It is still hard to believe but Mamma Mia grossed over £68m at the box office in the UK alone, proving that stage musical adaptations can be BIG business. Since then a number of musicals have been released with varying success – Footloose and the star studded Nine were notable disappointments while Fame outperformed expectations.

This summer it’s the turn of perhaps the highest profile musical release since Mamma Mia – Rock Of Ages. Since the first performance in Los Angeles in 2006 the stage show has been a huge hit around the world and has been consistently pulling in the punters since its launch in London last summer. Setting itself up as the alternative to Euro 2012, the stars seem to be aligning for a strong run at the box office, as long as the film meets the lofty expectations of fans of the stage show.

The thought of Justin Lee Collins in spandex belting out Can’t Fight This Feeling never really appealed to me so I haven’t seen the stage version and consequently, I’m not in a position to compare the two but I can confirm that Rock Of Ages the film is mostly brilliant fun. It’s a big, glitzy, overblown soft rock extravaganza that makes great use of most of its star studded cast and is well aware of the ridiculousness of much of the music and fashions of the 80s.

With the exception of the two leads, who are rather bland compared to the rest of the cast, the film benefits hugely from some great performances, particularly Tom Cruise, channelling Frank T.J.Mackey,as addled rock-god Stacie Jaxx and Alec Baldwin who steals every scene he’s in as the club manager. As you’d expect from two high class performers, Paul Giamatti and Catherine Zeta-Jones provide able support and Malin Akerman has a brilliant scene singing Foreigner’s ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’.

Obviously, the music plays a huge role and it’s almost relentless in its aural assault. As is sometimes the case with musicals, it can feel like you’re being shouted at for two hours and at a three minutes over that mark, it’s a shade overlong. There’s a particular subplot involving a strip club and an underused Mary J.Blige that could easily have been removed but just as the pace starts to flag, the satisfying big finale kicks off and you’re once again swept up in sheer the exuberance of it all.

If musicals aren’t your thing then there’s very little here to win you over but if you love tight pants, silly hair and big rock songs belted out by a game cast, you’ll be in Paradise City. Sorry.

2012 is set to be a monumental year for film but 2011 is far from over!

Over the next few months we are eagerly anticipating the release of numerous box office contenders, attracting millions of eyes to the big screen. The likes of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Alvin And The Chipmunks 3: Chip-wrecked and Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game Of Shadows are all guaranteed box office success, but there are also many more releases likely to rock the industry.

Below we outline a few of Q4′s many releases that we expect to achieve great things in the coming months.

To learn more about how you can advertise your brand at cinema and reach an engaged and affluent audience, contact us.

QUARTER 4 BIG RELEASES

Johnny English Reborn – 7 October 2011
Rowan Atkinson returns as the bungling agent in the spy spoof comedy sequel, whilst Rosamund Pike adds Bond pedigree as agent Kate Sumner. This time out Johnny goes up against international assassins hunting down the Chinese premier. Expect mass appeal with almost equal weight across all profiles 7 years through to 45+.

The Three Musketeers – 14 October 2011
Shot in 3D by action specialist director Paul W S Anderson (Resident Evil, Death Race), Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom and Christoph Waltz star in a fresh take on the much-interpreted classic story. Hot-headed D’Artagnan joins three down on their luck Musketeers to stop the villainous Cardinal Richelieu from seizing the French throne. Expect this to be the 3D blockbuster of early quarter 4.

Footloose – 14 October 2011
Black Snake Moan director (Craig Brewer) brings a seductive take to the big screen of the 80’s classic. A city boy comes to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned. An expected under 18 profile of almost 50% makes this a must access film for reaching the teenage market.

Contagion – 21 October 2011
A multi-star cast headed by Marion Cottilard, Matt Damon, and Kate Winslet is directed by Steven Soderbergh in this realistic action-thriller about a worldwide epidemic threatening the entire human race. Test-audiences have already been reported to leave screenings and rush to pick up santiser hand-washes immediately on-exit. Perfect fare to reach a desirable 25+ ABC1 audience (50% of the profile).

The Help – 28 October 2011
Based on the international best-seller The Help tells the story of three courageous women from a southern town in 50’s America who strike up an unlikely friendship and go against the unspoken code of rules and behavior. Emma Stone stars in a life-affirming tale that’s guaranteed to appeal to upmarket women (54% ABC1 female expected profile).

QUARTER 3 BIG RELEASES

Quarter 3 continues to shine and features a handful of big releases that you can still buy into. To learn more about how you can buy into these films using a digital route, contact us.

Tinker Tailor Solider Spy – 16 September 2011
The cream of British acting talent is pulled together for a stylish, edgy and ice cool imagining of the classic John Le Carre Cold War spy novel. Starring Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth and John Hurt and directed by Tomas Alfredson (of Let The Right One In fame). This is guaranteed to not only deliver a discerning audience (75% expected ABC1 profile) but will channel British cool.

Drive – 23 September 2011
Oscar nominated young up-and-comers Carry Mulligan and Ryan Gosling star in a highly stylised crime thriller from director Nicolas Winding (Bronson). More stylish and cult content to associate with in late September delivering 20-34 year olds (55% profile).

DON’T MISS

Paranormal Activity 3 October 21 2011		Arthur Christmas November 11 2011		Happy Feet 2 December 2 2011		Mission: Impossible 4 December 23 2011

On the 20th of June DCM held a screening for the highly anticipated new film ‘Bridesmaids’. The film, which has been dubbed as the female equivalent to ‘The Hangover’, was attended by a gaggle of excited women eager to enjoy the screening.

Produced by Judd Apatow, (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) Bridesmaids stars Kristen Wiig, cast as the lead Annie, a maid of honour whose life unravels as she leads her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), and a group of colourful bridesmaids (Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper) on a wild ride down the road to matrimony. The film is fast paced, crude and side splittingly funny, with horrifying but laugh out loud moments throughout.

From the exterior, the film looks like a stereotypical chick-flick about the difficulties of being a bridesmaid, but as the film progresses it is clear that this film appeals to both genders, despite the female dominance of the characters and is far from the conventions of a chick flick.

Check out some photos from the event below!

Future female flicks; don’t miss out!

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 – 18^th November 2011
New Years Eve – 9^th December 2011
Footloose – 14^th October 2011

• The Tournament has moved from 23-Jul to TBA
• Saw VII 3D has moved from 22-Oct to 29-Oct 2010
• Warrior has moved from 17-Sep to TBA
• Rango has moved from 08-Apr to 04-Mar 2011
• Footloose has moved from TBA to 15-Apr 2011
• How Do You Know has been changed to Everything You’ve Got (releasing 21-Jan 2011)

The film schedule has been updated to reflect these changes