2011, Where's All The "Horror"?

Will Scream 4 be one of the selected few horror movies released in 2011?

Earlier this month, there was an article posted on Badass Digest that tackled the lack of horror films and I wish to elaborate on the statement that was made conerning this year's poor showing. One has to wonder why movie audiences haven't seen a truly traditional horror movie that has received large media attention or even had a successful box-office presence. I could list all the "horror films" that have been released this year but, they all utilized facets of the horror genre as part of the whole. 

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Albert Hughes to Direct 'Akira' Without His Brother?

The Hughes Brothers made their return to theaters earlier this year with The Book of Eli. Turns out, it cost too much; the $80 million movie only made about $140 worldwide, and that's before the advertising costs. Not a hit. Still, it had its moments and I didn't walk away from it thinking I'd hate to see another Hughes Brothers movie.

The next thing in line might be Akira, the Leonardo DiCaprio-led live-action adaptation. But there's a catch: It may not be directed by both brothers. Harry Knowles says Albert Hughes is in talks to direct it, while Allen has been lining up an HBO pilot called Gentlemen of Leisure. Advantage, Albert.

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Box Office - 'Avatar' Takes Down 'The Dark Knight'

It's a win-win for James Cameron. Either Titanic withstands an all-out assault from his new film, Avatar, and holds on to the top spot for all-time box office or Avatar dethrones the 12-year champion. That was the talk about a month ago. Now it's clear that only Option B is legitimate. In just six weeks, Avatar has moved past The Dark Knight and now sits about $40 million behind Titanic for the US record, and a little bit more for the international title.

Avatar won the weekend without breaking a sweat; in fact, it was one of the easier weekends the film has had to face, doubling up the business of its nearest competitor, the new release Legion. And $36 million later, Avatar now sits at $553 million in the US, and nearly $1.75 billion worldwide. Legion managed an estimated $18 million, which is pretty strong considering the bad reviews. Faring less well were the poorly received The Tooth Fairy ($14 million) and Extraordinary Measures, the first venture for CBS Films, which didn't even make $10 million. It could be worse for those films, however. The Spy Next Door, which opened softly in fifth place last weekend, is already out of the top ten.

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Fearless Forecast: 'Avatar' Surpasses 'Dark Knight'

By the time this weekend is through, James Cameron will be the undisputed box office champion. He already has the top two films ever in international revenue, and Avatar is almost certainly going to speed past The Dark Knight to win the silver in the US in the next few days, with plenty of steam left in its sails to go after Titanic. In about a month, maybe less, Avatar will be the highest-grossing film here and everywhere else.

This weekend offers little resistance, although if Book of Eli were coming out now as opposed to last Friday, we'd have a real battle. Instead, the pace setter for new release is The Tooth Fairy, and it would be really embarrassing if that were the movie to topple Avatar, don't you think? (Actually, it could be Mel Gibson's Edge of Darkness next week.) So The King of the World has a pretty easy run this week, boosted a touch by the Golden Globe victories last Sunday.

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Box Office - 'Avatar' Does It Again

It's a four-day weekend because of the Martin Luther King holiday, so these weekend estimates might change. What won't change is another win for Avatar. After dropping Friday to The Book of Eli, James Cameron reclaimed the weekend lead on Saturday with $17.3 million. Through Sunday, the film has earned $491 million and half a billion is possible on Monday, but I'm still holding to my Tuesday prediction there.

This was, for the purposes of history, the first weekend that Avatar failed to make $20 million on any day, and certainly, $41 million is the lowest Friday - Sunday earnings the movie has seen, but it's still a record this deep into a run, and while it was behind The Dark Knight in terms of how fast it hit $450 million, it will blow the record for $500 million out of the water, accomplishing the feat in 32 or 33 days as opposed to 47 for Batman. Avatar should pace itself to topple Dark Knight's $535 million in another seven days, eight or nine if it really cools off.

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