Archive for August, 2011

‘Inbetweeners Movie’ scores record comedy opening week at UK box office

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
The Inbetweeners movie still

The Inbetweeners Movie has shattered records at the UK box office on its first full week of release.

The sitcom spinoff, starring Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, James Buckley and Blake Harrison, remains at the chart summit and has recorded the biggest live-action comedy opening ever in the UK with £20 million.

The total surpasses the £17 million earned by The Hangover Part II earlier this year and puts The Inbetweeners Movie‘s total at £27.7 million.

Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess’s romantic drama One Day debuts in second place with £2.2 million, while Rise of the Planet of Apes charts at number three and The Smurfs holds its spot at number four.

Elsewhere, new releases Final Destination 5 and Conan the Barbarian make the top ten, bowing at number five and number eight respectively.

The UK weekend box office top ten in full:
1. (1) The Inbetweeners Movie – £5,696,848
2. (-) One Day – £2,208,724
3. (2) Rise of the Planet of the Apes – £1,659,572
4. (4) The Smurfs – £1,478,650
5. (-) Final Destination 5 – £1,450,464
6. (3) Cowboys & Aliens – £792,898
7. (5) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – £765,191
8. (-) Conan the Barbarian – £622,268
9. (6) Spy Kids: All the Time in the World – £607,051
10. (8) Mr Popper’s Penguins – £408,985

Britney Spears’ new single is Criminal

Monday, August 29th, 2011
VMAS 2011: Britney Spears

Britney Spears has revealed that the fourth single from her Femme Fatale album will be ‘Criminal’.

The singer confirmed the release to MTV during the VMAs last night, and said that she has a “really cool concept” for the track’s video.

When asked what her next single release will be, she replied: “I don’t know if I’m at liberty to tell. But I will anyways – it’s ‘Criminal’.

“Actually the song, when I first heard it, [I thought] ‘It’s really different and [there’s] not anything I’ve heard like this before’. So I really wanted to deliver this song.

“I was thinking of a really cool concept for the video just to make it interesting. You’ll have to see.”

Olly Murs scores second singles No.1 with ‘Heart Skips A Beat’

Sunday, August 28th, 2011

Olly Murs has grabbed his second UK singles chart number one with ‘Heart Skips A Beat’.

The X Factor star’s latest release beat fellow new entry ‘Feel So Close’ by Calvin Harris to pole position, following in the footsteps of his August 2010 debut ‘Please Don’t Let Me Go’.

Last week’s number one Wretch 32 is instead forced to settle for fourth with ‘Don’t Go’, while album chart champion Will Young achieves his tenth Top 10 hit with ‘Jealousy’, a new entry at five.

Emile Sandé’s ‘Heaven’ falls from the runner-up spot to seven, Rizzle Kicks – who lend their vocals to Murs’s chart-topper – are a non-mover at eight with ‘Down With The Trumpets’, while ‘The A Team’ by Ed Sheeran and David Guetta’s ‘Little Bad Girl’ fall three apiece to nine and ten.

The Top 10 in full:
1.
(-) Olly Murs ft. Rizzle Kicks: ‘Heart Skips A Beat’
2. (-) Calvin Harris: ‘Feel So Close’
3. (3) Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera: ‘Moves Like Jagger’
4. (1) Wretch 32 ft. Josh Kumra: ‘Don’t Go’
5. (-) Will Young: ‘Jealousy’
6. (8) Christina Perri: ‘Jar Of Hearts’
7. (2) Emeli Sandé: ‘Heaven’
8. (8) Rizzle Kicks: ‘Down With The Trumpets’
9. (6) Ed Sheeran: ‘The A-Team’
10. (7) David Guetta ft. Taio Cruz & Ludacris: ‘Little Bad Girl’

(more…)

Amy Winehouse ‘Back to Black’ becomes UK’s highest-selling album this century

Thursday, August 25th, 2011
Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse‘s Back to Black has become the UK’s highest-selling album of the century so far.

The record has overtaken James Blunt‘s 2005 debut Back to Bedlam to lead the 21st century best seller list. When the chart was compiled at the end of the last decade, Back to Black finished in third place, behind Blunt and Dido’s No Angel.

Originally released in 2006, Back to Black has had a resurgence in sales since the singer passed away last month.

It returned to the top spot the week after her death, while her debut album Frank also climbed back into the top ten.

The Official Charts Company revealed that Back to Black has now sold 3,259,100 copies, beating Blunt’s sales of 3,241,118.

‘The Inbetweeners Movie’ smashes UK box office records

Monday, August 22nd, 2011
The Inbetweeners movie still

The Inbetweeners Movie has broken box office records in the UK, beating blockbusters Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Cowboys & Aliens to secure the number one spot.

The feature film adaptation of E4’s popular sitcom, starring Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, James Buckley and Blake Harrison, banks more than £13 million from 455 screens across the UK to coast past its big-budget competition.

The Inbetweeners Movie‘s debut weekend, including previews on Wednesday and Thursday, makes it the biggest opening of all time for a UK comedy.

Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason (£10.43 million), Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (£9.37m), Mamma Mia! (£6.59m) and Mr Bean’s Holiday (£6.44m) follow the The Inbetweeners Movie in the UK all-time list.

Producer Chris Young said of the movie’s success: “We are thrilled that The Inbetweeners Movie is the biggest opening of all time for a UK comedy. We really want to thank all the cinemagoers out there who have made the film such a huge success.”

Elsewhere, Western/sci-fi mash-up Cowboys & Aliens makes a disappointing UK debut as it lands at number three behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

The UK box office top ten in full:
1. (-) The Inbetweeners Movie – £13,216,736
2. (1) Rise of the Planet of the Apes – £2,425,887
3. (-) Cowboys & Aliens – £1,777,320
4. (2) The Smurfs – £1,445,619
5. (3) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – £959,001
6. (-) Spy Kids: All the Time in the World – £703,078
7. (4) Super 8 – £441,675
8. (5) Mr Popper’s Penguins – £421,312
9. (-) Glee: The 3D Concert Movie – £356,271
10. (7) Cars 2 – £311,454

Wretch 32 beats Emeli Sandé, Maroon 5 to singles No.1

Sunday, August 21st, 2011

Wretch 32 has grabbed his first UK singles chart number one with ‘Don’t Go’.

The Tottenham-born rapper, aka Jermaine Scott, knocked album chart champions Nero and their ‘Promises’ record from pole position with his third release of 2011.

“To be honest, if someone told me this was going to happen this time last year, I probably would have laughed,” he told the Official Charts Company. “I would have thought they were winding me up.”

‘Don’t Go’ leads an all-new top three, also populated by Scottish singer Emeli Sandé’s debut single ‘Heaven’ and Maroon 5‘s team-up with Christina Aguilera ‘Moves Like Jagger’.

David Guetta, Taio Cruz and Ludacris, meanwhile, are forced down three to seven with ‘Little Bad Girl’, as former chart-toppers JLS and The Wanted drop to the depths of the best-sellers with ‘She Makes Me Wanna’ and ‘Glad You Came’, down seven and four respectively.

The Top 10 in full:
1. (-) Wretch 32 ft. Josh Kumra: ‘Don’t Go’
2. (-) Emeli Sande’s ‘Heaven’
3. (-) Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera: ‘Moves Like Jagger’
4. (5) Christina Perri: ‘Jar Of Hearts’
5. (1) Nero: ‘Promises’
6. (7) Ed Sheeran: ‘The A Team’
7. (4) David Guetta ft. Taio Cruz & Ludacris: ‘Little Bad Girl’
8. (8) Rizzle Kicks: ‘Down With The Trumpets’
9. (2) JLS ft. Dev: ‘She Makes Me Wanna’
10. (6) The Wanted: ‘Glad You Came’

(more…)

James Buckley refused naked ‘Inbetweeners’ scene

Saturday, August 20th, 2011
Blake Harrison, Simon Bird, James Buckley and Joe Thomas

James Buckley has told Digital Spy that he refused to appear naked in The Inbetweeners Movie.

The 24-year-old actor, who plays Jay Cartwright in the teen comedy, admitted that he was reluctant to show his “parts” on the big screen in what Simon Bird confirmed was the “first ever Inbetweeners full-frontal moment”.

Buckley said: “I was asked to be naked. There’s this scene when Jay’s pants fall down. I wasn’t up for it, so they got a double for me, and super-imposed his parts on my body.”

Blake Harrison, who portrays Neil Sutherland, said he also felt embarrassed during the film, recounting a moment when he had to meet the actress playing a woman Neil flirts with.

“I had a really awkward moment when Neil has some flirtations with older women. There’s one moment when he puts his head between a mature lady’s breasts,” Harrison said.

“And it’s awkward to meet someone for the very first time and 2 minutes later, before motorboating in there.”

‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ beats ‘Harry Potter’ at UK box office

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes has ended Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2‘s month-long reign at the top of the UK box office.

The prequel, starring James Franco, Andy Serkis and Freida Pinto, pulls in £5.8 million to beat new release The Smurfs (£3.7 million) and Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (£1.7 million) and secure the number one spot.

Super 8 and family comedy Mr Popper’s Penguins round out the top five.

Elsewhere, Chris Evans’s superhero movie Captain America: The First Avenger is the biggest faller as it slips four places to number eight.

The UK box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Rise of the Planet of the Apes – £5,835,140
2. (-) The Smurfs – £3,778,085
3. (1) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – £1,733,091
4. (2) Super 8 – £1,154,230
5. (3) Mr Popper’s Penguins – £897,336
6. (6) Horrible Bosses – £733,309
7. (5) Cars 2 – £698,863
8. (4) Captain America: The First Avenger – £597,916
9. (7) Horrid Henry: The Movie – £401,147
10. (8) Bridesmaids – £332,171

Nero rule UK singles chart with ‘Promises’

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

London-based dubstep duo Nero have collected their first UK singles chart number one with ‘Promises’.

The electronic act, otherwise known as Dan Stephens and Joe Ray, pushed Cher Lloyd‘s ‘Swagger Jagger’ from pole position with their fourth ever release.

Speaking to the Official Charts Company, Ray credited the momentous feat to the success of their January single ‘Me & You’ and their nomination for the BBC’s ‘Sound Of 2011’ poll.

“We’d been going since about 2004, then suddenly we had this number 15 hit,” he said. “Before that, we were expected to carry on being an underground, word-of-mouth thing. Suddenly we were being played on Radio 1 and everything changed.”

Beyond the summit of the chart, David Guetta, Taio Cruz and Ludacris climb two to this week’s four with ‘Little Bad Girl’, as Christina Perri’s ‘Jar Of Hearts’ rises 12 spots to round out the refreshed top five.

Their ascent, coupled with Nero’s arrival at number one, forces Ed Sheeran’s ‘The A Team’, ‘Louder’ by DJ Fresh and Beyoncé’s ‘Best Thing I Never Had’ three, four and three places down the rankings respectively to this week’s seven, nine and ten.

The Top 10 in full:
1. (-) Nero: ‘Promises’
2. (2) JLS: ‘She Makes Me Wanna’
3. (1) Cher Lloyd: ‘Swagger Jagger’
4. (6) David Guetta ft. Taio Cruz and Ludacris: ‘Little Bad Girl’
5. (-) Christina Perri: ‘Jar Of Hearts’
6. (3) The Wanted: ‘Glad You Came’
7. (4) Ed Sheeran: ‘The A Team’
8. (9) Rizzle Kicks: ‘Down With The Trumpets’
9. (5) DJ Fresh ft. Sian Evans: ‘Louder’
10. (7) Beyoncé: ‘Best Thing I Never Had’

(more…)

‘Harry Potter’ holds off ‘Super 8’ at UK box office

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has held off competition from Super 8 to top the UK box office.

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint‘s final Harry Potter outing pulls in £2.8 million to beat the opening haul for JJ Abrams and Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi drama.

Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has now grossed more than £62 million at the box office, making it the most successful UK release of 2011.

Jim Carrey’s family comedy Mr Popper’s Penguins is a new entry at number three, while Captain America and Cars 2 complete the top five.

Elsewhere, Bridesmaids continues to show strong staying power as it charts at number eight. The Kristen Wiig comedy has grossed more than £21 million since its release six weeks ago.

The UK box office top ten in full:
1. (1) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – £2,810,088
2. (-) Super 8 – £2,207,063
3. (-) Mr Popper’s Penguins – £1,515,248
4. (2) Captain America: The First Avenger – £1,470,703
5. (3) Cars 2 – £1,246,055
6. (4) Horrible Bosses – £1,127,654
7. (5) Horrid Henry: The Movie – £833.262
8. (7) Bridesmaids – £539,252
9. (6) Zookeeper – £474,907
10. (9) The Guard – £202,758