It’s a sad week in the world of film criticism, the industry as a whole, and beyond because we’ve lost the most iconic, influential, dedicated, and inspiring critic, Roger Ebert. Having lost a man who’s touched so many through his love of film, it’s tough to look to the future, but there’s comfort in knowing his presence will still be felt in many respects, whether it’s the continuation of Ebertfest, never-ending campaign to bring back “At the Movies,” or perhaps a personal connection to Ebert or his accomplishments. That being said, we look to the future while holding firm to the past in your latest Movie News Cheat Sheet. Rest  [ Read More ]

The box office results for the weekend of April 5th – 7th has the dead rising up. Evil Dead easily possessed the top while the 3D (con)version of the ’90s classic Jurassic Park gathered a decent amount of visitors. Here are the studio estimates: 1. Evil Dead ($26 million) 2. G.I. Joe: Retaliation ($21.1 million) 3. The Croods ($21.1 million) 4. Jurassic Park 3D ($18.2 million) 5. Olympus Has Fallen ($10 million) 6. Tyler Perry’s Temptation ($10 million) 7. Oz the Great and Powerful ($8.1 million) 8. The Host ($5.2 million) 9. The Call ($3.4 million) 10. Admission ($2 million) Analysis So the only shocking thing about Evil Dead reigning  [ Read More ]

“Evil Dead” is rocking a strong marketing campaign and devout franchise following, but “Jurassic Park” has amassed quite the fan base since its 1993 release, too, and could put up quite the fight for that top spot. Should “Evil Dead” pull a “Nightmare on Elm Street,” it’ll wind up with a solid $32 million to start. And, as for “Jurassic Park,” it likely won’t top “The Lion King 3D’s” $30 million opening, but could still secure $25 million of its own. With no other new wide releases, the rest of the top ten will go to the box office veterans. “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” is poised to take a tough hit,  [ Read More ]

With WonderCon just having wrapped up, this has been a big week for new promos for some of the more highly anticipated releases of the coming months. In addition to your weekly trailers section, we’ve also got a poster roundup and WonderCon overview running through all the latest out of Anaheim. There’s also two big items in the realm of motion capture news. Judy Greer recently boarded “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” as Caesar’s love interest, Cornelia, while Alan Ritchson got his co-cast for Jonathan Liebesman’s “Ninja Turtles.” Meanwhile, Roland Emmerich’s been busy talking “White House Down” and divulging “Independence Day” sequel plot secrets while Anne Hathaway, Chloe  [ Read More ]

The box office results for the 2013 Easter weekend has a delayed sequel finally showing up and taking over. G.I. Joe: Retaliation dropped in and kind of hit its target. Meanwhile, The Croods held strong and Tyler Perry’s latest does what all Tyler Perry’s movies do (negative reviews, $20 million opening weekend). Here are the studio estimates: 1. G.I. Joe: Retaliation ($41.2 million) 2. The Croods ($26.5 million) 3. Tyler Perry’s Temptation ($22.3 million) 4. Olympus Has Fallen ($14 million) 5. Oz the Great and Powerful ($11.6 million) 6. The Host ($11 million) 7. The Call ($4.8 million) 8. Admission ($3.2 million) 9. Spring Breakers ($2.7 million) 10. The Incredible  [ Read More ]

Will “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” be worth the wait? Based on the film’s Rotten Tomatoes score probably not for viewers, but Paramount should be happy because it still could take in a nice chunk of cash. The first film opened with a strong $54.7 million back in 2009, but with so much time between films and that surprise release delay, the sequel will have lost some steam. We could see a shift similar to “The Expendables,” which had a $6 million dollar gap between opening weekend numbers for the first and second installments. Should “G.I. Joe” experience something comparable, “Retaliation” will begin its run with about $40 million, a nice amount,  [ Read More ]

As nice as it would be for every film to enjoy a seamless production process and then go on to show off impressive material and make a killing at the box office, problems crop up, and for “Jane Got a Gun,” they’re cropping up early. But, in an attempt at looking on the bright side, perhaps the Lynn Ramsay drama will mean the film paid its dues and it’ll be smooth sailing for star/producer Natalie Portman from here on out. In better news, we’ve got our very first peek at “Riddick” and another trailer for “Star Trek Into Dark,” and both are looking very promising. Director Gareth Evans also offered  [ Read More ]

The box office results for the weekend of March 22nd – 24th has a plethora of newbies pushing out the holdovers. Big budget flicks The Croods and Olympus Has Fallen dethroned Oz the Great and Powerful, while Spring Breakers and Admission had modest debuts. Here are the studio estimates: 1. The Croods ($44.7 million) 2. Olympus Has Fallen ($30.5 million) 3. Oz the Great and Powerful ($22 million) 4. The Call ($8.7 million) 5. Admission ($6.4 million) 6. Spring Breakers ($5 million) 7. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone ($4.2 million) 8. Jack the Giant Slayer ($2.9 million) 9. Identity Thief ($2.5 million) 10. Snitch ($1.9 million) Analysis The Croods entered the  [ Read More ]

We’ve got three new wide releases hitting theaters this weekend, but with “Oz the Great and Powerful” still holding strong, it could mean mediocre profits for all. “The Croods” is getting the widest release of the bunch and considering “Escape From Planet Earth” has fallen way down the charts, it could snatch up the large majority of younger moviegoers. March has been a big month for animated movies in the past, including openings north of $40 million for “Dr. Suess’ The Lorax,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” and, “Monsters Vs. Aliens,” but “The Croods” could find itself just below that mark with about $38 million due to the vast competition.  [ Read More ]

After finally emerging from the SXSW bubble, it’s time to recognize that the film industry is making moves beyond Austin. After a recap of Shockya.com’s run at SXSW 2013, we dive into loads of casting news, featuring big recruits for the book-to-film adaptation “Divergent” and Bryan Singer’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment also dropped a big bomb this week; they’ve hired “Safety Not Guaranteed” director Colin Trevorrow to direct “Jurassic Park 4.” Then, of course, we’ve got the goods on all this “Veronica Mars”/Kickstarter action and speculate on how the arrangement might open the doors to a new format of film financing. You’ve got all  [ Read More ]

The box office results for March 15th – 17th has Oz the Great and Powerful still ruling while The Call reaches more people than expected. Here are the studio estimate: 1. Oz the Great and Powerful ($42.2 million) 2. The Call ($17.1 million) 3. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone ($10.3 million) 4. Jack the Giant Slayer ($6.2 million) 5. Identity Thief ($4.5 million) 6. Snitch ($3.5 million) 7. 21 and Over ($2.6 million) 8. Silver Linings Playbook ($2.5 million) 9. Safe Haven ($2.4 million) 10. Escape from Planet Earth ($2.3 million) Analysis In weekend #2, Oz the Great and Powerful held up fairly well, dropping just 47% from its opening weekend.  [ Read More ]

As though a near $80 million opening weekend haul wasn’t enough, “Oz the Great and Powerful” could go on to take another $40 million to the bank in weekend two due to the lack of competition. “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” did get some added hype thanks to its SXSW debut, but with sour reviews and little appeal, it might only manage to secure $20 million its first weekend out, putting it in the second position. With a lackluster marketing campaign, “The Call” won’t be much of a moneymaker, but with such a huge gap between this weekend’s biggest earners and the rest of the pack, a mere $7 million start  [ Read More ]

The box office results for the weekend of March 8th – 10th sees Walt Disney yielding magic once again. Oz the Great and Powerful lived up to its name while Dead Man Down also lived up to its name…just not in the way it wanted. Here are the studio estimates: 1. Oz the Great and Powerful ($80.2 million) 2. Jack the Giant Slayer ($10 million) 3. Identity Thief ($6.3 million) 4. Dead Man Down ($5.3 million) 5. 21 and Over ($5 million) 6. Safe Haven ($3.8 million) 7. Silver Linings Playbook ($3.7 million) 8. Escape from Planet Earth ($3.2 million) 9. The Last Exorcism Part II ($3.1 million) 10. A  [ Read More ]

“Jack the Giant Slayer” opened at #1, but failed to justify its monumental budget; will “Oz The Great and Powerful” meet the same fate? Absolutely not. This is the same weekend back in 2010 that “Alice in Wonderland” opened with an incredible $116 million, but it’s also the same weekend “John Carter” took just $30 million in 2012. While “Oz” doesn’t have a chance at matching “Alice,” it could find middle ground between the two, which would give it a rock solid $80 million to start. Unfortunately for our second newcomer, “Dead Man Down,” it’s only going to take the smallest fraction of that amount, perhaps just $7 million. Then  [ Read More ]

The box office results for the weekend of March 1st – 3rd sees Jack the Giant Slayer crowned the winner. Meanwhile, 21 and Over tries to get into the mix and The Last Exorcism Part 2 seemingly lost its hold on the niche audience. Here are the studio estimates: 1. Jack the Giant Slayer ($28 million) 2. Identity Thief ($9.7 million) 3. 21 and Over ($9 million) 4. The Last Exorcism Part II ($8 million) 5. Snitch ($7.7 million) 6. Escape from Planet Earth ($6.7 million) 7. Safe Haven ($6.3 million) 8. Silver Linings Playbook ($5.9 million) 9. A Good Day to Die Hard ($4.5 million) 10. Dark Skies ($3.5  [ Read More ]