Shrek tackles the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
Archive for the ‘Box Office History’ Category
8. Shrek the Third – $5.7M
Monday, June 4th, 20079. Mr. Brooks – $2.9M
Monday, June 4th, 2007IN THEATERS JUNE 1, 2007<br><br>Kevin Costner stars as Earl Brooks, a man whose seemingly perfect family and status in the community hide an ugly secret. Brooks constantly says the plea of an addict–the Serenity Prayer–but heÂ’s not in the grip of drugs or alcohol. Instead, his neat little bow tie belies a man with an urge to kill. Though heÂ’s staved off that desire for two years, it has returned thanks to the efforts of his evil inner voice (William Hurt, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE). He is caught in the act by a man who calls himself Mr. Smith (Dane Cook, EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH), but Mr. Smith doesnÂ’t want to turn Brooks in. The smarmy amateur photographer wants to learn from BrooksÂ’s methodical ways and become a killer himself. Meanwhile, a tough cop (Demi Moore, BOBBY) hunts for the man responsible for deaths all over Portland while she deals with issues in her own life.<br><br>MR. BROOKS presents a fascinating portrait of a man at war with himself. As the devil on BrooksÂ’s shoulder, Oscar winner Hurt adeptly alternates between menace and glee, adding to a resume already replete with varied roles. Though Costner is mostly known for playing nice guys (FIELD OF DREAMS) and charming rogues (BULL DURHAM), his performance as the tortured killer is interesting to watch, and he rises to the challenge of playing a completely different character than the kind he is known for. MR. BROOKS is an engaging thriller that goes into the fractured mind of a murderer, while also delivering an intriguing maze of multiple subplots.
10. Spider-Man 3 – $2.5M
Monday, June 4th, 2007Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers, it transforms Peter as well, bringing out the dark, vengeful side of his personality that he is struggling to control. Under the influence of the suit, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care for him most. Forced to choose between the seductive power of the new suit and the compassionate hero he used to be, Peter must overcome his personal demons as two of the most-feared villains yet, Sandman and Venom, gather unparalleled power and a thirst for retribution to threaten Peter and everyone he loves.
9. Waitress – $1.6M
Monday, June 4th, 2007Premiering at this year\’s Sundance to bittersweet audience acclaim, WAITRESS is the work of sadly deceased filmmaker and actress Adrienne Shelly. Before being tragically murdered in 2006, Shelly appeared in many films as an actress and behind the scenes as a writer and director. WAITRESS stars Keri Russell (FELICITY) as Jenna, a waitress saving up to escape an emotionally abusive husband (Jeremy Sisto) and a life unlike the one of her dreams. When an unplanned pregnancy lands Jenna in the care of the southern town\’s new doctor, her life starts to take off in ways she never imagined.
7. Gracie – $1.4M
Monday, June 4th, 2007IN THEATRES JUNE 1, 2007<br><br>The story of a young girl\’s determination to play competitive soccer, this drama is based loosely on the childhood of actress Elizabeth Shue. GRACIE takes place in 1978 and stars Elisabeth Shue, Andrew Shue, Carly Schroeder, and Dermot Mulroney.
8. Bug – $1.3M
Monday, June 4th, 2007EXORCIST director William Friedkin helms this paranoid tale, which finds a war veteran forming an unlikely bond with a fellow resident of an Oklahoma motel.
9. 28 Weeks Later – $1.2M
Monday, June 4th, 2007IN THEATERS MAY 11, 2007<br><br>Danny Boyle\’s surprise 2003 hit, 28 DAYS LATER, gets the sequel treatment here. Few elements from the first film remain–actor Cilian Murphy doesn\’t return, and Boyle and screenwriter/novelist Alex Garland take producer credits this time out. In their places step director/co-writer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (INTACTO) and actor Robert Carlyle (TRAINSPOTTING), who bring the original story to its next logical step. The zombies (again referred to as “the infected”) from the first film have died out and England is ready for repopulation. The American military are slowly bringing British citizens back to London, where a heavily guarded community is picking up the pieces and trying to return to normal life. Carlyle plays Don, a man who has lost his wife but is reunited with his children, Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) and Tammy (Imogen Poots), near the start of Fresnadillo\’s film. The two kids soon escape from the heavily guarded community, go off searching for their childhood home, and discover that mom might not be quite as dead as they originally thought. Chaos follows, with the sadistic military and the forlorn survivors battling both each other and “the infected.”<br><br>Fresnadillo apes much of Boyle\’s style from the original film, shooting in rapidly edited sequences that cause plenty of blink-and-you\’ll-miss-it moments. A pounding soundtrack helps enliven the scenes with “the infected,” and an abundance of swooping aerial shots highlight the desolate London landscape. A few minor sub-plots emerge, Fresnadillo offers sly commentary on the military\’s trigger-happy tendencies, and the film ends up somewhere in between zombie fare such as George A. Romero\’s LAND OF THE DEAD and dystopian visions of the future such as Alfonso Cuaron\’s CHILDREN OF MEN.