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Clooney Stung By 'Leatherheads' Flop
9 May 2008 (WENN)
George Clooney was hurt by the failure of his most recent movie Leatherheads - but is determined to learn from the experience. A month after its release, the American football movie has grossed $36 million; $22 million short of its $58 million budget. It only reached third place in the U.S. box office and disappointed critics - leaving director and star Clooney devastated. He tells Rolling Stone, "It bombed and when I say bombed, it bombed. Someone said, 'How does that feel?' and it stings a little bit. It's not like we just showed up: I was working on this for a couple years and put a lot of work into it, and you get knocked back a little bit." But he refuses to be beaten, insisting, "The trick is how you handle things when things don't go great. It's easy when things are doing well: The people I most admire are the people who handle it when the studio says that's really underperformed and they say, 'Ow, that hurt.' I've been a fan of watching people go through cycles, not just winning cycles."

Chan and Li Make 'Kingdom' Hot
22 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
A major-studio feature starring two Chinese actors -- something that in itself would have been unthinkable even a few years ago -- wound up at the top of the U.S. box office over the weekend. Not only did The Forbidden Kingdom bring together Jackie Chan and Jet Li, but it was also produced entirely in China mostly with Chinese crews, again something that would have been unheard of until recently. Finally the martial arts film was aimed at a family audience -- without the bloody violence of virtually all previous films of the genre. Nevertheless, it wound up with $21.4 million, at the high end of analysts' expectations, handily beating Universal's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which many analysts had suggested was the film most likely to come out on top. Instead, the R-rated comedy settled for second place with $17.7 million. Together the top 12 films grossed $82.88 million, up 13.46 percent from last year's $73.05 million. This was only the second week out of the past ten that the box office has seen a rise.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. The Forbidden Kingdom, Lionsgate, $21,401,121, (New); 2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Universal, $17,725,330, (New); 3. Prom Night, Sony, $8,670,364, 2 Wks. ($32,133,926); 4. 88 Minutes, Sony, $6,957,216, (New); 5. Nim's Island, 20th Century Fox, $5,687,072, 3 Wks. ($32,894,115); 6. 21, Sony, $5,520,362, 4 Wks. ($70,004,505); 7. Street Kings, Fox Searchlight, $4,179,505, 2 Wks. ($20,058,143); 8. Horton Hears a Who!, 20th Century Fox, $3,511,834, 5 Wks. ($144,418,495); 9. Leatherheads, Universal, $3,049,465, 3 Wks. ($26,605,235); 10. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, $2,970,848, (New).

'Kingdom' Wears Box-office Crown
21 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
The Forbidden Kingdom, the martial-arts family film that brought together Jackie Chan and Jet Li for the first time, wound up at the top of the domestic box office over the weekend with an estimated $20.9 million in ticket sales. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers, said, "The film is a good, solid action movie and audience, especially young audience, is looking for that shot of adrenaline. ... This was kind of warming up to summer." Coming in second was the Judd Apatow R-rated comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, written by and starring Jason Segel, which brought in $17.3 million. Several analysts had predicted that it would emerge as the weekend winner, citing its much-talked-about billboard campaign that had heightened awareness of the movie. Two other newcomers flopped. Sony's 88 Minutes, starring Al Pacino, which had been mercilessly drubbed by critics, opened in fourth place with just $6.8 million, while the Ben Stein documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which argued on behalf of "intelligent design" -- that is, the biblical view of creation -- failed to bring out church groups in big numbers and settled for just $3.1 million to wind up in ninth place. Overall, the box office was up for the first time in five weeks, with the top 12 films earning $82.1 million, up 12 percent from the comparable weekend a year ago. "There is a collective sigh of relief in Hollywood," Dergarabedian told the Associated Press. So far this year, revenue is down 3.4 percent from last year while attendance is down 6.5 percent.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers: 1. The Forbidden Kingdom, $20.9 million; 2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $17.3 million; 3. Prom Night, $9.1 million; 4. 88 Minutes, $6.8 million; 5. Nim's Island, $5.7 million; 6. 21, $5.5 million; 7. Street Kings, $4 million; 8. Horton Hears a Who!, $3.5 million; 9. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, $3.1 million; 10. Leatherheads, $3 million.

'Prom Night' Slashes Box Office
15 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
After a series of horrible performances at the box office by horror flicks, Sony's Prom Night graduated with honors over the weekend as it took in $20.8 million, far more than the studio said that it expected -- and about what it cost to produce. It beat the Keanu Reeves cop drama Street Kings, which opened with $12.5 million, by a wide margin. Overall, the box office grossed $95 million down from $118 million for the comparable weekend a year ago -- a drop of 19.6 percent. Through the first 15 weeks of the year, ticket sales are off 3.5 percent and attendance, 6.6 percent from last year.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. Prom Night, Sony, $20,804,941, (New); 2. Street Kings, Fox Searchlight, $12,469,631, (New); 3. 21, Sony/Col, $10,470,173, 3 Wks. ($61,738,420); 4. Nim's Island, 20th Century Fox, $9,111,667, 2 Wks. ($25,391,566); 5. Leatherheads, Universal, $6,276,665, 2 Wks. ($21,976,580); 6. Horton Hears a Who!, 20th Century Fox, $5,920,566, 4 Wks. ($139,548,920); 7. Smart People, Miramax, $4,092,465, (New); 8. The Ruins, Paramount, $3,385,395, 2 Wks. ($13,548,871); 9. Superhero Movie, MGM, $3,216,247, 3 Wks. ($21,304,164); 10. Drillbit Taylor, Paramount, $2,044,988, 4 Wks. ($28,436,029).

Theaters Celebrate 'Prom Night'
14 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
After months of frightful box-office performances by horror flicks, Sony/Screen Gems's Prom Night debuted with $22.7 million over the weekend at the high end of analysts' predictions. It was the best debut for a horror film this year. In second place was Fox Searchlight's R-rated Street Kings, starring Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker, which brought in an estimated $12 million. In its third week, 21 was still showing a strong hand as it took in $11 million. Everything else on the theater marquees looked weak, however, as the box office wound up with less revenue than it did a year ago for the fourth straight weekend. The top 12 films earned $82.6 million, more than 19 percent below what it took in during the comparable weekend last year. The fourth-ranked film, Fox's Nim's Island, brought in $9 million, while the George Clooney comedy Leatherheads rounded out the top five with $6.2 million. The only other film to open wide this weekend, Miramax's Smart People, wound up with $4.2 million, to place seventh.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers: 1. Prom Night, $22.7 million; 2. Street Kings, $12 million; 3. 21, $11 million; 4. Nim's Island, $9 million; 5. Leatherheads, $6.2 million; 6. Horton Hears a Who!, $6 million; 7. Smart People, $4.2 million; 8. The Ruins, $3.3 million; 9. Superhero Movie, $3.1 million; 10. Drillbit Taylor, $2.1 million.

Italian Police Foil Clooney Clothing Scam
11 April 2008 (WENN)
Police in Milan, Italy have launched an investigation into a company trying to pass off a new line of clothing as items created and designed by George Clooney. Two people are under investigation for alleged fraud after police seized garments and watches, which were to be launched under Clooney's name next week. The Michael Clayton star, who is promoting new film Leatherheads in Italy - where he has a holiday home - says, "If someone tries to sell you clothes or watches that are based on me, don't buy them."

Clooney Talks Darfur With Prime Minister Brown
9 April 2008 (WENN)
Actor-turned-humanitarian George Clooney met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday to discuss the Sudan genocide crisis. The Syriana Oscar winner visited Brown's official residence in London's Downing Street in his capacity as a United Nations Messenger Of Peace, a post to which he was appointed in January. Clooney, who talked to Brown ahead of the British premiere of his new movie Leatherheads, emerged from the meeting with the news a "wonderful suggestion" for buying peacekeeping helicopters had been made. The actor/director then posed for pictures with Brown and his wife Sarah. Brown said, "I am grateful for the leadership George Clooney has shown in drawing attention to this crisis - this is a humanitarian tragedy of colossal proportions and the world must take note and act. The U.K. is working with the international community and others to pressure all sides to agree a ceasefire and start peace talks." Clooney has become a leading celebrity advocate for action against genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan after filming a documentary about the ongoing violence and refugee crisis there last year. He has also set up the Not On Our Watch organization with his Ocean's Thirteen costars Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle and Matt Damon - to help provide humanitarian aid in the region.

'Leatherheads' Loses More Yardage
8 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
As expected, Universal's George Clooney starrer Leatherheads was thrown for a bigger loss than studio executives had predicted. The period football comedy, which many analysts had suggested would be a sure winner at the box office over the weekend, came in a disappointing third with only $12.7 million. Analysts had forecast a $15-20-million take for the film. Second place went to the Jodie Foster family film Nim's Island from 20th Century Fox, which opened with $13.2 million. Holding on to the top spot was Sony's gambling flick 21, which raked in $15.3 million. Although comparisons with last year's box office was difficult because it fell on the Easter holiday then, analysts said that the overall gross was down significantly from the comparable weekend in recent years.

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Media by Numbers (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. 21, Sony/Columbia, $15,337,418, 2 Wks. ($46,77,0,173); 2. Nim's Island, 20th Century Fox, $13,210,579, (New); 3. Leatherheads, Universal, $12,682,595, (New); 4. Horton Hears A Who!, 20th Century Fox, $9,115,987, 3 Wks. ($131,076,768); 5. The Ruins, Paramount, $8,003,421, (New); 6. Superhero Movie, MGM, $5,417,920, 2 Wks. ($16,899,661); 7. Meet The Browns, Lionsgate, $3,418,255, 3 Wks. ($37,662,502); 8. Drillbit Taylor, Paramount, $3,405,937, 3 Wks. ($25,490,483); 9. Shutter, 20th Century Fox, $2,830,336, 3 Wks. ($23,138,277); 10. 10,000 B.C., Warner Bros., $2,797,409, 5 Wks. ($89,649,915).

Clooney Clobbered
7 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
George Clooney may have wanted to seek treatment in the E.R. over the weekend as he suffered a nasty beating at the box office. Although Leatherheads, the film he directed and starred in, had been expected to earn $15-20 million and thereby win the box office contest, it instead wound up with just 13.5 million and had to settle for second place, according to studio estimates, with some analysts predicting it will actually come in third when Sunday receipts are finally tallied. Sony/Columbia's 21, which surprisingly came in at No. 1 last week, surprisingly came in at No. 1 for the second week in a row with ticket sales of $15.1 million. The Jodie Foster family film Nim's Island from 20th Century Fox came in third with $13.3 million. A third newcomer, the fright film The Ruins placed fifth with $7.8 million. In limited release, Martin Scorsese's documentary concert film Shine a Light, featuring a performance by The Rolling Stones, opened solidly with $1.5 million from 276 theaters, 93 of them giant IMAX venues. Overall, the box office fell 23 percent compared to the same weekend a year ago. Some analysts blamed television's coverage of the NCAA basketball championships, which in particular may have drawn audiences away from the sports-themed Leatherheads.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers: 1. 21, $15.1 million; 2. Leatherheads, $13.5 million; 3. Nim's Island, $13.3 million; 4. Horton Hears a Who!, $9.1 million; 5. The Ruins, $7.8 million; 6. Superhero Movie, $5.4 million; 7. Meet the Browns, $3.51 million; 8. Drillbit Taylor, $3.5 million; 9. Shutter, $2.9 million; 10. 10, 000 B.C., $2.8 million.

Clooney Splits From Writers Guild
4 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
George Clooney has withdrawn his membership from the Writers Guild of America after the union turned down his request for a writer's credit on Leatherheads, Daily Variety reported today (Friday). Clooney had maintained that he had rewritten all but two scenes in the script originally submitted by Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly. Clooney told the trade paper, "When your own union doesn't back what you've done, the only honorable thing to do is not participate."

Movie Reviews: 'Leatherheads'
4 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
Leatherheads, studio publicists have said, is intended to be a kind of throwback to those movies of the '40s and '50s called "screwball comedies." And Rafer Guzmán in Newsday applauds George Clooney, who both stars in the football film and directs it, for imbuing it "with an irresistible charm and intelligence, raising it far above the average period piece." Likewise Claudia Puig in USA Today comments, "Though not as clever as the Preston Sturges or Howard Hawks movies to which it pays tribute, it succeeds at what it sets out to be: smart-alecky, lightweight fun." But A.O. Scott in the New York Times is one of the critics who maintains that the film falls far short of its goal. "The actors, writers and directors who made those old studio whirligigs spin," he writes, "made it look easy. By contrast Leatherheads, the third and by a wide margin the weakest movie directed by George Clooney, looks to have been nearly as hard to make as it is to watch." Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune begins his review with the words, "Tragically, Leatherheads is just OK." On the other hand Bob Strauss in the Los Angeles Daily News writes that Leatherheads "may not be as self-consciously arty as [Clooney's earlier] Good Night, and Good Luck or Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. It's not as good as those two, either, but it's a lot more fun than both of them combined." And Mick LaSalle in the San Francisco Chronicle decides to punt. "Imagine a really nice, jolly, genial person with a mild, intermittent hygiene problem. This movie is a little like that," he writes. "It exudes goodwill and high spirits, occasionally makes you feel really good, and yet here and there and in some definite ways, it kinda sorta stinks."

Clooney Set To Score With 'Leatherheads'
4 April 2008 (StudioBriefing)
Analysts are betting the bank on Leatherheads, directed by and starring George Clooney, to score the winning touchdown at the box office this weekend. Its main competition will be family film Nim's Island, starring Jodie Foster, from Walden Media and 20th Century Fox. Leatherheads is expected to open with about $15-20 million in ticket sales, while projections for Nim's average between $13 million and $16 million. Also entering the fray is The Ruins, a fright flick from DreamWorks and Spyglass Entertainment. Although the film is expected to gross $6-8 million, buzz on the Internet has been mostly positive, and its take could wind up being considerably higher.

Clooney Follows Family Trend With 'Leatherheads' Premiere
21 March 2008 (WENN)
George Clooney will follow in the footsteps of his relatives when he attends the Leatherheads premiere in Kentucky on Monday night. The 46-year-old will return to Maysville in his native state for the opening of his new movie at the Washington Opera Theatre - 55 years after his aunt Rosemary Clooney's own film, The Stars Are Singing, premiered in the town. His father Nick Clooney says, "He knows all about that, and he is very interested in kind of connecting the dots as far as family history. He thinks that would be kind of cool for the family, and one hopes for the town, too."

Clooney on Stars and Hypes
20 March 2008 (StudioBriefing)
Appearing on the cover of Time magazine and being called by it as "the last movie star" has apparently not gone to George Clooney's head. In an interview with the Hollywood Today website, Clooney dismissed Time's cover article about him as something that "played well walking into the Oscars," suggesting it was instigated by publicists promoting his Oscar-nominated performance in Michael Clayton. "I take it with a grain of salt" Clooney commented. "All this stuff is cyclical, when people are nice to you. A couple of films that they don't like and you'll be the last of the 'last movie star[s].'" Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported Monday that Clooney's latest movie Leatherheads will have its premiere Monday in Maysville, KY (pop. 9,000), where the actor grew up, and where his father, news anchor Nick Clooney, and his aunt, singer Rosemary Clooney, were born. Maysville Mayor David Cartmell told the A.P. that the screening will probably be the town's biggest event since The Stars Are Singing, starring Rosemary Clooney, premiered there in 1953. Rosemary Clooney died in 2002.

Johansson's Premiere Date Raises $40,100 for Charity
14 March 2008 (WENN)
Scarlett Johansson has helped raise thousands at a charity auction - one lucky fan has won the chance to accompany her to a future movie premiere after entering the final bid of $40,100. The online auction site eBay.com was visited by 695,183 interested parties and received 170 bids for the date. But the 10-day sale ended on Wednesday - and a U.K-based user named bossnour was slated as the top bidder. The fortunate fan will accompany the star to the premiere of her forthcoming movie He's Just Not That Into You in Los Angeles in June next year. All proceeds from the Auction Cause sale will go to charity Oxfam. The Lost In Translation star isn't the only star who has offered themselves up for auction for Oxfam; George Clooney is also looking for a date to attend the premiere of his new film Leatherheads, while Minnie Driver is auctioning off a $100,000 lunch date as part of an initiative between the actress' hit TV show The Riches and Oxfam America.