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.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘San Andreas’ Shakes Everything Up
In news that should surprise absolutely no one, the massive disaster movie starring Dwayne Johnson stomped all over the box office this weekend, effortlessly topping the top 10. San Andreas may not have matched flashier, more high concept “CGI buildings fall down” adventures like The Day After Tomorrow and 2012, but it has proven that audiences will still flock to mass destruction like no one’s bu
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.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Pitch Perfect 2’ Takes Charge and ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Gives Chase
In one weekend, Pitch Perfect 2 has handily outgrossed the entire run of its predecessor, proving that you should never underestimate a sleeper hit that steadily grows an army of dedicated followers through the power of Blu-ray and DVD. Right below it, Mad Max: Fury Road opened to respectable numbers that will look disastrous to anyone who doesn’t pay attention to the details. Let’s dive in.
The Rapping Granny From ‘The Wedding Singer’ Dead at 101
Ellen Albertini Dow, the character actress best known for her scene-stealing performance in the 1998 Adam Sandler comedy The Wedding Singer, passed away yesterday. She was 101 years old.
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.
SNL Presents Scarlett Johansson in ‘Black Widow: Age of Me’
It’s not coincidence that Scarlett Johansson guest hosted SNL on the same weekend that Avengers: Age of Ultron opened in theaters, so of course the show had to do a Marvel sketch of some kind. And unlike the previous Avengers sketches cooked up for Chris Hemsworth and Jeremy Renner, this one is actually a pretty effective dig at the Marvel movie machine. More importantly, it’s very funny.
SNL Gives You an Special Look at Yesterday’s Big Boxing Match
When the SNL writers decided to craft a sketch mocking the boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, they had no idea that the “fight of the century” would turn out to be a huge bust that would leave sports fans enraged. This adds a level of meta-humor to an already funny sketch. In many ways, SNL’s very silly take on this fight is significantly more interesting than the real thing.
‘Jurassic World’ Trailer: The Park is Open!
Something has survived ... and it’s been packaged, licensed and sold to an audience of millions! No, we’re not talking about the Jurassic Park franchise or the new Jurassic World trailer, but rather the dinosaurs on display in the film, who are the star attractions in a fully functioning prehistoric theme park where nothing ever goes wrong! Until it does. And when things go wrong at dinosaur theme parks, things go really wrong.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Furious 7’ Outpaces ‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2’
For the third week in a row, Furious 7 took the top spot at the box office and made it look easy. Not even a trio of newcomers could slow down the latest entry in the crowd-pleasing action series, which has become the fastest film to reach $1 billion worldwide. On the domestic box office, it’s equally impressive. It’s a juggernaut. A cultural event. At the end of the day, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 may make some money, but it’s making that money in the shadow of a genuine phenomenon.