The odds were very much in the favor of Catching Fire this weekend, as the well-reviewed Hunger Games sequel earned $161.1 million over the pre-Thanksgiving weekend. That’s a November box office record. The Jennifer Lawrence -anchored blockbuster beat the $152.5 million opening of its predecessor and out-earned the previous November champion, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, by about $20 million. Forget November, though. Only three films have EVER opened with better number than Catching Fire. They are:The Avengers ($207.4 million), Iron Man 3 ($174.1 million) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($169.2 million). If current estimates hold, Catching Fire will bring down The Dark Knight Rises as the largest 2-D opening of all-time. And it deserves it, folks. What a terrific movie. Here’s a look at the weekend’s Top 5 money makers: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – $161.1 million Thor: The Dark World – $14.1 million The Best Man Holiday – $12.5 million Delivery Man – $8.2 million Free Birds – $5.3 million
Also in Wednesday evening’s round-up of news briefs, Norway’s Oscar entry is headed to U.S. theaters; Skyfall is tracking ahead of its predecessor at the box office; and Doc NYC opens in New York with Academy Award hopefuls. Oscar Entry Kon-Tiki Heads to U.S. Theaters Norway’s submission for Best Foreign Language Oscar consideration tells the real-life adventure of Thor Heyerdahl’s world-famous seafaring voyage. It had its U.S. premiere this week at AFI Fest. The film opened to huge numbers in Norway in August, and the box office is continuing to climb past $13.4 million as it holds strong in theaters. The Weinstein Company, which picked up U.S., Canadian, U.K. and Italian rights to the feature, plans to release the English language version of the film in 2013. Around the ‘net… Man of Steel Heads to 3-D and 2-D Director Zack Snyder’s upcoming action adventure Man of Steel will be presented in 3-D in select theaters, as well as in 2-D and IMAX, so fans of the iconic superhero will be able to experience the movie in their format of choice. The film stars Henry Cavill in the role of Superman/Clark Kent, alongside three-time Oscar-nominee Amy Adams, Oscar-nominee Michael Shannon, Academy Award-winner Kevin Costner, Oscar-nominee Diane Lane and Oscar-nominee Laurence Fishburne. Warner Bros will release the pic June 14, 2013, Deadline reports . Skyfall Selling Ahead of Last Bond Pic on Fandango The site said the Sony/MGM movie is selling twice as many tickets as its predecessor, 2008′s Quantum Of Solace , sold at the same point in the film’s sales cycle. That film grossed $168.4M during its U.S. run and $586.1M globally, Deadline reports (http://www.deadline.com/2012/11/skyfall-fandango-online-ticket-sales/). L.A. Voters Pass Condoms in Porn Measure Measure B passed 56 to 44 per cent, mandating all male adult actors use condoms. It also requires adult film producers to apply for permits from the L.A. County Department of Public Health before shooting sex scenes and will subject them to random inspections. Critics say it will drive business out of the state where such regulations don’t exist, THR reports . Doc NYC Opens with Oscar Hopefuls The non-fiction festival is opening with two opening night films, Artifact and Venus and Serena , which premiered amidst controversy at TIFF. Director Bartholomew Cubbins’ Artifact , making its US premiere, follows Jared Leto’s band Thirty Seconds to Mars, while Maiken Baird and Michelle Major Venus and Serena grants audiences unprecedented access into the lives of the tennis world’s famous Williams’ sisters. The festival will close with Ken Burns’ The Central Park Five . The third Doc NYC takes place November 8 – 15 in New York, TOH reports .
And boobs in a wave pool, and boobs on a lazy river, and maybe even boobs being sprayed with water guns! That’s right, the location for the sequel to Mr. Skin’s Breast Picture of 2010, Piranha 3D, the breastacularly titled Piranha 3DD , has been revealed. The film will take place in a water park named “Wilderness Waters” that is overrun with the feisty little flesh-strippers. If Piranha 3DD is anything like its predecessor (and considering the writers and director of Piranha 3D are all returning, it will be) before the mayhem and carnage there will be flesh-stripping of an entirely different sort as bikini babes get nude for some wet n’ wild fun. Filming for Piranha 3DD is set to begin in North Carolina at the end of May. It’s going to be a bikini bash to die for, and Mr. Skin can hard ly wait!
