New Moon Already Breaks Box Office Record

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Adaptation, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Box Office, New Releases, Rumors

We all knew that the opening for New Moon was going to be big, but did we actually think it was going to beat out The Dark Knight and Harry Potter? Well, it did.

Rival studios reveal that the latest Twilight film took in an estimated $23-$24 million in midnight screenings alone; this surpasses The Dark Knight‘s $18.4 million record as well as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince‘s $22.2 million. Summit Entertainment has not yet released an official number.

With a record like that, who’s to say that the vampire-werewolf crew can’t tag-team against Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen‘s current #1 spot of the year, at its $108.9 million weekend opening? With Twi-hards’ dedication, they might even give The Dark Knight a run for its money—its weekend opening did $158.4 million at the box office.

Let’s be honest here—who needs viral marketing when you have Edward Cullen and Jacob Black?

Read More | Deadline Hollywood

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In Theaters This Weekend: November 20, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: IFC Films, Magnolia, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Foreign Language, Independent, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Lists, New Releases

Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

• The Blind Side (PG-13): starring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron (directed by John Lee Hancock)
• New Moon (PG-13): starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner (directed by Chris Weitz)
• Planet 51 (PG): starring Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Jessica Biel (directed by Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: November 20, 2009

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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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Michael Sheen Apologizes For His Hair

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Adaptation, Horror, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Casting, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Upcoming Releases

Michael Sheen apologized to his daughter for not being bald.

The actor’s 10-year-old daughter Lily, whose mother is actress Kate Beckinsale, was delighted when he landed the role of Aro in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, but the Frost/Nixon star was worried that his depiction wouldn’t match up with fans’ ideas of the role.

“I said, ‘What does he look like?’ She said, ‘He’s bald.’ I think she was mixing it up with Nosferatu, the old vampire, you know? But it shows that people, and this is the beauty of books for a start, that your imagination creates your own version of these characters. And so when a film comes along and you’re kind of going, ‘No, it looks like this,’ then that’s a very delicate thing to get right or to find a way to meet everyone’s imaginary requirements of the character. So I was very aware of that because of my own daughter. I said, ‘Sorry, I’m not bald. I’ve got long hair.’”

When working on his interpretation of Aro, Michael immersed himself in Stephenie Meyer‘s novels which the movies are based on.

“I would have loved to have talked to Stephenie loads about it, but I just kept rereading a few of the chapters in the book - especially the opening chapter where she describes Aro - just looking for anything that would help give me a clue. And then I was just left to my own devices.”

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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 17, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, FOCUS, Magnolia, Miramax, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Classics, Drama, Foreign, Foreign Language, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases

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

• Brüno: DVD, Blu-ray
• The Canyon: DVD
• Chasing Amy: Blu-ray
• Clerks: Blu-ray
• Fight Club: Blu-ray
• Galaxy Quest: Blu-ray
• Gone with the Wind (70th Anniversary Edition): DVD, Blu-ray
• How to Be: DVD
• Is Anybody There?: DVD, Blu-ray
• My Sister’s Keeper: DVD, Blu-ray
• The Professional: Blu-ray

Click to continue reading This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: November 17, 2009

Read More | Amazon

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In Theaters This Weekend: November 13, 2009

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, FOCUS, IFC Films, Sony, Action, Animation, Biopics, Documentary, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction, Comedy, Lists, New Releases

Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

• 2012 (PG-13): starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor (directed by Roland Emmerich)
• Pirate Radio (R): starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans (directed by Richard Curtis)
• Dare* (R): starring Emmy Rossum, Zach Gilford, Ashleigh Springer (directed by Adam Salky)
• The End of Poverty?* (NR): starring Martin Sheen (directed by Philippe Diaz)
• Fantastic Mr. Fox* (PG): starring George Clooney, Jason Schwartzman, Meryl Streep (directed by Wes Anderson)

Click to continue reading In Theaters This Weekend: November 13, 2009

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Taylor Lautner Actually Does Not Mind Being Shirtless

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Action, Adaptation, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Rumors, Upcoming Releases

New Moon hunk Taylor Lautner recently corrected a quote that he made regarding his shirtlessness, saying that he has no problems with taking clothes off for future roles. Good to know that the world won’t implode now.

“I love this character and I loved putting on the weight, and not wearing much clothing was required by the role. If a year from now, I love a character and a role, I will do it again.”

Here’s to hoping that screenwriters can hook up us fan girls with that…

Lautner also admits that he can’t help but laugh when he watches the scene where Jacob rips his shirt off to daub Bella’s bleeding head: “I start laughing so hard every time I see that scene, ‘Oh, you’re bleeding. OK, Let me fix that.’ So embarrassing.”

Read More | LA Times

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Robert Pattinson Likes Gus Van Sant for Breaking Dawn

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, Celebrity Gossip, Filmmaking, Rumors, Upcoming Releases

Jamie Campbell Bower and Robert Pattinson apparently have two different visions for the Breaking Dawn adaptation.

In a recent interview, New Moon‘s Bower said would love to see his Sweeney Todd boss, Tim Burton, behind the camera for the fourth installment. “I think he’d just change it up. I think he’d screw around with it quite a lot, and aesthetically, I think it’d be incredibly different,” Jamie said. But which direction would Pattinson like to see the film go?

Click to continue reading Robert Pattinson Likes Gus Van Sant for Breaking Dawn

Read More | MTV

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Box Office Breakdown: Christmas Carol Wins, Precious Soars

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

We’re still weeks away from Thanksgiving, but theatergoers already have Christmas on their minds.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol, the umpteenth version of the Charles Dickens tale, brought the story back to life with a visual rendition. Robert Zemeckis’ latest holiday creation earned over $30 million, surpassing Polar Express’ open by $7 million. Although the Jim Carrey film didn’t come close to its reported $180 million budget, Carol still has weeks to go before Avatar takes over 3D screens.

Meanwhile, a film with no bells or whistles made an impact just outside the Top 10. Precious, Sundance’s Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize winner, broke a record while in limited release. The 12th place entry averaged a whopping $104,025 this weekend over only 18 theaters. That’s the largest per screen average for any film opening in more than 10 locations.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Christmas Carol Wins, Precious Soars

Read More | Variety

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