Those colorful wild animals sat atop the box office once again over the weekend. Madagascar 3 held onto the premiere position for the second consecutive week, while Warner Bros. Rock of Ages bit the dust despite its star-wattage. It wasn't a total surprise, however, though a disappointment all the same. The Tom Cruise starrer grossed just over $15 million in 3,470 theaters. Prometheus outshined Rock in its second weekend, holding onto the number two spot in the broader box office. The Fox feature took in $20.2 million in 3,442 theaters, averaging $5,869 - over $1,500 more than Rock of Ages - ouch.
more »
Paramount's big-budget live-action, Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot has run into some budgetary obstacles, reports Nikki Finke, with production delayed in order to shave down the film's budget to the reported target of $125 million. This means the heroes on a half shell won't hit screens until five months beyond their initial Christmas 2013 date, moving to May 2014 — if a satisfactory budget is reached, that is. Are the Turtles in trouble?
more »
Just a week after crashing her car into a truck between filming on her would-be comeback flick Liz & Dick, Lindsay Lohan has reportedly been hospitalized after being found unconscious in her hotel, though her condition is unknown. "ABC7 has learned Lindsay Lohan was taken to hospital after being found unconscious at Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey," ABC7 reported via Twitter. A follow-up Tweet from the outlet added: "Attorney tells ABC7 that 'She's fine.'" Developing...
more »
Young Québécois filmmaker Xavier Dolan won major praise back in 2009 for his debut I Killed My Mother which debuted in Cannes and winning awards at festivals there and around the world. His second feature Heartbeats also headed to Cannes and received theatrical release in the U.S. last year. And Dolan's third film, Laurence Anyways debuted in Cannes last month. But it his first film evaded U.S. audiences outside the festival circuit until now.
more »
Prometheus held the box office throne in the United Kingdom last weekend. Madagascar 3 won't have its British theatrical roll out until the fall of all things, so Prometheus had no big newcomers to contend with in the United Kingdom last weekend. The Ridley Scott directed feature took in £3.14M ($4.87M) in its second weekend, a 50 per cent drop. Still, its ten day total is £15.47M ($23.99M), just behind the complete cumulative for Ridley Scott's Robin Hood which totaled £15.65M, according to figures by The Guardian.
more »
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will be released via IMAX on November 23rd. Director Francis Lawrence will make use of IMAX cameras in filming portions of the second installment of the franchise, Lionsgate is touting. Oscar-nominee Jennifer Lawrence will reprise her role as Katniss Everdeen along with fellow cast members Liam Hemsworth, and Josh Hutcherson.
more »
Was Disney's John Carter the victim of our increasing cultural overstimulation? IndieWire's Matt Singer considers the tentpole's reception — and suggests parallels with Kenneth Lonergan's troubled production-cum-critical darling, Margaret: "[As] perpetual sneak preview culture becomes normalized, audiences are being conditioned to weigh in on a movie before it even comes out. They're trained not only to trust their expectations, but to express them constantly. 'I knew this movie was going to be bad from the first trailer,' is a commonly expressed opinion online. At a certain point, it begins to feel like people want a movie to fail, if only to prove their expectations right." [IndieWire]
With his Sundance conversation-starter Red Hook Summer set for an August theatrical/VOD release, Spike Lee sat down with GQ and gave a rundown of which projects are happening for him, and which are not. Among the Spike Lee joints lost by the wayside due to funding struggles, etc.: His Jackie Robinson biopic, LA riots film, and Wesley Snipes-as-James Brown flick. Surprisingly, Lee admits he's still awaiting the green light on Oldboy — but in the meantime Lee's plotting to direct Mike Tyson on Broadway and has already interviewed the likes of Justin Bieber for a Michael Jackson doc celebrating the 25th anniversary of Bad, so there's that... [GQ]
Tim Burton's Frankenweenie may have to wait until early October before it hits screens, but movie fans will have a chance to get an early look at images from the stop-motion animated feature during an exhibition tour beginning next week in Barcelona, Spain that continues on to seven countries including the U.S.
more »
Whether you loved Prometheus or were left frustrated by it, everyone who's seen Ridley Scott's sci-fi pic can agree it leaves you with a plethora of unanswered questions. So maybe it's good news that Scott has revealed the eventual DVD/Blu-ray release will feature deleted scenes and a 20 minute-longer extended cut of the film — even if Scott is perfectly happy stymieing audiences with his theatrical cut.
more »
The troubled actress was rushed to an L.A. hospital Friday following a collision in her black Porsche along Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica.
more »
Summer's gearing up (though it is still spring) with the latest blockbustery types hitting screens around the country. Madagascar 3 opens with everyone's favorite wild animals on another adventure, this time escaping the serene lands of Africa for a mis-adventure in Europe as they try and make their way back to their beloved - err - New York. Ridley Scott's crew leaves Earth altogether in Prometheus, which has already shown box office snuff overseas. Will it catch on here? And are you ready for some non-studio (or not so studio) entertainment?
more »
File under WTF, Out of Left Field, and Most Probably Not Happening, Like Ever: According to Deadline, rumor has it that Angelina Jolie, coming off of her directorial debut In the Land of Blood and Honey, has been in the unofficial running to join the 50 Shades of Grey adaptation -- not as Mrs. Robinson, not as some kinky bondage-enthusiast, but as... director.
more »
The Ridley Scott-directed Sci-Fi thriller awaits its U.S. bow this weekend and momentum appears to be on its side. Across the Atlantic where audiences have already flocked to see the movie, Twentieth Century Fox is already cashing in, with a £6.24M gross last weekend, which translates to just over $9.7M. That figure outshines any of the Alien movies, according to The Guardian which reported the figures.
more »
Pattinson said in Cannes there wasn't much in the way of rehearsal before he began shooting the David Cronenberg-directed film and that he "worried" in his hotel room before it all began. Distributor Entertainment One said it will hit U.S. theaters August 17th, well after its release north of the border.
more »
