comment #1

Ian Sinclair says ...

Bullshit.
SATURDAY AM: (Keep refreshing for latest) I'm told U.S. matinees and evenings Friday were very strong for both Casino Royale and Happy Feet. But Sony/MGM's Bond flick pulled ahead -- $14.8 million from 3,434 theaters to the Warner penguins pic's $12.0 million from 3,804 playdates. Comparatively, the per screen averages were $4,310 for the spy, and $3,155 for the singin' hoofers.

comment #2

Ian Sinclair says ...

Here's the link:

http://commanderbond.net/components/quicknews/index.php?action=item&item=36227

comment #3

JckNapier2 says ...

Oddly enough, this weekend will allegedly be the first time that two movies opened at $40 million+ in the same weekend. I say oddly because the first time that two movies opened to $30 million+ was this same weekend in 1999, when (natch) The World Is Not Enough did $35 million and Sleepy Hollow did $30 million. Interesting coincidence, I suppose.

Scott Mendelson

comment #4

christian says ...

is this rocket science?

there's 300 million people in the country.

if 5 millon dudes see CASINO ROYALE and another cluster of 5 million families see HAPPY FEET, then why wouldn't they make near the same amount? they're opposite genres. i don't see this as a complicated financial issue.

comment #5

Dixon Steele says ...

I wouldn't be surprised if the weekend brings out the kids for Happy Feet.

But I watched the first 30 min of HF yesterday (after seeing Casino Royale). I heard it gets darker, but what I saw was so damn treacly, I couldn't watch it anymore. Strictly for 8 year-olds, but again, I only saw the first part.

comment #6

actionman says ...

casino royale sucked. HUGE disapointment.

comment #7

Dixon Steele says ...

Anyone who prefers MIAMI VICE to CASINO ROYALE can't be taken seriously.

comment #8

Larry says ...

HAPPY FEET--first act dull, last act pretentious. There's about a half hour in the middle when it's okay.

comment #9

actionman says ...

eat me dixon
miami vice was an awesome movie
casino royale was BORING

comment #10

Patrick says ...

'Miami Vice' and 'Casion Royale' had huge problems
that prevented me from liking either one, but
'Royale' was slightly better.

comment #11

JWEgo says ...

Calm down
Dixon is the resident douche bag on the site. Ignore it and it goes away.

Now I don't know how myself can say they are out of the woods when Casino by his own prediction will make $5m LESS opening weekend than the last one. But then that's my Jeff.

It either works, or it doesn't!

I am his Ego!

comment #12

MattyC says ...

JWEgo stating that Dixon is the resident douche bag on the site is the funniest thing I've read in a week.

Hi, Pot? It's Kettle. You're black.

comment #13

JWEgo says ...

MattyCunt
You can read? Good job boyo. Now try walking. Or dying.

comment #14

Dixon Steele says ...

JWEgo & Actionman,

Go back to AICN with the rest of the children and leave HE to the adults.

Maybe when you both grow up you can come back and sit at the Grown Ups' table.

comment #15

L.B. says ...

The Grown Ups' table will be a fossilized relic ready for carbon dating by the time maturity catches up with those guys. But a guys has to have a goal.

comment #16

JWEgo says ...

Dicks On Steel- If HE is the adults then my Ego has convinced you of something not true. Wells' is the king of insecure poseurs. And you ARE a douche, full of piss and vinegar.

LB- your last sentence is so lacking in English content I think we know what your goal should be.

I am Jeff Well's Ego and I Inflate at will!

comment #17

MattyC says ...

See, Dixon, what he did was, he took our names, and then changed them, so as to become insults.

Genius!

comment #18

JWEgo says ...

No no no dummymatty
Your names and lifes ARE insults.

I am Ego not genius.

comment #19

JWEgo says ...

lives

comment #20

L.B. says ...

My goal is not to type so sloppily. Thanks for the tip.

A guy has to have a goal. There. My goal is to watch you choke on your own bullshit, Ego. Slowly. Oh, so slowly.

comment #21

JWEgo says ...

L.B.

This proving the empty lonely worthelessness of being you.

I am Jeff Wells' Ego and even a loser like me has better goals than LB.

comment #22

actionman says ...

all of this shit is SO funny!!!

comment #23

EDouglas says ...

Scott M: Longest Yard and Madagascar both opened to more than $40 million in the same weekend. Sure, it was Memorial Day weekend but they both made more than $40 mil in three days making that the first time it had ever happened. (And it was a similar sitch...family film vs. guys' film, though they both had to deal with Episode 3 Week 2)

comment #24

L.B. says ...

Yeah, well, I think I actually achieved mine, so on to the next.

comment #25

The Winchester says ...

Wow. It really feels like AICN over here. Except for a severe lack of "LOL"s.

AS for the grown up's table, when all we do is hype movies as Oscar bait for months before release, then pick them apart when they turn out to be (no big surprise) not that great, and this cycle continues ad infinitum, maybe the kid's table is a better option.

That being said, the name calling is one stop away from someone being "pwned" (or whatever the hell they call it).

And the whole Jeff Wells Ego thing was never funny. Time for some new schtick.

And the biggest douchebag on the site is NYCBusybody, c'mon everybody.

comment #26

JckNapier2 says ...

I was thinking stand-alone 3-days, but I suppose that counts on a pure-numbers area. Glad I wrote 'allegedly' so I don't come off quite as dumb.

Scott Mendelson

comment #27

The Movie Man says ...

I know I'm courting hyperbole with the following statement, but as a casual Bond fan who thinks the best Bonds are the first three Bonds, (I have yet to see OHMSS however), I thought Casino Royale was a knockout, Craig is superb, and Bond is actually a character (and the morality of what he does is questioned) without wussyfying the iconography that all the fans love. The film has an actual emotional current as pop entertainment goes, and the ending is pitch perfect. This isn't James Bourne, this is Bond, and he's got a personality that Bourne never has (though I like the Bourne films, especially the energy that Greengrass brought to the second one), Bond is looking better than ever and this film has just extended this series expiration date by at least a decade.

comment #28

Jay T. says ...

How anyone could like Miami Vice more than Casino Royale is a mystery to me. Miami Vice had several moments that were laughably bad.

comment #29

actionman says ...

nope! sorry!

comment #30

jeffmcm says ...

I agree with you, Jay. So bad that I wanted to laugh. I would love to hear any explanation of why it's considered to be a good movie that doesn't involve the word 'awesome'.

comment #31

christian says ...

i think if actionman hated CASINO ROYALE there's a chance it might be great...LOL.

comment #32

jeffmcm says ...

I don't agree with that, Actionman's taste has surprised me as being in sync with my own often. I just don't understand Miami Vice, a movie that doesn't seem to deserve more than mild affection, much less rampant love.

comment #33

JWEgo says ...

Jeff this is what Polark is saying about us- Are we gonna let this stand?

My issue with Jeff is not him being as asshole. My problem is that he is a destructive, dangerously myopic, hateful force and he is indulged only out of fear. He feels teh world is out to destroy him, so he revels in being the cancer he has become.

When I find myself apologizing for a friendship or - worse - participating in the rage of others toward a friend, I am clearly no longer a friend. And so I stopped dealing with Jeff, since it is impossible to defend his behavior, which is far worse in private/business private. And honestly, indulging is darker side for so long was making me very angry and disappointed in myself.

More and more, the industry is no longer willing to deal with Jeff, but he is a master weasel. Just yesterday, I heard a story of a very smart person whose work Jeffrey has been tearing at for months, trying to do him a favor with the studio involved. The favor didn't happen because the studio is beyond their willingness to indulge the overall insanity anymore. But just the willingness of someone - someone very smart and sensitive - who has been under attack by this guy to help him... it speaks to all of our indulgence... even in the face of vicious racism, sexism, and homophobia, only a small touch of which ever reaches his blog.

comment #34

actionman says ...

Here's the deal...Casino Roayle and Vice are two completely different movies. I personally feel that Michael Mann is in another directorial league than Martin Campbell. I love all of Michael Mann's movies, he's one of my favorite directors. Casino Royale was a missed opportunity. a GREAT casting choice in Daniel Craig for the lead role, no obvious stupid looking CGI effects like Die Another Day (the windsurfing scene and the toy car scene are two of the most asinine moments in action-movie history), some gorgeous Bond girls, and a decidely rougher and tougher feel. Now, having said all that, NOTHING FUCKIN' HAPPENED FOR OVER AN HOUR DURING THE MIDDLE OF CASINO ROYALE!!! IT committed the cardinal sin of BORING ME. An action movie boring me...it doesn't happen too often. There is no bigger fan of razzle-dazzle action movies than me, they are my bread-and-butter. I think the opening scene in Madagascar in Casino Royale was AMAZING. Great camerawork, terrific editing, perfectly paced. Even if they ripped off District B13 with the parkour stunts, it was one of the best pieces of action moviemaking all year. But aside from that, the only other scene that got a rise out of me was the bit on the tarmac with the car getting shot up into the air from the airplane's wind gust...that had me clapping last night. But then, we get treated to over an hour of lovey-dovey bullshit, watching people play cards (which I don't understand bec I am not a car guy) and generally uninvolving fluff that I was just not expecting to see. It bored me. The villian was way to understated, and ***SPOILER ALERT*** he doesn't even get killed by Bond!!! I mean what the fuck is that?!!? The guy whacks him in the balls over and over again and while that scene was cool in and of itself, Bond doesn't get his true revenge. The end scene with the imploding house was cool, but even that was just boring. I give them props for doing it real and not using noticeable cgi, but I was just like...ok...and can someone please tell me why ***SPOILERS*** eva green kills herself? it didn't make sense to me at all....annoying actually. i know that it's supposed to harden Bond for future movies, but it just felt retarded to me. There were things I liked, and things I didn't, but in the end, for me, it comes down to expectations. From the trailer for Casino Royale, I expected to be blown away. I did. And when it was over, I felt let down. NOTHING LET ME DOWN ABOUT MIAMI VICE. It's attitude, style, and overall construction had me from first frame to last. I love Colin Farrell, I love cop movies, I adore Michael Mann, so it was a natural fit for me. I was too harsh earlier when I said that Casino Royale sucked. It didn't suck...I was just let down.

comment #35

actionman says ...

and another thing...the car flip. and AWESOME stunt, done real, no bullshit. So why did it feel so truncated, like an afterthought? Bond jumps in his car and we get that wide shot of the twisty road at night with a car in the distance and the audience is ready for a bad ass car chase...and then...NOTHING. eva green laying in the road and then bond swerving to miss her. it felt rushed and poorly thought out. great car flip though, just wish it had been the last part of a fantastic chase.

comment #36

The Winchester says ...

But actionman, a car chase is against the point. Bond isn't the super suave uber-hero we all know. This is him at the beginning. Rough around the edges, conflicted by emotions (primarily ego, which the Haggis infused script was nice enough to beat over our heads time and time again). And not the greatest driver.

That being said, as fantastic as that car flip was, it was a damn fine waste of a beautiful machine. I wept.

On another hand, I need help with clarification of a plot point.
*********SPOILERS**********

One of your complaints in the film is that bond doesn't even kill the bad guy. Here's my question, if the weird guy with the eye who beats the hell out of Bond's crotch is killed by someone else. Okay, I get it, the main villain was just a pawn, etc. But then, when Bond is in Vienna, and Eva Green sees her contact, who is a villain with a similar eye problem, is that not the same man? Le Chiffre? If not, then why would they have a random villain at the end of the film have a similar eye affliction as the villain we've spent 2 hours with at this point? What's going on there? Is it the same guy? Is it different? Da hell?

comment #37

Dixon Steele says ...

A-Man, what you like about Miami Vice - it's attitude & style - are it's very flaws.

Because MV is ALL attitude & style...and not much else.

A few good set pieces - i.e. the trailer park scene.

But the "big shootout" at the end was strictly by the numbers. Hell, you see better stuff on TV these days, and look at how it pales next to the one in HEAT.

And I LOVE Gong Li, but even she came across like warmed over Lo Mein.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad movie. But what a missed opportunity.

comment #38

jeffmcm says ...

JWEgo, your above post re: David Poland is a blatant attempt to stir up controversy and get people arguing, on a thread that has nothing to do with any of that.
What an asshole.

comment #39

EDouglas says ...

actionman, that's how it happens in the book. If you have a complaint, you'll just have to find Ian Fleming's grave, dig him up and complain to him. I'm sure he'll have as much interest in your complaints as we do.

comment #40

frankbooth says ...

I often disagree with actionman (who I suspect is in reality more of an actionboy), but he has a couple of valid points about Casino. I liked it quite a bit overall--there was genuine wit in the exhanges (as opposed to moronic Arnold-style quips) the women were gorgeous and had style and poise, and Craig is easily the best Bond since you-know-who.

I thought the car-flip was great, but it would have been better if I hadn't seen it in the freakin' trailer.

But Le Chiffre did get off way too easy after that business with the rope, and the final action scene was indeed diminished by the fact that the antogonists were nobodies from nowhere.

I was sure until the end that Le Chiff faked his own death, and then let Bond and Vesper live to confirm his alleged demise a la Red Dragon. I'm pretty sure the guy in the patch wasn't him--it certainly didn't look like him.

Action--she breathed in the water out of guilt and shame. She betrayed Bond, but she never thought she'd have to face him. That's how it struck me.

Anyone catch the Don't Look Now ref?

By the way, thie audience reaction to the coming attractions in downtown Lumberton-by-the-Bay went as follows : Rocky Balboa--applause, god help us. Spidey 3--bigger applause. Dreamgirls, nothing much. But it was a pretty flat trailer that didn't exactly leave you humming the songs. Just don't tell Dave.

comment #41

actionman says ...

rocky balboa looks like the biggest piece of shit. i was fuckin' ashamed sitting in the theater last night listening to the raucous applause and cheering. Am I the only one who thinks it looks just SO FUCKING STUPID? Cheap, lame, cheesy, looks like it was shot on fuckin' VHS-C.

comment #42

The Winchester says ...

Ok, seriously, what's with the audience applause at Rocky Balboa? Where was the need for this movie?

Caught Casino Royale at Mann's Chinese on Friday, and the audience was applauding. I was stunned. Spidey I can understand, those movies are great audience flicks, and half the experience. But when people were applauding the hip-hop Rocky theme, I wanted to smack everyone upside the head.

Sly, we liked you in Copland. Do more films like that, dude. We'll still love you. No need to go back to the well.

Unless you feel the need for a Cobra sequel. that movie had some unanswered questions that beg to for a second go around.

Ditto Demolition Man.

comment #43

D.Z. says ...

Winchester: "But when people were applauding the hip-hop Rocky theme, I wanted to smack everyone upside the head."

Why the hate? Like Scarface, the urban demo made Rocky the success it is today.

"Sly, we liked you in Copland. Do more films like that, dude."

If Peter O' Toole can star in a generic indie comedy, I don't see why Stallone can't star in another boxing flick.

Anyway, I thought ripping off Speed and Titanic were the worst aspects of Casino Royale.

comment #44

The Winchester says ...

D.Z. - Rocky is a great movie. An iconic movie.

Rocky Balboa feels like beating a dead horse.

And while the original theme in the beginning was inspiring, updating it felt like it was trying too hard.

Why the "urban demo" reference? That's like me saying the suburban demo made Booty Call a big hit. Does Booty Call warrant a sequel?

And Peter O'Toole is making a "generic indie comedy" (that according to Wells is a lock for Best Actor nod). What he's NOT doing is making Lawrence of Arabia 2: The Oasis.

comment #45

The Winchester says ...

DZ- 2 more quick things.

1) It's not the hate of the movie so much as the crowd eating it up. Warrantless sequel, much like the upcoming Rambo IV.

2) I caught the Speed reference, but Titanic? Please elaborate.

comment #46

D.Z. says ...

"I caught the Speed reference, but Titanic? Please elaborate."

Bond trying to save his drowning lover? Rose trying to save Jack? That's actually the third Titanic rip-off Jeff praised this year. The other two being Poseidon and Superman Returns. (I'd probably mention Kong, too, but that was from last year.)

comment #47

The Winchester says ...

I see. I didn't really pick up on it. But that's kind of like "I caught the Lethal Weapon reference" because someone got shot.

comment #48

D.Z. says ...

Well if it was just drowning, it'd be one-thing, but Campbell used the same slow-mo shot and sappy music.

comment #49

D.Z. says ...

Not the exact same sappy music mind you(thankfully), but the same type.

comment #50

The Winchester says ...

God save us all from another Horner score

comment #51

frankbooth says ...

You didn't like the scene in which Bond had to keep the Casino moving over 50 mph so it wouldn't blow up?

Not even the part where he said "whoa"?