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To follow up on the Golden Globe nomination story from this morning, the Phoenix Film Critics Society announced nominations for their film awards, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader got three nods. Listed below are each of the categories Dawn Treader was nominated for and its competition.

Best Live Action Family Film
- Alice in Wonderland
- The Karate Kid
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
- Secretariat

Best Original Song
- Burlesque, “You Haven’t See the Last of Me”
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, “There’s A Place for Us”
- Morning Glory, “Strip Me”
- Tangled, “I’ve Got a Dream”
- Toy Story 3, “We Belong Together”

Best Performance by a Youth, Male
- Kodi Smit-McPhee, Let Me In
- Jaden Smith, The Karate Kid
- Will Poulter, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The full list of nominations is available here. More information on the Phoenix Film Critics Society can be found on their website here.

Thanks to bkey for the heads up!

The Official Facebook page for Narnia is reporting that several websites are hosting contests where you can win props from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

First up, JustJaredJr is hosting a contest where you can win the necklace worn by Gumpas in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

To enter, simply click here, “Like” JustJaredJr on Facebook, leave a comment in their comments section, and make sure you include a legitimate email address so they can contact you if you win. Comment as many times as you want to increase your chances of winning!

(Now, there has been some confusion as to who Governor Gumpas was in the movie as his role was changed from the book. He’s the guy that Eustace smacks across the face with an oar.)

Next, CHUD is giving away Lord Octesian’s Silver Sheild.

To enter:

1) Send an email to creaturecorner at gmail.com with your full name, mailing address and date of birth. (Minors 13-17 years old can win but they’ll need a parent or guardian to sign it off for them.)
2) Include NARNIA in the subject.
3) While it seems like most fantasy series have been adapted to films, which one hasn’t yet that you’d most like to be?
4) The CHUD Staff is at war with an unnamed force. What role does each person take in the battle and how do we fare?

Full contest rules are available on their website here.

And last but not least, StarPulse is giving away Pug’s necklace worn in the movie.

To enter, head over to their website here and fill out the information requested. The winner will be selected by random drawing.

All contests are only open to residents of the US, ages 13 and up. All contests require a form to be signed that you will not resell the item on ebay. Good luck!

The Golden Globe Nominations were announced this morning and Carrie Underwood’s song for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, “There’s a Place for Us”, is in the running for the Best Original Song for a Motion Picture. Congratulations Carrie! As well as co-writers David Hodges and Hillary Lindsey!

The other four nominations are:

“Bound to You” — Burlesque
Music by: Samuel Dixon
Lyrics by: Christina Aguilera, Sia Furler

“Coming Home” — Country Strong
Music & Lyrics by: Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges

“I See the Light” — Tangled
Music by: Alan Menken
Lyrics by: Glenn Slater

“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” — Burlesque
Music & Lyrics by: Diane Warren

You can see the full list of nominations here.

Thanks so much to everybody who sent this spy report in!

While in London last week for the premiere, I had the opportunity to interview several cast members. I’ll be posting those interviews this week and I hope you’ll enjoy them. To start off, I had the opportunity to speak with Douglas Gresham, the stepson of  C.S. Lewis. We talked about changes from book to film as well as his time on set and what Jack would have thought about this movie.

From Tony Nixon’s Official Facebook page: “Tony has 139 fans in the greater Brisbane area. If you’d like a chance to meet him and receive a signed autograph as well as watch an amazing film, please come along to the charity screening of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Wednesday 15th Dec (tomorrow night) at Victoria Point Cinemas. Arabella Morton who plays ‘Gael’ will also be in attendance. Please call CityCare Services to book your ticket on 3112 1204.”

Fansite Narnia France has gotten ahold of four new character posters for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. You can click on the thumbnails below to check them out.

Last week Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes trekked through America to help promote The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

On December 8th, Georgie and Skandar attended the Red Carpet Gala in Knoxville, TN to help raise money for Variety’s Children’s Charity. We were sent a report from NarniaWebber EdmundP.

Last night I had the wonderful privilege of attending the Knoxville Gala for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

I arrived in Knoxville at 1:30pm, Wednesday. After a delicious lunch at Panera, I headed to my hotel room, just .5 miles from Regal Cinema’s Pinnacle Stadium 18, where the Gala was held.

At 4:30pm I arrived at the cinema. All entrances and exits were guarded by policemen. In order to be admitted, you had to show the policeman your ticket and/or media credential. I waved my ticket to him and he let me pass, of course. I parked near the back of the lot, since it was nearly full already. I walked around the gated area and headed to the media area where my pass was waiting for me. The Red Carpet was down, the lights shining on the front of the cinema, and the fans waiting to go inside and get warm from the subfreezing temperatures.

The reception was catered by Abuello’s, a local Mexican restaurant. I didn’t eat anything, but I was told that the food was excellent.

Narnia, Narnia, and more Narnia! Where all of the upcoming movie posters usually line the exterior of the front of the cinema, every single one was replaced by a Voyage of the Dawn Treader poster. Where the Box Office’s ticket information usually is was replaced by Aslan’s eyes blinking in the snowfall. In the Concessions area where the menu is usually displayed, was replaced by Aslan’s blinking eyes in the snow and Variety’s logo (and there were about 10-12 TV’s displaying this simultaneously). A replica of the Dawn Treader hung above the Red Carpet inside the cinema.

There was a quintet playing on the stage, to the right of the Red Carpet. They played mostly classic Christmas music and played until around 7:25pm.

At 5:30pm the crowd of 600+ people poured through the doors of the cinema. You literally had people packed in there with hardly any room between each person!

Two other NarniaWebbers and myself met up in front of the stage and had our photos taken together. It was so fun! Soon after that, one the NarniaWebbers headed to the Red Carpet, near the stage and entrance of the cinema, hoping to get Georgie and Skandar’s autograph.

The other NarniaWebber and myself were with the press, so when the stars arrived at 7:30pm, we were outside in the subfreezing temperatures with our hands and faces about to freeze off! Georgie arrived about 8-10 minutes before Skandar. Georgie headed in the opposite direction and was signing autographs for that time, then Skandar arrived and came to the press almost immediately after signing a few autographs for the unfortunate people who did not have tickets for this event. Also, even more unfortunately, my voice software for my iPad was not working properly, so my entire interview with Skandar is lost!

After Georgie was finished with signing everyone’s (or very nearly everyone’s) ticket, poster, etc, she headed our way. And my camcorder WAS working correctly.

Interview:

Me: Firstly, may I have your autograph?

Georgie: Yeah, of course. Actually, I don’t have a pen. . .(person hands her a pen) Oh, there we go, there we go! Haha. And, I’ve got to say, I’ve never seen an iPad being brought to the Red Carpet, nice one.

Me: Thank you! Is there anything about Lucy that you admire and want to emulate?

Georgie: Um, she’s definitely going through a tough time in this film, but it’s the way that she deals with it, which is, like, really cool. And it’s a really good thing for other young girls to kind of look at and admire, so yeah, I try to.

Me: And do you think the character arcs they’ve added to Lucy fit with well with the Lucy of the previous films?

Georgie: Yeah, definitely. Um, it’s cool that she’s not so naive and sweet all the time and that she’s kind of growing up a little bit. So I’m really glad that it was, um, kind of her from the first two films, but adding a bit more spice and a bit more something.

Me: Yeah, and with this being your last Narnia film, for a while, what’s next for you?

Georgie: Um, school. I’ve got big exams coming up, but I’m hopefully going to be acting in the near future. I really want to keep acting, so hopefully you’ll see a bit more of me if people hire me! (laughs)

Me: Well, I’m sure they will!

Georgie: Thank you!

Me: Thank you.

Georgie: Thank you.

End of interview.

After this, they stood in front of the Narnia poster board while the media was snapping away! Following this, they walked inside on the Red Carpet. Everyone went crazy.

Presentation:

Georgie: Hellooo! (I didn’t begin recording quickly enough right here) We have raised over $450,000 for charity tonight. So, that’s pretty amazing. And we’re so glad you all came out tonight. Um. . .

Skandar: Yeah, hello! Well, thanks everyone who (…) and yeah, we’re absolutely honored to have our names written in stone. . .in gold writing! And yeah, thanks to everyone who made it possible today and made this happen. And thanks everyone who donated to the charity and we’re really happy to be hear and we’ve had a great time in Knoxville. Sad to be leaving so soon. And I hope you enjoy the film.

Georgie: Yes, please enjoy the film!

End of presentation.

After this, everyone filled up the 12 theatres showing the film. There were bottled waters, cokes, and diet cokes outside the entrance to the theatres. Employees stood at the entrance handing us popcorn. Our RealD 3D glasses were in our seats.

I was completely captivated by the film. It truly captured the very essence of the book. I can honestly say that, even with the Green Mist plot, and the slight changes that were made, this is THE BEST NARNIA MOVIE YET!

GO SEE IT!

Thank you very much for your report EdmundP!!

The morning of December 9th, Georgie and Skandar arrived in Washington DC to help name one of the cubs at the Smithsonian Zoo, Aslan. Here is a snippet from Infozine.com.

To commemorate the birth of two new lion litters and a donation by 20th Century Fox for cat conservation, two actors from Hollywood’s upcoming installment of the Chronicles of Narnia series came to the zoo to name one of the seven lion cubs.

Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley, whose “Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader” hits theaters Friday, were treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the Great Cats exhibit, and selected a lion cub to name Aslan, after the movie and book series’ principal feline, also a lion.

“We’ve had a long trip coming into New York, with a lot of publicity, but I think this has definitely been the highlight,” Keynes said.

The full news story from Infozine is available here. You can also watch a video of their visit on Zap2It’s site here. And JustJaredJr has a lot of pictures on their website here.

Thanks to Nyetwerke, Narnia Queen419, and Estefana for these links!

Later that evening (on December 9th), Georgie and Skandar arrived in Lexington, KY where the special US premiere for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader took place. Here’s a snippet of a report from Kentucky.com.

Abbey Henson, 9, gushed in an adrenaline-fueled stream of consciousness, her hands fluttering, her braced teeth chattering, just seconds after hugging Skandar Keynes, who plays Edmund Pevensie in the Narnia films.
“I’ve liked Narnia for like three years. … I’ve saved pictures … I’ve made PowerPoints, I’ve drawn pictures of them. I’ve dreamed of them. And now I got to meet them, and Edmund is like my favorite character!” said Abbey, who encountered her idol Thursday at a Lexington premiere of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. “I really think I need to sit down,” she said, swaying slightly, clutching the ticket Keynes had autographed.

The full report and a video is available here and pictures are available here.
Thanks to Hldai for the link!

In its first three days, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader grossed an estimated $24.5 Million in the U.S. and Canada. 54% of that came from 3D showings. This total falls short of the $55m earned by Prince Caspian (May 2008), and the $65m by The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (December 2005). Dawn Treader‘s worldwide total is at $105m.

Estimated weekend results:
1. $24m – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
2. $17m – The Tourist
3. $14m – Tangled
4. $8m – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One
5. $4 – Unstoppable

Box Office Mojo writes:

It was hoped that a return to December along with marketing that pushed the first movie’s lion, witch and Christian angles and the addition of the 3D illusion would rekindle interest, but the third Narnia mustered a weaker start than fantasy also-ran The Golden Compass, let alone the other Narnias.

Read the full report here

The domestic total is certainly below expectations. But it fared better internationally. Yahoo writes:

[Dawn Treader and The Tourist] were lambasted by critics, and both carried hefty price tags — $150 million and $100 million, respectively — requiring strong overseas sales to make them profitable. The two previous “Chronicles of Narnia” films did most of their business overseas, where Depp and Jolie are also more popular.
[...]
Fox said it succeeded in its aim of resurrecting the franchise, and was “excited” about its overall prospects.

Dawn Treader will face some big competition from Disney’s Tron: Legacy when it releases this Friday.

Now, it is time to wait and see if another Narnia film is green-lit…

Micheal Flaherty, president of Walden Media, recently posted a fantastic interview with John Nolte of Big Hollywood where he discusses the film at length and also talks about the recent controversial statements made by Liam Neeson and producer Mark Johnson.

For us, the emphasis was always on getting the story right and making sure that the characters on the screen delivered the lines that were delivered in the book and that all of the crew was on board to make a faithful adaptation.  When it comes to lines being delivered in an interview by the cast and crew, that is something that we don’t control.

Lewis’ books have appealed to a broad cross section of readers for over half a century from all different backgrounds and traditions.  Lewis often commented that he was more than fine with people enjoying the stories simply as stories, and that if they didn’t understand the subtext that was fine with him.

We hired Mark [Johnson]because he is one of the best producers in the business and he has produced some of my favorite movies – “The Rookie”, “The Natural,” “My Dog Skip.”  The best way to be faithful to Lewis was to hire the best possible producer, and that was Mark.  He has done a great job with the series and he has given the better part of a decade to making them happen.

The same goes for Liam.  We searched for months to find the right actor who could be authoritative and forgiving and comforting.  He has hit it out of the park for us and I can’t imagine a different actor playing Aslan.  These guys are at the top of their game in film making.  But I don’t think that they are about to get an M Div from Dallas Theological Seminary any time soon.

Micheal goes on to talk about the rationale behind the film in great detail. Click here to read the entire interview.

Deadline Hollywood has posted Friday box office estimates at $9m and extrapolated that out to an opening weekend estimate of $28m for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. By comparison, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe made $65m on opening weekend and Prince Caspian made $55m. It’s obvious that these are very early numbers and things can still turn around. We’re only half-way through the weekend! But if this trend holds, it won’t be a good sign for the Narnia franchise.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is showing on 3,555 screens and made roughly half of Friday’s cum for Prince Caspian ($19m).

It’s important to remember, though, that films opening in December generally don’t have huge opening weekends (LWW was an exception) and that the real value to the December opening is that the box office gets the benefit of the entire month. There isn’t much competition in the box office for family films this Christmas (only Tron) so it’s expected to do well every week through Christmas. In fact, Fox has just announced today that Gulliver’s Travels has been moved to Christmas Day which leaves December 22-23 open for Dawn Treader.

It’s important that the faith and family community gets out to support these films in a big way. If you haven’t seen Dawn Treader yet this weekend, please see it! As Douglas Gresham says, “take your friends and take your enemies.”

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader at Box Office Mojo

Prince Caspian at Box Office Mojo

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at Box Office Mojo