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“Star Trek” takes on “Iron Man 3” and “Gatsby”

May 17, 2013 / Billy Tatum

“Iron Man 3” proved that “Gatsby” wasn’t great enough to take it from the top spot, but this week he faces a very angry Vulcan.

“Star Trek: Into Darkness” takes fans once again where no fans have boldly gone before. The sequel of the reboot brings Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Spoke (Zachary Quinto) and company back as they hunt down the superman known as Khan. Can Iron Man fight off a Starship captain and a Gatsby that still managed to pull in $50 million in it’s debut?

If you’re not into Spaceships, guys in 1920s fashions or metal-clad superheroes, there are still options for you in theaters.

Black Rock – Three women hang out on a deserted island and end up fighting for their lives. Stars Katie Aselton (The League), Lake Bell (Children’s Hospital), and kate Bosworth.

Stories We Tell – A family of Storytellers are featured in this documentary.

Frances Ha – Greta Gerwig is a dancer who doesn’t really dances. That’s right, more awkward moments and awkward characters from the Queen of Mumblecore, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Movies

Box Office Preview Iron Man Star Trek

“Iron Man 3” was super, Gatsby was great

May 12, 2013 / Billy Tatum

Gatsby was great, just not great enough.

Critics weren’t blown away by the latest incarnation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, but that didn’t stop audiences from packing theaters to the tune of $51.1 million in the U.S. to end second only to “Iron Man 3”. Starring box office titans Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, the 1920s period piece was directed by director Baz Luhrmann and almost gave a superhero a run for it’s money.

“Iron Man 3” carried the weekend with a dominant $72.5 million in it’s second weekend atop the box office charts. The Marvel sequel also pulled in $89.3 million overseas to bring it’s worldwide total to almost $950 million. The Robert Downey, Jr starrer may be on it’s way to where no man has gone before, but expect the Star Trek sequel opening this weekend to have a say in that.

Coming in third was the muscles and kidnapping drama “Pain and Gain” with $5 million. The weekend’s other opening film was Tyler Perry’s “Peeples” starring Kerry Washington and David Alan Grier which grossed $4.85 million. Rounding out the top 5 was The Jackie Robinson biopic “42” which raked in $4.7 million.

Rounding out the top 10…

6. Oblivion – $3.86 million
7. The Croods – $3.6 million
8. The Big Wedding – $2.5 million
9. Mud – $2.4 million
10. Oz the Great and Powerful – $802K

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box office results

Is “Gatsby” great enough to take down Iron Man?

May 11, 2013 / Billy Tatum

It’s a showdown of two guys who are no stranger to posing in really nice suits.

Warner Bros. “The Great Gatsby” is seeking to show industry execs that it has a special superpower, knocking down reigning #1 box office champ “Iron Man 3”. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey McGuire, the period piece epic is seen as the ultimate counterprogramming to the superhero sequel. Set in the 1920s, “The Great Gatsby” follows Midwest writer (Tobey McGuire) as he gets sucked into the rollercoaster lifestyle of his millionaire partyboy neighbor, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio).

“Iron Man 3” pulled in $174 million last week and destroyed all of its competition. It remains to be seen if “Gatsby” can cause a changing of the guard with an audience that is likely to skew heavily female.

So you don’t want guys who can fly or decadent millionaires with a jazz soundtrack? No problem, there are athletes, laughs and even a natural disaster to keep your attention.

Peeples – Craig Robinson is out of “The Office” and headlining this comedy about a man who crashes his girlfriend’s snooty family reunion to ask for her hand in marriage. Kerry Washington stars as the girlfriend and David Alan Grier as the patriarch. Also stars melvin Van Peeples and S. Epatha Merkerson.

Venus and Serena – There’s a reason we’re still relevant in international tennis: Venus and Serena Williams. They’ve dominated for over a decade and provided inspiration and scorn from fans and detractors. In this documentary, see how the sisters fought career and life-threatening disease with the heart of a champion.

Aftershock – What happens when you mix a horror film with an earthquake? A group of people who happened to be in an underground club in Chile finds out the hard way. Stars Eli Roth and Selena Gomez.

Movies

Box Office Preview

“Iron Man 3” blasts into history with 2nd largest opening ever

May 5, 2013 / Billy Tatum

Everything’s better in Lego.

The folks over at Marvel are starting to prove that their heroes are larger than life on and off the screen.

“Iron Man 3” kicked off the summer movie season bringing in $175 million over the weekend, giving it the second largest box office opening ever. This came in second only to last year’s men-in-tights fest “The Avengers”, which is credited to helping boost “Iron Man 3’s” debut. Overall, the movie has brought in over $680 million in worldwide receipts, bringing Disney past the $1 billion mark for it’s 19th straight year.

Although its star, Robert Downey, Jr, left room to speculation that it would be his last time donning the armor, this latest box office development should put that to rest as it’s turning into one of the most lucrative franchises of all time.

No movie lacked the power of old Shellhead, but spring standbys did manage to pull in the leftovers from Iron Man 3. The testosterone fueled “Pain & Gain” starring Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson” finished 2nd with $7.6 million.

Surprise baseball hit “42” continued to bring acclaim and crowds who liked a different kind of hero, bringing in $6.2 million for the weekend. Tom Cruise’s “Oblivion” came in 4th with $5.7 million. The prehistoric kid flick “The Croods” bright in 4.2 million to take the 5th spot.

A couple of indies managed to make a name for themselves. Mud starring Matthew McConaughey managed to break into the top 10 brining in $2.1 million on only 576 screens (an increase from last week’s 363), but Michael Shannon’s assassin biopic “The Iceman” managed to pull in $93,000 on only 4 screens in it’s debut. That was only on 4,249 less screens than “Iron Man 3”.

Rounding out the top 10…

6. The Big Wedding – $3.8 million
7. MUD – $2.1 million
8. Oz the Great and Powerful – $1.8 million
9. Scary Movie 5 – $1.4 million
10. Place Beyond the Pines – $1.2 million

Movies

box office roundup

“Pain & Gain” tops box office with $20 million

April 29, 2013 / Billy Tatum

Only the audience didn't laugh at this wedding.

Big muscles took the weekend box office before a real superhero shows them how to do it. Meanwhile, one wedding showed that moviegoers were left at the altar.

Paramount’s “Pain & Gain” led a slow box office over the weekend, pulling in $20 million, according to THR.com. Directed by Michael Bay, the film starred Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg as bodybuilders who get entangled in a kidnapping scheme. Based on a true story, the film only cost $26 million to make, so producers were ecstatic.

A film with a lot more star power came up short in its box office debut. “The Big Wedding” boasted a cast featuring Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, and Robin Williams, but no one wanted to appear at this wedding as it brought it only $7.5 million. It cost $30 million to make and will probably be on Netflix before you know it.

The other big name film to open this week was “Mud” starring Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon. Reese’s recent arrest didn’t seem to harm the film, playing in limited release. “Mud” earned $2.2 million on 363 theaters.

Here’s how the top ten shook out….

1. Pain & Gain – $20 million
2. Oblivion – $17.4 million
3. 42 – $10.7 million
4. The Big Wedding – $7.5 million
5. The Croods – $6.6 million
6. G.I. Joe Retaliation – $3.6 million
7. Scary Movie – $3.5 million
8. Olympus Has Fallen – $2.8 million
9. The Place Beyond the Pines – $2.7 million
10. Jurassic Park 3D – $2.3 million