News for
The Last Castle (2001)

photos

board

trailer

details

5 articles from 2001

30 October 2001 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

By October standards, the $17.2-million opening for Universal's K-PAX amounted to an otherworldly performance. Only two other October openers have ever done better. Together with Warner's debuting 13 Ghosts, which took in $15.2 million, the box office was able to advance 2.1 percent above the tally for the comparable weekend a year ago, winding up with $72.5 million for the top 12 films. From third-place on down, however, other films on the current slate brought studios little cheer as they dropped an average of 42 percent from the previous week. Two other newcomers, New Line's Bones and Miramax's On the Line were disappointments, taking in $3.5 million and 2.3 million respectively. (On the Line, touted as the 'N Sync film debut, did not even make the top-ten list, opening in 11th place.) The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. K-PAX, Universal, $17,215,275, (New); 2. 13 Ghosts, Warner Bros., $15,165,355, (New); 3. From Hell, 20th Century Fox, $6,019,012, 2 Wks. ($20,695,093); 4. Riding in Cars With Boys, Sony, $6,011,394, 2 Wks. ($19,102,783); 5. Training Day, Warner Bros., $5,137,712, 4 Wks. ($65,029,281); 6. Bandits, MGM, $5,048,007, 3 Wks. ($32,131,388); 7. Serendipity, Miramax, $3,811,923, 4 Wks. ($40,035,191); 8. The Last Castle, DreamWorks, $3,626,006, 2 Wks. ($12,951,350); 9. Corky Romano, Disney, $2,997,670, 3 Wks. ($20,246,231); 10. Bones, New Line, $2,823,548, (New).

Permalink | Report a problem

29 October 2001 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

In the final week of calm before the storm of blockbuster holiday releases strikes beginning next weekend, K-PAX, starring Kevin Spacey as a man claiming to be an alien, debuted at the box office with an estimated $17.5 million. The Halloween horror film 13 Ghosts, reviled by critics on Friday, was a close second with $15.7 million, according to studio estimates. From Hell, the Jack the Ripper tale that took first place last weekend, dropped precipitously to third place with just $6.1 million. Two other new films produced disappointing results. Bones, yet another horror movie, debuted in ninth place with about $2.95 million, while On the Line, starring two members of the pop group 'N Sync, failed even to make the top ten, opening in 11th place with about $2.3 million. In limited release, Life as a House, starring Kevin Kline, had a strong opening in 29 theaters, where it took in $294,000 -- better than $10,000 per location. Ticket sales for the top 12 films tallied $73.4 million, rising 3.4 percent over the same weekend a year ago. The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. K-PAX, $17.5 million; 2. 13 Ghosts, $15.7 million; 3. From Hell, $6.1 million; 4. Riding in Cars With Boys, $6 million; 5. Training Day, $5.11 million; 6. Bandits, $5.05 million; 7. Serendipity, $3.9 million; 8. The Last Castle, $3.7 million; 9. Bones, $2.95 million; 10. Corky Romano, $2.9 million.

Permalink | Report a problem

23 October 2001 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

The Jack the Ripper thriller From Hell won the weekend box office race, but not by much, according to final ticket-sales figures released by Exhibitor Relations Monday. The Johnny Depp starrer earned a relatively mild $11 million, closely followed by Riding in Cars With Boys, starring Drew Barrymore, which took in $10.4 million. Training Day, starring Denzel Washington, which had held the top spot during the previous two weeks, dropped to third place with $9.3 million, while Bandits, starring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton, slipped from second to fourth place with $8.3 million. The Robert Redford movie The Last Castle, which many analysts had expected to be the clear winner at the box office, earned a disappointing $7.1 million to open in fifth place. Both Bandits and The Last Castle appeal to older audiences -- a fact which may have contributed to their selling fewer tickets than expected. "When there are world events that affect people, the older, upscale audience is the one that's glued to CNN, that's glued to NBC," MGM chief Alex Yemenidjian told Bloomberg News. The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date): 1. From Hell, 20th Century Fox, $11,014,818, (New); 2. Riding in Cars With Boys, Sony, $10,404,652, (New); 3. Training Day, Warner Bros. $9,325,443, 3 Wks. ($57,283,521); 4. Bandits, MGM, $8,304,007, 2 Wks. ($24,884,979); 5. The Last Castle, DreamWorks, $7,088,213, (New); 6. Serendipity, Miramax, $5,446,446, 3 Wks. ($34,426,889); 7. Corky Romano, Disney, $5,307,985, 2 Wks. ($16,185,276); 8. Don't Say a Word, 20th Century Fox, $4,215,594, 4 Wks. ($47,885,454); 9. Iron Monkey, Miramax/Dimension, $3,190,010, 2 Wks. ($10,737,961); 10. Zoolander, Paramount, $3,135,854, 4 Wks. ($40,018,837).

Permalink | Report a problem

22 October 2001 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

The box office again defied analysts' predictions as the Jack the Ripper movie From Hell edged out (only the pun in the headline was intended) Riding in Cars With Boys to nab bragging rights as the top ticket seller. The Last Castle, analysts' favorite to win, placed fifth. None of the films performed outstandingly. From Hell, which stars Johnny Depp, took in an estimated $11.3 million. Riding in Cars With Boys, which stars Drew Barrymore, took in about $10.8 million. The Last Castle was a clear disappointment with just $7.1 million. Training Day, which had held the top spot during the previous two weekends, slipped to third place with $9.5 million, while Bandits, which opened in second place last week, dropped to fourth with about $8.4 million. Still, the performance of From Hell was particularly striking given the judgment by numerous critics and analysts that the country was in no mood for fictional violence and blood after last month's real-life variety. "People know the difference between fantasy and reality," Exhibitor Relations chief Paul Dergarabedian told Bloomberg News. "They just want to be entertained." Ticket sales for the top 12 films totaled $74.5 million, up 3.7 percent from last year -- all of the rise attributable to higher ticket prices. The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. From Hell, $11.3 million; 2. Riding in Cars With Boys, $10.8 million; 3. Training Day, $9.5 million; 4. Bandits, $8.4 million; 5. The Last Castle, $7.1 million; 6. Serendipity, $5.8 million; 7. Corky Romano, $5.3 million; 8. Don't Say a Word, $4.4 million; 9. Zoolander, $3.3 million; 10. Iron Monkey, $3.2 million. Performing well in limited release was Richard Linklater's Waking Life, in which the images of actors were painted over to give them the look of animated characters. Opening in just four theaters, the movie took in $88,000. Also doing well was Focus, starring William H. Macy and Laura Dern, which earned $26,000 at two New York City theaters.

Permalink | Report a problem

19 October 2001 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Putting James Gandolfini in a starring role in a movie for the first time has both its advantages and its drawbacks, it would seem. Critics are, for the most part, praising his performance in the prison drama The Last Castle, in which he stars opposite Robert Redford. Yet many of those same critics complain that The Last Castle compares poorly with The Sopranos, the HBO series that made Gandolfini a big star to begin with. (In a feature about the movie appearing in today's (Friday) Toronto Globe & Mail, writer Simon Houpt observed: "The Sopranos is so finely wrought, and his work in it so sublime, it is disturbing to see him in something as hackneyed as The Last Castle.") Nevertheless, the film is receive several raves. Jonathan Foreman in the New York Post writes that it is a rare pleasure to see a movie "that combines exciting action with a smart, well-informed script and vivid yet restrained performances." On the other hand, across town at the New York Daily News, writer Jack Mathews scoffs, "I don't know why Redford and the white-hot Gandolfini signed on for this fiasco." Los Angeles Daily News critic Bob Strauss voices a similar verdict. The film, he says, "manages to be howlingly simplistic and ridiculously illogical at the same time." Curiously, Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times admits he has ambivalent feelings about the movie: "The immediate experience of watching The Last Castle is strongly involving, and the action at the end, exciting," he writes. "It's the kind of movie people tell you they saw last night and really liked. I really liked it last night, too. It's only this morning that I'm having trouble with it."

Permalink | Report a problem

5 articles from 2001