After another scorching week weather-wise, Monsters University remained number one at the box office, dropping a tiny 19% to £2.7m, taking the Pixar-helmed hit to a cume of £8.6m in its second week of release.
Not far behind this was The World’s End, which racked up an impressive debut of £2.1m. Messrs Pegg and Frost last collaborated on Paul back in 2011, which debuted with £3.1m. The World’s End may not have reached this giddying height on its opening weekend but expect steady growth for this movie over the coming weeks. Read more
Last week, the largest event in the comic calendar took place in San Diego, Comic Con 2013.
One of the biggest pieces of news to come out of the event was the announcement of a Superman versus Batman movie in the works from Warner Bros. The unveiling of a combined bat and “S” logo soon spread like a rash over the internet. Chatter on how the Dark Knight could match the intrinsic powers of the son of El were rife, with suggestions of Bruce Wayne using his seemingly limitless wealth to purchase a quantity of Kryptonite, to weaken the Man of Steel. Zack Snyder is set to direct after successfully helming the latest Superman movie, Man of Steel. The new movie is scheduled for release in summer 2015. Read more
This week, the DCM sales team has been out in force across media land, educating the media community on the benefits of cinema.
Team members have been visiting staff at Arena Media, Total Media, OMD and Mediacom, setting up bite-sized sessions, known as #DCMcinesessions, to cover off topics such as the attractions of cinema, innovations and partnerships plus live brief sessions, where DCM will respond to a brief with a multiplatform cinema campaign pitch. Read more
Despite the continued warm weather, a strong film slate was enough to get people into the air conditioned comfort of the cinema this weekend, as Pixar’s latest offering debuted solidly and an all-action sci-fi extravaganza also proved a draw.
Monsters University opened with £3.5m, which is quiet by Pixar’s exalted standards but with the school holidays starting next week it should prove popular over the coming weeks. Over 34% of Monsters' box office was from 3D presentations, which is almost identical to Despicable Me 2. Read more
Interplay Rivetz, a first time cinema advertiser, has invested in a national ad campaign, encompassing Cinema, TV and Online.
Interplay Rivetz allows kids to create card sculptures using a unique riveting system. The colour printed pre-cut card shapes are folded and fixed together using the specially developed Rivetz Gun and re-usable plastic rivets. Read more
On a sweltering Friday night last week, DCM’s resident Film Specialist, Tom Linay, took a trip to the BFI IMAX to see mega monster/robot battle, Pacific Rim.
In amongst all the giant robot versus giant monster mayhem that has filled the trailers and television spots for Guillermo Del Toro’s latest blockbuster, it appears that the fact that Pacific Rim is probably the most family friendly of all the summer’s big films is being kept a secret from the general public. Read more
The gala reopening of The Regal Redruth takes place this Sunday 21 July, following the completion of the latest £1.5m stage in a massive refurbishment of the town’s art deco landmark. The alterations have created five modern cinema auditoria with a re-modelled 650 seat cinema and live theatre within the existing original building.
Over the last five years, the Regal has been totally transformed with substantial renovation to the structure of the building, a new roof, complete rewire, the addition of a bar and restaurant, reinstatement of the original open plan foyer, new toilets and disabled access improvements. Three of the new licensed auditoria also have individual armchairs and sofas, a popular concept that has been trialled successfully at some of the company's other cinemas. Read more
A new comedy from the director of Bridesmaids, featuring the break-out star of that film, alongside the queen of US comedy, Sandra Bullock, is a dead cert to be funny, right? Thankfully, on the evidence of The Heat, the answer is an unequivocal ‘yes’.
Melissa McCarthy plays Shannon Mullins, an uncouth Boston detective whose methods are frowned upon but, obviously, she gets results. Bullock plays Sarah Ashburn, an uptight and prissy FBI agent who is strictly by the book. You don’t need to be Stephen Hawking to work out that the pair will soon be working together and initially their relationship can best be described as ‘frosty’. Read more
Before I start showering Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg’s new film with praise, I should qualify that I am not a particularly big fan of either Shaun Of The Dead or Hot Fuzz and have always considered Spaced their collective high point. Having seen The World’s End, I am quickly reconsidering that opinion as not only have they produced the funniest film of the year so far, they may have even surpassed their cult Channel 4 sitcom.
The film begins with a short preface set in 1990, showing five teenagers attempting to complete a legendary pub crawl of 12 pints in 12 pubs around the fictional town of Newton Haven. The scene quickly cuts to the present day and Pegg’s Gary King, during a group counseling session, is given the idea to finally complete the pub crawl. Soundtracked by a host of 90s indie bands, the plot is very clearly aiming to inspire nostalgia in a certain demographic. As part of that demographic, I may be very susceptible, but I bought into it completely. Read more
You may have noticed the bright yellow ball in the sky that made the UK very warm this weekend.
The fantastic weather didn't hinder Despicable Me 2, which held on to the top spot with another £4m taking its cume to £22.9m. That takes it well clear of the first Despicable Me’s final £20.2m total and with the school holidays on the horizon, there’s plenty more to come. Read more
Digital Cinema Media (DCM) and the Cinema Exhibitor’s Association (CEA) are two of the sponsors of this year’s Screen Awards, which are currently open for entries. Excellence amongst exhibitors both large and small will be recognised with a new ‘Exhibitor of the Year’ award, sponsored by the CEA, while DCM will celebrate brands that have aligned themselves with film. There is still time to enter your cinemas as entries are accepted until 26 July. So if you’d like to celebrate your success with the rest of the screen industry, here is all that you need to know.
Now in its fourth year and fast becoming the annual event for all those involved in film marketing and distribution, the Screen Marketing & Distribution Awards honour the outstanding work of the UK film industry’s most unsung art forms. Read more
This week, DCM Close Up talks to Kevin Markwick, owner of The Picture House in Uckfield. Kevin has managed The Picture House since 1994, when he inherited it from his father. Kevin is also an active voice of the industry, with his own personal blog, Cinema Owner Confidential and a regular podcast, The Kevin Markwick Show.
How did you end up working in cinema and what do you love about it? Read more
