Weekend box office update (not much new):
In second place is Warner Bros./Village Roadshow’s $180M adventure epic
The Legend of Tarzan which was expected to file in the low $30M range and is besting those forecasts with a
$38.1M three-day and a $43M-$44M four-day at 3,561 theaters.
Tarzan‘s better than expected results come in the wake of its A- CinemaScore: Audience have discovered that it’s a fun ride, that truly delivers on what’s promised in the trailers: a lush, jawdropping cinematic vista loaded with lots of action and romance between two gorgeous people, Alexander Skarsgard and Margot Robbie. Heading into the weekend, Warner Bros. has been relentlessly airing TV spots; even several times during NBA final games. ISpot.TV estimates that Warner Bros. spent $21.8M on
Tarzan, to Disney’s $24.6M on
The BFG and Universal’s $12.6M spend on
The Purge: Election Year. Even though
Tarzan‘s ticket sales are coming in higher, we can’t ignore the fact that it’s not enough to save it from being a dud. Financially, between its production cost and domestic take, it looks similar to last weekend’s
Independence Day: Resurgence, however, the big difference is that
Tarzan, given its improved word of mouth, could leg out better than the Roland Emmerich movie here in the states. Warner Bros. knows that if
Tarzan recoups, it’s because of overseas (the film has an upcoming China release date without any serious competition).
http://deadline.com/2016/07/indepen...n-the-purge-election-year-the-bfg-1201782489/
ETA: updated international box office:
Refresh for latest… With studio estimates rolling in on the
international box office weekend, this is shaping up to be a hodgepodge frame. There was no major wide release in the session, although staggered rollouts began on Warner Bros/Village Roadshow’s
The Legend Of Tarzan, Fox’s
Ice Age: Collision Course and Steven Spielberg’s
The BFG. Of those reporting thus far, we have an
$18.8M take for
Tarzan which began pounding his chest in 19 markets including the key plays of Russia and Korea; and a
$3.9M overseas bow for
The BFG in Russia and Australia.
THE LEGEND OF TARZAN
Swinging into 19 international markets, the David Yates-directed spin on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic creation snatched
$18.8M on about 6,700 screens. It’s got an A- CinemaScore
in North America where it is opening at $38.1M. The offshore rollout is staggered to take advantage of the competitive landscape and surrounding the ongoing Euro Cup soccer tournament (although with England’s surprise knockout out last weekend, anyone who purposely stayed out of the UK this weekend has to be bummed). The main cast for
Tarzan was set for UK press ahead of next frame’s bow there, with Alexander Skarsgard headed to Scandinavia and a key push later in Beijing.
Tarzan was given a plum July 19 release date out of the Middle Kingdom. Peculiar given the typical July blackout on Hollywood imports, but also not a slam dunk either given there will be a bevy of Chinese movies in the market by that time.
Back to this weekend.
Tarzan predictably topped
Russian box office with 44% of the Top 5 at $3M. The action/CGI lends itself to Russian audiences, but the opening is only on par with the launch of
Snow White And The Huntsman and 35% above
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. That film’s sequel,
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, fared much better in Russia with a $9.8M start in 2014.
Similarly, in
Korea, Skarsgard’s turn as a thinking man’s
Tarzan grossed $4M from 600 screens. This is currently a crowded market with two local pics,
Familyhood and
The Hunt both performing strongly.
Tarzan landed No. 2. It should be noted that Disney’s
The Jungle Book, which has grossed upwards of $18M here, is still in Korean theaters.
Elsewhere on
Tarzan, Asia had No. 1 openings in India, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Without going into detail, WB says
Tarzan opened No. 1 in the majority of Eastern European markets and Puerto Rico. Next weekend, more heavy-hitters come along including the UK, France, Australia and Mexico.
http://deadline.com/2016/07/tarzan-...tional-box-office-weekend-results-1201782497/
And I don't think this article has been posted yet, a little more on Wayne McGregor, the choreographer who worked with Alex:
Used to working alongside some of the most incredible dancers in the world, McGregor was amazed at the work ethic of the 6ft 6in actor who admitted to not being able to touch his toes. “Alex would start work at 6.30am and by then he had already done a gym session. He was eating 6,000 calories a day, then doing a full day of shooting late into the evening and even pumped iron when he wasn’t filming.
“We would start with yoga or Pilates to get that liquidity into his movements as his body wasn’t used to that. We then worked on developing relationships with what he would face in the jungle. These were the more playful challenges. What would you do if you were faced with a lion? What would that feel like? What would you do if you heard an elephant or were socialising with the gorillas that raised you? I am an expert in movement and I try to find the physical signatures in people and animals.
“About 80 per cent of our communication is from non-verbal cues, and that is what makes someone more believable when you first meet them. That transaction of energy is very important in the wild. We also wanted to avoid any temptation that Alex’s body might have to return to the things it knew, because these movements expose the actors a little bit. We wanted Tarzan to have that liquid, instinctive grace.”
As Tarzan leaves the jungle to return briefly to England, McGregor also had to portray the jungle man trying to adapt to polite society.
“He is almost bursting out of his civilian clothes,” says McGregor, “and having to adapt to a very different environment to that of the jungle. What is the physicality of someone who has to learn to move again in a rather puritan society? How does that affect you physically? Everyone has physical leakage and physical ‘tells’, so what would his be? How would he walk across the room with a whisky glass, given that he has spent most of his life with the apes? Then once he’s back into the jungle, how does he get back to that physicality?
“I think Alex did an amazing job and I can safely say that all that hard work and dedication really paid off. He is amazing.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/legend-of-tarzan/alexander-skarsgard-trained-by-royal-ballet/
