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Chronicles of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking has been given an R rating by the MPAA.

The watchdog gave the film an adult certificate for its depiction of “strong violence, language and some sexual content/nudity”.

Vin Diesel previously said that the upcoming sequel would be R-rated, but there was some doubt as its predecessor The Chronicles of Riddick was a PG-13.

The movie sees the actor take on the role of the titular bounty hunter for a third time on screen, backed by a supporting cast that includes Karl Urban, Jordi Molla, Matt Nable and Katee Sackhoff.

Dredd star Urban previously revealed details of the project, describing it as having an “indie arthouse sensibility”.

Directed by David Twohy, Chronicles of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking will arrive in theatres in 2013.

Disney has confirmed new Star Wars movies after buying Lucasfilm in a multi-billion dollar deal.

The Walt Disney Company announced that it has agreed to acquire the George Lucas-founded firm for $4.05 billion (£2.5bn) in cash and stock.

Disney has now confirmed that Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015.

Walt Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger added in a shareholder conference call that the studio also plans to release Episodes 8 and 9, explaining: “Our long-term plan is to release a new Star Wars feature film every two to three years.”

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Argo has climbed one place to top the US box office this weekend.

The Ben Affleck-directed thriller knocked previous chart-topper Paranormal Activity 4 off the summit after grossing $12.35m. The horror sequel dropped to number four, earning $8.67m in its second week on release.

Multi-layered drama epic Cloud Atlas made its debut at number three with $9.4m, narrowly beaten out by Hotel Transylvania, which jumped two places from last week’s number four position and grossed $9.5m.

Other debuts this week come from Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, which entered at number five with $8m, and teen comedy Fun Size, which grossed $4.06m to slip in at number ten.

The Liam Neeson-starring action film Taken 2 drops three places to number six, while Kevin James’s Here Comes the Boom remains steady at number seven.

Finally, supernatural horror Sinister also falls to number eight, from its previous position of six, and Alex Cross plummets four places to number nine.

The top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (2) Argo – $12.35 million
2. (4) Hotel Transylvania – $9.5 million
3. (-) Cloud Atlas – $9.4 million
4. (1) Paranormal Activity 4 – $8.675 million
5. (-) Silent Hill: Revelation 3D – $8 million
6. (3) Taken 2 – $8 million
7. (7) Here Comes the Boom – $5.5 million
8. (6) Sinister – $5.07 million
9. (-) Alex Cross – $5.05 million
10. (-) Fun Size – $4.06 million

The network has ordered 12 more episodes of the Claire Danes drama, which will air in 2013.

The second season has been attracting higher ratings with each episode in the US, with last night’s episode being its most watched yet with 1.75m viewers.

The ratings are even higher in the UK, where the season one finale attracted nearly 3m viewers. Channel 4 had already acquired the rights to a potential season three before it was announced.

Homeland also recently swept the top awards at the Primetime Emmys, winning the ‘Lead Actor’ (Damian Lewis), ‘Lead Actress’ (Danes) and ‘Outstanding Drama’ accolades.

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Paranormal Activity 4 has debuted at number one at the US box office, earning $30.2m.

The latest instalment of the horror movie franchise directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman joins the other highly successful Paranormal films, which have made over $576 million worldwide to date.

Ben Affleck’s Argo held on to the number two spot with $16.6m, while Hotel Transylvania and Taken 2 took third and fourth place with $13.4m and $13.5 respectively.

Less successful was Tyler Perry’s debut as an action hero in Alex Cross.

The movie, which cost approximately $35m to make, premiered at number five with $11.7m, underperforming according to initial studio estimates.

A second Alex Cross movie, however, is reportedly in the works.

The top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (-) Paranormal Activity 4 – $30,200,000
2. (2) Argo – $6,625,000
3. (4) Hotel Transylvania – $13,500,000
4. (1) Taken 2 – $13,400,000
5. (-) Alex Cross – $11,750,000
6. (3) Sinister – $9,030,000
7. (5) Here Comes the Boom – $8,500,000
8. (6) Pitch Perfect – $7,009,000
9. (7) Frankenweenie – $4,434,000
10. (8) Looper – $4,200,000

Liam Neeson‘s Taken 2 has landed at number one at the US box office for the second week in a row.

The sequel, also starring Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen, earned $22.5m, bringing its total gross to $86.7m.

However, newcomers Argo and Sinister did come close to beating Taken 2 this weekend.

Ben Affleck’s Argo took in $20.1 million in the number two spot, followed by Sinister in the third spot with $18.2m.

Meanwhile, last week’s second place Hotel Transylvania was bumped down to number four with $17.3m. Its total gross is now $102.1m.

Two other new releases, Here Comes the Boom and Seven Psychopaths, also made it to the top ten list.

Sports comedy Here Comes the Boom landed at fifth place with $12m, while the star-studded Seven Psychopaths came in ninth place with $4.2m.

Seven Psychopaths stars Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits, Abbie Cornish and Olga Kurylenko.

Rounding up the top ten are Pitch Perfect, Frankenweenie, Looper and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which climbed up one spot this week.

The top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (1) Taken 2 – $22.5 million
2. (-) Argo – $20.1 million
3. (-) Sinister – $18.2 million
4. (2) Hotel Transylvania – $17.3 million
5. (-) Here Comes the Boom – $12 million
6. (3) Pitch Perfect – $9.3 million
7. (5) Frankenweenie – $7 million
8. (4) Looper – $6.3 million
9. (-) Seven Psychopaths – $4.2 million
10. (11) The Perks of Being a Wallflower – $2.1 million

Ridley Scott turned down the opportunity to make a director’s cut of Prometheus.

DVD and Blu-ray producer Charles de Lauzirika, who directed the epic 220-minute Making Of documentary The Furious Gods, confirmed that Fox offered Scott the chance to re-cut the film for its home entertainment release.

“It was discussed quite a bit, the idea of an extended cut,” de Lauzirika said. “But the theatrical cut is Ridley’s director’s cut.”

“Fox very kindly offered him the opportunity to create a new cut of the film, and he said ‘No, this is my cut, and I’ll give you thirty-something minutes of deleted scenes on the side’.

“It was that simple, there was really no debate and no argument.”

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Liam Neeson’s Taken 2 has debuted at number one at the US box office, earning $50m.

Hotel Transylvania and Looper also stayed on the top five list on their second week.

Taken 2 knocked out animated film Adam Sandler’s Hotel Transylvania to number two spot, which took in $26.3m. Its total gross is now $76m.

Looper, starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, moved down two spots to number four with $12.2m. It has earned a total of $40.3m.

The wide release of Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson’s musical Pitch Perfect helped the film move from the sixth spot to third place with $21.6 million.

Pitch Perfect debuted last weekend to a limited release, taking in about $5m.

Meanwhile, Tim Burton’s new animated film Frankenweenie debuted at fifth place with $11.5m.

End of Watch, Trouble with the Curve, House of the End of The Street, The Master and Finding Nemo (3D) round out the top ten.

The top ten :
1. (-) Taken 2 – $50 million
2. (1) Hotel Transylvania – $26.3 million
3. (6) Pitch Perfect – $14.7 million
4. (2) Looper – $12.2 million
5. (-) Frankenweenie – $11.5 million
6. (3) End of Watch – $4 million
7. (4) Trouble with the Curve – $3.87 million
8. (5) House at the End of The Street – $3.698 million
9. (9) The Master – $1.84 million
10. (7) Finding Nemo (3D – $1.555 million

Hotel Transylvania has debuted at number one at the US box office.

The animated feature, starring voice work from Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg, opened with weekend sales of $43 million, setting a record for the biggest debut for a September film and the biggest opening for Sony Pictures Animation.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s science fiction thriller Looper also debuted with strong ticket sales at number two, earning $21.2 million.

Last weekend’s top films End of Watch, Trouble with The Curve and House at the End of the Street slipped to round out the top five, while new film Pitch Perfect came in at number six with $5.2 million.

Elsewhere, Finding Nemo (3D) fell three spots to seventh place, while Resident Evil: Retribution also slipped to eighth place.

Won’t Back Down, the new Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal drama, rounds out the list at number ten, debuting with $2.7 million.

The US box office top ten:
1. (-) Hotel Transylvania – $43 million
2. (-) Looper – $21.2 million
3. (1) End of Watch – $8 million
4. (3) Trouble with the Curve – $7.53 million
5. (2) House at the End of The Street – $7.15 million
6. (-) Pitch Perfect – $5.2 million
7. (4) Finding Nemo (3D) – $4.06 million
8. (5) Resident Evil: Retribution – $3 million
9. (7) The Master – $2.75 million
10. (-) Won’t Back Down – $2.7 million