Box office: ‘Harry Potter’ hits new heights, Russell Crowe flops….

Harry Potter has cast his biggest opening-weekend spell yet, thanks largely to fans who rushed to midnight screenings late Thursday.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” sold $125.2 million of tickets this weekend, according to an estimate from Warner Bros. That’s 23% higher than the previous biggest first weekend for a “Potter” film, though ticket prices have risen over the years and the last two sequels opened on a Wednesday, not a Friday. Also, the new movie benefited by playing in more digital and large-format theaters, which carry higher ticket prices.

The only other new movie to open nationwide, the Russell Crowe thriller “The Next Three Days,” flopped, debuting to a weak $6.75 million. That’s the worst start for a movie starring Crowe since the 2006 bomb “A Good Year.”

For “Deathly Hallows,” Saturday and Sunday ticket sales were nearly identical to the last series entry to start on a Friday, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” which launched in November 2005. The major difference came from Thursday’s midnight shows, when the new film raked in $24 million, compared with $6 million for “Goblet of Fire.” That accounted for $18 million of the $22-million advantage for this year’s picture.

That reflects changing moviegoing habits as it has become increasingly common in the past five years for moviegoers to rush to see a film as early as possible, noted Warner domestic distribution chief Dan Fellman.

It also shows the changing demographics of the Potter audience, as more fans are now old enough to see the movie late at night rather than in a matinee. About 25% of the audience for “Deathly Hallows” was between 18 and 35, compared with 10% for “Goblet of Fire.”

 

Mood Music Monday 6.13.10: Gospel…..From Up 4 Discussion…..

From JSin…..

It’s Monday! The start of a new day, a new week and new music!

This week we would like to share some great gospel music with you.

Enjoy!

Washington Post story spanks Apple Computer for only having four lobbyist……

[ Despite its increasing influence over consumers’ use of technology, Apple has kept a low profile inside the Beltway — and that is starting to get under lawmakers’ skin. Reuters ]
Can you believe this?

This piece in the Washington Post is complaining that since Apple Computer is running below the radar and finally jumped into the big time with its iTunes, iPhone and iPad systems….

It should be spending more money to lobby Congress with its side to things….

In addition …because Apple prefers to limit its code…..

A lot of people are pissed….

‘Open up Apple…… Show us what you got’……..

This post is typed on an Apple iMac…

And its fun not having to worry that much because the damn companies code is all over the place and  unlike PC’s…their computer’s are relatively virus free…..

I’ll pay the extra few bucks….

It’s worth it…..

Keep up the good work Apple!….

Poeple can always buy the other products……..

Apple is famous for its veil of secrecy around the new iPads and iPhones. But Sen. John Rockefeller and others in Congress wonder whether the company has more than technological innovations to hide.

When Apple didn’t participate in an April hearing on children’s online privacy, the West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, gave voice to his suspicions.

“When people don’t show up when we ask them to … all it does is increases our interest in what they’re doing and why they didn’t show up,” Rockefeller said of Apple and Google, which both declined to testify. “It was a stupid mistake for them not to show up, and I say shame on them.”

While Apple’s success has earned rock-star status in Silicon Valley, its low-wattage approach in Washington is becoming more glaring to policymakers. Despite its increasing influence over consumers’ use of technology — most recently with the iPad and iPhone 4 — Apple has kept a particularly low profile inside the Beltway.

“It’s unfortunate because they are a major player in this area, and we are going to continue to have a long, in-depth conversation,” on these topics, said Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), who presided over theprivacy hearing, referring to Apple’s empty seat at the witness table.

Like Microsoft and Google before it, Apple is getting attention from regulators as it grows and starts to compete more directly with other technology heavyweights.

This week, Google complained about Apple’s new rules limiting application developers’ ability to share iPad and iPhone user data with third parties. Google said the new rules restricting advertisers from Apple’s popular platform are anti-competitive.

This follows other objections to Apple’s exclusion of Adobe’s software from the iPhone. The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission are looking into the complaints.

Last fall, the Federal Communications Commission demanded to know why Apple rejected the Google Voice application from the iPhone App Store. The FCC is also investigating whether exclusive arrangements between wireless carriers and cell phone manufacturers — such as the one involving AT&T and the iPhone — are anti-competitive.

More….

Note….Calm down everyone…..Sooner or later Apple is going to have to play the game…..I know that…..

People are just not going to let them get TOO BIG without having them share some of the pie….

This weekend at the Movies……..The 1980's all over again….

Two reshoots of  olde’s are back this weekend at the Movie’s……

This weekend, two 1980s retreads hit theaters, aiming to tap into the themes that made the originals so popular as well as to draw the nostalgic. The Karate Kid crane-kicks its way onto at least 5,400 screens at 3,663 locations, while The A-Team marches onto approximately 5,200 screens at 3,535 locations.

Produced by Will Smith and featuring his son, Jaden, in the title role and Jackie Chan as the martial arts mentor, The Karate Kid remake seems less faithful to its source material than The A-Team. The titular Kid is a pre-teen verus Ralph Macchio’s teenager from the 1984 smash, arguably lowering the dramatic stakes and relatability for older audiences. The Kid moves to a new location: China instead of Los Angeles, so now only the Kid is a cultural outsider, whereas, in the original, the mentor was as well. What’s more, the martial art is now kung fu instead of the titular karate.

The original Karate Kid debuted nearly 26 years ago in June, grossing $5 million at 931 sites (or the equivalent of around $12 million adjusted for ticket price inflation) and ended its run at $90.8 million (or around $215 million adjusted). The Karate Kid Part II, in which the Kid goes to karate’s native land Japan (like the Kid goes to kung fu’s native land in the remake), made even more in 1986, but the franchise fell apart with The Karate Kid Part III in 1989. The 1994 revival The Next Karate Kid, featuring the original’s Pat Morita and Hilary Swank as his new student, failed, grossing $8.9 million in its entire run.

Though the franchise faded, martial arts continued to be a facet of action movies, and Jackie Chan rose to prominence in America. Mr. Chan mined similar material (albeit in the fantasy genre) with The Forbidden Kingdom, which opened to $21.4 million in 2008 and closed with $52.1 million, and he’s generally been popular among the kids the new Karate Kid has targeted. Recently, Never Back Down, which was essentially a Karate Kid remake, delivered modest numbers ($24.9 million total), but it shot for teens and young adults.

The new Karate Kid‘s remake is banking on its universal underdog, fish-out-of-water and culture clash elements that help made the original such a success, and distributor Sony Pictures’ has cut trailers and ads designed to rouse moviegoers with those themes. In Box Office Mojo‘s reader polling, 12.9 percent have voted to see The Karate Kid on its opening weekend. That’s a relatively strong number given the type of movie it is.

The A-Team is the latest television show adaptation, and the sub-genre has had a mixed track record. The first two Mission: Impossible movies were huge as was the first Charlie’s Angels and the less-well-known S.W.A.T.. On the other hand, pictures like I Spy and The Mod Squad fizzled, while the comediesThe Dukes of Hazzard and Starsky and Hutch and the serious Miami Vice were mid-range performers. An unrelated blast from the ’80s, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, posted a $54.7 million opening last summer on its way to $150.2 million.

More….

This weekend at the Movies……..The 1980’s all over again….

Two reshoots of  olde’s are back this weekend at the Movie’s……

This weekend, two 1980s retreads hit theaters, aiming to tap into the themes that made the originals so popular as well as to draw the nostalgic. The Karate Kid crane-kicks its way onto at least 5,400 screens at 3,663 locations, while The A-Team marches onto approximately 5,200 screens at 3,535 locations.

Produced by Will Smith and featuring his son, Jaden, in the title role and Jackie Chan as the martial arts mentor, The Karate Kid remake seems less faithful to its source material than The A-Team. The titular Kid is a pre-teen verus Ralph Macchio’s teenager from the 1984 smash, arguably lowering the dramatic stakes and relatability for older audiences. The Kid moves to a new location: China instead of Los Angeles, so now only the Kid is a cultural outsider, whereas, in the original, the mentor was as well. What’s more, the martial art is now kung fu instead of the titular karate.

The original Karate Kid debuted nearly 26 years ago in June, grossing $5 million at 931 sites (or the equivalent of around $12 million adjusted for ticket price inflation) and ended its run at $90.8 million (or around $215 million adjusted). The Karate Kid Part II, in which the Kid goes to karate’s native land Japan (like the Kid goes to kung fu’s native land in the remake), made even more in 1986, but the franchise fell apart with The Karate Kid Part III in 1989. The 1994 revival The Next Karate Kid, featuring the original’s Pat Morita and Hilary Swank as his new student, failed, grossing $8.9 million in its entire run.

Though the franchise faded, martial arts continued to be a facet of action movies, and Jackie Chan rose to prominence in America. Mr. Chan mined similar material (albeit in the fantasy genre) with The Forbidden Kingdom, which opened to $21.4 million in 2008 and closed with $52.1 million, and he’s generally been popular among the kids the new Karate Kid has targeted. Recently, Never Back Down, which was essentially a Karate Kid remake, delivered modest numbers ($24.9 million total), but it shot for teens and young adults.

The new Karate Kid‘s remake is banking on its universal underdog, fish-out-of-water and culture clash elements that help made the original such a success, and distributor Sony Pictures’ has cut trailers and ads designed to rouse moviegoers with those themes. In Box Office Mojo‘s reader polling, 12.9 percent have voted to see The Karate Kid on its opening weekend. That’s a relatively strong number given the type of movie it is.

The A-Team is the latest television show adaptation, and the sub-genre has had a mixed track record. The first two Mission: Impossible movies were huge as was the first Charlie’s Angels and the less-well-known S.W.A.T.. On the other hand, pictures like I Spy and The Mod Squad fizzled, while the comediesThe Dukes of Hazzard and Starsky and Hutch and the serious Miami Vice were mid-range performers. An unrelated blast from the ’80s, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, posted a $54.7 million opening last summer on its way to $150.2 million.

More….

The CMT ( Country ) Music Awards……

[ Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert ]

Still recovering from the recentdevastating floods, Nashville got its groove back in a big way Wednesday night at the CMT Music Awards, country music’s only fan-voted award show.

Emcee Kid Rock opened the show, held at the Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville, by promising to punch anyone in the face who interrupted acceptance speeches with “Kanye West-isms.” That turned out not to be necessary, as country-music fans settled in for an evening of prizes, presenters and performances – including top honors for Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert.

The biggest awards – CMT calls them “Buckles” – of the night went to Underwood, 27, for video of the year (“Cowboy Casanova”), Urban, 42, for male video of the year (” ‘Til Summer Comes Around”) and Lambert, 26, for female video of the year (“White Liar”).

Urban gave the most poignant acceptance speech, thanking his wifeNicole Kidman – “Baby girl, I love you so much,” he said – before mentioning the people dealing with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

“I want to send my deepest love and prayers out to all the families around the Gulf, who are going through an insane time right now,” he said. “We’ve never seen anything like this – emotions I can’t even find words for as I watch this thing happening on TV.”

Lambert, who is engaged to fellow country star Blake Shelton, won for a video that shows her running off with the best man at her wedding. “Let’s just hope that my wedding doesn’t end up like that video,” she joked.

Underwood, who also won performance of the year, was emphatically grateful to fans in her speech. “Awesome fans!” she said. “Awesome, awesome, amazing, awesome, awesome!”

All three big winners also performed on the telecast, along with artists including Toby Keith, Lady Antebellum, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and the Zac Brown Band. Urban sang his song “Hit the Ground Runnin’ ” with John Mayer, who will join Urban for a series of duets on an upcoming episode of CMT Crossroads.

Here is the full list of winners:

More……

Mariah Carey IS Pregnant……..

The 40 year old Diva is expecting her first child with husband Nick Cannon……

The issue became public when she had to back out an upcoming movie for ‘personal health reasons’…..

Showing off an extra-curvy figure, mom-to-beMariah Carey hit the stage in Fayetteville, Ark. on Friday to sing for Wal-Mart shareholders. It’s the first time the diva has stepped out in public since a pal confirmed to Us that Carey is expecting.

Although Carey has yet to make a public announcement, she is “in the early stage of pregnancy,” waiting until after the first trimester to share the big news, the pal says in the new Us Weekly.

Even her husband of two years Nick Cannonaccidentally gushed about the pregnancy when chatting with fans in Malibu May 30. “Her bump is bigger. You can almost see it now…I’m very excited!”

Cannon, 29, later retreated a bit. “If & when my wife is ready to make ANY announcements about private matters she will do it personally,” he wrote on Twitter Wednesday night.

More……..

‘Spike TV’…Sandra Bullock most popular with US Troops……

[ Actress Sandra Bullock receives the Troops Choice Award onstage during Spike TV’s 4th Annual “Guys Choice Awards” held at Sony Studios on June 5, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. ]
The 45 year old, soon to be divorced actress, and new mother, has something to be proud of and smile….

A rebounding Sandra Bullock made a surprise appearance at Spike TV‘s “Guys Choice” event Saturday night.

Spike says the stunner received a standing ovation at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, Calif., when she accepted the “Troops Choice” Award for Entertainer of The Year.

The honor was voted on by members of the military and presented to Bullock by Robert Downey Jr..

It was the first public appearance by the 45-year-old actress since she split from cheating hubby Jesse James.

The breakup came shortly after Bullock won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in “The Blind Side” earlier this year
.

More……..

'Spike TV'…Sandra Bullock most popular with US Troops……

[ Actress Sandra Bullock receives the Troops Choice Award onstage during Spike TV’s 4th Annual “Guys Choice Awards” held at Sony Studios on June 5, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. ]
The 45 year old, soon to be divorced actress, and new mother, has something to be proud of and smile….

A rebounding Sandra Bullock made a surprise appearance at Spike TV‘s “Guys Choice” event Saturday night.

Spike says the stunner received a standing ovation at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, Calif., when she accepted the “Troops Choice” Award for Entertainer of The Year.

The honor was voted on by members of the military and presented to Bullock by Robert Downey Jr..

It was the first public appearance by the 45-year-old actress since she split from cheating hubby Jesse James.

The breakup came shortly after Bullock won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in “The Blind Side” earlier this year
.

More……..

Memorial Day Weekend Movie Box Office is the worst in 17 Years…….

Could it be the Movie Ticket Princes?

Blame the playoffs, blame the economy or just blame the movies, but this was a Memorial Day weekend that Hollywood would like to forget.

With new releases “Prince of Persia” and “Sex and the City 2” failing to generate big box office, total movie ticket sales for the four-day holiday weekend were an estimated $186 million, the lowest total since 2001.

(For details on the performances of those two movies and “Shrek Forever After” this weekend, see our initial post.)

Accounting for ticket price inflation, the numbers are much worse. The actual number of tickets sold — about 23.4 million — was the lowest since 1993, according to data compiled by Hollywood.com.

Movie studio distribution executives pointed to several factors that may have depressed this weekend’s box office: the NBA and NHL playoffs that this year feature teams from major cities — Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia — and the Indianapolis 500 race. Another possible reason could be the improving economy, as more people have been going on vacation this year compared with last year.

There’s no precise way to measure just how much of a factor was played by simple disinterest in the available films. Moviegoers who saw “Prince of Persia” and “Sex and the City 2” liked them better than did most critics, giving the films average grades of B+ and B, respectively, according to market research firm CinemaScore. But there’s no denying that the level of excitement was far lower for the two films than for “Night at the Museum 2” and “Terminator Salvation” last year or “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” in 2008.

So far, the high-stakes summer movie season, which starts on the first weekend of May, hasn’t been a good one for the entertainment industry. “Shrek Forever After” had a soft start, though it held relatively well on its second weekend, and “Robin Hood” flopped almost as badly as “Prince of Persia.” Only “Iron Man 2” has achieved the blockbuster status that studios strive for with big-budget summer releases.

More……..

Here are the top 10 movies in the U.S. and Canada, based on their four-day grosses. Percentage drops are based on three-day grosses. International grosses are through Sunday only.

1. “Shrek Forever After” (DreamWorks Animation/Paramount): $55.7 million on its second weekend, down 39%. $18.5 million overseas in 15 foreign markets. Domestic total: $145.5 million. International total: $53.5 million.

2. “Prince of Persia” (Disney): Opened to $37.8 million. $59 million overseas in 47 foreign markets. International total: $87.5 million.

3. “Sex and the City 2” (Warner Bros./New Line/Village Roadshow): $37.1 million for the four-day weekend, plus $14.3 million on its opening Thursday. $27.6 million overseas in 15 foreign markets. Domestic total: $51.4 million. International total: $27.6 million.

4. “Iron Man 2” (Marvel/Paramount): $20.6 million on its fourth weekend, down 38%. $6.8 million overseas in 61 foreign markets. Domestic total: $279.2 million. International total: $281.5 million.

5. “Robin Hood” (Universal/Relativity): $13.6 million on its third weekend, down 44%. $17.6 million in 56 foreign markets. Domestic total: $86.3 million. International total: $154.6 million.

6. “Letters to Juliet” (Summit): $7.3 million on its third weekend, down 34%. Domestic total: $37.9 million.

7. “Just Wright” (Fox Searchlight): $2.7 million on its third weekend, down 50%. Domestic total: $18.7 million.

8. “Date Night” (Fox/Dune): $2.3 million on its eighth weekend, down 38%. $1 million overseas in 32 foreign markets. Domestic total: $93.9 million. International total: $52.8 million.

9. “MacGruber” (Rogue/Universal): $1.9 million on its second weekend, down 62%. Domestic total: $7.6 million.

10. “How to Train Your Dragon” (DreamWorks Animation/Paramount): $1.5 million on its 10th weekend, down 44%. $4.7 million overseas in 62 foreign markets. Domestic total: $213.1 million. International total: $243 million.