'Hangover' keeps partying Sunday, signaling a strong run ahead

'Hangover' keeps partying Sunday, signaling a strong run ahead

As if crushing expectations and more than doubling the gross of the weekend's other new release wasn't victory enough, "The Hangover" is officially No. 1 for the weekend now that final box office grosses for Sunday have been calculated.

It's rare that studios significantly underestimate their weekend grosses on Sunday morning. But "The Hangover" has risen from a $43.3-million estimate in ticket sales to an official tally of $45 million, according to Warner Bros. Using a model based on similar films that opened at similar times in the past, Warner estimated yesterday morning that the movie would make $11.9 million on Sunday, traditionally not a strong day for R-rated comedies. But the actual figure was $13.6 million.

Beating the model is a sign that "The Hangover" likely has a lot more life left in it. If it records modest drops in box office over the next few weekends, the $35-million movie could see a final domestic gross of more than $150 million.

The last movie to significantly outperform its Sunday estimate was "Star Trek." It has gone on to almost triple its $75 million opening over the past four-plus weeks, and will likely end up earning more than $250 million, domestically.

The final gross for Disney and Pixar's "Up" was down just a bit from its Sunday estimate, $44.1 million instead of $44.2 million.

But the news only got worse for Universal's "Land of the Lost." The $19.5-million estimate for the $100-million event film's opening weekend seemed like bomb enough. But the final gross was actually just $18.8 million, according to the studio.

--Ben Fritz

Photo: Ed Helms, from left, Zach Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper in "The Hangover." Credit: Frank Masi / Warner Bros.

Kathy Bates crowned Queen of 'Alice' miniseries

Oscar winner Kathy Bates is making a foray into television as the Queen of Hearts in the upcoming Sci Fi miniseries “Alice.”

In the re-imagining of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” which is in production in Vancouver and airs on Sci Fi in December, Tim Curry will play Dodo, Colm Meaney (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”) will play the King of Hearts and Alessandro Juliani (Felix Gaeta on “Battlestar Galactica”) will be the 9 of Clubs.

Caterina Scorsone from the Starz TV adaptation of “Crash” will play Alice Hamilton, a modern-day woman caught in the strange realm ruled by the Queen of Hearts. This version of the tale uses Carroll’ “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass” as “a jumping off point,” according to the network. 

“Alice” comes from the creative team responsible for Sci Fi’s 2007 miniseries “Tin Man,” which was a colorful updating of “The Wizard of Oz.” “Tin Man” writer/director Nick Willing is on board for the 4-hour “Alice” miniseries, which comes from Reunion Pictures, Studio 8 and RHI, the company owned by Robert Halmi Sr. and Robert Halmi Jr.

Among the other actors in the cast are Philip Winchester (“Crusoe”) as Jack of Hearts, Matt Frewer (“Watchmen”) as the White Knight and Andrew Lee Potts (“Primeval”) as "Hatter."

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