Yo yo yo it’s my little sister’s birthday! Ain’t she cute! Give it up my fellow ‘thonners!
Can’t wait to see you, babe!
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Happy Birthday DKC!
Yo yo yo it’s my little sister’s birthday! Ain’t she cute! Give it up my fellow ‘thonners!
Can’t wait to see you, babe!
Vinny Pazienza movie trailer, 'Bleed for This'
Theater plays R-rated Sausage Party trailer before Finding Dory, apologizes
From ew, Audiences waiting to see Finding Dory were treated to an unlikely surprise at a California theater earlier this month, as a trailer for Seth Rogen’s upcoming R-rated animated comedy Sausage Party played ahead of the family-oriented Disney sequel.
After theatergoers reportedly complained about the incident, Walter Eichinger, vice president of operations at Brenden Concord 14, issued an apology for the mistake, which he says occurred prior to a single screening of Finding Dory.
“Playing that trailer was a one-time honest mistake by a theater manager moving screens around in effort to accommodate several large last-minute groups wanting to see Dory,” Eichinger told the East Bay Times, a local publication. “The wrong movie was started by mistake. It was caught soon, but not until the trailer played. We regret it, apologize for it, and we are not happy that it happened. We fully realize this trailer is not appropriate for Dory and we would never schedule something like that. The trailer for Sausage Party is not and never has been scheduled with Dory.“
Sausage Party, which features the voices of Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Salma Hayek, and Michael Cera, premiered at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival. Its various trailers include violent scenes of anthropomorphic food items meeting their grisly demise, including a potato yelping in pain as he’s skinned alive, a woman chomping on a pair of squealing baby carrots, and a cup of pain-stricken ramen noodles frantically scooping its insides back into its body after it splits open on the floor of a grocery store.
Finding Dory is now playing, while Sausage Party hits theaters Aug.
New ‘Lost In Space’ TV Series Coming To Netflix
From slashfilm, "Danger Will Robinson!” Netflix has announced today that they have ordered a 10-episode first season of a new Lost In Space tv series. The one-hour sci-fi drama is of course based on the 1960’s sci-fi classic from Irwin Allen. New Line Cinema made a movie based on the property in 1998 directed by Stephen Hopkins which I remember being pretty horrible. Find out who’s involved in this new take on the science fiction classic, after the jump.
The new Lost in Space tv series is a reimagined take on the property by Dracula Untold/Last Witch Hunter writing teamMatt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, alongside Prison Break showrunner Zack Estrie.
Taking its cues from the original series, the show centers around the Robinson family, who is forced to come together in a time of crisis. Stranded light years from their intended destination, they find themselves battling a strange new alien environment and also their own personal demons. Equal parts family drama and sci-fi adventure, it is a survival story for the ages.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Monday, June 27, 2016
Box Office
From cinemablend, Twenty years ago Roland Emmerich rolled out the wildest, most special-effects laden interpretation of War of The Worlds ever, and it opened succesfully to the tune of $50 million, the second highest ever opening at that time. This weekend he offered up a sequel, and it couldn't even manage to debut at number one.
Independence Day: Resurgence launched this weekend in danger of being a massive box office bomb. With just $41 million it fell painfully short of expectations. The sequel not only failed to top Finding Dory in its second weekend, it couldn't manage to best its predecessor despite enjoying ticket prices that are in some cases twice what they were in 1996. There are plenty of explanations why Resurgencetanked, from critical panning to the absence of Will Smith, but with this level of failure it's hard to rule any reasons out.
Following up on its record breaking opening weekend, Finding Dory held the number one spot with $72 million, pushing its domestic total to $286 million. That puts it on track to crack the top ten domestic animated movie earners list, but it has a long way to go to catch Toy Story 3, the highest grossing Pixar film ($415 million, 2010) orShrek 2, the highest ever grossing animated movie ($441 million, 2004).
Blake Lively's new shark-infested horror flick The Shallows opened in fourth place with $16 million, a solid start against its $17 million production budget. That's more than can be said for Matthew McConaughey's Free State of Jones which tanked at fifth place, banking just $7 million against a reported $50 million production cost. That's a rough hit for director Gary Ross whose last film, the first Hunger Gamesmovie, is one of the top twenty domestic grossing films of all time.
Warcraft continued to do well in international markets while slipping completely out of the domestic top ten on only its third weekend in release. While it has earned the label of being the most successful video game movie adaptation ever, it also has the distinction of being one of the most expensive and not wildly profitable (in comparison with other major franchises in theaters at the moment). At least one more sequel is possible, but with the tendency of many film franchises to decrease in profitability over time, Universal is probably looking hard at whether or not the Blizzard game is worth the long haul investment.
Thursday, June 23, 2016
‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’: James Earl Jones Returns to Voice Darth Vader
From slashfilm, Yesterday we finally got ironclad confirmation that Darth Vader would appear in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. So today’s big news shouldn’t surprise you, but it will probably make you happy: Yes, James Earl Jones will return once again to voice the Sith Lord. (“A variety of large-framed performers” will fill the actual suit.) Jones originated the role in the original Star Wars, all the way back in 1977, and recently reprised the character for Disney XD’s Star Wars: Rebels.
Entertainment Weekly has an in-depth report on Darth Vader’s role in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Eli Roth To Direct Bruce Willis in 'Death Wish' Remake
We Know The Justice League Villain, And What He’s Trying To Do
Steppenwolf dates back to the 1970s, introduced to DC Comics by the great Jack Kirby. He's a member of the New Gods, and as it pertains to the DC Cinematic Universe, he's the uncle of Darkseid, and the leader of the Apokolips military. From what we were able to learn on set, Steppenwolf and his Parademons will be in pursuit of three Motherboxes. These seeds will be sewn by Snyder in the DCEU, as was hinted in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice when Bruce Wayne had his Knightmare vision (seen below).
We actually saw a hint at the existence of Steppenwolf in a deleted Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice scene that Warner Bros. officially released days after the movie reached theaters. If you recall, it showed Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor in the Kryptonian ship that he blackmailed his way onto. He was bathing in a mysteriously dark liquid, and we saw a miniaturized version of a demonic figure that some, at the time, mistook for Darkseid but who actually is meant to represent Steppenwolf.
Daily Spider-Man! Oh right, MJ has some scheme going here. I forgot because it has yet to pay off in any way.
Also my Nightmare theory isn't supported today. Ah well.
Monday, June 20, 2016
Daily Spider-Man! Spidey! If you can jump on the purple rock stuff, you can web it! It's not always gonna be buildings, man -- think outside the Bronx!
Prediction time! It's now two strips in a row featuring the character Nightmare in the background even though nobody's talking about him. So Spidey's going to trick Xandu in to zapping the Sad Clown of Bad Dreams and there's your game changer. But I've been wrong before...
Also, this "NEXT" box could easily be describing what just happened in Sunday's strip, not what's coming. I guess "Next: More of the SAME!" doesn't sell.
Thirty Minutes of Jerry Lewis's The Day The Clown Cried Released Online
From veriety, Jerry Lewis’s controversial film, The Day the Clown Cried, has always remained hidden from the public. Although Lewis wrote, directed, and starred in the 1972 film, he chose to bury it. According to the May 1992 issue of Spy, the film's synopsis goes as follows: "An unhappy German circus clown is sent to a concentration camp and forced to become a sort of genocidal Pied Piper, entertaining Jewish children as he leads them to the gas chambers." It's meant to be a drama—one of Lewis's first attempts at serious filmmaking. "It was all bad," Lewis said of the film during a press conference at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. "You will never see it, no one will ever see it, because I am embarrassed at the poor work." The film is a “perfect object” of awfulness, according to Harry Shearer, who remains among the handful of people who have ever seen the movie.
The film has only gained notoriety because of the lengths Lewis has gone to keep it under wraps. Many people actively search for clips, despite the fact that the Library of Congress acquired Lewis's complete film archive—including the one remaining print of The Day the Clown Cried—on the condition the film not be released to the public until June 2024. This only made the search more rabid.
The wait to see the film just got a little shorter, though. Screen Crush reports that 30 minutes of The Day the Clown Cried is now available online. The footage has been cobbled together from different sources, including a German documentary about the making of the film, with missing material filled in with title cards. It’s not the complete version, but it’s 30 minutes more than viewers have ever had.
Box office report: Finding Dory sets animated film record with $136.2 million
From ew, Making waves at No. 1 with a whopping $136.2 million, Disney’sFinding Dory has set a new record for an opening weekend by an animated motion picture.
Exceeding expectations as it pulled in over $54 million on Friday, including $9.2 million from Thursday night previews (also a record for an animated feature), Finding Dory handily bested the previous animated weekend record holder, 2007’s Shrek the Third, by around $15 million (unadjusted for inflation).
The 13-year gap between 2003’s Finding Nemo and its 2016 sequel didn’t seem to be a problem for the Pixar juggernaut, which sees returning cast members Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks once again lending their voices for more under-the-sea action. Speaking to just how large the Nemo brand has ballooned over the years, the film has spawned video games, merchandise, and theme park attractions around the world, making it a time-tested, modern icon among Disney’s filmography. The studio holding out on Finding Dory this long only amplified audience anticipation, resulting in the massive haul the film raked in this weekend, which happens to be the second-biggest for a June release in history.
Dory also grossed an estimated $50 million from 29 international territories, bringing its worldwide weekend total up to around $186.2 million. Overall domestic box office receipts were down just 5 percent from last year, though that’s hardly cause for concern, as Jurassic World’s then-record-setting $208.8 million debut over the June 12-14 weekend in 2015 was always going to be a tough number to match, even for a film the size of Finding Dory.
The week’s only other new wide release, New Line Cinema’s Central Intelligence, held its own against Finding Dory’s mammoth numbers, however, overperforming with an estimated $34.5 million from 3,508 locations and a per-screen average of $9,835. The action comedy benefitted largely from the chemistry between its stars (as noted in the better-than-average reviews the film received) Kevin Hart and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which likely drove most of its box office over its first three days of release.
According to CinemaScore, Finding Dory and Central Intelligenceearned A and A- grades from audiences, which bodes well for both films’ legs heading into a crowded summer arena that seesIndependence Day: Resurgence, The Shallows, The BFG, The Legend of Tarzan, and The Secret Life of Pets lurking right around the corner.
The Conjuring 2 and Now You See Me 2, last week’s No. 1 and No. 3 finishers, dropped to No. 3 and 4, respectively, with weekend totals coming in well below early projections. The Conjuring 2’s 62 percent drop from $40.4 million to $15.6 million is characteristic of how horror films typically perform at the box office, though its predecessor broke the mold, falling a relatively soft 46.9 percent over its second weekend in 2013. Now You See Me 2 tumbled 57 percent to an estimated $9.7 million, indicating its overall run will pack less of a punch than the original Now You See Me, which had, after its second weekend, grossed $60.9 million domestically (compared to the sequel’s $41.4 million) on its way to $117.7 million in 2013.
Rounding out the top five is Warcraft, which, despite impressive overseas grosses ($280 million and counting), has taken quite a hit at the domestic box office as it falls 73 percent to $6.5 million. The film is closing in on $37.7 million from North America after 10 days of release after premiering to $24.2 million last weekend. The video game adaptation has amassed approximately $318 million in worldwide receipts so far.
June 17-19 weekend box office estimates:
1. Finding Dory - $136.2 million
2. Central Intelligence - $34.5 million
3. The Conjuring 2 - $15.6 million
4. Now You See Me 2 - $9.7 million
5. Warcraft - $6.5 million
6. X-Men: Apocalypse - $5.2 million
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows - $5.2 million
8. Me Before You - $4.2 million
9. Alice Through the Looking Glass - $3.6 million
10. Captain America: Civil War - $2.3 million
'Star Trek' actor Anton Yelchin dies in freak car accident
(CNN)Actor Anton Yelchin, 27, who played Chekov in recent "Star Trek" movies, was killed in a freak accident early Sunday morning, police told CNN.
Yelchin, who also acted in "Like Crazy" and "Alpha Dog," died outside his home in Los Angeles, according to law enforcement.
Yelchin stepped out of his car in the driveway of his Studio City home at around 1:10 a.m. PT when the car slid backwards and pinned him against a brick pillar and a security fence, causing trauma that led to his death, said Jennifer Houser with the Los Angeles Police Department.
"The victim was on his way to meet his friends for a rehearsal and when he didn't show up, his friends went to his house where they found him deceased by his car," Houser told CNN. "It appears that he momentarily left his car, leaving it in the driveway. He was behind the vehicle when it rolled backward and pinned him to the brick pillar causing the trauma that led to his death."
Houser says Yelchin's family was notified by the friends that found him. She did not know whether the car was running when he was found.
J.J. Abrams, whose Bad Robot Productions produced recent "Star Trek" features, took to twitter to voice dismay about Yelchin's death, saying: "Anton, you were brilliant. You were kind. You were funny as hell, and supremely talented. And you weren't here nearly long enough. Missing you..."
Other friends, actors and celebrities also took to social media with their condolences.
"Devastated to hear about the brilliant Anton Yelchin. He was thoughtful, kind, and gifted. My thoughts and prayers are with his family," posted actor Chris Evans.
Devastated to hear about the brilliant Anton Yelchin. He was thoughtful, kind, and gifted. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) June 19, 2016
I had dinner with Anton Yelchin 2 nights ago we talked about shooting together and making movies he is a great guy very sad to see him go.— Tyler Shields (@tylershields) June 19, 2016
"I had dinner with Anton Yelchin 2 nights ago we talked about shooting together and making movies he is a great guy very sad to see him go," Tyler Shields said.
RIP Anton Yelchin (3.11.89 - 6.19.2016) pic.twitter.com/bJQ98GtdIF— Ms. Marya E. Gates (@oldfilmsflicker) June 19, 2016
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Friday, June 17, 2016
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Spider bomb!
Monday, June 13, 2016
Box Office
From ew, As expected, James Wan’s horror sequel The Conjuring 2 bested both of its theatrical foes at the June 10-12 box office, nearly matching the impressive weekend gross of its predecessor with an estimated $40.4 million from 3,343 screens.
Featuring returning stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the film received decent reviews from critics and audiences, earning a 74 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- grade on CinemaScore. With three new wide releases hitting theaters, the weekend box office still paled in comparison to the same frame last year, when Universal’s Jurassic World debuted to a then-record $208.8 million opening. Total yearly business is still up 4.1 percent overall from 2015, however.
The Conjuring series’ slight drop in attendance from the first film to second (a mere $1.5 million separates their opening weekend grosses) continues Wan’s financial success at the box office: He last directed 2015’s Furious 7 to over $1.5 billion worldwide and previously found success in the horror genre with 2004’s Saw ($103.9 million worldwide on a $1.2 million budget), 2011’s Insidious ($97 million worldwide on a $1.5 million budget), and 2013’s Insidious: Chapter 2 ($161.9 million worldwide on a $5 million budget). In-line with his previous efforts in the genre, The Conjuring 2 scared up around $50 million from 44 markets and approximately 10,400 screens around the world, bringing its worldwide total to $90.4 million.
Horror films in general tend to dip significantly in their second weekend, so it’s unlikely the film reaches the lofty $137 million precedent set by The Conjuring in 2013, but the fact remains that it is still the only major horror film on the market (and will be until The Shallows opens on July 1) and will serve as substantial counterprogramming to Finding Dory and Central Intelligence next weekend.
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A third installment of The Conjuring now seems likely, though Wan previously said he doesn’t know if he’ll have time to step into the role of director, as he currently has the DC Comics adaptation of Aquaman on deck as his next project.
For a film with a $160 million budget, Warcraft’s estimated $24.4 million domestic debut at No. 2 might seem small in comparison to other fantasy epics, but the North American gross of the video game adaptation is a tiny piece of a much larger puzzle for Universal, as the film continues to do stellar business overseas. As of Sunday, Warcrafthas earned over $300 million globally, including its U.S. totals and $144 million in China, where the film has thus far grossed more in its first four days of release than Star Wars: The Force Awakens andBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice grossed over their entire runs. The film’s audience skewed largely male (69 percent), with a majority of moviegoers considering themselves to be “heavy gamers” according to comScore’s PostTrak survey.
Now You See Me 2, yet another cinematic continuation hitting wide release this season, fared well in comparison to other 2016 summer sequels, dropping slightly from the $29.4 million debut of its predecessor to bring in an estimated $23 million from 3,232 locations for a solid $7,124 per-screen average at No. 3. The Lionsgate flick attracted an evenly split demographic, as 51 percent of the film’s opening weekend audience was male with the remaining 49 percent being female. The film also attracted an even 50/50 split of audiences above and below the age of 25, indicating large cross-demo appeal that will, like the first film, carry it to a significantly higher cumulative total by the end of its run. The film also debuted in 30 international markets, bringing in nearly $23 million for an overall haul of $45.8 million globally.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows lost nearly 60 percent of its audience as it crashed from a $35 million opening to an estimated $14.8 million during its second weekend. The $135 million picture has grossed $116 million around the world, $61 million of which comes from North America — still failing to match even the $65.6 million the first film in the rebooted franchise made over its first three days of release.
Rounding out the top five, X-Men: Apocalypse edges out Me Before You with an estimated $10 million, though it lost 568 screens heading into its third weekend in wide release. The Warner Bros. romantic drama fell harder than expected, bringing in around $9.2 million according to early projections. The film, based on Jojo Moyes’ popular novel of the same name, has so far earned $55 million around the world on a $20 million budget.
Here are the weekend’s top 10 films at the box office:
1. The Conjuring 2 - $40.4 million
2. Warcraft - $24.4 million
3. Now You See Me 2 - $23 million
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows - $14.8 million
5. X-Men: Apocalypse - $10 million
6. Me Before You - $9.2 million
7. The Angry Birds Movie - $6.7 million
8. Alice Through the Looking Glass - $5.5 million
9. Captain America: Civil War - $4.3 million
10. The Jungle Book - $2.7 million
Friday, June 10, 2016
Why Russian Audiences Hated Spider-Man In Captain America: Civil War
From cinemablend, Captain America: Civil War was released over a month ago and fans are still reeling in glee from what may be the best entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Aside from the impressively grounded plot and superb pacing of the film, a few individual performances managed to successfully steal the show and delight comic fans. Perhaps the best of these was the debut of Tom Holland's Peter Parker/Spider-Man, who finally entered the MCU. Unfortunately, it turns out that Russian audiences weren't so thrilled with Spidey, and for good reason.
Russian audiences are reportedly very unhappy with the voice actor who dubbed Spider-Man in Russian. The actor apparently sounded extremely young, which ruined the coolness of Spidey and the ability for the audience to take the character seriously. The dubbed Spider-Man sounds as young as 10 years old, rather than a witty and wise-cracking teenager that Peter Parker is meant to be.
This outrage and disappointment with Peter Parker's Russian dub has led to Russian audiences starting a petition on change.org urging the studio to change the voice actor for future installments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At the point of writing this story, the petition has garnered a total of 1,188 supporters out of the goal 1,5000 signatures.
Spider-Man's strangely young voice presumably was rather distracting when Russian moviegoers finally got to see Captain America: Civil War. Both international and domestic audiences had been eagerly awaiting Civil War, which was built on eight years of films and character development. After seeing the previous 12 films, having one factor throw off the big airport fight would be infuriating.
Additionally, MCU fans had been waiting for Spider-Man to join the universe for a long time. Marvel's deal with Sony was cause for celebration, and the almost complete lack of Spidey in Civil War's marketing material only served to build up anticipation for the web slinger. So for the voice not to match the actor would probably drive me bananas, too.
Personally, I'm dying to hear the strange 10-year old voice in Civil War. While I can empathize with audiences, it's hard to truly understand their frustration without hearing the ridiculous voice for myself. Tom Holland's performance has been referred to as perhaps the best part of the movie, so it's hard to imagine a version ofCaptain America: Civil War where Spider-Man wasn't utterly awesome. But with much of Peter Parker's screen time occurring while in the Spidey costume, I'd imagine a child voice would really take me out of the moment.
Of course, we'll continue to update you as more signatures accumulate, and if it actually affects positive change in the Russian dub of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain America: Civil War is still in theaters, so if you want to see Spideydone right make sure you fly into the movies soon.
Disney is Currently Testing Interactive ‘Star Wars’ Droids For Its Theme Parks
From cinemablend, We all know that Disney’s Star Wars theme park lands are going to be immersive. Specifically, we all know that they haveto be immersive at the bare minimum if they want to compete with Universal Studios’ Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the current high water mark in theme park design. Knowing Disney, they will go out of their way and spend a lot of money to fight back against that boy wizard and reclaim their position at the top of this particular food chain. This theme park cold war is going to result in some mighty fine work. Whoever wins, we win.
While the two unnamed Star Wars lands are currently little more than big piles of dirt at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, a new video has given us a taste of just how far they may be willing push to the immersion factor. How about droids wandering the area, integrating with guests and their environment?
The YouTube Channel DAPs Magic has footage of a droid wandering around the Star Wars Launch Bay exhibit at Disneyland and it’s pretty obvious that the Disney Imagineers are testing the waters for something bigger. It’s not clear if this little guy is being controlled via remote control or if he’s semi-autonomous and is essentially a next-generation Roomba, but we do know that his name is Jake and that he’s adorable in that typical Star Wars droid fashion. If this is the kind of tech Disney is testing out in the parks years before the actual Star Wars lands take shape, I can’t wait to see what they bring to the actual opening.
We already know that each Star Wars land will be an alien spaceport, a neutral location that will allow characters and ships from across the galaxy (and the canon) to gather in one place and interact with fans. In addition to two major rides, the area will include shopping and dining opportunities where each cast member (employee in Disney-speak) is “in character” as a citizen of the port. And it wouldn’t be a spaceport without droids rolling around all over the place. However, the final version of these will probably be accompanied by a guard of some sort. It may be the happiest place on Earth, but the stories of guests assaulting costumed characters at Disneyland are legendary. A tiny little robot will never survive on its own.
In the meantime, we can look forward to the opening of Walt Disney World’s Avatar-themed land at their Animal Kingdom park in Florida. Whether you like that movie or not, it should give us an idea of what kind of technology and theming we can expect from Star Wars land down the road.
Thursday, June 09, 2016
Tuesday, June 07, 2016
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Has Finally Ended Its Theatrical Run
From collider, After nearly six months in theaters, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has finally ended its domestic theatrical run, and its concluding box office tally is a doozy. When all is said and done, The Force Awakens scored a grand total of $936,662,225. While it scored the all-time domestic record some time ago, surpassing Avatar’s tally of $760,507,625, the film just kept going and going, not just breaking the record but destroying it. It also far outgrossed the prior top-performing Star Wars film, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which finished with $474,544,677 in 1999.
But while The Force Awakens is the domestic box office champ, it didn’t have the stamina to outperform James Cameron’s two juggernauts internationally. J.J. Abrams’ film has a worldwide total of $2.068 billion, which is enough to secure the #3 spot on the all-time worldwide chart, but is short of Titanic’s $2.186 billion orAvatar’s still-insane $2.788 billion. Indeed, Cameron’s worldwide record seems secure for the foreseeable future—I’m doubtful anything can beat that Avatar record. But for a full picture, here’s how the domestic all-time top 10 looks right now:
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – $936,662,225
2. Avatar – $760,507,625
3.Titanic – $658,672,302
4. Jurassic World – $652,270,625
5. Marvel’s The Avengers– $623,357,910
6. The Dark Knight – $534,858,444
7. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace – $474,544,677
8. Star Wars – $460,998,007
9. Avengers: Age of Ultron – $459,005,868
10. The Dark Knight Rises – $448,139,099
The Force Awakens remains a success by all accounts, and it’ll be interesting to see if any of Lucasfilm’s many sequels and spinoffs in the works can come close to any of the film’s records, be it the domestic total or opening weekend ($246.9 million). Sequels by and large don’t perform as well as their predecessors, and while the newness of The Force Awakens demanded it be seen whether you were interested or not, now audiences have had a taste of the new Star Wars franchise and know for certain whether they want to continue with it. That means, despite the quality of further installments, the box office results will probably be lower than Force Awakens. The insane success of Abrams’ film could also explain why Lucasfilm appears bent on nitpicking Rogue One to death.
So while there’s plenty to look forward to in the Star Wars universe to come, it’s unlikely we’ll see something as monumental as The Force Awakens with subsequent films. For a refresher, here’s what Lucasfilm officially has on tap:
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story directed by Gareth Edwards – December 16, 2016
Star Wars: Episode VIII directed by Rian Johnson – December 15, 2017
Untitled Han Solo film directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller – May 25, 2018
Star Wars: Episode IX directed by Colin Trevorrow – May 24, 2019
Untitled Anthology film written by Simon Kinberg – 2020
And you thought you were having a bad day...
(CNN)An Australian ocean photographer has captured a one-in-a-million example of the cruelty of life in the deep -- a fish peering out into the ocean, helpless, from inside a jellyfish.
Tim Samuel, a self-described "ocean obsessed... lover of photography and adventures," captured the image off Pass Beach in Byron Bay, Australia.
He told CNN he was snorkeling out to a reef with a friend and collaborator, videographer Franny Plumridge, to photograph turtles and was swimming in open water between the shore and a reef when he came across the unusual sight.
Fish can recognize humans: study
"There were no other fish in sight," he told CNN by phone. "I just stumbled upon it."
He says he followed it around for about 20-30 minutes, and, despite the difficulties of focusing on such a small subject, was able to take a few photos, which he published to his website andInstagram account.
The fish, which was still alive, was trying to swim but the jellyfish kept veering it off course.
'Let nature take its course'
"(The fish) seemed to be struggling a little bit, as it would swim around, it would try to swim in a straight line but the jellyfish would knock it off course, would send it in little circles or loops.
"It was a tough decision, I definitely thought about setting it free, but in the end decided to just let nature run its course."
Underwater 'city' is natural, say scientists
Much of Byron Bay, where Samuel is based, is a designated marine park and is protected from fishing. As a result, Samuel says, marine life is thriving.
He says he's been in touch with marine biologists through the nature publication Australian Geographic, who "say they've never seen anything like it.
"At the time knew I'd stumbled upon something pretty special."
The publication quoted Ian Tibbetts, a marine biologist at the Center for Marine Science at the University of Queensland, who suggests the fish could be a juvenile trevally, which are known to use jellyfish stingers as protection.
"It's difficult to tell whether disaster has just struck, or whether the fish is happy to be in there," he is quoted as saying.
"Although by the photographer's description of the fish swimming, my guess is that it is probably quite happy to be protected in there"
Monday, June 06, 2016
Fox apologizes for 'X-Men: Apocalypse' ads showing Jennifer Lawrence being strangled
New York (CNN)20th Century Fox is apologizing for an "X-Men: Apocalypse" promotional image showing Jennifer Lawrence's character Mystique being strangled by villain Apocalypse.
The grim image was plastered on roadside billboards, posters and is featured in the movie's trailer.
Social media has been smoldering over the ads showing such violence to a woman. The film studio responded to the backlash by saying that they were removing the image from promotional materials.
"In our enthusiasm to show the villainy of the character Apocalypse we didn't immediately recognize the upsetting connotation of this image in print form," Fox said in a statement. "Once we realized how insensitive it was, we quickly took steps to remove those materials. We apologize for our actions and would never condone violence against women."
People took to Twitter to express their outrage over the seemingly sexist image.
The appeal of the X-Men poster showing Jennifer Lawrence being choked is that battery can be fun?— Gabriela RM (@GabrielaRM) May 13, 2016
One Twitter user wrote: "The appeal of the X-Men poster showing Jennifer Lawrence being choked is that battery can be fun?"
Is anyone else bothered by the fact that one of the most prominent advertisements for X-Men: Apocalypse is Jennifer Lawrence being choked?— Andrew Marshello (@itsthemarsh) May 11, 2016
Another user wrote: "Is anyone else bothered by the fact that one of the most prominent advertisements for X-Men: Apocalypse is Jennifer Lawrence being choked?"
This doesn't seem to be affecting the success of Fox's popular franchise, however.
"Apocalypse" opened at the top spot at the North American box office last weekend and has so far grossed over $285 million worldwide.
Box Office
Out of the Shadows banked $35 million which, when added with the $34 million earned in foreign markets, is less than a $70 million start against a $135 million production budget. That's unlikely to spell complete financial flop for the heroes on a half shell, but it certainly puts a crack in the viability of a third entry to this rebooted franchise. The opening is almost half of the $65 million start its predecessor enjoyed in 2014, a further indication that after only two movies, audiences are already weary of this TMNT incarnation.
Slipping to second place, X-Men: Apocalypse banked enough in its second weekend to finally cross the $100 million mark, something that other comic movies this year have been achieving in their first weekends.
At this rate the Apocalypse has a fighting chance to wind up as the second lowest domestic earner in the franchise, just ahead of X-Men: First Class. With international sales included, Apocalypse is at just over $400 million, meaning Fox still has a lot of money to make from future movies with its Marvel cash cow.
Romantic drama Me Before You took in $18 million for a third place debut. That's a nice start for first time feature film director Thea Sharrock (no doubt with much thanks to the presence of Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke's name at the top of the bill). Especially when Andy Samberg's latest comedy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (which has garnered decent praise from critics) tanked to the tune of a $4 million eighth place opening, one of the worst for Samberg.
For the full weekend top ten, check out the chart below:
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