The numbers: It made less money than 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ opening by nearly $100 million, the film still tallies the second biggest December opening of all time in North America. The picture’s opening weekend audience was comprised of 59 percent men and 74 percent adults, with 62 percent of all ticket buyers purchasing seats for 2D screenings as opposed to 38 percent who opted for 3D viewing..
Month: December 2016
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Zsa Zsa Gabor dead at 99
A woman famous for being famous.. She has now left this earthly domain at 99..!
A really rough year for celebrity deaths continues .. the steady drumbeat doesn’t appear ready to end despite the end of the year coming .. -
Mario Run gets big downloads … but the fun doesn’t last long
Business insiders were predicting a potential stock bounce when Mario Run was released by Nintendo. So far nada. There are, however, some mighty large downloads of the game taking place. Including in my own house.. It was downloaded 2.85 million times in its first day alone..
But!!! Maybe wait!! Analysts at SuperData, meanwhile, have downgraded their expectations for Super Mario Run’s first-month revenue from $60 million to between $12 and $15 million,, SuperData also expects a price cut after the holidays are over..
There may be a bigger game in place..
Mario Run is NOT going to be the next Pokemon go (even I was misled in this department and thought it was going to be much more interactive than what it turned out to be) .. I was actually quite shocked when Nintendo allowed a game to be used on phones.. and when it turned out to be another game in the endless running genre, it was less than exciting. That said, it also has increased Nintendo’s brand and potentially brought Mario to another young generation that wasn’t overly familiar with it. I remember playing Mario on the original Nintendo. This mobile app new ensures that a new generation will recall their first game being played on their parents iPhone..
Initial ratings for the game were strong. The surge was short term. Some more negative reviews here and there are being peppered into the mix.. Even the way the game treats Peach and Toad are being called into question..
I think the choice to make this game a constant running game is what will impact sales and most likely the fun.. Pokemon Go was a worldwide sensation this year. This was the year to end strong with another interactive game to get people outside… to make Mario become an obsession. To see question marks and bricks in the virtual world in front of them, and be forced to do something to break them. Now that would have been fun. Instead some less than creative dullness crept in to the making of Mario Run..
Another flaw: Super Mario Run” can be completed in about three hours … from a couch.. with no action. It will not change your life. Pokemon Go did.. Mario Run will be a blip on the radar.. A big miscalculation in my opinion..
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China’s drone choice: Return to sender or listen to Donald Trump?
Big waves came from the South China Sea late this week when China seized a US Drone that was operating in waters.. The nation’s decision stepped up tensions in the maritime world between China, Taiwan, and the United States..
Enter Donald Trump’s Twitter.
President-elect Donald Trump reacted to the news by telling them he doesn’t want it back. “We should tell China that we don’t want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it!” he tweeted Saturday evening!
China’s Ministry of Defense commented Saturday that the Communist power decided to return the drone in the ‘appropriate’ manner .. not specifics on what is appropriate or not when returning a drone to another nation in a very tense part of the world. I guess waiting and seeing will have to occur.
Unless China follows Trump on the social network ..
Beijing has yet to respond to the President-elect.
But it is a potential example of what there world is about to see: Unpredictable statements coming from the White House. Like never before.
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Ready for the anything goes diet!? Live to 102!
…WELL MAYBE NOT EVERYONE.
But it seemed to work for Cherry Hills New Jersey woman Concetta Talucci.. She turned 102 Friday..
A big happy birthday.
The reason, beyond the age, that this is news: Her own advice on how to achieve old age..
Talucci was born in 1914 and says the secret to her longevity is “just don’t diet!”
She continued, “Eat! Eat everything you see… but not overeat.”
Talucci said earlier in life she worked as a glass blower and also in the emergency room of a hospital.
Her 99-year-old younger sister joined her at her party.
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BAD OMEN: AMITYVILLE DELAYED
January openings normally are good for horror–surprise hits come in the cold..
But 2017’s January release of newest *yawn* edition of the AMITYVILLE horror has been delayed..
To the summer we now go!
Dimension Films has officially delayed Amityville: The Awakening until June 30th..
Let’s see how long that date lasts too.
It will also face a new DESPICABLE ME in theaters the same weekend..Directed and co-written by Franck Khalfoun and produced by Jason Blum alongside co-writers Daniel Farrands, and Casey La Scala, Amityville: The Awakening stars Bella Thorne, Cameron Monaghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Thomas Mann, Jennifer Morrison and Kurtwood Smith.
….some consider this a commendable thing! Going against a big family movie in the middle of the heat of the summer.
Or .. as one said,
Why not just release this on a steaming service or on demand and get it over with? Hasn’t this been on the shelf for two or three years? I wonder if the cast will still be obligated to even promote it?
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‘THUMBS’ UP OR DOWN TO MEGAN FOX IN GOTHAM CITY SIRENS?
Internet rumors are flying.. GOTHAM CITY SIRENS, the DC’s Harley Quinn spinoff from SUICIDE SQUAD, may be featuring Catwoman and Poison Ivy.. and MEGAN FOX’s name has been popping up as a potential for a potential role..
As …
Poison Ivy..The credit can for the NET sensation about Fox can be pinpointed back to a Bleeding Cool post.. Among the sensational thoughts pointed out in the post,
Lastly, and why we are really writing this article, Fox has been ordering comic books online, Very specific ones. I have been shown hard evidence that she has ordered pre-52 Harley Quinn comics that feature Poison Ivy, sent to her Warner Studios address.
This is very very early to be casting doubts or even casting casts! The movie is set for a 2018 release..
If SUICIDE SQUAD is any hint of how DC does things, expect re-shoots to last months..
But Fox as Poison?
Margot Robbie beware..
….the IVY is growing..
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2016 RECORD: BIGGEST BOX OFFICE PREVIEW NIGHT OF THE YEAR FOR THE BOX OFFICE RETURN OF DARTH VADER
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story scored roughly $29 million in its pre-opening Thursday night showings, marking the biggest preview night box office of 2016!
More! Disney CEO Bob Iger doesn’t expect Rogue One to match The Force Awakens‘ record box-office run, but the new movie is forecasted to make as much as $150 million overall in its domestic opening. A global opening of up to $300 million in worldwide ticket sales could also be attainable for Rogue One…
DEVELOPING THIS WEEKEND
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EARLY ROGUE ONE NUMBERS REVEALED
Box office news..
ROGUE ONE set for a $140 mil weekend if estimates hold. Thursday sales were 50% of the FORCE AWAKENS ticket sales one year ago.. but the film is still strong, scoring 85% or better in positive film reactions..
Women are going to see ROGUE ONE is higher numbers than FORCE AWAKENS–but men are enjoying ROGUE ONE more than women..
More than 80% of filmgoers being surveyed say they are going to tell a friend to see ROGUE ONE — word of mouth and positive one and one reviews..
Big pre-Christmas box office weekend set .. May the force be with it..
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For me, ROGUE won
Opening night lights out.. ROGUE ONE on the theater in front of me.. Truly a monumental show.. One of the best STAR WARS movies.. and it far exceeded FORCE AWAKENS in my opinion…
But that is my opinion.
Yesterday I posted a story about just how divisive some of the ROGUE ONE reviews have been. Some love it.. some hate it. No middle ground.
The same experience occurred last night. The group of pep[le I went to see the film with actually thought it was mediocre at best.. They loved the DARTH VADER scenes, but for the most part they chalked this up to a less than memorable movie about what happens just before THE NEW HOPE arrives..
And I thought completely different.
One of my major issues with the FORCE AWAKENS was how it seemed to almost completely rip off NEW HOPE in storyline –this time a massive death star instead of the older more modest version the Empire built– and how it relied on old characters to get it rough the movie instead of eloping new ones..
ROGUE ONE stood on its own. It made you believe in the force and gave you a few good reasons to do so. The Empire has always been similar in its storyline to Nazism. But in this film, we get a more hardcore glimpse into just how ruthless they were.. and how often disturbing the tactics the resistance was before Luke Skywalker gave them reason and morality..
ROGUE ONE, for those who had lived under a rock, is the storyline of how the Empire loses its prized possession: The plans to the death star. The rag tag group of rebels referred to in later movies is explored in depth in ROGUE ONE. It gives a face and name to the once nameless storyline. And the brilliance of it is that we did not need Yoda, or Luke Skywalker, or even Chewbacca. There were a few homages and very brief appearances to the old characters we love, but the joy I found in this movie is that I felt like I was walking a new STAR WARS movie for once! It felt creative.. it felt fresh.. it relied not on old gimmicks but instead a limitless storyline.
And my God, Darth Vader was the most merciless we have seen yet.At one point during the film, I breathed in a big sigh and realized that I was seeing, in a theater, BRAND NEW scenes in a major movie featruring Darth Vader and James Earl Jones as the voice. How much better can that get!
Did this film had flaws? Sure..why not. But did it have any many flaws as the FORCE AWAKENS? Not to me.
ROGUE ONE is a movie STAR WARS fans deserved.. and the people who stole those death star plans certainly needed credit. Now they have it. Finally, the names are revealed and the heroes and heroines of the rebellion finally have their story told.…indeed…I may very well be going to see this movie again.
