Weekend box office forecast: Stormy and ‘Grey’
Photo Credit: Reuters/Kieran Doherty
Netflix shares surge as customer base grows
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Netflix Inc reversed a customer slide by adding more than 600,000 new U.S. subscribers in the fourth quarter, and its revenue beat Wall Street expectations, pushing shares up 13 percent.
The video rental company, which revolutionized the home video industry but in 2011 outraged customers with a surprise price hike and a botched attempt to split off its DVD-mail service, posted a 47 percent leap in fourth-quarter revenue to $876 million.
Netflix glad 2011 over but 2012 may mean more pain
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Netflix Inc probably would like nothing better than to put 2011 behind it. But 2012 may be no walk in the park either.
Investors, who have pushed Netflix shares up 50 percent since late November, believe the company that revolutionized the home video industry may have plugged a torrent of defections after a widely excoriated price hike and a bumbling attempt to hive off its DVD-mail business as “Qwikster.”
Fourth ‘Underworld’ film leads domestic box office
Vampires and werewolves lured moviegoers to theaters this weekend as the fourth “Underworld” film topped domestic box office charts and brought in an estimated $38.8 million around the world.
“Underworld: Awakening” stars Kate Beckinsale as a vampire leading the charge in a battle against humans trying to drive her species and the werewolves to extinction.
Epic clash: Silicon Valley blindsides Hollywood on piracy
By Sarah McBride and Lisa Richwine
(Reuters) – The massive online protest last Wednesday, in which Wikipedia and thousands of other websites closed down or otherwise protested and helped to kill controversial online piracy legislation, was widely heralded as an unprecedented case of a grassroots uprising overcoming backroom lobbying.
Yet a close look at how the debate unfolded suggests that traditional means of influencing policy in Washington had its place too. The technology industry has ramped up its political activities dramatically in recent years, and in fact, has spent more than the entertainment industry — $1.2 billion between 1998 and 2011, compared with $906.4 million spent by entertainment companies.
More vampires and werewolves at your local cineplex
Impatient Twilight fans rejoice: vampires and werewolves are staging another movie-theater invasion.
This time, it’s the fourth movie in the “Underworld” series starring Kate Beckinsale, which distributor Sony projects will ring up U.S. and Canadian ticket sales in the low-$20 million range from Friday through Sunday. The newest installment, “Underworld: Awakening”, sees humans trying to drive vampires and werewolves to extinction.
Thriller “Contraband” nabs box office title
Adult thriller “Contraband” starring Mark Wahlberg grabbed the weekend movie box office title, beating expectations with an estimated $24.1 million in ticket sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters.
“Contraband” added $1.5 million from seven international markets for a global opening-weekend debut of $25.6 million, distributor Universal Pictures said.
Familiar script: Home entertainment spending slips
Spending on home viewing of movies and television, on a downward spiral in recent years, fell again in 2011 as sales of DVDs and rentals at video stores dropped.
Total U.S. consumer dollars spent on home entertainment — including DVDs, video on demand and online streaming — declined 2.1 percent to $18 billion for the year, according to industry group DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group. Consumers continued to shift to lower-priced rentals from companies such as Netflix and Coinstar’s Redbox kiosks, eschewing outright ownership.
Lions Gate near deal for “Twilight” studio: sources
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Lions Gate Entertainment Corp is nearing a deal to buy “Twilight” movie producer Summit Entertainment for about $400 million, two people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
The agreement under discussion would have movie and TV producer Lions Gate pay about $350 million in cash and $50 million in stock for privately held Summit, one of the sources said. About $300 million in Summit debt would remain with Summit and off the Lions Gate balance sheet, the source said.
Horror flick ‘Devil’ surprises with $34.5 million
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Low-budget horror movie “The Devil Inside” scared up a surprisingly strong $34.5 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales to take possession of the weekend box office crown, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.
The better-than-expected performance for “Devil,” coming despite terrible reviews and poor reactions from some filmgoers, knocked Tom Cruise’s two-time champion “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” to second place. Both movies were distributed by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc.
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