Quick Takes - April 13, 2010

‘Titans’ trumps ‘Date Night’

‘Titans’ is victorious

In the end, it wasn’t much of a clash at the top of the box-office charts after all.

With final ticket sales for the weekend calculated, 20th Century Fox turned out to have significantly overestimated the performance of its Steve Carell-Tina Fey romantic comedy “Date Night.”

The studio said Sunday morning that the film would sell $27.1-million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada from Friday through that day, putting it slightly ahead of Warner Bros.’ estimate of $26.9 million for “Clash of the Titans.”

On Monday, Fox said the final take for “Date Night” this weekend was $25.2 million. Domestic distribution president Bruce Snyder attributed the shortfall in part to adult audiences staying home to watch Tiger Woods competing in the Masters golf tournament.

The actual weekend gross for “Clash of the Titans,” meanwhile, was $26.7 million, giving it a comfortable first-place spot.

— Ben Fritz

‘Smackdown’ moving to Syfy

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc’s “Smackdown,” which for years was a mainstay on the UPN and CW networks before moving to News Corp.’s My Network TV, is now headed to NBC Universal’s Syfy Channel, people close to the situation said Monday.

The deal, which will be announced this week, further solidifies the growing relationship between NBC Universal and Vince McMahon’s WWE. Syfy already carries the show “NXT,” a reality program featuring wannabe wrestlers trying to make it to the big leagues of WWE. NBC Universal’s USA cable channel also carries WWE programming including “WWE Raw.”

My Network TV was shelling out roughly $20 million a year for “Smackdown.” Syfy’s price tag is believed to be closer to $30 million.

Although “Smackdown” is more than 10 years old, it still does well with men, particularly the 18-to-34 demographic, and generally averages about 3.5 million viewers overall. “Smackdown” will continue to air Friday nights when it moves to Syfy this year, most likely in either late September or early October.

— Joe Flint

Bandleader will depart ‘Tonight’

“Tonight Show” bandleader Kevin Eubanks made it official Monday: He’s leaving as Jay Leno’s sideman at the end of May after 18 years with the late-night host.

He told Leno during Monday’s taping of “Tonight” in Burbank that he was ready for a career change of pace, but he didn’t announce specific plans.

Eubanks, 52, whose duties included comic sidekick to Leno as well as guitarist, has been aboard since Leno took over NBC’s late-night franchise in 1992. Eubanks became musical director when Branford Marsalis left in 1995.

— Associated Press

Domingo to sing again Friday

Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo said Monday that he was happy to be singing again on stage just weeks after undergoing colon cancer surgery but will hold off on making any new recordings until he sees how he holds up in performance.

Domingo sings the lead in Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra” — a rare baritone role for the tenor — at Milan’s La Scala for six shows opening Friday. The shows are being conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

“The joy at returning to Milan is immense and even more for the circumstances, above a little fear to be able to continue my career, because you never know after you have surgery if all will go well,” a healthy-looking Domingo told a news conference.

Domingo, general director of L.A. Opera, had surgery March 2 in New York.

— Associated Press

Roger Waters plans ‘Wall’ tour

It’s been 30 years, but Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” still means a great deal in the rock world — and to co-creator Roger Waters. So to commemorate the groundbreaking album’s anniversary, Waters plans a tour this fall of the music from the concept album, with new staging that will bring the story — loosely inspired by his life — to a new generation.

The co-founder, bassist and main lyricist for Pink Floyd said he won’t just be dusting off the show that the now-defunct band performed decades ago. In fact, Waters said part of the excitement surrounding his new staging of “The Wall” involves new technology that allows him to do things he could only dream about in the 1980s and ‘90s.

“Projection systems now are completely different from what they were then, which means that I would be able to project over the entire 250-foot expanse of the wall … which we couldn’t do in those days,” he said.

The U.S. tour will kick off Sept. 15 in Toronto and includes a Nov. 29 stop at the Forum in Inglewood and a Dec. 13 conclusion at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

— Associated Press