#Django Unchained

Following the 85th Academy Awards ceremony last month, Digital Cinema Media’s (DCM) Simon Rees shares his highlights and looks ahead to what promises to be another strong year for the film industry.

The great, the talented and the beautiful of the world’s film industry gathered just over a week ago for the 85th Academy Awards, otherwise known as the Oscars. Some surprises were in store on an unpredictable evening, with the top categories (Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress) all going to different films. This demonstrates the variety and calibre of the films and acting talent in contention this year.

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Late last night, the power brokers of the film industry met to recognise the best in the business at the 85th Academy awards, or to you and me, “The Oscars”.

Some surprises were in store on an unpredictable evening, with the top categories (Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress) all going to different films. This just shows the calibre of the films and talent in contention.

Ben Affleck’s Iran hostage thriller, Argo, won the Oscar for Best Film, following the nominees being introduced by First Lady Michelle Obama from the White House.

Daniel Day-Lewis picked up the Best Actor award for a record-breaking third time for his portrayal of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. He previously won in 1989 for My Left Foot and in 2008 for There Will Be Blood and has secured his place amongst the all-time acting greats.

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Hello Exhibitors,

This is my first monthly blog and whilst January is traditionally a subdued month of the year there is nothing subdued about January 2013.

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Wreck-It Ralph 3D duly smashed it this weekend. A £4.5m debut is the highest opening for a Disney animation since Tangled in 2011 (£5.1m) and is a big improvement on their February offering last year, The Muppets (£2.7m). Both those films finished comfortably over £15m, so expect the same from Wreck-It Ralph 3D.

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Argo was named Best Film at last nights EE British Academy Film Awards hosted by Stephen Fry, held at London’s Royal Opera House. Ben Affleck won the Director BAFTA and the film also took the Editing award.

Les Misérables won four BAFTAs, Production Design, Sound, Make Up & Hair and Supporting Actress for Anne Hathaway.

Amour won the award for Film Not in the English Language and Emmanuelle Riva won Leading Actress. The Leading Actor award was given to Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln.

Christoph Waltz won Supporting Actor for his performance in Django Unchained and the film’s writer/director Quentin Tarantino won the Original Screenplay BAFTA.

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For the third week in a row the top two spots were filled by the same films. Les Misérables was number one for the fourth successive weekend, falling just 31% to £2.8m and crossing the magic mark of £30m in the process. It now sits on £30.1m and with a way to go yet is laying a strong early claim to be the biggest film of the year. Django Unchained held onto second spot easing 30% to £1.7m and has joined the limited club of 18-cert films to cross the £10m mark. It now sits on £10.3m and may have the legs to beat Pulp Fiction (£12.7m) and become Tarantino’s most successful film.

The highest new entry, landing in third spot was Denzel Washington thriller Flight. A £1.4m debut is a decent start and we’re seeing most awards films holding up very well from week-to-week so expect the same with this one. Proving this theory, Lincoln fell just 17% to £1.4m in fourth spot and after 10 days has grossed a solid £4.2m. Life Of Pi 3D rounded out the top five with yet another strong hold falling 24% to £843k and a magnificent cume of £27.3m.

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The top two films from last weekend held on to their places and both experienced strong holds on another impressive weekend for the box office. The snowy conditions last week obviously hampered Les Misérables as it bounced back easing a miniscule 9% to £4m and a huge cume of £24.6m. On Saturday it overtook High School Musical 3 (£22.8m) and now the only musical ahead of it on the all-time list is Mamma Mia with £68.5m. Django Unchained fell just 14% to £2.4m and now has a cume of £7.2m. Despite opening lower than Inglourious Basterds, its final total of £10.9m looks very achievable.

In third spot was another awards hopeful and the highest new entry, Lincoln, with £1.7m. That’s a very solid start and as the BAFTAs and Oscars get closer, it should continue to perform strongly. Fourth place was taken by Life of Pi 3D, which crossed the £25m mark with a further £1.1m and now stands on a spectacular £25.9m, a total that would have put it 8 on the list of 2012’s biggest films. Another new entry rounded out the top five, with Zero Dark Thirty opening with £1.1m. That’s significantly more than Kathryn Bigelow’s last film, The Hurt Locker, which opened with £309k in 2009.

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Despite the snowy conditions across the country the strength of the films currently on release was more than enough to tempt people into the warmth of the cinema. Les Misérables was once again the top film easing 46% to £4.4m and a very healthy cume of £17.4m. That’s already more than the entire run of Chicago (£16.4m) and closing in on Moulin Rouge’s final total of £18.5m. The highest new entry, in second spot was Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained with £2.8m. That’s a bit lower than Inglourious Basterds’ £3.6m debut but the adverse weather conditions wouldn’t have helped. Kill Bill Vol. 2 also opened with £2.8m in 2004.

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Cinema continues to pull in the crowds and it is now thirteen consecutive weeks that the box office has been up on the equivalent weekend last year. Although a number of films delivered strong performances this weekend, by far the most impressive was blockbuster musical Les Misérables. It followed up its nine BAFTA nominations on Wednesday with an £8.1m opening. That’s the highest ever debut for a musical film and perhaps surprisingly, it’s Universal’s biggest opening weekend of all time. Last January the marquee theatre adaptation was War Horse but that could only manage a £3.9m opening.

Also boosted by its nine BAFTA nominations, Life Of Pi 3D once again continued its stunning performance easing just 30% to £2.3m and a cume of £21.9m. With the Oscars and BAFTAs both a few weeks away, expect that total to at least get very near £30m. Glossy crime drama Gangster Squad was in third place with £2.1m (including £275k from previews). That’s not far off from Public Enemies’ £2.2m debut in 2009. In fourth spot, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 3D edged even closer to £50m with £1.9m taking its total to £48.5m. True life family drama, The Impossible rounded out the top five, continuing its strong run with another £1.9m taking its cume to £7.2m. One other new entry landed just outside the top 5, with 3D horror sequel Texas Chainsaw 3D opening with £1.2m (including £584k from previews). The last Texas Chainsaw film only managed £1.5m over its entire run in 2006.

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Early yesterday morning, the 70th Golden Globes awards ceremony took place at the Beverly Hills Hilton, Beverly Hills, California. Big winners included Argo (two awards) and Les Misérables (Three Awards).

The acting awards went to Daniel Day Lewis (Best Actor), Hugh Jackman (Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy), Jessica Chastain (Best Actress), Jennifer Lawrence (Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy) and Ben Affleck took the best director prize for his hostage thriller, Argo.

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