Category: Films

Fox's NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM couldn't overcome Screen Gem's debut of STOMP THE YARD, which halted the Ben Stiller comedy's three-week box office reign over the MLK holiday weekend ended Jan. 15, 2007. According to estimates, STOMP THE YARD recorded $26.4M, pushing NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM into second place with $21.5M. With vfx by Rhythm & Hues, Rainmaker, The Orphanage and Weta Digital, among others, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM now has a cume of $190.1M. Third place belonged to Sony's THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, which collected $11M for a five-week cume of $138.3M.

For the third straight week, Fox's NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM ruled the box office for the weekend period ended Jan. 7, 2007. With vfx by Rhythm & Hues, Rainmaker, The Orphanage and Weta Digital, among others, NIGHT grossed added another $23.7M to its impressive total of $163.8M. Holding second again was Sony's THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, which collected $12.8M for a four-week cume of $124M. Shooting up to third place in wide release was Universal's CHILDREN OF MEN (with vfx from Double Negative and Framestore CFC), grabbing $10.1M for a cume of $11.8M.

Fox Filmed Ent. reached an industry-high $3,559,521,971 in worldwide box office for 2006. This is the biggest worldwide box office gross for any slate of pictures in the history of the movie business, according to the studio.

The milestone was a combined result of strong contributions from all of Fox's existing production divisions, which delivered a diverse slate of pictures from tentpole films such as the animated ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN and X-MEN: THE LAST STAND.

Rhythm & Hues used Massive Software's Massive, the autonomous agent 3D animation software, for NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM. Using Massive, Rhythm & Hues filled the screen with 3D crowds that come alive from within exhibit dioramas.

Fox's NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM continued its grip on first place through the four-day New Year's holiday period ended Jan. 1, 2007. With vfx by Rhythm & Hues, Rainmaker, The Orphanage and Weta Digital, among others, NIGHT grossed $49.2M, bringing its two-week total to $127.2M. Holding second was Sony's THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, which collected $25.4M for a three-week cume of $104.5M. Shooting up to third place in wide release was DREAMGIRLS from Paramount/DreamWorks, with $18.3M. The Oscar-contending musical now has $41.3M.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM had a strong opening in IMAX theaters during the four-day Christmas holiday weekend, according to IMAX Corp. and Twentieth Century Fox, collecting $2.3M at 72 domestic locations, helping contribute to the film's number one bow.

Shortlisted for a Visual Effects Oscar, thanks to the contributions of Rhythm & Hues, Rainmaker, The Orphanage and Weta Digital, among others, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM appears even more immersive in IMAX.

Fox's NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM (with vfx by Rhythm & Hues, Rainmaker, The Orphanage and Weta Digital, among others) bowed in first place with $42.2M for the four-day Christmas holiday period ended Dec. 25, 2006. Coming in a distant second was last week's winner, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, from Sony, with $23.1M for a two-week cume of $61.3M. Third place belonged to MGM's ROCKY BALBOA (with vfx from Look Effects), which grabbed $17M and finished the week with $26.6M.

Look Effects was the sole vendor providing visual effects for Sylvester Stallone's ROCKY BALBOA (MGM), working on more than 150 shots.

IMAX Corp. and Warner Bros. Pictures announced that HAPPY FEET: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE has grossed $10.6 million since premiering on Nov. 17. The film animated by Animal Logic opened on 79 domestic IMAX screens and will ultimately play on a total of 28 international IMAX screens. HAPPY FEET has been digitally re-mastered with proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The film's total worldwide gross in both conventional and IMAX theaters is now nearly $200 million.