‘Ender’s Game’ came in No. 1 at Friday’s box office with $9.9 million, this according to the Hollywood Reporter. Friday, the ‘Ender’s Game’ movie beat out No. 2 ‘Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa’ with $6.1 million and No. 3 ‘Last Vegas’ with $5.1 million.
This is a big jump from the film’s $1.4 million soft opening on Thursday Halloween evening. ‘Ender’s Game’ is expected to earn just under $30 million opening weekend.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the ‘Ender’s Game’ score has fluctuated between 61% and 75%. For the last day, the score has settled around a “Fresh” 63%.
In a video interview with Southern Virginia University, ‘Ender’s Game’ author, Orson Scott Card, revealed new details about a series of ‘Ender’s Game’ sequels he’s working on.
According to the interview, ‘Fleet School’ is “a new set of sequels to ‘Ender’s Game’. It’s for a YA audience. It’s what happens to Battle School after the International Fleet loses its purpose of war. It becomes what is called Fleet School, and it prepares kids to become commanders / explorers in the colonies that are going to be forming. We get to see that as the school administrators repurpose the school, the Battle Room is still there, but it’s a whole different kind of education.”
Card originally hinted about ‘Fleet School’ two weeks ago. It is still unknown how many novel will be included in this series. The title and release date are still to be announced.
Variety is reporting that ‘Ender’s Game’ earned a healthy $1.4 million the day before the official release of the film. This places ‘Ender’s Game’ third for Thursday’s film sales, behind No. 1 ‘Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa’ with $1.8 million and No. 2 ‘Gravity’ with $1.6 milllion. ‘Ender’s Game’ is expected to earn just under $30 million opening weekend.
Here are some audio and video interviews from the red carpet event on Monday!
Video courtesy of Ender News:
Sir Ben Kingsley, who plays Mazer Rackham in the film, discusses the main theme of the film and his ever present facial tattoos.
Aramis Knight, who plays Bean in the film, elaborates on his favorite scene and the possiblility of sequels following the ‘Ender’s Shadow’ series.
Brandon Soo Hoo, who plays Fly Molo, describes some of his favorite scenes and Battle School slang words.
Steve Jablonsky, who composed the score for Ender’s game, discusses some of his inspirations and concerns about the film score with us.
Jimmy Pinchak, who portrays Peter in the film, speaks on some of his challenges while playing Peter and expresses some of his appreciation for the sequels!
According to Fandango, the nation’s leading moviegoing destination, ‘Ender’s Game’ is the #1 film that fans want to see this weekend, scoring 85 out of 100 points on Fandango’s Fanticipation movie buzz indicator. The sci-fi action-adventure epic is leading the weekend’s releases with strong ticket sales, outpacing Tom Cruise’s ‘Oblivion,’ Matt Damon’s ‘Elysium’ and Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Pacific Rim’ at the same point in their sales cycles.
According to a Fandango survey of ‘Ender’s Game’ ticket-buyers, 94% consider themselves Harrison Ford fans; 71% are already looking forward to a possible sequel; and 53% have read the 1985 novel.
In the near future, a hostile alien race called the Formics have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young minds to find the future Mazer.
Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy but strategically brilliant boy, is recruited to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult challenges and simulations, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham himself to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race. Based on the best-selling, award winning novel by Orson Scott Card, ENDER’S GAME is an epic adventure which stars Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, with Abigail Breslin and Ben Kingsley, and is written for the screen and directed by Gavin Hood.
The ‘Ender’s Game’ film left me desiring more in the best way.
As expected, Don McAlpine’s cinematography highlighted the intricate future beautifully. I appreciated that director Gavin Hood showcased a believable future, where familiar objects are upgraded, but not replaced entirely. Every set looks mesmerizing, and the zero-gravity battle room scenes are so impressively believable that the audience may feel ill.
On screen, Asa Butterfield makes a very believable Ender Wiggin. Although he’s lanky, Butterfield’s face is young enough to appear as a small child around eleven. Butterfield acts with more subtle facial movements than words, which speaks well to Ender’s isolation and intelligence. Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Harrison Ford, Viola Davis and Ben Kingsley all demonstrated superb acting.
My biggest complaint is that the ‘Ender’s Game’ film feels forcibly rushed. Despite verbal clues, the audience will sense that Ender’s battle school experience lasted only a couple days or weeks, rather than years. Due to time constraints, several of the characters are underdeveloped, including Bean, Alai, Dink, and Bernard. The audience is not given enough time to bond with these characters and those unfamiliar with the original story will find these favorites replaceable.
Ender’s relationship with his sister Valentine is the driving emotional force in the film, strongly aided by the score. Although Valentine Wiggin actress, Abigail Breslin, doesn’t get much screen time, her acting leaves a lasting impression and audiences will feel her presence throughout the film.
Although there are several book to film changes, fans will be pleased to find most of their favorite scenes to be condensed versions of the original story, including Valentine’s lake scene, Ender’s shower scene, and the final simulation. Without spoilers, Ender’s shower scene was very gruesome and I think fans really enjoy it. I believe ‘Ender’s Game’ fans will enjoy Gavin Hood’s film adaption. I recommend the ‘Ender’s Game’ movie to fans of science fiction and action movies, children over thirteen, and most adults.
I really hope there is an extended edition released on DVD.
4/5 Stars
The ‘Ender’s Game’ film will be released in U.S. theaters on November 1, 2013.
First, the timeline: We notice that though movie-branded, and sent out by Lionsgate, this seems to use the book as the primary source of information. Eros is still listed as an asteroid, and Ender’s age can be calculated to match the narrative of the novel at various points on the timeline. Either way, it’s a great primer for those unfamiliar with the story who are headed to the movies this weekend (or as a refresher, for those of us who are)! Be sure to share with your uninitiated friends.
Second, the 3d printing: In addition to this timeline, we also received word that Lionsgate is partnering with Sandboxr, a company who specializes in easy-to-use customizable 3D printing on high-end 3D printers, to provide an outlet for you to design, and have printed, custom models based on the film. The interface is through a website running Unity Web Plugin (a freely downloadable cross-platform game engine that runs in your browser). Base models available include an alien mothership, an IF shuttle, and an IF drone. It appears that in this instance the options for customization appear fairly limited, but you can select the base that your model will be mounted on, as well as certain thematic elements.
The build quality appears high, and we’re curious to hear how they turn out! If you end up ordering one, be sure to tell us about it. Several promotional shots of the finished product are below.
We attended the Los Angeles Premiere of ‘Ender’s Game’ at TCL Chinese Theater last night. Despite a few drizzles early in the evening, by the time the event started, it was all dry.
Here are some photos from the event! Hopefully interviews and video will be ready soon.
The red carpet getting set up before the event! It was very exciting to see Ender’s Game posters and logos everywhere.
The middle area is where the photographers and the TV reporters stood. Fansites were around the corner.
There we are in between EnderWiggin.Net and The Fandom.net.
The view from our area of the red carpet.
Cassandra’s premiere tickets!
TheFandom.Net, Ender’s Ansible, EnderWiggin, and Ender News!
Caleb Thaggard(who plays Stilson) really loved The Battle Room scenes(the cast watched the movie together the night before)
Jimmy Pinchak(Peter) on his greatest challenge: “First you’re joking around during a coffee break talking about what you saw on television, the next minute you’re like, smashing his face into a chair and it’s going through your head thinking…this is ridiculous”
We got to interview Steve Jablonsky, the creator of the score. Although he didn’t read the book, he said he drew a lot of inspiration from watching the performances and feeling a lot of responsibility to do them justice with the score.
Andrea Powell(Theresa Wiggin) joked that her favorite kid on set was Abigail Breslin!
The Battle School Brats. Brandon Soo Hoo(Fly Molo) said that his favorite Battle School slang word was “neh” followed closely by “Launchie.”
The fansites interviewed Sir Ben Kingsley(Mazer Rackham) together. He said that he never thought about hisperformance, but rather the theme of the film about growing up and the transition from childhood to adulthood.
Moises Arias(Bonzo Madrid) was undecided when i asked him what his favorite scene in the movie was, but said that his greatest challenge was “making a 5″1 guy intimidating to a 5″8 guy”
Harrison Ford(Graff) was the last person we talked to before they whisked everybody inside the theater. Asa barely got to say hi, and we only caught glimpses of Hailee and Abigail.
Audi had a miniature fleet shuttle on display!
Stay tuned for some interviews and Cassandra’s movie review!
This morning I fully expected to be sitting here writing how my favorite book, ‘Ender’s Game’, had been let down by a poor movie adaptation. The movie I watched today was not a poor adaptation.
One of my biggest fears leading up to the release of ‘Ender’s Game’ was how Ender’s internal thoughts and feelings would be conveyed through a visual medium. Under the direction of Gavin Hood, young Asa Butterfield made me believe the complex and varied emotions Ender experiences throughout the movie. I’ll even admit that on two occasions during the film, one with the assistance of Abigail Breslin, Butterfield’s performance brought a tear to my eye.
‘Ender’s Game’ is well-paced, and while a few subplots are neglected, the alternative could well have sidetracked the movie from the main theme and story. Harrison Ford gives one of his best performances of the last decade as Colonel Graff, the man obsessed with victory regardless of cost or moral implications. Hailee Steinfield lives up to her excellent reputation as one of Ender’s close friends (not girlfriend) throughout his journey. A little more time could have been given to Mazer Rackham and his insightful portrayal by Sir Ben Kingsley.
Gavin Hood keeps ‘Ender’s Game’ true to the book. The audience experiences events as Ender does, and while the time period of events is contracted, this does not detract from the story or impact of this movie. Gavin’s love for Orson Scott Card’s source material is evident and I express my gratitude to him for fulfilling and even exceeding my best hopes for what could be done. Thank you, Gavin!
Children who enjoy video games will have a natural affinity with Ender and his games; this film could prove an excellent introduction to the book. More mature viewers will ponder over the moral implications of war and victory at all costs. I am very happy to recommend the ‘Ender’s Game’ film to all (young children at the discretion of their parents), especially fans of the novel. I hope such a good on screen adaptation will lead more people to read this great example of modern literature.
Good news! ‘Ender’s Game’ tickets are now available on Fandango. If your choose to purchase your movie tickets through Fandago, you will be automatically entered into their Final Mission Sweepstakes were movie-goers will have a chance to win free Fandango movie tickets. Buy Ender’s Game tickets now!
We’re giving away a four-pack of Fandango tickets, so you can buy ‘Ender’s Game’ tickets for your family and friends or save them for another movie. Each ticket is valid for up to $20 so you can even use them to buy IMAX tickets! To enter, email your answer to the trivia question below to submissions[dot]endersansible[at]gmail[dot]com.
What are the names of Ender Wiggin’s parents?
The giveaway will end on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 at 11:59PM Pacific Time when a random number generator will pick an entry from the correct response. Winners will be contacted through their emails. Good luck!
The ‘Ender’s Game’ film will be released in U.S. theaters on November 1, 2013
No. 1 For Friday
