Nicolas Cage bombs at box office with "Bangkok"

Less than a year after starring in the biggest movie of his volatile career, Nicolas Cage led the North American box office to its worst weekend in five years on Sunday with one of his weakest.
"Bangkok Dangerous," a thriller in which the 44-year-old actor plays a jaded assassin, opened at No. 1 with estimated three-day earnings of just $7.8 million, distributor Lionsgate said. While no one was expecting it to be a hit, industry observers had predicted it would earn more than $10 million.
The last box office champ to open lower was the David Spade comedy "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star," which kicked off with $6.7 million during the weekend of September 5-7, 2003.

Overall ticket sales also fell to their lowest level since then, said tracking firm Media By Numbers. The top 12 films earned $51.6 million, up from $50.5 million that weekend.
Early September is traditionally a quiet time at the box office since the summer blockbuster season is over. The studios spend the early fall quietly dumping their underperforming movies on the market. "Bangkok Dangerous" was the only new wide release this weekend.
Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, said it was happy with the film's opening and expected it to be profitable. Although the movie reportedly cost $45 million to make, Lionsgate acquired U.S. and Canadian rights for a modest sum from "The Departed" producer Graham King's Initial Entertainment Group.
The film is a remake of the 1999 Thai film of the same name, with both being directed by Hong Kong-born twin brothers Danny and Oxide Pang. The remake was not screened in advance for critics, which is rarely a good sign.
Cage has actually done a lot worse at the box office: His terrorism thriller "Next" opened to $7.1 million in April 2007 and the family drama "The Weather Man" to $4.2 million in 2005. But he was last in theaters with the biggest movie of his career, "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," The action sequel opened to $45 million in December on its way to $220 million.
After three weeks at No. 1, DreamWorks/Paramount's Hollywood satire "Tropic Thunder" slipped to No. 2 with $7.5 million, while Columbia Pictures' comedy "The House Bunny" rose one to No. 3 with $5.9 million in its third week. Their respective tallies stand at $97 million and $37 million.
DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures are units of Viacom Inc. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp.

India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...

Tennis: Clijsters wins US Open, second time

NEW YORK: Kim Clijsters of Belgium won the US Open on Sunday by defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5, 6-3 in the final.She is the first mother to win a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong in 1980, the victory coming just five weeks after she returned to the sport following a 27-month retirement. She was the first wildcard, man or woman, to win a US Open title in the history of the tournament.

42 killed in wave of Iraq bombings

BAGHDAD: At least 42 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded in a spate of bomb attacks near the restive northern Iraqi city of Mosul and in the capital Baghdad on Monday, police said. In the deadliest single attack, two booby-trapped lorries exploded before dawn in the village of Khaznah, east of Mosul, leaving 25 people dead and 70 others wounded. Thirty-five houses were destroyed in the village, which is home to members of the tiny Shabak community, a sect of Kurdish origin. In Baghdad, two car bombs went off as day labourers were gathering in the early morning hours looking for jobs.The first bomb exploded at Hay al-Amel, in the west of the capital, killing nine people and injuring 46. The second bomb attack in Shurta Arbaa in the north of the city killed seven people and wounded 35 others.

ONE NEWS

Search This Blog