Sunday, July 10, 2005
FANTASTIC FOUR MOVIE NO. 1
Helping snap a slump in Hollywood this summer, Fantastic Four finished first at the box office over the weekend with better-than-predicted numbers.
The film, from 20th Century Fox and Marvel, pulled in an estimated $56.0 million, far ahead of runner-up War of the Worlds' $31.3 million.
"We are feeling terrific with such a great audience response and support of this movie," Fantastic Four producer Ralph Winter told The Continuum on Sunday afternoon.
"Avi (Arad), Kevin (Feige) and I went around to visit some theaters on Friday night in LA, and nearly every screening was sold out. They were enjoying the movie, laughing and having a good time. And at several screenings, they applauded at the end. Very gratifying after all the hard work of so many people. There is nothing better than watching people enjoy what you have worked on so hard and believed in for so long.
"Best phone call of the weekend is from the 7-year-old son (Cole) of a producer friend (Robert Schwartz) who called after his swimming lesson before seeing the movie to say he wanted to see my name on screen and that he would call later with his 'opinion.' He did call later, raving about Johnny Storm, about the movie, and saying that he wanted my job!"
Winter, whose next project is the third X-Men film, said he was gratified about the all-ages response to Fantastic Four.
"It is particularly joyful to have kids recognize a movie and see them having fun," he said. "That is what this business is all about."
Fantastic Four surpassed industry analysts' projections, which had the film in the lower $40 million range. With the cast signed on for two more films, it's almost a certainty there will be a sequel.
For the first time in 20 weeks, box-office receipts bettered those from the same period last year, ending one of Hollywood's longest slumps of recent years.
Of the 12 Marvel movies released since 1998, nine have opened at No. 1: Blade, X-Men, Blade II, Spider-Man, Daredevil, X2, Hulk, Spider-Man 2 and Fantastic Four.
Batman Begins, which spent two weeks at the No. 1 spot, continued to show box-office longevity over the weekend. The film brought in an estimated $10.2 million to place third, pushing its total to $172.1 million.
In other Fantastic Four news:
* Marvel's Arad said he's been "very pleased" with the response to the film's tie-in with Burger King.
* NBC has released a photo from the appearance of Jessica Alba (Sue Storm) from The Tonight Show.
FIRST LOOKS
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For covers and four- to five-page previews of upcoming titles, CLICK HERE.
Titles include Forgotten Realms: Homeland #2 from Devil's Due Publishing, Serenity #2 and B.P.R.D.: The Black Flame #1 from Dark Horse Comics.
BRIEFLY
* Coming Monday: Solicitations -- and much more!!!
COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES
In case you missed The Continuum's recent coverage, here are some links:
* For Monday, July 4, including Marvel Comics news and Stan Lee talking about the Fantastic Four movie, CLICK HERE.
* For Saturday, July 2, including Sin City DVD news, CLICK HERE.
* For Friday, July 1, including House of M news, CLICK HERE.
* For Thursday, June 30, including Vampirella news, CLICK HERE.
* For Wednesday, June 29, including news on the partnership of Steve Niles and Thomas Jane, CLICK HERE.
* For Tuesday, June 28, including Fantastic Four movie news, CLICK HERE.
* For Monday, June 27, including Marvel solicitations for September, CLICK HERE.
* For Saturday, June 25, including Marvel solicitations for September, CLICK HERE.
* For Friday, June 24, including Marvel news, CLICK HERE.
* For Thursday, June 23, including Justice League Unlimited news, CLICK HERE.
* For Wednesday, June 22, including IDW's solicitations for October, CLICK HERE.
* For Tuesday, June 21, including Fantastic Four movie news, CLICK HERE.
* For Monday, June 20, including DC Comics' solicitations for September, CLICK HERE.
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