Jacob Hall
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Jurassic World’ Has the Biggest Opening of All Time
Everyone knew that Jurassic World was going to open big, but no one saw this coming. The fourth film in the beloved dinosaur-centric franchise had the second biggest domestic opening of all time, the biggest June opening of all time, and, with $511 million worldwide, the biggest international opening of all time. It also broke a bunch of records that we’ll get to in a few minutes. This was supposed to be the summer of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Unless something goes horribly wrong, this is officially the summer of Jurassic World.
‘The Program’ Trailer: Ben Foster Brings Lance Armstrong and His Lies to Life
Lance Armstrong went from being one of the greatest sports heroes in modern history to its greatest villain. Few human beings have ever turned heel with such cinematic flair, so it makes sense that he’d get his own movie sooner rather than later. The first trailer for The Program looks exactly like you’d expect a sports biopic from director Stephen Frears to look: classy, bold, and full of interesting actors scowling at each other.
‘The Good Dinosaur’ Trailer: Pixar Rewrites History With a Charming Adventure
Like all of Pixar’s teaser trailers, the first preview for The Good Dinosaur is all about mood, emphasizing a distinct feeling over characters and plot. But as the title implies, it’s really all about dinosaurs. Colorful, adorable dinosaurs who, thanks to director Peter Sohn and the Pixar braintrust, aren’t wiped out by an apocalyptic asteroid 66 million years ago and live on to have all kinds of adventures. Take that, science!
Rumor: Marvel’s ‘Ant-Man’ Will Lay the Groundwork For the New Spider-Man
By now, everyone is familiar with the interconnectedness of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how every film references what came before and what’s arriving next. So it makes sense that Ant-Man, the riskiest Marvel endeavor yet, will supposedly be filled with references to one of Marvel Studios’ surest things: the new Spider-Man. We guess the bug-themed superheroes have to stick together, huh?
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Tomorrowland’ and ‘Poltergeist’ Struggle Against the Mighty ‘Pitch Perfect 2’
Tomorrowland may have taken the top spot at the box office in its debut weekend, but things still look awfully grim for the George Clooney sci-fi vehicle. Not only did the film open far below expectations, it faced serious competition in Pitch Perfect 2, which continued to kick aca-butt in its second weekend. And it wasn’t the only new release to under-perform, with the Poltergeist remake also falling short of early predictions. If you were a new release this weekend, things were awfully rough.
Disney Planning TV Channels Centered Around Marvel and ‘Star Wars’
Acquiring Lucasfilm and Marvel were just two minor steps in Disney’s grand plan to eventually own everything you love and control your life as Entertainment Overlord Supreme of the Planet Earth. But to be fair, they are a benevolent god. A caring god. A god that wants to make its riches available to you, should you want to indulge yourself. So prepare thyself: TV channels based entire on Marvel and Star Wars content may be coming.
SNL Forces the Cast to Apologize to Their Actual Mothers
Last night’s generally unremarkable episode of SNL peaked early when it took advantage of its proximity to Mother’s Day to do something kind of remarkable. As part of her opening monologue, guest host Reese Witherspoon declared that the show was going to mark the occasion by bringing each cast member out with his or her mother...and then forcing them to apologize for their childhood transgressions.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ Has the Second Biggest Opening of All Time
There’s a bizarre narrative floating around the internet: Avengers: Age of Ultron is already a disappointment because it didn’t open higher than The Avengers in its first weekend. This seems to be ignoring the fact that The Avengers had the biggest opening of all time and Avengers: Age of Ultron now has the second biggest opening of all time, which is nothing to scoff at. Sure, the sequel may not match the numbers of the first movie in the end, but it’s already well on the way to becoming one of the biggest movies of the year. And of all time.
‘Avengers 2’ DVD to Include Extended Edition and Alternate Ending
Avengers: Age of Ultron doesn’t hit American theaters for another week, but Marvel’s latest superhero epic opens today in many theaters around the world. This means that you need to tread cautiously if you want to avoid spoilers, but it also means that Amazon.co.uk is already offering its users the chance to pre-order the film on Blu-ray and DVD. We know that the window between theatrical and home releases are shrinking, but that’s just ludicrous. However, it’s the details about the disc that should get fans stroking their chins and saying “Hmmm.”
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Trailer Breaks Records With 88 Million Views
If there were any lingering doubts about the popularity of Star Wars in the year 2015, Star Wars Celebration killed them. Ruthlessly. When the the live-streamed panel for Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered the second trailer for J.J. Abrams’ wildly anticipated sequel, you could feel the internet quiver and shake underneath the weight of the hype. It was a staggering event that made the next few geek-friendly trailers released in the following days feel like small potatoes in comparison. And yes, this hyperbole is backed up by raw numbers: the second trailer for The Force Awakens shattered the record for most trailer views in 24 hours.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Furious 7’ Smashes April Records
The early estimates for the opening weekend gross of Furious 7 are all over the place and we probably won’t have a definitive number until tomorrow, when the dust finally settles and everyone gets a chance to breathe. However, this one thing we know for sure: the seventh film in the Fast and Furious series didn’t just shatter in-franchise records, it shattered records for any April release.
Weekend Box Office Report: The Box Office Goes ‘Home’
In one of the strongest box office weekends of 2015 so far, both Home and Get Hard opened strong while Insurgent and Cinderella continued to perform well. This was the rare weekend that literally offered something for everyone, with R-rated comedies and animated family fare exceeding expectations.