Large MPU – Page 2155

  • News

    Perdition hits big, but can't gun down Men In Black

    2002-07-15T00:00:00Z

    Men In Black II (MIIB) clung on to top spot at the North American box officeover the weekend with an estimated $25m gross, although a spectacular opening for Road To Perdition on half the number of screens came close to dethroning it. The Columbia Pictures sci-fi sequel averaged $6,923 ...

  • News

    CTFDI scores $17.4m with MIIB, breaks all-time record with Spider-man

    2002-07-15T00:00:00Z

    Men In Black II (MIIB) took an estimated $17.4m at the international box office over the weekend as Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International rolled out its sci-fi romp to 12 territories bringing its running total to $34.7m. With an unconfirmed best-ever opening in South Korea for a non-Korean language picture ...

  • News

    Scooby is Warner's second biggest all-time UK opening

    2002-07-15T00:00:00Z

    Scooby-Doo continued to snap up the international competition for Warner Bros over the weekend, opening in the UK with $8.1m (£5.2m) from 474 screens, according to studio estimates released today (Sunday). If the figure is confirmed tomorrow it will be Warner's second highest UK opening behind Harry Potter And The ...

  • Reviews

    The Bourne Identity

    2002-07-15T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Doug Liman. US. 2002. 118 mins.One of Robert Ludlum's best-selling Cold War spy novels gets a refreshingly edgy cinema update in The Bourne Identity, an international thriller that, under the guidance of indie director Doug Liman, spins out its Hollywood genre conventions with continental flair. The film opened strongly ...

  • Reviews

    The Seagull's Laughter (Mavahlatur)

    2002-07-15T00:00:00Z

    Dir. Agust Gudmunsson. Iceland 2001. 104 mins.The new offering from veteran Icelandic director Agust Gudmunsson initially posits itself as a post-war coming-of-age social satire. Yet this acerbic comedy soon offers up several lively portraits of women looking to assert themselves in a world very much controlled by men. Based on ...

  • News

    European local hits fight back against US blockbusters

    2002-07-16T04:05:00Z

    In a reversal of fortunes for Spanish films, a musical comedy has become the third-highest grossing local title of this year after just 10 days on release. Meanwhile, continuing a robust trend, a Danish film has kicked Spider-Man off the top spot at the box office, with the fourth-best opening ...

  • News

    Episode II sets new all-time opening record in Japan

    2002-07-16T04:05:00Z

    Star Wars: Episode II - Attack Of The Clones has set a new opening record in Japan, taking a gross box office of $13.8m over the two-day weekend.The sci-fi adventure attracted a massive 1,075,287 admissions to reach $13.8m (Y1.6bn) from a record high number of screens - 630, over the ...

  • News

    Sun Gateway fund opens up for English-language productions

    2002-07-16T04:05:00Z

    Features by Michael Radford, Sandy Johnson and Amy Lyndon have been lined up as possible projects for backing by the new Sun Gateway Entertainment (SGE) private media fund.The German fund, which aims to raise Euros 50m this year for up to seven English-language feature film and TV productions, is managed ...

  • News

    Germany's Splendid Film package sold for $17.4m

    2002-07-16T04:05:00Z

    The romantic comedy Kate & Leopold and police thriller NARC are among a 16-title, Euros 17.3m package of films sold by Splendid Film to the German private broadcasting group ProSiebenSat1 Media.Among the other titles in the package, which will begin generating income for Splendid in the second half of 2002, ...

  • News

    Two Eastern European countries boost national film funds

    2002-07-16T04:05:00Z

    The newly-appointed Hungarian ministry of culture has awarded $3.3m (HUF 800m) in immediate cash for its struggling local film industry, while in neighbouring Slovakia a new law has been passed requiring broadcasters and exhibitors to contribute to the country's production funds.In Hungary, cultural minister Gabor Gorgey and minister of financial ...

  • News

    Focus takes the world on Inarritu's 21 Grams

    2002-07-16T00:00:00Z

    Focus Features, the newly formed specialised arm of Universal Pictures, has acquired worldwide rights to Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's long-awaited English-language debut 21 Grams. The hotly contested deal, closed today (Monday), marks the first time that Focus has acquired worldwide rights to a film since it was founded earlier this year ...

  • News

    Wellspring buys US rights to Cannes player Carnage

    2002-07-16T00:00:00Z

    Wellspring Media has acquired US rights to the dark French comedy Carnage which played in Directors Fortnight at Cannes this year. The film is the feature directorial debut of Delphine Gleize and stars Chiara Mastroianni and Angela Maline in the story of the aftermath of a tragic bullfight.Gleize is ...

  • News

    Devdas falls short of UK Bollywood opening record

    2002-07-16T00:00:00Z

    Distributor Eros International enjoyed its biggest success in the UK at the weekend with the much anticipated release of Devdas.The Bollywood film grossed a massive $723,054 (£466,370) from 54 sites (on 74 screens) from Friday to Sunday (July 12-14) for a mighty site average of $13,390 - the highest of ...

  • Reviews

    Euro Pudding (L'Auberge Espagnole)

    2002-07-16T00:00:00Z

    Dir. Cedric Klapisch. France-Spain. 115mins.The latest ensemble piece by French director Cedric Klapisch possesses as much promise as his 1996 breakthrough number, When The Cat's Away. Warmly received in France, where it is playing on 398 screens and has registered 1.2m admissions ($6.24m) after three weeks, this featherweight comedy explores, ...

  • Reviews

    Reign Of Fire

    2002-07-16T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Rob Bowman. US/UK/Ireland. 2002. 101mins.Despite the obvious expense lavished on the CGI-created dragons, the enjoyment of Reign Of Fire comes from its cheesy heroic values and cheerfully hammy performances by super-muscly actors Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey. More reminiscent of old-style Ray Harryhausen movies than the post-apocalyptic epics like ...

  • News

    Toronto to introduce Ponti's Strangers

    2002-07-17T04:05:00Z

    Edoardo Ponti's Canada-Italy co-production Between Strangers will make its world premiere at the 27th Toronto International Film Festival, Sept. 5-14. The film, which will be screened as a Special Presentation, features an ensemble cast including Sophia Loren, Gerard Depardieu, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Mira Sorvino, Pete Postlethwaite, Malcolm McDowell and Debra ...

  • News

    Korean films keep up record pace set in first half of 2002

    2002-07-17T04:05:00Z

    With the country in a buoyant mood after last week's news that Korean films leapt 7.8% to take a 46.1% share of the Seoul market in the first half of this year, the signs are promising that a string of new Korean films will also score at the local box ...

  • News

    Telefilm Canada backs eleven new features

    2002-07-17T04:05:00Z

    Telefilm Canada is to back eleven new feature films, including the latest from Quebecois auteur Denys Arcand. With a combined budget of more than $16m, the projects include six French-language titles and five in English, including co-productions with the UK and Israel.Arcand's Les Invasions Barbares (Barbarian Invasion), his first film ...