Jacob Hall
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Inside Out’ and ‘Jurassic World’ Battle It Out
Here’s how crazy this weekend is: Pixar’s Inside Out had the biggest opening for an original, non-sequel of all time...and it still came in second to Jurassic World’s second weekend. There’s literally nothing to ashamed of here. Sure, it may be the first time a Pixar movie hasn't opened in first place, but the only reason it didn’t open in first place is because it was dueling 2015’s greatest juggernaut. These two are worthy opponents and both are victors.
‘Daddy’s Home’ Trailer: Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell Wage Dad War
Will Ferrell is never not busy, which means that he’s never pinned down. He may be a successful solo movie star, but he’s a man of many partnerships, never missing an opportunity to share the screen with a variety of co-stars. With the arrival of Daddy’s Home, Ferrell hopes to bring his onscreen partnership with Mark Wahlberg to John C. Reilly-ian levels. Hopefully, the movie itself is funnier than the new trailer. After all, the last time these two teamed up, we got the massively underrated The Other Guys.
‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ Trailer: A Kung Fu Panda Meets His Father
By the time Kung Fu Panda 3 hits theaters, it’ll have been five years since the previous adventure of Jack Black’s Po and his martial artist animal buddies. For the kids weened on the first two movies, that’s practically a lifetime. Considering the diminishing creative (but certainly not financial) returns between Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2, will anyone care about this movie when it ultimately lurches into theaters? Consider that question as soon as you click play on the trailer above.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Goes Undercover as The Terminator, Freaks People Out
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to the movies after his stint as governor of California has been filled with ups and downs, good films and bad. But one thing has remained consistent – the living legend has started showcasing a savvy online presence and a self-aware sense of humor that has re-endeared him to the digital world. Now, he’s combined all of that into a YouTube video that, while it exists solely to promote a charity, is more entertaining than any of the Terminator Genisys trailers so far.
‘The Secret Life of Pets’ Trailer: This is What Your Dog Really Does All Day
Talking dogs and cats have been a staple of animation since the medium’s earliest days, but The Secret Life of Pets trailer actually presents a fairly fresh take on this trope. The talking animals here are ordinary house pets, alone all day while their humans are at work, and we get to see how they pass the time.
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.
‘The Program’ Trailer: Ben Foster Brings Lance Armstrong and His Lies to Life
Lance Armstrong went from being one of the greatest sports heroes in modern history to its greatest villain. Few human beings have ever turned heel with such cinematic flair, so it makes sense that he’d get his own movie sooner rather than later. The first trailer for The Program looks exactly like you’d expect a sports biopic from director Stephen Frears to look: classy, bold, and full of interesting actors scowling at each other.
‘Pitch Perfect 3’ is Officially Happening With Series Screenwriter Kay Cannon
The original Pitch Perfect grossed a modest $65 million at the domestic box office, which was just enough to justify a sequel. Three years later, Pitch Perfect 2 has just passed $160 million on a budget of only $29 million, so yeah, of course Universal is officially moving forward with Pitch Perfect 3. It turns out that a combination of snarky comedy and a capella remixes of pop hits is a license to print money. So much money.
‘Everest’ Trailer: All of Your Favorite Actors Get Their Asses Kicked by a Mountain
Hollywood has seen its fair share of movies where man attempts to conquer nature, only to find himself thoroughly humbled. Everest looks to continue that trend, putting one of the best ensembles in recent memory smack-dab in the middle of Mother Nature’s wrath. As the title implies, the film deals with an expedition up the world’s tallest mountain going oh-so-horribly wrong. As the trailer shows us, an Everest expedition going wrong looks like an incredible movie.
Cameron Crowe Apologizes For ‘Aloha’, Casting Emma Stone as a Native Hawaiian
Aloha may have opened to scathing reviews and poor box office, but the latest film from writer/director Cameron Crowe did touch a nerve. It just so happened to a nerve that no one ever wants to touch. Despite being set on Hawaii, the cast is chock-full of the whitest white people in Hollywood, including Bradley Cooper, Rachel McAdams, John Krasinski and Alec Baldwin. That wouldn’t have been a problem if the only character with a distinctly Hawaiian background wasn’t played by the ludicrously pale Emma Stone. Yes, Stone was cast as a character named Allison Ng, so you can see why feathers were ruffled, especially since Hollywood already has a poor track record with racial representation in movies.
‘The Good Dinosaur’ Trailer: Pixar Rewrites History With a Charming Adventure
Like all of Pixar’s teaser trailers, the first preview for The Good Dinosaur is all about mood, emphasizing a distinct feeling over characters and plot. But as the title implies, it’s really all about dinosaurs. Colorful, adorable dinosaurs who, thanks to director Peter Sohn and the Pixar braintrust, aren’t wiped out by an apocalyptic asteroid 66 million years ago and live on to have all kinds of adventures. Take that, science!
Rumor: Marvel’s ‘Ant-Man’ Will Lay the Groundwork For the New Spider-Man
By now, everyone is familiar with the interconnectedness of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how every film references what came before and what’s arriving next. So it makes sense that Ant-Man, the riskiest Marvel endeavor yet, will supposedly be filled with references to one of Marvel Studios’ surest things: the new Spider-Man. We guess the bug-themed superheroes have to stick together, huh?
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.
New ‘Pixels’ Trailer Pits Adam Sandler Against Video Game Aliens
It’s no secret that Pixels began its life as a short film, a special effects demo that showed off some inventive and amusing imagery that wasn’t required to have things like, you know, a plot or characters. So the feature version of Pixels had to find an excuse for classic arcade characters to invade Earth and that excuse was aliens. Who look like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong for some reason. And whose greatest opponent is Adam Sandler. Okay. The new trailer isn’t going to change your mind if that premise still sounds like nails on a chalkboard.
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.
Disney Planning TV Channels Centered Around Marvel and ‘Star Wars’
Acquiring Lucasfilm and Marvel were just two minor steps in Disney’s grand plan to eventually own everything you love and control your life as Entertainment Overlord Supreme of the Planet Earth. But to be fair, they are a benevolent god. A caring god. A god that wants to make its riches available to you, should you want to indulge yourself. So prepare thyself: TV channels based entire on Marvel and Star Wars content may be coming.
‘The Fugitive’ Is Going Back on the Run, But Will Harrison Ford Return?
It should come as no surprise that Warner Bros. is planning to resurrect The Fugitive in some capacity. After all, a major film studio returning to the well of the comfortably familiar for a remake or a reboot (or a reboot of a remake) is pretty par for the course these days. What makes this news ever-so-slightly interesting is the suggestion that this may be a continuation of some kind, featuring the same characters that Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones played in the iconic 1993 film.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Avengers 2’ Leaves ‘Hot Pursuit’ in the Dust
As expected, Avengers: Age of Ultron dominated the box office for the second weekend in a row, pulling in numbers that would be the envy of most summer blockbusters’ opening three days. And while the only new release of the week faltered, it was a surprisingly strong week overall, with many of the films in the top 10 faring well despite facing one of the biggest movies of the year.
SNL Forces the Cast to Apologize to Their Actual Mothers
Last night’s generally unremarkable episode of SNL peaked early when it took advantage of its proximity to Mother’s Day to do something kind of remarkable. As part of her opening monologue, guest host Reese Witherspoon declared that the show was going to mark the occasion by bringing each cast member out with his or her mother...and then forcing them to apologize for their childhood transgressions.