Box office: 'The Vow' leads strong weekend with $41.7 million [Updated]

Moviegoers fell head over heels for "The Vow" this weekend, as the romantic drama posted the biggest opening of the year.

It was a record-breaking non-holiday weekend at the box office, as four films each debuted with well over $20 million in domestic ticket sales. "The Vow," starring Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams, collected an impressive $41.7 million, according to an estimate from distributor Sony Pictures. The action thriller "Safe House" also beat expectations, starting off with a strong $39.3 million. The sequel "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" also far exceeded industry projections, grossing $27.6 million, while a 3-D re-release of "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" took in a respectable $23 million.

As a result of the robust ticket sales, weekend receipts were up 30% compared to the same period in 2011.

"The Vow" opened well above Tatum's last romantic picture, "Dear John," a movie based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks that debuted with $30.5 million around Valentine's Day in 2010. That picture, also from Screen Gems, was previously the film label's biggest opening ever -- a record "The Vow" shattered this weekend.

Financed by Spyglass Entertainment and Screen Gems for about $30 million, "The Vow" is about a woman trying to fall in love with her husband again after suffering amnesia due to a car crash. Audiences liked it, giving it an average grade of B, according to market research firm CinemaScore. (Moviegoers responded more positively to "Safe House" and the 3-D "Journey 2," which each earned an  A-.)

The movie appealed mostly to women, as an overwhelming 72% of the audience was female.  It helps that one of the film's stars is a heartthrob;  young women have been buzzing about Tatum online for weeks.

"Safe House" marks the second-highest opening ever for star Denzel Washington, behind his 2007 hit "American Gangster," which launched with $43.6 million. In the 57-year-old's latest film, which also stars Ryan Reynolds, Washington plays a rebellious CIA agent who heads to South Africa on a mission. The movie attracted a slightly older crowd, 62% of whom were over the age of 30. Also, 38% of those who saw it were black and 31% were white.

Fireman's Fund consultant sings safety tune at Grammys

At the Grammy Awards Sunday night, performers including alternative-country duo Civil Wars, jazz artist Diana Krall and British singer Adele will take to the stage, along with the reunited Beach Boys and more than a dozen other musical acts.

Working behind the scenes to make sure that nothing goes wrong is Paul Holehouse, entertainment risk consultant for Fireman's Fund Insurance Company.

Holehouse, a former safety executive at Universal Studios, visits sets of movie and TV shows as well as big events like the Grammys to identify potential risks and avoid accidents that can cause injury, losses and delays.

"My job is to coordinate with them [the producers] and make them comfortable that any liability issues are addressed ahead of time so they can do their show without any concerns,'' said Holehouse, 63.

This week he was busy meeting with representatives of John Cossette Productions Inc., which is producing the Grammys, and with rigging crews and fire department officials, to review plans for the two-hour show to be held at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles and telecast on CBS. 

"There's a whole spectrum of things we look for, from slip and fall hazards, to stunt effects, evacuation plans and the rigging on stages," Holehouse said.

At the 2010 Grammys, Holehouse was responsible for ensuring that Pink's high wire act, in which she twirled in the air wrapped in silk scarves while fastened to a harness, went off without a hitch.

In addition to the Grammys, Holehouse also worked on the halftime show at the Super Bowl, the popular music festival Lollapalooza and scores of TV shows and movies. In fact, Fireman's says it insures 80% of all films in the U.S., and 60% of all reality shows, providing coverage for everything from props and sets to actors who don't show up on set because of a death or illness. The company also issues so-called film completion bonds, which are guarantees that a film will be completed on schedule and on budget.

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— Richard Verrier

Photo: Paul Holehouse, entertainment risk consultant, Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. Photo courtesy of Fireman's Fund.

 

Spotify's Daniel Ek and the music 'dinosaurs'

Less than seven months after launching his digital music service in the U.S., Spotify's Daniel Ek found himself rubbing elbows with the upper echelon of the record industry executives who have descended on Los Angeles for this Sunday’s Grammy Awards.

The 28-year-old Swedish entrepreneur with a boyish face that still hints of baby fat on Friday afternoon addressed a ballroom full of power attorneys in Brooks Brothers and Armani suits — essentially schooling them on the brave new world of digital music.

Ek, pictured above on the right, boldly predicted that revenue from streaming services such as Spotify will in two years return as much revenue to the industry as iTunes does today. Since launching its service in 2008, the Stockholm-based company has remunerated more than $200 million, roughly 70% of its revenue, to labels and publishers.

“The value of music is not $15 billion,” an estimate of annual music sales, Ek told an audience of several hundred at the Grammy Foundation’s Entertainment Law Initiative luncheon as they dined on endive dressed in raspberry vinaigrette. “It’s worth much, much more than that.”

Spotify’s service has caught on worldwide with more than 10 million listeners who tune in at least once a month — 3 million of whom pay around $5 to $15 a month to access premium versions.

Though music labels have embraced Spotify's unusual approach — of offering a generous free version that gives users online access to millions of tracks on demand — the company continues to face skepticism from some bands and musicians who fear that streaming music services eat into album sales.

Bands such as Coldplay and the Black Keys, and performers like Mac Miller, have opted to withhold their new albums from streaming services such as Spotify — at least for the first few weeks after the albums’ releases. (This week some of former Beatle Paul McCartney's songs also became unavailable on Spotify, an apparent result of contractual requirements not related specifically to the streaming service.) Ek emphatically disagreed with those decisions.

“There is no cannibalization,” Ek said before a packed audience in the Crystal Ballroom of the Beverly Hills Hotel. “At the end of the day, I want the music industry to be larger than what it is today. And I believe that the two models [streaming and sales] can co-exist side by side."

As if to punctuate a contrast with Ek's youthful approach, John Branca, veteran counselor to the stars, followed him on stage with the following remark that drew chuckles from the crowd: 

"It’s a popular belief that the music industry is over, that it’s seen better days. Some would say that we lawyers are the dinosaurs of the legal landscape, that paleontology is a better subject for us and that a better forum for this would be the La Brea Tar Pits."

As a prominent music attorney, Branca's clients have included the Beach Boys, the Doors, the Rolling Stones and Carlos Santana. He is also the executor of the Michael Jackson estate.

Branca summed up the challenge for the music industry, pointing out that many of music's greatest stars created their music "before the digital age."

"How do we present these great artists to a new generation of fans?" Branca said. 

One could almost hear Ek replying, "Through Spotify."

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— Alex Pham

Photo: Spotify Chief Executive Daniel Ek, right, speaking with music attorney John Branca, center, and Josh Tyrangiel, editor of Bloomberg Newsweek, before the Grammy Foundation's Entertainment Law Initiative luncheon in Beverly Hills. Credit: Alex Pham / Los Angeles Times.

Golden Globes trial ends; decision now rests with judge

With the two sides hopelessly deadlocked, a federal judge now must determine who controls the lucrative television rights to the Golden Globes Awards show.

Before a packed courtroom in downtown Los Angeles, lawyers representing the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., which owns the Golden Globes, and Dick Clark Productions, which has produced the annual extravaganza for nearly 30 years, wrapped up their three-week trial with closing arguments  Friday.

U.S. District Court Judge A. Howard Matz had urged the sides to try to settle the case before Friday's finale -- but the parties remained at loggerheads.

At issue is the validity of a 2010 agreement that Dick Clark Productions struck with NBC that would keep the Golden Globes on the network through 2018 -- a deal worth as much as $150 million.  

But soon after that pact was announced, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. cried foul. The group sued Dick Clark Productions, contending that the production firm lacked the authority to enter into a new TV contract without its consent. 

Dick Clark Productions, meanwhile, maintains that a pivotal section of a 1993 contract gave the firm latitude to renew its TV licensing agreement as long as NBC remained the television broadcast partner.  Dick Clark Productions was acquired in 2007 by Red Zone Capital Management Co., a private equity firm controlled by Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder.

Matz must now interpret the 1993 agreement. If he sides with the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., the organization could shop the deal to other networks and launch a bidding war.  

His decision is not expected for several weeks.

"It's going to take some time before I can get back to this," Matz said immediately after declaring the end of the trial. Then he complimented the legal teams, saying: "This case has been handled very professionally and I am grateful for that." 

The Morning Fix: Google's entertainment device, 'The Vow' looks hot

After the coffee. Before reading Steve Jobs' FBI file.

The Skinny: The final thing I did before falling asleep Thursday night was watch "Top Chef" (I'm a day behind) and get worked up about how mean all the chefs are to Beverly, even though she's clearly as good or better than almost all of them. I can't be the only one who feels like they're watching the popular kids in high school gang up on a geek all over again. There's other news today, though, like Google's new home entertainment device, some bad video game sales, and another movie shut down because the budget was too high.

The Daily Dose: Warner Bros.' first DVD release since it stopped selling discs to Redbox in a dispute over a 56-day window that the studio wants and the kiosk company refuses to accept happened this week with "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas." According to Redbox's website, customers will find the movie in those ubiquitous red kiosks on Feb. 14, just seven days after it hit store shelves. It will be interesting to see just how many copies there really are, though. Since Redbox has to buy copies from retail stores or independent distributors, availability might not be great.

Google leaving the virtual world: A mysterious device being tested by Google turns out to be a home entertainment system that can stream music wirelessly throughout the home, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times report. Should it come to market, it would be the first time Google releases a product under its own brand name and would put Google into competition with devices made by Apple (the two companies are already fierce competitors for mobile phone software). I can only imagine Google has designs not just on music but video as well, which makes this very interesting for folks in the TV and movie businesses.

Everybody love Channing: Analysts are predicting a hot weekend at the box office with four new movies opening and several expected to perform well. Everyone seems sure that "The Vow," a syrupy romance starring Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams timed perfectly for Valentine's Day, will be No. 1 with more than $30 million. "Safe House" should also have a strong weekend, followed by the 3-D "Star Wars Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace" and "Journey 2." Details from the Los Angeles Times and the Hollywood Reporter.

Low score: Video game industry experts always complain that data released each month from analysts at the NPD Group don't capture the growth of digital distribution. That may be true, but the sales of discs and consoles tanked in January, dropping 34% from a year ago and coming in well below analysts' estimates, according to the Los Angeles Times and Gamasutra. In more positive news, the nation's largest video game publisher, Activision Blizzard Inc., reported better than expected earnings and swung to a profit, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Feig in, Shearmur out: Lions Gate continues to shake up its motion picture group as executives make the jump from its new subsidiary Summit Entertainment. The latest is Summit's Erik Feig, who was named president of production Thursday. Lions Gate's existing president of production, Alli Shearmur, is expected to leave her post and take a production deal. Details from the Los Angeles Times and Deadline.

"Paradise Lost" is lost: The latest movie to get scrapped over budgetary concerns is Legendary Pictures' "Paradise Lost," starring Bradley Cooper. Legendary reportedly wanted to bring the budget of the adaptation of John Milton's classic poem to about $120 million, but couldn't figure out how to do it with the visual effects the movie needed. Unlike films such as "The Lone Ranger," which went back into production after a budget trim, it looks like "Paradise" is dead for now. Details from Deadline and Variety.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: 2011 movie ticket prices were up from the full year 2010, but down slightly from late 2010. "Man on a Ledge" was made at the Roosevelt Hotel -- in New York. Reviews of "Safe House," "The Vow," and "Journey 2."

-- Ben Fritz

Follow me on Twitter and get updates on the movie industry, the video games I'm playing, and the occassional adorable photo of my baby: twitter.com/benfritz

Photo: Channing Tatum at the premiere of "The Vow." Credit: Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images

January video game sales tank on lower releases

Sales of U.S. video games and consoles plunged 34% in January to $750.6 million, compared with $1.14 billion a year earlier, according to market research firm NPD Group Inc.

Revenue from consoles such as the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the Wii fell 38% to just under $200 million last month, down from $324 million in January 2010, NPD said in a report released Thursday. Console accessories, such as game controllers, slipped 18% to $195 million from $237 million.

Sales of games played on both personal computers and consoles ebbed 37% to $380 million, down from $603 million last year.

A dearth of new game releases last month made for the poor comparison with January 2011, when a flurry of new, high-profile games such as Dead Space 2 and DC Universe Online pumped up sales. All of the titles in the top 10 list for January 2012, for example, debuted last year.

Hard-core shooter titles remained popular, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3 and Saints Row: The Third taking top slots. Dancing and fitness games also continued to sizzle, with Just Dance 3 and Zumba Fitness 2 selling well.

Top-selling video games in January 2012

(publisher)
1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision Blizzard)
2. Just Dance 3 (Ubisoft)
3. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Softworks)
4. NBA 2K12 (Take-Two Interactive Software)
5. Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts)
6. Madden NFL 12 (Electronic Arts)
7. Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo)
8. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure (Activision Blizzard)
9. Zumba Fitness 2: Party Yourself Into Shape (Majesco)
10. Saints Row: The Third (THQ)
Source: NPD Group

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'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2' trailer to debut on 'Hunger Games'

The trailer for the fifth and final "Twilight" movie, "Breaking Dawn Part 2," will debut exclusively on "The Hunger Games" in March -- the first significant example of synergy between Lions Gate Entertainment and its new subsidiary Summit Entertainment.

When the studio acquired Summit in January, Lions Gate executives touted the opportunities that would come from bringing together two of Hollywood's hottest young adult franchises. Because fans tend to get excited about seeing the first trailer for a highly anticipated sequel, Lions Gate is betting it can bring the huge base of "Twilight" fans to the opening weekend of "The Hunger Games," which debuts March 23.

"'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2' trailer will debut exclusively on every 'Hunger Games' print on its opening night for what will be Lions Gate's largest release ever," Santa Monica-based Lions Gate's chief executive Jon Feltheimer said on a conference call with analysts Friday following the release of its financial results.

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While anticipation for "The Hunger Games" is high, the film is still a risk for Lions Gate, which spent nearly $100 million to make the picture before the benefit of tax credits and international pre-sales. This is the studio's biggest film budget to date. The company is counting on a successful launch for the March release to not only generate immediate profits but create momentum for three planned sequels. "Breaking Dawn Part 2" will open in November.

A successful launch for "The Hunger Games" will help Lions Gate to replace Summit's "Twilight," which ends its run on the big screen with the fifth installment. Four previous movies have grossed a total of $2.5 billion worldwide and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.

Asked on the conference call whether there could be a sixth "Twilight" film," Lions Gate motion picture group co-chairman and former Summit co-chief Rob Friedman said that was entirely up to Stephenie Meyer, author of the teen vampire books.

If she were to write a sixth book, he said, Lions Gate would eagerly support it with a big screen adaptation.

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Photo: Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth in "The Hunger Games." Credit: Murray Close / Lionsgate.

Call of Duty, Skylanders boost Activision earnings, stock

Bolstered by the continued dominance of the Call of Duty military shooter franchise and a new hit in its Skylander video game and toy line, Activision Blizzard Inc. swung to a profit in its fourth quarter, beating Wall Street's expectations and pumping up its stock price Thursday by 1%.

The Santa Monica game publisher also reported that subscribers to its World of Warcraft online game fell to 10.2 million as of Dec. 31, down from 10.3 million customers three months earlier. The fantasy role-playing game, which is in its seventh year, had been steadily losing players since it peaked in October 2010 with 12 million customers.

Some analysts had feared that the online game — the company's most profitable property — would suffer worse declines because of competition from the mid-December release of rival online game Star Wars: The Old Republic, published by Electronic Arts Inc.

But aggressive marketing and discounting, along with an injection in November of fresh game content, helped stem customer defections. However, that came at the cost of reducing the game's average revenue per customer, executives said during a Thursday earnings call with analysts.

Activision's financials were also helped by its blockbuster Call of Duty franchise. The latest game in the series, released in November, raked in $1 billion in retail sales within 16 days of hitting store shelves. Moreover, 1.5 million players have ponied up $49.99 a year for access to additional downloadable online content for the Call of Duty games.

“They're in a pretty nice competitive position, despite World of Warcraft subscriptions falling,” said P.J. McNealy, president of Digital World Research. “They have the biggest console game cranking in Call of Duty.”

Longer term, Activision's online game platform, dubbed Battle.net, will allow the company to sell its titles directly to players online, McNealy said. “They have a tremendous opportunity to leverage the 50 million Battle.net users with new games down the road, which is a unique advantage,” he said.

The company, known for its uncanny ability to surf from one hit franchise to another, also rode high on a wave of popularity for its new Skylanders property — a video game introduced last year aimed at kids that ties into physical toys sold at major retailers such as Toys R Us. Skylanders action figures and games generated $200 million in sales last quarter for Activision.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Activision posted net income of $99 million, or 8 cents a share, on $1.41 billion in sales. It had reported a loss of $233 million, or 20 cents, a year earlier on slightly higher revenue of $1.43 billion.

Its shares gained 11 cents to close at $12.66 in regular trading prior to the earnings release, but popped an additional 9 cents to $12.75 after the quarterly financial announcement.

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Photo: World of Warcraft players at a BlizzCon convention in Anaheim. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times.

Lionsgate's Shearmur expected to leave as Summit's Feig steps in

Lionsgate's president of production, Alli Shearmur, is expected to leave the company sometime after the March release of "The Hunger Games," said people with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly. The studio announced Thursday that Summit Entertainment's production chief Erik Feig has been named to her job.

The change is part of a management shakeup in Lionsgate's film division following the Santa Monica company's acquisition of "Twilight" studio Summit last month for $412.5 million.

Lionsgate is currently talking to Shearmur about a potential producing deal with the studio, said one of the people familiar with the matter.

In leaving Lionsgate's executive ranks, Shearmur would join her ex-boss, former motion picture group chairman Joe Drake, who was replaced by Summit's co-chairmen Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger. Drake is also expected to depart after "Hunger Games."

Many of Summit's senior film executives who worked under Friedman and Wachsberger at Summit are also expected to transition into top posts at Lionsgate.

Shearmur's fellow production president, Michael Paseornek, is expected to remain at Lionsgate, as he has a long-standing relationship with actor-filmmaker Tyler Perry, who typically makes two movies per year for the studio, and also oversees the film division's lower-budget genre movies. Paseornek, who also oversees physical production, is expected to report to Feig.

Shearmur's focus on bigger-budget pictures with broader commercial ambitions crosses over more directly with Feig's experience.

Feig made his mark as the executive who helped bring the "Twilight" teen vampire project to Summit. The four "Twilight" movies released so far have collectively grossed $2.5 billion worldwide. That, along with the expected revenue from the fifth and final film that comes out in November, represent the primary value of Summit.

Outside of "Twilight," Summit has had a weak box-office record, with flops including "Furry Vengeance," "Bandslam," "The Beaver" and the current release "Man on a Ledge," outweighing a handful of hits such as "Red" and "Knowing."

In 2010, Feig rejected overtures by Walt Disney Studios Chairman Rich Ross to be named president of production at that studio.

Shearmur, who joined Lionsgate in 2008 a year after she was forced out of Paramount Pictures, has overseen the studio's hugely anticipated "Hunger Games" adaptation and the upcoming adaptation of the best-selling book "What to Expect When You're Expecting," featuring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez. She also worked on the flop "Abduction," starring Taylor Lautner.

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— Ben Fritz

Top photo: Summit co-chairman Patrick Wachsberger, left, director Bill Condon and Erik Feig at the premiere of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1" in November. Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty Images. Bottom photo: Alli Shearmur. Credit: Paramount Pictures.

Average movie-ticket price edges up to a record $7.93 for 2011

The average movie-ticket price in the U.S. climbed to an annual record of $7.93 in 2011, up from $7.89 the year before, the National Assn. of Theatre Owners said Thursday.

Rising prices paid by moviegoers reflect an increase in premium-priced tickets for 3-D movies, IMAX screenings and other specialty formats, said Patrick Corcoran, spokesman for the theater association.

In the fourth quarter, however, the average ticket price dropped to $7.83, down from $8.01 in the  last three months of 2010, as theater owners offered more specials and discounted tickets on Tuesday nights.

Total box office revenue last year slumped 4% from the year before to an estimated $10.2 billion, while cinema attendance dropped 5%.

Some analysts blamed rising ticket prices for the decline in box office revenue last year, but theater owners have cited other factors, including the types of movies Hollywood released. Business has rallied so far this year, however, with box office revenue up about 11% and attendance up about 12% compared with the same time last year.

The trade association's ticket-price figures are based on data from across the country and include lower-priced matinee and children's tickets.

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Photo: Asa Butterfield plays Hugo Cabret in "Hugo" from Paramount Pictures. Credit: Jaap Buitendijk / Paramount Pictures