It’s hard to believe that One Direction was just a group of ‘ordinary lads’ only three years ago, living regular lives, before the success of The X-Factor and Simon Cowell’s backing launched them into worldwide super-stardom. The band has quickly gained a following to become one of the competition's all-time most popular acts, garnering a gigantic and loyal fan base of ‘Directioners’ along the way.
Harry, Niall, Liam, Louis and Zayn have sold over 13 million records worldwide, dominating international airwaves and, as of this summer, cinema screens too. Read more
About Time took the top spot at the UK box office this weekend past, with an opening foray of £1.8m, inlcuding £385k from previews. This is the first film Richard Curtis has directed since The Boat That Rocked back in 2009. That film opened with a very similar amount.
Second place went to Riddick, which took in £1.4m, including £445k from previews, enjoying the best opening weekend in the franchise to date. Read more
Writer, Producer and Film Director Ed Blum addressed an audience at Starcom MediaVest Group today during the agency’s regular Inspiring Guest Speaker sessions. Hosted by DCM, Ed’s talk looked back on his inspiring career across TV, documentary making and now filmmaking, including an insight into how independent films make it on to the big screen.
Ed’s first film Scenes of a Sexual Nature – a film about love, sex and the need for long walks – attracted a stellar cast including Tom Hardy and Ewan MacGregor on a budget of only £200,000. The film secured a nationwide cinema release in the UK and has since been sold around the world. The film is still finding new audiences with a distribution deal for France secured in May 2013. Variety have called Ed and his team’s achievement “a spectacular feat”. Read more
The Ritz Cinema spread some early Christmas cheer on Monday night by holding a special screening of 2013’s hit musical movie Les Misérables to help raise funds for Burnham-On-Sea’s upcoming Christmas lights display.
Guests were treated to a complimentary buffet courtesy of The Ritz Social Club and were served by cinema staff who had generously worked without pay for the evening. Local traders, as well as The Ritz Cinema and Social Club itself, contributed prizes to a raffle that further helped to boost the amount raised. Read more
As expected, One Direction dominated the box office this weekend like a ten legged, skinny jean wearing, pop colossus. One Direction: This Is Us opened with £3.5m (including £1.3m from previews), which is far greater than the opening weekends of Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (£821k) and Katy Perry: Part Of Me (£449k) but still not enough to top Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which opened with £4.7m (including £2m from previews) in 2009. Over 75% of One Direction: This Is Us’ box office was from 3D presentations, the highest percentage for a major release since Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters.
Last week’s number one, Elysium, dropped to second after easing 44% to £1.2m and a cume of £5.9m. The strongest hold of the weekend belonged to We’re The Millers, falling just 26% to £1.1m and a cume of £4.1m. Perhaps the weekend’s one disappointment was Pain & Gain, in fourth with £1m, and £350k of that was from previews last weekend. With the star power of Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson and Michael Bay (Transformers) directing, it’s fair to assume more was expected of the darkly comic crime drama but the crowds failed to turn out for it. Planes rounded out the top five, after falling 32% to £797k and a very respectable cume of £5.9m. Read more
The Labor Day weekend in America signalled the end of a summer movie season that provided mixed results for Hollywood.
A record was set for summer box office revenue, $4.7 billion, a 10.2% rise from last year and about $300 million than the previous mark set in 2011. In addition, attendance jumped 6.6%. Read more
DCM's Head of Exhibition, Steve Davis, a self-confessed F1 nut, meets some of his heroes at the UK première of Ron Howard's film, Rush.
Leicester Square was alive on Monday night. From the moment Jenson Button and Sergio Perez screamed into the square in their F1 cars, you knew this was going to be an amazing night. Read more
The programme for the 57th BFI London Film Festival, in partnership with American Express®, launched today with BFI’s Head of Cinemas and Festivals, Clare Stewart, returning for her second year with a rich and diverse programme of international films and events from both established and upcoming talent over a 12 day celebration of cinema.
The Festival will screen a total of 234 fiction and documentary features, including 22 World Premieres, 16 International Premieres, 29 European Premieres and 20 Archive films. There will also be screenings of 134 live action and animated shorts. A stellar line-up of directors, cast and crew are expected to take part in career interviews, master classes and other special events. The 57th BFI London Film Festival will run from 9-20 October 2013. Read more
The UK Digital Funding Partnership (DFP) has announced the completion of its strategy to support the conversion of independent cinema sites to digital cinema technology.
Working through its VPF-funded deployment partner, dcinex, the DFP has now ensured the full digitisation of almost 300 independent cinema screens across the UK, equipping them with DCI-specified equipment and ensuring that they will be able to take advantage of all the new and exciting opportunities that this technology allows. Read more
The public took a trip to Elysium this Bank Holiday weekend as the Matt Damon sci-fi actioner comfortably topped the box office with £3.1m, including £974k from previews. Factoring in Bank Holiday Monday, it has a cume of £3.6m. The film has a very similar feel to director Neill Blomkamp’s debut film, District 9, and that film opened with £2.3m in 2009 but without previews, so from Friday to Sunday was slightly up on Elysium.
We’re The Millers opened in second place with a solid £1.5m (including £8k from previews) and including Monday, now has a cume of £1.9m. Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis previously starred together in 2011’s Horrible Bosses, which opened with £2m. Read more
Ben Affleck has been announced as the successor to Christian Bale’s caped crusader Batman in director Zack Snyder’s sequel to the summer’s blockbuster Man of Steel. Affleck will star opposite Henry Cavill, who will reprise his role as Superman to take on Bruce Wayne in what has been considered the ultimate superhero face-off of the century.
The untitled Batman-meets-Superman movie will bring the two superheroes together in one film for the first time, a concept that has excited fans since its announcement earlier this year at San Diego’s annual Comic-Con. Affleck and Snyder will reportedly collaborate to “create an entirely new incarnation of the character” which will exist in the “director’s vision of their universe” established by Snyder in Man of Steel. Read more
Fledgling film fans and budding young cinema enthusiasts have been offered an exciting opportunity by Film Nation UK to take part in their first National Film Festival, building on the previous work undertaken by National Schools Film Week.
The festival will run from 21 October to 8 November delivering a nationwide programme of free film screenings and activities aimed at 5-19 year olds, including interactive workshops and Q&A sessions with industry professionals. Pupils and teachers will be pleased to know that these sessions will be tied into the National Curriculum to maximise their educational potential, and perhaps more notably, allow them to do something new and inspiring during school hours. Read more
