For a while there, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol looked like an embattled production. Its biggest issue was its star: with his latter-day appeal a question mark, the forces-that-be seemed to be pushing attention away from Tom Cruise, and the franchise’s past, by hiring high-profile co-operatives like Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton, and adding -- and heavily promoting -- that elegant subtitle.
Now, though, everything’s just peachy! The reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with Rotten Tomatoes at a whopping 95%. Also: this thing is making ducats. After an early international premiere landed it a insane $68 million in just five days, this weekend’s limited US release continues to augur good things. In something of an experiment, Paramount opened MI4 in IMAX-only theaters, meaning only 425 locations. It killed, pulling in $13 million and a sickeningly devastating per-screen average. Not hurting the cause was the presence of The Dark Knight Rises trailer, playing ahead of MI4 in 40 of those 425 theaters.
And why did Warner Bros. agree to attach its impending blockbuster’s trailer to a rival studio’s production, rather than its own Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, which also opened this weekend? Because Paramount had stockpiled the IMAX screens for MI4, forcing the WB’s hand. That wouldn’t have been a particularly big deal if it wasn’t for the fact that Sherlock Holmes, in it second go-around with asskicking Robert Downey Jr. in the lead, stumbled. The first neo-Holmes pulled in $62.3 million in its opening weekend; this one, a relatively disappointing $40 million. Meaning: somewhere, as we speak, RDJ is shaking an angry fist at the fact that he didn’t get a ride on the Dark Knight Rises gravy train.
Holmes pull was good enough for first place, though, adding insult to injury for Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. The insult: Making only $23.5 million this weekend, out-and-out weak sauce compared to Alvin and the Chipmunks 2’s $48.8 million. The injury: Being called Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. And it wasn’t only uninspired sequels getting the shaft. Jason Reitman’s Young Adult, which did well in its limited release, expanded wider without dramatically boosting its haul. It landed at seventh place, with $3.7 million.
All these disappointing box office numbers getting you down? Let’s focus on the positive in the negative! Meaning: Let’s all laugh at New Year’s Eve! The execrable Josh Duhamel and Co. production continues to crash and burn, and, with $7 million this weekend, is down 43% from last week’s already crappy numbers.
Welcome to December, RazzieWatchers! We’re in the home stretch. We have to say, this is the most exciting Razzie season in years — every time we think a movie’s a shoo-in, something elsecomes along that’s even worse! Last week saw the bloody, violent birth of Razzie heavyweight Breaking Dawn, Part 1 — seemingly a lock with a 26% Tomatometer, but possibly hampered by a sort-of rave by mysterious New York Times soothsayer Manohla Dargis.
It's his first foray into live action, but this new trailer for M:I 4 bears traces of director Brad Bird's The Incredibles. Taking a page from Nolan, Bird shot many of the primary action sequences in pure IMAX (not blown-up 35 mm), and Tom Cruise performs many of (if not all) his own stunts — like hanging 124 stories off the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai. Also, audiences should prepare themselves for lots of shots of Cruise running. Is there another actor who, when asked to run in a film always does so at a sprint? Dude’s a pro.
Verdict: “No safe house. No Support. No extraction.” No qualms about this one.
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (March 2, 2012)
Aside from its trailer's manipulative use of the Polyphonic Spree's "Light and Day," this adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ 1971 environmental cautionary tale looks pretty strong. From the same team behind last season’s underrated Despicable Me, Lorax could be one of 2012’s animation Oscar contenders.
Verdict: 4 out of 5 barbaloot suits
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (November 11)
This trailer for the Brazilian thriller is action-packed and stylish in all the right ways. It's been compared to The Wire and the work of Scorsese and Coppola. Expectations are high.
Verdict: It’s got a nice early John Woo feel, too.
Into the Abyss (November 11)
Here, fearless doc-maker Werner Herzog once again investigates the darker corners of the human condition, interviewing death-row inmate Michael Perry (scheduled to die eight days after he spoke with Herzog). This trailer is engrossing from the first shot.
Verdict: A potential must-see.
Hugo (November 23)
The second trailer for Martin Scorsese’s Hugo is just as rousing as the first. It looks like Scorsese used 3D in a non-gimmicky, story-enhancing way. Looking forward to this one.
Verdict: Early word is excellent. This trailer doesn't disappoint.
The Secret World of Arrietty (February 17, 2012)
From legendary Japanese animation Stuio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki (writer only) The Secret World of Arrietty’s trailer is pretty stirring.
Verdict: As an added bonus, the film features the voices of Amy Poehler and Will Arnet.
The Muppets (November 23)
The marketers for The Muppets had a tough job, making a classic franchise relevant for a new generation without turning off original fans. But over the past few months they've run one of the most creative campaigns in years. And this new parody trailer is pretty hilarious.
Verdict: Let’s hope the movie's as good as its marketing.
Each week, marketers release new movie posters, many for films whose releases are still months away. But for those who know where to look, one-sheets can reveal studios' hopes and insecurities about their products. In this space, we will attempt to decode the hidden meanings of the week's new posters.
When news broke today that Tom Cruise had dropped out of the lead role in Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim — a monster movie presumably starring creatures who peak-a-boo you to death — eyebrows were raised over the fact that his replacement looks absolutely nothing like Tom Cruise. The Wire’s Idris Elba got the call, instantly making the movie more interesting. But Elba is only the latest in a recent string of surprising recastings for the former top gun, who has been jumping on and off projects as if they were Oprah’s couch. In last year’s Salt, for example, the lead role (then named “Edwin” and no doubt possessing a killer smile and the ability to heal drug addiction with his mind) was Cruise’s before he bailed at the eleventh hour — only to be replaced by the not-at-all-Cruise-like Angelina Jolie.
It would seem Cruise’s departures provide a sort of psychological unburdening for Hollywood producers: free of the (diminutive, diminishing) charms of the one-time biggest star in the world, they are able to recast with creative abandon. With that in mind, we pored over Cruise’s slate of upcoming projects and prepared a list of potential outside-the-box replacements for when the star’s interest inevitably Cole Trickles away.
