Box Office Report: 'Pacific Rim' Opens to $3.6 Million Thursday Night; 'Grown Ups 2' Nabs $2.3 Million

Fanboys turned out in strong numbers Thursday night to see Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim, taking in $3.6 million to match the start of World War Z, which went on to gross $66.4 million for the weekend.

From Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, Pacific Rim made headlines as it opened in Asia on Thursday, grossing $3.8 million from seven markets. The 3D sci-fic epic outpaced a slew of films that went on to gross between $300 million and $400 million internationally.

The news from Australia, which often mirrors the U.S. in terms of playability, was more troubling. Pacific Rim grossed a soft $666,000 as it opened on Thursday, coming in No. 4 behind Despicable Me 2, the opening day of The Heat and Monsters University (with school holidays, Despicable 2 and Monsters U are thriving).

Sony's ensemble Adam Sandler comedy Grown Ups 2 didn't do too shabby either as it likewise began rolling out in North America Thursday night, grossing an impressive $2.3 million. That's a great result for a comedy and easily bested the $1 million earned Thursday night by box-office pleaser The Heat.

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Box-office experts are divided as to whether Pacific Rim can overcome poor tracking. Based on prerelease tracking, they believe it may only open in the $30 million range, a financially precarious beginning for a movie that cost at least $190 million to produce (Legendary took the lead on the project and paid for the majority of the budget).

But WB and Legendary believe Pacific Rim could gross well north of $40 million, based on strong reviews and the buzz on social media. The big question will be how much Pacific Rim drops. A fanboy-driven film often will do especially big business on Friday but see substantial declines as the weekend progresses. That won't be the case if Pacific Rim can lure families as well.

Pacific Rim, pitting giant robots against alien monsters, stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi and Charlie Day.

Imax theaters should do big business, with 23 percent of Thursday night's gross coming from Imax locations ($835,000). Overall, 52 percent of the $3.6 million came from 3D locations, including Imax.

Pacific Rim opens just as Thomas Tull's Legendary and Warners prepare to part ways. Earlier this week, Legendary announced it has struck a new co-financing and production deal with Universal.

Sony's Grown Ups 2, with a budget of $80 million, opens three years after the original film turned into a box-office hit, opening to $40.5 million and ultimately grossing $271.4 million worldwide.

The ensemble comedy -- receiving blistering reviews -- reteams Sandler with Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Salma Hayek, Maya Rudolph and Maria Bello. Grown Ups 2 had an abysmal 3 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of Thursday afternoon.

Sony insiders believe the sequel will open in the same range as the 2010 film.

Universal's megahit Despicable Me 2 could easily stay at No. 1 in its second weekend. The 3D animated tentpole has already earned north of $165 million domestically and over $316 million worldwide.

Opening Night Report: Larry Ellison's New Malibu Restaurant

Nikita, the most anticipated restaurant of the year in Malibu, quietly opened at 5 p.m. Monday along the Carbon Beach oceanfront. It’s backed by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and named after his girlfriend, Ukranian actress Nikita Kahn. Currently worth an estimated $43 billion, he lives nearby and has in recent years demonstrated an insatiable appetite for purchasing adjacent real estate parcels, including at least nine Carbon homes.

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Situated just across a Ferrari-festooned parking lot from Nobu -- Malibu’s dining debutante last summer -- Nikita shares its neighbor’s penchant for teak wood, minimalist stonework, giant glass panes and a generally understated Zen vibe. Dinner reservations were booked out all week, although the restaurant was only lightly occupied; management seemed to be purposefully easing into dinner service. Lunch will follow in a few months.

The menu, by chef Massimiliano Blasone (previously of the Michelin-starred Apsley's in London), is Italian-inclined Mediterranean through a Californian lens. Expect a lot of handmade pastas and precision-plated appetizers, such as the signature crispy sea bass “cannolo” appetizer accompanied by diced celery and cantaloupe.

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Really, though, the most appropriate culinary description may just be Gazillionaire Grub: very small portions of very well-executed dishes at very high prices. (An itsy-bitsy $25 “lobster salad,” available only at the bar, consisted of two claws and several pieces of endive and frisee, all resting atop a smear of avocado puree.)

The first day’s crowd was almost entirely comprised of eager, in-the-know Malibuites, clad in the city’s particular definition of dressy-casual -- Piaget watch with baseball cap, James Perse top and bikini bottom with Hermes bag. There was quite a bit of talk about the positively-avant-garde-for-the-neighborhood cocktails (a mixology-minded list conjured by the noted Greg Seider, co-owner of The Summit Bar in Manhattan’s East Village) as well as local Fourth of July festivities. Specifically, the one being held at Nikita. It seems Ellison and his other investors have booked out most of the available tables for dinner on Thursday and are arranging for a rather epic fireworks spectacle over the water directly in front of the restaurant that may put other past Carbon barge displays to shame.

After Midnight, Night Owls Gorge, Piling On The Calories

Late nights lead people to eat more.

Now we know what you're doing when you're staying up late. You're eating 553 calories.

That's the equivalent of a Big Mac, and also about one-quarter of the recommended daily caloric intake for an adult.

Our guess is that the people eating that big chunk of chow in the wee hours didn't fast during the day. So it's not surprising to hear that people who slept as little as four hours a night in a sleep laboratory gained weight, about two pounds over nine days, while people getting a good night's sleep didn't.

This findings come from what appears to be the largest, carefully controlled study so far on the relationship between sleep deprivation, eating and weight gain. Earlier studies also have found people who slept less gained weight, but they included fewer subjects.

This study took advantage of the University of Pennsylvania's busy sleep and chronobiology laboratory to track the sleeping and eating behavior of 225 people. The results was reported in the journal Sleep.

Men gained more weight than women, overall, and African-American participants gained more weight than Caucasians.

On the nights when the researchers made people stay up late, they ate more. The researchers measured the calorie count in a smaller group of 37 people to come up with that 553 calorie number, eaten between 10 pm and 4 am. The participants also chose foods that were higher in fat.

"It was all during the late-night period," Andrea Spaeth, a graduate student in psychology who led the study, tells Shots. "That's a ton of calories."

The study didn't measure hormone levels or metabolic changes. But other studies have found that people gain more weight when they eat the same amount of food in the evening rather than in the morning.

It's good to be aware of the lure of late-night food, Spaeth says. Picking a reasonable bedtime and sticking to it consistently might be an effective way for people to keep their weight in check, she says. At the lab, they tuck the control subjects into bed at 10 p.m.

'A Night With Janis Joplin' to Play Broadway

NEW YORK  -- The raw emotional energy that characterized the legendary late-'60s Queen of Rock 'n' Roll will blaze again when A Night With Janis Joplin plays Broadway in the fall.

Written and directed by Randy Johnson, the concert-style tribute show stars Mary Bridget Davies as the iconic rocker whose hits included "Piece of My Heart," "Cry Baby," "Mercedes Benz" and "Me and Bobby McGee." In addition to Davies, the show features an eight-piece band and a trio of backup singers.

Since premiering in 2011 at Portland Center Stage, the production has played hit engagements in Cleveland, D.C., Pasadena and Milwaukee.

Praising Davies' uncanny evocation of Joplin's vocals and stage persona, The Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks wrote, "It's a portrait, more than anything else, of a romance: a singer in love with the cleansing embrace of the crowd."

The show begins previews at the Lyceum Theatre on Sept. 20, with official opening set for Oct. 10.

Producers on the Broadway run are Todd Gershwin and Daniel Chilewich, in association with The Estate of Janis Joplin and Jeffrey Jampol for JAM, Inc.

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Box Office Report: Brad Pitt's 'World War Z' Opens to $3.6 Million Thursday Night

Paramount's zombie extravaganza World War Z grossed $3.6 million as it began its North American assault Thursday night, competing for attention with the final NBA championship game between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs.

Disney and Pixar's Monsters University, the weekend's other new entry, also began rolling out at 8 p.m., grossing $2.6 million. The long-awaited sequel is widely expected to top the North American box office chart with a debut in the $70 million-plus range. Earlier this year, Disney's Oz the Great and Powerful did $2 million in Thursday night business on its way to a $79.1 million weekend.

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Pointing out that World War Z is an original property, Paramount is projecting a $40 million to $45 million domestic debut for the movie, starring and produced by Brad Pitt. But other box office observers says the film, based on Max Brook's 2006 novel of the same name, is likely to open in the $45 million to $50 million range.

Earlier this summer, The Great Gatsby took in $3.3 million in midnight shows on its way to a $50.1 million North American opening.

In addition to Monsters U, World War Z will have to compete with holdover Man of Steel, which could earn anywhere from $50 million to $60 million in its second outing.

Thursday night's basketball game no doubt kept many moviegoers at home. Hollywood studios -- including Paramount -- blanketed the game with ads promoting their movies, including two spots for World War Z.

World War Z, rated PG-13, cost $190 million to produce after tax incentives. Extensive reshoots bumped up the budget, which was originally at $150 million. The pic, directed by Marc Forster, was initially slotted to open in December 2010.

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Overseas, World War Z is already scaring up strong business, scoring $5.7 million on Thursday and pacing in line with Christopher Nolan's original event pic Inception.

In South Korea, World War Z grossed $1.5 million, ahead of the $1.1 million earned a week ago by Man of Steel. Inception's opening-day gross in South Korea was $941,000.

World War Z grossed $1.1 million in Australia, in line with Inception. And the movie made the record books in Argentina, grossing $710,000, double the Man of Steel and the third-best Thursday of all time.

Twitter: @sajilpl

Box Office Report: 'This Is the End' Opens to Impressive $2.2 Million Tuesday Night

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldeberg's This Is the End earned a strong $2.2 million as it rolled out in select theaters Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

The R-rated end-of-the-world comedy -- marking the directorial debut of Goldberg and Rogen, who also stars -- is hoping for a pleasing five-day debut in the low $30 million range, which would recoup the film's $32 million budget. It opens everywhere in North America on Wednesday.

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In terms of comps, Summit Entertainment's ensemble magician pic Now You See Me grossed $1.5 million in Thursday night shows late last month on its way to a $29.4 million.

Also starring Jonah Hill, James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera and Emma Watson, This is the End hopes to serve as counterprogramming to Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures' Superman entry Man of Steel, which begins rolling out Thursday night in the U.S.

In the comedy, the actors -- all playing fictional versions of themselves -- are attending a star-studded party at Franco's house when the apocalypse begins and they're forced to work together to survive. The feature is based on a short film created by Rogen and Baruchel in 2007 titled Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse. Rogen and Goldberg also co-wrote the scripts for Superbad, The Green Hornet and The Watch.

This Is the End, which will play in more than 2,900 theaters, also features several other cameos during the early scenes at Franco's house party, including appearances by Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd and Kevin Hart.

In terms of sheer gross, the comedy will be eclipsed once the highly anticipated Man of Steel debuts. Zack Snyder's superhero action film, produced by Christopher Nolan, opens in 24 foreign markets, including in South Korea on Thursday.

Among other major markets, Man of Steel opens in the U.K. and Mexico on Friday. The following weekend, the $225 million tentpole opens in 26 additional markets, including China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Spain.

Based on tracking, box-office observers are predicting a North American debut in the $85 million to $100 million range.

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British actor Henry Cavill stars as Clark Kent in the origin tale, which sees his character trying to hide his superpowers and live a normal life on Earth. Amy Adams stars as Lois Lane, and Michael Shannon takes on the role of the menacing General Zod.

With a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, and a script by Goyer, Man of Steel will have a special screening at the Los Angeles Film Festival on Wednesday. It opens in limited release in the U.S. Thursday night, with a wide release on Friday in more than 4,200 theaters.

Warners and Legendary turned to Nolan as a producer on the project after he successfully revived the Batman franchise with his Dark Knight trilogy. In the summer of 2005, Nolan's Batman Begins opened to $48.7 million and had incredible staying power.

Twitter: @sajilpl

 

Box Office Preview: 'Man of Steel' Breaks Records in Asia, Lands in U.S. Thursday Night

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures' much-anticipated Man of Steel is already off to a record-breaking start in Southeast Asia, where the superhero tentpole scored the biggest opening day of all time in the Philippines and the biggest opening day for a Warners film in Taiwan.

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Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Christopher Nolan, begins rolling out at the North American box office Thursday night before playing everywhere on Friday. Box-office observers expect the $225 million film to open in the $85 million-to-$100 million range, although Warners is being more conservative and projecting an $80 million bow.

Overseas, Man of Steel is opening day-and-date in 24 markets, landing first in the Philippines and Taiwan, where it earned $1.7 million and $794,742, respectively. Among other major markets, it opens in the U.K. and Mexico on Friday. The following weekend, the tentpole opens in 26 additional markets, including China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Spain.

British actor Henry Cavill stars as Clark Kent, aka Superman, in the origin tale, which sees his character trying to hide his superpowers and live a normal life on Earth. Amy Adams stars as Lois Lane, and Michael Shannon takes on the role of the menacing General Zod.

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David S. Goyer penned the script based on a story by he and Nolan. Warners and Legendary turned to Nolan as a producer on the project after he successfully revived the Batman franchise with his Dark Knight trilogy. In the summer of 2005, Nolan's Batman Begins opened to $48.7 million and had incredible staying power.

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's This Is the End, the weekend's other new offering, debuted Wednesday in order to get a jump on Man of Steel. The Sony comedy is overperforming so far, posting an opening-day gross of $7.8 million and putting it on course for a five-day debut in the low- to mid-$30 million range.

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Marking the directorial debut of Rogen and Goldberg, This Is the End stars Rogen opposite Jonah Hill, James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera and Emma Watson.

In the raunchy comedy, the actors -- all playing fictional versions of themselves -- are attending a star-studded party at Franco's house when the apocalypse begins and they're forced to work together to survive. The feature is based on a short film created by Rogen and Baruchel in 2007 titled Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse. Rogen and Goldberg also co-wrote the scripts for Superbad, The Green Hornet and The Watch.

New entires at the specialty box office include Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring, which A24 Films opens in five theaters, and The Weinstein Co.'s documentary 20 Feet From Stardom.

Twitter: @sajilpl