Topping the weekend box office with an estimated $50 million, Taken 2 [TAKE2] more than doubled up on the opening of the 2009 original. The debut is the third highest ever in October and the best for a PG-13 rated film. The crowd-pleasing action sequel attracted a broad audience that was 52% male and 56% over the age of 25.
Hotel Transylvania [HTRNS] was bumped to second place with $26.3 million, a 38% decline from its debut. The animated comedy has earned $76.0 million.
Expanding wide...
Business is about to pick up once again as Fox unleashes the action sequel Taken 2 [TAKE2]. 2009’s Taken took the industry by surprise with a $24.7 million debut on Super Bowl weekend, which Hollywood typically counterprograms with female-targeted fares. Showing tremendous legs, Taken finished with $145 million and made Liam Neeson [LNEES] an action star who went on to topline The A-Team, Unknown and The Grey. The sequel shifts the setting from Paris to Istanbul but does not stray far...
Fox has revealed the debut trailer for the thriller Broken City [BRKCT] on Apple. Russell Crowe [RCROW] stars as a corrupt mayor who hires an ex-cop, played by Mark Wahlberg [MWAHL], to spy on his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones [CZETA]). When the mayor double-crossed and then framed him, the ex-cop seeks redemption and revenge to rid the city of its injustice. Broken City is set to open January 18th.
Fox has debuted the teaser trailer for the action sequel A Good Day to Die Hard [DIEH5]. What was once an original high concept series about an ordinary cop getting stuck in an extraordinary situation has been turned into a generic action film as John McClane [BWILL] and son take on an army of Russian bad guys. The fifth installment will not even open during the summer season, but February 14th instead.
DreamWorks Animation has unveiled the teaser trailer for the prehistoric comedy The Croods [CROOD] on Apple. Nicolas Cage [NCAGE] voices a caveman father who has shelter his brood in a cave for their whole lives. Emma Stone [ESTON] voices his inquistive teenage daughter who longs to explore what's outside their home. One day, a landslide opens up a whole new world filled with fantastic wonders as well as hidden dangers. The Croods embark on their 3D journey beginning March 22nd.
Relativity has unleashed a red band trailer for the sketch comedy Movie 43 [MOV43] featuring a star-studded cast of A-list actors spewing foul languages and committing R-rated offenses. Beware, the best laughs may already be in this trailer as the film has sat on the shelves for a couple of years due to poor test screenings. Movie 43 opens January 25th.
FilmDistrict has uploaded the first trailer for the actioner Parker [PARKR] based on the books by Donald E. Westlake. Jason Statham is Jason Statham in Jason Statham. The star [JSTAT] plays the same old honorable thief that he always plays joined by Jennifer Lopez [JLOPE] in the film opening on January 25th.
Parker (Jason Statham) is a professional thief who lives by a personal code of ethics: Don't steal from people who can't afford it and don't hurt people who don't deserve it. But...
Paramount has released the debut trailer for the comedy The Guilt Trip [GTRIP]. Seth Rogen [SROGE] and Barbra Streisand [BSTRE] play son and mother who embark on a cross-country road trip that of course ends in Las Vegas. At least, you wonder who is the target audience for this cross-demographic mash-up, but then their funny chemistry slowly grows on you. The Guilt Trip begins this Christmas.
Andy Brewster is about to embark on the road trip of a lifetime, and who better to accompany...
Walt Disney has launched the teaser trailer for the action adventure The Lone Ranger [LONER], the next franchise from the folks behind Pirates of Caribbean. Armie Hammer [AHAMM] stars as the masked gunslinger of the Amerian West, while Jonny Depp [JDEPP] plays as his side-kick Tonto. Or is it the other way around, Depp gets top-biling as the masked hero Tonto while Hammer plays his cowboy side-kick.
Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that...
Sony Pictures Animation scored their biggest hit yet as the 3D comedy Hotel Transylvania [HTRNS] booked an estimated $43.0 million for the highest September opening ever. The previous mark of $35.6 million was held by 2002's Sweet Home Alabama. Families made up 76% of the audience.
Sony also opened Looper [LOOPR] in second place with $21.2 million. The sci-fi actioner attracted an audience that was 60% male and 70% over the age of 25.
Last weekend's top film End of Watch [ENDWT] fell...
