Sweep of the Day: $4 Billion Movie Summer, Critics Slam ‘Halloween,’ ‘Once’ Earns $8.5 Million

Many of you have asked for it and here it is. This feature – coined the Sweep of the Day – is designed to be a quick-read capsule of the most interesting and important industry news of the day.

The movie industry had its first $4 billion summer and will finish with ... about $4.15 billion from the first weekend in May 2007 through Labor Day, according to tracker Media By Numbers.

The new Rob Zombie film “Halloween,” which opened on Aug. 31, is currently scoring a 22 percent rotten rating (out of 100 percent) on Rotten Tomatoes based on 49 reviews.

The film, which features Tyler Mane as Michael Myers, has earned about $31 million in box-office receipts as of Sept. 3.

The independent film “Once,” which opened on May 16, 2007 in the U.S. and was shot on a budget of $150,000, as of Sept. 3 shows a wildly successful global earn of about $8.5 million.

After its first run in U.S. theaters, it gained so much traction that it was released a second time. The HollywoodChicago.com interview with director John Carney and musical stars Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová can be found here.

Following reports of attempted suicide on Aug. 27, filmmaker Wes Anderson says Owen Wilson is now “doing well”.

Though Warner Bros. has yet to officially announce casting, Superhero Hype! is citing a report by Obsessed With Film saying casting for the Justice League of America adaptation has begun.