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Tag: Hollywood

  • China fuels record global box-office revenue in 2014: MPAA

    China fuels record global box-office revenue in 2014: MPAA

    MUMBAI: China’s fillip in ticket sales saw the Hollywood box office touching a new high in 2014. 

     

    The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) released its annual Theatrical Market Statistics Report for 2014, which shows that global box office receipts for all films released around the world reached $36.4 billion in 2014, an increase of one per cent over the previous record in 2013.

     

    Growth continued to be driven by a dramatic expansion in the Asia Pacific region, which was up by 12 per cent overall, including China, which jumped 34 per cent and became the first international market to exceed $4 billion in box office ($4.8 billion total). The global growth occurred despite a drop in the US/Canada box office, which at $10.4 billion was down five per cent.

     

    “In the past few years, more people than ever before around the world are going to their local cinemas to see movies made by filmmakers in the United States and all around the globe. This is not just an American story of success, but a worldwide story about the value of craft, creativity and the importance of a story well told. We tell stories that transcend borders and transform individual experiences into shared ones. 2014 was a strong year, and 2015 is starting out tremendously, with box office in the US/Canada up 11 per cent in the first two months of this year,” said MPAA chairman and CEO Senator Chris Dodd.

     

    Additionally, the report showed that films released in the US/Canada by MPAA member studios increased for the first time in five years, reaching 136 in 2014. Total films and total films released by non- MPAA member studios also increased from 2013 (up seven per cent and five per cent, respectively).

     

    In the US and Canadian marketplace, more than two-thirds of the population (68 per cent) – or 229.7 million people – went to a cinema at least once in 2014, comparable to the previous year. Frequent moviegoers who go to the cinema once a month or more continue to drive the movie industry, accounting for 51 per cent of all tickets sold.

  • Zee Action launches Fight Ki Night contest

    Zee Action launches Fight Ki Night contest

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited’s (Zeel) Hindi action movie channel Zee Action has launched a new contest called ‘Fight Ki Night,’ which will start from 21 February and continue till 15 March, 2015.

     

    The channel launched the contest with a mission to engage and entertain its viewers. The channel also announced a grand prize of Rs 1 lakh for the winners. Adding to the series of action flicks under the same name, this contest will be based on the action films showcased every night at 9 pm.

     

    With Bollywood, Hollywood and South Indian movies to offer, ‘Fight Ki Night’ contest will provide viewers a chance to win prizes every day.  Viewers have to answer two questions correctly during the telecast of the films to grab rewards ranging from latest mobile phones to trendy digital cameras. One lucky winner participating with the most correct answers throughout the week will get an opportunity to win the grand prize of Rs 1 lakh.

     

    Explaining the nature of the contest, Zeel deputy business head – Hindi movie channels – Ruchir Tiwari said, “Catering to the needs of the avid action movie audiences, Zee action offers the best of action films experience. It has gradually yet firmly entrenched itself as the ultimate action movie destination in the minds of our viewers. With this engaging contest, we aim to reward our existing and potential audience base across India.”

  • Oscars on Star Movies in 2015 can land fans to watch the Oscars 2016 in L.A.

    Oscars on Star Movies in 2015 can land fans to watch the Oscars 2016 in L.A.

    MUMBAI:  The countdown is picking up as Hollywood fans gear for the big night. On 23 February , starting 5 30 am these fans in India wil be able to witness witness  the glamour on the biggest stage of Hollywood – The Oscars.

     

     The awards can be watched  live on Star Movies and one  could be on their way to the Oscars 2016 in Los Angeles.  Star Movies is  tutoring viewers on the best excuses they could make for the Oscar day, to stay home and watch the Oscars live to beat the Monday blues. Some classics like Aunt Sick, Conjunctivitis, Neck Pain, Fainting and many more creative ideas have already been shared on-air. The movement has gained popularity online where Star Movies urged its followers to submit their excuses with #AwardWinningExcuses.

     

     Fans across the country started sending their responses with their excuse to skip work and watch the Awards live. The message was further amplified through branding across Jet aircrafts, Gold’s Gyms outlets and PVR Cinemas.The Oscars will be telecast live exclusively on Star Movies at 5 30 am and a repeat telecast will take place at  8:30 pm on 23 February  2015.

  • Miley Cyrus’ home robbed again

    Miley Cyrus’ home robbed again

    MUMBAI: Miley Cyrus’ Los Angeles home was robbed on 16 December 2014. According to prosecutors, a large quantity of her and her brother’s property was stolen from the 22 year old American singer and actress’ Toluca Lake home.

     

    The alleged thief, Rusty Edward Sellner was arrested on Monday for the offence and entered pleas for the same. However, he was pleaded not guilty when the case went to court on Wednesday.

    The Los Angeles police department’s north Hollywood division is investigating the alleged burglary.

     

    Sellner will face a preliminary hearing at the Los Angeles county superior court, van nuys branch on 20 January 2014. He could face up to seven years and eight months in state prison if convicted.

     

    Sellner has previous convictions for burglary and evading arrest.

     

    This is the second burglary for Cyrus in less than a year and a third time in two years that her home has been targeted by thieves.

     

    In May, thieves broke into her San Fernando Valley home and took clothes, purses, jewelry and a 2014 Maserati that was later abandoned. An Arizona couple went to prison for that break-in.

     

  • 2014: An astonishing year for regional cinema

    2014: An astonishing year for regional cinema

    2014 was an interesting year. It started with a great deal of promise but at the end there is a feeling of unfulfillment too.

    What started with new films of different and interesting genres doing well at the box office ended slightly unsatisfied with some big film with a lot of expectation underperforming slightly.

    English content though continued to perform well with a lot of Hollywood’s big films doing really well at our BO. There is an increasing anticipation for these films and every year we are seeing more dubbed languages adding to the size of the release.

    Regional cinema, especially Marathi, has had an astonishing year. Audiences have clearly chosen to enjoy these films because they are telling intimate stories close to their heart. Still lessons were learnt and I think 2015 again holds great promise.

    There were also various trends in content in 2014; perhaps these trends didn’t follow through that well in the second half of the year. Content is certainly king right now and audiences are becoming very selective of the films they see. This is something that will continue, I think as prices for the content rise, people will become more and more elastic, choosing only films that they really want to see.

    I think next year has a lot of terrific looking films lined up and I expect films to build on this expectation to push audiences to the cinemas.

    Social media and the connected mediums will continue to drive a lot of reaction and indeed influence content. This trend will continue to get stronger as more and more people join the medium. Content viewing online is something that will also grow strongly. Without doubt this is an area where mobile internet will help greatly and the promise of 4G will fuel the need for content and the desire to consume it.

    I also think the trend of over-marketing films will also continue. Maybe for a short term but at the moment I truly feel marketing budgets are out of sync with the feasibility of a lot of the films they are being spent on and this is a slightly worrying trend. Sadly, there are no trends this year that have died out! I think there are always trends that die out and then slowly re-emerge as a ‘new’ trend again a few years later but I don’t think trends die out completely.

    Old wine in a new bottle is what our films are based on and I don’t think our audience will tire of that anytime soon.

    (These are purely personal views of Mukta Arts MD Rahul Puri and indiantelevision.com does not necessarily subscribe to these views.)

  • Adam Sandler is highest paid actors: Forbes

    Adam Sandler is highest paid actors: Forbes

    MUMBAI: As the year comes to an end, Forbes listed Hollywood’s highest paid actors of 2014. Forbes compiled the annual ranking by looking at the estimated salaries of Hollywood’s top stars, the budget and revenue of the last three films each actor starred in before June 2014 to determine a return on investment for each actor.

     

    For the second consecutive year, comedian Adam Sandler topped the list, leaving behind stars Johnny Depp and Tom Hanks. According to Forbes, for every $1 Sandler was paid, he returned an average of $3.20 approximately.

     

    Adam Sandler’s latest film Grown Ups 2 was a hit, raking $246m at the global box office.

     

    Depp, the star of the hugely successful Pirates of the Caribbean films, came in second, returning an average of $4.10 for each dollar paid, because of recent flops like The Lone Ranger and Dark Shadows.

     

    Comedian Ben Stiller, whose film Night at the Museum: Secrets of the Tomb opened in US theaters earlier this month, ranked third with a $4.80 return, due to Tower Heist and The Watch, which did not perform well at the box office.

     

    Ryan Reynolds, who starred in Green Lantern, was fourth with $4.90 for each dollar paid, followed by dual Oscar winner Tom Hanks, who pulled in a $5.20 return, rounding out the top five.

     

    Animated and limited release films and movies featuring cameo roles were not included in the calculations.

  • Oprah Winfrey starrer ‘Selma’ addresses racial crises and struggles

    Oprah Winfrey starrer ‘Selma’ addresses racial crises and struggles

    MUMBAI:  Oprah Winfrey’s new movie Selma centers on a key moment in the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

     

    The film, which is slated to open on Christmas Day this year, will mirror the struggle in the age of Ferguson and Garner and dramatise how King (David Oyelowo) rallied peacefully in 1965 against Southern racism and Alabama governor, George Wallace (Tim Roth) in order to get President Lyndon Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) to pass the voting rights act and ensure black enfranchisement.

     

    Talking about how even today protesters fill the streets to protest police killings of unarmed black men, Winfrey says, “You look out of your window and see people protesting, and then look at Selma and it looks similar. It’s a wonderful thing that people are protesting”.

     

    “When they say, enough is enough and that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, it reiterates what Martin Luther King said in Selma,” she adds.

     

    The issue is certainly close to Winfrey’s heart. Her message of empowerment is a part of everything she does. Winfrey, who herself was born poor to a family in Mississippi, began her career as a Chicago newsreader 30 years back. Today, the 60-year-old magnate is a successful talk show presenter and a multi-faceted personality.

     

    Selma is set to release on 25 December 2014.

  • ‘Exodus’ dethrones ‘The Hunger Games’ at the box office

    ‘Exodus’ dethrones ‘The Hunger Games’ at the box office

    MUMBAI:  Exodus: Gods and Kings, which stars Christian Bale, in the lead has topped the U.S. box office with a whopping $24.5 million debut, leaving behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1, which had held the No. 1 position for the past three weeks. The Hunger Games, now it its fourth week, slid only 40 per cent, earning $13.2 million for a domestic total of $277.4 million.

     

    While reviews of Exodus were not all positive as the makers faced criticism for casting mainly Caucasian actors, Fox points out that Exodus’ opening weekend audience was quite diverse, which is promising for the film’s future. The audience was 54 per cent male, and 65 per cent were over 25 years of age. 20 per cent of the audience were African-American while 18 per cent Latino. Top grossing theaters ranged from major metropolitan cities to smaller towns such as San Antonio. Exodus also opened in several international territories, earning $43.3 million around the globe.

     

    Although December openings are known for their slower starts and longer burns, Exodus, which cost $140 million to make after tax breaks, has earned exactly what box office insiders had expected for the weekend. In the upcoming weeks, the movie will face strong competition from the forthcoming movies – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, family musical Annie, Disney’s Into the Woods and Fox’s threequel Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.

     

  • George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin honeymoon at new home

    George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin honeymoon at new home

    MUMBAI: Home is where the heart is. Indeed so for newlywed’s Hollywood actor George Clooney and his lawyer wife Amal Alamuddin who have opted to spend their honeymoon at their new home rather than at an exotic locale.

     

    While the celebrity couple’s marriage celebration culminated on 27 September they have decided to spend their honeymoon at their new home which was purchased two months ago. The new home lies in the Berkshire, England. They have decided to spend around two weeks in each other’s company as they wanted to spend a simple honeymoon without any disturbances.

     

    The house is said to be luxurious and well decorated and is set in the countryside. The couple is expected to resume their work duties in the coming weeks.

  • Relativity – B4U announce first Hollywood film – ‘The Best of Me’

    Relativity – B4U announce first Hollywood film – ‘The Best of Me’

    MUMBAI: The Bollywood network, B4U, has formed a new joint venture with Relativity Media for its first Hollywood film The Best of Me.

     

    An adaptation of ‘The Notebook’ writer Nicholas Sparks’s novel with the same name, the film will be directed by Michael Hoffman who has directed movies including One Fine Day and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The star cast features the Superman Returns actor James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan of Mission Impossible series fame.

     

    Relativity-B4U’s first Hollywood distribution film The Best of Me, is slated to hit the theaters on 31 October.

     

    The venture will leverage the combined expertise, relationships and resources of the companies to create and distribute highly-engaging long and short form entertainment and sports content in India that will span a variety of mediums including film, television and digital.

     

    They plan to create and distribute innovative entertainment and sports content in India across Film, Television and Digital Platforms which will strengthen ties between Hollywood and Bollywood.