The Dark Knight Breaks Opening Weekend Record!

Warner Bros. Pictures' The Dark Knight has earned $155.34 million to top Spider-Man 3 for best opening weekend at the box office. The weekend estimates show Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins follow-up more than $4 million ahead of the $151.1 million first weekend for Spider-Man 3 in May of 2007. The Dark Knight has also broken Spider-Man 3's record ($4.7 million) for best debut in IMAX theaters with $6.2 million in 94 locations. Budgeted at $180 million, the film opened in a record 4,366 theaters nationwide and broke the new single and opening day records on Friday with $67.85 million. Spider-Man 3 previously held those records with $59.8 million. Internationally, The Dark Knight added $40 million in 20 countries where it began opening Wednesday. The Dark Knight stars Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.

Debuting in second place, Universal Pictures' Mamma Mia! earned $27.6 million from 2,976 theaters, for an average of $9,275. Starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried and Christine Baranski, the adaptation of the ABBA musical was made for $52 million.

In third place, Will Smith's Hancock added $14 million its third weekend to push its total to $191.5 million. Co-starring Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman and Eddie Marsan, the Columbia Pictures release cost about $150 million to make.

Fourth place belonged to the Warner Bros./New Line family adventure Journey to the Center of the Earth, which dropped a decent 43.3% in ticket sales, earning $11.9 million in its second weekend. Produced for $60 million, the Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson and Anita Briem-starrer is up to $43.1 million.

Rounding out the top five, Universal's Hellboy II: The Golden Army lost a disturbing 70.9% of its first weekend sales, making $10 million. Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, the sequel has earned $56.4 million compared to its budget of $85 million.

Disney/Pixar's WALL•E took in $9.8 million in its fourth weekend and has collected $182.5 million to date. The Andrew Stanton film was made for about $180 million.

Newcomer Space Chimps opened in the seventh spot with $7.4 million from 2,511 theaters. Fox's animated film averaged $2,927 per theater.

Universal's Wanted and Warner Bros.' Get Smart placed eighth and ninth, making $5.1 million and $4.1 million, respectively. The former has earned $123.3 million and the latter $119.6 million.

Hollywood set an overall revenue record of $253 million for a three-day weekend, beating the $218.4 million haul over the weekend of July 7, 2006.

Source: ComingSoon.net

Star Trek Character and Collage Poster

Holy crap Sylar is rockin the Spock mojo!

You can see bigger versions and more of these over at TrekMovie.Com

John Woo fires off 'Caliber'

Filmmaker John Woo has been hired to direct an adaptation of the upcoming comic book Caliber that will debut next week at Comic-Con. The comic story sets King Arthur and his knights as 19th century gunslingers in the Pacific Northwest. Apparently this one necessarily be Woo's next film, since he's finish up work on his two-part epic Red Cliff and has other projects lined up afterwards, including a film titled 1949. Woo has been criticized quite a bit here on the site, as he's one of the few directors who I genuinely hate. This project sounds like one of the worst he's planning to take on, similar to Paycheck, another disastrous film that he directed. Does anyone think Caliber could be any good?

There's not much out there on this Caliber comic yet and that's because Radical Comics is launching the first issue at Comic-Con. So the comic has no buzz, a terrible concept, and they just brought on one of the worst action directors still working today - this sounds destined to be an instant flop. I'm already predicting, four or five years out, that this is going no where at all. American audiences really don't want to see the King Arthur legend told as a 19th century western, especially after The Dark Knight changes the way everyone looks at comic book movies. I really hope John Woo retires much sooner than later, because I don't want him making flops like this anymore and wasting my time. However, you're more than welcome to read up on the comic over at the publisher's official website: radicalcomics.com.

Source: FirstShowing.net

Pitt and DiCaprio for Inglorious Bastards

Tarantino has been shopping around for someone to pay for his Inglorious Bastards, and now that he has had some promising sit downs with one potential star and plans on another bigger star, the guys with the cash are lining up.

ComingSoon says:

The director met with Brad Pitt in France on Tuesday to talk about the possibility of Pitt playing the key role of Aldo Raine. Tarantino also plans to meet with Leonardo DiCaprio for another lead role, that of Hans Landa, on Thursday.

Now I really like Brad Pitt, so I am game for just about anything he is in. But that statement goes DOUBLY strong when DiCaprio is involved.

This gets me interested in this film, and I am already tired of Tarantino, and I have no idea what this movie is about having never been exposed to the material. So getting these guys involved might have the same effect on others who don’t list Tarantino as their cup of tea.

Quantum of Solace teaser Poster

Sony has officially released a new teaser poster for Quantum of Solace that you'll find on the wall in your local theater this weekend when you go see The Dark Knight.

This photo is a little low res, but we're working on getting a higher res version for you soon enough. And if you want to watch this whole thing progress, you can see Craig walk up in the trailer . How many are excited for James Bond's return this November?

Quantum of Solace is directed by Marc Forster, of Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger Than Fiction, and The Kite Runner previously. The screenplay was penned by both Robert Wade (Die Another Day, Johnny English, Casino Royale) and Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers, Casino Royale). This is the 22nd Bond film in the series that first began back in 1962 with Dr. No. Sony Pictures will be releasing Quantum of Solace in theaters on November 7th this year.

Will Ferrell to Star in Two Face

Will Ferrell is in talks to star in Two Face (also called 2-Face), a split-personality dramedy in which he’ll play one-part boisterous liberal and one-part racist. We imagine Ferrell sitting in a puffy chair enjoying a small cup of Chai tea, a craft of sweet tea and watching CNN and Fox News simultaneously. A riot!

No director is attached, but the script was written by Vince Gilligan, who scribed Hancock but also created and writes the AMC series Breaking Bad, currently one of the radder shows on TV. Ferrell’s interest in the script goes back sometime, and we’re expecting a nice bookend to Stranger Than Fiction rather than his 50th lesson in wrestling bears/John C. Reilly and belching. Ferrell recently signed to star as Watson in Sherlock Holmes for producer Judd “Attila of Comedy” Apatow, opposite the Borat guy.

Body of Lies Trailer

The international trailer for Body of Lies has just arrived online, and the combo of Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio is enticing to say the least. Based on the novel by David Ignatius (and scripted by The Departed's William Monahan), Body of Lies tells of a former journalist (DiCaprio) who's hired by the CIA to track down an Al Qaeda leader in Jordan. The film was directed by Ridley Scott.

The Dark Knight: HBO First Look Online

The HBO First Look special on The Dark Knight has made its way onto YouTube in two parts that you can watch below, where you will also find a new car chase clip from MTV. The Batman Begins follow-up opens in theaters and IMAX on July 18!

Two More Burn After Reading Posters

They're not exactly terrible, but they're also not exactly anything amazing. As for the film itself, it's definitely one of the big ones that I'm looking forward to seeing. I'm certain that it will show at the Toronto International Film Festival .

Click the images below for High Resolution versions.

Burn After Reading is both written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, the directing duo behind Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and most recently the Oscar winning No Country for Old Men. After debuting at the Venice International Film Festival, Focus Features will be releasing the film domestically in the US. Burn After Reading arrives in theaters on September 12th.

'Hellboy' tops 'Hancock' at box office

It was boom or bust at the Friday box office.

Universal's "Hellboy II: The Golden Army", directed by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, grossed an estimated $13.8 million from 3,204 runs on Friday to win the day on the strength of males and an aggressive marketing campaign.

The critically acclaimed “Golden Army,” which should win the weekend and open north of $30 million, outpaced the $8.6 million earned by del Toro’s 2004 “Hellboy” on its first Friday.

At the other end of the spectrum, Eddie Murphy’s family comedy “Meet Dave” couldn’t rally much interest at all, grossing an estimated $1.7 million from 3,011 runs for New Regency and 20th Century Fox. It’s the worst debut for a Murphy pic since the ill-fated “Adventures of Pluto Nash,” which grossed $727,870 on its opening day in 2002. “Meet Dave” placed No. 7 on Friday.

The weekend’s third new wide release, New Line and Walden Media’s family action-adventure “Journey to the Center of the Earth” in 3-D did a pleasant $6.7 million from 2,390 screens, of which 854 are digital 3-D screens. “Journey,” released by Warner Bros.,placed No. 3 for the day behind “Hellboy” and Sony holdover “Hancock.”

Interestingly, both “Hellboy” and “Meet Dave” received the same CinemaScore—a B. “Journey” did better, earning an A-.

Will Smith tentpole “Hancock” declined just 44% in its second Friday to an estimated $10.4 million from 3,965 runs for a cume of roughly $142.4 million.

Disney-Pixar’s “Wall-E” continued to play well, grossing an estimated $5.6 million on Friday for a cume of nearly $150 million, or $149.9 million.

Trailer Howard McCain's Outlander

This looks a lot better than I was expecting and watching it leaves me pumped up for some action. It looks like a combination of Pitch Black, Pathfinder, and The 13th Warrior, with James Caviezel leading the way. I don't know if this is ever going to show up in theaters, but I'll be anxiously awaiting it if it does. Vikings and aliens - what more could you ask for?

During the reign of the Vikings, Kainan (James Caviezel), a man from a far-off world, crash lands on Earth, bringing with him an alien predator known as the Moorwen. Though both man and monster are seeking revenge for violence committed against them, Kainan leads the alliance to kill the Moorwen by fusing his advanced technology with the Viking's Iron Age weaponry.

Outlander is directed and co-written by up-and-coming filmmaker Howard McCain, of The Unspeakable previously. Dirk Blackman also helped write the script with McCain. There's a website for the film that can be found right here, which includes a plethora of photos as well as all the information you could ever need. The Weinstein Company has the distributions rights to Outlander, but hasn't set a release date yet, although we can expect it by the end of 2008.

AVATAR Aliens Look Like….Thundercats?

The New T-shirt from the set of James Cameron's Avatar gives a first look at a silhouette of the Na'vi, which inhabit the exotic planet that an ex-Marine travels to in an effort to settle and exploit. The ex-Marine eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival.

The film, opening December 18, 2009, stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Peter Mensah, Laz Alonso, Wes Studi, Stephen Lang and Matt Gerald.


Click the image below to view the full T-shirt design!

What do you think??

So Where are the Wild Things?

Warner Bros. Pictures this week took director Spike Jonze's big screen adaptation Where the Wild Things Are off of its release schedule after it was previously pushed back to a fall of 2009 release. So what's the official word? The Los Angeles Times talked to Warner Bros. chief Alan Horn, who said:

"We've given him more money and, even more importantly, more time for him to work on the film," Horn said. "We'd like to find a common ground that represents Spike's vision but still offers a film that really delivers for a broad-based audience. We obviously still have a challenge on our hands. But I wouldn't call it a problem, simply a challenge. No one wants to turn this into a bland, sanitized studio movie. This is a very special piece of material and we're just trying to get it right."

The adventure follows the adventures of Max, a head-strong young boy who leaves home after having a fight with his mother -- only to find himself in a mysterious forest bordering a vast sea. Misunderstood and rebellious, Max sets sail to the land of the Wild Things, where mischief reigns. Catherine Keener, Benicio Del Toro, Forest Whitaker, Lauren Ambrose, Catherine O'Hara, Tom Noonan, Michael Berry and James Gandolfini star.

Click here for more on this.

New Badass Max Payne Promo Photos!

These are definitely a sweet compliment to the trailer yesterday and should hold us over until the marketing machine really picks up again. In case you didn't know (and who doesn't?!), Max Payne is an adaptation of a very popular video game franchise. These photos are a true homage to the visual style from the game and definitely look great. Although they're not as impressive as the trailer itself, I definitely suggest any and all Max Payne fans take a look at these. Hope you guys enjoy these photos!

Vishal mentioned that these photos are from the official website but haven't actually been released just yet - so take a look at them now before they get removed. They'll eventually be added in higher resolution at some point in the future, but for now these should hold you over. Badass?

Max Payne is directed by Irish filmmaker John Moore, of Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix, and The Omen previously, with a screenplay written by first-time writer Beau Thorne. The film is based on the popular Max Payne series of third-person-shooter video games that first arrived in 2001. Fox is debuting Max Payne in theaters on October 17th just before Halloween. I'll be there!

Robert Downey Jr. is Sherlock Holmes!

Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) is set to star in Sherlock Holmes, the drama that Guy Ritchie will direct for Warner Bros. Pictures, says Variety.

Downey has committed to the film, which begins shooting in October, after Ritchie turned in a polish of the latest version of the script, written by Anthony Peckham.

Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin are producing.

The trade says that Sherlock Holmes will take advantage of Downey Jr.'s physical skills as the character displays brawn as well as brains.

The basis for the film is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic tales, but also the comic book "Sherlock Holmes."

With Downey aboard, the film will go into production before a comedy that just coalesced at Columbia Pictures, with Sacha Baron Cohen playing Holmes, and Will Ferrell playing his crime-fighting partner Dr. Watson.

Russian Poster for Babylon A.D.

Those Russians always seem to get the best shit! If you need a reminder, Babylon A.D. is the badass French sci-fi film starring Vin Diesel (in case you couldn't tell that was him on the poster). First Showing shared recently a few awesome trailers and now we're just tapping our foot, patiently waiting for Fox to release this beauty. While we wait, the Russians have snagged an awesome new poster for our amusement. Enjoy the sleek new look below!

Thanks to the guys at Filmz.ru for debuting this. This one is a vast improvement over the Blade Runner ripoff version previously - I dig the look quite a bit. In agreement with my assessment on this?

In the Mathieu Kassovitz-directed film, a veteran-turned-mercenary (Vin Diesel) agrees to escort a woman from Russia to Germany, not realizing that she's the host for an organism that a cult wants to harvest into a genetically-modified Messiah. Opening in North America on August 29, the movie co-stars Gérard Depardieu, Michelle Yeoh, Charlotte Rampling, Mark Strong, Radek Bruna, Melanie Thierry and Lambert Wilson.

Babylon A.D. is directed by French filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz, who also directed 2003's Gothika and a French film from 2000 titled The Crimson Rivers as well as a few other French flicks. Babylon A.D. is currently set to arrive in theaters on August 29th from Fox.

First Max PayneTrailer Hits

The first trailer for John Moore's adaptation of the video game Max Payne has finally arrived. After months and months of waiting and immense early praise, we finally have our first look at what to expect in this upcoming video game adaptation. Honestly, I'm impressed, very impressed, by this trailer. It won't be what you expect, but it might leave you quite excited. I really love the visual style and this time I think Mark Wahlberg will kick ass. I have no clue what that angel was at the end and if there is a dark fantasy or paranormal element to this, but that scene was pretty intense. I've been looking forward to this since I first heard about it and now I'm truly excited to see it.

This is an international trailer courtesy of Filmweb.pl. We expect there to be a different American version that might hit theaters soon as well. Although this looks much different from the games, it still looks very entertaining. Does the trailer live up to all of your expectations?

Max Payne is directed by Irish filmmaker John Moore, of Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix, and The Omen previously, with a screenplay written by first-time writer Beau Thorne. The film is based on the popular Max Payne series of third-person-shooter video games that first arrived in 2001. Fox is debuting Max Payne in theaters on October 17th just before Halloween.

International Tropic Thunder trailer

An international trailer for Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder has come online at the official UK site!

Don't forget to check out the official website for even more laughs: tropicthunder.com.

Tropic Thunder is directed by Ben Stiller (Zoolander) and written by Etan Cohen ("King of the Hill", Idiocracy) and well-known actor Justin Theroux (who also stars in the film). The movie stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Brandon T. Jackson, Jay Baruchel, and Steve Coogan. Tropic Thunder arrives in theaters everywhere on August 15th this summer.

There's not much else to say about this one -- watch it for yourself and tell me it doesn't look out of control. Stiller worries me sometimes because he could be a little too "stupid," but with Downey Jr., Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte, Bill Hader, Justin Theroux, Jay Baruchel and Jack Black in there, I think we'll be okay.

Eli Roth Joins The RZA

Last week some reports were circulating that RZA was going to direct a new martial arts movie called “The Man With the Iron Fist”. Apparently RZA had been talking to Quentin Tarantino about the project for quite some time and Tarantino told him to go for it.

So where does Eli Roth fit in? Well he was also in the mix wanting to help RZA bring his vision to the screen and jumped on board as producer. This was all rumor until CHUD got in contact with Roth in which he replied back:

“Yes, it is true. RZA’s script is amazing. He has been studying directing with Tarantino for years. and he’s really ready to get behind the camera. His impact on rap music and hip hop culture cannot be measured, and he’s ready to add his own unique style and vision to the world of film. This movie will have everything martial arts fans could want, combined with RZA’s superb musical talent. This project has been his dream for years, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.

i am extremely curious about this picture. Kung Fu films rule in my books, and if we can get an outlandish classic from RZA - I would pump my iron fist with delight!

Transformers Concept Art - Aircraft Carrier That Never Was

Concept artist Tim Flattery recently posted a few examples of his work from Transformers on his official website. Let me tell you that this work is so beautiful that I'm considering ordering it in high resolution and framing it above my bed to stare at all night long. No not really, that's just a joke, but I might considering something like that. Realistically this concept art kicks some serious ass and the best part is two of them feature the rumored aircraft carrier transformer that never saw the light of day. Apparently the idea of this robot was mentioned by Michael Bay last year as potentially showing up in a sequel, but was denied recently by producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. We can still dream…

A few examples of Flattery's work can be seen below. A total of 15 images can be found on his website.

Last year when Bay first mentioned that an aircraft carrier transformer was one that he wanted to include in the film, rumors quickly spread saying that the cost was too high to make it happen for the first one, but that it might show up in a sequel. After you look at this concept art you might understand how expensive that would be and now, of course, it's not going to show up in the sequel either. But don't fear, I'm sure we're going to see a plethora of other equally awesome robots like Jetfire the SR-71 Blackbird. Doesn't this make you even more excited for the Revenge of the Fallen next summer?