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Island sinks at box office |
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The first big budget, high profile dud of the season has arrived.
Director Michael Bay, famous for his huge, noisy and breathtakingly fast films such as Armageddon and Pearl Harbor suffered the first flop in his decade-old career with the badly reviewed cloning thriller The Island. The movie, which cost $120 million, opened to a puny $12m and will be lucky to survive beyond a $50m gross in North America. The heartfelt, often amusing Antarctic documentary March Of The Penguins expanded from 132 to 695 theatres, and reached the top 10 with $4.3m. It was the last film on the list, but going for another expansion on August 5, expect it to remain on the top 10 for a few more weeks.
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1. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Cast: Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, Ned Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Deep Roy and Christopher Lee. Director: Tim Burton.  Riot of colours; strong drama; and the amazing Oompa-Loompas. Gets a bit repetitive; too dark and punishing to those unfamiliar with the novel.Number of weeks: 2. BO Verdict: Hit. |
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2. Wedding Crashers Cast: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams. Director: David Dobkin. Bawdy comedy; terrific chemistry between Wilson and Vaughn; Fast tempo in the fist half.Overextends the plot; runs out of humour and salty jokes in the second half.Number of weeks: 2. BO Verdict: Hit.
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3. Fantastic Four Cast: Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Chilkis, Chris Evans. Director: Tim Story. Amusing and entertaining moments; reputed Marvel Comics characters.Cheesy script; predictable; lacks inventiveness.Number of weeks: 3. BO Verdict: Hit. |
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4. The Island Cast: Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Djimon Hounsou and Sean Bean. Director: Michael Bay. Nonstop action.How many mindless action movies can one take in a summer?Number of weeks: New. BO Verdict: Disaster.
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5. The Bad News Bears Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear and Marcia Gay Harden. Director: Richard Linklater. Feel good story of young misfits who triumph; Thornton and Kinnear.Often mean-spirited; lacks genuine surprises.Number of weeks: New. BO Verdict: Average.
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6. War Of The Worlds Cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Morgan Freeman. Director: Steven Spielberg. Great first half with many sensational sights.Lacks sustained narrative strength.Number of weeks: 4. BO Verdict: Hit. |
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7. Hustle And Flow Cast: Terrence Howard, DJ Qualls and Ludacris. Director: Craig Brewer. Raw, genuine emotions; strong performances especially by Terrence Howard.Overtly sentimental at times.Number of weeks: New. BO Verdict: Low-budget hit.
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8. The Devil's Rejects Cast: Sid Haig, Bill Mosley and William Forsythe. Director: Rob Zombie. Horror fans will rejoice at the stab-you-in-the-throat scenes.Some may feel it is relentlessly sadistic and ultraviolent.Number of weeks: New. BO Verdict: Average.
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9. Batman Begins Cast: Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy. Director: Christopher Nolan. Interesting take on Bat myths, atmospheric.Short on thrills, never exciting, wooden dialogue.Number of weeks: 6. BO Verdict: Hit. |
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10. March Of The Penguins Narration: Morgan Freeman. Director: Luc Jacquet. Amazing visuals; unbelievable insights into the lives of emperor penguins.A bit too sentimental.Number of weeks: 3. BO Verdict: Hit.
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Text: Arthur J Pais
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