Feature filmmaker Cameron Crowe (e.g., Vanilla Sky, Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire) has wrapped a commercial for The Gap, produced by The Industry, a bicoastal house that specializes in securing select spot assignments for longform directors. The Industry is a sister shop to bicoastal Moxie Pictures….Matt Goodman, who directs ESPN2’s popular Tony Hawk series, and Dave England, one of the original creators of MTV’s Jackass, have come aboard production house Crova, Portland, Ore., and Los Angeles, for representation as spot directors….Creative editor David Mester has joined The Blue Rock Editing Company, New York. Mester comes over from Rhinoceros Editorial, New York. The audio division of Blue Rock, Blast Digital, New York, headed by sound designer/mixer Joe O’Connell, has added Chris Fina, formerly of National Sound, New York, as associate sound designer/mixer….Director Christopher Erskin has joined Los Angeles-based spot/music video production company Legacy Films…. Matt Silver, formerly an assistant editor at Go Robot!, New York, has relocated to the West Coast and become a staff editor at Rex Edit, Venice, Calif. He becomes the second cutter at Rex Edit, joining Bill Marmor….Kandoo Films, a Los Angeles-based production company specializing in creative advertising services and promotional services for the entertainment industry, has launched a music video division. The new entity has signed music clips vet Jim Yukich as its first director…Editor C. Scott Gorman has come aboard New York-headquartered Northern Lights Post. Gorman has been working as an editor and producer at MTV…Composer Matt Walker, former percussionist for bands The Smashing Pumpkins and Filter, has signed with Spank! Music and Sound Design, Chicago….Director Martin Shewchuck of Radke Films, Toronto, has returned to the agency side of the business, having been named executive VP/executive creative director at J. Walter Thompson, Toronto….Ayer is being absorbed by The Kaplan Thaler Group, New York. The two agencies share a parent com-pany, the Bcom3 Group….
“Dog Man” Still Has Bite, Tops Weekend Box Office For 2nd Straight Week
On a quiet winter weekend at the box office, DreamWorks Animation's "Dog Man" chased its own tail, repeating as the top movie in theaters.
The animated Universal Pictures release, adapted from Dav Pilkey's popular graphic novel series, collected $13.7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Both new releases – the Ke Huy Quan action movie "Love Hurts" and the Valentine's Day-themed slasher "Heart Eyes" – were left nipping at the heels of "Dog Man."
Hollywood often largely punts Super Bowl weekend to the small screen. Last year, Apple's much-derided "Argylle" debuted on the same weekend. Instead, the movie industry spends more energy pitching its blockbusters in trailers for the huge football audience on TV.
It wasn't a banner weekend for "Dog Man." It fell steeply, dropping 62% in it second weekend. But with a production budget of $40 million, "Dog Man" has already tallied $54.1 million domestically in two weeks.
Coming in second was Spyglass Media Group's "Heart Eyes," released by Sony. The horror-rom-com mashup earned $8.5 million from 3,102 locations. Reviews have been good for the film, directed by Josh Ruben and starring Oliva Holt and Mason Gooding, though audiences were less impressed. Moviegoers gave it a "B-" CinemaScore. Spyglass made "Heart Eyes" for $18 million.
"Love Hurts," the action comedy from 87North Productions ("John Wick," "The Fall Guy"), debuted with a paltry $5.8 million in 3,055 theaters. In his first big movie role since his Oscar-winning comeback in "Everything All at Once," Ke Huy Quan stars as a mild-mannered realtor with a hitman past. Ariana DeBose co-stars. It, too, was modestly budgeted at $18 million. Audiences, however, mostly rejected the movie, giving "Love Hurts" a... Read More