“Think Like a Man Too” raised the roof at multiplexes this weekend, carousing its way to $30 million domestically, according to studio estimates.
The Sony Pictures and Screen Gems sequel premiered on 2,225 screens and cost a modest $24 million to produce. It was able to capitalize on star Kevin Hart’s rising profile as it held off challenges from “22 Jump Street” and “How to Train Your Dragon 2.”
“It’s not bad being number one,” said Rory Bruer, Sony Pictures president of worldwide distribution. “The girls versus the guys element and getting the perspective of both sexes is something that’s always appealing to folks.”
The first “Think Like a Man” closed out its run with $91.5 million stateside. The follow-up film, brings back director Tim Story, as well as cast members such as Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Regina Hall and Jerry Ferrara, sending them to Las Vegas for a wedding ceremony that involve bachelor and bachelorette parties that take full advantage of all that Sin City has to offer.
Posts tagged as “Kevin Hart”
After an aggressive bidding war that saw several studios vying for the film, sources say Universal Pictures is nearing a deal to acquiring the rights to an untitled pic revolving around NBA superstar LeBron James’ high school career.
“Wolf of Wall Street” scribe Terrence Winter and his wife, “Dallas Buyers Club” producer Rachel Winter, will produce along with James and his manager Maverick Carter. The picture is based on a pitch by Frank E. Flowers.
The story was covered in the 2008 documentary, “More Than a Game,” which followed James and his four high school teammates through their playing career together and the ups and downs that came with it while James’ fame grew to astronomical levels.
Besides being considered the best and probably most popular player in the NBA over the past decade, James’ brand and business has become one of the most desirable of any athlete since Michael Jordan, leading Hollywood players to try to get in business with the Miami Heat player. Universal is a good fit since it is already in the James business — the studio and Imagine Entertainment are currently developing the basketball comedy “Ballers” which James is expected to star in alongside Kevin Hart.
James is also executive-producing the “Entourage”-like Starz comedy “Survivor’s Remorse” about a young basketball star who signs a multi-million dollar contract and moves to Georgia with his cousin.
article by Justin Kroll via Variety.com
Jamie Foxx and Kevin Hart are in talks to star in Screen Gems’ Black Phantom, with Ride Along helmer Tim Story in discussions to direct. If a deal makes, the film would re-team Hart and Story with their Ride Along producer Will Packer, who is producing the pic along with Will Gluck. Packer has long wanted to do the film and, after the success of Ride Along and Foxx’s interest to work with Hart, the project seemed like the perfect match for all four men.
Story follows a double-crossed mob hitman who enlists the help of the Black Phantom, the same African-American hitman who had been sent to kill him. Dave Lease and Megan Hinds wrote the original screenplay. Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper will oversee the project for the studio.
Foxx has been a favorite of Sony’s for some time, with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the Annie reboot bowing this year. Given Hart’s recent box office winning streak, the pairing could be a huge win for Screen Gems. Hart currently can be seen in Screen Gems’ About Last Night.
article by Justin Kroll via Deadline.com
Story follows a double-crossed mob hitman who enlists the help of the Black Phantom, the same African-American hitman who had been sent to kill him. Dave Lease and Megan Hinds wrote the original screenplay. Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper will oversee the project for the studio.
Foxx has been a favorite of Sony’s for some time, with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the Annie reboot bowing this year. Given Hart’s recent box office winning streak, the pairing could be a huge win for Screen Gems. Hart currently can be seen in Screen Gems’ About Last Night.
article by Justin Kroll via Deadline.com
Kevin Hart was named Entertainer of the Year while 12 Years a Slave racked up another four awards including for Outstanding Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards, which were held Saturday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Hart said he was a “real mama’s boy” and dedicated his prize to his mother, who recently passed away.
Director Steve McQueen and writer John Ridley won kudos for “12 Years” during a non-televised portion of the show Friday, while Supporting Actress Lupita Nyong’o said she was honored to win for a film ”that has inspired discourse long overdue.”
Forest Whitaker and David Oyelowo were honored for their roles in Lee Daniels’ The Butler and Angela Bassett won the Lead Actress prize for Black Nativity. Whitaker was also honored with the NAACP Chairman’s Award. “I’m one of those with a funny accent and an African name,” Oyelowo referencing emcee Anthony Anderson’s earlier jokes about Brit actors with their accents and African names in his speech who cross the Pond to grab roles in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Whitaker quoted a song from Nat King Cole, “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is to love and be loved.”
On the television side, Hart and his BET show Real Husbands of Hollywood were honored for comedy, while Kerry Washington, Joe Morton and ABC’s Scandal picked up three awards for drama. Since showrunner Shonda Rhimes was unable to attend, Washington accepted the Scandal award. In her own acceptance speech, Washington said, “The historic nature of this role is due not to lack of talent, but lack of opportunity.”
The NAACP Image Awards were broadcast live on TV One and hosted by Anthony Anderson. Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and Director’s Guild (DGA) president Paris Barclay were inducted into the Image Awards Hall of Fame. Both are the first African-American presidents of their respective organizations. Barclay referenced his upbringing saying, “I’m the first in a long line of factory workers.” Boone Isaacs said AMPAS invited more women and minority this year than it ever has. “We still have a lot of work to do. I look forward to it,” she said to applause.
Forest Whitaker and David Oyelowo were honored for their roles in Lee Daniels’ The Butler and Angela Bassett won the Lead Actress prize for Black Nativity. Whitaker was also honored with the NAACP Chairman’s Award. “I’m one of those with a funny accent and an African name,” Oyelowo referencing emcee Anthony Anderson’s earlier jokes about Brit actors with their accents and African names in his speech who cross the Pond to grab roles in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Whitaker quoted a song from Nat King Cole, “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is to love and be loved.”
On the television side, Hart and his BET show Real Husbands of Hollywood were honored for comedy, while Kerry Washington, Joe Morton and ABC’s Scandal picked up three awards for drama. Since showrunner Shonda Rhimes was unable to attend, Washington accepted the Scandal award. In her own acceptance speech, Washington said, “The historic nature of this role is due not to lack of talent, but lack of opportunity.”
The NAACP Image Awards were broadcast live on TV One and hosted by Anthony Anderson. Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and Director’s Guild (DGA) president Paris Barclay were inducted into the Image Awards Hall of Fame. Both are the first African-American presidents of their respective organizations. Barclay referenced his upbringing saying, “I’m the first in a long line of factory workers.” Boone Isaacs said AMPAS invited more women and minority this year than it ever has. “We still have a lot of work to do. I look forward to it,” she said to applause.
According to Variety.com, Universal Studios has started pre-production on a sequel to its hit buddy comedy Ride Along, with Ice Cube and Kevin Hart on board to reprise their starring roles. Ride Along has topped $117 million in U.S. box office after five weekends, starting its run with three consecutive first-place finishes. The film was budgeted at a cost-effective $25 million.
Will Packer, Ice Cube, Matt Alvarez and Larry Brezner will again produce. Tim Story is attached to direct again from a script by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. Universal signed the writers to script the sequel last year. The decision to greenlight Ride Along 2 comes on the heels of the healthy opening of another Hart comedy, Sony’s About Last Night, which took in $27.8 million over the four-day weekend.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Will Packer, Ice Cube, Matt Alvarez and Larry Brezner will again produce. Tim Story is attached to direct again from a script by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. Universal signed the writers to script the sequel last year. The decision to greenlight Ride Along 2 comes on the heels of the healthy opening of another Hart comedy, Sony’s About Last Night, which took in $27.8 million over the four-day weekend.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Kevin Hart more than lived up to his name on Valentine’s day as Sony-Screen Gems’ About Last Night led the charge among couples. And yet, the comedian-turned-leading man, who stands at just 5’2″ tall, has been quietly building his brand, which has only just blown up at the box office, in order to become one of the most biggest African American stars since Will Smith or Denzel Washington. Prior to this year, Hart was known more in the stand-up world, with Codeblack-produced and distributed (along with Summit) hits like Laugh at My Pain and Let Me Explain, both of which were preceded by the eponymous Kevin Hart.
In less than two months, Hart has become one of the industry’s sturdiest B.O. players with two major narrative feature hits: Universal’s Ride Along, which became this year’s first $100 million-plus grosser and now “About Last Night,” which topped Friday’s box office with $12.9 million, kick-starting a solid $28.5 million four-day run.
Earlier in his career, Hart had memorable supporting roles in such films as The Five-Year Engagement and Think Like a Man. Hart’s seemingly overnight hit status also is due, in part, to the recent success of urban-targeted films in general, including The Best Man Holiday and 12 Years a Slave, both of which were released late last year.
Still, neither of those films broke out the way Ride Along has when it scored a rare three straight wins atop the domestic box office. And while African American-themed films typically do not travel well outside the U.S. (aside from Will Smith — formerly, at least), they are made for a price. About Last Night, for instance, cost only $12.5 million to produce, while Ride Along was budgeted at $25 million. During opening weekend, Ride Along scored 30% of its gross from Hispanics, with Caucasians contributing 12% of the opening. African Americans still delivered half of the box office, though since then the film’s staying power is attributed to a broadened demo base. About Last Night, on the other hand, earned an overwhelming 72% of its opening from African Americans.
Regardless, it’s a steady beat for Hart. Sony is further investing in multi-hyphenate by his upcoming comedy The Wedding Ringer to Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in 2015.
article by Andrew Stewart via Variety.com
In less than two months, Hart has become one of the industry’s sturdiest B.O. players with two major narrative feature hits: Universal’s Ride Along, which became this year’s first $100 million-plus grosser and now “About Last Night,” which topped Friday’s box office with $12.9 million, kick-starting a solid $28.5 million four-day run.
Earlier in his career, Hart had memorable supporting roles in such films as The Five-Year Engagement and Think Like a Man. Hart’s seemingly overnight hit status also is due, in part, to the recent success of urban-targeted films in general, including The Best Man Holiday and 12 Years a Slave, both of which were released late last year.
Still, neither of those films broke out the way Ride Along has when it scored a rare three straight wins atop the domestic box office. And while African American-themed films typically do not travel well outside the U.S. (aside from Will Smith — formerly, at least), they are made for a price. About Last Night, for instance, cost only $12.5 million to produce, while Ride Along was budgeted at $25 million. During opening weekend, Ride Along scored 30% of its gross from Hispanics, with Caucasians contributing 12% of the opening. African Americans still delivered half of the box office, though since then the film’s staying power is attributed to a broadened demo base. About Last Night, on the other hand, earned an overwhelming 72% of its opening from African Americans.
Regardless, it’s a steady beat for Hart. Sony is further investing in multi-hyphenate by his upcoming comedy The Wedding Ringer to Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in 2015.
article by Andrew Stewart via Variety.com
Benefitting from its strong date night appeal and Kevin Hart‘s current filmic hot streak, About Last Night opened strong on Valentine’s Day and wound up ahead of fellow 1980s remakes RoboCop and Endless Love this weekend, succumbing only to The LEGO Movie, which easily led the box office over President’s Day weekend.
According to boxofficemojo.com, in its second outing, The LEGO Movie added $48.8 million and so far has earned $129.1 million. Playing at 2,253 locations, About Last Night opened to an estimated $27 million. That’s the best opening for a romantic comedy since 2012’s Think Like a Man ($33.6 million), which also featured Kevin Hart, Michael Ealy and Regina Hall. It is noticeably lower than recent Kevin Hart movie Ride Along ($41.5 million), though that’s a difficult number to match.
According to Sony, About Last Night‘s audience was 63 percent female and 57 percent over the age of 30. They awarded the movie a solid “A-” CinemaScore. Remaining a master builder in its second weekend, The Lego Movie ended Valentine’s Day in a tie with new entry About Last Night, but is expected to zoom ahead on Saturday for a possible $59 million-plus finish over the long Presidents Day weekend. About Last Night took in $13 million on Friday for a projected four-day opening in the $35 million range.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Continuing its high-flying ride at the domestic box office, Universal’s stalwart holdover Ride Along posted its third straight weekend victory, estimating $12.3 million for a Stateside cume of $93 million and counting. The Super Bowl weekend’s only two wide releases — Focus Features’ That Awkward Moment and Paramount’s Labor Day, both of which are targeted squarely at female audiences — underperformed, grossing $9 million and $5.3 million, respectively.
Internationally, Disney had another standout weekend with its toon all-star Frozen, which grossed an estimated $24 million from 45 territories, representing approximately 90% of the overseas market place. So far, the film has collected north of $504 million internationally, with $360 million Stateside (pic’s sing-along re-release contributed $2.2 million out of a total estimated $9.3 million this weekend), making Frozen the second-highest grossing original toon of all time globally, behind Finding Nemo. Domestic totals managed to stay in line roughly with this time last year, down just 2%, though first-quarter 2013 box office was especially mopey.
As the clear highlight so far this year, Ride Along’s third-straight win at the domestic box office matches what only three films total managed last year — The Butler, Gravity and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smug — none of which bowed during the first quarter.
Speaking of Gravity, Warner Bros.’ large-screen re-release of the Oscar-nominated 3D epic earned more than half of its $2 million three-day gross in Imax. Gravity has cumed nearly $264 million domestically in over four months. Among the other Academy Award contenders, both American Hustle and The Wolf of Wall Street became milestone box office achievements for their respective directors: Hustle now stands as David O. Russell’s highest-grossing film, with $133.6 million, while Martin Scorsese’s Wolf is the director’s third-highest, at $104.1 million, surpassing The Aviator.
Film (Weeks in release): 3-day gross*; Locations; Per-theater average; Cume*; Percentage change
Internationally, Disney had another standout weekend with its toon all-star Frozen, which grossed an estimated $24 million from 45 territories, representing approximately 90% of the overseas market place. So far, the film has collected north of $504 million internationally, with $360 million Stateside (pic’s sing-along re-release contributed $2.2 million out of a total estimated $9.3 million this weekend), making Frozen the second-highest grossing original toon of all time globally, behind Finding Nemo. Domestic totals managed to stay in line roughly with this time last year, down just 2%, though first-quarter 2013 box office was especially mopey.
As the clear highlight so far this year, Ride Along’s third-straight win at the domestic box office matches what only three films total managed last year — The Butler, Gravity and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smug — none of which bowed during the first quarter.
Speaking of Gravity, Warner Bros.’ large-screen re-release of the Oscar-nominated 3D epic earned more than half of its $2 million three-day gross in Imax. Gravity has cumed nearly $264 million domestically in over four months. Among the other Academy Award contenders, both American Hustle and The Wolf of Wall Street became milestone box office achievements for their respective directors: Hustle now stands as David O. Russell’s highest-grossing film, with $133.6 million, while Martin Scorsese’s Wolf is the director’s third-highest, at $104.1 million, surpassing The Aviator.
Film (Weeks in release): 3-day gross*; Locations; Per-theater average; Cume*; Percentage change
- Ride Along (3): $12.3; 2,867; $4,295; $93.0; -42%
- Frozen (11): $9.3; 2,754; $3,381; $360.0; +2%
- That Awkward Moment (1): $9.0; 2,809; $3,208; $9.0; –
- The Nut Job (3): $7.6; 3,472; $2,193; $50.2; -37%
- Lone Survivor (6): $7.2; 3,285; $2,180; $104.9; -44%
- Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (3): $5.4; 2,907; $1,858; $39.0; -41%
- Labor Day (1): $5.3; 2,584; $2,051; $5.3; –
- American Hustle (8): $4.3; 2,216; $1,940; $133.6; -39%
- The Wolf of Wall Street (6): $3.6; 1,607; $2,209; $104.1; -35%
- I, Frankenstein (2): $3.5; 2,753; $1,279; $14.5; -59%
article by Andrew Stewart via Variety.com
According to Variety.com, while Lionsgate’s I, Frankenstein failed to spark audience interest, delivering only an estimated $8.3 million in three days, the domestic box office still saw signs of life, thanks to solid holds from such films as the Kevin Hart/Ice Cube comedy Ride Along and the Mark Wahlberg-starrer Lone Survivor, which led with $21.2 million and $12.6 million, respectively.
In its second outing, Ride Along fell just 49%, lifting its Stateside totals to a sizable $75.4 million; while Lone Survivor, which dropped just 43% in its fifth frame, reached $93.6 million domestically.
The full list of this weekend’s Top 10 follows below:
Film (Weeks in release): 3-day gross*; Locations; Per-theater average; Cume*; Percentage change
- Ride Along (2): $21.2; 2,759; $7,670; $75.4; -49%
- Lone Survivor (5): $12.6; 3,162; $3,985; $93.6; -43%
- The Nut Job (2): $12.3; 3,472; $3,547; $40.3; -37%
- Frozen (10): $9.0; 2,757; $3,277; $347.8; -23%
- Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2): $8.8; 3,387; $2,598; $30.2; -43%
- I, Frankenstein (1): $8.3; 2,753; $3,006; $8.3; –
- American Hustle (7): $7.1; 2,304; $3,082; $127.0; -28%
- August: Osage County (5): $5.0; 2,411; $2,091; $26.5; -32%
- The Wolf of Wall Street (5): $5.0; 1,804; $2,772; $98.0; -29%
- Devil’s Due (2): $2.8; 2,544; $1,081; $12.9; -67%
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
ABC has given a cast-contingent pilot order to a multi-camera comedy from hot actor-comedian Kevin Hart and former Community executive producers Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan. The untitled Kevin Hart project is based on Hart’s life and stand-up. Written by Goldman and Donovan, it takes a candid look at the post-divorce life of a couple trying to forge a friendship for the sake of their kids, despite differences.
20th Century Fox TV is producing, with Hart, his manager Dave Becky, Goldman and Donovan executive producing. If the project goes forward, Hart likely will play a recurring role. Hart is one of the hottest comedy talents at the moment. Following the breakout success of his 2013 movie Think Like A Man, his latest feature comedy, Ride Along, broke box-office records with a huge Martin Luther King weekend opening.
article by Nellie Andreeva via deadline.com