DreamWorks buys YouTube channel AwesomenessTV for $33 million

Published May 01, 2013

FoxNews.com

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DreamWorks Animation announced today that it has acquired the popular teen YouTube channel AwesomenessTV for $33 million in cash, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

But the deal has the potential to earn the minds behind AwesomenessTV much more over time. If certain earnings goals are met, DreamWorks may shell out up to $117 million for the teen online video channel.

"With this deal, DreamWorks Animation will acquire a thriving next-generation media company, which through its Multi-Channel Network on YouTube has already signed up over 55,000 channels, aggregating over 14 million subscribers and 800 million video views," the companies said in a statement. "In addition, the AwesomenessTV brand has recently extended beyond the mobile platform into television and film, signaling continued cross-platform expansion plans."
Brian Robbins, the founder of the successful channel, will stay on to oversee the company. According to AllThingsD, Robbins initially put $3.5 million into AwesomenessTV. He will now also have a role at DreamWorks Animation.  

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Dionne Warwick owes nearly $10 million in back taxes

Published March 26, 2013

Associated Press

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  Dionne Warwick performs during the Jamaica Jazz and Blues festival in Trelawny, January 26, 2013.Reuters

Singer Dionne Warwick owes nearly $10 million in back taxes and has filed for bankruptcy.

In a Chapter 7 petition filed this month in New Jersey, Warwick lists liabilities that include nearly $7 million owed to the Internal Revenue Service for the years 1991 to 1999 and more than $3 million in business taxes owed to the state of California. Warwick lists her current address in South Orange.

The singer of classics such as "Walk On By," ''I Say a Little Prayer" and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" also lists about $21,000 in monthly income and about the same amount in monthly expenses.

Warwick's publicist says the singer has paid back the actual amount of the taxes but that penalties and interest have accumulated over the years.

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J&J recalling more than 2 million blood glucose meters worldwide

Published March 25, 2013

Reuters

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Johnson & Johnson is recalling and replacing more than 2 million meters used to measure blood glucose levels in diabetics due to a failure to operate properly at extremely high glucose readings, the company's LifeScan unit said on Monday.

In the United States, about 90,000 OneTouch Verio IQ meters are affected out of some 1.2 million units of that model being recalled worldwide, the company said.

At extremely high glucose readings of 1024 mg/dl and above, the units have failed to provide a warning of dangerously high blood sugar and will shut off, potentially delaying proper treatment, the company said.

LifeScan said it has notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other health regulators of the voluntary recall, as well as registered users and healthcare professionals.

In addition to the Verio IQ model, J&J is also recalling about 670,000 of its OneTouch Verio Pro meters in Europe and 4,900 of its hospital-based OneTouch Verio Pro+ meters in the Middle East, Europe and the Asia/Pacific region.

No patient injuries have been reported in the United States related to the malfunction, the company said. LifeScan said there was one report of a serious adverse event outside the United States, but a link to the malfunctioning glucose meter had not been determined.

"We regret the inconvenience these actions may cause. However, we will always err on the side of caution and make a decision that is in the best interest of our patients," Michael Pfeifer, LifeScan's chief medical officer, said in a statement.

The company said its OneTouch Ultra model was not affected by the recall.

It said patients could continue to use the Verio IQ model until replacements arrive as long as they are aware that if the unit shuts down it could be indicative of dangerously high glucose levels.

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'Oz' stays atop box office with $42.2 million

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  This file film image provided by Disney Enterprises shows James Franco, as Oz, left, and the character Finley, voiced by Zach Braff, in a scene from "Oz the Great and Powerful." Oz the Great and Powerful is living up to its name at the box office. Walt Disney's 3-D blockbuster has led all films for the second week in a row, taking in $42.2 million according to studio estimates.AP/Disney Enterprises

NEW YORK –  "Oz the Great and Powerful" is living up to its name at the box office.

Walt Disney's 3-D blockbuster led all films for the second week in a row, taking in $42.2 million according to studio estimates Sunday. Sam Raimi's prequel to the L. Frank Baum classic "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" also took in $46.6 million overseas, leading to a two-week worldwide total of $281.8 million.

In a winter of underperforming releases, that makes "Oz" easily the biggest hit of 2013 so far.

"Boy, did we need it," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "There have been a lot of box-office casualties this year. This is the shot in the arm that we needed, but we're still waiting for the marketplace to gain some sort of momentum."

The box office is down nearly 13 percent from last year.

Among the weekend's debuts, the Halle Berry thriller "The Call" far exceeded expectations with a $17.1 million opening for Sony and TriStar Pictures. The Steve Carell magician comedy "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" fared worse, opening with a disappointing $10.3 million for Warner Bros.

The performances of the two new releases continued a theme of 2013: Movies targeting female audiences have had more success than male-driven films. "The Call," in which Berry plays a 911 operator, was deliberately marketed to women, who made up 61 percent of its audience, Sony said. "Burt Wonderstone," starring Carell and Jim Carey as rival Las Vegas magicians, sought a young male comedy audience that didn't materialize.

Female turnout has driven most all of the box office hits of the year, including the Melissa McCarthy comedy "Identity Thief" and the vampire romance "Warm Bodies." Macho films like Arnold Schwarzenegger's "The Last Stand" and Sylvester Stallone's "Bullet to the Head" have fizzled.

"Studios should take note," says Dergarabedian. "There's a lot of female power going on at the box office."

Opening in just three theaters in New York and Los Angeles was another film starring James Franco, who plays the Wizard in "Oz the Great and Poweful." ''Spring Breakers," a dreamy trip of day-glo debauchery starring Franco, Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens, opened with a strong $90,000 per-theater average ahead of its wider release next weekend.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday:

1."Oz the Great and Powerful," $42.2 million. ($46.6 million international.)

2."The Call," $17.1 million.

3."The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," $10.3 million.

4."Jack the Giant Slayer," $6.2 million.

5."Identity Thief," $4.5 million.

6."Snitch," $3.5 million.

7."21 and Over," $2.6 million.

8."Silver Linings Playbook," $2.6 million.

9."Safe Haven," $2.5 million.

10."Escape From Planet Earth," $2.3 million.

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Disney's 'Oz' prequel bewitches box office with $80 million debut

LOS ANGELES –  "Oz the Great and the Powerful" clicked with moviegoers.

Disney's 3-D prequel to the classic L. Frank Baum tale "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" debuted in first place and earned $80.3 million at the weekend box office in the U.S. and Canada and $69.9 million overseas, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"Oz" tells the origin of James Franco as the wizard with Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz as the trio of witches he encounters after crashing in the mystical realm of Oz.

The updated take on "Oz," which was directed by original "Spider-Man" trilogy mastermind Sam Raimi, was a gamble that looks like it will pay off for the Walt Disney Co. The film reportedly cost $200 million and opened a week after "Jack the Giant Slayer," another big-budget 3-D extravaganza that reimagines a classic tale, flopped in its opening weekend, debuting with $28 million at the box office.

"Oz" was also golden overseas. The film conjured up $69.9 million from 46 foreign markets, including Russia and the United Kingdom. "Oz" could follow in the footsteps of Disney's "Alice in Wonderland," another costly 3-D film, which opened on the same weekend in 2010 and went on to gross over $1 billion worldwide.

"'Oz' is the shot in the arm that the industry needed," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "We had six consecutive weekends where the box office was down. As a result, we're at a 12-and-a-half percent deficit year-to-date on box office revenues versus last year. Not a lot of movies have worked. There have been several underperformers."

In its second weekend, "Jack" stomped out second place behind "Oz" with $10 million, dropping 62 percent since its opening weekend. It earned just $4.9 million overseas. "Jack," based on the Jack and the Beanstalk fable, was directed by Bryan Singer and stars Nicholas Hoult and Ewan McGregor.

The only other new release this weekend, the FilmDistrict revenge drama "Dead Man Down" starring Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace, opened in fourth place with $5.3 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday:

1. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $80.3 million. ($69.9 million international.)

2. "Jack the Giant Slayer," $10 million. ($4.9 million international.)

3. "Identity Thief," $6.3 million.

4. "Dead Man Down," $5.3 million.

5. "Snitch," $5.1 million. ($4.7 million international.)

6. "21 & Over," $5 million.

7. "Safe Haven," $3.8 million.

8. "Silver Linings Playbook," $3.7 million. ($6 million international.)

9. "Escape from Planet Earth," $3.2 million.

10. "The Last Exorcism Part II," $3.1 million.

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Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $69.9 million.

2. "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," $11.2 million.

3. "A Good Day to Die Hard," $9.1 million.

4. "Mama," $6.3 million.

5 (tie). "Beautiful Creatures," $5.8 million.

5 (tie). "Les Miserables," $5.8 million.

6. "Silver Linings Playbook," $6 million.

7. "Jack the Giant Slayer," $4.9 million.

8. "New World," $4.8 million.

9. "Snitch," $4.7 million.

10. "Boule et Bill," $4.1 million.

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'Giant Slayer' rakes in ho-hum $28 million debut

LOS ANGELES –  It wasn't exactly a mighty victory, but "Jack the Giant Slayer" won the weekend at the box office.

The Warner Bros. 3-D action extravaganza, based on the Jack and the Beanstalk legend, made just $28 million to debut at No. 1, according to Sunday studio estimates. It had a reported budget of just under $200 million.

But the studio also hit a milestone on the global front with Peter Jackson's fantasy epic "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" crossing the $1 billion mark worldwide. The first of three films based on the classic J.R.R. Tolkien novel has made $301.1 domestically and $700 million internationally.

"Jack the Giant Slayer" comes from Bryan Singer, director of "The Usual Suspects" and the first two "X-Men" movies. It stars Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor, Ian McShane and Stanley Tucci.

Among other new releases, the college romp "21 & Over" from Relativity Media made only $9 million this weekend to open in third place. And the horror sequel "The Last Exorcism Part II" from CBS Films debuted in fourth place with just over $8 million.

Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' executive vice president of theatrical distribution, said "Jack the Giant Slayer" opened lower than the studio had hoped, but he's encouraged by its CinemaScore, which was a B-plus overall and an A among viewers under 18. One bit of good news for "Jack" is that it had a 56-percent uptick from Friday to Saturday, suggesting strong word-of-mouth and more family audiences for the PG-13 adventure.

"That tells us that the audiences that are seeing it really do like it," Goldstein said. "The international opening in Asia has been very strong -- the 3-D component of the special effects works in a big way outside the domestic marketplace."

"Jack the Giant Slayer" made $13.7 million in 11 international territories for a worldwide total of $41.7 million. Internationally, "A Good Day to Die Hard," the fifth film in the blockbuster Bruce Willis franchise, was the big winner of the weekend with $18.3 million for a global total of nearly $222 million.

Domestically, this is the sixth weekend in a row that movie ticket sales are down, said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. He pointed out that many of the action pictures aimed at men this year -- including "Snitch," "The Last Stand," "Bullet to the Head" and "Parker" -- have been disappointments at the box office.

"Other films have done OK but we need to do better than OK to keep up with last year's pace," he said. "Where is the audience? I don't want to overstate this, but where are the guys?"

Among the few bright spots, the Jason Bateman-Melissa McCarthy comedy "Identity Thief" has become the first film to cross the $100 million mark this year. Now in its fourth week in theaters, the Universal movie has made $107.4 million.

"This is a tough marketplace right now. Everything is underperforming," Dergarabedian said. "There hasn't been a huge breakout hit yet. For every `Identity Thief' there have probably been 10 other films that have underperformed."

Meanwhile, winners at last weekend's Academy Awards, including "Argo," "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Life of Pi," are still sticking around in the top 20 after several months in theaters, further underscoring the weakness of recent new releases.

But Dergarabedian was optimistic that things will turn around with the opening next week of Disney's "Oz the Great and Powerful," a much-anticipated prequel to "The Wizard of Oz" starring James Franco and directed by Sam Raimi. It's expected to open in the $75-100 million range.

"We need the cavalry to arrive and we need them soon," he said. "Maybe James Franco is the cavalry."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday:

1. "Jack the Giant Slayer," $28 million. ($13.7 million international.)

2. "Identity Thief," $9.7 million.

3. "21 & Over," $9 million.

4. "The Last Exorcism Part II," $8 million.

5. "Snitch," $7.7 million.

6. "Escape From Planet Earth," $6.7 million.

7. "Safe Haven," $6.3 million.

8. "Silver Linings Playbook," $5.9 million.

9. "A Good Day to Die Hard," $4.5 million. ($18.3 million international.)

10. "Dark Skies," $3.6 million.

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Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "A Good Day to Die Hard," $18.3 million.

2. "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," $15.2 million.

3. "Jack the Giant Slayer," $13.7 million.

4. "Les Miserables," $10.5 million.

5. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," $9.2 million.

6. "Django Unchained," $8 million.

7. "New World," $7.3 million.

8. "Miracle in Cell No. 7," $6.2 million.

9. "Beautiful Creatures," $6 million.

10. "Flight," $5.2 million.

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