Of course, we all know books being made into films don't work that way. Films operate differently from books as filmmakers must turn, in this case, Rowling's words and images into moving pictures and emoting characters, and they must do it within a confined amount of time so as to keep the action moving and not get bogged down with exposition.

However, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Warner Bros. is giving fans closer to what they want... more. And now that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is in theaters you can sound off about what was still left out of that book and the six others that you wish had been left in.

If I remember correctly, I have read five of J.K. Rowling's seven Harry Potter novels, skipping only "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", and I only did that because I was going to try and see the movies without having read the books to see if it would change my opinion any. It didn't and I later rushed through books six and seven. As it turns out, I'm sure the most common answer to the question in my headline will be a notable seen that would have been seen at the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but was missing from the film. In fact, if that scene isn't mentioned in the first comment I will be absolutely shocked.

So speak up, you have 1,178 minutes of film to compare to over 3,400 pages from Rowling's novels. Surely, something must have been left out you wish had been left in.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/harry-potter-franchise-featurette-films

Just look at Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint during their first screen test for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone compared to how they look now as Emma Watson is the face of Burberry and yet no one will date her, Daniel Radcliffe has gotten naked on stage with a horse (link not safe for work) and Rupert Grint has grown up in his own right.

If you think about it, Warner Bros. was extremely lucky with this franchise as I don't think you could call any one of these principal three "bad actors". You may think they aren't the greatest, but they certainly aren't "bad" and considering we're talking about a franchise that has tallied over $2 billion in domestic ticket sales alone that is an amazing feat.

It's a pretty good video, which is why I'm featuring it, but I do wish the aspect ratio wasn't off, stretching the images vertically. But I guess when it comes to fanmade internet videos beggars can't be choosers.

Tracy and Hepburn the Definitive Collection
	I've mentioned this collection twice in the last two weeks in my Sunday What I Watched columns and I know I will be mentioning it again this week after watching Keeper of the Flame. Suffice to say, considering everything releasing this week this nine film collection is my top pick. For anyone that's seen The Adjustment Bureau and fell in love with the chemistry between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, this is a release for you as Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn had a chemistry unlike any other and this set puts it all on display. Now I won't say every film included is a winner, but I will say Hepburn and Tracy make a film hard not to enjoy. The great thing about this collection is Warner Home Video was able to include films from outside their own vault as Turner Entertainment, Universal, 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures all contributed films to this release. The films included are Woman of the Year, Keeper of the Flame, Without Love, The Sea of Grass, State of the Union, Adam's Rib, Pat and Mike, Desk Set and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Also included is a tenth disc featuring the 1986 feature length documentary "The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn". At $43.99 this is a collection worth your money.

The Incredibles
	I just reviewed this Blu-ray (read that here), but if you want the short of it... If you are a fan, buy it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
	I also just reviewed this one (read that here) and the short of this one is to tell you to not buy it, but that's not because this isn't a great Blu-ray release. To the contrary, it's a very good release, but considering it's only half of one movie why not just rent it from Netflix and wait until later this year when you can buy it as part of some super release with Part 2? You know you're going to want it.

Le Cercle Rouge (Criterion Collection)
	I haven't had the time to watch this one yet as things have been quite busy. I did, however, watched Melville's heist film, Le Cercle Rouge for the first time last November and in a write-up I said, "[Its] slow pace will turn a lot of people off. I, however, didn't find the slow pace distracting or ponderous as much as I thought it added to the tension along with a very minimalistic score that is never intrusive, but in some instances adds a lot to the feature." I can't say this is a film for everyone though. In terms of the Melville films I have seen I'd say Le Samourai is my favorite, followed by Army of Shadows and then Le Cercle Rouge. I still have a lot of his filmography to explore, but I would say that if you like one of those three films I just mentioned you will likely enjoy them all.

White Material (Criterion Collection)
	I did watch this one and I have been trying to figure out just how exactly to tackle a potential review. Directed by Claire Denis (35 Shots of Rum) and starring Isabelle Huppert (I Heart Huckabees) and Christopher Lambert (Highlander) I saw this film on plenty of year-end top ten lists so I was interested in seeing what the fuss was about. To my dismay, I was not as impressed as I expected to be. While this is clearly the work of an accomplished filmmaker with top talent working for her, it's a well made film, but not an entertaining one. I also have a hard time believing Criterion would have even released it had it not been for their deal with IFC, at least judging by the lack of supplemental material lead by a behind-the-scenes interview feature that is less than intriguing.

Heartless
	In my review of this one last November I called it a "candy-coated throwaway". It had me intrigued for about two-thirds of its running time, but it just gets increasingly tedious to the point you just want it to end. It's definitely not a film worth buying, but I wouldn't put someone off renting it.

Country Strong
	Ugh, now this is a bad movie. But I could see it serving as a solid drinking game feature for the college crowd, capped off by a round of beer bong hits once you arrive at the ending.

Black Heaven
	I saw Black Heaven at Cannes last year (read my review here) and was sadly disappointed. I opened my review saying, "One of the few genre films I made a point to see at this year's 63rd Cannes Film Festival was Gilles Marchand's L'autre Monde (Black Heaven), a mysterious film that attracted my attention with a fascinating premise in which people are seduced and encouraged to commit suicide via a mysterious virtual reality videogame." Oh well, everything can't be as great as we hope.

• Cars (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
• Whitney Cummings: Money Shot
• Marwencol
• Farewell (Willem Dafoe and Guillaume Canet)
• Behind the Burly Q

• The Other Woman (buy now)
  Releasing on May 17, 2011
• The Company Men (buy now)
  Releasing on June 7, 2011
• Just Go With It (buy now)
  Releasing on June 7, 2011

• The Other Woman (buy now)
  Releasing on May 17, 2011
• The Company Men (buy now)
  Releasing on June 7, 2011
• The Island (buy now)
  Releasing on June 21, 2011
• Just Go With It (buy now)
  Releasing on June 7, 2011

I couldn't remember what I wrote verbatim in my theatrical review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, but I knew the main gist was it held the potential to be a solid half of one great movie. My biggest issue is that it clearly isn't a singular film in its own right, but my expectation is that once Part 2 arrives on July 15 it is truly going to knock our socks off as everything has been saved for the second half.

I will, however, admit I did enjoy sitting through Part 1 more this second time around. Perhaps my expectations for these films are so high that a first viewing never manages to satisfy me. The same thing happened with Order of the Phoenix, which is probably now my favorite of the series thus far, though I have a feeling Part 1 and Part 2 of Deathly Hallows are going to make for what will easily be one hell of a finale to an excellent film franchise. J.K. Rowling's work has been carefully adapted, expertly cast and now it's all about waiting as Harry Potter's seventh year is taking a little longer than the six others to be completed.

Warner Home Video's Blu-ray release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 is a satisfying effort with a very good Maximum Movie Mode, which is made more impressive as several members of the cast and crew guide you through the feature length interactive supplement giving you behind-the-scenes looks and commentary as the movie plays in the background. Beyond image and sound quality it is my opinion features like this are what give Blu-ray a decided advantage and Warner Bros. is obviously edging closer to perfecting this feature as Disney has already proven the leader.

Otherwise there are eight deleted scenes totaling 11 minutes, five additional featurettes outside the Maximum Movie Mode feature, a "Behind-the-Soundtrack" feature, a look at the grand opening of "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" in Orlando and a sneak peek at the opening scene of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.

Unfortunately, Warner Home Video didn't supply reviewing press with a look at the Part 2 sneak peek, opting to include a second disc that had all the features other than the sneak. It's probably for the best, but I was a bit disappointed as I am truly anxious to see this thing come to a conclusion and I wanted a little taste.

Despite the fact this is a solid release, I can't recommend it as a purchase. Why buy one half of a five hour movie when you know that by September or October both parts will be available and most likely by Christmas you will probably be able to buy some special edition super collection with both films in one package and probably a fancy schmancy complete collection? Of course, I can't stop you from spending your money... So...

As for the first Iron Man 2 video, it features ILM's Aaron McBride whom I interviewed way back when for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. You can check out that interview here, but be warned it's housed in an old design of the site and the page is a bit messed up and the CSS file has changed, which throws the styling off a bit.

Otherwise, have at it. There is plenty to watch below. Which film do you think deserves the Oscar for Best Visual Effects? Remember, the Oscars are next Sunday, and don't worry, we will have a lot more to talk about this week as our final predictions will need to be set in stone. For bragging rights of course.

Black Swan isn't nominated for an Oscar so if you haven't yet checked the effects reel for that one click here.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/there-will-be-blood-and-harry-potter-what-are-you-looking-at DIEM Project (Dynamic Images and Eye Movements) uploaded a pair of 6:20 clips from There Will be Blood, which includes location pointers based on the viewing habits of eleven people watching a particular scene from the film. Why do this? Well, according to the org's Vimeo page, "Because human visual perception involves active information seeking via eye movements, much of the work in the lab focuses on eye movements and human gaze control."

Beyond the curiosity factor I'm sure directors and cinematographers could use this information to help them frame their shots, though there wasn't much that I saw during the clip's duration that seemed all that out of the ordinary or surprising. However, after the first video, we have a second look at the same scene except instead of seeing the full image, all that's visible are the elements of the scene with the highest concentration of visual attention.

Probably what I found most fascinating about these videos is the perceived curiosity by viewers to the onlookers and the reactions of not the people in direct conversation, but those in the background and occasionally slightly blurry. Slight background movement seems to register almost every time.

This is an excerpt from There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007). 11 adult viewers were shown the video and their eye movements recorded using an Eyelink 1000 (SR Research) infra-red camera-based eyetracker. Each dot represents the center of one viewer's gaze. The size of each dot represents the length of time they have held fixation.

A clip from There Will Be Blood presented as only the locations fixated by 11 viewers. Their gaze was recorded using an Eyelink 1000 and visualised as a "peekthrough" heatmap using CARPE

To check out all of the DIEM Project's videos, and there are several of them, click here.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/inception-and-how-to-train-your-dragon-top-visual-effects-society-awards Last night the Visual Effects Society announced their awards for the films of 2010 and the big winner was Inception with four awards including the award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual-Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture. Coming in second in the awards tally was DreamWorks's How to Train Your Dragon with three including Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture and Clint Eastwood's Hereafter won for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture.

Both Inception and Hereafter are nominated for the Best Visual Effects Oscar alongside Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Iron Man 2. The four wins for Inception certainly go a long way to suggesting it is the front-runner for the Oscar.

You can check out the complete list of Visual Effects Society winners in the film categories directly below.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual-Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture

• Inception
• Iron Man 2
• TRON: Legacy
• Alice In Wonderland
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

• Green Zone
• Salt
• Hereafter
• Black Swan
• Robin Hood

• Tangled
• How to Train Your Dragon
• Toy Story 3
• Shrek Forever After
• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole - Digger
• How to Train Your Dragon � Toothless
• Tangled � Rapunzel
• Megamind � Minion

• Chronicles Of Narnia: Voyage Of The Dawn Treader � Reepicheep
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 � Dobby
• Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore - Kitty Galore
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - Kreacher

• Iron Man 2 - Stark Expo
• TRON: Legacy � Disc Game
• Inception - Paris Dreamscape
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - Sand Room

• Shutter Island � Ward-C Int./Ext. Lighthouse Int./Ext
• Iron Man 2 � Hammer Military Drones
• The Expendables - The Palace Explodes
• Inception - Hospital Fortress Destruction

• TRON: Legacy
• Alice In Wonderland - Stolen Tarts
• Inception - Hospital Fortress Destruction
• Hereafter - Tsunami Sequence

• Looney Tunes - Coyote Falls
• Day and Night
• Paths of Hate
• Tick Tock Tale
• Cat Sh*t One - The Animated Series

Liddell has added over 40 looks at the concept art from the sequence such as the one featured above right here as well as the following short video.

The seven films left are listed below. I've ranked them in order of how I perceive them to currently stand with Inception being my predicted front-runner for the Oscar.

1. Inception
2. TRON: Legacy
3. Alice in Wonderland
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
5. Scott Pilgrim vs the World
----------------------------
6. Hereafter
7. Iron Man 2

What do you think? Do you agree we're probably looking at a battle between Scott Pilgrim, Hereafter and Iron Man 2 for that fifth slot or do you see one of my top four having a hard time getting a nomination? Sound off below!

The nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT and I will be here bright and early to deliver them. For all of my current Oscar predictions click here.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/alice-in-wonderland-inception-and-true-grit-among-art-directors-guild-2011-nominees

The guild breaks out their noms distinguishing films as Period, Fantasy or Contemporary.

Of the nominees all five of my current Oscar predictions for the Art Direction category found their way into the mix, which includes the work done on Alice in Wonderland, Inception, True Grit, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and The King's Speech. However, a couple of my bubble predictions didn't make the ADG's cut, including The Wolfman and Secretariat, but then again, only five films can be nominated in the period category and I had four of those five in my predictions.

You can check out the complete film nominees directly below and I'll have the winners for you once they are announced on Saturday, February 5, 2010. You can also check out my Oscar predictions for this and all other categories right here.

Period Film

• True Grit
  Production Designer: Jess Gonchor
• The King's Speech
  Production Designer: Eve Stewart
• Shutter Island
  Production Designer: Dante Ferretti
• Robin Hood
  Production Designer: Arthur Max
• Get Low
  Production Designer: Geoffrey Kirkland

• Alice in Wonderland
  Production Designer: Robert Stromberg
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
  Production Designer: Stuart Craig
• Inception
  Production Designer: Guy Hendrix Dyas
• TRON: Legacy
  Production Designer: Darren Gilford
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
  Production Designer: Barry Robison

• Black Swan
  Production Designer: Therese DePrez
• The Social Network
  Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt
• The Fighter
  Production Designer: Judy Becker
• The Town
  Production Desinger: Sharon Seymour
• 127 Hours
  Production Designer: Suttirat Larlarb

I think you all know what I mean when I call a movie "disappointing", but just to make sure there isn't any confusion, the following ten films are the ten films I went into with the firm belief they would entertain me to a certain level. Not to say I assumed they would all have a shot at my top ten, but to say I expected more, and in some cases much more.

We've all been disappointed with movies and, I think, at times we'll even lie to ourselves about how much we liked a movie knowing we just wasted time and money on something that A) didn't live up to our expectations; B) wasted our time; C) wasted our money; and D) quite simply let us down. If you're anything like me movies as art and entertainment are important to you, and nothing is worse than when they let you down.

A couple of movies that didn't make my top ten, but I felt should still be mentioned, are Joaquin Phoenix's mockumentary I'm Still Here, which quite simply wasted a slam dunk opportunity in an attempt to be outrageous. Also, Joe Johnston's The Wolfman, which pretty much lost my interest when Mark Romanek fell off the project. Due Date was a rather disappointing (and mean-spirited) follow-up to The Hangover and Angelina Jolie's Salt could have been so much better.

I could continue with the likes of Megamind, The Tourist, Tales from Earthsea and Winnebago Man, but I will spare you from an endless list of titles alone and move straight into the top ten...

Red

Photo: Summit Entertainment

For my full review click here.

Never Let Me Go

Photo: Fox Searchlight

For my full review click here.

Green Zone

Photo: Universal Pictures

For my full review click here.

The Town

Photo: Warner Bros.

For my full review click here.

Splice

Photo: Warner Bros.

For my full review click here.

Predators

Photo: 20th Century Fox

For my full review click here.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Photo: Warner Bros.

I also find it curious when people say something along the lines of how "mature" it is. What is so mature about it? Is maturity now equated with a film that is too long and delivers nothing in the end, outside of the promise something will actually happen in Part II?

I firmly believe once Part II is released, and the two parts can be watched together, the discussion will change dramatically as it very well may end up being the single best film of the bunch, but broken into two parts it simply is not a film. Warner Bros. and theater chains would be smart to present both parts as a double-feature, I know that's how I want to see it on the big screen. Otherwise it means this film won't truly be able to be enjoyed until both parts are on Blu-ray, which just seems wrong.

For my full review click here.

Robin Hood

Photo: Universal Pictures

For my full review click here.

Love and Other Drugs

Photo: 20th Century Fox

For my full review click here.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

Photo: Sony Pictures Classics

With You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger it felt as if I was watching a movie and a director on auto-pilot. Had this film been directed by anyone else perhaps I would have met it with more of an open mind, but from Allen it's simply mediocre. The jokes feel stale and he makes absolutely zero use of his cast, outside of the outrageous Lucy Punch whose character is interesting at first, but soon begins to wear on your patience.

For my full review click here.

I know many of you already listed your most disappointing films of the year in the comments of my Worst of 2010 list, but please restart the conversation here. Also, remember, disappointing films don't necessarily have to be films you hated. They are just those films you were extremely excited to see and yet when you left the theater your expectations weren't met.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/box-office-wrap-up-dec-3-dec-5-2010

Tangled

	Wow, Tangled performed really well over Saturday ($9.9m) and Sunday ($6.4m), which I am extremely happy to see. After earning an estimated $5.1 million on Friday I assumed we were looking at a $17 million weekend for Disney's animated flick, which would have signaled a 65% drop. Instead, we're looking at a 55% drop, which is a bit more respectable after what was obviously a front-loaded five-day opener. However, that reported $260 million production budget will loom large over this film for the rest of its days. Laremy assumed a 45% drop in his predictions, which means John-PT has bragging rights for his $21.2 million prediction. Good on yah. Result: $21.5 million Laremy's rank: Laremy picked it to finish #1 and his prediction of $27.54 million was $6.04m off for a percentage error of 28.09%.

Continuing on the limited release track, Danny Boyle's 127 Hours with $1.6 million from 433 theaters for a per theater average of $3,695. Summit's Fair Game is still performing modestly in limited release with $1 million from 436 theaters.

In its second weekend, The King's Speech added two theaters to grow to playing in a whopping six and made $326,000 for a $54,333 per theater average. I Love You, Phillip Morris opened this weekend, also played in six theaters and made $113,000 for an $18,833 average. And finally, All Good Things played in two theaters and made $40,000 and I will let you figure out the per theater average on that one as I don't think I need to tell you.

Now it's time for your comments, there's a lot to talk about with the numbers above, but next weekend sees the release of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Tourist as the weekend's two big wide releases. How will they fair? I can tell you I saw Narnia on Saturday morning and it is a much better film than the first two and I expect reviews will definitely reflect that.

In limited release you have The Fighter and The Tempest. Anyone care to place a wager on how those two will perform in five and four theaters respectively?

Yup, this was another weekend of Rapunzel vs. Potter and it looks like the lady with the golden hair will actually take it this time after only falling $0.32 million shy of winning last weekend.

Tangled managed $5.1 million on Friday and will likely end somewhere around $17 million for the weekend. If you hadn't put things together for yourself just yet, that's a 65% drop from last weekend's three-day take of $48.7 million and $10 million shy of our very own Laremy Legel's prediction. Did he expect too much after a largely front-loaded Thanksgiving weekend?

The other question regarding Tangled was answered in the comments on Laremy's Oracle article as the Los Angeles Times reports the budget on the film to be upwards of $260 million. Of course, like Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, that number isn't necessarily indicative of the actual film's costs as it spent quite some time in development. I can't recite the whole story for you, but I'm sure that number will be held over its head as it approaches $90 million cumulative this weekend.

Right behind Tangled is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 with $4.8 million, which is close enough that it wouldn't be a surprise if it ended up winning the weekend, but I expect it will finish around $16.5 million or a little less to leave Disney's princess as this weekend's champ.

Otherwise, the numbers don't do much else to excite. What will be more interesting will be the numbers for Black Swan, which took in a reported $300,000 on Friday in only 18 theaters. Should it end around $1 million, that's an $55,555, which ain't too shabby. Additionally, 127 Hours moved into another 140 theaters this weekend so I'll be interested to see where it ends up.

All that said, here are Friday's estimates. I'll see you here on Sunday morning for the weekend wrap-up. Now I'm off to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader... See you later...

1. Tangled - $5.1 million
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - $4.8 million
3. Burlesque - $2 million
4. Unstoppable - $1.9 million
5. Love and Other Drugs - $1.9 million
6. Due Date - $1.4 million
7. Faster - $1.2 million
8. Megamind - $1.17 million
9. The Warrior's Way - $1.1 million
10. The Next Three Days - $805,000

Tangled

	I haven't seen a production budget listed, but Tangled will pass $104m domestically this weekend, the number The Princess and the Frog ended up on. If Disney kept the budget around $100m or less, which I'm figuring they did, they are in nice financial shape here. Which makes all of that nonsense about "No more Disney princesses" even more nonsensical. If there's one thing we've learned about the studios it is that they sprint towards profitable franchises. Tangled Too: Electric Boogaloo? I'm sure they don't mind if they do. So we'll knock this 45 percent and award it the crown. In other news, I truly wish I could give 127 Hours and Black Swan placements in this here top ten but the theater counts don't come close to supporting that call. Maybe next weekend. Prediction: $27.54 million

How say you? Not much to predict on the new releases, but you can throw out your own 127 Hours or Black Swan call if you're feeling cheeky. Brad will be here on Sunday to hand out a few attaboys paired with stern (but logical) repudiations if your numbers don't pan out. Comment early, comment often!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

	Harry Potter managed to hold on, but not by much as the holiday weekend newcomer, Tangled, hung tough over the entire five days, which is really saying something. With Potter's estimated $76.3 million for the five-day weekend it brings its domestic total to $220.3 million. Potter's three-day tally was $50.3 million, for a 59% drop, but that's to be expected for a film that opened with numbers placing it as one of the top ten openers of all-time. As for predictions, Laremy didn't do too bad with his $83.76 million prediction, but Bradley Badder was really close with a guess of $75.5 and John-PT wasn't too far behind with a prediction of $77.4m. Result: $76.3 million Laremy's rank: Laremy picked it to finish #1 and his prediction of $83.76 million was $7.46m off for a percentage error of 9.78%.

While Tangled may be a big story, The King's Speech made a massive impact in only four theaters this weekend. Opening on Friday, the film earned a whopping $350,000 for a $87,000 per theater average. It's Oscar chances seemed to be dwindling after bursting strong out of the gates during the festival circuit and this return is a nice bump to throw it back in the limelight.

Additionally, 127 Hours expanded from 108 to 293 theaters and brought in $2.3 million over the five-day weekend while Summit's Fair Game continues to hang tough despite the fact it seems the studio forgot to advertise it. Doug Liman's story of Valerie Plame played in 396 theaters and earned $1.9 million over the five-day.

Next weekend we'll be talking about all the same films over again as no major new wide releases hit theaters, though Black Swan will finally hit limited release as will I Love You Phillip Morris. Feel free to discuss this weekend and just how well do you see these films carrying over? How big will Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 go? How big will Tangled go? Does Tangled's impressive box-office change the conversation for Oscar's Best Animated Feature race?

Discuss!

Disney Animation's Tangled was released on Wednesday and opened to the tune of $11.8 million compared to $14.4 million earned by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Potter maintained its lead on Thursday with another $11.5m compared to $8.1m for Tangled. Things were looking up for Potter with a $6 million lead going into Friday, but Tangled stands a chance for the three-day victory.

On Friday, Harry Potter's daily lead was snipped to $1.1 million with the seventh film in the franchise earning an estimated $20.8 million compared to Tangled's never-say-die $19.7 million. After three days Tangled has now earned $39.6 million and with that $19.7 million Friday we may be looking at a $50-55 million three-day, which makes for a potential $75 million for the five-day. These are impressive numbers!

Of course, Potter is looking phenomenal as well as it too will be looking for another $30 million more over the weekend. I'm going to go out on a limb and say Harry Potter will take the five-day with $76-80 million, but I think the three-day is up for grabs. Animated family films always tend to perform better on Saturday and Sunday, but it all comes down to how many home-for-the-holidays families sought Tangled on Friday as opposed to waiting for the weekend. Either way it's nice to see an excellent animated film hanging tough with one of the best movie franchises of all-time. Tangled deserved this kind of performance, it's an excellent movie.

As for the other newcomers, Burlesque was off to a slow start over Wednesday and Thursday with only a $5.3 million cume. Unfortunately I can't say if it deserved better or not as my press screening in Seattle was canceled due to the print not arriving caused by poor weather conditions. On Friday the film pulled itself together slightly bringing in $4.5 million, but this pretty much means we're looking at about a $12 million weekend for Christina Aguilera's acting debut.

If we wanted to compare this to other bubbly popstars taking to the silver screen, Britney Spears had Crossroads which made $14.5 million on its opening weekend. Miley Cyrus had Bolt after her concert movie, which opened with $26.2 million and if you don't want to count an animated film, Hannah Montana The Movie made $32.3 million on its opening weekend. Mariah Carey's Glitter managed $2.4 million, From Justin to Kelly opened with $2.7 million and Mandy Moore's A Walk to Remember opened with $12.1 million. Burlesque's five-day makes for a hard comparison, but feel free to make any comparisons you desire in the comments.

The weekend's other new wide release was Dwayne Johnson's Faster, which I didn't like and has also seemed to split the commenters on my review. After $3.4 million on Wednesday and Thursday it made another $3.2 million on Friday and will be competing with Love and Other Drugs for the weekend's sixth slot.

As far as the Faster vs. Love and Other Drugs battle, I'm curious... Prior to Thanksgiving advertising for Love and Other Drugs seemed to be everywhere and then Faster exploded on Turkey Day. Did you see the same thing?

So it looks like we have two battles to keep track of with newcomers (that is if we consider Harry Potter still a newcomer. Which films do you see winning the three-day? Are you going to be adding to the sales to help tip the scales?

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - $20.8 million
2. Tangled - $19.7 million
3. Megamind - $5.4 million
4. Unstoppable - $4.6 million
5. Burlesque - $4.5 million
6. Love and Other Drugs - $3.8 million
7. Faster - $3.2 million
8. Due Date - $2.8 million
9. The Next Three Days - $2.3 million
10. Morning Glory - $1.7 million

In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I paid $12 to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 at midnight. Normal evening ticket price: $9. That's a staggering 25% increase. And for what?

Nothing! That's right. Zip. Zero. No screening of previous Potter films. No discounted concessions. No giveaways. No costume contests. No additional fun. Absolutely nothing. There weren't even trailers (although the theater refused to skip the plateful of obnoxious television commercials we all love to visit the restrooms during). Some could see no trailers as a perk, but it had more to do with theater management wanting to go home 25 minutes early than anything related to the surcharge.

When asked about the reasoning behind the surcharge, a Carmike theater manager looked perplexed and didn't give much of answer other than to say it had something to with what corporate calls a "premiere screening." Essentially, anyone could tell this person knew it was bullsh*t, but couldn't say it outright. I was unable to obtain a corporate response on the midnight surcharge. And from Googling the issue, it doesn't seem like Carmike is much interested in answering questions surrounding the selective cost ballooning, which has occurred throughout the last summer beginning with Iron Man 2.

If one would apply logic here, you have to ask why doesn't Carmike charge extra for the first matinee screening of films that don't demand a midnight opening from the general public? After all, that first showing would be the "premiere screening." Of course that's applying logic to something completely illogical to begin with.

You thought the 3D surcharge on tickets was bad? Ha! Everyone knows 3D is the flavor of the month. Theaters will wring the greenbacks from it while they can, but like blood-sniffing hounds they're searching out new, more stable ways to jack their customer's wallets. That would be midnight showings. People will always want to see things first. It's the way of the world. Unlike 3D, midnight showings aren't disappearing, extra cost or not.

That's why this surcharge is a slippery slope. Who's to say this premium won't start sliding into other showtimes for blockbuster films. If we rubes paid extra to see it early Friday morning, why wouldn't other rubes pay extra to see it Friday evening or Saturday afternoon of the opening weekend? Hey we already accept the higher cost of watching a non-matinee screening.

Yet, upping that peak-hour price for a midnight showing is going too far. There is simply no justification for a midnight showing to cost more than the usual evening price. It's not a matter of supply and demand. As in, well we only have so many prints of Harry Potter and only so many seats for those prints and we will sell out all those seats. Therefore high demand and complete sellouts justify higher prices.

However, 94% of Carmike's screens utilize digital projection. All 12 screens of my local Carmike theater project digitally. This means the theater can theoretically show it on all 12 screens at midnight if required, because the film is saved on a hard drive and that one copy can drive all 12 projectors. Deathly Hallows Part 1 was the busiest midnight showing I've seen at this theater in several years (although I did avoid the Twilight midnight films), and it only filled 4 auditoriums. Trust me, no film will ever fill all 12.

Nor can one say the fee is needed to pay for additional operating costs a midnight showing requires (such as additional staffing until the wee hours of the morning, electricity, etc). The revenue derived from midnight ticket sales and concessions for a film as popular as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows more than pays for whatever bump in operating costs a theater would incur.

Oh sure, some might argue, if you don't like it then don't pay for it. Go somewhere else or wait until the next day. That's a possibility. There is another cineplex in my city owned by a different company (too bad it's farther away, always busier, and consistently fails to project movies correctly). And I just might roll the dice and take my business there. After all, since my Carmike will never sell out the entire building for a midnight showing, it's not as if my empty seat will get filled by someone who would have otherwise been unable to attend. It really is less money in Carmike's coffers.

However, not everyone has this option. According to its website, Carmike locates its business in small to mid-size communities. At one time, Carmike owned 5 theaters in the Cedar Rapids area and they were the only game in town. I would bet in several small and mid-size cities today, Carmike is the only available exhibitor. Regardless, the whole "don't go" argument is cowardly and avoids the entire point.

Carmike Cinemas is guilty of pure, greedy price-gouging. It is wrong. It is disgusting. And once other theater chains catch onto this scam and their eyes light up with dollar signs, it will be one more nail in the coffin of the movie-going experience.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/box-office-oracle-nov-24-nov-28-2010

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

	Still the biggest dip on the board, but only a 33 percent drop. This number will help it cross the $200m mark domestically, a number it has already hit internationally. Need more good news? Deathly Hallows - Part 1 made $16.1 million globally in IMAX theatres, a new record. You wanted records broken? You got records broken! As for the film itself, I liked it more than Brad did. But that's okay, variety is the spice of life, one thing we can all be thankful for is our massive access to divergent opinions. Even the folks who call me crazy and say "Movie X will make a jillion dollars!" get a pass from me this time of year. Even when the film falls way short of their mark. Call me sentimental... or even crazy. Will this be the biggest Potter earner ever? With a budget that has to be north of $200m that's precisely what Warner Bros is betting on. Prediction: $83.76 million

How say you? Are any of my calls completely outlandish? What are you thankful for this holiday weekend? Any doors gonna be busted? Comment away, comment often, and comment with pride - Brad will be with you on Sunday to recap where I had it right, and where I went all wrong.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 looked strong out of the gates and while it is now the sixth largest opening of all-time behind The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 3, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Iron Man 2, it dipped too much on Saturday from it's opening day $61.1 million to wrestle away the November opening record from New Moon. However, a top ten placement on the all-time opening list ain't too shabby as it will likely push for a $300+ million domestic run after this, becoming only the third Harry Potter film to do so. As far as user predictions go, Oscar Smarty's $157.3 million call was way off, but those that were a bit closer were... John DeBono - $126.6 million Kid - $128 million Athar - $129 million Ian - $130 million therapycase1279 - $120 million Result: $125.1 million Laremy's rank: Laremy picked it to finish #1 and his prediction of $134.464 million was $9.364m off for a percentage error of 7.49%.

In other news, the still limited release of 127 Hours wasn't able to crack the top ten, taking in $915,000 from 108 theaters for an $8,472 per theater average.

Now it's your turn to chat it up. Does the Potter number surprise you? Disappoint you? How do you expect it to holdover next week?

Any guesses on next week's newcomers: Burlesque, Faster, Love and Other Drugs and Tangled? Have your say below.

What does this mean for the three-day? Well, if you take those numbers and spread them out over the weekend you get $135.3 million, but a film like this has the potential to do bigger business on Saturday and Sunday than it did on Friday so $140 million and even the record $142.8 million isn't out of the question. My guess is that it will fall a little short of New Moon's number with something like $138 million, but it will be interesting to see if it can pull it off. I, for one, would be happy to see it happen.

As for the weekend's only other new wide release, Lionsgate's The Next Three Days brought in $2.5 million and lands in fifth place, likely to make about $6.5 million for the weekend.

Looking at last week's new release, Unstoppable brought in $4.1 million on Friday, looking at a $12 million weekend. This would signify a 47% drop, which isn't too bad, but obviously shows that film is going to come up a loser when you take into consideration the $100 million budget and the $44 million it will have made in its first two weeks.

Dreamworks' Megamind continues to do well, however, bringing in $4.5 million on Friday and looking at a $15-16 million weekend. This would make for a 45% drop in the film's third week and bring it's total to just shy of $110 million. It's still got some work to do considering its $130 million budget, but overseas ticket sales and a few more decent weekends should make things work.

The other film to make Friday's top five is Warner's Due Date with an estimated $2.9 million, which means we're looking at something like an $8.5 million weekend and a 45% drop from last week. This film has dropped rather significantly in both of its follow-up weekends, but it will hit around $72 million by Sunday, which isn't too shabby considering the $47.1 million it has already taken in foreign ticket sales.

If you're wondering about Fox Searchlight's 127 Hours, Danny Boyle's film expanded to 108 theaters this weekend and brought in an estimated $258,000 on Friday. It will likely finish the weekend out of the top ten with approximately $800,000 for a $7,407 per theater average.

Other than that, here's the complete top ten from Friday and I'll be back here Sunday morning with a complete recap. Will we talking about a record-breaking weekend for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 or will New Moon remain at the top of the November box-office? One thing's for certain, Harry Potter will beat Iron Man 2's $128 million opening to become the largest opening of 2010 so that's saying something.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - $61.1 million
2. Unstoppable - $4 million
3. Megamind - $3.7 million
4. Due Date - $2.9 million
5. The Next Three Days - $2.2 million
6. Morning Glory - $1.6 million
7. Skyline - $1 million
8. Red - $720,000
9. For Colored Girls - $675,000
10. Fair Game - $375,000

Now the film will face another Twilight record, hoping to top The Twilight Saga: New Moon for best November opening. It's quite a steep hill to climb, though, as New Moon made $142,839,137 back in 2009. Tracking for Deathly Hallows had it earning $132 million this weekend and RopeofSilicon Box-Office Oracle, Laremy Legel, predicted $134 in his post yesterday with the highest reader prediction clocking in at $157.3 million, while others seemed to waiver just at that record-breaking line.

Potter does have an edge on New Moon in theater counts, screening in 4,124 theaters compared to 4,024, but is the fanbase as rabid? My guess is it's not. The Twilight fanbase seems more likely to buy more than just one ticket for a weekend while I imagine Potter fans to be a bit more level-headed and simply see the movie once during its opening three days. Of course, we'll know more on Saturday morning just where exactly all this is headed and I'll be here to let you know with a complete weekend wrap-up on Sunday. Stay tuned.]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/movie-review-harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-i-2010

This first installment in the final chapter of the Harry Potter film franchise only seems to prove what we knew all along, splitting the seventh book in J.K. Rowling's bestselling series was purely a money grab. While the story sticks close to the book's narrative, with a few added pieces here and there, it almost seems as if director David Yates decided to make this film two-and-a-half-hours long instead of the hour it should have been only to give audiences the feeling as if they had seen a complete film when in fact they haven't. Not by a long shot. I'm as much a fan of the Harry Potter franchise as the next person, and as a fan I don't appreciate being cheated out of seeing something interesting only so a movie studio can add more money to their coffers.

Picking up almost immediately after the first film ends, we find Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) being shuttled around by friends and allies in an attempt to keep him hidden from the evil Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and his nasty clan of Death Eaters. Voldemort's influence has found its way into the wizarding world's highest ranks and his final battle with Harry Potter is inevitable.

Meanwhile, Harry and his two best friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) set out to find the final five Horcruxes (pieces of Voldemort's soul) and destroy them in an attempt to weaken him so he can be destroyed. This is the journey we follow for the majority of the film and for the most part it involves watching the infamous trio camping in the woods, hiding from "Snatchers" and plotting their next move, which is more likely to come to them by happy accident rather than any manner of logical decision making or thought process. Though there are moments were you're asked to believe otherwise.

What's odd is I can remember reading everything seen in this film and not being bored for a second, but watching it on the big screen became an exercise in patience. Yates seemed determined to fatigue the audience to the point we're just as bored as the characters we are watching. Then, when a moment of action does come about it seems to happen within a blink of an eye and before you know it we're once again sitting around the campfire hoping something exciting will happen again soon.

Admittedly, when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I is good, it's really good. The Malfoy's house elf, Dobby, had a significant role in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and he's back again in this film with special effects that would have you believe he's a living and breathing creature. His scenes are excellent and I'd say even more affecting than they were in the book.

The core trio of actors has also come to a point where they are these characters. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson are Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger respectively and they seem to have reached a level of believability in themselves. Grint in particular stands out as having an excellent understanding of his character's need for comedic timing and self-pity. He's a good example of an everyman's hero and he brings balance to the story and much needed laughs as the world of Harry Potter looks like the aftermath of the Apocalypse.

Stuart Craig has spent the last ten years working as the production designer on the Harry Potter films and he's put together a design that looks just as much like The Road or The Book of Eli as it does a Harry Potter film. The menace is certainly there and this is far from the kid's flick the first few were. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I is rightly rated PG-13 and parents that take their young ones to see it shouldn't be surprised if it causes them nightmares.

Muggles (non wizarding folk) are tortured and Voldemort's pet snake, Nagini, proves to be quite hungry and quite the master of disguise. And in his fleeting appearances, Voldemort shows just how nasty he can, and will, be.

In all honesty, it feels wrong to even review or grade this film on its own, because it clearly isn't a standalone feature. As half of one large, five-hour event Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I may very well be excellent, but as one film with eight months between it and its conclusion it just doesn't work. It's upsetting to say the least when you get to the end only to realize you'll have to wait eight more months to finish the story. The end of Part I is hardly a satisfactory close to what their trying to sell as a singular story. It truly feels as if reels were forgotten as the credits begin to roll.

I have no doubt in my mind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II will be excellent once it hits theaters in July 2011, thanks primarily to the fact the tedium of Part I is out of the way. I actually hope the next time I see Part I is two-and-a-half-hours before I see Part II. This story was clearly meant to be told as a whole, and not as two halves. My grade on this one half reflects that and I hope my opinion changes once I see the completed project.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

	The previous Potter opening weekend record holder was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which was also rated PG-13 and released in November. So the demand is there. But what will give this penultimate Potter the advantage? A slight edge in theater counts, pent up demand, and a massive lack of competition. However, it doesn't look like it can catch last year's New Moon, which debuted with nearly $143m. To hit my $134m it will either need to 1) Draw in new fans or 2) Get more frontloaded. Let's call it 50/50 on each of those. Need another bold prediction? The previous film in the franchise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, didn't hit a billion in worldwide cume. This one will! Prediction: $134.464 million

How say you? Like a smaller number for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I? Have anything interesting to add on The Next Three Days? Is my math all wonky on 127 Hours? Here's your chance to lash out or build bridges, Brad will be with you on Sunday to recap the action.

I just received an email from Fandango saying many of tonight�s midnight showtimes for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I are already sold out in advance and theater owners are scrambling to add new midnight and 3:15 a.m. showtimes to meet the demand. Additionally, the site reports the film makes up for 97% of the site's daily ticket sales, MovieTickets.com said it accounted for 94% of their sales.

Yesterday MovieTickets.com reported the film was the number five advance ticket seller on the site of all-time today and could beat Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for number four once all things were said and done. Fandango was reporting 2,200 sellouts while Movietickets.com was reporting 1,900 with more than 160 sellouts in New York and Los Angeles.

The current November opening weekend record belongs to The Twilight Saga: New Moon with $142,839,137. Tracking for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I is currently at $132 million. Will it be able to beat New Moon or will it come up short?]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/fandango-bumps-potter-7-sellouts-to-2000 Yesterday MovieTickets.com released information saying Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I has reached 1,000 sellouts on their site while today Fandango sent information saying they too have had a few sellouts prior to the film's midnight Thursday first showings:

• More than 2,000 sold out showtimes on Fandango
• 96% of Fandango's daily ticket sales
• Sold-out showtimes across the country, from San Francisco to New York, and from Anchorage, Alaska to Winter Park, Florida.

...via Hollywood Elsewhere]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/harry-potter-7-reaches-1000-sellouts Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I tonight. I've recently rewatched the first six films and am an admitted fan of the franchise and it seems there are a few others out there that feel the same way.

I just received the following information from the folks at MovieTickets.com:

• Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is leading today�s ticket sales at MovieTickets.com, accounting for 92 percent of today�s sales.
• MovieTickets.com is reporting more than 1,000 sellouts for Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows � Part 1, with plenty of tickets still available for the film.

Tracking for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I says it should make somewhere around $135 million this weekend, which would mean it would become the largest opening of 2010, topping Iron Man 2's $128,122,480. Do you see it happening?]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/what-i-watched-what-you-watched-installment-67 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I on Monday evening so it was crucial I finish watching the remaining four Harry Potter films this week. As it turns out I finished the last two on a lazy Saturday night and I must say, it's not exactly asking much of me considering the two most recent films are probably my favorite of the first six... but more on that in just a second...

	QUICK THOUGHTS: If you're a film critic you're supposed to say Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the best film of the first six. I don't know exactly why this is the case, but that's the general consensus and you're supposed to fall in line accordingly if film criticism is your chosen profession. For this reason I'm not sure what it says of me when I say this one comes in about third on my list. I'll admit it's a rather good installment and perhaps the most important of the first five films in terms of setting up the story for the rest of the franchise, but I just can't kowtow to the popular critical opinion. On the other hand, the trailer for this one is excellent. I love the way John Williams remixes the Bard's "Macbeth" into his own "Double Trouble."

	QUICK THOUGHTS: This is more of a fun entry in the franchise and for a while I thought it was my favorite, but it pretty much boils down to becoming something of a two-and-a-half-hour action sequence. Some fun stuff happens and we get our first full look at Voldemort as wickedly played by Ralph Fiennes, but it's just a bit too long and offers a bit too little in the end.

	QUICK THOUGHTS: It took me two theatrical viewings before I really came around to the Order of the Phoenix, but it may be my favorite of the first six. It's also the only book in the "Harry Potter" franchise I have not read. Perhaps that's why it's my favorite?

	QUICK THOUGHTS: I gave last year's Potter a "B" in my theatrical review, but it's grown on me since then and is in competition for my favorite of the franchise. I like what David Yates has brought to this franchise, but both of the Potter films he's directed have taken more than one viewing to impress me. I wonder if Deathly Hallows will be the same? We'll know soon enough...

So that's all I have for you this week. Any of you check out the new films in theaters?]]> http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/40-new-images-from-harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-i

You can click here to browse the full gallery.

Also, if you hadn't seen yet, I posted some early online ticket sales numbers for the film earlier today. Over at MovieTickets.com, as of 11 a.m. ET today, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part I is leading today's ticket sales, accounting for 71 percent of today's sales. MovieTickets.com is reporting more than 800 sellouts.

At Fandango.com, the film already accounts for over 900 showtimes sold out nationwide on Fandango and accounts for 83% of Fandango's daily ticket sales.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I hits theaters on November 19. If you missed yesterday's post featuring six new clips from the film click here.]]>