This new comedy from director Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Five-Year Engagement), could be a big hit this spring if the reaction from the South by Southwest film festival is anything to go by. Neighbors premiered at SXSW just a couple of days ago to some pretty rave reviews, and the last comedy to premiere there and then go on to be a big hit was Bridesmaids. Speaking of which, Rose Byrne finally gets her turn to shine, as many of the reviews named her as the scene-stealer, surprisingly. It's coming out May 9th, so mark your calendars:
BOX OFFICE 3/07-3/09: '300' Triumphs; 'Peabody and Sherman' Strong
300: Rise of an Empire was the big winner this weekend, as the sequel to a film that came out 7 years ago pulled in $45 million from an audience that was, predictably, 62% male. They gave the movie a "B" Cinemascore and the opening is nowhere close to the $70 million debut of the first movie back in 2005, but it's already made $87 million overseas, so that's enough to qualify this as a hit, despite the bad reviews. In second place was Dreamworks' Mr. Peabody and Sherman, which came on strong with $32 million, above the studio's expectations. Crowds also loved the movie, giving it an "A" rating, so this one may stick around for a while, depending on how much of the family audience Muppets Most Wanted can steal in a couple of weeks.
Liam Neeson's Non-Stop fell to third place with $15 million, and The Lego Movie and Son of God rounded out the top five, with $11 million and $10 million respectively. The Lego Movie's made $225 million domestically, by far the biggest hit of the year. In limited release, Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel scored a massive opening, hauling in $800,000 from just 4 theaters. That puts its per-screen-average at $200k, which is the biggest ever for a live-action film. The movie's expanding in the next few weeks, but I still think Wes Anderson is kind of a novelty attraction, so I wouldn't expect it to suddenly become a blockbuster for mainstream audiences.
Top 5:
- 300: Rise of an Empire- $45 million
- Mr. Peabody and Sherman- $32.5 million
- Non-Stop- $15.4 million
- The Lego Movie- $11.1 million
- Son of God- $10 million
The Best Picture winner, 12 Years a Slave, was re-released in 1000 theaters over the weekend, pulling in another $2 million despite just recently coming out on DVD/blu-ray, enough for a place in the top ten. Next week it's Aaron Paul in Need for Speed (going after the Fast & Furious crowd) along with Veronica Mars (woo-hoo!) and Jason Bateman's black comedy, Bad Words, which he directed. See you then!
March Movies Have Arrived!
Okay, so they may be a week late, but the movies to see for the month of March are finally here! This month the theme is "The Imagination of Animation," and I have selected, along with a guest editor, ten of our favorite animated movies to enjoy this month. Selections include Toy Story, Wizards, James and the Giant Peach, The Little Mermaid and more. As always head over to the Movies for Every Month page to see the summary for March, and then click here for the recommendations of the best animated films to seek out. Happy Movie Watching!
TRAILER: "Only Lovers Left Alive"
Famed indie director Jim Jarmusch (Stranger Than Paradise, Mystery Train) has a new film coming out on April 11th. It was first seen last year at Cannes, where it was very well received, and stars Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston as vampires in modern day Detroit. I thought vampires was a subject that couldn't possibly be more overdone at this point, but when Jim Jarmusch is behind it, count me in. This looks really cool.
TRAILER: "Frank"
A very strange independent movie that was released and enthusiastically received at the Sundance Film Festival is coming out May 9th. From director Lenny Abrahamson and starring Michael Fassbender as a guy in a band who wears a giant plastic head, it looks like a bit of a bizarre comedy that will probably not be for all people in the slightest, but I'm certainly curious:
PREVIEW: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"
You know spring/summer movie season is coming when all the news and clips we're getting are superhero related. Although it can feel like overload at times, with more or less the same stuff coming out every single year at this point. Marvel's released this 4-minute clip from the film along with a new(ish) trailer- they're promising the new Captain America movie is more of a political thriller, but we'll see how far that goes (I'm hoping it goes a little bit further than just the casting of Robert Redford, but I'm cynical about all things Marvel after the last Thor movie):
FEATURETTE: "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"
If 2011's The Amazing Spider-Man had any redeeming qualities it was probably the Peter Parker/Gwen Stacy relationship, which was brought to life by the chemistry between real life couple Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. If the sequel's smart it will play that part up again, and this new featurette shows that maybe the crew did see that that was their best asset:
TRAILER: "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For"
Nine years after the original Sin City, we now have this sequel coming out August 22nd. With an all new cast, but from the same director and writer, Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller. I'm kind of meh on this one, since I wasn't crazy about the first movie to begin with, but here it is:
TRAILER: "Grace of Monaco"
Grace of Monaco was supposed to be a late winter release last year, but Harvey Weinstein delayed it until spring, meaning it probably wasn't good enough to be a strong Oscar contender. Now it's scheduled to premiere on the opening night of the Cannes film festival, May 14, so we'll finally see then how good Nicole Kidman's performance as Grace Kelly, movie icon and former princess, is. Going by this trailer, all I see is Nicole though- it doesn't look like she made an effort to do much of an impersonation. Tim Roth is her husband, Prince Rainier, and it's directed by Olivier Dahan, who made La Vie En Rose, which starred Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf. Hopefully this isn't too bad, it sure looks pretty at least:
2014 MTV Movie Award Nominations
A day after Conan O'Brien announced he'd be hosting the annual shindig, the nominations for the MTV Movie Awards were announced:
Movie of the Year
- 12 Years a Slave
- American Hustle
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- The Wolf of Wall Street
Best Female Performance
- Amy Adams, American Hustle
- Jennifer Aniston, We're the Millers
- Sandra Bullock, Gravity
- Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Best Male Performance
- Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
- Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
- Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
- Josh Hutcherson, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Breakthrough Performance
- Liam James, The Way, Way Back
- Michael B. Jordan, Fruitvale Station
- Will Poulter, We're the Millers
- Margot Robbie, The Wolf of Wall Street
- Miles Teller, The Spectacular Now
Best Comedic Performance
- Kevin Hart, Ride Along
- Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
- Johnny Knoxville, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
- Melissa McCarthy, The Heat
- Jason Sudeikis, We're the Millers
Best On-Screen Transformation
- Christian Bale, American Hustle
- Elizabeth Banks, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- Orlando Bloom, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
- Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
- Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Best Kiss
- Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams, American Hustle
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Scarlett Johansson, Don Jon
- James Franco, Ashley Benson and Vanessa Hudgens, Spring Breakers
- Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller, The Spectacular Now
- Emma Roberts, Jennifer Aniston and Will Poulter, We're the Millers
Best Fight
- Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
- Identity Thief
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- This is the End
Best Scared-as-Shit Performance
- Rose Byrne, Insidious: Chapter 2
- Jessica Chastain, Mama
- Vera Farmiga, The Conjuring
- Ethan Hawke, The Purge
- Brad Pitt, World War Z
Best On-Screen Duo
- Amy Adams and Christian Bale, American Hustle
- Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
- Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, Fast & Furious 6
- Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, Ride Along
- Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Best Shirtless Performance
- Jennifer Aniston, We're the Millers
- Sam Claflin, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
- Zac Efron, That Awkward Moment
- Chris Hemsworth, Thor: The Dark World
WTF Moment
- Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
- Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
- The Counselor
- The Wolf of Wall Street
- This is the End
Best Villain
- Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
- Benedict Cumberbatch, Star Trek Into Darkness
- Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
- Mila Kunis, Oz: The Great and Powerful
- Donal Sutherland, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Best Musical Moment
- This is the End
- American Hustle
- The Wolf of Wall Street
- Identity Thief
- We're the Millers
Best Cameo Performance
- Robert DeNiro, American Hustle
- Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
- Kanye West, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
- Joan Rivers, Iron Man 3
- Rihanna, This is the End
Best Hero
- Henry Cavill, Man of Steel
- Robert Downey, Jr., Iron Man 3
- Martin Freeman, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
- Chris Hemsworth, Thor: The Dark World
- Channing Tatum, White House Down
I'm kind of amazed at all the Oscar movies they included this time (you're never going to convince me MTV voters saw 12 Years a Slave but somehow not Gravity), but since this is the place where all those horrific Twilight movies swept literally everything for years, I'm going to go ahead and guess Hunger Games on down the line? At least for everything it's nominated for. With maybe some Leo, Robert Downey Jr. and Kevin Hart thrown in. Conan hosts the Golden Popcorn awards on Sunday, April 13th, and you can vote by going to MTV's website.
Behind the Scenes at the Oscars
Ellen posted a video yesterday of the behind the scenes goings on of her Oscars hosting gig. Check out all the backstage activity here:
TRAILER: "Annie"
The trailer for the musical remake of Annie is here. Coming out at Christmas, this version stars little Quvenzhane Wallis (from Beasts of the Southern Wild) as Annie and Jamie Foxx as the billionaire who adopts her. I don't know- this trailer sure doesn't do it any favors. Is it me or does Cameron Diaz just look horrible in this?
