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Weekend Receipts || ||

Argo Tops A Disappointing Box Office; 4 Newcomers Bow Weak

Argo Tops A Disappointing Box Office; 4 Newcomers Bow Weak

All four studio releases debuted with a whimper at best and tanked at worst. Ben Affleck's Argo topped the box office in a disappointing weekend. It is hard to estimate the impact on the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy had on Sunday on the East Coast as residents scurried to get ready for the storm, but the weekend's box office took a hit nevertheless. Strong word-of-mouth made Argo one of the lone stars of the weekend.

1. Argo
Gross: $12,355,000 (Cume: $60,780,288)
Screens: 2,855 (PSA: $4,327)
Week: 3 (Change: - 24.9%)

Argo finally made it to number one three weeks into its release. But it was mostly by default because its competition from newcomers failed to make the box office grade. Still, Argo showed bravado on its own, with only a small dip in its returns, despite losing 392 locations. Word of mouth is clearly propelling the Ben Affleck-directed political thriller that is a strong contender for awards this season. A $100 million gross is certainly not out of the question.

2. Hotel Transylvania
Gross: $9.5 million (Cume: $130,434,000)
Screens: 3,276 (PSA: $2,900)
Week: 5 (Change: - 26.9%)

The animated feature jumped from fourth place last week to second in its fifth round. The $130 million-plus cumulative makes it one of Sony Pictures Animation's top animated-only pic. It will eventually overtake The Smurfs, which grossed $142.6 million.

3. Cloud Atlas
Gross: $9.4 million
Screens: 2,008 (PSA: $4,681)
Week: 1

Six slightly connected stories told over two hours and forty-four minutes was bound to be a marketing challenge. The pic received a C+ CinemaScore, so it's going to be a steep trek for this $100 million movie sees any profit. Its recognizable cast should help it as it heads overseas. While it's the best of the weekend's newcomers, it clearly didn't connect with audiences at the level needed.

4. Paranormal Activity 4
Gross: $8,675,000 (Cume: $42,632,365)
Screens: 3,412 (PSA: $2,542)
Week: 2 (Change: - 70.1%)

The pic fell a heavy 70% from its opening weekend when it opened at number one with a $30.2 million open and an $8,851 screen average. The drop was steeper than Paranormal Activity 3's 66 percent drop. The third installment had grossed about $10 million more than the current pic by this point in its release.

5. Silent Hill: Revelation (3-D)
Gross: $8 million
Screens: 2,933 ($2,728)
Week: 1

A weak opening for the pic, which is off 60 percent from the first movie's $20.15 million debut. Competition from Paranormal Activity 4 and Sinister likely weighed in in suppressing box office activity for the title.

6. Taken 2
Gross: $8 million (Cume $117,389,000)
Screens: 2,995 (PSA: $2,671)
Week: 4 (Change: - 39.7%)

The title lost 494 theaters compared to its third weekend and essentially tied with newcomer Silent Hill: Revelation (3-D) in the overall box office chart. Taken 2 is holding solid, beating out the first installment by $22 million.

7. Here Comes the Boom
Gross: $5.5 million (Cume: $30,610,472)
Screens: 2,491 (PSA: $2,208)
Week: 3 (Change: - 34.6%)

The film remained in seventh place in the b.o. chart, dropping over 34% and losing 523 theaters. Last weekend it averaged $2,820 compared to $3,981 in its debut.

8. Sinister
Gross: $5.07 million (Cume: $39,514,955)
Screens: 2,347 (2,160)
Week: 3 (Change: - 42.5%)

The title dropped 195 theaters in its third round and dropped a fairly strong 42 percent plus. But with a production budget of only $3 million, the title is a clear success and its roll-out will continue. Last weekend it averaged $3,552.

9. Alex Cross
Gross: $5.05 million (Cume: $19,368,691)
Screens: 2,541 (PSA: $1,987)
Week: 2 (Change: - 55.7%)

The pic dropped nearly 56%, a steep one for the titles second round. It added two locations and its $1,987 average compares to $4,489 in its debut. The crime thriller's $35 million production budget means it has a tough road given its slow momentum.

10. Fun Size
Gross: $4.06 million
Screens: 3,014 (PSA: $1,347)
Week: 1

Ouch, one of the worst of the weekend's new offerings, the film clearly tanked with audiences.

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13. Chasing Mavericks
Gross: $2.2 million
Screens: 2,002 (PSA: $1,099)
Week: 1

The worst of the newcomers, the film failed to make the top ten even though it opened wide. The debut is the ninth worst ever for a film opening in over 2,000 theaters.

Weekend Receipts || ||

Taken 2 Leads A Stellar Box Office Weekend; Frankenweenie Peters Out

Taken 2 Leads A Stellar Box Office Weekend; Frankenweenie Peters Out

Taken 2 exploded in its opening with $50 million and a spectacular per screen average of $13,657 in wide release. The film had one of the biggest October openings ever, showing momentum that should propel it in the coming weeks. Last weekend's box office topper, Hotel Transylvania, held strong in its second weekend, landing second in the box office ranking. Frankenweenie, meanwhile, failed to appeal to large numbers of theater-goers, only placing fifth on the box office chart in a wide open.
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Biz Break || ||

Sacha Baron Cohen Eyes Lesbian Comedy; Monopoly May Be Headed For The Big Screen: Biz Break

Sacha Baron Cohen Eyes Lesbian Comedy; Monopoly May Be Headed For The Big Screen: Biz Break

Also in Thursday afternoon's round-up of news briefs: Taken 2 is looking to lead another strong box office this weekend. Devin Ratray is joining Alexander Payne's latest. And banned Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has made another film, defying authorities.
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Review || ||

REVIEW: Kitschy Taken 2 Ups The Xenophobia With Subpar Bad Dad Fantasy

REVIEW: Kitschy Taken 2 Ups The Xenophobia With Subpar Bad Dad Fantasy

Taken 2 grabs everything that was surprisingly enjoyable about the original film and batters it into the ground like... Liam Neeson beating up an Albanian human trafficking ring. The brute charm that the 2008 Taken found in portraying the Irish Oscar-nominee as an ultra-competent badass has withered to kitsch, and what's left is tinged with even more xenophobia and weird paternal wish-fulfillment. Worse, the directing reins have been handed from greater Luc Besson protégé Pierre Morel to the lesser (but, granted, more awesomely named) Olivier Megaton, of Transporter 3 and Columbiana, and he slashes the action sequences to such incoherent bits that half the fights could have been shot on a sound stage thousands of miles from any star and chopped in after the fact. Why are we watching this again?
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Watch This || ||

WATCH THIS: Or Don't If Your Fantasy Of Taken 2 Star Liam Neeson Involves A Ripped Body & Boxer Briefs

WATCH THIS: Or Don't If Your Fantasy Of Taken 2 Star Liam Neeson Involves A Ripped Body & Boxer Briefs

I'll give Liam Neeson this much. He's even braver in real life than the hard asses he plays in the movies. The New York Daily News  reports that Neeson, 60, raised $20,000 for breast cancer research on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Monday by stripping down to a pair of pink bikini briefs and entering a dunk tank on the talk show. more »

Watch This || ||

'Do You Know How To Shoot?....Then Drive!' Liam Neeson Gives Daughter Tough Love In New Taken 2 Trailer

'Do You Know How To Shoot?....Then Drive!' Liam Neeson Gives Daughter Tough Love In New Taken 2 Trailer

If you don't have a whiny, teenaged kid, then watch this latest trailer for Taken 2. Although Maggie Grace, as Kim, is ostensibly playing a woman in her 20s, she's behaving just like a 15-year-old!  Even under life or death circumstances, adolescents can behave as if they are stuck in their own little personal pool of molasses, and it's up to Dad — or Mom — to gnash some teeth, raise the voice and light a fire under the kid's reluctant ass. more »

Uncategorized || ||

WATCH: Liam Neeson Says Check Out These Taken 2 Trailers − Or He's Comin' To Get You, Sucka

TAKEN 2Liam Neeson returns to the role of an ex-CIA operative with “a set of very special skills,” in TAKEN 2© 2012 EUROPACORP – M6 FILMS - GRIVE PRODUCTIONS.  All rights reserved.  Not for sale or duplication.

Looks like Taken 2 could be subtitled All in the Family, or maybe Bad-Ass & Daughter. Liam Neeson is back as retired CIA operative Bryan Mills, and based on the plot points covered by the two new trailers posted below, he enlists daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), who he gallantly rescued in the first Taken, to assist him in saving her Mom (Famke Janssen) from the bad guys. Turns out the motive for moms kidnapping is familial in nature, too:  She's been taken by the father of the kidnapper Mills killed back in the first flick. more »

Videos || ||

TRAILER: On The Brilliant Potential of Taken 2

Taken 2 trailer

In 2008's B-movie hit Taken, Liam Neeson cracked skulls across Europe in search of his kidnapped daughter. In October's Taken 2, director Olivier Megaton and producer/co-writer Luc Besson set out to achieve something rare — An actual continuation of story! Multi-film character development! Unexpected moral examinations! — a proper sequel, in other words, as evidenced by the first trailer viewable after the jump.
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Casting || ||

Liam Neeson Taking His Particular Set of Skills to Airplane Actioner Non-Stop

Liam Neeson

Ever since growling his way through 2008's gloriously B-movie-esque B-movie Taken, Liam Neeson's been enjoying his newfound status as the gruff hero with killer instincts and a particular set of skills that you want on your side in the event of a kidnapping/assassination attempt/jailbreak/wolf attack. So why fix something that ain't broke? Enter Non-Stop, Neeson's next actioner and an airplane-set excuse to see Neeson smash heads and deliver straightfaced epic one-liners.
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