'Jumper' leaps into Europe

Liman film opens in U.K., Spain

By ARCHIE THOMAS

“Jumper” leaps into Europe this weekend, hoping to thrill teens and land top in Blighty and Spain.

In the U.K., Doug Liman’s frenetic sci-fi actioner is the big saturation release of the weekend.

Bookers have high hopes for the superhero movie, which is being aimed at the school holiday crowd. “While the cast might not be a massive draw, this is a concept not cast driven movie,” said a London-based exhib, adding that “the good campaign, trailer and short running time make it a good bet for top spot.”

A three-day opening of between $5 million- $6 million is projected for the Fox release, which bowed ahead of the pack on Valentine’s Day.

“Jumper” reviews have been dismissive. “After the modest promise of the first 15 minutes or so, the film quickly becomes tiresome, and seems to have been made by and for, as well as to be about, people with ADHD,” sniped Karl French in the Financial Times. “ ‘Jumper’ could have been fun, but the script is dim and the hero is a dud,” wrote Tim Robey in the Daily Telegraph.

Also out in the U.K. is “The Bucket List” via Warner Bros. Bizzers do not consider the subject matter (two old men facing up to terminal illness) an easy sell, but do talk up the enduring B.O. appeal of Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Pic is boosted by Nicholson’s visit to London for the U.K. premiere. But reviews have been pretty poor, mostly two star. “Rob Reiner’s old-geezer comedy may have solid gold names over the title, but the script is base metal that admits of no comic alchemy … This is about as funny as a barium meal,” wrote Anthony Quinn in the Independent. An opening haul of $1.5 million is predicted.

In a notable expansion, Disney sends out “There Will Be Blood” on 126 in its second frame. Pic opened sensationally well on a platform release of 26 last weekend and is boosted by strong word of mouth and Daniel Day-Lewis’ actor BAFTA win last Sunday.

Most significant local opener of the Euro frame is Italo coming-of-age pic “Parlami d’amore” (Talk to Me About Love), which 01 Distribuzione launches on a saturation 755 screens. Aimed at lovebirds, the pic is set to dominate in an otherwise heavily arthouse Oscar-nommed frame.

Helmed by and starring teen heartthrob Silvio Muccino, the lavish production is expected to chalk up a big payday, capitalizing on St. Valentine’s Day vibe.

That said, “Love,” which is produced by Cattleya with RAI Cinema coin, hasn’t found favor with Italo crix. “How come a savvy producer like Cattleya wasn’t able to rein in the director, for his own good?,” asked La Repubblica.

Italy’s distantly second-biggest opener is “There Will Be Blood,” the Oscar nommed pic going out amid rave reviews on 110 screens via Buena Vista International.

Other Oscar-nommed pics making their Italo bows are “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” on 66 via BIM Distribuzione, and “Away From Her,” on 32 via Warner Bros., both also propelled by strong critical support.

For the second weekend in a row, a trio of potential B.O. hits — “Sweeney Todd,” “Jumper” and “There Will Be Blood” — hit the Spanish marketplace.

"Jumper" bows on a powerful 420 via Fox. Superhero pic has garnered good reactions from exhibs, despite some reservations about the non-name cast.

Local industryites have doubts about B.O. potential of Tim Burton's gory musical “Sweeney Todd,” which bows on 273 via Warners.

“We don't have a solid tradition of musicals, though we’ve had some hits like Spain’s ‘The Other Side of the Bed,’ ” pointed out a Spanish distrib. Local musical comedy "Bed" grossed $15.2 million in Spain five years ago. Some other musicals have also excelled. "Chicago" grossed $13 million and "Moulin Rouge" cumed $12.4 million in Spain. Reviews for “Sweeney Todd” have been mixed.

"There Will Be Blood" opens on 103 via BVI, boosted, as elsewhere in Europe, by rave reviews. "The best performance in a cinema actor in the last 20 years," declared monthly Fotogramas of Day-Lewis’ towering perf as a driven oilman battling the competition. However, bizzers point out that pic’s commercial prospects may be negatively impacted by its long running time.

Other local openers with minor copy spreads are Jose Luis Lopez-Linares' "The Chicken, the Fish and the King Crab," a gastronomic thriller bowing via Wanda; Antonio Hens' "Clandestinos," and Rigoberto Castaneda’s "Km 31," produced by Mexico’s Lemon Films and Spain’s Filmax.

In Gaul, new releases face an uphill struggle to attract auds this weekend as local blockbuster “Asterix at the Olympic Games” continues to dominate biz.

Down 54% on the week, “Asterix at the Olympic Games” has sold more than 4.4 million tickets on home turf after two frames, for a tidy cume of $38.5 million for Pathe.

New releases looked pretty puny on day one, Wednesday. Nic Cage vehicle “National Treasure: The Book of Secrets,” raked in a passable $1.1 million on 625 for Disney. Franchise sequel received mixed reviews: “A real pleasure: funny and clever,” said L’Ecran Fantastique. “Never funny, surprising or spectacular. Just a failure,” felt Liberation.

Family drama “The Maiden and the Wolves” failed to meet expectations. Toplining Laetitia Casta and helmed by Gilles Legrand, the first-day draw amounted to a mere $245,500 on 401 for Warners.

“Simple and a bit black and white, but effective,” was the highest praise Le Monde could offer. Telerama thought “cliches and cheap sentiments abounded in this plodding recreation of the 1920s.”

Fellow family drama “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep” had an okay bow for Sony at $180,000 on 284.

Local distrib Haut et Court was pleased with the Parisian returns for laffer “What If …?” toplining Alice Taglioni and Jocelyn Quivrin. But aud numbers in the provinces were a bit disappointing on opening day. First day total result was $105,600 on 185.

And “Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium” doesn’t look likely to be much more successful in Gaul than it has been in other markets. Pic managed a tepid bow for Metropolitan of $56,260 on 209 on opening day.

While nature films historically do well in Germany, last week’s cosmic opening of “Planet Earth” caught exhibs off-guard with too few screens. This week’s wider rollout should provide pic with a possible shot at top spot.

Despite bad reviews, chick flick “27 Dresses” looks set to be a la mode for this weekend’s post-Valentine’s Day auds. Strong response from ladies night previews suggests that the date night crowd could carry the pic across the threshold with enough push to make a play for the top spot.

Franchise actioner “John Rambo,” also the target of heavy fire from critics, was also able to deliver a pre-emptive strike in preview screenings, indicating that this week could see Stallone mounting a strong attack on the charts.

Last week’s winner, “Saw IV” is already beginning to lose teeth and is expected to drop to the low end of the top five, while “P.S. I Love You” could post a modest gain from the loved-up Valentine effect.

“There Will Be Blood” will benefit from high-grade reviews and high profile preem at the Berlin Film Festival. A cautious rollout on fewer than 100 screens should bubble up with a high per screen average that could slide the pic close to the number 10 spot.

Critical praise should also boost cerebral horror pic “The Orphanage.” A modest rollout targets a genre/arthouse crowd, expecting a healthy per screen average to land the Spanish money spinner in the lower echelons of the top 10.

Additional reporting by Andrew Horn (Germany), Nick Vivarelli (Italy), Emilio Mayorga (Spain) and David Hayhurst (France).