In support of the film’s theatrical release today, Universal has provided us with Evan Almighty branded t-shirts to give away to two lucky /Film readers. All you need to enter is to e-mail us with the reason why you should win. On June 30th we will e-mail the winner with the best answer.
In the midst of the 2007 summer movie flood, pull up an ARK and check out this summer’s must-see comedy of epic proportions! From the creators of Bruce Almighty, Universal Pictures brings you Evan Almighty, starring Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, John Goodman, John Michael Higgins, Jimmy Bennett, Wanda Sykes and Jonah Hill.
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There are potentially two big movies opening this week. Last week’s #1 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer made an astounding $58 million, so it has a chance to do very well again in its second week. Will either of the new movies pass it by? Read on to find out:
1. Evan Almighty. The answer is that one of them will. Bruce Almighty was a huge hit. It made $67 million its first weekend on its way to a total Box Office of $242 million. Will the sequel do as well? I think it has a chance. Right now, Will Farrell has passed Jim Carey as the most bankable comedy star in Hollywood. But after the huge success of The 40 Year Old Virgin, as well as his starring role in NBC’s The Office, Steve Carrel has a chance to challenge Farrell down the line. He will certainly get a big boost from Evan Almighty which will be a huge hit and will get off to a great start with $50 million.
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When we last saw Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) in Bruce Almighty, he was Jim Carrey’s hard working smug Buffalo newscaster rival. Baxter has since been elected to Congress, winning on the campaign promise that he would “change the world”. When he asks God for his help, God (Morgan Freeman) not only listens but responds by asking Baxter to build a ark, Noah style. Most of the comedy in Almighty stems from the humorous reactions of normal people (and his family) to Evan’s newfound craziness, animal antics, and injuries he sustains while constructing the ark.
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Universal Pictures has uploaded an eight-minute clip from the Steve Carell comedy sequel Evan Almighty. I just caught the film last night and was pleasantly surprised (hey, I wasn’t expecting much going in). The movie hits theaters this Friday, and the only other movie in nationwide release is the John Cusack horror flick 1408. Obviously both films target entirely different audiences. One is a strict family comedy, while the other is a psychological horror. So chances are you already have one of the two movies picked out (if any). But if you have any interest in seeing Evan Almighty, check out the 8-minute clip after the jump. I feel it gives you a good indication of the film’s story-line, tone and humor.
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Did You Know: Evan Almighty is now the most expensive comedy ever made. The studio initially planned to not cross a $140 million limit. But with the special effects and logistical problems (having real live animals on set can add up), the cost went over $175 million. That means, after press, advertising, prints, and all marketing expenses, Evan Almighty will sport a price tag of over $250 million.
But it’s a smart bet. Bruce Almighty made over $80 million in its opening weekend, and over $484 million worldwide by the end of it’s run. Evan is not only tracking higher than the first film, but is also tracking above huge summer blockbusters such as Transformers and Live Free or Die Hard.
For Evan Almighty, the magic number would be $500 million. That’s how much the film needs to make before it is deemed even. Note: Many people don’t know this but the studio only gets around 50% of the ticket sales (that’s right, those huge box office numbers reported every Monday morning). But that doesn’t take into consideration DVD sales. Bruce made over $77 million in rentals (as of 2/08/04) and over $250 million in home video sales (as of June 2004). So realistically, Evan only needs to earn $250 million at the box office to eventually break even on DVD.
Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere has published the late June industry tracking numbers. To make things easier, we have filed the numbers in this neat little table below:
| Film |
General Awareness |
Definite Interest |
First Choice |
Definately Not Interested |
| 1408 |
56%
|
30%
|
9%
|
12%
|
| A Mighty Heart |
44%
|
22%
|
6%
|
|
| Evan Almighty |
89%
|
40%
|
15%
|
|
| Live Free or Die Hard |
92%
|
36%
|
5%
|
|
| Ratatouille |
78%
|
36%
|
7%
|
|
| Sicko |
38%
|
22%
|
3%
|
22%
|
| License to Wed |
69%
|
22%
|
2%
|
|
| Transformers |
87%
|
41%
|
12%
|
|
Here are the things that we immediately notice: More people are interested in Pixar’s Ratatouille than we originally thought. It appears that more people have that film listed as their first choice than Live Free or Die Hard, A Mighty Heart, Sicko or License to Wed.
Live Free or Die Hard has the most awareness by far (with 92%), but is not the film people want to see (36% interested, 5% top choice).
What shocks us the most is that Evan Almighty is tracking slightly higher than even Transformers. How can this be? Is it that we are stuck in our online geek web bubble not able to see the outside world’s interest in the Bruce Almighty sequel? Possibly.
People seem to be pretty disinterested in political movies. A Mighty Heart and Michael Moore’s Sicko have a low 22% interested rate. As expected, the conservatives are very uninterested in seeing Moore’s new film, giving the movie a huge 22% definitely not interested number. It doesn’t help that the people who were interested in seeing the movie have probably already illegally downloaded it off the internet.
Of course, all these numbers will change as the marketing picks up on the early July flicks. I would expect Transformers numbers to increase.
The new movie trailer for Evan Almighty is now online. I wasn’t a fan of the first one but Steve Carell can work wonders and the new trailer shows promise.
Director Tom Shadyac’s follow-up to Bruce Almighty stars Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, John Goodman, John Michael Higgins, Jimmy Bennett, Wanda Sykes and Jonah Hill. Evan Almighty hits theaters on June 22, 2007.
The trailer for Universal Pictures’ Bruce Almighty sequel, Evan Almighty, will premiere during NBC’s Night at the Office three hour marathon event.
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