NTSC User's News Page

Shrek spinoff Puss in Boots has topped the US box office in its opening weekend.

The DreamWorks animation, which features the voices of Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, took $34 million over the course of this weekend.

Last week’s box-office topper Paranormal Activity 3 falls to second place this week with $18.5 million, while the Justin Timberlake-starring sci-fi thriller In Time opened to $12 million.

Dance remake Footloose took $5.4 million while Hunter S. Thompson adaptation The Rum Diary, starring Johnny Depp, opened to estimated takings of $5 million.

This week’s US box office top ten (studio estimates):
1. (-) Puss in Boots – $34 million
2. (1) Paranormal Activity 3 – $18.5 million
3. (-) In Time – $12 million
4. (3) Footloose – $5.4 million
5. (-) The Rum Diary – $5 million
6. (2) Real Steel – $4.7 million
7. (4) The Three Musketeers – $3.5 million
8. (5) The Ides of March – $2.7 million
9. (7) Moneyball – $2.4 million
10. (11) Courageous – $1.8 million

A stuntman has died and another is in critical condition following an accident on the set of The Expendables 2 yesterday.

The incident occurred at 7pm local time when the movie’s 2nd Unit Stunt Team was filming an explosion scene at reservoir Ognyanovo, 15 miles from Bulgaria’s capital of Sofia, Deadline reports.

Production company Nu Image/Millennium Films said: “It is with great regret that we confirm this unfortunate accident.

“Our hearts go out to the families and those on the production affected by this tragedy. The filmmakers are working closely with the authorities in responding to and investigating this accident.”

Local police have launched an investigation into the matter. Details of those involved in the incident are currently being withheld in consideration of their families.

The sequel to The Expendables started shooting last week.

The film’s main unit, which was led by star Sylvester Stallone and director Simon West, was reportedly filming in the mountain resort of Bankso, 2.5 hours away from the incident.

Fox is planning two sequels to the 1996 alien invasion movie Independence Day, it has been reported.

The two movies are expected to shoot back-to-back, focusing on a single storyline, according to New York Magazine.

Independence Day, which starred Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman, grossed $800 million (£498 million) worldwide.

Talks of back-to-back sequels featuring Smith began in earnest in early 2009. However, when Smith allegedly asked for $50 million (£31 million) to shoot the two films, Fox put plans for the sequels on hold.

“The delay wasn’t about whether they both wanted to make the movie,” a source said. “It had more to do with ‘Whose d**k is bigger?'”

(more…)

The third instalment in supernatural horror franchise Paranormal Activity has shot straight to the top of the US box office.

From Catfish directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, Paranormal Activity 3 took $54 million in its opening weekend.

Falling to second place is last week’s box office topper Real Steel with $11.3 million, followed closely by dance remake Footloose with $10.9 million.

Summit Entertainment’s The Three Musketeers opens in fourth place with $8.8 million, followed by the George Clooney-directed drama The Ides of March.

This week’s US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (-) Paranormal Activity 3 – $54 million
2. (1) Real Steel – $11.3 million
3. (2) Footloose – $10.9 million
4. (-) The Three Musketeers – $8.8 million
5. (4) The Ides of March – $4.9 million
6. (5) Dolphin Tale – $4.5 million
7. (6) Moneyball – $4.1 million
8. (-) Johnny English – $3.8 million
9. (3) The Thing – $3.1 million
10. (7) 50/50 – $2.8 million

The writers behind Captain America: The First Avenger have confirmed the film’s sequel will be set in the present day.

The Marvel Studios sequel will be released after next year’s superhero team-up film The Avengers, which sees Captain America adjusting to life in modern times.

“I think it’s safe for us to say that it’s primarily set in the modern day,” Stephen McFeely told The HD Room. “That seems to have been the biggest question people have been wondering about regarding the sequel.

“We’ve been left with room to explore Cap entering the modern day wondering, ‘What is all this? What’s happened to the world’ and so on.”

(more…)

Neil Patrick Harris will reportedly lend his voice to a fourth instalment of the Starship Troopers franchise.

Starship Troopers: Invasion will be a CGI animated film, with Harris reprising his role of Carl Jenkins from the original 1997 movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The new film will follow directly on from Paul Verhoeven‘s original movie, rather than the sequels Starship Troopers 2: Hero Of The Federation in 2004 or Starship Troopers 3: Marauder in 2008.

The fourth movie will centre around Jenkins, who goes missing while on a mission. It will be released on DVD and Blu-ray next year, while it will be released at cinemas in Japan.

Neil Patrick Harris was recently awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

DC Comics chief creative officer Geoff Johns has said that he is hopeful for a sequel to this year’s Green Lantern.

The film, which starred Ryan Reynolds and Mark Strong, was a relative box office disappointment, having taken a worldwide total of $219.9m on a budget of $200m. As a result of the film’s performance, Warner Bros has yet to announce whether it will move ahead with a sequel.

“There is the hope that we will eventually see one,” Johns told The Hollywood Reporter. “Obviously you want it to be as big as Titanic.

“I hope that the character gets another film, and it will be live-action again, I guarantee.”

Johns also noted that Green Lantern had “a lot of really good stuff” in it, and predicted big things for the Green Lantern franchise moving forward.

Green Lantern was released this weekend on Blu-ray and DVD.

ABC has cancelled Charlie’s Angels.

Production has been shut down immediately on the Miami set, although ABC will continue to air the remaining episodes on Thursdays.

After its premiere on September 22, Charlie’s Angels received poor reviews, and has also suffered a sharp decline in ratings.

The Charlie’s Angels reboot stars Minka Kelly, Rachael Taylor and Annie Ilonzeh, with Drew Barrymore as an executive producer.

Charlie’s Angels joins other axed fall shows such as NBC’s The Playboy Club and Free Agents.