The Twilight Saga: New Moon took a major bite out of the weekend box office, earning $140.7 million domestically. The opening is the third biggest ever in movie history and places New Moon just behind Spiderman 3 ($151.1 million) and The Dark Knight ($158.4 million). The much anticipated sequel did, however, set a new record for opening-day business.
New Moon also made a killing overseas to the tune of $118.1 million, where it played in 25 territories. Back in the States, repeat business has already been reported and is expected to continue through the upcoming Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend.
Eclipse, the third installment in the series, is slated for a June 2010 release.
Ever watch Twilight and wonder what happens when Bella reaches that time of the month around her bloodsucking boyfriend Edward? The sick bastards at FunnyOrDie.com have. Check it out:
Warner Bros. supernatural-western Jonah Hex is currently in post production.
Originally introduced in 1977 by DC Comics, Jonah Hex is a former Confederacy officer turned outlaw bounty hunter. The film, directed by Jimmy Hayward, finds Hex hired by the U.S. military to stop a diabolical madman and his army of evil in exchange for his freedom.
Tentatively scheduled for a June 2010 release, Hex stars Josh Brolin (Grindhouse) as the facially disfigured antihero, John Malkovich (Mutant Chronicles, Beowulf) as his nemesis Quenten Tumbull, and Megan Fox (Jennifer’s Body, Transformers) as bordello babe Leila.
Fox described her character during a press conference at this year’s Comic Con as:
The love interest I guess you could call it, but not very conventional. Leila is this prostitute that Jonah Hex has been visiting for years. They have a special relationship. He doesn’t want to allow her to get to close to him because everyone that he loves dies. She doesn’t really understand that concept, so she’s part of this push and pull sort of situation.
I don’t know about you, but I just emptied my six shooter. Enjoy the following gallery:
Showtime has got some killer extras for “Dexter” fans on their website. But, hey, you’re already here so why don’t you check out the following BTS interviews with James Remar, David Zayas, and Lauren Velez. And, don’t forget to catch “Dexter” on Sundays at 9 p.m.
Update: To see an interview about the season finale with Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow, click here.
New Moon, the second chapter in the Twilight Saga, broke opening-day box office records on Friday with a tally of $72.7 million, trumping previous single-day record-holder The Dark Knight’s $67.2 million. The first day cume also includes the record-breaking $26.3 million earned from midnight showings. Pre-release projections had estimated an $85 million weekend take. New Moon is now expected to soar well past that number.
The original Twilight film reaped $36 million on its opening day and $69.6 million over its first weekend. It was released a year ago this weekend.
Warner Bros. The Dark Knight holds the biggest opening weekend record in cinematic history at $158.4 million.
International superstar Jean Claude Van Damme (Time Cop, Cyborg), fresh off his critically acclaimed turn in JCVD, is set to kick the straight-to-DVD market on its ass with the Jan. 5 release of Universal Soldier: Regeneration. The Muscles from Brussels reprises his role of reanimated killing machine Pvt. Luc DeVeraux for director John Hyams’ ambitious $15 million installment to the unstoppable franchise originally launched by disaster-master Roland Emmerich (2012, Independence Day) in 1992.
"Call Rob Schneider. It's time to make Knock Off 2"
The sci-fi, rock’em-sock’em pic also sees the return of action star Dolph Lundgren (The Punisher, Masters of the Universe) as Van Damme’s bio-mechanical nemesis Sgt. Andrew Scott. Lundgren, who rose to fame as Ivan “I will Break You” Drago in 1985’s Rocky IV, is on the comeback fast-track with roles in Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Sylvester Stallone’s upcoming geriatric shoot’em up The Expendables.
"Always stretch before kicking heads."
Synopsis for Universal Soldier: Regeneration reads as follows:
When a team of former Soviet radicals seizes Chernobyl and threatens to unleash a lethal cloud of radioactive gas one hundred times deadlier than Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined, the US military brings in a bio-mechanically enhanced super soldier, Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), to foil the plot. As Deveraux fights his way into the plant, he faces off with his now revived former nemesis, Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren), and a newly ‘updated’ Next Generation Unisol (former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski), in a battle of battles, and must save the day.
But, if you want to hear it from Drago Dolph himself, check out his interview with gordonandthewhale.com:
James Cameron’s (Terminator, Aliens) highly anticipated smurfs-at-war epic Avatar is set to arrive in theaters and IMAX screens on Dec. 18. The sci-fi actioner boasts groundbreaking 3-D technology and an estimated $230 million budget.
"See that extra over there? I banged her. Twice."
Sam Worthington (Clash of the Titans, Terminator: Salvation) stars in the film as Jake Sullly, a crippled ex-Marine chosen to participate in the government’s Avatar program on the planet of Pandora. As humans aggressively mine the planet for resources, a native species known as the Na’vi plot a revolt to save their blue asses from extinction. Sully, who regains use of his legs while plugged into the Avatar system, soon finds himself forced to choose between his own kind and the love of a young Na’vi female and her family (think Dances with Wolves).
Of course, this being a Cameron film, many of you are wondering if you need to pack meals, medicine, and a toothbrush before heading off to the multiplex. Avatar runs 150 minutes (2 1/2 hours). Cameron, whose Titanic ran a whooping 194 minutes, kept the film’s length down to ensure that it would play on all IMAX screens, including those that have not yet been converted to digital projection and, therefore, can only support a 170 minute run time.
"But, if Jack sets off the bomb, they'll all die. What do you think, Anna Lucia?"
Lionsgate has released new images from its upcoming sci-fi/bloodsucker hybrid Daybreakers. The film is directed by Peter and Michael Spierig and stars Ethan Hawke as a scientist researching a plague that has turned the world’s population into vampires. Click here to see a trailer.
Check out the new stills (I left out the boring ones).
And, back to the island we will go on Feb. 2, 2010 when “Lost” returns for its sixth and final season to ABC. The Emmy award-winning series will premiere with a two-hour episode airing at 9 p.m. A one-hour refresher-clip show will precede the broadcast. ABC has also moved “Lost” from its previous Wednesday night slot to Tuesdays.
As you can see by the above TV promo, “Lost” producers aren’t revealing much about the upcoming season. According to E! Online’s Kristen, they have convinced ABC to not show any footage from the new season. She says:
I’m hearing from Lost sources that every single shot of the first few episodes are so revealing that the producers have convinced ABC to NOT SHOW A SINGLE FRAME before the new season airs. No promo scenes, no photos, no nada! So you will be completely in the dark, but it is for good reason: The twists they’re planning are so good, you will WANT to be surprised.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t look for clues in the newly released poster for season six.
From left-to-right, those in the picture are: Daniel Faraday, Boone Carlyle, Miles Straume, Michael Dawson, Ana Lucia, Charlotte Lewis, Frank Lapidus, Shannon Rutherford, Desmond Hume, Mr. Eko, Kate Austin, Jack Shepard, James “Sawyer” Ford, John Locke, Benjamin Linus, Sayid Jarrah, Libby, Sun Kwon, Jin Kwon, Claire Littleton, Hugo “Hurley” Reyes, Juliet Burke, Charlie Pace, Richard Alpert, Bernard Nadler, Rose Nadler and Walt’s dog Vincent.
I don’t see WALT!!! And, where is Charles Widmore? I’m happy to see Claire (Emilie de Ravin) and know that she will be featured in various episodes throughout the season. Executive producer Carlton Cuse also confirmed Charlotte’s (Rebecca Mader) return via Twitter. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, the actor who plays Mr. Eko, lobbied earlier this year to be brought back for the final curtain. Let’s hope the island granted him his wish.
On the poster, John Locke has got his back turned to us (most likely because he is no longer John Locke) and Ben stands right next to him, staring at us dead-on. The two men of faith are the most prominent figures in the poster, taking center stage away from Jack, Kate, Said, Desmond, Hurley, Sun, and Jin. As things stand, Locke is back from the dead and Ben has murdered his personal jesus, Jacob. I see one crazy metaphysical battle brewing.
And, then there’s Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell). The romantic side to my usually rotten personality was hoping that somehow she survived season five’s finale and ended up with Sawyer (Josh Holloway). I was thrilled to hear executive producers Cuse and Damon Lindelof announce that Juliet will indeed be back.
(Spoiler Alert! Don’t continue reading if you don’t want to know a major plot point)
Unfortunately, she’s dead (Aren’t you sorry you know now?).
As the story is now nearing its conclusion, some characters just aren’t going to make it all the way to the end. Even beloved characters aren’t going to make it all the way to the end. And sometimes we have to do things that are really painful, like killing Juliet, because that’s what makes the story feel like the stakes are genuine, and people feel invested that characters who are beloved can actually perish on our show. It was an enormously powerful story that concluded the entire season of the show. So she was sacrificed in service of the story, and I think was hugely responsible for the season being viewed as successful because that was how it ended.
Daniel Lindelof adds:
Juliet basically birthed season 6 by the actions that she takes in the final seconds of season 5. She is completely responsible for the endgame of the show. So the character is going to be seen in a slightly different light this year. We gave her that action for a reason, and that’s because she’s so important to the fabric of the story.
Man, at this point, I’m just hoping Sawyer makes it out alive. Love this show.
Fang-tastic news for Underworld fans. Yes, I said fang-tastic. I can’t help it. I get giddy at the mere thought of Kate Beckinsale in form-fitting leather. The gorgeous Brit has not yet officially signed on to star in Screen Gems’ Underworld 4, but the flick’s newly appointed writer John Hlavin (“The Shield”) confirms that the new chapter in the blockbuster series won’t be a prequel (hence, keeping hope alive for Beckinsale’s return).
Vampire Layer
In addition, Hlavin had this to say:
It will satisfy old fans and excite new audiences, meaning that we don’t want to redo the first three movies, so steps are being taken to honor what fans have loved but at the same time introduce fresh elements.
Beckinsale hasn’t been faring too well at the box office lately. Her Antarctica set thriller Whiteout got the cold shoulder from moviegoers and her role in the upcoming Robert De Niro headlined family drama Everybody’s Fine looks about as exciting as a plate of brussel sprouts. Here’s hoping her peeps convince her to return to the franchise and that Hlavin writes in plenty of ass-hugging rubber outfits for her to wear … you know, to better fight werewolves.
