Jacob Hall
Every 'The Hangover 3' trailer and TV spot so far has sold chaos and only chaos, so it's refreshing that the new (and possibly final) trailer for the trilogy capper lets us know what the movie is actually about. Unlike 'The Hangover Part II,' this is no carbon copy remake of the first film -- it couldn't look more different than what we've seen before.
Annette Funicello, best known as one of the original "Mouseketeers" on Walt Disney's 'Mickey Mouse Club' has passed away at the age of 70.
For the second week in a row, 'Oz the Great and Powerful' lived up to its title and dominated the box office. One of the newcomers managed to fare surprisingly well in the face of Sam Raimi's blockbuster...but another simply got crushed.
Make no mistake: this was a slow and bad weekend at the box office, an example of the January doldrums at their absolute worst. However, this was probably the only environment where a film titled 'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters' could have flourished, so at least someone is happy.
Was there ever any doubt that 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' was going to dominate this weekend? Heck, it's probably going to dominate next weekend, too. If audiences embrace it like they did 'Lord of the Rings,' it may even dominate the week after that. The big question now is whether or not Peter Jackson's return to Middle Earth will make a bunch of money, but exactly how many bunches.
Anyone who follows the box office will look upon this weekend's results and feel strong pangs of deja vu. Isn't this the same thing as las week?! Pretty much, yeah. The vast majority of the top ten stayed in the same position as last weekend thanks to an incredibly weak crop of new releases, making these some of the strangest box office numbers seen in 2012.
Many Americans found themselves with four days off last week, ostensibly so they could go see their family and eat turkey and celebrate Thanksgiving from the comfort of their homes. Instead, they went to the movies. In fact, this was the biggest Thanksgiving box office of all time. Congratulations, America!
As expected, the fifth and final film of the 'Twilight' series opened huge. In fact, 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2' had the second biggest opening of the franchise and when you consider how huge these things tend to open, that's a big accomplishment. However, this was not just a victorious weekend for Twi-hards -- just about every film in the top ten had something to cheer about.
It was a given: 'Skyfall' was going to win the weekend no matter what. What wasn't a given was 'Skyfall' shattering the opening weekend record for its franchise and positioning itself to become the most successful film in history of the James Bond films. 007 is back and after 50 years, he's showing no signs of slowing down.
Whoever first pitched 'Wreck-It Ralph' certainly got a nice big bonus check from Disney today. A cute hook that appeals to adults and kids + positive reviews = one of the biggest openings in weeks. And hey! 'Flight' didn't do too shabby either! Wait...are this good box office numbers? Does this mean the holiday movie season has officially arrived? Yes. Yes it has.
There is really only one way to describe the opening weekend for 'Cloud Atlas' and 'Silent Hill: Revelation' and that word is "Ouch." But they weren't alone: this was a bad week for just about every movie not called 'Argo.'
'Taken 2' may have held onto the top spot at the box office, but that doesn't mean there weren't other winners this weekend. Actually, most of the new releases opened well and the overall top ten is significantly stronger than it was last week. With a few exceptions, it was a good showing for all involved.