The Polar Express

[Brian in Mesa]

The Polar Express

Plot Summary: The Academy Award-winning team of Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump," "Cast Away") reunite for The Polar Express, an inspiring adventure based on the beloved children's book by Chris Van Allsburg. When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe. Sony Pictures Imageworks and visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston, Oscar winners for their innovative work, help bring this enchanting holiday story vividly to life in full CG animation through Imageworks' next-generation motion capture process, which allows live-action performances to drive the emotions and movements of the digital characters.

Cast: Tom Hanks, Nona Gaye, Chris Coppola, Peter Scolari, Eddie Deezen, Michael Jeter, Steven Tyler

Website: PolarExpressmovie.WarnerBros.com

 

[azdad1978]

Saw the live version, went up to Williams and rode the polar express there.

 

[thirty-two]

I don't know if I'll go see the movie, but man, that book just exudes that special christmas feeling. I love this time of year!

 

[azdad1978]

http://www.thetrain.com/polarexpress.cfm

 

[Hordispack]

We loved it!

 

[Brian in Mesa]

The Polar Express Breaks IMAX Record
Source: Reuters
November 15, 2004

Warner Bros. Pictures' The Polar Express, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, set an opening weekend record for a Hollywood film released in IMAX, the company's co-chief executive Brad Wechsler said. The animated/performance capture film grossed $2.1 million over the weekend in 59 North American IMAX theaters for a total of $3 million in receipts since Wednesday.

"We're extremely pleased in terms of its absolute performance in IMAX. We've set a new weekend record for us... we've had a ton of sold out shows and our advance sales to consumers have been great," Wechsler told Reuters.

Overall, The Polar Express opened to $23.3 million from 3,650 theaters this weekend, second to Disney/Pixar's juggernaut The Incredibles, which pulled in $50.3 million its second weekend for a total of $143.3 million. "Express" has collected $30.6 million since its Wednesday opening.

Wechsler said the movie has outperformed other Hollywood films released simultaneously in the IMAX format and regular theaters, including the "Harry Potter" and "Matrix" sequels. He added that the upcoming Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and King Kong are the types of movies IMAX hopes to release.

 

[Chaplin]

Unfortunately, the whole IMAX thing sort of hides the fact that Polar is sort of a disaster for us. Our theatrical department would have been better served to release this Friday, giving a nice 2 week cushion between that release and the release of The Incredibles.

It's a shame, because although many have said that the movie is sorta creepy, most critics and reviews make it out to be quite enjoyable.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Unfortunately, the whole IMAX thing sort of hides the fact that Polar is sort of a disaster for us. Our theatrical department would have been better served to release this Friday, giving a nice 2 week cushion between that release and the release of The Incredibles.

It's a shame, because although many have said that the movie is sorta creepy, most critics and reviews make it out to be quite enjoyable.

funny - I've seen quite the opposite - almost every review I've seen has been generally uneven. I do think it was suicide to go up against The Incredibles - why not wait until early December or Christmas?

24 mill opening weekend against what - combined 270 budget/marketing costs?

 

[jf-08]

Took the kids to see this on Saturday.

We enjoyed it but didn't get the whole hobo thing.

What was he supposed to represent and why was he offering the kid "Cuppa Joe" all the time? Kids don't drink coffee.

We thought the CG was awesome.

 

[Renz]

I saw this yesterday with my 6-year-old daughter and I thought it was fantastic! The look of the film is amazing!

I really liked the sequence where the ticket is flying around, being picked up by animals and the sensation of speed when the Polar Express is flying down the tracks. The way that the North Pole is depicted is great too. I enjoyed how the elves' houses were interspersed with the toy making and wrapping factories to make up an actual city. Very cool!

I had heard that the scene with the broken toys would creep kids out, and my daughter was a little scared, but the scene only lasts about 2 minutes. I expected it to be much scarier from what I had read.

The story and message of the true meaning of Christmas and believing is portrayed well. I will definitely buy the DVD. This is a Christmas classic IMO.

 

[Chaplin]

This film has actually become a quite amazing release for us. Even though it had a bad opening, it's really kicking some tail right now.

 

[Cheesebeef]

The staying power has been REALLY impressive. What's the gross at now? It's only gonna stay where it is - or even get higher as we get closer to Christmas.

 

[Chaplin]

As of last weekend, it was at 110mil, but this weekend it was at an amazing 4th on the box office, it's now at 123.6million, at this rate, it will actually break even this weekend (150million budget). Pretty amazing after only grossing 23 million on opening.

 

[jf-08]

As of last weekend, it was at 110mil, but this weekend it was at an amazing 4th on the box office, it's now at 123.6million, at this rate, it will actually break even this weekend (150million budget). Pretty amazing after only grossing 23 million on opening.

Wow!

That's pretty impressive.

 

[Bada0Bing]

We just went to see this at the Imax last weekend. I thought it was okay, but my 9 and 5 year-olds loved it. The 3D train parts were pretty cool.

 

[UncleChris]

Question: We know the little boy had the bell returned to him by Santa, but what happened to the ticket that the conductor punched "Believe" into?