Small MPU – Page 3578

  • News

    French box-office admissions down by 10%

    2006-01-10T04:00:00Z

    French boxoffice admissions plummeted 10% in 2005 as compared with the previous year. Atotal 176 million tickets were sold in 2005 down from 196 million in 2004.Top for theyear was the fourth Harry Potter installment with 7.284 million tickets soldfollowed by Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of TheSith with 7.245 ...

  • News

    Spanish box-office admissions down by 12.7%

    2006-01-10T04:00:00Z

    Admissions at Spanish cinemas took a 12.7% dive in 2005,hitting a seven-year low.According to figures from Nielsen EDI, box-office grosses inSpaindiminished 9.5% to $745.9m (617.5m Euros) from $823.8m (682m Euros) theprevious year. Admissions dropped 12.7% from 140 to 122.2 million, thelowest level recorded locally since 1998.The downward turn reverses the ...

  • News

    Daniel Burman's Family Law to open Berlin's Panorama

    2006-01-10T04:00:00Z

    TheBerlin Film Festival's Panorama section is set to open with the world premiereof Daniel Burman's Family Law (Derechode Familia), in an initial swathe of filmsannounced by the section yesterday.FamilyLaw, from Argentina, is Burman'slong-awaited follow-up to The TornEmbrace (El Abrazo Partido),which won two Silver Bears at Berlin in 2004.Panoramahas announced 21 ...

  • Reviews

    BloodRayne

    2006-01-09T00:00:00Z

    Dir: Uwe Boll. US. 2006. 94mins.If there is an Ed Wood working in Hollywood todaythen surely it is film-maker Uwe Boll, who over thepast few years has made several critically panned videogame film adaptationsthat have floundered at the box office but done little to dent his career.His latestfeature, the avenging ...

  • News

    Searchlight names joint COOs in pursuit of happiness

    2006-01-10T04:00:00Z

    Former Fox Searchlightdistribution chief Stephen Gilula and marketing chief Nancy Utley have beenpromoted to joint chief operating officers as the studio prepares for itsbiggest year.The company veterans are regarded alongside president Peter Rice as key playersas Searchlight bids to erase the memory of a lacklustre 2005 and emulate thecritical and ...

  • News

    Bender named sales chief at Harmony Gold USA

    2006-01-10T00:00:00Z

    Susan Bender has beenappointed to the new post of president of sales at Harmony Gold USA as thecompany makes a concerted bid to expand its worldwide sales activities.Effective Jan 23, Bender will oversee all domestic and international sales andspearhead strategic development with the existing sales team, which includesvice president of ...

  • News

    Southern Gothic ready to roll for Kindred Media Group

    2006-01-10T00:00:00Z

    Los Angeles andPennsylvania-based Kindred Media Group, North Carolina-based Tasty Pixels, andDewey Beach Films are about to begin production on the thriller SouthernGothic.Dewey Beach will provide completion funds for the $1m project, and Kindredplans a North American theatrical release in autumn 2006.Mark Young will direct the follow-up to his feature debut ...

  • News

    THINKFilm tucks in to When Do We Eat'

    2006-01-10T04:00:00Z

    THINKFilm has swooped onall North American rights to Salvador Litvak's Jewish Passover comedy WhenDo We Eat'The distributor is lining up an Apr7 release for the picture, which has become a mainstay on the festival circuitin recent months, in time for the Passover celebrations.Ben Feldman, Michael Lerner, Jack Klugman and Lesley ...

  • News

    IFC, Tartan conclude deals on Brothers Of The Head

    2006-01-10T04:00:00Z

    IFC Films and Tartan Films have picked up North American and UK rightsrespectively to Film Four's mockumentary Brothers Of The Head.The picture premiered at Toronto last autumn and IFC plans to release it inNorth American theatres in July.Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe's picture follows the fate of exploited conjoinedtwins who ...

  • News

    Goblet Of Fire breaks IMAX box office record

    2006-01-10T04:00:00Z

    Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire: The IMAX Experience has grossed more than $16mworldwide on 89 screens, breaking the previous $15.9m giant-format record for adigitally-remastered (DMR) 2D release set by Batman Begins: The IMAX Experience last year.The titles are two of three IMAX releases that grossed more than $200m ...

  • News

    Emerging Pictures forms digital alliance with Brazil's RAIN

    2006-01-10T04:00:00Z

    IraDeutchman, Giovanni Cozzi and Barry Rebo's Emerging Pictures has formed a NorthAmerican digital distribution alliance with Brazilian technology company RAINNetwork.Called RAIN US, the New York-based exhibition and distribution venture aims tofulfil Emerging Picture's longtime goal of offering a platform to internationaland independent filmmakers.The fledgling venture will provide programming for 400 ...

  • News

    Lionsgate spreads the word with Don't Tell

    2006-01-10T04:00:00Z

    Lionsgate has picked up USrights to Cristina Comencini's Italian Oscar submission and local hit Don'tTell (La Bestia Nel Cuore). The Cattleya and Rai Cinema production premiered at Venice last autumn andearned Giovanna Mezzogiorno the Coppa Volpi for Best actress. It has grossedmore than $7m since opening in Italian theatres last ...

  • News

    Seven Guldbagge nominations for Runge's film

    2006-01-10T11:24:00Z

    The nominationsfor this year's Guldbagge awards, the annual SwedishFilm Awards were announced Monday. Björn Runge, whose previous film Daybreak won four Guldbagge awards and a Silver Bear in Berlin 2004,dominated the list with seven nominations for his new film Mouth to Mouth.It has been nominated for "Best Film", "Best Director" ...

  • News

    Bhaman Naraghi joins Miramax as executive vp

    2000-06-06T02:39:00Z

    Bahman Naraghi has joined Miramax Films as executive vice president of finance and operations. Naraghi will oversee all aspects of the company's finance, accounting, reporting and human resources as well as supervising certain business development efforts and arranging new financial arrangements for film projects. He will report directly to co-chairmen ...

  • News

    Italy's box-office takings tumble by 7.1%

    2006-01-10T12:55:00Z

    Italy'sbox office tumbled 7.1% in 2005 to $648.5m (536.9m Euros), with the industrysorely missing the previous year's juggernauts The Passion of The Christ and Lordof the Rings: The Return Of The King. Still, November's record-breakingrelease of Harry Potter And The Goblet OfFire and a Christmas season marked by Italian blockbuster ...

  • News

    Japan's box-office takings down 8%

    2006-01-10T13:50:00Z

    Box office takings in Japan weredown 8% in 2005 with initial estimates pegging the box office for the last 12months at close to $1.82 billion. Technically there was not a single $100mgrosser though Howl's Moving Castlecontinued to perform well, following its first place ranking in 2004 of morethan $180m with ...

  • Reviews

    Glory Road

    2006-01-10T00:00:00Z

    Dir: James Gartner. US. 2006. 115mins.Playing out like Remember The Titans for basketball fans,Glory Road is yet another would-beinspirational true story which follows Hollywood sports-movie conventions somechanically that it feels more generic than stirring.Opening on January13 in the US, the same weekend that the hoops-themed Samuel L Jackson feature Coach ...

  • News

    Brazil's box-office takings drop by 17.5%

    2006-01-10T14:58:00Z

    Brazil's box office dropped an estimated 17.5 % in 2005,according to figures released by the local film distributors' union. Thecountry's sales amounted approximately $278.9m (R$ 633m), signaling the end of six years of market growth, pushed partially by the expansion of the exhibitionsector that today totals about 2,000 screens as ...

  • News

    EFP names 21 actors in Berlin's Shooting Stars

    2006-01-10T15:41:00Z

    European Film Promotion hasannounced the actors for the 2006 Shooting Stars programme. The 21 Europeanactors will be part of a series of promotional events (February 11-13) at theBerlin International Film Festival and at later film festivals in Europe.Previous actors involved inthe programme include Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, andFranke Potente. ShootingStars ...

  • News

    Investment in UK films down a third in 2005

    2006-01-10T15:54:00Z

    Investment in UK-linked filmswas $1.1 billion (£699.1 million) into 78 films in 2005, down 27% from 2004'sinvestment of $1.7 billion (£960 million) in 68 projects, according to figuresfrom ScreenFinance.ScreenFinance also noted that inward investment from Hollywood into the UK fell from $889.5 million (£503.4 million) with eightproductions in 2004 to ...