Epic Tale Roars to a P28.9-M RP Opening

posted on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 in Movies

Warner Bros.’ digitally-animated action-adventure “Beowulf” heroically howled to a magnificent P28.9-million opening weekend gross nationwide over the Wednesday-to-Sunday period (Nov. 14-18), arriving to unanimous acclaim from critics and moviegoers. This was announced today, Nov. 19, by Francis Soliven, general manager of Warner Bros. Pictures, which distributed the film.



In Metro Manila, “Beowulf” grossed a fantastic P22.7-million in the same five-day period, exceeding Warner’s initial box-office projections. Fourteen percent of that gross came from special 3D showings at the IMAX Theater and at The Block Digital 3D Cinema. The latter is equipped with technology from XpanD which uses a special reflective screen and polarized-lens glasses that moviegoers can take as a souvenir. “We were totally blown away by the Filipino market’s enthusiastic response to `Beowulf,’” said Soliven. “We’re looking forward to its prolonged playability.”

The Robert Zemeckis-directed film used motion capture technology to tell the epic story of a Viking warrior who saves a kingdom from a demonic monster. This latest technology advances the cinematic form through the magic of digitally enhanced live-action. Angelina Jolie, Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich contributed their voices and likenesses.



“Beowulf” was written for the screen by New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman (the graphic novels Mirrormask and Sandman), and Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Roger Avary ("Pulp Fiction").

The Top 20 cinemas that posted the biggest grosses are IMAX Theatre (P2.61-M), Trinoma Cinema (P1.40-M), SM Megamall (P1.29-M), SM Mall of Asia (P1.26-M), Gateway Cineplex (P1.15-M), Greenbelt 3 (P 984,461), Glorietta 4 (P 809,295), SM North EDSA (P 795,988), The Block Cinema (P739,413) and Power Plant (P 735,636).

They’re followed by Alabang Town Center (P 709,008), Robinson’s Galleria (P 640,271), Robinson’s Ermita (P 563,928), Festival Mall (P 562,889), Greenhills Theater Mall (P 519,480), SM Manila (P 516,614), SM San Lazaro (P 497,188), Shangri-la Cineplex (P 444,822), Sta. Lucia East (P 444,334) and SM Sta. Mesa (P 432,655).

Still playing across the Philippines, “Beowulf” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Entertainment Company. Concurrent with the film’s run in conventional theatres nationwide, “Beowulf” is also showing at the IMAX Theater and The Block entirely in the 3-D format.

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