Friday, March 29, 2024

“World War Z” Defies Bad Buzz, Makes $66 Mil, Sequel A Definite

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Paramount just called “World War Z” their third biggest franchise opener for the studio– meaning “WWZ” is a franchise, and a sequel is assured. The Brad Pitt starrer, with Marc Forster directing, took in $66 million this weekend. The smart, funny, tense film surprised everyone. But not Brad Pitt, who worked like a dog promoting “WWZ” all over the world. It’s his own biggest opening weekend ever personally, by $16 million. “WWZ” was dissected in advance of its release by everyone. The last third of the movie was reshot entirely, a whole sequence shot in Russia was canned, Matthew Fox’s role was sliced to almost nothing. For a while, things looked bad. But perseverance paid off. And now “WWZ” is a big hit. And no zombies were hurt in the making of this movie.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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