Sherlock Holmes and Avatar Break Box Office Records, Including The Big One Dan Koelsch, December 28, 2009December 28, 2009 This holiday weekend was a big one for Hollywood, with several records being broken, thanks to the two most anticipated films of the month and a chipmunk. First of all, Sherlock Holmes broke the record for biggest Christmas Day opening with $24.6 million on Friday. Guess who’s #2 on that list: Avatar, which had an equally impressive $23.1 million on Friday, and even beat Holmes for the weekend. What makes Avatar‘s weekend even more special is that it had the best second weekend ever for a film with $75.6 million (The Dark Knight had previously held the record with $75.2 million). That’s a drop of only 2% from its first weekend’s $77 million opening. Any concerns about the $230 million plus movie making back its budget are out the window now that its worldwide gross is $623.6 million as of today. You might have guessed that these large numbers might mean something larger for the weekend, and you’d be right. With $273 million, this was the highest grossing weekend EVER in film history, out surpassing last year’s July opening of The Dark Knight, which helped bring in a total $260.5 million for the box office. The great opening for Sherlock Holmes also made history, as it helped Warner Bros. become the first studio to ever gross $2 billion in a year. Overall, not a bad weekend. Here is the full top 10 list for the Christmas weekend, via Box Office Mojo:1. Avatar – $75.6 2. Sherlock Holmes – $62.4M 3. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel – $48.9M 4. It’s Complicated – $22.1M 5. The Blind Side – $11.5M 6. Up in the Air – $11.3M 7. The Princess and the Frog – $9M 8. Nine – $5.45M 9. Did You Hear About the Morgans? – $5M 10. Invictus – $4.04M News AvatarSherlock Holmes
‘McFarland, USA’ Interview: Rafael Martinez, Ramiro Rodriguez, Michael Aguero, Coach Jim White Talk Training, Film Counterparts, And Learning Curve February 20, 2015February 20, 2015McFarland, USA is the heartwarming film that chronicles the real life Coach Jim White’s journey from a down-and-out coach to a coach of a high school with multiple state championships under their belt. But the film goes beyond winning and losing, and as White learned, there is a cultural gap… Read More
Avatar to Become a Broadway Play April 1, 2010April 1, 2010Avatar has become the biggest grossing movie ever made, so it was only a matter of time before 20th Century Fox and others tried to really cash in on the James Cameron epic. The studio is teaming up with an accomplished Broadway producer to bring Avatar to the stage. Find… Read More
Simon Kinberg Talks “Star Wars Rebels,” “X-Men: Apocalypse,” Working With J.J. Abrams, And More July 25, 2014July 25, 2014Though Simon Kinberg is most known for writing the last few sequels to the X-Men film franchise, the scribe also was tasked with writing the drafts for the new Star Wars films including its spinoffs. And it is that connection that allowed LucasFilms president Kathleen Kennedy to hire him to… Read More