After a $42 Million Opening High School Musical 3 Sets Record

Becoming the top ranked debut for a musical on film, High School Musical 3: Senior Year opened in North American with an amazing $42 million in ticket sales.

Topping the horror film, Saw V, produced by Lions Gate Entertainment with $31 million, Disney's HSM3 jumped in profits with a production budget of only $13 million.

Media by Numbers listed the following estimates for ticket sales Friday through Sunday.

1. "High School Musical 3," $42 million.

2. "Saw V," $30.5 million.

3. "Max Payne," $7.6 million.

4. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," $6.9 million.

5. "Pride and Glory," $6.3 million.

6. "The Secret Life of Bees," $5.9 million.

7. "W.", $5.3 million.

8. "Eagle Eye," $5.1 million.

9. "Body of Lies," $4.1 million.

10. "Quarantine," $2.6 million

One Day Out to HSM3! I Have My Tickets!!

Well, the day has finally come - High School Musical 3 premiere tomorrow!! I can't wait. Seems like it has been so long yet it also came quickly. I saw that Time Magazine didn't give it a great review but what do they know! Here's a quote:

"Anyone over nine can expect the movie's antiseptic energy to get enervating; G rating can be grating. The long dialogue scenes, meant to create the Act II Troy-Gab separation that will be resolved in Act III, often devolve into logorrhea. Tip to parents and kids: when the two leads start talking seriously, go for your popcorn and pee breaks."

Blah, Blah, Blah - why does a Time Magazine reviewer even care. I know this will be great. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune also gave it a so-so review:

"So in place of songs that illuminate character, frame a situation or advance the story — as in 'Grease,' 'Hairspray' and classic Disney musicals — we get bland ballads with lots of heart, but little personality. They're not lyrically distinguished or melodically memorable. They don't feel like they're expressing the characters' deepest feelings. But they're upbeat."

E Online gives a grade of B - which is bit better in the review:

"Unfortunately, while everyone was busy making superawesome dance sequences, someone let the ball drop on the story. HSM proper is all about Efron's Troy Bolton's desire to sing in addition to being a star basketball player. In No. 2, Troy is seduced by a richer and more powerful class, which he has to overcome in order to be true to himself and his friends."

Well, it looks like the mass media doesn't get what kids really want these days - something fun, musical, safe and away from the crap of what we get exposed to!

The Ottawa Citizen had some interesting comments:

"But in its style, High School Musical 3 also evokes memories of other great musical directors and choreographers - Vincente Minnelli, Bob Fosse Jerome Robbins, Michael Kidd - and also such legendary performers as Astaire and Gene Kelly.

'Gene Kelly was my mentor and my teacher,' Ortega tells Canwest News Service. The quiet-spoken 58-year-old filmmaker had loved old movie musicals from childhood, but it was Kelly - with whom he worked in the 1980 Xanadu - who had the biggest impact on him.

'It was meeting Gene and having Gene take time out of his life for me that sort of really helped me come to understand the importance that the director and choreographer had," says Ortega, who as a child performed in stage musicals like Oliver! and then made his first impact as an adult choreographing hit movies like Dirty Dancing and St Elmo's Fire.'"

I just can't wait - I'm sure I'll see it more than once. I hope everyone here makes some comments about it. Thanks for reading my blog over the last couple of years!

Countdown to High School Musical 3

With less than 2 weeks left before the HSM3 premire, Kenny Ortega talks about the final film and his feelings about wrapping up. A lot of tears there - I'm not sure I can make it through myself!

A Night to Remember Video from HSM3

Awesome!! The very first look at HSM3 Senior Year's Song, A Night to Remember.