(Photo by ©AV Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)
You might expect a list of Australian horror films to be teeming with the beasties people associate with the continent: poisonous snakes, deadly spiders, mammoth crocs. Yet while this collection of essential Aussie horror flicks does contain several of those Down Under biters – two crocodile movies, one shark movie, and one about a giant wild boar (didn’t see that coming, did ya?!) – it also features works that tap into something just as threatening: the vast land itself, from the mystery of its desert center to the dark possibilities of its cities’ sprawling suburbs. Movies like Wolf Creek and Road Games play with our anxiety about who, and what, we might encounter dare we venture into the endless Outback, while Hounds of Love and The Babadook explore what might lie behind your neighbor’s door.
Recent international breakouts like Jennifer Kent’s Babadook and Natalie Erika James’ atmospheric haunted house chiller Relic traffic in the slow-building dread of today’s “elevated horror,” but Australian genre films have been largely marked by a certain hard brutality over the years. Consider Wolf Creek and its sequel, or the more recent Killing Ground, which tell ripped-from-the-headlines slasher tales of terrorized backpackers and campers, but do so with an almost merciless insistence on graphic, real-feeling violence. And while we’re talking brutal, check out The Loved Ones, a darkly comic tale of obsession that found new ways to drill into the torture porn trend of the 2000s.
To be included in the list, movies had to be made and set in Australia, by a predominantly Australian crew. They also had to have more than 10 reviews – which is why the great maybe-horror Bad Boy Bubby, with only nine Tomatometer-approved reviews, didn’t make the cut; ditto the excellent anthology Dark Place. We then culled the selection down to the 20 highest-rated movies, which included a couple of Rotten-but-fun (Bait) or seminal flicks (Patrick), and even a Jamie Lee Curtis sort-of-slasher. (Yes, Curtis’s Final Girl phase even took her to entirely different hemispheres.) Purists may quibble with the choice to include Phillip Noyce’s Dead Calm, a twisty and taut three-hander with Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman, and Billy Zane – it’s not horror in the traditional sense, perhaps, but it will have you squirming. As will Justin Kurzel’s The Snowtown Murders (released as just Snowtown in Australia), a crime drama with grisly horror elements you won’t soon forget. Take shots at us in the comments if you must, but won’t regret watching them.
With all that said, here are the highest-rated Australian horror films, according to the Tomatometer.
Best Spanish-Language Horror Movies | Best Korean Horror Movies | Best Italian Horror Movies | Best French Horror Movies | Best Japanese Horror Movies
2023’s Best Horror Movies | 200 Best Horror Movies Ever
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(Photo by Jason LaVeris/Getty Images)
When the original Saw opened back in 2004, few people could have predicted the low-budget shocker would become a franchise phenomenon, spawning six sequels that premiered annually in late October and spawned a Halloween tradition. This week, seven years after its last installment, the series looks to make a gruesome return to theaters with Jigsaw, so we took the opportunity to speak to the man behind the puppet, namely Tobin Bell.
Bell has been acting since the 1970s, honing his craft in smaller parts and background roles in a variety of films and television series. But his turn in Saw as the corpse on the floor — who ultimately reveals himself to be the evil mastermind behind the plot — quickly turned into a fully fleshed-out villain, and Bell became a horror icon in the process. To celebrate the Halloween season and the release of his new film, we spoke to Bell about his Five Favorite Horror Films, what makes a good horror film, and why Jigsaw resonates with audiences.
An old French film with Simone Signoret, and I think Paul Meurisse is in it. It’s the film that terrified me as child, with this very simple scene where she pulls a curtain back in an upstairs window, and he’s watching from the yard. That was actually probably the first horror film I ever saw. It was a very scary. I was a small child. I just remember the simplicity of that moment when she pulled that curtain back. So there’s that, and they did the remake with Sharon Stone that was not very successful and wasn’t very well made.
Psycho, the Alfred Hitchcock film, the film with Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh. I thought that film was groundbreaking at its time, and I think everyone else did, too. The shower scene in Psycho, I likened it to people being afraid to go in the ocean because of Jaws. People were afraid after that film to take a shower. I remember distinctly so many people talking about that because of that shower scene with Janet Leigh.
The William Friedkin film. I thought that was very smart. I thought the priests were as terrifying in that, and all the religious symbolism, and all of the dogma of the Catholic Church that was involved in that. It’s pretty rich stuff. The performances were very, very powerful in that film. Some of the special effects also that they did with the child in the bed were just so freaky.
The Descent, which was the film about the women spelunkers who go down into a cave. What I liked about that was the fact that you spent the first half hour of the film developing the characters. You cared about the people. By the time they went into the cave, you were involved. I thought that was very smart, and I loved that a horror film didn’t go right to the scares but made you care about the characters and their relationships with one another. The Descent was very well made, I thought, on a relatively low budget.
Wolf Creek, the Australian independent film that has such great locations and great music. A very simple premise, and it’s surprising. It starts out in this sort of idyllic setting and situation, and it just falls like dominoes into this horrific situation. Your hopes for the characters are dashed, one by one. I just love when I see a little independent film that’s got all the elements of good filmmaking done on a small budget with extremely powerful performances by the two lead characters in it.
Ryan Fujitani for Rotten Tomatoes: For you, what makes a great horror movie?
Tobin Bell: Obviously, people go to horror films to be scared and to have a visceral experience and to be thrown back into their seats and clutching the person next to them and all of those kind of simple things. The same things come into play with a horror film as with anything else. For me, I mean, I’m subjective, but for me, it’s character and relationship. It’s not necessarily always about plot, but plot helps. For me, as an actor, I want to care about the people, and then whatever happens to them happens. That’s what’s so great about Jigsaw, is that you get involved with the people, and you find out a lot about their backgrounds and what they’ve done right or not done right. That raises the stakes, and when the stakes are higher, that’s always better.
RT: Jigsaw is somewhat of a unique villain in that, even though his methods are twisted, he actually believes he’s doing good. I’m wondering if you think that moral center of his character, as twisted as it is, is what the fans of the series really respond to.
Bell: Yes, I do. I think that his thought process, whether you would do that yourself or whether you think he’s right to do what he’s doing, as long as it makes you think and be able to put yourself in his thought process or his position, even for a moment, that’s all you need. You don’t need more than that. You just need people to identify with him. The smallest moment is enough, because when it’s surrounded by the chaos of a Saw film, it resonates. Whatever concept he mentions, whatever it has to do with, is often something that people think about every day in their daily life.
The world that we live in today is topsy-turvy, and something as simple as climbing over other people in order to achieve what we want for ourselves — I mean, people do that every day, cutting in line in the freaking supermarket. It’s done on a small scale. It’s done on a big scale. It’s done in financial markets. It’s done in fire stations. Everybody does it on some level or another. If it makes you think, even for a second, about your own life, your own self, “How much do I appreciate my life? How grateful am I for the fact that there’s gas in my freaking gas tank?” You take the fact that the sun is shining and… The sun ain’t shining in Syria today, I’ll tell you that right now. Why do we have to be in the sh–s before we realize how lucky we are? Why can’t we feel a sense of joy?
RT: Right, and appreciate the things around us.
Bell: Yeah, the simple things. I think it’s part of the human condition. I really do. I think it’s from 100,000 years of genetics, where we come from the caves, where we were watching out for saber-toothed tigers, and we’re still watching. We’re still looking at the next problem rather than being able to feel a sense of satisfaction at the fact that we have decent running water to drink.
Tobin Bell in Saw VI (2009) (Photo by Steve Wilkie/©Lionsgate)
RT: I’ve read that you frequently keep a journal when you’re working on a film, to jot down notes and even formulate backstories for your characters, and I understand you did this when you worked on the first Saw movie.
Bell: I did, yeah.
RT: John Kramer’s backstory is gradually revealed throughout the Saw sequels. Did they incorporate any of the notes from your journal?
Bell: Yeah, yeah. I mean, when we got him up off the floor in Saw 2, it was the first time you really heard… I remember talking in Saw 2 about Darwin’s trip to the Galapagos and the whole idea of survival of the fittest. He talks about the jigsaw piece that he takes from people’s necks, and he says something about, “They are only meant to symbolize one thing, that something’s missing in this person.” So, yes.
There’s still a lot of notes in that notebook that we haven’t explored. We look forward at some point to possibly doing that. We’ll see. I’m hoping that Jigsaw is able to inspire a whole new group of fans that weren’t old enough to get into theaters; they weren’t 17. That was seven years ago.
This is a standalone film. I think that would be so cool, because old Saw fans are so passionate about the series. If we can create a whole new group of millennials — who, by the way, live in a completely different world than we lived in seven years ago — what the young people will bring to the theater will be completely different than what fans brought to the theater 10, 11 years ago.
RT: Speaking of Jigsaw, how much involvement did you have in it? Your name’s in the credits, and that’s clearly your voice in the trailer. Are we getting another posthumous appearance of John Kramer somewhere in this film? Are you even able to tell me that?
Bell: No. I can tell you this. Obviously, the film is named after my character, so that’s pretty telling in its own right, in terms of whether I’m in this film and to the extent I’m in this film. Saw is always a series of twists and turns and surprises. The role that I play in the film is going to have to be one of those surprises. But you can be sure that I have an impact.
Jigsaw opens everywhere this Friday, October 27.
There’s still no confirmation from Warner Bros. — in fact, the studio says the movie hasn’t even been greenlighted yet — but the Justice League of America casting rumors continue to fly fast and furious.
The latest, from a report published today in The Los Angeles Times, says The O.C.‘s Adam Brody is all set to play the Flash in George Miller‘s live-action adaptation. Warner Bros. will likely hold off on any JLA announcements until the entire cast is in place, but in the meantime, it’s still fun to speculate — as the Times does here:
Brody, best known as the heartthrob on “The O.C.,” joins Australian supermodel Megan Gale, who was reportedly cast as Wonder Woman, apparently beating out Jessica Biel for the part.
Among the other young actors rumored to have been cast are “Friday Night Lights“‘ Scott Porter as Superman and “Wolf Creek‘s” Teresa Palmer as Talia al Ghul — a recurring love interest for Batman. Common was rumored to be playing the Green Lantern (a.k.a. John Stewart).
The Times references an earlier report from Slashfilm, saying Brody will play the nephew of the second Flash, Barry Allen.
Source: Los Angeles Times
In this week’s Ketchup, cinema appears to not be a profitable business, we get a first look at the new Spock, and Michael Bay prepares to fake out the Transformers fanboys. Also, Toy Story 3 and other Pixar projects are confirmed, and Dragon Ball has its leads.
This Week’s Most Popular News:
This Just In: Movies Don’t Make Money
In marked contrast to the music business, which has spent the last seven years dealing with declining profits and assorted bad news, the 21st century has seen the film industry repeatedly setting new records for ticket receipts. The movie biz is healthy, right?
First Pictures of Zachary Quinto as Young Spock!
Say, none of you Star Trek fans would be interested in getting an early look at Zachary Quinto as Spock, would you?
Bay Prepares to Fake Out Transformers Fanboys
Michael Bay went through the wringer with the fanboys on Transformers. He addressed every concern — early designs, scripts, remaining faithful to the source material — and delivered a movie that won over most audiences, grossing nearly $320 million in America alone. But with Transformers 2 in development, Bay isn’t taking any more lip service.
Lasseter Confirms Toy Story 3 and Upcoming Pixar Projects
John Lasseter usually doesn’t reveal anything about upcoming Pixar projects. Even though Toy Story 3 has been a known project ever since Disney threatened to make it without Pixar, Lasseter always dodges it. Finally, Lasseter has once-and-for-all confirmed it and discussed turning over the original Pixar property to a new(ish) director.
Live-Action Dragon Ball Finds Its Leads
Brace yourselves, Dragon Ball fans. Twentieth Century Fox’s live-action adaptation of your beloved manga has cast its leads, and some of you are about to start screaming bloody murder.
Moviegoers will have plenty to choose from over the long Christmas holiday weekend as four new star-driven wide releases hit the marketplace adding to an already crowded marquee.
The Ben Stiller fantasy pic "Night at the Museum" leads the way as the frame’s only new comedy while the Matthew McConaughey football drama "We Are Marshall" offers an inspirational story based on true events. Meanwhile, a pair of Italian Stallions hop into the director’s chair as Sylvester Stallone‘s boxing drama "Rocky Balboa" and Robert De Niro‘s espionage thriller "The Good Shepherd" offer even more choices to holiday moviegoers. As is typical of this time of year, Christmas Eve will hurt the box office on Sunday as last-minute shopping and early theater closings will take their toll. But the Monday holiday will see a major recovery since Christmas Day brings forth a surge in traffic to the multiplexes.
Blasting into nearly 3,700 theaters including 72 Imax venues is the comedy "Night at the Museum" which finds Ben Stiller playing the new night watchman at New York’s Museum of Natural History where all the artifacts and statues come to life each night. Director Shawn Levy ("Cheaper by the Dozen," "The Pink Panther") leaves behind Steve Martin to work with a younger funnyman and more special effects. The PG-rated film is aiming for broad audiences hoping to bring in entire families looking for a fun time this holiday season. "Museum" also plans to score with teens and young adults as the only major comedy option for them. With "The Holiday" being the only other laugher in the top ten to register with that lucrative group, look for a solid response.
Stiller brings considerable starpower to the film but he also gets backup from comedians like Robin Williams, Ricky Gervais, and Dick Van Dyke. Plus with the prestigious ‘and’ credit already claimed by Williams, Owen Wilson takes a sizable supporting role but is so cool that he is nowhere to be found in the credits at all. Audiences want happy and funny films during the Christmas holidays and "Night at the Museum" should post muscular numbers thanks to its starpower, lack of comedy competition, mild rating, and formidable marketing and distribution push. Fox looks to close up the books on 2006 by taking over the number one spot this weekend. Attacking 3,688 locations, "Night at the Museum" could debut to about $34M over the four-day Friday-to-Monday holiday period.
Sylvester Stallone brings the eye of the tiger back to the multiplexes one last time in "Rocky Balboa" which got a jumpstart on the holiday weekend with its Wednesday launch. The MGM release brings the iconic boxer back to the screen in what is supposedly the end of the franchise with Stallone back in the saddle as writer and director. In this tale, Rocky is brought back into the ring when media hype prompts fans to wonder who the best boxer is of all time. The underdog story on screen mirrored the one within industry circles. How could a franchise that died 16 years ago with the poorly-received "Rocky V" find its way back into the hearts of today’s moviegoers. MGM and the "Judge Dredd" star moved forward. Today, they proudly claim one of the best reviewed films of the Christmas season and the Wednesday bow is being counted on to get die-hard fans out early so they can spread positive buzz at work and in school going into the lucrative yet overcrowded weekend period.
With so many other films in the marketplace, and plenty with PG or G ratings aimed at luring in full families, "Rocky Balboa" will have to take its time at the box office as many moviegoers may need some convincing before spending money on the followup to the Tommy Gunn flick. Older adults are the ones who remember the excitement of the franchise, but the studio is hoping they could bring their kids with them for an uplifting tale that makes you feel good inside. "The Pursuit of Happyness" and "We Are Marshall" will be direct competitors in the feel-good genre and the latter will steal away many sports fans too. "Balboa" will have to rely on nostalgia and good word-of-mouth to carry it through round after round. Already playing in 2,752 theaters and adding more locations on Friday, "Rocky Balboa" may gross about $16M over four days and around $21M over six days.
Stallone is back for one more round in "Rocky Balboa."
For football fans this holiday weekend, Warner Bros. trots out another pigskin drama with "We Are Marshall" starring Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, and David Strathairn. The PG-rated film tells the true story of the football program at Marshall University in West Virginia which had to be rebuilt from scratch after a plane crash killed most of the players and coaches. Hollywood seems to have an endless line-up of sports dramas these days and since most of them become commercial successes, it’s no wonder that they keep getting churned out. Just a few months ago, moviegoers powered the football flicks "Invincible" and "Gridiron Gang" to the number one spot with bows of $17M and $14.4M, respectively. "Marshall" should play to much of the same audience and with its underdog feel-good story, the time of year will help since people are in the mood for that type of emotion.
Reviews have not been too good, but that should not matter much. "We Are Marshall" is meant for sports fans and those who love stories about overcoming adversity, regardless of how predictable they may be. Sales from the heartland should be solid and with the tame rating, entire families can come out together. Plus McConaughey is a reliable draw at the box office and is believable as a quirky football coach. Still, competition will be strong and coming from all directions so a blowout will not be possible. Opening in 2,606 theaters, "We Are Marshall" could score about $14M over the Friday-to-Monday frame.
They are Marshall.
Countering the parade of PG flicks is the R-rated CIA thriller "The Good Shepherd" directed by Robert De Niro. The Universal release stars Matt Damon as Edward Wilson, a loyal government agent who helped to create the agency during the Cold War. Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin, William Hurt, John Turturro, and De Niro also star. "Shepherd" boasts solid starpower which could help the film have broad appeal. The subject matter appeals to the 30+ crowd, but Damon and Jolie should help to pull in twentysomethings. Teens and ethnic audiences will have minimal interest. Critics have been mixed on the film which could impact the overall turnout.
The last few months have not been kind to star-driven period dramas aimed at adult audiences. Pictures like "Hollywoodland," "All the King’s Men," and "Bobby" have all struggled to find paying audiences with none reaching the $15M mark in total sales. "Shepherd’s" cast is what will allow it to rise above those failures. But the fight for the attention and time of mature adults will be fierce and a running time of nearly three hours will allow for one less showtime per day on every screen further cutting into its commercial potential. Infiltrating 2,217 locations, "The Good Shepherd" might capture around $13M over four days.
Matt Damon and Alec Baldwin in "The Good Shepherd."
With the calendar year coming to a close, things continue to get crowded in the specialty arena this weekend. Clint Eastwood‘s award-winning war drama "Letters From Iwo Jima" debuted on Wednesday in limited release ahead of a January expansion similar to what Warner Bros. did two years ago with the director’s "Million Dollar Baby" which went on to reign at the Oscars. Edward Norton and Naomi Watts star in the period romance "The Painted Veil" from Warner Independent which also platformed on Wednesday in New York and Los Angeles. Thursday brings the limited launches of Miramax’s "Venus" starring Golden Globe nominee Peter O’Toole and the Chinese period drama "Curse of the Golden Flower" from Sony Classics which stars Gong Li and Chow Yun-Fat.
Zhang Yimou’s "Curse of the Golden Flower."
Last weekend, Will Smith scored a number one hit with "The Pursuit of Happyness" which continues to please audiences. Overall moviegoing should increase over the holiday weekend, but more choices for adult audiences will give Sony some competition. "Pursuit’s" four-day take could drop 25% from its three-day debut gross giving the film about $20M and a cume of $58M after 11 days.
As a sci-fi actioner, Fox’s "Eragon" is likely to see one of the largest drops in the top ten. The dragon adventure might fall by 35% to around $15M over the four-day session leaving the studio with $46M.
Kidpics score big points over Christmas so "Charlotte’s Web" might see many of those fans who skipped out last weekend actually show up this time. The Paramount release’s four-day tally may slip 10% from its three-day bow and bring in roughly $10M. That would give the family film a total of $27M after 11 days.
LAST YEAR: With Christmas falling on a Sunday, the observed holiday on Monday gave the box office an expanded four-day holiday frame allowing the mega holdovers to repeat atop the charts. "King Kong" spent its second weekend at number one and grossed $33.3M over four days and was closely followed by "The Chronicles of Narnia" with $31.7M in its third adventure. The combined haul for the pair soared to $285M with much more still to come. Newcomers rounded out the top five with Jim Carrey defeating Steve Martin in the battle of the comedies. Sony’s "Fun With Dick and Jane" opened in third with $21.5M over four days while Fox’s sequel "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" settled for fourth with $15.3M. Final tallies reached $110.3M and $82.6M, respectively. Sony also claimed fifth with "Memoirs of a Geisha" which expanded nationally and took in $10.2M over the long weekend. Also opening were Fox Searchlight’s Johnny Knoxville comedy "The Ringer" with $7.7M over four days, the Jennifer Aniston pic "Rumor Has It" with $7.5M in two days for Warner Bros., and Universal’s "Munich" with $6M in four days. The films went on to reach $35.4M, $43M, and $47.4M respectively. The debuting horror pic "Wolf Creek" opened outside the top ten with $4.9M in two days on its way to $16.2M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com
"Prison Break’s" Dominic Purcell has been tapped to star in a new monster movie called "Primeval." It’s a giant-croc chiller from a first-time feature director and the scribes who gave you "Terminator 3."
Says The Hollywood Reporter: "Dominic Purcell is set to star in "Primeval," a killer-crocodile thriller that would serve as the feature debut of veteran television director Michael Katleman for Touchstone Pictures. Orlando Jones also has signed on to the movie, which is being produced by Gavin Polone and his Pariah shingle. The high-stakes adventure follows a news producer, reporter and cameraman who are dispatched to South Africa to track down and bring home alive a legendary 25-foot crocodile known as Gustave. However, their quarry proves far more elusive and deadly than they anticipated, and their situation turns even more perilous when a feared warlord targets them for death. Purcell plays the producer, while Jones portrays the cameraman. Scribe duo John Brancato and Michael Ferris ("The Game," "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines") wrote the screenplay, which is inspired by a man-eating crocodile in Africa."
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This project is not to be confused with "Rogue," which is another flick about a big, hungry reptile coming from "Wolf Creek" director Greg McLean. That one stars Michael Vartan & Radha Mitchell, and is presently penciled in for a Dec ’06 release date.
This week at the movies, we’ve got a bunch of madmen ("Hostel"), a notorious lover ("Casanova"), a dhampir ("BloodRayne"), and a dude who lives with his grandma ("Grandma’s Boy"). Which of these movies will score with critics?
It’s a story that’s been told a thousand times: a group of young people stray off the beaten path, only to fall into the clutches of bloodthirsty crazies who inflicts torture upon them with sadistic glee. Heck, it was told a couple weeks ago ("Wolf Creek"). So what? Sometimes it’s how you tell it, and the critics say "Hostel" is told very well. Yes, scribes say, Eli Roth‘s film is grisly, but it’s also terrifyingly exciting and makes for some incisive social commentary. At 88 percent on the Tomatometer, this "Hostel" may be worth a stay, if you like this sort of thing.
Giacomo Casanova was the world’s greatest lover, a man of endless appetites who led an impossibly colorful life (which was probably embellished in his autobiography, but is a classic nonetheless). So you couldn’t go wrong with a movie about the notable rake, right? Right? Well, the critics say this period comedy romp, starring Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller, isn’t quite as romping as it should be, and despite noteworthy visuals, the film is frothy without being particularly ribald. Worse, the man whose name is synonymous with cad-dom chooses monogamy! At 41 percent on the Tomatometer, this "Casanova" is getting no love.
The people behind both "BloodRayne" and "Grandma’s Boy" must have made a new year’s resolution to not screen their films for critics. Here at Rotten Tomatoes, we feel it’s admirable to stick to your guns, when so many of us end up breaking our resolutions almost immediately. Unfortunately, the strategy sends a message to the world that perhaps these movies aren’t very good.
Recent Heath Ledger Movies
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88% — Brokeback Mountain (2005)
67% — Two Hands (2005)
39% — The Brothers Grimm (2005)
53% — Lords of Dogtown (2005)
54% — Ned Kelly (2004)
OK, so "King Kong" didn’t exactly storm out of the gates following its release last Wednesday, but the lovestruck gorilla enjoyed a rather impressive 3-day weekend all the same. The monkey’s mega-movie grabbed just over $50 million over the weekend, giving it a total tally of $66.2 million from over 3,500 screens.
Variety‘s Ben Fritz sums up the Kong-quest rather nicely: "The big ape is already catching a second wind.
Swinging to a respectable weekend after a weaker-than-expected start on Wednesday, "King Kong" grossed $50.1 million Friday-Sunday; five-day cume was $66.2 million. "King Kong" averaged $14,055 per play at 3,568 locations.
Universal is pinning its hopes on "Kong’s" strongest stat: a 40% jump from Friday to Saturday. That’s significantly better than any of the "Lord of the Rings" pics, all of which also opened Wednesday a week before Christmas.
"This movie is setting its own pattern," asserted Marc Shmuger, U vice chairman in charge of worldwide marketing and distribution. "It’s a new one for those of us in the business and who study it. Who knows where it could go?""
Pulling in at second place, with a pretty impressive $31.1m second weekend, is Disney’s "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which has now earned $112.5m from the moviegoers. Third place went to the newly-arrived ensemble comedy "The Family Stone," which netted $12.7m from 2,400 theaters.
Fourth and fifth place went to a pair of old pals: "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" ($5.9m, $252.5m total) and "Syriana" ($5.4m, $22.3m total).
Next week sees the arrival of five new wide releases: "Fun with Dick and Jane" and "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" on Wednesday, "The Ringer" on Friday, and "Rumor Has It" and "Wolf Creek" on Sunday … which means there will be a little for something for everyone at the multiplexes.
As always, you can check out a closer look at the weekend numbers by visiting the Rotten Tomatoes Box Office Page.
ComingSoon.net shares a bit of news reported E! News, and it’s something that should please the fans of the killer-animal flicks. Greg McLean, writer/director of the upcoming "Wolf Creek," will lens "Rogue" down in Australia, which is a thriller about a giant croc that terrorizes the outback.
CS.net says: "E! News is reporting that Michael Vartan ("Alias," "Monster-in-Law") and Radha Mitchell (the upcoming "Silent Hill") will star in writer/director Greg McLean’s "Rogue" for The Weinstein Co.
The film, about a giant crocodile stalking tourists in the Australian outback, will shoot Down Under. Pre-production is reportedly taking place in Port Melbourne.
Five years ago, the script centered on a cynical U.S. travel writer who goes on a river cruise captained by a tough Australian woman and finds himself among a group of people stranded on a tidal mud island.
McLean, who also wrote and directed "Wolf Creek," previously said, "The thing about crocodiles is that they are scary if you just tell the truth about them.""
