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    “Madea” Towers Over “Inferno” In Box Office Upset

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    In this image released by Lionsgate, Tyler Perry portrays Madea in a scene from, "Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween." Perry's latest Madea movie remained number one for the second straight week, topping the North American box office with an estimated $16.6 million. (Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate via AP, File)

    By Jake Coyle, Film Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    Tom Hanks. Tom Cruise. Ben Affleck. None of them have been a match for Tyler Perry's Madea.

    In a surprise victory at the weekend box office, Perry's "Boo! A Madea Halloween" toppled another A-lister as Hanks' and Ron Howard's new Dan Brown adaption, "Inferno," went up in flames. Perry's latest movie about his tough-talking grandmother remained No. 1 for the second straight week with an estimated $16.7 million.

    That was enough to scare away the third installment of the "Da Vinci Code" franchise. According to studio estimates Sunday, "Inferno" bombed with $15 million, about half of what more bullish predictions anticipated.

    Sony Pictures and "Inferno" could take solace in stronger overseas business. In three weeks of international release, the Italy-set film has earned nearly $150 million. The studio also stressed that the $75 million budget for "Inferno" was half that of 2006's "The Da Vinci Code" or 2009's "Angels & Demons."

    "Certainly we thought of the film as for the international market. We knew that's where the sweet spot was going to be," said Rory Bruer, domestic distribution chief for Sony. "We got a few bad breaks, the biggest being this historical World Series." (Friday night's Game Three between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians drew 19.4 million viewers, a 12-year-best, and Saturday night's Game Four was watched by 15.1 million.)

    But the unexpectedly poor performance of "Inferno" was yet another example of an anxious trend in the movie business: More of the same isn't working.

    Poorly reviewed and coming seven years after the last Robert Langdon thriller, "Inferno" arrived long after the Dan Brown craze. "Angels & Demons" opened with $46.1 million in 2009. Efforts to adapt the third book in Brown's series, "The Lost Symbol," were scuttled in favor of Brown's fourth installment, "Inferno."

    "'Inferno' joins the long list of sequels that didn't measure up to their predecessors this year and in particular this summer when only three of the 14 sequels released outperformed their immediate predecessors at the box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore.

    Hanks has still notched the fall's biggest hit, Clint Eastwood's "Sully." It's been an especially star-studded season, with Tom Cruise in "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back" ($9.6 million in its second week) and Ben Affleck in "The Accountant" ($8.5 million in its third week).

    But Perry's long-running character has fared better than each, at least in North America. The Halloween-themed "Boo," released by Lionsgate, has made $52 million in 10 days, making it Perry's biggest hit since 2009's "Madea Goes to Jail."

    Next week's big North American opening, Marvel's "Doctor Strange," opened in 33 territories abroad where it kicked things off with $86 million.

    Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

    1. "Boo! A Madea Halloween," $16.7 million.

    2. "Inferno," $15 million ($29.1 million international).

    3. "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back," $9.6 million ($11.6 million international).

    4. "The Accountant," $8.5 million ($7.9 million international).

    5. "Ouija: Origin of Evil," $7.1 million ($8.3 million international).

    6. "The Girl on the Train," $4.3 million ($7 million international).

    7. "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children," $4 million ($7.5 million international).

    8. "Keeping Up With the Joneses," $3.4 million ($1.4 million international).

    9. "Storks," $2.8 million ($5.2 million international).

    10. "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil," $2.1 million ($10.7 million international).

    Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:

    1. "Doctor Strange," $86 million.

    2. "Trolls," $30 million.

    3. "Inferno," $29.1 million.

    4. "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back," $11.6 million.

    5. "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil," $10.7 million.

    6. "Mr. Donkey," $8.7 million.

    7. "Ouija: Origin of Evil," $8.3 million.

    8. "Mechanic: Resurrection," $8 million.

    9. "The Accountant," $7.9 million.

    10. "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children," $7.5 million.

    Category:News
    Tags:Boo! A Madea Halloweenbox officeInfernoTyler Perry



    A Closer Look At Proposed Measures Designed To Curb Google’s Search Monopoly

    Thursday, November 21, 2024

    U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.

    The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google's business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn't likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system's slow-moving wheels.

    Here's what it all means:

    What is the Justice Department's goal?
    Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump's first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation.

    "The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. "The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages."

    Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department's "wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."

    It's still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump... Read More

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