RIO KNOCKED OFF TOP OF SALES CHART, FLIES TO RENTALS

Lionsgate’s Madea’s Big Happy Family has knocked off Rio from the top of the national home video sales chart after four weeks. The Nielsen VideoScan First Alert chart placed season 3 of the TV series Sons of Anarchy in second place on the sales chart, ahead of Rio, which fell to No. 3. The chart […]

RIO FLIES WITH ANGRY BIRDS ON HOME VIDEO

The debut of 20th Century Fox’s animated Rio debuted at the top of the DVD and Blu-ray sales charts last week, taking in five times the reals (well, dollars really) that its closest competitor did, according to Nielsen VideoScan First Alert. (Actual sales figures are not disclosed.) Sales of the Blu-ray version reportedly got a […]

“SUMMER STARTS EARLY”

On the calendar, summer officially begins more than a month and a half from now, but so far as Universal Pictures is concerned, it begins this weekend. “Summer Starts Early” is the slogan the studio is using to usher in Fast Five, a movie requiring the accompaniment of popcorn, starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana […]

RIO STILL PERCHED ATOP BOX OFFICE

The birds of Rio continued to defend their nest atop the box office over the weekend as their animated comedy edged out Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family, which had been favored to take over as the weekend’s top film. As it was, only a little over a million dollars separated the two films. According […]

UNIVERSAL REVAMPS FAST & FURIOUS FRANCHISE — WILL IT WORK?

This weekend will reveal whether Universal’s wholesale retinkering of its Fast and Furious franchise will keep it alive. Today’s (Tuesday) Los Angeles Times observed that Fast Five, which opens on Friday, will be more like Ocean’s 11 than the clandestine-racing series that has proved to be a bonanza for the studio for nearly a decade. […]

RIO STAYS ON TOP

Rio gave all of its competitors the bird over the Easter weekend as it took in an estimated $26.8 million domestically and $44 million overseas to bring its worldwide total to $286 million. The film, which is voiced by Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway, has in less than three weeks (it opened abroad a week […]

RIO: OFFICIALLY THE TOP DEBUT OF 2011

Final box office results for the weekend came in somewhat below studio estimates, but, with a final total of $39.2 million, the No. 1 film, Rio, remained the year’s box-office champ, edging out the previous top ticket seller, Rango, which opened with $38.1 million. But while Rio beat the forecasts of many experts, Scream 4 […]

BLAME IT ON RIO

If virtually every film on the box-office top-ten list underperformed over the weekend, you can blame it on Rio. The animated movie musical from 20th Century Fox was the one film that overperformed, winding up with an estimated $40 million. That’s the most any film has taken in during its opening weekend this year, but […]

RIO TO FLY AT BOX OFFICE

Twentieth Century Fox’s animated Rio could very well sell more tickets during its opening this weekend than any other film has thus far this year, according to some predictions. The movie, which features the voice talent of Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway, is expected to earn $30-40 million — perhaps more if U.S. audiences respond […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: RIO

Twentieth Century Fox’s Rio is the latest animated family film contrived to appeal to “children of all ages” and pack ’em in at the box office. Reviews are mostly positive but restrained. Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News uses adjectives like “enjoyable,” “gorgeous-looking,” and “sweet-hearted” to describe it. But in the end, he […]