January 28th, 2003

"Darkness"... RISES!?, Miyazaki DVDs

Last week it was a kangaroo. Now with official proof that America has no taste, the usually slow Super Bowl weekend brought out a winner in the critically panned Darkness Falls with a strong 12 million. Kangaroo Jack trailed only slightly for second with 11.5 million. Chicago also slightly expanded and brought in another 8.2 million (fresh off its Golden Globes win), while National Secuirity dipped a little, bringing in only 7.3 million this weekend.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers is slowly losing its steam as it brought in 6.6 over the weekend. Same goes for Catch Me If You Can, taking in 6.5 million. Just Married made another 6.4, while this weekend saw the wide release of George Clooney's directorial debut Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, bringing a decent 5.8 million (I saw the film and did enjoy it).

Rounding the box office out are another pair of Golden Globe winners: About Schmidt and The Hours, with 5.3 and 3.9 million each.

And in some exciting DVD news today, Disney has officially announced the release of some Hayao Miyazaki films on DVD. If you read this site often then you know I am a GIANT Miyazaki fan, and I'm really looking forward to the release of these films come April 15th. While official specs haven't been announced, the releases should have both English dubs and Japanese language tracks, as well as anamorphic widescreen transfers. It's been three years since I saw the new Disney dub of "Castle In The Sky" (which is excellent might I add, complete with the new Joe Hisaishi score), and for those of you who have been waiting since 1998 when "Castle" was supposed to be on home video in 1999, your time is almost here. Here's a look at the cover art for the first three Miyazaki releases: "Spirited Away" (my favorite film of 2002), "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Castle In The Sky":

-Zach B.