Welcome to this week’s edition of “Movie News Monday!” (“MNM!”) [and, coincidentally, my break from my hiatus]
What is ‘MNM’ all about?
In case this is your first time here, “Movie News Monday!” (MNM) is the place to visit on Mondays for a quick recap of trending entertainment news! I’ve collected info, rumors, etc from all over just for you to keep you updated on movies being released, actors/actresses in roles, dvd releases to keep a lookout for, which movie won in the box office over the weekend, etc! Are you ready for your weekly update? Here it is!
This Just In!!…
#1- “The Weekend Winner.” Last weekend, 2 wide new releases entered the box office arena and looked to displace Mr. Peabody & Sherman and the other 300 from their top spots. And they succeeded. The young adult novel, Divergent diverted viewers eyes away from both the previous winners AND the Muppets! Of note is The Grand Budapest Hotel which has yet to be widely release (scheduled for this upcoming weekend) and still placed in the Top Ten while Tyler Perry’s The Single Mom’s Club dropped from 5th all the way to 10th in one week.
Here are the weekend’s estimated results for Fri, Mar 21-Sun, Mar 23:
- Divergent ~$56M
- Muppets Most Wanted ~$16.5M
- Mr. Peabody & Sherman ~$11.7M
- 300: Rise of an Empire ~$8.7M
- God’s Not Dead ~$8.6M
- Need for Speed ~$7.8M
- The Grand Budapest Hotel ~$6.8M
- Non-Stop ~$6.3
- The LEGO Movie ~$4.1M
- Tyler Perry’s The Single Mom’s Club ~$3.1M
*Actuals may vary as earnings are updated much later on Monday afternoons. For updates, visit boxofficemojo.com.
Congratulations to Divergent. (Below is my review posted to Facebook earlier last week.)
What did YOU watch this weekend?
#2- “Night Returns to Dawn…with Hahn.” Director M. Night Shyamalan (pronounced “Shy-ah-muh-lawn”) is not the most welcome name in lists of “favorite directors.” His record since The Sixth Sense has been less than stellar (although every single one since has drawn a profit). It seems that his next film is expected to return to his roots with a thriller of a story that currently is hinted to be titled something along the lines of “Sundowning.”
Cast in the lead role already in this hush-hush project is Kathryn Hahn (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Wanderlust) along with child actor Ed Oxenbould (in the Disney’s upcoming live-action Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day). According to The WRAP, read the following:
Click to view slideshow.Hahn plays a single mother whose two young children visit their grandparents… and things go very wrong. Oxenbould plays her son, who is protective of his sister.
No other plot details were immediately available, as Shyamalan prefers to surprise his audience. However, “sundowning” is described as a psychological phenomenon associated with increased confusion and restlessness in patients with some form of dementia. Symptoms also include agitation and mood swings.
Shyamalan is producing with Marc Bienstock and Ashwin Rajan, while Steven Schneider of Room 101 is executive producing. Production has nearly wrapped in Shyamalan’s home base of Pennsylvania.
“Sundowning” is a low-budget movie that marks Shyamalan’s return to the creepy genre fare that earned him legions of fans following big-budget detours “After Earth” and “The Last Airbender.”
Not much to go on, but an interesting choice of initial cast. Perhaps Will Smith wasn’t available. ;-)
What do you think of this project? Are you ready to give M. Night another shot??
#3- “UPDATE: X-MEN: Days of Future Past!“ Check out today’s newly released EPIC trailer and poster for the upcoming mutant-filled adventure. X-MEN: Days of Future Past.
Starring James McAvoy, Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Patrick Stewart and more, and directed by Bryan Singer, X-MEN: Days of Future Past is set to release in theaters in 2D and 3D on May 23rd.
Are you ready for the Future to be the Present?
#4- “Upcoming Developments and Dates.” Here are a few release updates for some up and coming movie productions:
- Taken 3: January 9, 2015
- The Secret Service: March 6, 2015 (moved up from October 24)
- Frankenstein: October 2, 2015 (moved back from January 16)
- Fantastic Four: June 19, 2015
- Ridley Scott “mystery film”: March 4, 2016 (Will this be Prometheus 2? or Blade Runner 2?)
- X-MEN: Apocalypse: May 27, 2016
- The Amazing Spider-Man 3: June 10, 2016
*All dates are to be regarded as “tentative and subject to change.”
On top of that, here are a few images for some upcoming films as well: (Click any image to enlarge and then scroll through them using arrow keys)
Feel free to look up some of these projects or follow here for further updates as developments occur.
What do you think about these upcoming releases?
#5- “This Week’s Blu-ray release.” This week, look for the following films on Blu-ray to possibly add to your collection:
The Wolf of Wall Street- Martin Scorsese’s five-time Oscar-nominated decadent look at debauchery and deception starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie and more is based on the true story of wealthy stockbroker Jordan Belfort and his less than questionable rise to fame and fortune…and his flight from his inevitable fall. Released on blu-ray and expected to include an additional version with a full extra hour of content cut from the theatrical release.
Several other films also release this week. Check it out!
Also releasing:
- Delivery Man (my review HERE)
- Walking With Dinosaurs
- Odd Thomas
- The Great Beauty
- …and more.
Which will you pick up?
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Well, that’s it for this round of “Movie News Monday!”
Thanks for reading! Happy Watching!
-T, The Focused Filmographer
up next: “Time to Vote Tuesday!”
