Sunday, February 21, 2016

'Deadpool' Tops $490M Worldwide; 'Risen', 'Witch' & 'Mermaid' Open Strong

Box Office Mojo



by Brad Brevet
 
 
February 21, 2016


Deadpool took #1 at the weekend box office once again in its second weekend of release, crossing $235 million domestically. But it wasn't a weekend all about the Merc with the Mouth as a pair of newcomers in Risen and The Witch had strong opening performances. Additionally, Focus' Race finished its debut sprint with a sixth place finish and Sony saw an impressive limited opening for Stephen Chow's Chinese box office behemoth The Mermaid.

In first, Deadpool brought in an estimated $55 million in its second weekend, a 58.5% drop from last weekend, which is well within expectation as films that open over $100 million tend to drop, on average, 54.3%. Deadpool, as it turns out, had a similar drop to the previous R-rated opening weekend champion, The Matrix Reloaded, which dropped 59.8% in its second weekend back in 2003. The film's drop, however, is much better than last year's Valentine's and President's Day weekend champ, Fifty Shades of Grey, which dropped a massive 73.9%.

Internationally, Deadpool took in an estimated $85 million, bringing its overseas cume to $256.5 million. Combined with its estimated $235.4 million domestic total, the film currently sits at $491.9 million in just under two weeks of release. Domestically, Deadpool has now grossed more than any of the X-Men movies (not adjusted for inflation) and is only second to X-Men: Days of Future Past ($747.9m) worldwide.

The first of the weekend's new releases on the domestic chart is Sony's Risen, which brought in an estimated $11.8 million along with a solid "A-" CinemaScore. The film should play well through March and into early April as it scored one of the biggest faith-based openings of all-time, placing seventh behind the likes of The Passion of the Christ, Son of God and Heaven is for Real as well as the three films in the Narnia trilogy. The demographics of the audience were 53% female vs. 47% male with 70 percent 25 years of age and over.

Next we have The Witch, which delivered the best opening ever in A24's young history. The film delivered an estimated $8.68 million in its first three days from 2,046 theaters. This is the widest opening for an A24 film by far, with Kevin Smith's Tusk previously owning that distinction, opening in 602 theaters. It's not all sunshine and roses for the film, however, as the "C-" CinemaScore doesn't bode well for the weekend holdover.

On average, films with a "C-" CinemaScore drop over 53% in their second weekend, though horror films tend to have a little better hold, averaging a 51.5% second weekend. There is some precedent for a strong second weekend for a film in this range as 2011's Don't be Afraid of the Dark scored a "C-" upon its $8.5 million opening and dropped only 39% in its sophomore session. That was, however, a long Labor Day weekend, which likely played a role in the film's stronger Sunday hold.

The Witch's second weekend hold could mean the difference between a theatrical run that ends around $19 million and one that attempts to push toward $25+ million. Either way, A24 is already in good shape having purchased distribution rights for the film for only $1 million.

The last of the weekend's new wide releases, Race, finished with an estimated $7.27 million from 2,369 theaters. The Jesse Owens biopic scored the weekend's highest CinemaScore of an "A" and played to an audience that was 51% female vs. 49% male, of which 76% was age 25 years old and up. The film will likely end up somewhere around $20 million, plus-minus a million or so, once all is said and done.

In limited release, Stephen Chow's The Mermaid, made its way stateside this weekend. The film currently stands at a record $419.4 million in China and Sony opened it in a mere 35 domestic theaters this weekend where it grossed an estimated $1.015 million. That makes for a weekend-topping $29,000 per theater average. For some added context, this is the biggest opening day and weekend for a limited release Chinese-language film.

Oscilloscope opened the Oscar-nominated Embrace of the Serpent on Wednesday where it made $11,209 in its first two days from two theaters. The film added one more theater for its opening weekend where it brought in an estimated $50,165, a $16,722 per theater average. Lionsgate released Busco Novio Para Mi Mujer into 357 theaters where it grossed an estimated $900,000 and Fox International released Neerja into 73 theaters where it grossed an estimated $585,315.

Finally, in its expanded release into 540 theaters, Lady in the Van brought in an estimated $1.5 million as the Maggie Smith starrer has now climbed to a $3.8 million cume. Also expanding this weekend, Sony made one last ditch effort to push Spectre over $200 million as it added 293 theaters. The film, however, could only muster an estimated $105,000 from 340 theaters. Its cume now stands at $199.7 million.

Next weekend Deadpool could quite easily make it a third straight #1 finish as incoming competition includes Gods of Egypt opening in over 3,000 theaters along with Eddie the Eagle and Triple 9, both opening in over 2,000 theaters. None of those films look as if they will be able to compete with Deadpool, which will likely bring in $26+ million next weekend.

You can click here for a look at the complete weekend estimates and we'll have weekend actuals for you tomorrow afternoon.

Discuss this story with fellow Box Office Mojo fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @boxofficemojo and author Brad Brevet at @bradbrevet.

‘Deadpool’ Nears $500 Million at Worldwide Box Office #Marvel

Variety



Deadpool” is a certified global phenomenon.

The violent comic-book movie isn’t getting lost in translation, topping the foreign box office for the second weekend in a row to the tune of $85 million. Given that its worldwide total stands at $491.7 million, “Deadpool” should cross the $500 million mark at some point on Monday.

The film about a wise-cracking mercenary opened in first place in 17 new markets, including South Korea with $12 million, Spain with $4.1 million and Italy with a $3.3 million haul. 

Moviegoers seem to be embracing the foul-mouthed title character played by Ryan Reynolds, but the four-letter words and blood-letting did come at a price. “Deadpool” has been banned in China, the world’s second-largest film market. Fox produced “Deadpool” for $58 million.

In second place, the Chinese fantasy “The Mermaid” became the highest-grossing film in the country’s history after earning $56 million. Its global total stands at $421 million, pushing it past previous record-holder “Monster Hunt,” which earned $374 million last year.

Disney’s “Zootopia” took third place with $31.2 million ahead of its U.S. opening next month. Set in a city of anthropomorphic animals, the family film has made $39 million globally and is now screening in 222 territories, including such major markets as France, Italy, Korea and Mexico.

“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny,” a sequel to the 2000 Oscar winner, and “The Monkey King 2,” a follow-up to the 2014 Chinese hit, rounded out the top five. The “Crouching Tiger” installment opened to $21 million, while the second “Monkey King” earned $13 million, pushing its haul to $157.6 million.  

Monday, February 15, 2016

Who is Lady Gaga paying tribute to with her latest tattoo?

Hello Magazine!
In a fitting tribute to her icon, Lady Gaga got a large tattoo of David Bowie on her ribcage and stomach, on Saturday. Inviting her fans to go through the inking process with her, the singer shared a series of Snapchat videos documenting artist Mark Mahoney giving her the tattoo.

The videos capture the Poker Face singer lying very still, as the tattoo artist expertly etches the picture of David dressed as his alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The image chosen by the star is of Ziggy on the front of the Aladdin Sane album cover. The performer is looking down, his face painted with his iconic lightening bolt make-up.
gaga-
Lady Gaga went to her favourite tattoo artist Mark Mahoney to get her David Bowie inking done
Following the intense inking session, Lady Gaga shared a picture of the completed tattoo, alongside the caption: "This was the image that changed my life."

Her artistic tribute to the star comes two days before the Golden Globes winner is set to perform an eight-minute long musical tribute to David, at the GRAMMY awards. The executive producer of the show said that the 29-year-old is the perfect person to sing the icon’s songs.
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The singer says David has been a constant inspiration throughout her career
"We had already booked Lady Gaga on this year’s show, but when David passed, almost in a single moment, we know we had to change direction. We immediately spoke and agreed that she should be the one to honour David. She’s perfect for it. So I reached out to Nile [Rogers] and, before long, we were on our way to creating what we believe will not only make a great GRAMMY moment, but one fitting of David."

Before his death on 10 January, Lady Gaga spoke out about her admiration for the singer. "I always felt that his glamour was something he was using to express a message to people that was very healing for the souls," she told The Hollywood reporter. "He is a true, true artist and I don’t know if I ever went, ‘Oh I’m going to be that way like this’ or if I arrived upon it slowly, realising it was my calling and that’s what drew me to him."

'Deadpool' Smashes Box Office Records On Way to $260 Million Worldwide Opening

by Brad Brevet

  
 
February 14, 2016



Blowing away even the most lofty of expectations, Deadpool decimated the Valentine's and President's Day weekend box office in record-breaking fashion with an estimated $135 million three-day weekend. As for its incoming competition, How to be Single performed mostly as expected while fifteen years proved too long to wait to release Zoolander 2.

Rewriting the box office record books, Deadpool broke Fifty Shades of Grey's previous February opening weekend record by nearly $45 million based on estimates and that's just the start. The largest opening for an R-rated film was previously $91.7 million, set by The Matrix Reloaded in 2003. That's been destroyed. The largest opening weekend for an R-rated comic book adaptation was previously set by 300 with $70.8 million. Bye, bye.

This is even the largest opening weekend ever for 20th Century Fox, beating a record of $108.4 million previously held by Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Though, to be fair, Revenge of the Sith did open on a Thursday where it brought in $50 million so it's not a complete apples-to-apples comparison, but it does bring us to Deadpool's expected four-day run.

Right now Fox is estimating a $150 million four-day weekend while rival studios go as high as $156 million. In just its first two days Deadpool nearly broke the previous President's Day weekend record of $93 million set by Fifty Shades of Grey, so it already holds the overall record, now it's only a matter of how much will it end up making once Monday's official totals are revealed.

This is also the largest opening for star Ryan Reynolds, a distinction previously held by X-Men Origins: Wolverine at $85 million. More exciting, however, may be the fact this is the largest opening weekend for a first-time director. Deadpool was directed by Tim Miller whose previous credits include a pair of short films along with serving as a visual effects guru for video games including "Mass Effect 2" and "Star Wars: The Old Republic". The previous record holder was Chris Miller, director of Shrek the Third, which opened with $121.6 million back in 2007. As far as live action films are concerned, Robert Stromberg held the previous record with the $69.4 million opening for Maleficent.

Next weekend will be interesting as films that open this large tend to also drop more than 50% in their second weekend. The "A" CinemaScore definitely bodes well for the film's future as films that open with more than $120 million and have an "A" CinemaScore have all gone on to gross more than $300 million. Of the ten films since 2008 that opened with more than $120 million and held an "A" CinemaScore only two managed to drop less than 50%, those being 2015's blockbusters, Jurassic World (49% second weekend drop) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (39.8%). Deadpool, however, is in a league of its own as it is the only one in that group with an R-rating, a classification Hollywood is surely looking at closely. It will be interesting to see if we start seeing more films of this sort as we know a Deadpool sequel is already in the works.

The weekend is also coming up roses for Deadpool overseas as the film brought in a whopping $125 million from 61 international markets. This is the third highest grossing international opening for Fox ever. Among the accolades, the film scored the largest industry opening in Russia with $12.4 million as well as the largest Fox opening in 13 other markets including Australia ($10m); Taiwan ($8.25m); Brazil ($5.9m); Hong Kong ($3.8m); and Malaysia ($2.9m). Overall we're looking at a $260.1 million worldwide debut for the "Merc with a Mouth".

Moving to this week's other two new wide releases, New Line and MGM's How to be Single is performing just a shade below expectations, bringing in an estimated $18.7 million for the three-day weekend and expected to finish with just over $20 million for the four-day. The film didn't exactly score stellar reviews, but the "B" CinemaScore is decent enough to suggest it should have a so-so run, perhaps ending its domestic run around $50-60 million if it can hold on next weekend. The film also brought in $8.1 million internationally this weekend

Moving further down the chart we come to Zoolander 2, which opened with an estimated $15.6 million along with a "C+" CinemaScore with the target demo of 18-24 year-olds gave it a "B". The lackluster opening is almost exactly the same as the $15.5 million opening for the first film, which went on to make just over $45 million back in 2001. The first Zoolander dropped only 38.7% in its second weekend and if the sequel can manage something similar it may be able to top its predecessor, with an overall domestic run anywhere from $42-49 million seeming most likely at this point.

Also opening this weekend was Michael Moore's latest documentary, Where to Invade Next, which opened with an estimated $933,240 for a $3,030 per theater average. Moore's ability to publicize the film was hindered as he fell ill with pneumonia and was in intensive care last week and home resting this week, just ahead of the film's release.

Looking at the weekend's holdovers, Kung Fu Panda 3 delivered with a stellar 7.5% drop, coming in second with an estimated $19.6 million. Fox is expecting a $26 million four-day as the film's domestic cume is now up to $93.9 million.

The Revenant edged out Hail, Caesar! for the fifth slot, bringing in an estimated $6.9 million as the Coens' latest dipped 42% for a $6.5 million second weekend.

This weekend also marked something of a milestone as Star Wars: The Force Awakens fell out of the weekend top five for the first time since releasing back on December 18. The film took seventh place this weekend with an estimated $6.1 million as its domestic cume is now up to $914.8 million and its worldwide returns totaling more than $2.026 billion.

Next weekend the competition doesn't look tough enough to keep Deadpool from a second consecutive week at #1. New releases next Friday include the faith-based feature Risen from Sony; Focus will bring the Jesse Owens biopic Race to approximately 2,300 theaters; and A24 is going aggressive with a wide release of their period horror feature The Witch.

For a complete look at this weekend's results click here and stay tuned as we'll be back tomorrow with four-day estimates and on Tuesday we'll have complete weekend actuals for you.

Discuss this story with fellow Box Office Mojo fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @boxofficemojo and author Brad Brevet at @bradbrevet.

Funny Cat Meme for the Week:-)

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Marvel Fans! I present the newest superhero in the Marvel Extended Universe!!! Spider-Cat!!!


You're Welcome!

11 Powerful Goddesses From Around The World To Invoke In Your Life

Goddesses, or female representations of the divine, can be found in religious traditions the world over. They hold places of importance in Hinduism, Buddhism, paganism and the ancient cultures of Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Americas and more. In their ancient stories, these goddesses embody a mixture of warriors, mothers, magicians and lovers.

Every goddess has her own unique qualities, talents and associated rituals. Over the centuries -- and to this day -- people have conducted rituals to specific goddesses when they want to generate certain results in their lives. Having trouble in relationships? Try calling on Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Is money your concern? Consider making an offering to Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth.

There are dozens of different goddesses from cultures around the world, but here are 11 powerful deities to consider invoking in your life:

Brigid - Celtic
Dorling Kindersley via Getty Images

Brigid is a Celtic goddess revered for her many talents. She is considered a protector of livestock and the young, and she is a patroness of poetry, metalsmithing, healing and spring. She is celebrated on the pagan holiday of Imbolc, which falls on February 2 in the Northern Hemisphere. There are many wells named after Brigid throughout Ireland where people leave offerings of coins for healing.

Kuan Yin - Buddhist

Kelli Klymenko via Getty Images

Kuan Yin is a Buddhist deity who embodies compassion. Her name translates to "perceiving the sounds (or cries) of the world." She is a goddess of mercy, dedicated to relieving the suffering in the world. Offerings are made to Kuan Yin in the form of sweet cakes, lotus incense, fresh fruit or flowers, particularly when one hopes to invoke her blessing or conceive children.

Isis - Egyptian

Zadvinskii via Getty Images

Isis is one of the most powerful deities in the Egyptian pantheon. Her name means "throne" and she is often depicted with the hieroglyphic sign of the throne or a solar disk and cow’s horns on her head. Her magical abilities are believed to be so great they could heal the sick and bring back the dead. In her role as mother of the god Horus, Isis is viewed as a powerful protector and a role model for mothers.

Shakti - Hinduism

Arjunkrishna90/Wikipedia

In Hinduism, Shakti is the underlying divine power in the universe -- the source from which all existence springs. As such she is akin to the "Mother Earth" of other traditions but is sometimes viewed more as an energetic force than as a divine female being. In Hindu tradition, women are thought to be vessels of shakti and thus possess powers of creation and destruction. Shakti worship is a key element of Tantra Yoga, a form of meditation practice that developed in the 5th century CE.

Freya - Norse

Aloysius Patrimonio via Getty Images

Freya is the powerful Norse goddess of love and fertility. She is a practitioner of magic with an aptitude for manipulating reality to suit her desires. She is also associated with the dead, as she presides over Folkvang, the afterlife realm, whose inhabitants she selects from among slain warriors. In this capacity she is believed to help guide the recently deceased to the afterlife. Those wishing to invoke her help doing magic or attracting love leave offerings of mead, honey, meat and more.

Bast - Egyptian

falcon0125 via Getty Images

Bast, or Bastet, is the Egyptian goddess of warfare, depicted in the form of a cat. She is a fierce protector said to possess the Utchat, the all-seeing eye of Horus. She has also been associated with fertility, music and physical pleasure. Bast is associated with perfume, as well, as the hieroglyph for her name is the same as that of the bas jar, used to hold expensive perfumes. For that reason people occasionally leave her offerings of perfumes and scented oils.

Athena - Greek

EURASIA PRESS via Getty Images

Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom and a friend to warriors. A virgin goddess, Athena is poised and courageous but also a lover of arts and literature. She is often represented as an owl, or with an owl at her side, and is associated with the olive tree. As the patron deity of Athens, Greece, Athena is often called upon for protection and to help in matters of war and governance.

Pachamama - Andean

Bob Wickham via Getty Images

Pachamama is the Mother Earth goddess of the Andean people. She embodies nourishment and abundance and encompasses all of creation, similar to the Greek goddess, Gaia. She is associated with rituals for fertility, protection and healthy crops. Those who venerate her typically leave offerings of food, tobacco, alcohol and coca leaves.

Mazu - Buddhist
Peter Cook via Getty Images
Mazu is a Chinese Buddhist goddess of the sea. She is venerated as the patron of sailors and seafarers and is said to come to the aid of those who call for her. Mazu is believed to be the deified form of a young woman named Lin Mo Niang, who lived during the 10th century AD. Lin Mo was known as a healer who cured the sick and had the power to predict the weather and even quell storms at sea.

Inanna - Sumerian

Gruenemann/Flickr

Inanna is the Sumerian goddess of sexual love and procreation, called the Queen of Heaven. She is often associated with the Mesopotamian goddess, Ishtar, and the Phoenician Astarte. She is also thought to be skilled in war and politics and is often depicted with lions to represent her courage and prowess. Offerings to Inanna are made in the form of special cakes, wine, grains and meat.

Eos - Greek
Wikipedia

Eos is the Greek goddess of the dawn, a patron of new beginnings. She is the sister of Helios, the sun god, and Selene, the moon goddess. She is frequently depicted with wings and is said to dispense the morning dew on the earth. Eos is also believed to have an insatiable lust -- both for love and adventure. 

Links - Exciting new publishing to come from J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World

  • Exciting new publishing to come from J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World

    J.K. Rowling’s literary agency, The Blair Partnership, has today announced an exciting new programme of publishing from the Wizarding World, in collaboration with her publishing partners in the UK and US.
    Launching on 31st July 2016 with the script book of the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II, the programme of new print and digital products will roll out well into 2019, to include brand new editions of the Hogwarts Library books, and Warner Bros. licenced publishing relating to Harry Potter and to the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
    The script book of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II is to be published in response to massive public demand.  The version to be published on 31st July 2016 will be a Special Rehearsal Edition, comprising the text version of the script at the time of the play’s preview performances, prior to opening night.  The preview process allows the creative team time to rehearse changes or to explore specific scenes further, so the script is subject to change, which is why the Special Rehearsal Edition will only be available for a limited time, to be replaced by a Definitive Collector’s Edition at a later date.
    To read the full press release about the publishing programme, please go to www.theblairpartnership.com.
    Further information on the publications can be found at the publishers’ websites:
    www.bloomsbury.com
    www.littlebrown.co.uk
    www.pottermore.com
    www.scholastic.com

Sunday, February 7, 2016

21 Things You’ll Only Understand If You Have An Evil Cat

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