Posted by dominic in General, News on November 27th, 2008
After the disappointing Star Wars Prequel Trilogy I had very little hope when I heard that Lucas and his team of yes men were going ahead with a new Indiana Jones movie. However, I was certain the new film would accomplish one thing if nothing more, the release of new action-figures from the original three films. Fans have been salivating for quality figures for over twenty-five years and now would be the time to re-create all our favorite scenes.
Yet, as mainstream toy interest in Indiana Jones wanes, Sideshow Collectables can still be counted on to bring us the 1/6th scaled figures we want.
Having dwelt with Hasbro’s horrible distribution-or lack there of- of their 3 ¾ line, and the impending death of said line, it’s nice to see that some companies aren’t giving up on the fans of one of the most loved trilogies-I don’t count Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and I hope you don’t either-of film history.
Sideshow’s third release in their Indiana Jones 12-inch line is Toht. Features include:
• 12-inch Prometheus male body with 30+ points of articulation
• Authentic likeness of Ronald Lacey as Major Arnold Ernst Toht
• Shirt
• Pants
• Tie
• Jacket
• Trench coat with belt
• Shoes
• Hat
• Glasses
• Switch-out melted portrait
• Interchangeable gloved and ungloved hands
• Interchangeable right hand with medallion burn
• Luger pistol
• Hot Poker
• Collapsible coat hanger w/ chain
• Display base with Indiana Jones logo
• Sideshow Exclusive: Polystone Ark of the Covenant accessory
Yes that last part is true. The exclusive Toht comes with the Ark of the Covenant! But it’s not cheap. The exclusive will suck $170 from your bank account and that’s before shipping and taxes. The regular addition is a little bit more affordable at $99. However, one does need an Ark, don’t you think? Click over to Sideshow and check it out.
Also, Cool Toy Review has posted new pictures of Hot Toys upcoming 1/6th scaled Hellboy and Ape Sapien from Hellboy II. So check those out as well, tis the season after all.
Yesterday we announced the Battlestar Galactica auction happening at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California come January 16, 2009. What about for our favorite movies? Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman, etc. If you’re a fan with some extra cash stashed away or want to give to the film/TV fan that has everything, Profiles in History, the nation’s leading dealer in guaranteed-authentic Hollywood memorabilia, will be holding a worldwide auction on December 11, 2008. Bidding begins at 12:00 PM PST. Bids can be placed either in person, via mail, phone, fax, or live on the Internet via eBay Live Auctions or at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Auction items include Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, Indiane Jones” hat, whip and machete, inscribed one-of-a-kind books from Ian Fleming, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, and many more. Click on the images below for a sample of items to be sold or click beyond the break for the full press release.
After a strong Friday showing, it looked as if The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor might topple The Dark Knight from the top of the box office. However, mostly negative reviews seem to have scared enough people away so it opened at number two for the weekend. It took in a healthy $42,450,000, under Universal’s estimates, but was beaten by Batman, who brought an additional $43,800,000 to Gotham City. The film now has earned a total of $394,887,000 in just three weeks and will clear the $400 million hurdle any minute now.
Showing surprising durability, Brendan Fraser’s other summer film, Journey to the Center of the Earth finished its fourth week in fifth place, taking in $6,875,000, totaling $73,140,000. (more…)
There are probably no surprises with the box office results this weekend with The Dark Knight firmly in first place, earning another estimated $75,630,000. The drop off is interesting in that it’s a relatively modest -52.3%. To date, the second Batman film from Christopher Nolan has accumulated $314,245,000, faster than any other film in history.
20th Century Fox’s The X-Files: I Want to Believe debuted in a disappointing fourth place, taking in just $10,200,000. (more…)
Everyone knew The Dark Knight was going to open huge, the only question was going to be how huge. Now we know. Counting the midnight haul on Friday, the film took in an estimated $155,340,000, easily surpassing Spider-Man 3’s $151.1 and becoming the biggest three day opening film of all time.
Other genre films included Transsiberian’s $35,200 opening on just two screens. It garnered good reviews and should expand its rollout. (more…)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army exceeded expectations and took possession of $35,885,000 at the box office this weekend. This also clearly beat the $23 million the first film took on its opening weekend.
With final numbers due tomorrow, it looks like Hancock slipped a mere 47% and grabbed $33,000,000 for second place. The Will Smith film, despite mediocre reviews, now has collected $165,034,000 in ten days.
Excluding the 3-DF IMAX money, Journey to the Center of the Earth found $20,580,000 for a solid third place finish.
Pixar’s Wall*E did nicely in fourth place, with $18,509,000 finishing its third week with $162,772,000. Wanted, also in its third weekend, earned $11,586,000, finishing with $112,045,000 to date.
Eddie Murray’s Meet Dave crashed and burned on entry, opening with a meager $5,300,000, good for only seventh place. This is 20th Century Fox’s first flop of the season.
The old-timers, those films that opened in the ancient days of May, are still doing well. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull earned $2,250,000, totaling $310,477,000 with Iron Man slowing down and earning just under one million. It’s about done and already has piled up $313,413,000. His Marvel cohort, The Incredible Hulk, earned $2,234,000, dropping 54.4% but totaling $129,815,000.
Other genre projects include The Happening, with just $450,000 and slipping out of theaters with a total of $63,360,000. While not a flop for 20th, it’s certainly a disappointment. Rogue’s The Strangers is also just about done in theaters with just $174,000 (total $52,325,000) but overall, a success for the studio.
Of course, next weekend is The Dark Knight which might top them all.
Amusing trailers and superlative reviews catapulted Pixar’s Wall*E to the top of the box office charts, beating estimates with $62.5 million, easily besting Angelina Jolie’s Wanted. The Universal adaptation of the Mark Millar/J.G. Jones miniseries did well, beating analysts’ expectations with $51,118.000.
Other films in the top ten include The Incredible Hulk in the fifth slot, earning an additional $9,226,000 for a total of $115,508,000. In eighth place is M. Night Shymalan’s The Happening, losing a whopping 63.3% of its audience and earning just $611,000, totaling $59,063,000. This is clearly a major disappointment for 20th Century-Fox after its massive advertising campaign and a set back for the director. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian took twelfth place and has a total of $137,687,000, still underperforming compared with expectations.
Surprisingly, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull just fell short of joining Iron Man in the exclusive $300 million club. It’s take after the weekend is a total of $299,936,000 while the Golden Avenger, number 11 for the weekend, has a cumulative total of $309,176,000.
Rogue’s The Strangers is winding down its strong run, totaling $51,499,000 with talks continuing about a sequel.
The Incredible Hulk surprised many by generating good reviews and solid buzz despite pre-release controversy. This weekend he surprised again by failing to meet anaylsts’ expectations by earning only $54.5 million at the box office. The guesstimates had him in the $60-65 million range.
According to Box Office Mojo, it took the top spot, followed by Kung Fu Panda. M. Night Shymalan’s The Happening brought in a respectable $30.5 million despite mostly negative refviews.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull took fifth place with $13.5 million and a four week haul of $275.3 million while Iron Man cruised into seventh place with $5,130,000, totalling $297,428,000.
In eighth place was The Strangers, earning $4,097,000 for a very nice total of $45,360,000 while The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian only managed $3,004,000. Its $131,744,000 domestic take in five weeks is seen as weak.
The sexy women have been replaced by the animated roly-poly panda with Kung Fu Panda scooping up a surprising $60.0 million in its debut weekend. Falling to third place in its third weekend is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the CrystalSkull with an estimated $22.8 million, bringing its accumulated domestic box office up to $253.0 million.
Dropping down to sixth place is Iron Man, bringing home $7,522,000 for a total of $288,893,000, which means it should cruise past the $300 million mark in the next week or two. This promises well for next weekend’s Incredible Hulk, which is generating surprisingly good buzz.
Seventh place belongs to the disappointing The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The film earned $5,527,000 and its cumulative $125,846,000 isn’t bad but given its #$200 million budget, this has to be seen as a let down for Disney. Between international sales and merchandising, it should eek out a profit but not the kind anticipated.
And dropping out of the race entirely is Speed Racer, languishing in thirteenth place earning an anemic $370,000. The total to date is $42,018,000 so yes, this is a major flop and black eye for Warner.
Indiana Jones is most certainly showing his age as he managed to hold on to the top box office spot for a mere week. Sex clearly sells as Sex in the City just about doubled estimates and took in $55.7 million for first place while Indiana Jones andthe Kingdom of the Crystal Skull earned $46.0 million for second place. Its cumulative total after two weeks is a healthy $216.9 million and should cruise towards the top of the year end charts.
The Strangers, Rogue Pictures’ horror story, had a strong third place showing with $20.7 million in its debut weekend. Right behind is Iron Man with $14 million and $276.6 million after five weeks cinching its place as the year’s first blockbuster and likely to be the first to crack the $300 million mark.
In fifth place is The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian with $13 million and after three weeks totaling $115.7 million. Its weak performance is now being chalked up to poor placement between the Golden Avenger and Indy. This has placed extra pressure on Pixar’s Wall*E to be a smash hit when it opens at month’s end.
Bringing up the rear, with just $2,140,000 is Speed Racer. Its anemic total of $40,558,000 has cast a pall on Warner Bros. and exposes the risks of licensing such a property.
After the disappointing Star Wars Prequel Trilogy I had very little hope when I heard that Lucas and his team of yes men were going ahead with a new Indiana Jones movie. However, I was certain the new film would accomplish one thing if nothing more, the release of new action-figures from the original three films. Fans have been salivating for quality figures for over twenty-five years and now would be the time to re-create all our favorite scenes.
