming back. Instead, James Bobin (“The Muppets”, “The Mupets…Again!”) will helm the sequel.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. reuniting?

Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. were among the best parts of the hit comedy from a few years ago “Tropic Thunder”. Now the pair may be reuniting. RDJ signed on for “Pinnochio” with director Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland”, “Dark Shadows”) attached to direct. Burton is off that film and now Stiller is in talks to take over directing duties. Stiller’s upcoming directorial effort “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” gained a lot of positive buzz at Cinema Con so this could be an interesting pairing. Burton’s eye for visuals is pretty much unrivaled, but an argument can be made his eye for stories has faltered lately.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

How big did “Oz” open?

Sam Raimi’s latest film “Oz The Great and Powerful” had a big, but not record-setting opening over the weekend. The film earned $80 million domestically and $150.2 worldwide in its first weekend. The film, which stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams is set to pass “Identity Thief” in the next week or two as the highest grossing film of the year and the second film to pass $100 million in the U.S. It’s the third biggest March opening ever, but pretty far off from “The Hunger Games” ($150.2 million) and “Alice in Wonderland ($116.1 million).

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Bad news for Oz

Disney is clearly hoping “Ox the Great and Powerful” will be its next “Alice in Wonderland”. But it’s clearly not going to be. The Sam Raimi directed film starring James Franco, Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz earned $2 million from midnight showings. That was roughly half of Alice’s $3.9 million midnight showing.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Box office battle: 3/8/13

Do we have our first big blockbuster of the year? Or do we have another flop?

Sam Raimi and Disney are hoping people will be off to see the wizard in big numbers as “Oz the Great and Powerful” opens. Drawing comparisons to Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland”, this film stars James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis. Oz is a powerful brand with a bunch of books and the classic 1939 “The Wizard of Oz”. But Raimi and Franco aren’t as big as Burton and Johnny Depp. And I get the feeling that this won’t open nearly as big as Alice did. But this one could wind up near $300 million if word of mouth turns out to be strong. And this will have the biggest opening of the year so far and become the top grossing film of the year until summer rolls around.

Opening weekend: $80-85 million

The other new film is “Dead Man Down” starring Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper and Terrence Howard. It’s a strong cast, but a subdued marketing campaign and going up against Oz will make this one bomb. Also, the last few crime films, “Snitch” and “Broken City” both tanked.

Opening weekend: $5-10 million

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

 

Box office battle: “Jack the Giant Slayer” vs. “Oz the Great and Powerful”

Two fantasy big budget films are coming out in the next two weeks. Bryan Singer directs Nicholas Hoult, Stanley Tucci, Ewan McGregor and Bill Nighy in “Jack the Giant Slayer”. Sam Raimi directs James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and more in “Oz the Great and Powerful”. Which one will reign supreme?

Both look to offer twists on classic children’s tales, a hot genre as of late with “Snow White and the Huntsman” and “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters”. Of these two upcoming films, Oz has the most going for it. A great marketing campaign, more beloved characters and Disney is clearly hoping for an “Alice in Wonderland”, which had Tim Burton directing Johnny Depp, sized success. I don’t think it will reach those levels, but expect Oz to open very big. Normally I’d say coming out second would hurt it, but not a lot of people are excited about “Jack the Giant Slayer”. “Jack the Giant Slayer” featured some off beat humor. And while it might work perfectly well in the context of the film, it just came off as weird in the trailers. And the giants looked like leftovers from Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro’s imaginations. Not to mention “Jack the Giant Slayer” lacks the star power of a Franco. Oz has also been positioned as the first “event” film of the year and had a Super Bowl and Oscars commercial. All that equals to a big opening for Oz while Jack is headed for “John Carter” like numbers.

I think Jack will open to the high 30s and maybe low 40s, but Oz could approach $70-80 million.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Box office battle: March is going to yield some big hits…right?

No matter what way you slice it, aside from “Identity Thief” starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, 2013 has been a terrible year so far for film. I’m not just talking about the quality of the movies. Arnold, Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson all opened action films. “A Good Day to Die Hard” is doing the best and it’s trailing “Live Free or Die Hard” by a significant margin. Even “Safe Haven”, the Nicholas Sparks adaptation couldn’t match some of the recent hits based on his novel. But March should have a number of blockbusters right?

We’ve got horror with “The Last Exorcism Part II”, special effects fueled tent poles in “Jack the Giant Slayer”, “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” and “The Croods”. Gerard Butler joins the action movie game this year with “Olympus Has Fallen” and then there’s “The Host” and “Oz The Great and Powerful”. There’s also more coming out as well. March has seen some huge blockbusters, most notably “Alice in Wonderland” and “300”. But don’t expect any of March’s films to reach those levels.

“The Last Exorcism” will be a success, but only because it doesn’t come with a huge budget. “Jack the Giant Slayer” from Bryan Singer is in big trouble. So far, audience reaction to the trailers have been luke warm at best. It lacks the star power and the known quantity at director to really draw people in. This one may open decently, but will fade fast. “Oz” should open big. But “Alice in Wonderland” big? It’s tough to tell. It is set in the Oz universe, which is beloved by many. But James Franco’s performance in the trailer seems awfully dreadful. And since leaving “Spider-Man”, Sam Raimi hasn’t had a big hit. But this could be the one film to be a bona fide blockbuster by the time March is over.

“Olympus Has Fallen” looks like Die Hard with Butler. And when’s the last time Butler’s made a good movie? This has bomb written all over it. “The Host” is going to struggle much like “Beautiful Creatures” did. There just hasn’t been another book like ‘Twilight” that attracted the young female crowd in droves.

“The Call” with Halle Berry will have limited appeal. “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” could do well since people may be looking for another all-star high concept comedy. And “The Croods” being the first big family release in a while, should draw in the family crowd in decent numbers. G.I. Joe will open decently, but well below the original. I mean how many people really wanted a sequel? Think about it.

March has become a time when a blockbuster can be released other than the summer and Christmas period. But with so many films coming out and the levels of quality not exactly looking like it’s top notch, be prepared for a lot of disappointments.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

More “Catching Fire” casting buzz

The upcoming film “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” has been in the news a lot lately with numerous names up for Finnick Odair. Now, it appears the role of Joanna Mason, who (SPOILERS) teams up with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) has been narrowed to two.

Mia Wasikowska (“Alice in Wonderland) and Zoe Aggeliki are reportedly up for the role. Which would you want to see? Francis Lawrence is taking over as director for the anticipated sequel.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Box office battle: Best fairy tale film of all time?

With “Snow White and the Huntsman” about to hit theaters this weekend, it’s looking to redefine the classic Snow White story. Hollywood’s never strayed from fairy tail films. From the classic Disney films to more recent darker films, the list could go on and on. Here’s my list of my five of favorite fairy tale films…though I’m sure I’m forgetting some.

Note: Because there’s so many, I didn’t list more than one from Disney.

5.  The Wizard of Oz: A classic and captures the wonder of children even today.

4. The NeverEnding Story: I remember being absolutely engrossed in this film. The whole universe is amazing and it appealed to those of us who wished we could get lost in a book’s world every once in a while.

3. The Princess Bride: I mean, come on. Classic love story. Classic fairy tale movie. Great movie, period. Enough said.

2. Beauty and the Beast: Really, I could have gone a lot of ways with Disney for this pick. But, “Beauty and the Beast” remains such a classic and fan favorite. From the music to the visuals to the story, it’s just a timeless film.

1. Pan’s Labyrinth: It’s everything a classic fairy tale should be. Dark, menacing, emotional, engrossing. And, in an age where there’s violence strictly for violence sake, Guillermo Del Toro’s masterpiece never falls into that trap. Don’t take your young kids to see this. But “Pan’s Labyrinth” is depressing, hopeful, scary, suspenseful, sad and just a movie unlike any other I’ve seen in a long, long time.

Honorable mentions: Howl’s Moving Castle, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Aladdin, Stardust, Enchanted, The Little Mermaid.

Honorary No. one:I didn’t put this on the list because I wanted more traditional fairy tale films. But, this should come as no surprise for people who know me. The Matrix. I mean, it is a modern day Alice in Wonderland, except kick-ass, interesting to modern audiences and just plain ahead of its time for Hollywood in terms of visual and action. And it continues to be my favorite movie.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.