Jacob Hall
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2′ Forecasts Big Opening Weekend
There's nothing like a family-friendly animated movie to help shake off the September doldrums and 'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2' performed as expected. Although Sony's big release effortlessly took the number one spot, this weekend had a few other bright spots, namely a handful of independent films doing quite well in more limited release.
‘SNL’ Welcomes Back Drunk Uncle and Introduces Aaron Paul as “Meth Nephew”
Now that Bill Hader and Stefon have departed the show, we find ourselves treasuring every other recurring 'SNL' character and treating every appearance as if it's their last. That's just a long-winded way of saying "Welcome back, Drunk Uncle!" Bobby Moynihan's rambling, all-too honest (and all-too real) character once again graced the Weekend Update desk with his presence, updating us wi
‘SNL’ and Aaron Paul Offer the Perfect Meth Alternative
'SNL' is nothing if not timely. With the Tina Fey-hosted season premiere airing less than a day before the final episode of AMC's 'Breaking Bad,' it was only natural that they'd put together a meth-themed sketch. And since this is the world's most famous comedy and variety show, someone was able to pull the right strings and snag Jesse Pinkman himself -- Aaron Paul -- to make an appearance.
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Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Prisoners’ Holds the Box Office Captive
September may traditionally be a wasteland of half-baked films unfit to open in a proper month, but the lack of competition can actually be a good thing. Could 'Prisoners,' a film made specifically for an adult audience, have opened as well as it did if it was released in a busier month? Probably not.
‘Toy Story of Terror’ Trailer: First Look at Footage From Pixar’s First TV Special
The 'Toy Story' gang may have had a memorable cinematic farewell with the wonderful 'Toy Story 3,' but we're not done with Bonnie's (formerly Andy's) toys quite yet! The Woody, Buzz and the rest of the group are going to make their television debut with 'Toy Story of Terror,' a made-for-TV Halloween special that will attempt to bring some of that Pixar magic to the small screen. The first two prom
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Riddick’ Wins an Unimpressive Weekend
One of the things 'Riddick' has going for it is that it didn't cost too much. So while its opening weekend may be a little less than impressive, it doesn't have that far to go to make a profit. It's little victories like this that make this, one of the slowest most stagnant movie weekends of the year, more palatable.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘You’re Next’ and ‘The World’s End’ Get Served by ‘The Butler’
Despite a bunch of new releases with all kinds of wide and varied appeal, this weekend's box office top 10 looks suspiciously like last week's. Apparently, none of the newcomers could match Lee Daniels' 'The Butler,' which effortlessly claimed the top spot once more.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘The Butler’ Disarms ‘Kick-Ass 2′
There's something thematically appropriate about a movie telling the story of a butler who quietly influenced the United States taking the number one spot at the box office over its flashy, bigger rivals. Lee Daniels' 'The Butler' took multiplexes by storm this weekend, taking down last week's competition as well as a handful of seemingly strong newcomers.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Elysium’ Wins a Busy Weekend
In a weekend with four new major releases but no definitive frontrunners, the Matt Damon sci-fi action flick 'Elysium' snagged the top spot over some seemingly powerful competition. Director Neill Blomkamp's film continues this summer's trend of R-rated fare opening big ('The Purge,' 'The Conjuring,' '2 Guns') and proves that there's plenty of box office success to be had in the typically slow fin
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘2 Guns’ Shoots Down ‘The Smurfs 2′
Ah, the continuing appeal of the one and only Denzel Washington. How much do people love this guy? They love him so much that they'll transform just about any movie he appears in into a respectable hit, even if that movie is a poorly marketed (but well-reviewed) action movie based on a comic book that no one read. We shouldn't be surprised that '2 Guns' shot to the top of the box office, but we ar
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘The Conjuring’ Conjures Up a Massive Opening
There was a lot of buzz surrounding James Wan's 'The Conjuring' going into this weekend. "Scariest movie of the year." "Best horror movie in a long time." And so on. But it paid off. 'The Conjuring' not only won the box office, it won the box office in a way that R-rated horror movies often don't. Between this and 'The Purge,' R-rated horror is officially back in a big way.
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Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Despicable Me 2′ Triumphs over ‘Grown Ups 2′ and ‘Pacific Rim’
What's more powerful than a bunch of giant robots and giant monsters? What's more powerful than Adam Sandler and all his buddies? This weekend gave us a definitive answer: a lovable supervillain voiced by Steve Carell. 'Despicable Me 2' triumphed at the box office for the second week in a row, beating out newcomers like 'Grown Ups 2' and 'Pacific Rim' and making it look easy.