LONDON (Reuters) - Rising stars will compete against established Hollywood names for the limelight at this year's Cannes film festival, with Robert Pattinson, Zac Efron, Kristen Stewart and Shia LaBeouf all appearing in highly anticipated movies.
They will rub shoulders with the likes of Brad Pitt and Nicole Kidman, as well as some of the great names in directing, at the world's biggest and most glamorous cinema showcase.
'I think there's a whole new wave of acting talent that has come in on to the scene literally in the last couple of years,' Australian director John Hillcoat told Reuters.
His competition movie 'Lawless', a Depression-era gangster tale, features Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Labeouf and Mia Wasikowska among others, and he also singled out Michael Fassbender as an example of fresh talent coming to the fore.
'It's been a while since we've had (young) actors that have that kind of range, depth, gravitas and intensity that this wave of actors do.'
Cannes organizers will be keen to avoid the controversy that overshadowed last year's edition -- Danish director Lars Von Trier was banned after making Nazi jokes at a press conference, a decision criticized by many festival goers.
Film critics have at least given organizers the thumbs up for their selection of movies in 2012, although what looks promising on paper does not always make for a good festival.
Opening the whirlwind fortnight of screenings, parties and publicity campaigns on Wednesday is the glitzy world premiere of Wes Anderson's children's fantasy 'Moonrise Kingdom', starring Bill Murray, Bruce Willis and Tilda Swinton.
For Anderson, the walk down the famous red carpet-cum-fashion catwalk, flanked by showbiz media from around the globe, may be as daunting as for the debutant child actors in his cast.
'I've never been before, so for me just going to Cannes at all is exciting,' the director told Reuters in an interview.
'What I know about Cannes is from still photographs of people walking up those steps and paparazzi images, so I don't really have any expectations.'
Asked whether he would be busy on the crowded party circuit, he replied: 'I haven't received any invitations yet.'
SALLES ADAPTS KEROUAC CLASSIC
In the main competition of 22 films eligible for awards, Brazilian director Walter Salles' adaptation of Jack Kerouac's Beat Generation novel 'On the Road' has generated plenty of buzz, not least because Stewart takes on a leading role.
Best known as Bella Swan from the 'Twilight' vampire blockbusters, the 22-year-old American will be joined on the sun-kissed French Riviera by Twilight co-star Pattinson.
The British actor appears in another competition movie 'Cosmopolis', directed by Canada's David Cronenberg, a topical tale of corporate greed that follows a successful New York financier whose world disintegrates around him.
Previous winners of the coveted Palme d'Or prize for best film who are in contention again are Austria's Michael Haneke with 'Amour' (Love), Iran's Abbas Kiarostami ('Like Someone In Love'), Briton Ken Loach ('The Angels' Share') and Romanian Cristian Mungiu ('Beyond the Hills').
Efron, Matthew McConaughey and Kidman all star in Lee Daniels' 'The Paperboy' and Pitt appears in Andrew Dominik's 'Killing Them Softly'.
Among the favorite European film makers in Cannes this year are Jacques Audiard with 'Rust and Bone' featuring Marion Cotillard, and 89-year-old French director Alain Resnais with 'You 'Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet!'.
Hot topics on the big screen include the Arab uprisings, with Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah's 'After the Battle' in competition, and the pitfalls of celebrity culture in 'Antiviral', the debut feature from Cronenberg's son Brandon.
British rocker Pete Doherty, famous for his run-ins with the law and relationship with supermodel Kate Moss as much as for his music, stars alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg in 'Confession of the Child of a Century'.
Animated blockbuster 'Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted' comes in 3D, while British comic Sacha Baron Cohen will give a provocative in-character appearance as General Aladeen to promote his latest satire 'The Dictator'.
MAKE OR BREAK
The stakes for hundreds of directors and performers from around the world who walk the famous red carpet into the Grand Theatre Lumiere cinema are high.
Cannes is an ideal launchpad for a film, as last year's Oscar darling 'The Artist' proved, but it can be a cinematic graveyard if notoriously picky critics and journalists leave the crammed press screenings unimpressed.
It is also a key event for thousands of financiers, studio bosses and producers who wheel and deal at the giant film market or over champagne and caviar aboard the expensive luxury yachts anchored offshore.
Despite the veneer of wealth and wellbeing, conversations over cocktails in Cannes are as often about economic uncertainty, internet piracy and falling DVD revenues as they are about lucrative deals and awards glory.
But it remains the one event on the crowded film festival calendar that the big players most want to attend.
'Showbusiness loves to get its heart revving, and that's what Cannes is all about,' said David Linde, head of Lava Bear Films and former chairman of Universal Pictures.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Second masseur accuses John Travolta of sexual battery
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A second unidentified masseur has joined a $2 million lawsuit against John Travolta claiming the actor sexually assaulted the men in two separate incidents during private massages, according to amended court documents filed on Tuesday.
The second unnamed man, a resident of Georgia referred to as John Doe No. 2 in court papers obtained by Reuters, claimed that Travolta rubbed his legs, touched his genitals and tried to initiate sex at a private appointment at the actor's room inside an Atlanta hotel on January 28.
The allegations echo those of John Doe No. 1, a resident of Texas, who filed the initial complaint late last week and accused Travolta of sexually assaulting him during a private massage at the Beverly Hills Hotel on January 16.
'This second 'anonymous' claim is just as absurd and ridiculous as the first one,' said attorney Martin Singer, who represents the Hollywood actor.
'Our client will be fully vindicated in court on both of these absurd and fictional claims.'
Travolta's spokesman has called the lawsuit 'complete fiction and fabrication.'
The plaintiff's attorney, Pasadena, California-based Okorie Okorocha, told Reuters that since the initial complaint was filed last week, he has had many more potential victims come forward with similar complaints.
'I will file for every single victim. Mr. Travolta has been able to evade justice, and he's going to challenge it with me. but I'm not afraid ... I'll stand up to him,' said Okorocha.
He said that the men did not go to the police because they did not think the police would believe them.
Travolta, 58, rose to fame in the 1970s on the television sitcom 'Welcome Back Kotter,' then became a movie star with hits such as 'Saturday Night Fever,' 'Grease,' and later, 'Pulp Fiction.' He has been nominated for two Academy Awards and has been married to wife Kelly Preston since 1991.
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Mohammad Zargham)
This article is brought to you by DATE.
The second unnamed man, a resident of Georgia referred to as John Doe No. 2 in court papers obtained by Reuters, claimed that Travolta rubbed his legs, touched his genitals and tried to initiate sex at a private appointment at the actor's room inside an Atlanta hotel on January 28.
The allegations echo those of John Doe No. 1, a resident of Texas, who filed the initial complaint late last week and accused Travolta of sexually assaulting him during a private massage at the Beverly Hills Hotel on January 16.
'This second 'anonymous' claim is just as absurd and ridiculous as the first one,' said attorney Martin Singer, who represents the Hollywood actor.
'Our client will be fully vindicated in court on both of these absurd and fictional claims.'
Travolta's spokesman has called the lawsuit 'complete fiction and fabrication.'
The plaintiff's attorney, Pasadena, California-based Okorie Okorocha, told Reuters that since the initial complaint was filed last week, he has had many more potential victims come forward with similar complaints.
'I will file for every single victim. Mr. Travolta has been able to evade justice, and he's going to challenge it with me. but I'm not afraid ... I'll stand up to him,' said Okorocha.
He said that the men did not go to the police because they did not think the police would believe them.
Travolta, 58, rose to fame in the 1970s on the television sitcom 'Welcome Back Kotter,' then became a movie star with hits such as 'Saturday Night Fever,' 'Grease,' and later, 'Pulp Fiction.' He has been nominated for two Academy Awards and has been married to wife Kelly Preston since 1991.
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Mohammad Zargham)
This article is brought to you by DATE.
Emma Stone, Chris Hemsworth among MTV Movie Awards presenters
(repeats for wider audience, story unchanged)
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - 'Spider-Man' co-stars, and real-life couple Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are among the celebs MTV has announced as presenters for the upcoming 2012 MTV Movie Awards on June 3.
Joining the couple in handing out the popcorn trophies to their fellow actors and actresses: Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Mark Wahlberg, Chris Hemsworth, Mila Kunis and Michael Fassbender.
'Bridesmaids' and 'The Hunger Games' lead all contenders for the 21st annual MTV Movie Awards with eight nominations each.
Six performers - Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and Josh Hutcherson - lead the individual competition with four nominations each.
The show, which will air live on MTV from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, is once again allowing fans to choose the Movie of the Year winner, with voting open at MTV.com and continuing through the broadcast on June 3.
This article is brought to you by SICK DAYS CALENDAR.
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - 'Spider-Man' co-stars, and real-life couple Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are among the celebs MTV has announced as presenters for the upcoming 2012 MTV Movie Awards on June 3.
Joining the couple in handing out the popcorn trophies to their fellow actors and actresses: Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Mark Wahlberg, Chris Hemsworth, Mila Kunis and Michael Fassbender.
'Bridesmaids' and 'The Hunger Games' lead all contenders for the 21st annual MTV Movie Awards with eight nominations each.
Six performers - Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and Josh Hutcherson - lead the individual competition with four nominations each.
The show, which will air live on MTV from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, is once again allowing fans to choose the Movie of the Year winner, with voting open at MTV.com and continuing through the broadcast on June 3.
This article is brought to you by SICK DAYS CALENDAR.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Jury begins deliberations in Jennifer Hudson family killings
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Not a single fingerprint or scrap of DNA was found to prove who murdered three family members of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson in 2008, but prosecutors said there was overwhelming circumstantial evidence to convict her jealous brother-in-law as the jury began deliberations on Wednesday.
Hudson, her head bowed at times when graphic photographs were shown to the jury, sat with family members in the Chicago courtroom.
The defense attorney for accused killer William Balfour poked holes in the prosecution's mostly circumstantial case in her final statement and accused the police of concocting evidence to convict her client.
'They were trying to convict a pre-chosen defendant,' defense attorney Amy Thompson told the Cook County Criminal Court jury in her closing statement following two weeks of testimony.
The jury deliberated for five hours Wednesday night without a verdict, and were sequestered by Cook County Judge Charles Burns. Deliberations resume Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. local time.
Balfour, 30, a sometime drug dealer married to Hudson's sister Julia, is on trial for shooting to death Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, 57, her brother Jason Hudson, 29, and her nephew Julian King, 7.
Balfour's lawyer said police fixated on Balfour, while the real killer was an unknown enemy of Hudson's drug-dealing brother, Jason Hudson, whose body was found in his bed, shot twice in the head while he slept.
Donerson, armed with a broom, was shot three times, and Julian was killed in the back seat of Jason Hudson's sports utility vehicle. His body was not discovered until three days later in the vehicle, which had been abandoned.
Jennifer Hudson had testified on the first day of the trial that she had never liked Balfour, and begged her sister not to marry him.
She flew back to Chicago on October 24, 2008, after learning that her mother and brother were dead in the South Side home they had shared, and her nephew was missing. She ultimately identified all three of their bodies.
Jennifer Hudson burst on the music scene in 2004 when she performed on the television singing contest 'American Idol.' She subsequently won a Grammy for her debut album, and an Academy Award for her supporting role in the movie 'Dreamgirls.'
PROSECUTOR PAINTS JEALOUS STALKER
Hudson hung her head or buried it in her fiancé David Otunga's shoulder when prosecutor Jennifer Bagby showed gruesome photographs of the victims.
Balfour, Bagby said, was obsessed with his estranged wife, Julia, stalking her and consumed with jealousy, though he had several other girlfriends and the couple still occasionally had sex.
The night before the murders, prosecutors said, Balfour sent her text messages while in bed with one of his girlfriends, then went to the Hudson family home in Chicago's tough Englewood neighborhood to try to catch her with her new lover.
Using cell phone records and witness accounts, prosecutors painstakingly traced Balfour's whereabouts for the jury and how he enlisted friends to help him create an alibi. Balfour even went so far as to be purposely videotaped at a gas station, they said.
Prosecutors pointed to Julia Hudson's testimony that Balfour had frequently issued threats, saying he would kill her family first, then her. She had been angry with him the morning of the murders, blaming him for having her wages as a bus driver garnished.
Balfour changed his clothes three times the day of the murders, and avoided telling Julia Hudson where he was when she called after the bodies were found, prosecutors said. He had turned off his cellphone for four hours, giving him time to get rid of evidence and wipe down the discarded gun and stolen SUV, they said.
'If you're innocent, you get back to your wife. You man up,' prosecutor James McKay said, gnashing his teeth in anger. 'A child is missing.'
'A guy who changed his clothes three times, do you really expect him to leave fingerprints? To leave DNA?' McKay said.
(Reporting by Andrew Stern; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
This article is brought to you by COMPUTERS.
Hudson, her head bowed at times when graphic photographs were shown to the jury, sat with family members in the Chicago courtroom.
The defense attorney for accused killer William Balfour poked holes in the prosecution's mostly circumstantial case in her final statement and accused the police of concocting evidence to convict her client.
'They were trying to convict a pre-chosen defendant,' defense attorney Amy Thompson told the Cook County Criminal Court jury in her closing statement following two weeks of testimony.
The jury deliberated for five hours Wednesday night without a verdict, and were sequestered by Cook County Judge Charles Burns. Deliberations resume Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. local time.
Balfour, 30, a sometime drug dealer married to Hudson's sister Julia, is on trial for shooting to death Hudson's mother Darnell Donerson, 57, her brother Jason Hudson, 29, and her nephew Julian King, 7.
Balfour's lawyer said police fixated on Balfour, while the real killer was an unknown enemy of Hudson's drug-dealing brother, Jason Hudson, whose body was found in his bed, shot twice in the head while he slept.
Donerson, armed with a broom, was shot three times, and Julian was killed in the back seat of Jason Hudson's sports utility vehicle. His body was not discovered until three days later in the vehicle, which had been abandoned.
Jennifer Hudson had testified on the first day of the trial that she had never liked Balfour, and begged her sister not to marry him.
She flew back to Chicago on October 24, 2008, after learning that her mother and brother were dead in the South Side home they had shared, and her nephew was missing. She ultimately identified all three of their bodies.
Jennifer Hudson burst on the music scene in 2004 when she performed on the television singing contest 'American Idol.' She subsequently won a Grammy for her debut album, and an Academy Award for her supporting role in the movie 'Dreamgirls.'
PROSECUTOR PAINTS JEALOUS STALKER
Hudson hung her head or buried it in her fiancé David Otunga's shoulder when prosecutor Jennifer Bagby showed gruesome photographs of the victims.
Balfour, Bagby said, was obsessed with his estranged wife, Julia, stalking her and consumed with jealousy, though he had several other girlfriends and the couple still occasionally had sex.
The night before the murders, prosecutors said, Balfour sent her text messages while in bed with one of his girlfriends, then went to the Hudson family home in Chicago's tough Englewood neighborhood to try to catch her with her new lover.
Using cell phone records and witness accounts, prosecutors painstakingly traced Balfour's whereabouts for the jury and how he enlisted friends to help him create an alibi. Balfour even went so far as to be purposely videotaped at a gas station, they said.
Prosecutors pointed to Julia Hudson's testimony that Balfour had frequently issued threats, saying he would kill her family first, then her. She had been angry with him the morning of the murders, blaming him for having her wages as a bus driver garnished.
Balfour changed his clothes three times the day of the murders, and avoided telling Julia Hudson where he was when she called after the bodies were found, prosecutors said. He had turned off his cellphone for four hours, giving him time to get rid of evidence and wipe down the discarded gun and stolen SUV, they said.
'If you're innocent, you get back to your wife. You man up,' prosecutor James McKay said, gnashing his teeth in anger. 'A child is missing.'
'A guy who changed his clothes three times, do you really expect him to leave fingerprints? To leave DNA?' McKay said.
(Reporting by Andrew Stern; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
This article is brought to you by COMPUTERS.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
"Avengers" to return to big screen in sequel
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The runaway success of 'The Avengers' movie landed the crime-fighting Marvel superhero team a return date to theaters.
Hot off the movie's record-setting debut, Walt Disney Co said on Tuesday an 'Avengers' sequel is in the works, though no release date is set.
The movie debuted with a staggering $207.4 million from U.S. and Canadian theaters over the weekend, the biggest debut in film history. Globally, the film has pulled in $702.2 million.
The film unites Marvel superheroes including Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor and The Hulk in a battle against a villain out to destroy the Earth. Stars include Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson.
The second 'Avengers' movie will follow a previously announced 'Thor' and 'Iron Man' sequels coming in 2013 and a new 'Captain America' movie in 2014, Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger told industry analysts.
'Eventually, (on) a date to be determined, you'll see a sequel to 'Avengers,'' Iger said.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Bernard Orr and Bob Tourtellotte)
Hot off the movie's record-setting debut, Walt Disney Co said on Tuesday an 'Avengers' sequel is in the works, though no release date is set.
The movie debuted with a staggering $207.4 million from U.S. and Canadian theaters over the weekend, the biggest debut in film history. Globally, the film has pulled in $702.2 million.
The film unites Marvel superheroes including Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor and The Hulk in a battle against a villain out to destroy the Earth. Stars include Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson.
The second 'Avengers' movie will follow a previously announced 'Thor' and 'Iron Man' sequels coming in 2013 and a new 'Captain America' movie in 2014, Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger told industry analysts.
'Eventually, (on) a date to be determined, you'll see a sequel to 'Avengers,'' Iger said.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Bernard Orr and Bob Tourtellotte)
Monday, May 7, 2012
Disney's "The Avengers" a winner for Paramount too: source
(Reuters) - Walt Disney's blockbuster 'The Avengers' has five superheroes and record ticket sales. It also has a silent partner in Viacom's Paramount Pictures, which stands to get a healthy payday even though the studio didn't spend a cent to produce or market the film.
Paramount already collected $57.5 million in April, when the film was released internationally. And it stands to collect 8 percent of the millions that the film will earn in theaters, on DVD, and when it is watched on the Internet, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.
Under a 2005 distribution agreement between Paramount and Marvel, Paramount receives a distribution fee for the theatrical distribution of 'The Avengers' as well as its distribution of its home video, Internet and TV rights. That agreement transferred to Disney, when Disney acquired Marvel for $4 billion in 2009.
Disney and Paramount agreed in 2010 to amend that agreement, giving Disney the rights to distribute Marvel-produced 'The Avengers' and 'Iron Man 3,' the second sequel to the 2008 film that Paramount distributes. That agreement stipulated that Disney would pay Paramount a $115 million advance against future fees that Paramount would have earned.
Half of that fee was paid when Disney released 'The Avengers' in international markets.
Spokesmen for Disney and Paramount would not comment.
Paramount does not have rights to merchandise from the Marvel movies, and Iger told investors after the deal closed that he signed the getting the movie rights allows he to rev up Disney's marketing machine.
'Not only will we distribute it and market it, but we know that Marvel is working really hard with the cooperation of a number of entities at Disney to turn The Avengers into a true franchise,' he said on the earnings call.
Studios and theater owners generally split ticket sales 50-50, meaning that Disney has collected $320.9 million based on 'The Avengers' $641.8 million in worldwide ticket sales. Paramount's $25.7 million take would be applied against the pre-paid fee from Disney.
The two sides also agreed that 'The Avengers' would appear on the Epix online and premium TV service that Paramount owns with Lions Gate Entertainment and the MGM studio. That's a big boost for the nearly three-year-old channel. Disney is obligated to show most of its movies on the Starz pay channel.
How large Paramount's take will be depends on how big a hit 'The Avengers' becomes. The deal gets even better for Paramount in 2013, when Disney is scheduled to release the third Iron Man. Paramount will get 9 percent of the money that film will generate.
(Reporting By Ronald Grover; Editing by Eric Walsh)
Paramount already collected $57.5 million in April, when the film was released internationally. And it stands to collect 8 percent of the millions that the film will earn in theaters, on DVD, and when it is watched on the Internet, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.
Under a 2005 distribution agreement between Paramount and Marvel, Paramount receives a distribution fee for the theatrical distribution of 'The Avengers' as well as its distribution of its home video, Internet and TV rights. That agreement transferred to Disney, when Disney acquired Marvel for $4 billion in 2009.
Disney and Paramount agreed in 2010 to amend that agreement, giving Disney the rights to distribute Marvel-produced 'The Avengers' and 'Iron Man 3,' the second sequel to the 2008 film that Paramount distributes. That agreement stipulated that Disney would pay Paramount a $115 million advance against future fees that Paramount would have earned.
Half of that fee was paid when Disney released 'The Avengers' in international markets.
Spokesmen for Disney and Paramount would not comment.
Paramount does not have rights to merchandise from the Marvel movies, and Iger told investors after the deal closed that he signed the getting the movie rights allows he to rev up Disney's marketing machine.
'Not only will we distribute it and market it, but we know that Marvel is working really hard with the cooperation of a number of entities at Disney to turn The Avengers into a true franchise,' he said on the earnings call.
Studios and theater owners generally split ticket sales 50-50, meaning that Disney has collected $320.9 million based on 'The Avengers' $641.8 million in worldwide ticket sales. Paramount's $25.7 million take would be applied against the pre-paid fee from Disney.
The two sides also agreed that 'The Avengers' would appear on the Epix online and premium TV service that Paramount owns with Lions Gate Entertainment and the MGM studio. That's a big boost for the nearly three-year-old channel. Disney is obligated to show most of its movies on the Starz pay channel.
How large Paramount's take will be depends on how big a hit 'The Avengers' becomes. The deal gets even better for Paramount in 2013, when Disney is scheduled to release the third Iron Man. Paramount will get 9 percent of the money that film will generate.
(Reporting By Ronald Grover; Editing by Eric Walsh)
Sunday, May 6, 2012
"Avengers" muscles to record $200 million in debut
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - 'The Avengers' proved that five superheroes are better than one by bursting into Hollywood's record books with a massive $200.3 million in ticket sales over its opening weekend in U.S. and Canadian theaters, kicking off Hollywood's summer movie season with a bang.
The domestic debut for the big-budget, effects-filled movie from Disney's Marvel studios sped past last summer's 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - Part 2,' which opened with $169.2 million in its first weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. In March, 'The Hunger Games' opened with $152.5 million, the fourth largest opening in box office history.
'The Avengers,' which reunites Marvel comic heroes Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk and Black Widow, has collected $641.8 million since it opened in international markets on April 25.
'We keep thinking we have a sense of what this movie can do, or will do, and every time we get a report it does even better,' said Dave Hollis, Disney's executive vice-president of distribution. 'This is very satisfying, to say the least.'
Disney's aggressive marketing, which included promotions aimed at women that included sending stars to 'The View' daytime talk show, resulted in women making up 40 percent of the audience for the action film, according to Disney's survey. Half the audience was also over 25 years of age, the studio also said.
Winner of the past two weekends, Sony's romantic comedy 'Think Like a Man,' slipped to second place with $8 million at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters, according to Hollywood.com.
'Hunger Games,' from Lions Gate Entertainment, took the No. 3 spot in its seventh week in theaters, with $5.7 million, and has collected $380.7 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters during its run.
Warner Brothers' 'The Lucky One' landed in fourth place with $5.5 million, and the animated film 'The Pirates! Band of Misfits' from Sony finished in fifth place with $5.4 million.
The undisputed success of 'Avengers' brought Disney the type of redemption that Hollywood loves to put on screen. In March, Disney released the expensive sci-fi adventure film 'John Carter,' one of the biggest flops in box office history. The company said it expects to lose up to $200 million on that film.
'Avengers' is the first Marvel film released by Disney since the media and theme park giant purchased Marvel Entertainment Inc in 2009 for $4 billion, a move to expand its appeal to boys with a stable of superheroes.
Disney would not say whether it plans to make a sequel. Sequels to films based on the Thor and Iron Man characters are scheduled for next year and Captain America in 2014.
About 52 percent of 'The Avengers' ticket sales came from higher-priced 3D tickets, Disney said. The film sold more than $15 million in tickets on 275 digital-only large-screen IMAX theaters, IMAX said, which it said would tie it with 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - Part 2' for its highest grossing opening weekend.
The first weekend in May kicks off Hollywood's summer movie-going season, a four-month period typically filled with big-budget action movies and sequels. Coming movies include Batman movie 'The Dark Knight Rises,' 'The Amazing Spider-Man,' 'Men in Black 3,' and 'Battleship.'
(Editing by Eric Beech)
This article is brought to you by MONEY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE.
The domestic debut for the big-budget, effects-filled movie from Disney's Marvel studios sped past last summer's 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - Part 2,' which opened with $169.2 million in its first weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. In March, 'The Hunger Games' opened with $152.5 million, the fourth largest opening in box office history.
'The Avengers,' which reunites Marvel comic heroes Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk and Black Widow, has collected $641.8 million since it opened in international markets on April 25.
'We keep thinking we have a sense of what this movie can do, or will do, and every time we get a report it does even better,' said Dave Hollis, Disney's executive vice-president of distribution. 'This is very satisfying, to say the least.'
Disney's aggressive marketing, which included promotions aimed at women that included sending stars to 'The View' daytime talk show, resulted in women making up 40 percent of the audience for the action film, according to Disney's survey. Half the audience was also over 25 years of age, the studio also said.
Winner of the past two weekends, Sony's romantic comedy 'Think Like a Man,' slipped to second place with $8 million at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters, according to Hollywood.com.
'Hunger Games,' from Lions Gate Entertainment, took the No. 3 spot in its seventh week in theaters, with $5.7 million, and has collected $380.7 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters during its run.
Warner Brothers' 'The Lucky One' landed in fourth place with $5.5 million, and the animated film 'The Pirates! Band of Misfits' from Sony finished in fifth place with $5.4 million.
The undisputed success of 'Avengers' brought Disney the type of redemption that Hollywood loves to put on screen. In March, Disney released the expensive sci-fi adventure film 'John Carter,' one of the biggest flops in box office history. The company said it expects to lose up to $200 million on that film.
'Avengers' is the first Marvel film released by Disney since the media and theme park giant purchased Marvel Entertainment Inc in 2009 for $4 billion, a move to expand its appeal to boys with a stable of superheroes.
Disney would not say whether it plans to make a sequel. Sequels to films based on the Thor and Iron Man characters are scheduled for next year and Captain America in 2014.
About 52 percent of 'The Avengers' ticket sales came from higher-priced 3D tickets, Disney said. The film sold more than $15 million in tickets on 275 digital-only large-screen IMAX theaters, IMAX said, which it said would tie it with 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - Part 2' for its highest grossing opening weekend.
The first weekend in May kicks off Hollywood's summer movie-going season, a four-month period typically filled with big-budget action movies and sequels. Coming movies include Batman movie 'The Dark Knight Rises,' 'The Amazing Spider-Man,' 'Men in Black 3,' and 'Battleship.'
(Editing by Eric Beech)
This article is brought to you by MONEY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE.
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