NTSC User's News Page

Sanctuary has been cancelled by Syfy, it has been confirmed.

The sci-fi drama – following an organisation that tracks powerful figures known as ‘Abnormals’ – ran for four seasons on the cable network.

Amanda Tapping (Dr Helen Magnus) confirmed the show’s axing on Twitter, writing: “To all the fans of Sanctuary we love and adore you. Thank you for the love and support. Now to the long dark tea time of my soul.”

Series stars Robin Dunne (Will) and Robert Lawrenson (Declan) also took to the social networking site, with Dunne thanking viewers for their “love and support” and Lawrenson expressing a “huge thank you to the phenomenal Sanctuary fans, cast, crew & producers for a wonderful run”.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Avengers has topped the US box office for the third week in a row.

Battleship, starring Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard and Rihanna, came in second place with $25 million, followed by Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest comedy The Dictator in third place with $17 million.

The ensemble movie What to Expect When You’re Expecting, featuring Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Matthew Morrison and Elizabeth Banks, debuted in fifth place with $10 million.

Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows completed the top five movies, taking in $12 million for fourth place.

Jennifer Lawrence’s The Hunger Games continued to hold a place on the top ten list as it collected $3 million over the weekend, landing in seventh place.

The US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (1) The Avengers – $55,057,000
2. (-) Battleship – $25,300,000
3. (-) The Dictator – $17,415,000
4. (2) Dark Shadows – $12,770,000
5. (-) What to Expect When You’re Expecting – $10,500,000
6. (8) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – $3,250,000
7. (4) The Hunger Games The Hunger Games – $3,000,000
8. (3) Think Like a Man – $2,700,000
9. (5) The Lucky One – $1,765,000
10. (7) The Pirates! Band of Misfits – $1,450,000

Sam Neill has been added to the star-studded cast of new thriller The Tomb.

The Alcatraz actor is set to appear alongside Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Tomb centres on Ray Breslin (Stallone), an expert in high security prisons who is himself placed in a high-tech jail facility after being framed for a crime.

Schwarzenegger stars as Emil Rottmayer, “a complex inmate”, while Neill is set to play prison doctor Emil Kaikev.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Avengers easily held on to the top of this weekend’s US box office chart.

The superhero blockbuster took in a further $103.2 million in its second weekend, and has scored a host of other box office records in the process.

It now holds the best-ever second weekend tally ahead of Avatar‘s $75.6m, while also beating The Dark Knight‘s best second weekend hold for a movie that opened to more than $120m.

It is also the fastest movie to reach the $300m and $350m marks, while also holding the highest eight-day, nine-day, and ten-day gross amounts. It is currently 18th in the all-time domestic US chart.

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows entered in second place, but was still nowhere near The Avengers, with takings of $28.81m.

Think Like a Man and The Hunger Games each dropped a spot to three and four respectively, while The Lucky One held steady at five.

Dame Judi Dench’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel climbed eight places to this week’s eighth position with takings of $2.65m.

Eva Mendes drama Girl in Progress is the only other new entry at ten with $1.35m.

The US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (1) The Avengers – $103,163,000
2. (-) Dark Shadows – $28,805,000
3. (2) Think Like a Man – $6,300,000
4. (3) The Hunger Games – $4,400,000
5. (5) The Lucky One – $4,055,000
6. (4) The Pirates! Band of Misfits – $3,200,000
7. (6) The Five-Year Engagement – $3,100,000
8. (16) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – $2,650,000
9. (9) Chimpanzee – $1,624,000
10. (-) Girl in Progress – $1,350,000

Game of Thrones is reportedly the most-pirated TV show of 2012.

The HBO fantasy drama has been illegally downloaded more times than any other show, according to BitTorrent-tracking and analysis firm Big Champagne.

“It certainly appears to be the most pirated show of the year [so far],” senior media analyst John Robinson told Forbes.

“The fact that it’s consistently at the top of the Pirate Bay’s top 100 TV shows chart seems like a pretty in-your-face leading indicator of the huge volume at which this is being shared.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Touch is believed to have been renewed for a second season.

The Kiefer Sutherland drama, which has enjoyed a recent ratings revival in the US, has been recommissioned by broadcaster Fox, reports Deadline.

The publication also reports that the chances of renewals for both Alcatraz and Bones spinoff The Finder have declined.

Touch stars Sutherland as Martin Bohm, a former journalist who is trying to figure out messages that his mute son Jake (David Mazouz) is passing on using numbers.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Avengers has easily secured the number one spot at the US box office during its opening weekend.

The Marvel superhero blockbuster, which features an all-star cast including Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans, dominated with a whopping $200.3 million.

The film is now the fastest to reach the $200 million mark domestically in three days, and studio estimates predict that it will become the highest-grossing debut of all time. Earnings of $80m on Friday gave it the second-highest single day take of all time, with yesterday’s $69m earning The Avengers the highest Saturday gross ever.

It is now said to have earned a worldwide box office total of $600m after only 12 days on release.

Falling into second place was Think Like a Man, which brought in another $8 million.

The Hunger Games and The Lucky One held onto their places in the third and fourth spots, bringing in $5.7m and $5.5m, respectively.

Aardman Animation’s comedy The Pirates! Band of Misfits fell three places this week, coming in fifth with $5.4 m, just ahead of the Emily Blunt and Jason Segel romcom The Five-Year Engagement, which slipped one spot into number six with $5.1m.

Holding onto the seventh spot, The Raven brought in an additional $2.5m, followed by Safe and Chimpanzee, both of which fell several spots, bringing in $2.5m and $2.4m each.

Finally, rounding off the top ten was The Three Stooges, which moved down a slot this week, bringing in $1.8m.

The US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (-) The Avengers – $200,300,000
2. (1) Think Like a Man – $8,000,000
3. (3) The Hunger Games – $5,700,000
4. (4) The Lucky One – $5,510,000
5. (2) The Pirates! Band of Misfits – $5,400,000
6. (5) The Five Year Engagement – $5,100,00
7. (7) The Raven – $2,508,000
8. (6) Safe – $2,470,000
9. (8) Chimpanzee – $2,395,000
10. (9) The Three Stooges – $1,800,000

The Borgias has been given a third season, it has been confirmed.

The Showtime programme stars Jeremy Irons as Rodrigo Borgia, a ruthless clergyman who uses his wits and cunning – not to mention the odd spot of bribery and murder – to be elected as Pope Alexander VI, and then to remain in the position.

The new series will include ten episodes, and will be televised in 2013. Production is to begin this summer in Budapest, Hungary.

Creator Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire) will continue to act as executive producer, and will serve as writer and director of select episodes.

Read the rest of this entry »