Mariah Carey to Receive Award for Precious Performance

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Lionsgate, Adaptation, Drama, Awards, Casting, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, New Releases

Seeming to have finally gotten past the incident known as Glitter, Mariah Carey will receive the Breakthrough Performance Award at the 21st Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival.

The singer-and-actress will receive the coveted honor at the Californian event in January in recognition for her portrayal of a dowdy social worker in Precious. Festival chairman Harold Matzner said:

“We’re delighted to be able to present the Breakthrough Performance Award to the extraordinary, very beautiful and versatile Mariah Carey, who, in a critically acclaimed role, completely transformed herself from a glamorous music icon to a forthright social worker for the role of Ms. Weiss in Precious.”

Previous winners of the prize include Jennifer Hudson, Marion Cotillard and Freida Pinto, who all went on to win an Oscar for their performances.

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Box Office Breakdown: A Bloody Good Debut for New Moon

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Remakes, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

After months of endless promotion, New Moon finally opened this weekend to monster-sized numbers. But how exactly did the film compare to the other theatrical giants?

1. Despite earning over $142 million since midnight Thursday, the adaptation’s debut still falls behind The Dark Knight ($158.4) and Spider-Man 3 ($151.1 million).
2. The sequel did, though, beat Knight for the best first day open ($72.7 compared to $67.2 million).
3. It had the largest midnight opening ($26.3 million) to date. (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince grossed $22.2 million.)
4. Moon also topped Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire‘s 2005 November debut ($102.7 million).

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: A Bloody Good Debut for New Moon

Read More | Variety

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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 24, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Adaptation, Animation, Classics, Drama, Family, Horror, Religious, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases

Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available this Tuesday:

• Air America: Blu-ray
• Angel Heart: Blu-ray
• Angels & Demons: DVD, Blu-ray
• Blood: The Last Vampire: Blu-ray
• Cujo (25th Anniversary Edition): Blu-ray
• Four Christmases: DVD, Blu-ray
• Frailty: Blu-ray
• Funny People: DVD, Blu-ray
• Ghost in the Shell 2.0: Blu-ray
• Gomorrah: DVD, Blu-ray
• Imagine That: DVD

Click to continue reading This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 24, 2009

Read More | Amazon

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Sequel News: Men in Black, Saw and More

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Columbia Pictures, Disney, Lionsgate, Action, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Casting, Celeb News, Rumors, Scripts, Upcoming Releases, Videos

Here’s the latest scoop on the sequel buzz spreading across Hollywood:

Independence Day: If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Roland Emmerich flat out hates this planet. The director of The Day After Tomorrow and and 2012 is now talking about a follow-up to his 1996 hit, Independence Day. Emmerich says his proposed idea would see vets Will Smith (another lover of sequels) and Bill Pullman years after the first disaster. “One day we will do it,” Roland claimed.

Click to continue reading Sequel News: Men in Black, Saw and More

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Box Office Breakdown: 2012 Has All the Numbers

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Remakes, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

It was the end of the world as we may soon know it, and that had Sony feeling fine.

The premiere of Roland Emmerich’s latest disaster film, 2012, erupted in theaters this weekend with a $65.2 million finish. Although the movie fell short of 2004’s The Day After Tomorrow (that Emmerich project grossed $68.7 million over three days), it now ranks 5th on the international debuts list. (Sorry, Da Vinci Code.) The John Cusack starrer also managed to cover its reported $200 million budget in one week.

Meawhile, Precious continued to pound the pavement in an expanded release. With only 174 engagements, the critically-acclaimed movie earned itself a third place finish and a $33,762-per screen average.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: 2012 Has All the Numbers

Read More | Variety

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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 10, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Classics, Drama, Family, Horror, Period, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases

Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available this Tuesday:

• The Accidental Husband: DVD
• Ballast: DVD, Blu-ray
• The Echo: DVD, Blu-ray
• The General: Blu-ray
• Godzilla: Blu-ray
• Heat: Blu-ray
• Ink: DVD
• The Line: DVD, Blu-ray
• Logan’s Run: Blu-ray
• The Merry Gentleman: DVD
• Monsters, Inc.: Blu-ray

Click to continue reading This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 10, 2009

Read More | Amazon

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New Trailer for Brothers Released

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Lionsgate, Action, Drama, Thrillers, Celeb News, Trailers, Upcoming Releases

While the first trailer for Jim Sheridan’s Brothers may have made the film look like a dramatic Lifetime story, this new trailer ups the emphasis on its thriller aspect. Perhaps they should have released the film before the remake of The Stepfather as soon as they knew that they were headed in this direction.

Although very few new scenes have been added, the trailer does a great job at making Tobey Maguire look as creepy as ever.

Natalie Portman may not be too pleased with her Star Wars performance, so I’m rather puzzled as to why she chose this role and whether or not she’ll be saying the same thing regarding this movie in due time.

Either way, you can catch the film when it hits theaters on December 4th.

Read More | Coming Soon

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In Theaters This Weekend: November 6, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Lionsgate, Universal, Warner Bros, Adaptation, Animation, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Independent, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases

Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

• The Box (PG-13): starring James Marsden, Cameron Diaz, Frank Langella (directed by Richard Kelly)
• Disney’s A Christmas Carol (PG): starring Jim Carrey, John Cleese, Gary Oldman (directed by Robert Zemeckis)
• The Fourth Kind (PG-13): starring Milla Jovovich, Elias Koteas, Will Patton (directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi)
• The Men Who Stare at Goats (R): starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges (directed by Grant Heslov)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: November 6, 2009

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Box Office Breakdown: That Was It for Paranormal Activity

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Period, Remakes, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists

Based on the numbers from the past week, it looks like This Is It should remain in theaters longer than two weeks. Oh wait - it will.

Since opening late Tuesday night, the concert film has generated a total of $34.4 million domestically - $23.2 million just over the weekend - and approximately $101 worldwide. Although Michael Jackson technically didn’t beat the opener for Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour (that entry earned more over 5 days), This Is It had the best international debut ever for any concert film.

Sony’s win meant a short victory for Paranormal Activity. After a steady climb, and only 1 week at the top, the horror film slipped down to second place. Of course, the word-of-mouth hit has nothing to complain about. Not only has the movie grossed $84.6 million to date, it also had the best per screen average of any Top 10 charter.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: That Was It for Paranormal Activity

Read More | Variety

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This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: October 27, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, Sony, Weinstein Company, Animation, Family, Horror, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases

Here are some of the DVD and Blu-ray options available this Tuesday:

• Afterwards: DVD
• Collision: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson: DVD
• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: DVD, Blu-ray
• The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue: Blu-ray
• Night of the Creeps: DVD, Blu-ray
• Nothing Like the Holidays: DVD, Blu-ray
• Orphan: DVD, Blu-ray
• Stargate (15th Anniversary Edition): Blu-ray
• Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure: DVD, Blu-ray
• Whatever Works: DVD, Blu-ray
• Z: DVD

Make sure to also check out the TV-on-DVD options for this week.

Read More | Amazon

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