December 18 - 25, 2000 News

Monday, December 18, 2000

New Animated/Anime Titles Coming to DVD Tomorrow
There are only two animated/anime DVDs being released tomorrow, but both are likely to gain a lot of interest. Anime fans will be pleased to see Princess Mononoke coming to DVD as well as the old TV show Starblazers:

Princess Mononoke (1999)
Starblazers: Quest for Iscandar - Series 1 Pack

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Emperor Comes in Fourth in Weekend Estimates
The Emperor's New Groove placed fourth at the Box Office, according to weekend estimates. It is estimated to have brought in only $10, a disappointing number for a Disney animated film. Last year's Tarzan brought in $34.2 million in its opening weekend. Tarzan consistently grossed above $10 million for its first four weekends in release.

The Emperor's New Groove is on par with Disney's The Tigger Movie which was released earlier this year, bringing in $9.4 million in its opening weekend in February while playing on fewer screens than Emperor.

While the weekend results may seem like bad news for Disney, which invested over $80 million in The Emperor's New Groove, there is some good news. Cinema Score exit polls of theater goers over the weekend ranked The Emperor's New Groove as the best movie currently in theaters.

Tuesday, December 19, 2000

Box Office Results for Animated Films
Here are the Box Office results for last weekend's animated films:

The Emperor's New Groove
$9.8 Million ($3,503 per screen average - opening weekend)
4th at the Box Office
Total to Date: $9.8 Million

Rugrats in Paris
$1.8 Million ($724 per screen average - 53% decrease)
10th at the Box Office (down from #7 last weekend)
Total to Date: $63 Million

CyberWorld 3D
$160,784 ($4,346 per screen average - 7% decrease)
22nd at the Box Office (down from #21 last weekend)
Total to Date: $3.6 Million

Fantasia 2000 (back on IMAX screens)
$33,053 (1,102 per screen average)
43rd at the Box Office
Total to Date (includes widescreen and past IMAX releases): $60.3 Million

Digimon
$8,086 ($172 per screen average - 22% decrease)
64th at the Box Office (down from #58 last weekend)
Total to Date: $9.6 Million

Dinosaur
$6,852 ($114 per screen average - 28% decrease)
65th at the Box Office (down from #62 last weekend)
Total to Date: $137.7 Million

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
$2,980 ($175 per screen average - big 71% decrease)
85th at the Box Office (down from #59 last weekend)
Total to Date (includes original release): $50.37 Million
Rerelease total: only $262,566

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Magic Pudding Receives Mixed Review
According to SMH (in Australia):

"With its love of language and pugnaciously vibrant characters, Norman Lindsay's 1918 children's story about a magic pudding amok in the Australian bush became a justifiable classic. So an animated film version was obviously much anticipated, especially after a long campaign to woo the Lindsay family for the film rights. But The Magic Pudding, the Australian animated 75-minute feature, is a mixed bag, more bubble and squeak leftovers than satisfying meal..."

Click here for the full story.

BLUR Tackles 3D Pacman Commercial
Blur Studio recently produced a computer-animated television spot for New York agency Griffin Bacal and its client Hasbro Interactive promoting the release of the CD-ROM game Pac-Man Adventures in Time, a new version of the arcade classic featuring full 3D action.

In the opening scene, Pac-Man is pursued through a maze-like Egyptian tomb by a quartet of ravenous ghosts. Cornered, he turns toward the camera and leaps through the screen of the computer being used to play the game. The ghosts follow Pac-Man into the real world but are stymied when he swallows a "Magic Power Pill." Pac-Man turns and chases the ghosts back into the computer.

Blur Studio animators modeled the characters and cartoon-like Egyptian tomb after their counterparts in the game. The colorful hyper real look is carried through into the "real world" on the other side of the computer screen. "We went for a styling that was not quite photo-real," explained Blur Studio CG supervisor Aaron Powell. "It's a softer look achieved through lighting and contract."

Credits for Blur Studio go to Tim Miller, creative director; Aaron Powell, CG Supervisor; Sherry Wallace, coordinating producer; and Paul Taylor, Noel McGinn and Sam Gebhardt, animators. Blur used 3D Studio Max for modeling and animation; and Digital Fusion for compositing.

Griffin Bacal credits include Matt Hill, producer; Michael Maier, associate creative director/art director; Phil Haworth, copywriter and David Javitch, account executive.

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The Emperor's New Groove Performance Continues to Disappoint
On Monday, The Emperor's New Groove fell below the $1 million daily mark, bringing in only $920,000. If the movie keeps on par with other films that have opened around $9.8 million and have fallen below $1 million on the first Monday, then it will end up grossing under $50 million total. However, with two holiday weekends in a row and positive word of mouth, the film could end up grossing $60 - $70 million total, well below the cost of the film (estimated to be between $80 - $100 million).

One aspect of the film that may be scaring off moviegoers is the title, which was widely criticized when it was announced earlier this year. Disney also has been weak with the marketing of the film. According to CBS Market Watch:

"...analysts are skeptical after the first weekend, often considered the key to a film's success. 'It seemed a little disappointing. $10 million didn't do much for me, frankly,' said David Londoner, analyst for ABN Amro... Disney hopes that as audiences trail off from Grinch and other films such as Viacom Inc.'s Rugrats In Paris and Disney's own 102 Dalmatians, then Emperor will be the alternative they look for when going to the theater over the holiday."

Thursday, December 21, 2000

Chicken Run Nominated for Best Comedy Golden Globe Award!
Aardman and DreamWorks have reason to celebrate after Chicken Run won a Golden Globe nomination for "Best Comedy or Musical," a category that has been dominated by Disney animated films in the past. There were no Disney animated films nominated this year for "Best Comedy or Musical." The Emperor's New Groove did, however, gain a nomination in the "Best Original Score" category with Sting's song, "My Funny Friend and Me." Chicken Run was recently snubbed at the Annie Awards. The 58th annual Golden Globe Awards will take place on January 21, 2001.

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Ten Years of Rugrats
This January "The Rugrats" will celebrate their 10-year anniversary. As part of the celebration, Nickelodeon will introduce a new playmate for the toddlers named Kimi, who was recently featured in the Rugrats in Paris movie. New season episodes will air Saturday's at 7:30PM on Nickelodeon after a special Monday, January 15 season premiere at 8:00PM. In addition, the show will feature a new opening title sequence for the first time since "Rugrats" hit the airwaves in August 1991. The updated sequence showcases the full cast of babies frolicking, including the newest arrivals, Kimi, Dil and Susie, and an energized arrangement of the show's theme music.

Since premiering in 1991, "Rugrats" has won three-time Emmy Awards. It recently finished its fourth straight year as the highest rated kids program on broadcast and cable, according to Nickelodeon.

Friday, December 22, 2000

LA Times Tackles Sting Issue
According to the LA Times,

"If there were an Oscar handed out at next year's Academy Awards for most patient music artist involved in a Disney project, Sting would be the odds-on favorite.

The former Police frontman and successful solo artist went through the wringer in collaborating with the studio on its newest animated feature, The Emperor's New Groove...He was commissioned to write songs to be sung by characters for an animated feature based on an ancient Inca legend which was to be titled Kingdom of the Sun. With his strong ties to South America -- particularly his efforts to help save Brazil's rainforest -- Sting seemed the right partner for the project..."

Click here for the full story.

Saturday, December 23, 2000

Box Office Numbers Improve for Disney's The Emperor's New Groove
On Friday, Disney's The Emperor's New Groove brought in $2.5 million, an improvement over its debut last Friday when it brought in $2.3 million. To date, The Emperor's New Groove has made $16.4 million, a disappointing number when compared to past major animated films by Disney. Disney believes that word of mouth will help the film pick up additional viewers over the holidays to improve the overall numbers.

For the day, The Emperor's New Groove placed 7th at the Box Office. This weekend will include Monday, which is a holiday (Christmas day).

Sunday, December 24, 2000

Weekend Estimates Place The Emperor's New Groove Sixth
The Friday through Sunday weekend estimates are in and The Emperor's New Groove is estimated to come in sixth place with $8 million. If the estimates hold then Disney's The Emperor's New Groove will have made $22.7 million in its first 10 days, considered to be a disappointing number. Last year, Disney's Tarzan made $77.5 million in its first 10 days.

Nickelodeon's recent Rugrats in Paris animated feature made $47.5 million in its first 10 days on the way to a total of $64 million.

Last March, DreamWorks The Road to El Dorado made $25 million in its first 10 days on its way to a $50 million finish.

Many analysts are blaming the way Disney marketed The Emperor's New Groove for its poor performance.

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