TNU Box Office Update

You knew at some point someone would beat Star Wars at the box office. But if neither Jennifer Lawrence or Leonardo Dicaprio could do it, who would?

Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, and Olivia Munn, that’s who!

Everything is better with a litte Munn

All right, so “Ride Along 2” was unable to top its predecessor but with an estimated $34 million, it was more than enough to top the weekend box office, and knock Star Wars from the top of the chart. And it gives Kevin Hart a much needed career boost after a less than stellar 2015.

Back in 2014, “Ride Along” debuted with a surprising $41.5 million over the three-day weekend and $48.6 million for what was a four-day, Martin Luther King weekend record. The original finished its domestic run with over $134 million. The sequel will need a little help over the coming weeks if it hopes to top $100 million domestically as word of mouth might not be as strong for this one considering its “B+” CinemaScore compared to the first film’s “A” score.

Landing in second place was “The Revenant,” which lead the 2015 Oscar nominations with twelve and earned an estimated $29.5 million this weekend. That’s only a 25.9% drop, for the movie’s second week of wide release. Meanwhile, Fox is predicting $35 million for the four-day holiday weekend, enough to become one of the all-time top ten Martin Luther King weekends. Add to that, the film brought in another $31.5 million internationally, bringing its worldwide earnings to over $151 million.

Falling from the top spot for the first time since its December 18 release, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” brought in an estimated $25.1 million for the three-day weekend and is looking at $31 million for the four-day weekend. The film’s domestic earnings have now grown to $856.9 million. Meanwhile, The Force Awakens has become the fifth highest grossing release internationally and only the fifth film to bring in over $1 billion from overseas territories.

Landing in fourth position is another one of the weekend’s new wide releases, Michael Bay’s “13 Hours,” which brought in an estimated $16 million for the three-day weekend with Paramount estimating $19 million for the four-days.

Looks like all the free publicity didn’t help this movie out. But if you ask me, the subject matter wasn’t the probem ehre. This had more to do with Michael Bay being attached than anything else. Its not as if he did wonders for Pearl Harbor.

And by the way, “13 Hours” is Michael Bay’s first film to gross less than $20 million in its first three days since “The Island” back in 2005.

And last but not least, Lionsgate’s “Norm of the North” managed to perform a little better than expected, which must be welcomed news for the studio, which is on the hook only for the cost of distribution rights and it’s limited marketing spend. The film ended up grossing an estimated $6.6 million over the three-day and is estimated to finish around $8.8 million for the four-day weekend.

I’m not fat, I’m husky!

TNU Box Office Update

I honestly thought this might be the weekend in which Star Wars slowed down a bit. And to a degree it did slow down a little.

But in its fourth weekend of release, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is still printing money left and right for the house of mouse,  and breaking records in China.

This is not what it looks like!

But not to be outdone, “The Revenant” exploded into theatres this weekend, and audiences showed up in droves to see Leonardo DiCaprio brave the elements. The drama expanded into 3,375 theaters and brought in an impressive $38 million, taking second only to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($41.6 million).

Last night, the film won a couple of key Golden Globe awards.By the time next weekend hits, “The Revenant” will likely have several Oscar nominations. Maybe, just maybe mind you, this is finally Leo’s year to win the Oscar. An Award that frankly, he should have won for “The Aviator” more than a decade ago.

Anywho, “The Revenant” also earned a decent “B+” CinemaScore, which should mean good word-of-mouth, so the film should have a healthy box office run at least during award season.

The chase for Oscar.

. Finishing in fourth place was the weekend’s only other new wide release, “The Forest,” which had a decent opening, bringing in an estimated $13 million. But with “C” CinemaScore, and mostly negative reviews, don’t expect this movie to stick around for long.

With “The Revenant” exceeding expectation, Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” took a nosedive, dropping 59.6%. To make matters worse, the huge drop comes as the film expanded into 464 additional theaters. The drop shouldn’t be surprising though, as “The Hateful Eight” and “The Revenant” battled for the same audience.

With an estimated $6.3 million weekend “The Hateful Eight” is up to $41.4 million domestically and looking to finish its run with around $50 million or so. Of course, a few Oscar nod might help turn things around…

I can’t believe he missed that field goal.

TNU Box Office Update

This first weekend of 2016 was the second largest January weekend of all-time at the box office, because basically, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” cannot be stopped.

WHY DOES GEORGE LUCAS HATE US SO MUCH?!?

Disney is estimating an $88.3 million weekend for Star Wars, which brings the film up to $740.2 million after only 17 days in theaters. Episode VII is the fastest film to cross $700 million domestically, doing so in 16 days, while “Avatar” took 72 days.

And if that wasn’t enough, it surpassed both “Jurassic World” ($652.3 million) and “Titanic” ($658.7 million) to become the second-highest grossing domestic movie ever.

The film has broken dozens box office records and is currently the sixth highest grossing release worldwide with an estimated $1.51 billion. The movie should be in fourth place by Monday night. The question now is: how long before The Force Awakens, topples James Cameron’s “Avatar” as the highest grossing movie of all time?

Dale a tu cuerpo alegria Macarena
Que tu cuerpo es pa’ darle alegria y cosa buena
Dale a tu cuerpo alegria, Macarena
Hey Macarena

Coming up second for the second weekend in a row was the Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg comedy “Daddy’s Home.” The film dropped only 25% for an estimated $29 million weekend. The film has earned an outstanding $93.6 million in just ten days on a reported $50 million budget. Impressive numbers for a movie many people (including me) didn’t give much of a chance.

In third place bring us Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight,” which brought in an estimated $16.2 million in its expansion from 100 theaters over Christmas weekend into 2,474 theaters this weekend.

To be fair, “The Hateful Eight” faced a ton of competition this weekend. Everything from the college football playoffs, to New Year’s celebrations, to people travelling back hom from the holidays. But the real test for “The Hateful Eight” will come next week when another harsh, cold-wilderness tale, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s “The Revenant” expands into over 3,000 theaters next weekend.

I said… get away from the yellow snow.

My Top 10 Movies of 2015

As the 2015 comes to a close, now is the time when everyone and their mother looks back over the previous 365 days and makes their lists of the best movies to come out during the year.

And since I’m the resident Nerd around these here parts, I’ve also come up with my own top 10 list.

 

Now, just about this time last year I thought 2015 would be the biggest year ever in movies, mostly because of the amount of movies I was exited to see. Some of those movies delivered on the hype, others not so much. But what I wasn’t expecting was that 2015 would turn out to be the year of the spy. There were so many good spy flick this year.

Some of my top 10 choices may surprise you, and what’s not on the list may surprise you too. For instance: there are no Marvel movies on my list. Not because I didn’t enjoy “Ant-Man” or the Avengers sequel, but because there were so many other movies I liked this year.

And now it’s time for my top 10 movies of 2015. But as always, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

1. I ranked the movies after seeing them at least twice. Meaning my earlier reviews may not always apply.

2. There are some movies I haven’t seen, so don’t be shocked if “The Hateful Eight,” “The Revenant” and other big movies are missing.

 

I think that’s about it. I’ve wasted enough time, so  now, without further ado, here are my top 10 movies of 2015:

10. Ex Machina

With “Ex Machina,” Alex Garland delivered one of the best directorial debuts in recent memory. This is a movie about morality, and in a weird way, love. Tis movie is scary, thought-provoking, and so much more.

“Ex Machina” is one of the most deeply engrossing films of the year, made all the more impressive by the fact that it features only four characters and one big set.

The stellar cast of Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and Alicia Vikander, all deliver award worthy performances. And I’m very disappointed they haven’t been nominated for many  of the big awards.

If for some reason you missed “Ex Machina in theatres, do yourself a favor and track it down. It’s definitely worth it.

———————————————————-

9. Spy

The role of Susan Cooper, a long-standing CIA analyst who has never gotten a chance to show her stuff, is one Melissa McCarthy seems born to play. And if filmmakers really wanted, that probably would have been enough to sell this movie.

Instead, “Spy” chose to turn things up a notch with scene stealing performances from Jude Law, Jason Statham and villain Rose Byrne.

Even if you’re not a McCarthy fan, believe me, Jason Statham alone is worth the price of admission.

——————————————————-

8. Furious 7

“Furious 7” is an absolutely ridiculous movie. But its also one of the most fun movies of the year.

Every member of the ensemble is used perfectly, from Vin Diesel’s team leader Dom, to Dwayne Johnson’s Hobbs. And Jason Statham as the villainous Deckard Shaw is perfectly matched to the material. Even when he keeps showing up without explanation.

But the reason it makes my list is because of the way the filmmakers handles Paul Walker tragic passing. His death loomed large over the entire movie, and adds an extra layer of poignancy to every scene he’s in.

And I will admit there were a couple of times during the movie  I was about to sob like a little kid.

——————————————————-

7. Kingsman: The Secret Service

Kingsman is one of the most fun over-the-top action movies I’ve ever seen. Matthew Vaughn took another Mark Millar story and brought out the heart and insanity from the comic pages for young and old to enjoy. Well, maybe not the really young.

This movie is filled with great action, solid humor, the Colin Firth church scene and Samuel L Jackson being as one of the best villains of 2015.

What’s not to love about “Kingsman: The Secret Service”?

——————————————————-

6. The Martian

Director Ridley Scott took us into space for a rousing adventure starring Matt Damon (in one of his best performances ever) as a botanist turned astronaut stuck on Mars.

“The Martian” is a suspenseful and simultaneously generously funny film. This movie was an exhilarating and immersive cinematic experience that celebrates intelligence, resourcefulness, expertise, and creative problem solving, not just by Matt Damon, but by all who worked hard to try to bring him home.

“The Martian” is science fiction that plays like science fact. “In your face, Neil Armstrong,” indeed.

——————————————————-

5. Jurassic World

Okay, so no movie is without flaws, and “Jurassic World” is no exception. I mean, really, was I the only one watching this movie hoping those two damn kids would get eaten?

Anywho, despite a couple of missteps, I really enjoyed this film, and thought it was an excellent starting point for old and new fans alike. The dinosaurs looked amazing, the film is visually stunning, and most important of all: “Jurassic World” was just plain fun!

——————————————————-

4. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

Simply put: Without Rebecca Ferguson, “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” would have been just another entry in the Mission Impossible franchise.

However, with Rebecca Ferguson, Rogue Nation became the best entry in the 19-year-old  franchise.

And let’s face it, it’s not every day when a co-star steals the spotlight away from everyone’s favorite couch jumping action star, Tom Cruise.

——————————————————-

3. Spectre

Daniel Craig returned for a fourth appearance as James Bond. But the grittier, angrier James Bond we’d seen before was all but replaced.

This film had 007 emotionally involved in a way that we hadn’t seen during the Daniel Craig era. “Spectre” even had an ending unlike any other Bond film to date.

But you know what? I loved the fact thus film is both a love letter to classic elements of the Bond series, and a timely, poignant plot parable highlighting the dangers of the increasingly symbiotic global surveillance state.

My only complaint would be the theme song by Sam Smith. But to be fair, whoever went after Adele was going to be a let down probably.

——————————————————-

2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The latest Star Wars movie couldn’t possibly live up to expectations, right? Yes, yes it does.

The launch of a new Star Wars trilogy, is a brilliant piece of filmmaking. Tt echoes the original three films, but it also breathes new life into the mythos of this far away galaxy.

Episode VII introduces compelling new characters, in particular scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley, who steals the movie) and AWOL stormtrooper Finn (John Bodega), who join old favorites Han, Leia, and Chewie on a grand new adventure to destroy a terrifying new mew threat.

The action is engaging, the pacing is quick, the dialogue witty, the emotions are high, and the performers are again having fun and it shows. And for Star Wars fans, that’s cause for celebration. One last thing: Daniel Craig is the best stormtrooper ever.

——————————————————-

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

It’s hard for any movie to stand out amid comic-book superheroes, rampaging dinosaurs and the return of the cash cow known Star Wars. But director George Miller pulled off one of the greatest action films in history by dusting off his greatest creation… Max Rockatansky.

The funny thing is, Max really isn’t the real star of his own movie, instead, it’s Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa who rules this epic masterpiece.

A couple of thoughts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I wasn’t even a glimmer in my Mother’s eye when the original Star Wars came out in 1977. I was barely two when Empire shocked fans all over the world. And, I was only five when Return of the Jedi brought the saga to an end in 1983.

My mom tells me she took me to see Jedi in theatres, but I only have vague memories of going. Although I do remember going to McDonald’s afterwards, which is odd since I hated McDonald’s as a kid. But that’s another story for another time.

Anyways, what I’m trying to get to is that my only vivid memories of seeing any Star Wars movie in theatres come from the butchered re-releases of the late 1990’s, and of course… the crap-tacular prequels.

It took a few decades, (and a couple of extra weeks thanks to the flu), but now I’m happy to say that I finally enjoyed a Star Wars movie in the theatre. Yes, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was everything I hoped for, and more.

This movie was touching, funny, filled with action,and had a perfect mix of the classic and the new stuff.  The Force Awakens is an absolutely wonderful film, with an exceptional cast. And it blew away all my expectations. And yay, no Jar Jar.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” final score: 10

TNU Box Office Update

For a second straight weekend, the latest Star Wars installment topped the box office with an estimated $153.5 million. That’s the largest second weekend of all-time.

Thanks to that, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has now grossed more than $544 million domestically and another $546 million internationally, totaling over $1 billion worldwide in just twelve days.

The latest Star Wars film is now the second highest grossing domestic release of 2015 with $544.5 million and the 15th highest grossing worldwide release of all-time. Episode VII is a blockbuster os epic proportions, and the only worried person in the world, is the man who owns the top two grossing films of all time…. James Cameron.

As for the Christmas weekend’s new wide releases, the big surprise was Paramount’s “Daddy’s Home.” Reuniting Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, the PG-13 rated comedy scored an estimated $38.8 million and a second place finish.

This was well above any expectations and a nice improvement over the $35.5 million Ferrell and Wahlberg’s “The Other Guys” opened with back in 2010. But if I’m honest, I’d rather see a sequel to “The Other Guys”. But that’s just me.

In third place was “Joy,” the latest film from David O. Russell and his troupe of actors led by the ever so lovely Jennifer Lawrence, alongside Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro. The film matched expectations with an estimated $17.5 million, but with mixed reviews it doesn’t seem like this will match the box office success of David O.Russell’s other recent films. But a few Oscar nods might help that.

Also finishing as expected, the Will Smith drama “Concussion” brought in $11 million for the weekend along with an “A” CinemaScore. Will Smith scored a Golden Globe nomination for his performance, but for this movie to make an impact at the box office, its gonna need Oscar nominations.

Proof this girl looks good in anything.

TNU Box Office Update

Who the heck do you think won?

I Need a New Prescription

You know, considering we put a man on the moon almost fifty years ago, you would think by now somebody would have created a cure for the damn flu.

I’m now on day 10 of the worst flu I’ve had in a few years. It was severe enough that last week (for the first time ever) I missed a comic book convention. Not that I didn’t try to go, but when the wifey gets that evil look on her face, I know better.

And since I had a fever of 101. I suppose she was right, but I still can’t believe I missed a comic show. And for the record, cowbell did not work.

This week brought the coughing/hacking. Of course when I’m up and about I seem to be better, but when I try to lie down to seep, all hell break loose. The worst of the coughing attacks came a couple of days ago, and while the coughing today is a little better, the fits are still unpredictable.

And so, the damn Flu of 2015 has now cost me something else: my ticket to tomorrow’s 1:15 showing of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” I suppose I could go if I really wanted to, but I’ve seen “Outbreak” enough times to know how coughing attacks in a movie theatre go.

Guess I’ll have to wait until next week to see the movie. So screw you flu, you’ve cost me plenty!

Trailer Park: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Yeah, I’m pretty much speechless.

I Can’t wait!

Trailer Park: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Yeah, I got nothing bad to say.