SPIN FACTOR^® - The HSX Blog

Two new films will counter the box office dominated by the blockbuster Iron Man 3 [IRNM3] by targeting other segments of moviegoers. The Marvel threequel should easily repeat in first place after the second best opening of all times at $174.1 million. The universally praised The Avengers declined 50% last year, while the widely panned Iron Man 2 dropped 59% during their respectively second weekend. While the reception to Iron Man 3 has been more favorable than the first sequel, the debut is...

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Fox Searchlight has unveiled the debut trailer for the romantic comedy Baggage Claim [BAGCL] on Apple.  Paula Patton [PPATT] stars as a single flight attendant whose youngest sister is about to get married.   With 30 days to find the perfect man before the wedding, she uses her airline connections to accidentally bump into her ex-boyfriends believing one of them may have been the one.  Sounds like the African-American version of What's My Number? starring Anna Faris.  Baggage Claim lands...

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CBS Films has dropped a redband trailer for the drama Inside Llewyn Davis [INSLD] directed by Joel and Ethan Coen [COEN].  Oscar Isaac [OISAA] stars as a folk singer working New York City's Greenwich Village in 1961.  Inside Llewyn Davis will premiere at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, but won't arrive in U.S. theaters until December 6th.

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Sony has released the teaser trailer for the thriller Captain Phillips [CDUTY] based on the real-life events chronicled in the book "A Captain's Duty".  Tom Hanks [THANK] stars as Richard Phillips, the American captain of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama that was boarded and hijacked by a gang of Somali pirates in 2009.  His brave heroics saved his crew while Seal Team Six eventually took care of the pirates.  Directed by Paul Greengrass [PGREE], Captain Phillips opens in theaters October...

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Universal has unleashed the international teaser for the sci-fi comedy The World's End [WSEND].  Director Edgar Wright [EWRIG] completes a buddy trilogy of sorts that began with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz with Simon Pegg [SPEGG] and Nick Frost [NFROS].  Five friends who completed an epic pub crawl twenty years ago reunite in their hometown to do it again culminating in the 12th pub called The World's End. However, the locals appear to have been taken over by an alien force and it's up to...

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The Weinstein Co. has released the teaser trailer for the historical drama The Butler [BUTLR] directed by Lee Daniels [LDANI].   Forest Whitaker [FWHIT] stars as a character based on the real-life Eugene Allen, who served in the White House for eight Presidents from 1952 to 1986. Robin Williams [RWILL] is Dwight Eisenhower, James Marsden [JMARS] is John F. Kennedy, Liev Schreiber [LSCHR] is Lyndon B. Johnson, John Cusack [JOHNC] is Richard Nixon, Alan Rickman [ARICK] is Ronald Reagan...

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Summit has debuted the teaser trailer for the sci-fi actioner Ender's Game [EGAME] based on the classic Orson Scott Card novel. For those who've waited over 25 years to see the Battle Room realized on screen,  Ender's Game finally hits theaters on November 1st.

In the near future, a hostile alien race called the Formics have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley [BKING]), all would have been lost. In preparation for...

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Following The Avenger's all-time highest opening of $207.4 million last year, Iron Man 3 [IRNM3] banked an estimated $175.3 million to now rank second-best ever.  The Marvel superhero sequel attracted a massive audience that was 61% male and 45% under the age of 25.  The film benefited from the 3D surcharge paid by 45% of the moviegoers.  Iron Man 3 also had a 10% higher turnout from families than The Avengers, which coupled with its CinemaScore of A could bode well for its long term...

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Sony has unveiled the second trailer for the action thriller White House Down [WHDWN].  Channing Tatum [CTATU] plays a police officer who wants to be a Secret Service agent and happens to be in the White House when terrorists attack Washington D.C..  Somehow, he is the last man left to protect the U.S. President, played by Jamie Foxx [JFOXX], and the film turns into a buddy cop comedy.  The attempt at an "Get off my plane!" punchline from Air Force One comes up just a bit lacking.  Playing...

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Marvel once again kicks off the summer blockbuster movie season with Iron Man 3 [IRNM3] the third solo outing for the armored superhero played by Robert Downey Jr. [RDOWN]. Although the film is technically a sequel to 2010’s Iron Man 2, the story in Iron Man 3 follows the events of last year’s The Avengers, where Iron Man last made his appearance alongside Thor, Captain America and Hulk. As we all know, The Avengers set the all-time opening weekend record at $207.4 million and was beloved...

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