entertainmentdissected

The fourth entry in the Final Destination film series handily topped the U.S. and Canadian box office this weekend. (image courtesy of New Line)

Death took no prisoners at the box office this weekend, even taking madman Michael Myers down along the way.

The Final Destination, the fourth installment in the cheating-death-until-death-comes-back-for-you-with-a-vengeance franchise, debuted with $27.4 million at the domestic box office, trumping Halloween II’s $16.3 million take. Destination opened in 3,211 theaters and received a boost from play in nearly 1,700 3D theaters (which come with higher ticket prices), while Halloween II played in 3,025 locations.

While Destination’s opening marked the series’ highest yet, Halloween II dropped off from its predecessor’s $26.4 million opening (to be fair, Halloweenopened two years ago with no horror competition). Nonetheless, Rob Zombie’s sequel to his 2007 reimagining of John Carpenter’s 1978 classic should turn a profit, since its budget came in at around $15 million (The Final Destination, by comparison, cost around $40 million).

Neither The Final Destination or Halloween IIhave scored glowing reviews, with Metacritic scores of 34 and 49 (out of 100), respectively. Then again, none of the Final Destination movies were critical hits, and the last Halloweenholds a 47 average at Metacritic. 

With its robust opening, The Final Destination should become the highest-grossing release along the four Final movies. However, in terms of tickets sold, the 2000 original probably will reign supreme, with an estimated 9.894 million tickets sold (compared to 7.788 million for Destination 2 and 8.26 million for Destination 3).

Sandwiched between the two horror flicks this weekend was the  World War II epic Inglorious Basterds, which dropped a reasonable 49 percent to $19.3 million, upping its cume to $73 million. By the time the film concludes its run, it should rival star Brad Pitt’s 2008 smash The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which grossed $127.5 million in the USA and Canada.

Michael Myers and Death face off yet again this weekend- but this time, it’s box office bragging rights at stake.

Rob Zombie’s Halloween II and the fourth installment of the Final Destination series- titled The Final Destination- both opened in more than 3,000 theaters each on Friday and may be neck-and-neck for the top position at the domestic box office. The Final Destination may have a slight advantage, though, as it’s also available in 3D format at select theaters; this means higher ticket prices and grosses from such outlets.

Whoever wins the battle, given the history of horror franchises and their reluctance to retire any moneymaking franchise, it may not be the final destination for the cheating-death series, or the end of Michael Myers and All Saints Eve. Ads tout the latter as the final chapter in Zombie’s “terrifying vision,” but recall that he expressed no interest in directing a sequel to his $55 million re-imagining of John Carpenter’s classic- and we know how that turned out. Even if Halloween II does not fare as well as its predecessor, it still likely will end up as a profitable venture.

In turn, if The Final Destination manages a decent gross, is there any doubt New Line will find a way to have Death make a shocking return? The three Final Destination movies each grossed between $46.96 million and $54.1 million, and the latest should have no trouble crossing $40 million (with potentially half of that coming in the first weekend alone).

Of note is that neither New Line or Dimension screened The Final Destination and Halloween II for critics, with Dimension claiming it was “holding the suspense for the opening.” Translated, that means the studio wanted to avoid confronting the inevitably bad negative reviews that come with the territory for these kinds of flicks.

So, who are you rooting for in this box office showdown? Or are you in a neutral corner? That may be the best option, when considering these two forces of horrific evil…

Adam Sandler- pictured with co-star Seth Rogen in Universal’s Funny People- probably is not smiling at the performance of his latest film. (image courtesy of AP/Universal/Tracy Bennett) 

Adam Sandler may have 10 films that have grossed more than $100 million each in the United States and Caada- but his latest will not be joining that elite list.

In its third weekend at the box office, Funny People dropped an estimated 62 percent to roughly $3 million, bringing its cume to an unimpressive $47.9 million. This disappointing performance follows three consecutive $100 million-plus releases: 2008’s Bedtime Stories and You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, and 2007’s I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.

Despite his popularity with moviegoers, it’s not like Sandler is immune to disappointing box office returns. Any time he takes a more serious turn, his box office recepits suffer: A couple of years back, Reign Over Me (which co-starred Don Cheadle) grossed a mere $19.66 million- though at its peak, it played at just 1,747 theaters, notably less than most Sandler releases.

Like most big Sandler movies, Funny People saw wide release in 3,000-plus theaters, and actually is one of his better-reviewed films with critics. At www.metacritic.com, Funny People has an average of 60 out of 100; by comparison, Bedtime Stories has a score of 33 and …Chuck and Larry a 37.

Nonetheless, Sandler has been one of the biggest critic-proof movie stars of the last two decades, and this blip on his box office success probably will pass once his next blockbuster hits theaters.

Meanwhile, the non-star sci-fi drama District 9 knocked G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra out of the top spot this weekend, grossing an estimated $37 million from play at 3,049 theaters. G.I. Joe dropped an estimated 59 percent to $22.5 million ($98.8 million to date).

Chick flick The Time Traveler’s Wife fared decently, pulling in an estimated $19.2 million from play at 2,988 theaters. Last weekend’s female-powered film Julie & Julia dropped a reasonable 38 percent to an estimated $12.4 million, upping its cume to roughly $43.7 million.

Disney’s G-Force rounded out the top five, with an estimated $6.9 million; it will cross the $100 million plateau today or tomorrow.

Paula Abdul no longer will be entertaining millions of fans with her brand of critiquing on FOX’s American Idol.

No doubt a grand number of American Idol fans put on a collective frown upon the news that Paula Abdul would not be returning as a judge for the FOX singing competition’s ninth season.

Also, despite severely mixed reception for her season eight debut as a fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi is returning. This makes you wonder if Idol in fact was grooming DioGuardi to take Abdul’s place, which everyone involved flat-out denied when Idol added its fourth judge. Naturally, Idol producers claim they made Abdul a generous financial offer to stay with the show (after she initially balked at what they initially were offering), but rather than get back to them, Abdul went on Twitter to announce to her fans that she would not be back. 

(Abdul had said that she would return only if the deal was fair- surely she didn’t think the show would offer her a contract to rival host Ryan Seacrest’s reported three-year $30 million-45 million deal?)

Viewers undoubtedly will miss Abdul’s presence on the show- after all, she was “the nice judge,” and her love-hate banter with Simon Cowell, incoherent moments, loopy remarks- those are just a few Paula-isms that made Idol so special. DioGuardi had her moments of goofiness last season, but she will be hard-pressed to be as entertaining as Abdul.

Where will Paula end up? Possibly on another FOX show- So You Think You Can Dance producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe already has met with Abdul, and has expressed interest in having her on the show. Abdul says she’s getting a lot of wonderful offers, which there is little doubt. Wherever she ends up, she’s sure to find her niche, just as she did on Idol. Any future endeavor is unlikely to be as successful as Idol, though- even with slipping ratings, Idol remains by far the most-watched series on television.

Meanwhile, with Abdul gone, Idol will utilize supposed guest judges like Spice Girl Victoria Beckham during audition rounds. Clear the room for a round of cartwheels. Is it too late for Paula to reconsider her decision?

With just four days until the start of audition rounds that include the judges, American Idol has yet to make any announcement regarding the status of judge Paula Abdul. This may give new meaning to “down to the wire.”

Could FOX be upset that Abdul blamed Idol producers for a mentally unstable Abdul fan’s suicide back in November? Paula didn’t hold back when laying blame on the show, saying it gave the fan up-close-and-personal access to her, and, eventually, led to her demise.

During an interview with Barbara Walters, Abdul claimed that she protested having Paula Goodspeed audition for the show, having recognized her as the stalker who had been writing “disturbing letters” for 17 years, almost 18 years.” Abdul had many restraining orders against the woman, but said Idol could not pass on the “entertainment value.”

Following the unsuccessful audition, Goodspeed followed Abdul home (learning her address in the process), and it was not far from Abdul’s residence that Goodspeed took her own life.

Whether Idol is holding Abdul’s remarks against her, time will tell. In the meantime, still no word on Kara DioGuardi’s status, either. Her dismal debut season may have convinced Idol producers that the four-judges idea should have been left on the cutting room floor.