Movies
TIFF 09: Full ‘Midnight Madness’ Line-Up, Romero’s ‘Survival of the Dead’!
Out of all of the events that happen throughout the year, the one that I look forward to the most is the Toronto International Film Festival, which hosts the epic 10-day event “Midnight Madness.” Midnight Madness – the genre fest that has premiered High Tension, Inside, Martyrs and many more – continues to provide an eccentric mix of the weird and the wonderful, the gory and the gruesome. This year, late-night film-goers can expect to have their senses riveted by crazed animation, femme-tastic b-movie mayhem, monsters galore, a possessed cheerleader, exhilarating martial arts and more! The 34th TIFF runs September 10 to 19, 2009 and we’ve got the entire Midnight Madness line-up. Dig on it inside and prepared to get excited! Get your tickets now before they sell out.
The Midnight Madness Package is $156.51, and available to students and seniors for $100 (prices do not include GST, building fund fee and service charges). Other ticket packages for the Festival are also available for purchase by cash, debit or Visa+. Purchase online at tiff.net/thefestival, by phone at 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed weekends and holidays) or in person at the Festival Box Office at Nathan Phillips Square (Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week), located at 100 Queen Street West, in the white tent, west of the square. The 34th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10 to 19, 2009.
Get tickets at the official website
Jennifer’s Body tells the story of small town high school student Jennifer (Megan Fox) who is possessed by a hungry demon and transitions from being “high school evil”–gorgeous (and doesn’t she know it), stuck up and ultra-attitudinal–to the real deal: evil/evil. The glittering beauty becomes a pale and sickly creature jonesing for a meaty snack, and guys who never stood a chance with the heartless babe, take on new luster in the light of her insatiable appetite. Meanwhile, Jennifer’s best friend, Needy (Amanda Seyfried), long relegated to living in Jennifer’s shadow, must step-up to protect the town’s young men, including her nerdy boyfriend Chip (Johnny Simmons). Written and executive produced by Oscar
Movies
‘Abigail’ on Track for a Better Opening Weekend Than Universal’s Previous Two Vampire Attempts
In the wake of Leigh Whannell’s Invisible Man back in 2020, Universal has been struggling to achieve further box office success with their Universal Monsters brand. Even in the early days of the pandemic, Invisible Man scared up $144 million at the worldwide box office, while last year’s Universal Monsters: Dracula movies The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield didn’t even approach that number when you COMBINE their individual box office hauls.
The horror-comedy Renfield came along first in April 2023, ending its run with just $26 million. The period piece Last Voyage of the Demeter ended its own run with a mere $21 million.
But Universal is trying again with their ballerina vampire movie Abigail this weekend, the latest bloodbath directed by the filmmakers known as Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Scream).
Unlike Demeter and Renfield, the early reviews for Abigail are incredibly strong, with our own Meagan Navarro calling the film “savagely inventive in terms of its vampiric gore,” ultimately “offering a thrill ride with sharp, pointy teeth.” Read her full review here.
That early buzz – coupled with some excellent trailers – should drive Abigail to moderate box office success, the film already scaring up $1 million in Thursday previews last night. Variety notes that Abigail is currently on track to enjoy a $12 million – $15 million opening weekend, which would smash Renfield ($8 million) and Demeter’s ($6 million) opening weekends.
Working to Abigail‘s advantage is the film’s reported $28 million production budget, making it a more affordable box office bet for Universal than the two aforementioned movies.
Stay tuned for more box office reporting in the coming days.
In Abigail, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
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