Monday, April 19, 2010

Kick-Ass Wins Tight Race For #1

LIONSGATE GAINS THE EDGE IN KICK-ASS NAILBITER

Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too Reaches $54.8 Million In Third Week

Studio Secured Over 6,500 Screens For The Weekend, Representing 16% Of The North American Marketplace

SANTA MONICA, CA, April 19, 2010 – LIONSGATE® (NYSE: LGF), the leading next generation studio, emerged from a neck-and-neck box office race to claim the #1 spot with its action/comedy KICK-ASS. Director Matthew Vaughn’s critically lauded, R-rated film took in $19,828,687 for the weekend, edging past the 3D animated family feature HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. The latest release in Lionsgate’s Tyler Perry franchise, TYLER PERRY’S WHY DID I GET MARRIED, TOO?, reached $54.8 million in its third week in release. Lionsgate secured over 6,500 screens this past weekend, representing 16% of the North American marketplace.

Based on the groundbreaking, best-selling comic by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., KICK-ASS stars Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong and Chloƫ Grace Moretz, and features Nicolas Cage. The screenplay is written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman. The producers are Matthew Vaughn, Brad Pitt, Tarquin Pack and Kris Thykier; Millar and Romita Jr. are co-producers. Lionsgate acquired North American distribution rights for $15 million last year.

Said Joe Drake, Lionsgate Co-Chief Operating Officer and Motion Picture Group President, “KICK-ASS is fantastic, highly original entertainment, and our marketing and distribution teams have brilliantly positioned it for a long and successful run. That kind of run is precisely what we are seeing on the international front, where KICK-ASS has demonstrated a very strong hold at the box office; in Great Britain alone, it’s taken in nearly $13.8 million in 17 days.”

Lionsgate’s upcoming releases include: Robert Luketic’s romantic comedy KILLERS, starring Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl, opening June 4; Sylvester Stallone’s action/thriller THE EXPENDABLES, with an all-star cast including Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Eric Roberts and Mickey Rourke, opening August 13; and Daniel Stamm’s horror movie THE LAST EXORCISM, produced by Eli Roth (HOSTEL), starring Patrick Fabian and Ashley Bell, opening August 27.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE in theatres soon



The independent feature film, 'The Human Centipede (First Sequence)' from Dutch director, Tom Six, will be premiering in US theatres from April 28. It will open in New York with other cities to follow. 'The Human Centipede' will also be available on demand in the US from April 30.

Patrick Savage & Holeg Spies wrote and produced the music for this controversial film in 2009, and it went on to win a string of awards at film festivals around the world.

Released by IFC, the president of IFC Entertainment, Jonathan Sehring, said this in a statement about the film: “I can’t remember when I have been as excited and had as much fun being horrified and repulsed while watching a movie. Echoing back to the early works of David Cronenberg, ‘The Human Centipede” is a landmark work in the horror genre, taking the “mad doctor” conceit and perversely twisting it into a mind-boggling roller coaster ride. Everyone at IFC is excited to introduce such a unique talent as Tom Six to American audiences and it’s a perfect film for our theatrical and VOD platforms.”

Judging by the internet buzz generated by this film already, other releases around the world are likely to follow soon.

Reported by automation@cinetiks.com