| In its opening weekend Garfield: The Movie debuted in the No. 5 slot at the box office, taking in more than $21 million. While the film has since recouped its $50-million budget, the film showed a 48 per cent drop in box office totals in it’s second week (grossing $11 million) and a 38 per cent drop in its third (a mere $ 7 million). With such a disappointing decline in ticket sales, let’s hope this puts and end to more big-screen adaptations of daily comics. With Marvel and DC comics running out of characters to turn into movies, if Garfield makes a ton of money who knows what we could be in for?
Family Circus: The Movie: This mostly-live-action film will be supplemented by annoying animated dotted lines following Billy around and the computer-generated ghosts of Ida Know and Not Me. In the spirit of the comic, the studio gets George Lucas’s son to direct.
Kalvin and Hobs: Unauthorized: Spelled differently since Calvin and Hobbes comic strip creator Bill Paterson still won’t license the rights, this film stars Frankie Muniz as Kalvin opposite Andy Serkis as Hobs in a film full of computer-generated snowmen and dinosaurs.
B.C.: Matt Damon and Gus Van Sant return to the desert where they shot Gerry and create what proves to be the most esoteric comic book adaptation of all time. In a series of epic tracking shots, a bearded Damon travels the desert on a crappy stone wheel for days, never finding the guy who sits at the rock.
Peanuts: 60th Anniversary D-Day Edition: If Steven Spielberg can do it, why not Charlie Brown? The estate of Charles Schultz re-releases the TV special where the Peanuts gang goes to Europe. In a violently bloody, deleted scene, Snoopy as the Sopwith Camel relives Omaha beach. Hilarity ensues.
Herman: Bigger and Grumpier: Logistically the biggest challenge with making this movie is finding a bunch of fat older men who all have the same face. No problem, get Eddie Murphy to put on a body suit and a latex mask to play all the characters. I smell a sequel.
Cathy: The Movie: Renée Zellweger promises that this is the last time she will ever put on weight for a role. No really. She gains a stunning 40 pounds to fill Cathy’s underused running shoes. Not surprisingly, nobody cares.
Rex Morgan M.D.: Sorry, this comic is too boring even for Hollywood. Wait a sec, what about General Hospital? |
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