Moviegoing Parisian Style, Part 2

Yesterday afternoon we strolled over to STUDIO GALANDE, a tiny one screen arthouse cinema in the St Germain district, famous for hosting Rocky Horror Picture Shows every weekend. We saw Woody Allen's latest, WHATEVER WORKS. I think the film is a true return for Allen, not only to his native Manhattan where all his classic work is set, but also to his 'earlier, funnier' movies.

The cinema was enthusiastically run by a young chap who was clearly projecting, ushering and box officing all at once. There were probably only about 10 of us in the audience, but the signs around the building said ROCKY HORROR - SOLD OUT -clearly the cinema's only steady income stream.

We walked downstairs to comfortable, if lacking in legroom, leather seats and started (quietly) munching on snacks. This is the biggest difference between arthouse cinemas in the UK and France: we were the only ones eating. Today we are planning to go to Le Champo, where, to mark Halloween, they are screening all of Tim Burton's gothic ouvre. It brings a smile to my face to think that at the Dukes we are showing CORPSE BRIDE for our Halloween party too.

Moviegoing Parisian Style

Today I went to see DISTRICT 9 at the UGC Les Halles in Paris. It's a 25-screen mega-multiplex buried in the heart of the concrete monstrosity that is the Forum Les Halles. Right next to the UGC is the Cinema Biblioteque Francois Truffaut and the Forum Les Images, an arthouse cinema. Before you judge me, know that I have been meaning to see D9 for months and that I don't speak French.
The only problem I ran into was understanding when the aliens spoke, as the only subtitles were in French. Other than that, the film, as so many others have pointed out, is fantastic and instantly enters my Top 10 for the year. It's rare to see such a perfect balance of ideas, action, style and substance in a single two hour package.
Nikki and me are hoping to visit some other cinemas before we leave (she wisely skipped today's screening to go swimming) and I shall update you on any of those visits.
Au revoir!

UK Box Office 23-25 Oct

There's not stopping UP: for the third week it remains number one, for a total of nearly £20 million. Ouch. The annual torture porn fest SAW took £1.7 mil and Wes Anderson's FANTASTIC MR FOX took a modest £1.5 million, proving how difficult a sell this thing was.

1- UP (£3,793,587)
2- SAW VI (£1,736,289)
3- FANTASTIC MR FOX (£1,506,367)
4- COUPLES RETREAT (£932,170)
5- CIRQUE DU FREAK: VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT (£798,644)
6- IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS (£614,717)
7- THE INVENTION OF LYING (£367,310)
8- ZOMBIELAND (£323,815)
9- FAME (£218,110)
10- CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (£142,482)

The other films that opened this week:

THE COVE - £17,956
GOODS: LIVE HARD, SELL HARD - £35,362
JOHNNY MAD DOG - £6439

UP and away

Tonight I popped over to the Odeon to see UP in 3D. I usually don't review films here, as this blog is about the business, not a critic's corner. However, I feel that this film turns a corner in many ways - artistically, yes, but also with wider ramifications for the business. Has Pixar beat Cameron to the industry-changing film of 2009?

The film itself is by far the best Pixar picture - and I rate WALL-E very highly indeed. It doesn't play by the rules of conventional Disney or even Hollywood rules, with unlikely heroes, bizzare plot lines, dark twists and quirky turns that don't exactly seek to please small children.

The technology itself is almost as memorable as the miracle that is the film. I have seen almost all the 3D releases and this is by far the best of the bunch. The true test is that I quickly became used to the marvellous three-dimensionality and completely forgot I was wearing the clunky REAL-D glasses.

If anyone had any doubts about the future of 3D, Pixar's complete embracement of the technology and their careful and deliberate use of these new colours on their palette should erase those concerns. You'll have noticed that in last box office figures that UP's release played as follows: 35% of the cinemas played in 3D, yet 65% of the revenue from the film came from that 35%. People, when given the choice overwhelmingly are choosing 3D. End of story.

New BFI Centre

News emerged last week that the government was giving the BFI £45 million to build a new National Film Centre on the Southbank, just behind the London Eye.

The estimated budget is around £166 million, so that leaves the BFI still short over £100 million. While the news of public investment in exhibition is great, personally I think spending this money on saving the hundreds of cinemas that are facing the the threat of closure would have been money better spent.

The BFI Southbank has only recently experienced a massive revamp and serves its function very well. How the BFI are going to get £100 million in this economic climate (particulary when they are merging with the UKFC to save money) remains to be explained.

From this very skeptical blogger's perspective, this initiative seems like a headline-grabbing move from a government in trouble. What do you think?

UK Box Office 16-18 Oct

This week UP continues its undisputed reign, while rom-com bromance Vince Vaughn-Jon Favreau reunion COUPLES RETREAT debuts at number 2. Terry Gilliam's troubled production THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS came in with at number 3, buoyed by Heath Ledger's final on screen appearance. Here's the Top 10:

1- UP (£5,161,152)(Only 35% of the screens were 3D, but took 63% of the total)
2- COUPLES RETREAT (£1,347,567)
3- THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS (£900,359)
4- THE INVENTION OF LYING (£589,778)
5- ZOMBIELAND (£576,932)
6- FAME (£455,477)
7- TRIANGLE (£260,526)
8- HALLOWEEN II (£237,429)
9- LOVE HAPPENS (£217,696)
10-CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (£208,000)

Hard to believe that Tarantino's INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, at nearly three hours long, with middling reviews and in three different languages, has surpased the £10,000,000 mark. It shows that positive word of mouth can overcome any obstacles. A classy campaign from Universal didn't hurt.

In the Back Row

My partner Nikki and I had our first date at the Odeon Leicester Square (X-Men 2, not that I remember the plot) a few years back, and many Dukes customers often tell me about their first dates in the back rows of our cinema. Imagine if we showed more 'date' movies!
A new survey commisioned by the Evil Empire (I beg your pardon, I mean the Odeon) reveals what most of us already knew: that people like kissing in the dark. We've had proposals and weddings at the Dukes, and hopefully that's all...
On that note, a new book has been published, called BACK ROW BRIGHTON, which has collected memories of movie-going in Brighton. There's a whole chapter on us.

So next time you're with a loved (or lusted) one, kick back, get comfortable, and keep your hands to yourself.