“Downton Abbey”is heading for a positively brilliant opening weekend after scoring $ 13 .8 million in domestic ticket sales on Friday.
If estimates hold, the feature film version of the popular British television show should take home approximately $ 31 million come Sunday, marking the biggest opening ever for distributor Focus Features and beating previous record holder “Insidious: Chapter 3” ($ 22 .7 million). The new numbers are also well above previous expectations, which placed the film’s opening somewhere in the $ 20 million range.
“Downton Abbey” comes three years after the ITV series of the same name aired in the US as part of PBS ’Masterpiece Classics. Directed by Michael Engler, the film continues its focus on the Earl of Grantham and his family with the added twist of a visit from the King and Queen of England. Original cast members Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith and Hugh Bonneville all returned for the movie.
“Ad Astra” opened to $ 7 . 16 million on Friday as it heads toward an estimated $ 19 .5 million debut. Despite its warm welcome at the Venice Film Festival, the James Gray directed film appears to be missing with theatergoers, earning a 47 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes (versus an (percent from critics). “Ad Astra” stars Brad Pitt as an astronaut who must journey across the solar system to find his missing father, a renegade scientist portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones.
“Ad Astra” is also in a tight race for second place with Lionsgate and Millennium’s “Rambo: Last Blood, ”which scored $ 7. 17 million from 3, 618 locations. However, early estimates are pointing to a slightly lower $ 18 million opening weekend for the Sylvester Stallone starring film. That’s on par with 2008 ‘s “Rambo,” the franchise’s previous entry into the series, which opened to $ 18 .2 million.
Box office holdovers include “Hustlers,” which stayed strong at the box office in its second weekend, nabbing another $ 5. 410 million for a projected $ 17 million come Sunday. If estimates hold, the hit film should bring its domestic total up to approximately $ 62 million. Close behind is “It: Chapter Two,” which rounds out the top five with $ 4. 825 in its third Friday at the box office. With a projected weekend total of $ 15 .6 million, the film should increase its total gross to around $ 177 Million.
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“Queer Eye’s” Jonathan Van Ness is getting vulnerable in his new memoir “Over the Top.” In a preview of his book with the New York Times, Van Ness opened up about his early struggles with sex and drug addiction as well as his experience with sexual assault, revealing that he was abused by an older […]
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“Downton Abbey” is heading for a positively brilliant opening weekend after scoring $ 13 8 million in domestic ticket sales on Friday. If estimates hold, the feature film version of the popular British television show should take home approximately $ 31 million come Sunday, marking the biggest opening ever for distributor Focus Features and beating previous record holder […]
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The Film Federation of India has chosen Zoya Akhtar’s “Gully Boy ”as its entry in the Academy Awards’ international feature film category. The picture, a coming of age tale about an aspiring rapper in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum premiered at the Berlin film festival in February before opening to a wave of acclaim at home in […]
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TOULOUSE, France – Celebrating its 30 th anniversary, Cartoon Forum wrapped Sept. 19 having showcased the ever-growing strength of European animation. 85 projects were pitched from 24 countries at the co-production forum platform that played host to north of 1, 00 0 investors, distributors and producers – a record number. Falling on French-speaking Belgium – Wallonie-Bruxelles – whose […]
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Awards buzz is building around Renée Zellweger for her performance as Judy Garland, emerging as a frontrunner in the Oscar race for best actress. But for her, the real prize was paying tribute to Garland, of whom she’s been a lifelong fan. “Nobody was prettier, nobody sang prettier… the adventures she had, [she was] my childhood […]
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A small round of layoffs has hit Topic Studios this week in the television division, insiders familiar with the company told Variety. One of the insiders said three executives at the New York-based producer and distributor are out: senior vice president of scripted programming and Viacom alum Lisa Leingang, vice president of development Mona Panchal […]
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When “Downton Abbey” fans hear that familiar strings- and-piano theme, a Pavlovian response ensues: Get to the television immediately, because you don’t want to miss a minute of the addictive Crawley family melodrama to follow. This week, with the “Downton Abbey” movie reaching theaters on Friday, fans can’t wait for their fix of Lady Mary and […]
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