Reign of Fire

Release Date: July 12, 2002

I do *NOT* look like you. Stop saying that.

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The apocalypse has come and gone and left dragons in its wake. And, apparently, some humans, too. Set in the United Kingdom in some future time, a British militia leader/dragonslayer (Christian Bale) joins forces with an American firefighter (Matthew McConaughey) to kill the dragons that are incinerating the world. It's like Battlefield Earth - with dragons!! (John Travolta sold separately.)

Izabella Scorupco, last seen in Vertical Limit, co-stars in the film, while Rob Bowman (X-Files) directs. Bale has had a buzz around him ever since he did turns in American Psycho and Shaft. American Psycho was a small film that opened to $4.96 million while Shaft, a film where Samuel Jackson was the main lead, took in $21.72 million. Bale's box-office pull is decidedly untested. If we just go ahead and forgive McConaughey for the atrocity that was The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, he has proven to be a very solid performer in recent years, with romantic comedy The Wedding Planner debuting to $13.51 million. Of course, it is important to note that he was co-starring with a hot, sexy musical superstar. His other somewhat substantial hit, U-571, took in $19.55 million opening weekend, but again, he was co-starring with a hot, sexy...oh wait, I guess Jon Bon Jovi can't be equated with J-Lo.

The film itself is being sold as one of the most unusual action films in several years, which isn't surprising considering Bowman's track record for unique movie and tv ideas. The commercials are driving home the central selling point of the film: dragons vs. helicopters. This strategy appears to be working as the trailer proved to be a very popular download in its first weekend on the web. The mix of tech and fantasy with a small slice of Aliens thrown in offers the promise of a tantalizing movie-going experience. (Jason Dean and David Mumpower/BOP)




Vital statistics for Reign of Fire
Main Cast Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale, Izabella Scorupco, Gerald Butler
Supporting Cast Alice Krige, Duncan Keegan, Rory Keenan, Doug Cockle, Randall Carlton, Alexander Siddig, Scott Moutter, Benny Nieves
Director Rob Bowman
Screenwriter Gregg Chabot, Kevin Peterka, Matt Greenberg
Distributor Buena Vista
Trailer Click Here for Trailer
Official Site http://www.thefilmfactory.co.uk/reign
Rating PG-13
Running Time 101 minutes
Screen Count 2,629
Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture



Comparison films for Reign of Fire
Title
Date
Opening
Adjusted Opening
Screens
PSA
Adj PSA
Total BO
Adjusted Total
Mult
Mummy Returns, The 5/4/0168.14 72.72 3401 20035.00 20566.9 202.01 215.60 2.96
Mummy, The 5/7/9943.37 51.68 3210 13511.00 15425.9 155.25 185.01 3.58
Gladiator 5/5/0034.82 38.95 2938 11852.00 12753.5 186.61 208.76 5.36
Mortal Kombat 8/18/9523.28 32.27 2421 9616.00 12821.3 70.43 97.63 3.03
Shaft 6/16/0021.71 24.28 2337 9290.00 9996.7 70.30 78.64 3.24
U-571 4/21/0019.55 21.87 2583 7569.00 8144.7 79.07 88.45 4.04
Mortal Kombat: Anihilation 11/21/9716.77 22.03 2140 7836.00 9901.7 35.89 47.14 2.14
Knight's Tale, A 5/11/0116.51 17.62 2980 5541.00 5688.1 56.08 59.85 3.40
Dragonheart 5/31/9615.03 20.50 2130 7056.00 9259.0 51.36 70.07 3.42
Wedding Planner, The 1/26/0113.51 14.41 2785 4851.00 4979.8 60.40 64.46 4.47
Dungeons and Dragons 12/8/007.24 8.09 2078 3484.00 3749.0 15.19 16.99 2.10
American Psycho 4/14/004.96 5.54 1236 4013.00 4318.3 15.05 16.83 3.03


     


 
 

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