“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
September 19, 2010
This weekend, Cambridge native Ben Affleck’s heist thriller “The Town” became the sixth Massachusetts-made film since 2007 to open nationally as the No. 1 movie in America.
The Boston-based thriller—which Affleck directed, co-wrote, and stars in—earned an estimated $23.8 million during its first three days, according to distributor Warner Bros. It is the fourth Affleck project to shoot in Massachusetts. He starred in “The Company Men,” which shot here last spring. And, his Academy Award winning films “Gone Baby Gone” and “Good Will Hunting” were both filmed locally.
“The Town” joins “Shutter Island” as the second Massachusetts-made movie of 2010 to open as the top grossing film in the country. This is also the second year in a row that two Bay State films snagged box-office bragging rights. Two locally filmed comedies, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” and “The Proposal,” achieved the same feat last year.
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But 2010 could see that record broken as three more highly touted, locally produced films open nationally between now and the end of the year:
“The Social Network,” which shot in Medford, Andover, Boston, and at Wheelock College, opens nationally on October 1, 2010.
“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
*Source: VARIETY
LOCAL COVERAGE OF THE STORY:
A win for the home ‘Town’ team
Boston Globe
September 20, 2010
“The Town’’ is the talk of the box office, opening with $23.8 million to take the No. 1 spot. The intense drama about bank robbers in an insular section of Boston earned rave reviews. This is the second movie directed by Ben Affleck, who stars alongside Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, and Chris Cooper, who lives in Kingston. The high-school comedy “Easy A’’ came in second place with $18.2 million, according to yesterday’s estimates. And thriller “Devil,’’ about strangers trapped in an elevator, landed in third with $12.6 million. The success of “The Town’’ shows Affleck’s directorial debut, the Oscar-nominated “Gone Baby Gone,’’ was no fluke, said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. (AP)
Ben Affleck does it again
By Megan Johnson
Boston Herald
September 20, 2010
Ben Affleck’s Charlestown flick “The Town” dominated the box office this weekend, bringing in a total of $23.8 million in ticket sales. The bank heist drama, which stars Ben alongside Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Chris Cooper and Blake Lively, beat out teen comedy “Easy A” starring “Superbad” actress Emma Stone, which raked in $18.2 million, and M. Night Shayamalan’s newest thriller, “Devil,” which brought in $12.6 million. Entertainment Weekly claims Affleck’s film “far out-performed its expectations.”
Cambridge-raised Affleck chose his home turf of Boston for the domestic premiere of “The Town,” and told the Track the star-studded Fenway Park [map] debut was “the highlight of my career.”
Critics say the widespread commercial and critical success of “The Town” only solidifies Affleck’s skills, which came to light in his directorial debut with 2007’s “Gone Baby Gone.”
“Ben Affleck is taking a page right out of the Clint Eastwood handbook,” Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Entertainment Weekly. “Obviously, he was known for being an actor, but he’s very quickly gaining a reputation as a first-class director.”