November 5th, 2013
Twilight came out in 2008 to a mixture of high buzz and abject horror. There were a lot of people who were major fans of the book series by Stephenie Meyer, while others consider Stephenie Meyer the worst author of all time. That might be a bit harsh. The first movie opened with mixed reviews, but smashed through all expectations with nearly $200 million domestically. A year later, New Moon came out and despite earning just 27% positive reviews. That's awful any way you look at it, but even so, it earned nearly $300 million at the box office. Clearly this franchise is critic-proof and I'm under no delusion that any of my criticisms will stop anyone from buying this 10-disc Blu-ray box set. I'm so convinced that no one will change their minds over my opinion of the movie that I'm going to keep that portion of the review to a minimum and concentrate on the extras instead. After all, anyone interested in this box set has already made up their mind about the movie and just want to know if this box set has enough extras to be worth the price.
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February 22nd, 2012
Despite being released on Saturday, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 led all new releases scoring an easy first place finish on the DVD sales chart. In just two days, the DVD sold 2.36 million units and generated $42.74 million. This is on par with the previous film's opening week.
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December 9th, 2009
New releases were not that plentiful on the sales chart this week, but they did dominate the top of the chart, scoring first place and three of the top four.
The new number one was Star Trek, which sold 3.58 million DVD units and generated $53.00 million in consumer spending at retail.
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November 29th, 2009
Planet 51 started its international run in a limited fashion, but was only a little better than its domestic opening. Its biggest market was Russia, where it placed fourth with $1.49 million on 344 screens, which is on par with its opening here, perhaps a little bit stronger.
The film also placed fourth in Italy with $1.16 million on 255 screens, which is again on par with the US, but perhaps a little weaker.
Overall, it landed in sixth place with $3.22 million on 894 screens in 6 markets during its opening weekend, but should improve this weekend when it opens in Spain, Mexico, and Brazil.
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November 19th, 2009
This could be a surprising weekend at the box office, as the buzz for New Moon has hit new heights of insanity.
There's no doubt that it will be the number one film of the weekend, and almost no doubt that it will top Twilight, which was the number one film this week last year.
It appears the only real question is how many records can it break along the way.
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October 27th, 2009
It's coming very close to Halloween, which means there are a lot of horror films on this week's list. However, much of these films are of the smaller variety, like Night of the Creeps. Looking at the best of the releases, there are two that jump out at me, both Blu-ray releases. Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure on Blu-ray and The Prisoner - The Complete Series on Blu-ray are both DVD Pick of the Week.
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May 19th, 2009
There was only one major new release on DVD this week, and it comes as no surprise that it topped the sales chart. The movie was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and it sold 1.48 million units to generate $24.60 million in consumer spending at retail.
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May 16th, 2009
There was some confusion on top of this week's sales chart, as there were two new releases that could claim top spot on. Leading the way, at least in terms of units sold, was Bride Wars, which just managed to reach seven figures with sales of 1.00 million units and $16.04 million.
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May 10th, 2009
It was a slow week for new releases with none coming close to selling 1 million units. However, this is common during this part of the year, and we still saw two new releases topping the chart. The best of these was Notorious, which sold 606,000 units generating $14.54 million in revenue.
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May 5th, 2009
The last of the Best Picture Oscar Nominees hits the home market this week. And while the Blu-ray arrived late, the Two-Disc DVD of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is worthy of the DVD Pick of the Week. On the other hand, no other release on this week's list came close to be a contender for that title, and overall it was a rather slow week. Still not so slow that I didn't have to split this week's column into two parts, with the second part found here.
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May 5th, 2009
The last of the Best Picture Oscar Nominees hits the home market this week. And while the Blu-ray arrived late, the Two-Disc DVD of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is worthy of the DVD Pick of the Week. On the other hand, no other release on this week's list came close to be a contender for that title, and overall it was a rather slow week. Still not so slow that I didn't have to split this week's column into two parts, with the second part found here.
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April 29th, 2009
There were just a pair of new releases to reach the top 30 on the sales chart this week. This includes the new number one DVD; however, sales of The Spirit were hardly impressive as it managed just 334,000 units and $6.27 million in sales.
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April 15th, 2009
Slow week for new releases with only four or five reaching the top five, depending on how you count Bedtime Stories. We did have a new number one, as Marley and Me sold 1.53 million units generating $28.32 million in sales.
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April 15th, 2009
There was a trio of new releases that finished one-two-three on the rental chart this week. This group was led by Marley and Me, which generated roughly 50% more rentals than either Seven Pounds or Slumdog Millionaire, which finished in a close race for second place.
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April 8th, 2009
Another weird week for new releases as the top two DVDs on the sales chart are both new releases and holdovers. Twilight had its first full week of sales adding 2.46 million units to its running tally of 6.03 million, which is the best for 2009 so far. It also become the film DVD to cross the century mark with $108.32 million in sales so far.
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April 8th, 2009
There were only two or three new releases to reach the top 30 on the rental charts this week, with Quantum of Solace grabbing top spot with nearly 50% more rentals than second place Twilight.
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March 31st, 2009
It was a strange week on the sales chart, as the best new release didn't come out last Tuesday.
Twilight came out on Saturday, sold an estimated 3 million units on its first day and 4.65 million units over two.
And with that, it instantly became the second-best-selling DVD of 2009 in terms of units sold, and the best in terms of raw dollars.
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March 31st, 2009
Only two new release charted this week leaving Role Models in first place with 13% more revenue than second place Twilight.
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March 24th, 2009
Technical difficulties with Amazon's site meant this column was a lot harder to get done than usual. However, I won't hold that against this week's releases, and there are a number that are worthy of the DVD Pick of the Week from practically every category. TV on DVD has Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series, from the classics we have The Odd Couple - Centennial Collection, from new releases we have Bolt - Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack, Blu-ray offers us James Bond Blu-ray Collection - Volume 3. We even have a late entry, as Let the Right One In - Blu-ray arrived. All five are worthy of the DVD Pick of the Week, but if I was forced to chose just one, Bolt - Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack would probably please the most people. After a couple of "slow" weeks, we are back to splitting the column into two parts.
The first part can be found here.
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March 23rd, 2009
Technical difficulties with Amazon's site meant this column was a lot harder to get done than usual. However, I won't hold that against this week's releases, and there are a number that are worthy of the DVD Pick of the Week from practically every category. TV on DVD has Andy Richter Controls the Universe - The Complete Series, from the classics we have The Odd Couple - Centennial Collection, from new releases we have Bolt - Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack, Blu-ray offers us James Bond Blu-ray Collection - Volume 3. We even have a late entry, as Let the Right One In - Blu-ray arrived. All five are worthy of the DVD Pick of the Week, but if I was forced to chose just one, Bolt - Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack would probably please the most people. After a couple of "slow" weeks, we are back to splitting the column into two parts. The second part can be found here.
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March 17th, 2009
This is a smaller list than it should be as there were no fewer than six DVDs on this list where I am supposed to receive a screener, but the screener is late. The next few weeks could be busy, as I attempt to catch up. In the meantime, there are a trio of serious contenders for DVD Pick of the Week, starting with Murnau, a box set that is a must have for silent movie fans, especially those who enjoy F.W.Murnau. Also up for the honor is Degrassi - The Next Generation - Season Seven, which is fast becoming one of the longest running kids shows ever. Finally, Bolt is making its debut on a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack on Sunday, and the movie is fantastic, while the Blu-ray has enough exclusives to be worth the small premium in price. (On a side note, there have been reports that Hounddog's home market debut was pushed back to this week, but that appears not to be the case. It could have been pulled from the schedule temporarily, or it might have been canceled entirely.)
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March 8th, 2009
Pink Panther 2 may have climbed a spot to sixth place, but it is hard to be happy with its run so far. The film opened in second place in both Spain and Mexico with $1.95 million on 360 screens and $750,000 on 375 screens respectively, which is better than the film has managed in most major markets. However, overall it only managed $6.33 million on 3186 screens in 53 markets for a total of $22.26 million so far. It does open in Italy this weekend, and still has Germany, Japan, and a few other markets to go, but I can't see it turning its fortunes around at this point.
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March 1st, 2009
Confessions Of A Shopaholic expanded this past weekend jumping into sixth place with $6.13 million on 1365 screens in 10 markets for a total of $10.05 million. This includes a second place, $2.80 million opening on 424 screens over the weekend in the U.K., for a total of $4.14 million there. The film also held well in Russia down just 42% with $1.04 million on 415 screens over the weekend for a total of $3.41 million after two.
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February 22nd, 2009
Recep Ivedik opened in its native Turkey and a few other markets scoring sixth place with $8.32 million on 483 screens in 4 markets. Of that total, $6.10 million was earned on 390 screens during a first place opening in its native market, which is above the pace of its predecessor. The film managed fourth place in Germany with $1.75 million on just 75 screens. An excellent start for the film.
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February 15th, 2009
Bride Wars continues its bridesmaid run just missing the top five this week after just missing the top ten last week. It did ad $5.88 million on 2485 screens in 30 markets for a total of $32.11 million after a month of release. Openings this week include Germany, where the film placed second with $1.62 million on 455 screens, which is a mixed debut.
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February 8th, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire slipped to sixth place with $7.67 million on 1275 screens in 12 markets for a total of $42.46 million. The film had no major openings this past weekend, but it added $3.02 million on 416 screens during its fourth weekend on top of the charts in the U.K. for a total of $18.21 million in that one market.
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January 28th, 2009
Valkyrie started its international run this weekend scoring first place with $12.85 million on 2089 screens in 13 markets for a total of $14.16 million. Its best market was Germany, no real surprise there given its setting, where it made $3.65 million on 689 screens. The film earned second place in both the U.K. with $2.54 million on 450 screens and in South Korea with $1.47 million on 479 screens over the weekend and $1.90 million.
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January 22nd, 2009
It seems Martin Luther King long weekend has resulted in a couple delays for international numbers and we are reduced to using studio estimated for a few things. However, we do know Seven Pounds climbed into first place with $20.60 million on 3502 screens in 25 markets and now has $41.64 million after a month of release internationally. This includes Spain where the film managed first place with $4.19 million on 322 screens over the weekend. The film had to settle for second place in the U.K. with $2.30 million on 402 screens and in France with $3.22 million on 344 screens. It was not as successful in Russia with $531,000 on 135 screens. Meanwhile it Italy, the film remained in first place with $3.43 million on 545 screens over the weekend for a total of $10.38 million after two. At this pace, $100 million internationally is all but assured, especially taking into account the number of significant markets the film has yet to debut in.
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January 14th, 2009
Red Cliff 2, the sequel to the record breaking Red Cliff, opened in its native China with a stunning $14.85 million on 1398 screens. It also earned first place in Singapore with $873,000 on 47 screens, and combined it took first place on the international chart while playing in just those two markets.
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January 11th, 2009
The Day the Earth Stood Still fell out of the top five, as it was down 46% to $10.91 million on 5008 screens in 42 markets for a total of $129.59 million internationally and $204.01 million worldwide. The film's best market was Japan, where it remained in second place with $2.71 million on 642 screens over the weekend for a total of $19.19 million after three.
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January 5th, 2009
Ghajini was a surprise entry in the top five as the Indian film earned $12.85 million on 1347 screens in 22 markets, which is more than enough to be considered a monster hit. In fact, it set records in its native market and could break the record set by Dhoom 2 worldwide.
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December 24th, 2008
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa returned to the number one spot on the international chart with $38.79 million on 5959 screens in 56 markets for a total of $224.34 million. The film opened in first place in Italy with $6.29 million on 565 screens, while it also topped the charts in Australia with $2.44 million on 368 screens over the weekend and $4.84 million including previews. Holdovers include France, where the film was down a mere 15% to $5.42 million on 829 screens over the weekend for a total of $23.07 million after three. It was nearly as strong in Germany with $4.99 million on 839 screens over the weekend for a total of $26.48 million. Meanwhile in the U.K. it added $2.75 million on 551 screens over the weekend for a total of $19.05 million.
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December 17th, 2008
The Day the Earth Stood Still opened globally over the weekend and took top spot on the international chart with $39.22 million on 7,715 screens in 90 markets. This is a good start, but not a great start and it appears to be heading for $150 million internationally and $250 million worldwide. Individual markets were led by Russia where the film made $5.89 million on 725 screens, but it was also a big hit in the U.K. ($4.21 million on 465 screens including previews); Spain ($3.21 million on 464 screens); and Italy ($2.35 million on 448). On the other hand, it had to settle for second place in France ($3.40 million on 606 screens); Germany ($2.95 million on 804 screens); and Mexico ($2.87 million on 804). The film has yet to open in a few major markets like Japan, South Korea, and Australia, and it opens in all three markets over the next few weeks.
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December 15th, 2008
It was a rough week for new releases as none of the three debut films managed to live up to expectations, in dramatic fashion in some cases. However, holdovers did pick up some of the slack to help the overall box office to $92 million over the weekend. That was 11% higher than last weekend, but 43% lower than the same weekend last year when I Am Legend opened. Or you could compare it to the weekend when The Golden Compass opened, in which case it was nearly 12% higher. Either is acceptable. As for the year-to-date numbers, 2008 extended its lead over 2007 to 1.4% at $8.96 billion to $8.84 billion. It appears that 2008's lead is safe this late in the year, at least in terms of raw dollars. Ticket sales, on the other hand, will decline.
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December 12th, 2008
There are three wide releases this week, including the only action film in the month of December, The Day the Earth Stood Still. There's no doubt it will be the biggest hit of the week. The only real question is if it can open better than I Am Legend did this week last year and help 2008 keep pace with 2007.
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December 10th, 2008
As expected, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa earned first place on the international chart.
However, its weekend haul of $50.99 million on 5,009 screens in 33 markets was better than expected, while its total of $126.43 million internationally is close to 40% of the original's final.
Its best market of the week was Germany where it pulled in $11.43 million on 841 screens, while it also performed amazingly in France ($9.54 million on 788 screens) and in the U.K. ($9.48 million on 520). Other first place debuts included Mexico ($4.53 million on 438 screens); Switzerland ($2.51 million on 152); Belgium ($1.69 million on 115); and Austria ($1.57 million on 101).
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December 9th, 2008
The results at the box office were mixed over the weekend with a couple of films topping expectations while a few others failed at that task.
Overall, box office receipts were $82 million, which was 50% lower than last weekend; however, it was Thanksgiving long weekend last weekend so a sharp drop-off was expected.
Compared to the same weekend last year, 2008 was better, but by only 0.5%.
Year-to-date, 2008's lead on 2007 is now 0.5% at $8.72 billion to $8.68 billion.
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December 7th, 2008
Four Christmases held on at the top of the chart for a second weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.
The comedy fell only 41%, the best hold in the top ten, and easily topped the chart ahead of Twilight, which had a better third week, down around 50% to $13 million.
The wide openers were generally weak.
Punisher: War Zone only managed $4 million in 2,508 theaters.
Cadillac Records did much better on a per theater basis, averaging over $5,000 per location, but limited release in 686 theaters meant it was only able to land in 9th place with $3.5 million.
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December 4th, 2008
There are three wide releases this week, if you have a more forgiving definition of the term, "wide." Of these three films, none have a shot at first place, while two of them might not reach the top ten. Additionally, the holdovers will take a tumble as this is a post-holiday weekend. The only bright news is this weekend last year was even worse.
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December 3rd, 2008
Quantum of Solace saw its box office sliced nearly in half down to $20.60 million on 8530 screens in 63 markets, however, its running tally grew to $340.61 million after a month of release. It is now the second highest grossing Bond film and the 70th highest grossing film worldwide. The film's best market of the weekend was Germany where it remained in first place with $2.31 million on 801 screens for a total of $35.29 million. Meanwhile in the U.K. it slipped to second place with a still impressive $2.20 million on 500 screens for a total of $72.27 million after a month of release.
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December 2nd, 2008
Tryptophan overload wasn't enough to slow do the box office as every film matched or exceeded Thursday's predictions (or came within a rounding error of doing so). This helped the overall box office pull in $164 million over the three-day weekend and an amazing $234 million over five. Over the three-day weekend the box office was down by less than 1% from last weekend, but it was up by just under 2% over last year and nearly 3% over the five day period. (Strangely, it is $10 million behind the record, which was set in 2000. Ticket price inflation alone should have resulted in that record going down by now.) Year-to-date 2008 has now brought in $8.60 billion compared to $8.57 billion over the same period on 2007.
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November 30th, 2008
Body Of Lies opened in a quartet of major markets, the U.K., Germany, Italy, and Russia, and that helped it climb into second place with $10.17 million on 2837 screens in 32 markets for a total of $33.62 million. It earned second place in both the U.K. with $1.48 million on 393 screens and in Germany where it scored $1.43 million on 427 screens. On the other hand, it earned more in Italy with $1.64 million on 357 screens, but had to settle for third place. Meanwhile in Russia it struggled landing in eighth place with $500,000 on 142 screens.
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November 27th, 2008
The Thanksgiving long weekend has started, but none of the new releases look like they have what it takes to capture top spot. Compared to last year, there are not as many new releases this time around, nor are there any that look as strong as Enchanted was. That said, the holdovers look strong enough to compensate for this weakness.
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November 26th, 2008
Slumdog Millionaire remained on top of the Per Theater Chart this week with an average of $29,619. This was just 18% less than last weekend, despite tripling its theater count and that makes its performance all the more impressive. The only other film in the $10,000 club was the overall box office leader, Twilight, which earned an average of $20,368 in 3,400 theaters.
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November 25th, 2008
Wow. The winning streak at the box office continues as Twilight had the fifth best November weekend and the 32nd best opening weekend of all time. Overall, the box office pulled in $165 million, which is 10% more than last weekend and 2% more than the same weekend last year. It is important to note that there was growth year-to-year despite this weekend last year being the Thanksgiving long weekend. Year-to-date, 2008 remains ahead of 2007, but by a barely perceptible margin of $8.34 billion to $8.32 billion.
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November 23rd, 2008
Summit Entertainment have their first blockbuster.
Vampire romance Twilight opened with an amazing $70.553 million over the weekend, according to Summit's estimate.
That's the fourth best opening of 2008, and might also prove to be the fourth best opening in November, although The Incredibles will run it close. (The top three November openers are all from the Harry Potter franchise, incidentally).
Perhaps the best measure of Twilight's performance, however, is that it beat last week's debut for James Bond by $3 million, and topped Madagascar's opening two weeks ago by $7 million.
That's pretty remarkable.
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November 22nd, 2008
There were very few movies released this week, and fewer sites that are remotely noteworthy. That said, there are two sites on this week's list, Bolt - Official Site and I Can't Think Straight - Official Site, that were given the Weekly Website Award.
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November 20th, 2008
So far November has been an amazing month, and it looks like it is about to get even better. With two films showing strength at the box office, there should be no problem for the overall box office to top the same weekend last year, and there's even a chance that this week's number one film will top Quantum of Solace's opening from last week.
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November 1st, 2008
October was weaker than expected with only a few films living up to expectations, and none earning $100 million at the box office. (And only one even came relatively close.) This month, there are three films that should hit $100 million for sure this month, and all three have at least a shot at $200 million. That's good news because 2008 will to close strong to keep its lead over 2007. Top of the list for anticipated films is Quantum of Solace, but there are two kids movies, Bolt and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, that are also worth paying attention to. Additionally, Awards season is starting to heat up, so look for limited releases that could earn Oscar Buzz and become breakout hits.
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October 2nd, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Paper Man, Sherlock Holmes, Kung Fu Panda 2, and more!
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August 17th, 2008
This week's round of new movie release information contains release dates for Bolt, Valkyrie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and more!
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May 15th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Gran Torino, Trumbo, Twilight, and more!
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February 24th, 2008
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Hoodwinked 2, Shanghai, and more!
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December 20th, 2007
This week's round of new casting information contains updates for Four Christmases, My Sister's Keeper, Quarantined, and more!
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December 18th, 2007
This week another number of upcoming movies, new stars and directors have been added to our archive!
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December 16th, 2007
This week's round of new movie release information contains not only the general weekly update, but also an a number of release updates we had missed earlier.
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