The economy has a serious case of the jitters, or worse. The banking sector is in crisis across the globe. Food prices are sky high, leading to riots in Haiti and elsewhere. Gas prices continue to climb.
Is there any hope?
Yes. Enter Indiana Jones, our guy. Next month the whip-toting, fedora-wearing adventurer--now somewhat older, of course--will arrive in movie theaters after an absence of nearly 20 years in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
Jones, played by Harrison Ford, may not solve the global financial and food crises or lower gas prices but he will most assuredly rescue the American box office from the twin hissing snakes of declining ticket sales and low-appeal movies.
“This franchise is one of the holy grails of Hollywood. You can place it right up there with 'Star Wars' as one of the most beloved franchises,” says Jeff Bock, box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations in Los Angeles, referring to the "Jones" series and another franchise in which Ford was the star and George Lucas was the creative force behind the camera.
Bock thinks "Crystal Skull" could prove to be the No. 1 movie of the summer, grossing $900 million to $1 billion worldwide. That’s in line with the $961 million grossed by “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” last summer.
This will be the fourth movie in the franchise that was created by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg and began back in 1981 with “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” in which archaeologist Indiana Jones pits his wits against the Nazis back in 1936 to find the Ark of the Covenant.
“Raiders” was followed by “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" in 1984 and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” in 1989. There was also a TV series “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” from 1992 to 1996.
“Crystal Skull” is set some 19 years after the last movie to mimic the real-life passing of time. In this installment, set during the Cold War, Jones races to find a crystal skull before a team of Soviet agents manage to.
Certainly anticipation for the heavily hyped film is high. The movie was voted as the most anticipated movie for the summer of 2008, according to a recent poll of 5,000 people by Fandango, a moviegoer web site.
Further, Indiana Jones was voted the all-time favorite action movie character, ahead of James Bond, Jason Bourne and Batman.
Why does Indiana Jones score so well? While part of his success in the poll may be due to the hype for the movie, he’s also a classic action hero. Forget about guns and gadgets. Indiana Jones relies on his quick thinking and whip to get the job done.
“This guy’s a throwback to a genuine adventurer,” says Bock. “Men would like to be him and women would like to be rescued by him or someone with his cunning.”
A big success from Indiana Jones could prove to be just what the box office needs after a slow spring. So far, year-to-date revenues are down 3.1 percent, at $2.45 billion, compared to $2.53 billion at this point last year. Attendance is down 6.2 percent.
And while the summer has an interesting lineup, it will be tough for it to break last year’s record of $4.2 billion. Last summer was rife with high-profile sequels. This time around, while there are a number of movies that could prove to be big winners, they aren’t known quantities, so forecasters are more tempered.
“It’s a gamble for Hollywood,” says Bock, “But there is no reason to think this one won’t come close to matching last summer.”
***
Meanwhile, elsewhere in popcult, movie remake “Prom Night” topped the box office charts for the weekend of April 11-13, raking in $22.7 million. Fellow new release “Street Kings” was in distant second with $12 million, while last week’s topper “21” dropped to third with $11 million.
In DVD rentals for the week ended March 30, according to IMDb.com, new animated release “Alvin and the Chimpunks” was in first, followed by the Johnny Depp musical “Sweeney Todd,” with “I Am Legend” following in third.
On iTunes this morning, Madonna’s “4 Minutes” stayed at the top of the charts, followed by Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love” and “No Air” by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown.”
And in books, new release “Unaccustomed Earth” by Jhumpa Lahiri topped the New York Times hardback fiction bestseller list, followed by “Small Favor” by Jim Butcher. And on USA Today’s book chart, Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth” stayed on the top of the list yet again.
|
TOP MOVIES
Weekend Box Office Estimates
Weekend of April 11-13, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
MOVIE
|
Engagements
|
Box office (millions)
|
|
1
|
Prom Night (Sony)
|
2,700
|
$22.70
|
|
2
|
Street Kings (Fox Searchlight)
|
2,467
|
$12.00
|
|
3
|
21 (Sony)
|
2,736
|
$11.00
|
|
4
|
Nim’s Island (Fox Walden)
|
3,518
|
$9.00
|
|
5
|
Leatherheads (Universal)
|
2,771
|
$6.21
|
|
6
|
Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who (20th Century Fox)
|
3,209
|
$6.00
|
|
7
|
Smart People (Miramax)
|
1,106
|
$4.20
|
|
8
|
The Ruins (Paramount)
|
2,814
|
$3.25
|
|
9
|
Superhero Movie (MGM)
|
2,526
|
$3.11
|
|
10
|
Drillbit Taylor (Paramount)
|
2,205
|
$2.07
|
|
Source: Yahoo Movies
|
|
IMDb TOP DVD RENTALS
Week ending April 6, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
|
1
|
Alvin and the Chipmunks
|
-
|
|
2
|
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
|
-
|
|
3
|
I Am Legend
|
1
|
|
4
|
The Mist
|
2
|
|
5
|
Enchanted
|
4
|
|
6
|
No Country for Old Men
|
3
|
|
7
|
Atonement
|
6
|
|
8
|
Bee Movie
|
5
|
|
9
|
Dan in Real Life
|
7
|
|
10
|
The Kite Runner
|
9
|
|
Source: IMDB
|
|
ITUNES TOP 8 SONG DOWNLOADS
for week ended Monday, April 14, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
|
1
|
4 Minutes, Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland
|
|
2
|
Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis
|
|
3
|
No Air, Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown
|
|
4
|
Lollipop, Lil Wayne
|
|
5
|
Love In This Club, Usher feat. Young Jeezy
|
|
6
|
Touch My Body, Mariah Carey
|
|
7
|
What About Now (Daughtry, Idol Gives Back Performance)
|
|
8
|
Sexy Can I, Ray J feat. Yung Berg
|
|
Source: iTunes
|
|
NEW YORK
TIMES BESTSELLING BOOKS
Week ending April 5, 2008
|
|
Fiction (hardback)
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
Weeks on chart
|
|
1
|
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
|
-
|
1
|
|
2
|
Small Favor by Jim Butcher
|
-
|
1
|
|
3
|
Compulsion by Jonathan Kellerman
|
1
|
2
|
|
4
|
The Appeal by John Grisham
|
2
|
9
|
|
5
|
Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos
|
-
|
1
|
|
Nonfiction (hardback)
|
|
1
|
Mistaken Identity by Don and Susie Van Ryn
|
1
|
2
|
|
2
|
Home by Julie Andrews
|
-
|
1
|
|
3
|
Beautiful Boy by David Sheff
|
2
|
6
|
|
4
|
Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut
|
-
|
1
|
|
5
|
Vindicated by Jose Canseco
|
-
|
1
|
|
Fiction (paperback)
|
|
1
|
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
|
1
|
9
|
|
2
|
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
|
3
|
31
|
|
3
|
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
|
-
|
1
|
|
4
|
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
|
4
|
5
|
|
5
|
The Kite Runner
|
5
|
3
|
|
Nonfiction (paperback)
|
|
1
|
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
|
1
|
62
|
|
2
|
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
|
2
|
63
|
|
3
|
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
|
3
|
15
|
|
4
|
John Adams by David McCullough
|
4
|
3
|
|
5
|
21: Bringing Down the House
|
-
|
1
|
|
Source: New York Times
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
USA
TODAY BESTSELLING BOOKS
Week ending April 6, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
|
1
|
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
|
1
|
|
2
|
Massie: The Clique Summer Collection #1
|
-
|
|
3
|
Small Favor: A Novel of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
|
-
|
|
4
|
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
|
4
|
|
5
|
Simple Genius by David Baldacci
|
6
|
|
6
|
Mistaken Identity by Don and Susie Van Ryn
|
13
|
|
7
|
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin
|
7
|
|
8
|
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
|
10
|
|
9
|
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney
|
9
|
|
10
|
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
|
-
|
|
Source: USA Today
|
