CABLE NETWORKS PUT VIACOM BACK IN THE BLACK

With ad revenue at its cable networks up 12 percent in its second quarter, Viacom on Thursday reported higher-than-expected profits of $39 million. A year ago, it reported an $83-million loss for the same quarter. Each of the media company’s principal networks, including MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon and BET, reported strong earnings. The company in particular […]

DID FAMILIES STAY HOME TO SEE THE OSCARS SUNDAY?

Not as many parents took their kids to see Gnomeo and Juliet on Sunday as Disney had originally estimated. Final weekend box-office figures for the movie turned out to be $13.4 million — well below the $14.2 million that the studio had calculated it would make. (Weekend estimates are based on actual grosses for Friday […]

ANOTHER DOWN WEEKEND AT BOX OFFICE LIKELY

Expected high viewer interest in this year’s Oscar telecast on Sunday is likely to take a bite out of box-office revenue on that day, some analysts are warning. Moreover, on Friday and Saturday, many moviegoers may pass up the latest releases in order to catch some of the Oscar contenders that they missed, like The […]

BIEBER MOVIE TO BE UPDATED ON FRIDAY

Demonstrating yet again how the transition from film to digital exhibition is affecting the nature of motion picture production, Paramount announced Tuesday that it will remove 30 minutes of footage from Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and replace it with 40 minutes of new footage. The reedited version, to be billed as a “Director’s Fan […]

BIEBER FILM UPDATE MAY COME THIS MONTH

The new Justin Bieber film has only been in theaters a few days, but already the studio is thinking of releasing a different “director’s cut” that could replace the current version while it’s still in theaters, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, earned $29.5 million over the weekend, just $1 million […]

SANDLER EKES OUT BOX OFFICE WIN OVER BIEBER

Moviegoers went with Just Go With It, which became the top film of the weekend — but only just. According to studio estimates, the Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston rom-com, with $31 million in ticket sales, barely beat out the Justin Bieber concert documentary Never Say Never, which brought in about $30.3 million. Last year Sandler’s Grown […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER

It’s curious that in all of the reviews of Never Say Never, which chronicles the meteoric rise of 16-year-old Justin Bieber from his obscure roots in Stratford, Ontario, Canada to his sold-out performance in Madison Square, there is not a single reference to an earlier teen idol’s remarkably similar journey. Ricky Nelson had in fact […]

SANDLER TO FACE TOUGH COMPETITION ON VALENTINE’S DAY WEEKEND

Adam Sandler, one of the most dependable box-office stars over more than the past decade, will be facing unpredictable competition from the reigning teen idol and a pair of garden gnomes this Valentine’s Day weekend, and all bets are off on how he’ll do. Several forecasters predict that he’ll again come out on top with […]

BIEBER DOCUMENTARY MAKES WRITERS BELIEBERS

Hardened film writers are indicating that the upcoming Justin Bieber concert documentary Never Say Never should give the 16-year-old singer what the Beatles’ Hard Day’s Night gave them: legitimacy. Nearly all of them remark that the movie, being rushed out on Friday in order to take advantage of Bieber Fever, paints the 16-year-old as a […]

BIEBER TO RETURN TO CSI

In an apparent effort to raise its appeal to younger viewers during a sweeps month, CBS has signed teenage heartthrob Justin Bieber to guest star in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in February titled “Targets of Obsession.” Bieber is also being featured currently on the cover of the older-skewing Vanity Fair magazine. His […]