“Hosting recent studio hits like SHUTTER ISLAND and THE PROPOSAL, Massachusetts has been attracting some seriously big-time Hollywood features. With an expanding creative economy forged by a bipartisan film tax credit law, the Commonwealth has been blitzing the cinematic scene.”
––Production Update (P3) Magazine, September 2010
Massachusetts Film Office News
October 3, 2010
For the third time this year (a new record), a made-in-Massachusetts movie opened nationally as the No. 1 movie in America. This time it was, “The Social Network,” David Fincher’s film adaptation of Ben Mezrich’s 2009 non-fiction novel “The Accidental Billionaires” about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
“The Social Network” joins “The Town” and “Shutter Island” as box-office champs from Massachusetts in 2010. Last year, two locally filmed comedies; “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” and “The Proposal,” achieved the same feat.
The Facebook film–featuring Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake, which was shot in Medford, Andover, Boston, and at Wheelock College–became the second consecutive movie, based a book penned by Harvard grad Ben Mezrich, to open at the top of the national box-office. Mezrich’s book “Bringing Down the House” was the source material for the movie “21” which opened nationally at number 1 in the spring of 2008.
For the second time this year (also a record), Massachusetts claimed two films in the top 5. “Grown Ups” & “Knight & Day” opened as the number two and three films in the country back in July.
Another locally helmed film, Ben Affleck’s “The Town,” continued to show strength by finishing 4th in its third week of release and boasting a $64 million cumulative domestic box office gross to date.
There are still two more Massachusetts-made films waiting in the wings to open between now and the end of the year:
“The Company Men,” John Wells’ film starring Ben Affleck & Kevin Costner—which shot in Boston, Burlington, Lynn, Marblehead, and Milton—opens nationally on October 22, 2010.
“The Fighter,” starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, & Amy Adams—which was shot on location in Lowell—opens nationally on December 10, 2010.
MASSACHUSETTS-MADE “NUMBER ONE” MOVIES SINCE 2007*
GAME PLAN (Walt Disney Pictures) week ending October 14, 2007
21 (Columbia Pictures) week ending April 6, 2008
MALL COP (Columbia Pictures) two weeks ending January 25, 2009
THE PROPOSAL (Touchstone Pictures) week ending July 26, 2009
SHUTTER ISLAND (Paramount Pictures) two weeks ending February 28, 2010
THE TOWN (Warner Bros. Pictures) week ending September 19, 2010
THE SOCIAL NETWORK (Columbia Pictures) week ending October 3, 2010
*Source: VARIETY