prince-of-persia-the-sands-of-time posts

A little while ago we reported that the DVD and Blu-Ray version of the movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time would be released on September 14. The Disney film, based on the long running game franchise, became the highest grossing game-to-film adaptation (in worldwide box office numbers) when it was released in theaters earlier this summer but was still considered a disappointment in both revenues and in reviews.

Perhaps that's why the DVD and Blu-Ray release of the movie will have just a few special features. IGN reports that the DVD version will just have a behind-the-scenes video while the stand alone Blu-Ray version will have that same video and one deleted scene. The three disk combo pack will have the most extras. In addition to the DVD and Blu-Ray disk the third disk will have a Digital Copy version of the movie to transfer to your PC or mobile device. In addition the combo pack will have one more extra feature for the Blu-Ray disk; "CineExplore: The Sands of Time" which will allow folks to unlock over 40 video segments while watching the movie.

It has become the number one grossing video game-based movie of all time worldwide and now Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time looks like its heading to DVD and Blu-Ray very soon. High-Def Digest reports that the Disney movie based on the game series created by Jordan Mechner will be released on September 14, according to early retail reports. There's no word yet on what the disks will contain in terms of extra supplements and features.

According to Box Office Mojo, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has now grossed $320 million worldwide, with the majority coming from overseas. The movie has now grossed $89 million here in the US which makes it the number two video-game based movie of all time in the US, behind Lara Croft Tomb Raider and just ahead of Pokemon: The First Movie.

Remember how the Prince of Persia movie was something of a disappointment when it came in third in its debut weekend at the US box office? Well things have changed a bit for the latest game-to-movie adaptation, thanks in part to a much better worldwide response to the movie.

According to Box Office Mojo, the US revenues for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time currently total $80.5 million after four weeks of release in theaters. That's a respectable but hardly outstanding number. However the current international box office take now stands at $213.1 million, over twice the US numbers.

That brings the total worldwide take for the movie to $293.6 million. It's likely that the total will exceed $300 million worldwide before its theatrical run comes to an end. That will make the movie the biggest box office game-to-movie adaptation of all time when adding both domestic and worldwide numbers with Lara Croft Tomb Raider now in second with a worldwide take of $274 million (Prince of Persia is still the third biggest game-to-movie adaptation with just the US box office numbers) The big question: Will those box office results get the movie a sequel?

On Sunday, the film adaptation of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time could only manage a third place finish in its first three days at the box office in the US. However the movie managed to move up a spot in its latest box office results which include the Memorial Day numbers.

According to Variety, the movie based on the action-adventure game series brought in a total of $37.8 million for the four-day weekend in the US. That puts it in second place ahead of Sex and the City 2 which generated $37.1 million in revenues for the same time period. Both movies were still well behind the first place film Shrek Forever After which claimed $55.7 million for the four day weekend. Keep in mind that these are estimates; the final numbers won't be known until Tuesday. As we reported on Sunday, the Prince of Persia movie is doing much better overseas with box office numbers that overall are nearly twice as much as the movie has made so far in the US.

Not even the abs of Jake Gyllenhaal could boost the movie version of the Prince of Persia game series to the top of the box office for the Memorial Day weekend. The Associated Press (yia Yahoo) reports that Prince of Persia The Sands of Time could only manage a third place finish in the box office in its debut weekend with $30.2 million.

That amount was behind the second place position of Sex and the City 2 with $32.1 million and first place's Shrek Forever After with $43.3 million. Even with the modest opening Prince of Persia The Sands of Time still had the third biggest box office opening for a video game-based movie, according to Box Office Mojo. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is still number one at $47.7 million while (ugh) Pokemon: The First Movie is number two with $31 million.

Update: While the movie came in third in the box office here in the US, The Hollywood Reporter states Prince of Persia did much better overseas,bringing in $59 million from all of its international theaters this weekend and taking first place. The movie so far has earned $87.5 million overseas (it opened a week earlier than here in the US).

The PC port of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is due for release on Jun 8 and now publisher Ubisoft has announced plans for a digital deluxe version of the latest game in the long running action game series. The deluxe edition costs $59.99 and has two exclusive player skins, a new map and the game's soundtrack.

If you purchase the deluxe edition via Steam you also get a free download copy of Ubisoft's first game in the series Prince of Persia The Sands of Time. Additionally, people who decide to pre-order either the digital deluxe version or the regular $49.99 version will get Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within as a free download.

There's been a lot of chatter that the reception for the upcoming movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time at the box office could either signal new interest by film studios in making video/PC game related films or keep them regulated to their current second tier status. The first official reviews for the Walt Disney Studios movie have now been posted and the critics are saying the film version of the long running game series ... is just OK.

The Hollywood Reporter's review of the film, which officially shows up in theaters on May 28, states that the finished product "is a handsome, fast-paced and innocuous adventure that's easy to take but lacks epic scale." It also predicts, "Boxoffice should be healthy without going through the roof." Variety's review has pretty much the same take, saying, " ... pic's lack of game-changing originality, distinguished anarchic streak or 3D wow factor may regulate this to summertime also-ran status."

Last year at the San Diego Comic Con it was announced that a prequel comic book would be released for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the upcoming big budget movie version of the long running game franchise. Today comic book publisher Dynamite Entertainment has announced that the first issue of the comic, now titled Prince of Persia: Before The Sandstorm will be released by them this June.

The comic book is being written by Prince of Persia's creator Jordan Mechner and sports a cover by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane. There's no word yet on how many issues the comic will last.

Ubisoft made a big deal of the fact that their last Prince of Persia game, released in 2008, was a complete reboot of the action-adventure game series. In terms of its storyline and characters it had no connection at all with the previous Ubisoft Prince of Persia games that started with The Sands of Time. Now our sister site Joystiq has learned that the new Prince of Persia title, The Forgotten Sands, is a bit of a throwback to the previous series.

In a chat with Ubisoft's director of level design Michael McIntyre, he confirmed that the game would be coming to the PC and that the storyline is set in between The Sands of Time and its follow up The Warrior Within. That means the Prince from those games is also starring in The Forgotten Sands. The game is due for release in May, around the time the Disney-produced Prince of Persia feature film heads to theaters.

So you have a video game that you want to see adapted into a movie? Do you simply use previously created trailer footage to sell a movie concept to developers? If you are Jordan Mechner, the creator of the Prince of Persia game series, that is not what to do. Instead he created his own trailer using game and cut scene footage from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Mechner has now posted up that trailer pitch he made way back in 2003 on his personal web site. He didn't put in footage of features in the game that would not be in his movie pitch (such as the Prince freezing or going fast-forward through time) but made an effort to make a trailer that would "convey the kind of movie it would be." It obviously worked since Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer bought the movie rights and the film is set for release on Memorial Day weekend of 2010.