UPDATE: Big Blue – AVATAR takes in $236.5 million worldwide, breaks December opening record
While the U.S. box office may have been down because of the blizzard on the East Coast, Avatar managed to pull in $232 million worldwide, a record for an original work. The $73 million domestic gross combined with $159 million overseas means that Avatar is now a certified blockbuster. Word of mouth is going to be strong with this one. Combine that with some of the biggest metros in the U.S. remaining untapped markets and the coming wave of holiday moviegoers, and you get a movie that’s going to be huge for weeks to come. UPDATE: Looks like the snow didn’t keep away as many moviegoers as 2oth Century Fox expected. The final domestic tally for Avatar‘s opening weekend is $77.3 million, according to Variety. That’s just enough to give Avatar the biggest December opening of all-time, ahead of...
Read MoreBABIES poster
From Focus Features: Everybody loves… BABIES. This visually stunning new movie simultaneously follows four babies around the world – from first breath to first steps. From Mongolia to Namibia to San Francisco to Tokyo, BABIES joyfully captures on film the earliest stages of the journey of humanity that are at once unique and universal to us all. More at:...
Read MoreOscar Predictions updated – Now it feels like a race
In August, if you would have asked Oscarwatchers whether or not Inglourious Basterds would be a frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar, you would have heard a chorus of “NOs.” What a difference a week makes. After BFCA, HFPA and most shockingly the SAG all nominated Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece for their top honor, it’s safe to say Inglourious Basterds is solidly in the Best Picture race. The Hurt Locker, too, is sweeping nearly every critics group award, making the film a lock for a Best Picture nomination and putting Kathryn Bigelow out in front in Best Director race. Then there’s Up in the Air, a film that seems destined to win Best Picture but curiously missed out on an Ensemble nomination from the SAG. All its primaries grabbed SAG nominations, but its weak supporting cast (compared to the nominated...
Read MoreSAG Award nominees – UP IN THE AIR snubbed
Don’t ask me how it happened, but Up in the Air missed out on a Best Ensemble nomination when the Screen Actors Guild announced the SAG Award nominees this morning. At this point, I’d like to point out that only Braveheart has ever gone on to win Best Picture at the Oscars without a SAG Ensemble nomination–and that was the SAG Awards’ inaugural year. One things is for sure: Things are certainly looking up for The Hurt Locker. From AwardsDaily: Best Ensemble An Education The Hurt Locker Inglourious Basterds Nine Precious Best Actress Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side Helen Mirren, The Last Station Carey Mulligan, An Education Gabby Sidibe, Precious Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia Best Actor Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart George Clooney, Up in the Air Colin Firth, A Single Man Morgan Freeman, Invictus Jeremy Renner, The Hurt...
Read MoreBryan Singer returns to the X-Men franchise with FIRST CLASS
After dropping hint after hint that he would indeed return to the X-Men franchise, Bryan Singer has confirmed that he is signed on to direct X-Men: First Class. The director told IGN.com that he will take on the X-Men origin story while attending the Avatar premiere. From IGN.com: After mentioning his next film, Jack the Giant Killer, Singer then let loose the big news, saying, “I just yesterday signed a deal to do an X-Men: First Class origins picture, which is kind of cool. I’m very excited.” Hopefully Singer, who directed both X-Men and X2: X-Men United, will be able to revive this dying...
Read MoreSony nabs the rights to THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Sony picked up the English-language rights to the late Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, setting up what could very well be a franchise based on the internationally best-selling Millenium trilogy novels. The Wrap reported on the option, also saying that screenwriter Steven Zaillian will take a stab at the screenplay. It may be a while before we see the English-language film, but don’t worry Millenium trilogy fans, Music Box is releasing the Swedish version in the US on March 19, 2010. (I’m sure that will be a limited release.) The Swedish film, produced in Larsson’s homeland by Yellow Bird, was seen by millions of people in Europe under the title Män som hatar kvinnor (translates to Men Who Hate Women). Yellow Bird producers Ole Sondberg and Soren Staermose will oversee the English-language adaptation with uber-producer Scott...
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