Movie News: “DON'T BREATHE” TOPS U.S. BOX OFFICE WITH $26.1-M, OPENS INPH AUG 31

Augus 29, 2016 – Columbia Pictures' gripping suspense thriller “Don't Breathe” – which Variety hails as“a muscular exercise in brutal, relentless peril” – spooked the U.S. box-office with a chilling $26.1-million, easily opening at No.1 for the Aug. 26-28 weekend.

It joins a long list of recent horror films such as “The Purge: Election Year,” “The Conjuring 2,” “Lights Out” and “The Shallows” that have all found success with audiences.

“Don’t Breathe” cost less than $10 million to produce, but it more than doubled its production budget in a single weekend, after rolling out across 3,051 locations. The film follows a trio of friends breaks into the house of a blind recluse confident of an easy score only to find themselves in a terrifying life-or-death struggle.

“This film is going to be a big moneymaker for us,” said Rory Bruer, Sony’s distribution chief. “We knew we had something special here. This is a film that’s all about keeping people jumping out of their seats and holding onto the person next to them.”

The No.1 launch of “Don't Breathe” in the U.S. bodes well for the thriller's box-office prospects in the Philippines as the film rolls out in local cinemas starting Wednesday, Aug. 31.

The Filipino audience are great horror fans, and the film's favorable R-13 rating from the MTRCB will likely boost the attraction core genre moviegoers.

“Don't Breathe” created a thunderstorm of excitement and wild buzz when it premiered at the recent South By South West (SXSW) film festival, with some critics describing it as “the best suspense thriller in the last decade.” Now, Philippine audiences will discover why the film has driven reviewers at the edge of their seats.

John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter writes, “the lean and mean pic offers scares aplenty and at least a couple of game-changing twists.”

Meanwhile, Edward Douglas, of the New York Daily News underscores that the film “takes you into far darker territory than anticipated.”

“Don’t Breathe” stars Jane Levy (“Evil Dead”), Dylan Minnette (“Goosebumps”), Daniel Zovatto (“It Follows”) and Stephen Lang (“Avatar”). Fede Alvarez (“Evil Dead”) directs from a script co-written with Rodo Sayagues (Evil Dead). Producers are Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Fede Alvarez.

In his sophomore feature, Alvarez goes for the jugular with an unapologetically brutal and twisted horror-thriller that pits a trio of thieves against an unexpectedly dangerous adversary. Shocking and enthralling, Alvarez’s masterful, visually stunning thriller maintains a frenzied pace to the last chilling minute.

“Don't Breathe” is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Check out my movie review for "Don't Breathe" here. 

Movie News: “SUICIDE SQUAD” A BOX OFFICE HERO WITH $267-M GLOBAL OPENING HAUL

David Ayers’ debut of DC Super-Villains grosses P161-M in PH in four days!

August 7, 2016 – DC’s favorite lineup of incarcerated antiheroes arrested the global box office this weekend, with “Suicide Squad” topping $267 million and smashing records for both the film and its many players. The announcement was made today by Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President, Worldwide Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

With a U.S. total of $135.1 million for the weekend, the movie broke several records for the month of August, including: the largest opening weekend; the largest pre/midnight show with $20.5 million, which includes the largest-ever IMAX pre-shows at $2.3 million; and the largest Friday (over $65.2 million), Saturday ($38.8 million) and Sunday (over $31 million).

Internationally, “Suicide Squad” took in a total of $132 million in 57 territories, setting numerous records, including: the all-time biggest August opening; the biggest August opening for an IMAX film at $7.2 million; and the second-largest DC film opening of all time. The movie dominated the theaters in such markets as the Philippines, UK, Russia, Brazil, Australia, Mexico, France and Spain.

In the Philippines, our heroic villains captured a smash opening weekend gross of P161.26-million in just four days. Several box-office records also fell, including all-time biggest August opening weekend, all-time biggest opening weekend for an R-rated film, and all-time biggest opening weekend for a Will Smith film.

Worldwide, the film enjoyed the highest August weekend ever for IMAX at $18.2 million. And on both the U.S. and international fronts, the film marks the highest opening ever for writer/director David Ayer, as well as for all of the film’s stars.

Kwan Vandenberg, in making the announcement, stated, “We knew there was great anticipation for this film, but we are thrilled to see that translated to such a spectacular result. And with key territories like Japan, Germany and Italy yet to open, we feel confident that the Squad will continue to entertain audiences everywhere for the foreseeable future.”

Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, said, “This film is such a great ride and these characters clearly connected with a broad range of moviegoers in a very real way. We congratulate the cast and filmmakers and everyone who worked on the campaign—it’s extremely gratifying to see their efforts appreciated at this level.”

From writer/director David Ayer comes “Suicide Squad,” starring Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman and Viola Davis.

It feels good to be bad… Assemble a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated Super-Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do.  However, once they realize they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it’s every man for himself?

Written and directed by Ayer based on the characters from DC Entertainment, the film also stars Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood, Cara Delevingne, Adam Beach, and Karen Fukuhara in her feature film debut. It is produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, with Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Colin Wilson and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.

Now showing across the Philippines in 3D, and in 2D, and in IMAX 3D theaters, “Suicide Squad” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.