SLUMDOG Wins Top Awards From Producers & Screen Actors Guilds

Christian Colson, producer of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, won the Producers Guild's top award, "The Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award." And the entire cast of SLUMDOG received the "Best Ensemble" award from the Screen Actors Guild. Check out a photo below from the PGA awards ceremony as stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto stand at the podium; see Dev and freida on the cover of People below, right. (Also be sure to check out a video from a couple of weeks ago of Dev and Freida dancing Bollywood-style with Ellen Degeneres and her show's entire crew!)

This past weekend Fox Searchlight added 829 theatres for SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, increasing our theatre count to 1,411. SLUMDOG moved into the #5 position in the Top 10 for the box office!

The film will become the highest grossing movie of all time in the The Angelika Theatre in New York City by next weekend and has already become the highest grossest of any film in The Landmark Theatre in Los Angeles.

In the suburban multiplex theatres in major cities it moved in rank from the #5-7 range up to #1 or #2.  Some of the new openings in smaller towns such as Wilmington, NC; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Butte, MT; Columbia, SC; Williamsburg, VA; and Hamilton, Ontario opened as #1 in theatres with a full 14-18 screens.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is also succeeding overseas, as illustrated in this article by The Hollywood Reporter. It was the top movie at the box office in the U.K. for a third consecutive weekend.

More Exciting SLUMDOG News On the Web

MILLIONAIRE Sizzles Wide: Oscar® Nominations Boost Box Office - Variety

"Fox Searchlight awards favorite SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE was the darling of the weekend box office as it successfully opened nationwide for the first time in its run. Buoyed by its 10 Oscar nominations... Ticket sales were up 80%, while the film placed No. 5 overall. Danny Boyle's pic isn't an easy sell considering it is set in India and is partly in Hindi. Yet the movie played strongly in markets across the country, including such locales as Columbia, S.C., and Butte, Mont."

Backstage at the Screen Actors Guild Awards - The LA Times' The Envelope

"Walking off stage, Dev Patel, the slender star with soulful eyes, let out a triumphant whoop and then stared in wonder at the trophy table where his statuette was waiting for him. 'We EACH get one?' he said in genuine amazement. Told that yes, even the youngsters back in Mumbai who played the desperate waifs in the film would get one, he marveled. 'These trophies weigh more than they do.'"

The Unlikely Stars of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - ABC News

With its recent victories at the Golden Globes, 'Slumdog' is now recognized as the international underdog success story of the awards saseon. Had Fox Searchlight not picked up the Danny Boyle-directed movie after its original backer shut down, the movie may have gone straight to DVD." - ABC News

Betfair: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE Favorite for Oscar In All Nominations - MSNBC.com

"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is the early favorite for all 10 Oscar categories in which it has been nominated this year, according to Betfair customers. In the market for the biggest prize of all, Best Motion Picture, the rags-to-riches story has a 66 percent chance of winning, with nearest challenger THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON given 20 percent." 

SLUMDOG Composer Rahman Is the Toast Of India - The Associated Press

"The soaring SLUMDOG MILLIONAIREsoundtrack's three Oscar nominations and Golden Globe award marked many Americans' first exposure to the music of A.R. Rahman. But in his native India, the composer has been a national treasure for years. The 43-year-old composer has been winning awards since he burst on the Bollywood music scene in the early '90s — blending styles rarely seen in mainstream Indian cinema."

SAG Awards Make SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE Heath Ledger Clear Oscar® Favorites - MTV.com

"It was a night of both expectations met and surprises delivered at Sunday's 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, as SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and Heath Ledger triumphed once again... SLUMDOG continued to collect accolades last night, winning Outstanding Performance by a Cast. Coming weeks after ruling at the Globe Globes®, this latest victory solidified its status as a heavy favorite to take the Oscar for Best Picture."