Gil Kenan to direct Five Nights at Freddy’s movie; Brittney Snow returns for Pitch Perfect 3; 2-part Doctor Who movie to premiere this fall

 

Welcome to the Doctor Who movie edition of Gene Scallop’s entertainment report. Here’s what’s topping  today!

 

 

Gil Kenan, the director behind the animated scary hit Monster House and Poltergeist 2015 has signed on to direct the next scary film in his scary movie collection that’ll sure scare the pants off audiences! Which scary film is Kenan doing this time Angie?

 

 

 

Angie Angelfish (via Deadline Hollywood)-  Gil Kenan has made a deal with Warner Bros to direct Five Nights At Freddy’s, a live-action adaptation of the popular video game series created by Scott Cawthon. It is an online sensation that takes place in a Chuck-E-Cheese-like eatery, where an animatronic animal that is part of the house band becomes a murderer at night. Players who’ve been locked inside try to survive the rampaging murder machine and his furry cohorts. Hatched in 2014, this became a popular app game, and players have the benefit of seeing what’s coming thanks to a series of security cameras that warn of approaching danger.

Kenan will write the script with Tyler Burton Smith. Roy Lee is producing with Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg and Adam Stone and Jay Ireland are exec producing with Jon Berg and Nik Mavinkurve overseeing for the studio.

Kenan, whose breakout came after being tapped by Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis for Monster House, followed with City Of Ember and most recently directed the Poltergeist remake. He’s repped by WME and so is his co-writer.

 

 

Pitch Perfect 2 in which the famous Bellas make their return, sparked box office records which speeded through Jurassic World, Minions, and Trainwreck, stacked up over 800 to 900 million smackers so far. The Bellas were able to keep their voice roles for the upcoming sequel Pitch Perfect 3 2 years from next July. But what about their leader Chloe? Will Brittney Snow be able to keep her voice in time for another record breaking box run Danny?

 

 

Danny Angelfish (via Entertainment Weekly)- Brittany Snow will reprise her role as the nodes-stricken Chloe in the upcoming Pitch Perfect 3, joining fellow (former) Barden Bellas Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson in the third installment of the powerhouse a cappella franchise. The film will be released on July 21, 2017.

Kendrick and Wilson have already confirmed their returns to the second sequel, which is being penned by Kay Cannon, who wrote the first two films.

To date, this summer’s Pitch Perfect 2 has grossed $282 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie musical of all time. The first film brought in $115 million worldwide after its smashing 2012 debut.

No director has been named yet for the Universal Pictures and Gold Circle Entertainment production — Jason Moore directed the original 2012 film and producer/actress Elizabeth Banks helmed the second. Banks will return to produce Pitch Perfect 3 under her Brownstone Productions shingle with Max Handelman.

 

 

Allons-y Doctor Who fans! The Doctor is coming back to the big screen since 1995. Like the previous Doctor Who TV show which proceeded to the 9th Doctor, this one comes in during the 13th Doctors’ current run. Since it took only 2 parts last time Danny, which seasons does the 2 part movie come in this time?

 

 

Danny Angelfish (via Entertainment Weekly (continued))- The Doctor is coming to a theater near you. Two Doctor Who episodes are headed to the big screen in September for a two-night event, BBC Worldwide North America announced Tuesday.

The screening, held through Fathom Events, will include the two-part season 8 finale (episodes “Dark Water” and “Death in Heaven”) in 3D, a never-before-seen season 9 prequel scene (“The Doctor’s Meditation”), and an exclusive interview with the stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, moderated by Wil Wheaton.

The British science-fiction series, which has a significant cult following in the U.S., had similar events for the show’s 50th anniversary and season 8 premiere in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

The screenings will take place on Sept. 15 and 16 in approximately 700 theaters across America. Tickets go on sale on July 31 at Fathom Events or participating box offices.

 

 

 

Checking the Penguins tally, 1,563 fans sign in as we await 2 days until Team Skipper’s action packed counterpart Mission: Impossible 5 swoops in the box office.

 

 

 

We’re closely headed to August next week as the summer movie extravaganza reaches its climax. Look out for both Katiness the Mocking jay and everyone’s favorite sheep Shaun to make their step in the box office as box office records continue to roll through. How much will The Hunger Games: Mocking jay Part 3 and the Shaun the Sheep movie make in the box office? You’ll find out soon enough on the next edition of Gene Scallop’s entertainment report!

Ant-Man retains box office lead with 24 million, Pixels knocked to 2nd; Jurassic World 2 set for 2018; DreamWorks’ Glendale campus studio sold again for 185 million

 

 

 

Ant-Man recovers from its underperformance! I’m Realistic Fish Head! After last week’s slow start, the tiniest and strongest Marvel heroes expectations were brought down by harsh weather and 3D sales. There was a 3 way battle for supremacy on Friday as Paper Towns, Southpaw, and Pixels were trying to derail the unstoppable hero. At the last moment, Ant-Man triumphed towards the box office with 24 million. Does this mean that the triumphant hero performance is back in peak form Gene?

 

 

 

Gene:

 

 

Disney’s Ant-Man took in an estimated $24.77 million this weekend, which was good enough to lead the weekend box office for a second consecutive frame. The Paul Rudd led superhero film from Marvel was down a sharp 57 percent from last weekend, but was able to remain in first place this weekend thanks in part to the disappointing debut of Pixels and the soft third weekend hold of Minions. Ant-Man surpassed the $100 million mark this weekend and has grossed a solid $106.08 million in ten days. The film continues to perform in line with the lower end of pre-release expectations. Ant-Man is currently running 9 percent ahead of the $97.06 million ten-day take of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk (which fell 57 percent in its second weekend to gross $22.14 million) and 10 percent behind the $117.42 million ten-day gross of 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger (which declined 61 percent to gross $25.55 million).

Sony’s Pixels debuted in a very close second place with an estimated $24.00 million. The Adam Sandler led 3D action comedy was off to a disappointing start and even with scaled back expectations had been widely expected to lead the box office heading into the weekend. Ultimately the film’s high-profile retro video game concept and the high levels of buzz generated by its initial trailer weren’t enough to overcome poor critical reviews and Sandler’s declining popularity. Pixels opened a lackluster 42 percent below the $41.51 million debut of 2013’s Grown Ups 2. The film performed much more in line with the $23.76 million debut of the Kevin James led Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 earlier this year (James also stars in Pixels). That comparison is especially underwhelming given the added presence of Sandler, the film’s retro video game characters (including PAC-MAN and Donkey Kong) and its advantage of higher priced 3D and IMAX admissions.

Pixels opened with $9.15 million on Friday (which included an estimated $1.5 million from Thursday evening shows), declined 8 percent on Saturday to gross $8.44 million and is estimated to fall 24 percent on Sunday to gross $6.42 million. That places the film’s estimated opening weekend to Friday ratio at 2.62 to 1. Pixels received a respectable B rating on CinemaScore, which isn’t a great sign, but does suggest that audiences are responding to the film better than critics have. On the brighter side of things, the reported $88 million production budget for Pixels is modest by high-profile summer release standards and the film was off to a relatively stronger start overseas.

Minions wasn’t far behind with an estimated third place take of $22.06 million. The blockbuster 3D computer animated spin-off from Universal and Illumination Entertainment was down a sharp 55 percent from last weekend. After a terrific opening weekend performance, Minions has displayed lackluster holding power due in part to mixed word of mouth (especially among adults) and to the massive initial rush out of the film’s fanbase during the film’s first week of release. With that said, Minions has already grossed $261.58 million in 17 days. That places the film just ahead of the $258.57 million 17-day take of 2013’s Despicable Me 2, though it should be reminded that Minions does have an advantage in the comparison as a result of Despicable Me 2 opening on a Wednesday.

Fellow Universal release Trainwreck followed in fourth with an estimated $17.28 million. The critically acclaimed Amy Schumer led comedy from director Judd Apatow was down a solid 43 percent from last weekend. The film’s hold this weekend does indicate that the rush out of Schumer’s fanbase has led to relatively more initial front-loading than usual for a film from Apatow; but the film is still highly likely to hold up much better going forward thanks to its strong word of mouth and critical reviews. Trainwreck has grossed a very promising $61.53 million in ten days. The film is currently running an impressive 42 percent ahead of the $43.34 million ten-day take of 2009’s Julie & Julia (which fell 40 percent in its second weekend to gross $12.06 million) and 7 percent behind the $65.87 million ten-day gross of 2007’s Knocked Up (which declined 36 percent to take in $19.64 million).

The Weinstein Company’s Southpaw rounded out the weekend’s top five with an estimated $16.5 million debut. The Antoine Fuqua directed sports drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal opened slightly ahead of expectations and surprisingly ahead of Paper Towns in this weekend’s rankings. Despite mixed critical reviews, Southpaw was off to a nice start this weekend thanks in part to an effective marketing campaign that was aided by the film’s soundtrack and buzz surrounding Gyllenhaal’s performance. Southpaw opened 25.5 percent ahead of the $13.15 million debut of 2012’s End of Watch and 10 percent behind the $18.32 million start of 2005’s Cinderella Man.

Southpaw started out with $6.20 million on Friday (which included an estimated $1.2 million from Thursday evening shows), fell 8 percent on Saturday to gross $5.71 million and is estimated to decrease 20 percent on Sunday to gross $4.59 million. That gives the film an estimated opening weekend to Friday ratio of 2.66 to 1. Southpaw received a strong A rating on CinemaScore, which is a strong early sign for the film going forward.

Meanwhile, Fox’s Paper Towns was off to a disappointing sixth place start with an estimated $12.5 million. The young adult adaptation starring Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne opened well below expectations. The goodwill from the success of last year’s The Fault in Our Stars (which like Paper Towns, was also adapted from a John Green novel) helped generate high levels of online buzz for Paper Towns in the weeks leading up to its release, but that buzz ultimately failed to transfer over to the box office. In addition to opening 74 percent below the $48.00 million debut of The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns opened 20 percent below the $15.68 million start of last year’s If I Stay.

On top of the soft opening, Paper Towns was extremely front-loaded this weekend. The film was off to a respectable $6.33 million start on Friday (which included a significant $2.0 million from Thursday night shows), but fell a massive 45 percent on Saturday to gross $3.50 million and is estimated to decline 24 percent on Sunday to take in $2.68 million. That gives the film an estimated opening weekend to Friday ratio of only 1.98 to 1, which obviously isn’t a good sign going forward. Paper Towns did receive a solid B+ rating on CinemaScore and carried a reported produced budget of just $12 million.

In other box office news, Universal’s Jurassic World moved into third place on the all-time unadjusted domestic list after an estimated $6.85 million eighth place take this weekend.  Jurassic World has grossed a massive $623.75 million in 45 days, which places it just ahead of the $623.36 million final domestic gross of 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers. 1997’s Titanic (with aid from its 2012 re-issue) claims second place on the all-time domestic list with a lifetime unadjusted gross of $658.67 million.

 

 

 

To recap, Ant-Man regains his full strength in 1st, who knocks down Pixels in 2nd as the critics make good on their word on that flop, the Minions move down to 3rd giving them the edge, Trainwreck jumps in 4th who also sidetracked Ant-Man last week, and Southpaw fights for victory in 5th.

 

 

 

Last week, Jurassic World became the 3rd highest box office open behind the Marvel Heroes and Fox and Paramount’s Titanic with 658 million smackers which lead them surprisingly to the result of a sequel. No wonder the dino’s ruled the box office for 5 weekends straight! With the entire cast returning Jim, how long until the prehistoric beasts make their return to the box office?

 

Jim Fish (via The Hollywood Reporter)- Universal has announced that a sequel to Jurassic World will be released on Friday, June 22, 2018.

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard will return to star. Jurassic World helmer Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, who did a rewrite on World, will write the script for the sequel.

 

Steven Spielberg will return to executive produce and Frank Marshall to produce. Trevorrow, who is not expected to return to direct, will also be an executive producer on the Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment sequel.

 

Jurassic World, which opened in theaters in June, has been one of the biggest successes in the history of Universal. It is now the No. 3 domestic release of all time with $614.3 million, and the No. 3 worldwide release of all time. It’s broken a slew of records, and has earned $1.5 billion worldwide to date.

The film currently has the 2018 date to itself.

 

 

Last January, DreamWorks was in a load of trouble. Scheduling changes to their movies had to be made in order to engage an restructuring plan with the entire animation staff. The studio shaved off 500 employees as a result. To make matters worse, both Peabody and Sherman and The Penguins of Madagascar movie both flopped causing PDI to shut their doors. SunTrust bank, the one who obtained DreamWorks’ previous offer at that time, came back with a better offer to acquire the Glendale studio back in February thanks to a recent real estate investment trust. What was the offer that made them take the campus Dan?

 

 

 

 

Dan Barry (via Animation World)- DreamWorks Animation has sold its 13-acre Glendale campus again, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, just five months after selling it to a unit of SunTrust Banks for $185 million.

The sale is part of DWA’s restructuring plans announced in January that saw the loss of 500 jobs and the shuttering of the studio’s prestigious PDI facility. The restructuring also included the appointment of DWA co-presidents Bonnie Arnold and Mireille Soria.

The studio will remain the Glendale property’s tenant paying annual rent of $13.2 million initially, then rising 1.5 percent each year. The term of the lease is 20 years with renewal options every five years.

SunTrust reportedly sold the property to Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT for $215 million. Because of a “sharing agreement” built into the sale to SunTrust in February, DreamWorks Animation will receive half of the profit, which amounts to $15 million.

The cash-strapped studio led by Jeffrey Katzenberg posted a $54.8 million loss for the period ended March 31, 2015, and is expected to announce Q2 results on August 4.

 

 

Checking the Penguins tally, 1,564 fans sign in as Team Skipper resumes their wait for Mission: Impossible 5: Rogue Nation after learning that back on Thursday that they had a ton of economic business to take care of.

 

 

 

New episodes of Teen Titans Go! are on this week as the Titans find themselves that they have their work cut out for them since their 100th episode, but they’re not alone! The newest original series We Bare Bears follows the Titans as Grizz, Ice, and Panda uncover 5 episodes to show what it means to be a bear, no matter how much trouble they find. See them both this weeknight as Cartoon Network’s summer extravaganza gets a little grizzly, no pun intended! This is Realistic Fish Head saying be on guard for a bear-y special arrival!

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation to use Dolby Digital Atmos; LeeAnne Stables named president of Paramount’s worldwide marketing; Disney’s Sword in the Stone to join the list as a live action Disney film

 

Welcome to the Mission Impossible edition of Gene Scallop’s entertainment report. Here’s what’s topping today!

 

 

 

2 weeks ago, we witnessed the first flicks from Dolby Atmos dating back in May in preparation for summer movie season. Now the test officially begins as one of the summer’s biggest franchises gets a first hand look. Which film will enhance Atmos Johnny? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Johnny Trout (via The Hollywood Reporter)- Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation will be the first Paramount release that will have a version made specifically for Dolby Cinema, a premium large-format theater experience that includes Dolby’s newfangled Dolby Vision high dynamic range format as well as Dolby Atmos immersive sound.

This version can be seen in theaters that are playing the film and are equipped to handle the format. Dolby Cinema or Dolby Vision projection is currently installed at roughly 10 cinema auditoriums worldwide, plus early Dolby Cinema at AMC Prime locations (roughly 100 Prime locations are expected to be converted by the end of the year).

The film is additionally available with Dolby Atmos sound at all theaters equipped with that sound system.

In May, Disney’s Tomorrowland was the first movie to open in Dolby Cinema, followed by early Dolby Cinema releases, Warner Bros.’ San Andreas and Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out.

Dolby Vision also is being prepped as a home viewing format. Vizio is expected to be the first set maker to offer Dolby Vision-branded TVs.

 

 

DreamWorks got a head start back in the spring by hiring 2 familiar faces from the animation staff. Now it’s Paramount’s turn to do the same only with their worldwide marketing and licensing deals. Whom did the studio pick for the big job Angie?

 

 

 

Angie Angelfish (via Deadline Hollywood)- Paramount has announced today that company veteran LeeAnne Stables has been promoted to President, Worldwide Marketing Partnerships & Licensing. With the new title, Stables will manage key brand relationships in both theatrical and home media, as well as film integrations and studio licensing.

 

Stables has been with Paramount since 2005 when she joined as head of Global Theatrical Promotions; in 2010 she also assumed charge over the studio’s licensing arm. Since 2005 she oversaw all tie-in merchandising for Paramount’s tentpole franchises, including Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and Transformers. As part of her responsibilities in those two roles, Stables brokered millions of dollars in marketing deals for Paramount films, spearheaded licensing efforts around Paramount’s animation division, and helped established the company’s Chinese merchandising profile.

Stables is currently overseeing development of licensing and partnership programs for the upcoming releases Monster Trucks (from Paramount Animation), Zoolander 2, Star Trek Beyond, and future Transformers films.

 

 

 

The reboot cycle continues for Disney as the mouse turns from animation to live action. Last time, the studio bought the prince charming project to find the perfect match to their animated prince counterparts. Their next stop this week is back in the middle ages where another reboot is ready to take place. Which animated Disney hit is next to go live Dan?

 

 

Dan Barry (via Animation World)- Disney is revisiting its 1963 animated fantasy The Sword in the Stone with a live-action remake, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter.

Bryan Cogman, a writer and producer on HBO’s Game of Thrones, has been hired to write the script for the project, which will be produced by Brigham Taylor.

The Sword in the Stone, the final movie released before Walt Disney’s death, told of a young King Arthur who is being mentored by Merlin. The feature is loosely based on the T.H. White’s novel of the same name, which later became part of White’s multi-book Arthurian fantasy The Once and Future King.

Taylor is also producing the studio’s live-action version of the 1967 animated classic, The Jungle Book, which is being directed by Jon Favreau. On the heels of Sleeping Beauty-remake Maleficent and last year’s Cinderella, other live-action remakes of classic animated Disney films currently in the works include Mulan, Winnie the Pooh, Beauty and the Beast, The Tim Burton-directed Dumbo, , and the “Bald Mountain” sequence in Fantasia.

Also reportedly in development at Disney is a live-action Alice in Wonderland sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass (arriving May 27, 2016), a Maleficent sequel, a new Peter Pan spinoff, Tink, starring Reese Witherspoon as Tinker Bell, and a live-action Prince Charming movie.

Cogman’s work on Game of Thrones has seen him nominated for WGA Awards four times and he is currently working on adapting the fantasy card game Magic: The Gathering for Fox. He also adapted YA fantasy The False Prince for Paramount.

The format offers high dynamic range (meaning a wider range between the whitest whites and blackest blacks) and a wider color gamut.

 

 

Checking the Penguins tally, 1,566 fans sign in as Team Skipper’s super secret counterpart franchise prepares to go digital in the box office.

 

 

 

We’re at the halfway point of summer movie season as we head towards August. With a 3 movie battle coming this Friday, looks like Ant-Man may have his hands full after a soft start thanks to Mother Nature. Let’s see if he can hold out this scenario as he attempts to rebound from TrainWreck’s stronger 30 million smacker open last weekend. There’s plenty of summer left in our next edition of Gene Scallop’s entertainment report.

Ant-Man marches towards box office with 58 million, 3D grosses and less than expected debut to blame; Universal races to 5 billion in fastest pace; Cartoon Network’s Over The Garden Wall receives Emmy nomination

 

 

Big things come in small packages! I’m Realistic Fish Head. Ant-Man, the newest Marvel movie scored 58 million in the box office beating out Train wreck for the top spot. While he stormed in to impress moviegoers, box office analysts found major flaws that prevented Ant-Man from outlasting all the Marvel movies since Disney first acquired it. What were they Gene?

 

 

 

 

Gene:

 

Disney’s Ant-Man debuted in first place this weekend with an estimated $58.04 million. The Paul Rudd led comic book film from Marvel opened towards the lower end of pre-release expectations, which had tended to range from $57 million to $65 million heading into the weekend. Ant-Man delivered the second smallest debut ever for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film, which had been largely expected given the lower profile status of Ant-Man in comparison to other superheroes in previous MCU films.  Ant-Man did open 5 percent ahead of the $55.41 million debut of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk and a reasonable 11 percent behind the $65.06 million start of 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger.

Ant-Man opened with $22.64 million on Friday (which included a sizable $6.4 million from Thursday evening shows), fell 14 percent on Saturday to gross $19.44 million and is estimated to decline 18 percent on Sunday to take in $15.96 million. That gives the film an estimated opening weekend to Friday ratio of 2.56 to 1. The audience breakdown for the film skewed towards male moviegoers (58 percent) and towards moviegoers over the age of 25 (55 percent). Family audiences made up an estimated 28 percent of the film’s overall audience (which was a bit higher than the 22 percent families represented for Avengers: Age of Ultron back in May). Ant-Man received a strong A rating on CinemaScore, which is a good early sign going forward. However, the film will also be facing tough direct competition over the next few weeks from the likes of Sony’s Pixels, Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and Fox’s Fantastic Four.

3D grosses were responsible for an estimated 42 percent of the overall grosses for Ant-Man this weekend.

Minions was down one spot from last weekend to claim second with an estimated $50.24 million. The blockbuster 3D computer animated spin-off from Universal and Illumination Entertainment didn’t hold up as well as had been expected, as it was down a sharp 57 percent in its second weekend.  Minions likely took a larger hit among the non-family portion of its audience, which had been fairly large in size last weekend. While Minions is set to be significantly more front-loaded than both of the previous installments of the Despicable Me franchise, the film is still performing extremely well in the bigger picture, especially with its relatively modest cost for a computer animated film in mind.

Minions zoomed past the $200 million domestic mark this weekend and has grossed $216.73 million through ten days of release. That places the film 9.5 percent ahead of the $197.93 million ten-day take of Despicable Me 2, though Minions does have an advantage in the current comparison as a result of Despicable Me 2 being a Wednesday release. Whether or not Minions is able to stabilize next weekend will likely have a lot to do with just how much appeal Pixels ultimately has with family audiences.

Fellow Universal release Trainwreck was off to an impressive start this weekend with an estimated third place take of $30.24 million. The Amy Schumer led comedy from director Judd Apatow opened just ahead of its wide ranging expectations, which were anywhere from $20 million to $30 million. Strong critical reviews, high levels of pre-release hype (surrounding both the film and Schumer) and the built-in fanbases of Schumer and Apatow all helped lead to the film’s successful debut. Trainwreck opened 15 percent ahead of the $26.25 million debut of 2011’s Bridesmaids and only 1.5 percent below the $30.69 million debut of 2007’s Knocked Up.

Trainwreck started out with $10.7 million on Friday, (which included an estimated $1.8 million from Thursday evening shows), increased 3 percent on Saturday to gross $11.0 million and is estimated to decrease 22 percent on Sunday to take in $8.54 million. That places the film’s estimated opening weekend to Friday ratio at 2.83 to 1, which is an impressive figure for a romantic comedy, especially during the summer months. The audience breakdown for Trainwreck skewed heavily towards both female moviegoers (66 percent) and moviegoers 30 years and older (63 percent). Trainwreck received an A- rating on CinemaScore, which is likely a bit stronger than it sounds given that previous films from Apatow have a tendency of displaying stronger holding power than their ratings on CinemaScore would suggest. Trainwreck is extremely likely to hold up very well throughout the rest of the summer, though whether or not its holding power can reach the same levels of Knocked Up or Bridesmaids remains to be seen.

In other box office news, Inside Out surpassed the $300 million domestic mark after placing in fourth this weekend with an estimated $11.66 million. With the initial rush-out for Minions now out of the way, Inside Out stabilized nicely this weekend by decreasing just 34 percent from last weekend. The blockbuster 3D computer animated film from Disney and Pixar has grossed a very impressive $306.36 million in 31 days and is very likely to continue to hold up well going forward thanks in part to strong word of mouth and the relative lack of other high-profile animated releases throughout the rest of the summer.

Universal’s Jurassic World rounded out the weekend’s top five with an estimated $11.36 million. In the process, the 3D sci-fi adventure blockbuster sequel became just the fourth film ever to surpass the $600 million domestic mark without adjusting for ticket price inflation. Jurassic World reached the $600 million mark in just 36 days; easily making it the fastest film ever to do so (previous record holder 2009’s Avatar reached the mark in 47 days). Jurassic World continues to display strong holding power in its own right, as it was down a very solid 37 percent (especially when considering the new direct competition it faced from Ant-Man). Jurassic World has grossed a massive $611.13 million in 38 days and is now just $12.23 million away from surpassing the $623.36 million final gross of 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers to move into third place on the all-time unadjusted domestic list.

Meanwhile, Terminator Genisys and Magic Mike XXL didn’t hold up anywhere near as well with respective estimated sixth place and seventh place takes of $5.4 million and $4.5 million. Paramount’s Terminator Genisys fell a troubling 61 percent from last weekend while Warner’s Magic Mike XXL was down a sharp 53 percent. Terminator Genisys clearly took a direct hit from Ant-Man this weekend, while Magic Mike XXL was slowed further by the arrival of Trainwreck. Both films continue to under-perform with respective 19-day totals of $80.64 million for Terminator Genisys and $58.64 million for Magic Mike XXL.

In limited release, Roadside’s Mr. Holmes and Eros’ Bajrangi Bhaijaan were off to healthy respective estimated starts of $2.49 million and $2.43 million. Mr. Holmes claimed an encouraging per-location average of $6,857 from 363 locations, while Bajrangi Bhaijaan averaged a strong $9,473 from 256 locations. Mr. Holmes took tenth place among all films this weekend and Bajrangi Bhaijaan placed in eleventh.

 

 

 

 

To recap, Ant-Man jumps 1st due to low estimates, the Minions move to 2nd after a 115 million smacker record last week, TrainWreck rumbles 3rd, Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out moves down 4th, and Jurassic World, who got outpaced by Inside Out, moves down 5th.

 

 

 

Universal has been on a roll so far this year as box office record sales keep growing. With the Minions added to the list of record breaking box office hits last week, how many million smackers up to this point has the globe have Johnny?

 

 

 

Johnny Trout (via The Hollywood Reporter)- Universal Pictures’ 2015 keeps getting better and better.

The Jurassic World studio has broken another industry record, passing $5 billion at the worldwide box office faster than any other studio has ever reached that milestone in any year.

 

The big success of Jurassic World, Pitch Perfect 2, Furious 7, Fifty Shades of Grey and the recent release Minions has earned the studio $1.709 billion domestically and $3.292 internationally year-to-date.

Jurassic World, starring Chris Pratt, has also crossed the $600 million mark at the North American box office after just 36 days, the quickest climb to that benchmark ever. It has now grossed more than $1.491 billion worldwide.

The studio’s latest release, the animated film Minions from Illumination Entertainment, opened last weekend to a huge $115.7 million domestically and has earned $500 million worldwide.

 

 

 

We’ll see if Universal can add another milestone win as their next flick debuts soon as box office sales continue their run this week.

 

 

 

 

 

With the Emmys just 2 months away, there’ve been a lot of surprises last week, particularly in the live action department. There were many snubs since last week thanks to HBO’s 24 Emmy nods for Game of Thrones, and many shows got caught off guard. But not in the animation department though! A surprise entry for best animated TV show has got the toon world by surprise. Who was the show that spooked them Dan?

 

 

 

Dan Barry (via Animation World)- Nominations for the 2015 Primetime Emmy Awards have been announced and, with a whopping 24 nods, HBO’s Game of Thrones once again received the most nominations, including for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Special Visual Effects. FX’s American Horror Story: Freak Show trailed behind in second place with 19 nominations.

On the animation side, the five nominees for Outstanding Animated Program include perennial FX favorite Archer, Fox’s Bob’s Burgers and The Simpsons, Cartoon Network’s Over The Garden Wall and Comedy Central mainstay South Park. The six nominees for Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program are Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, Regular Show and Steven Universe, Disney Television Animation’s Mickey Mouse and Wander Over Yonder, and Adult Swim’s stop-motion series Robot Chicken.

The contenders in the Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance category are John Roberts for Bob’s Burgers “Eat, Spray, Linda,” Seth MacFarlane for Family Guy “Our Idiot Brian,” Seth Green for Robot Chicken “Victoria’s Secret of Nimph,” Dan Castellaneta for The Simpsons “Bart’s New Friend,” Tress MacNeille for The Simpsons “My Fare Lady,” and Hank Azaria for The Simpsons “The Princess Guide.”

On the visual effects side, the nominees for Outstanding Special Visual Effects are Starz’ Black Sails, The CW’s The Flash, HBO’s Game of Thrones, Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the History Channel’s Vikings. Contenders for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role are FX’s American Horror Story: Freak Show, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, Fox’s Gotham, Marvel’s Daredevil, and AMC’s The Walking Dead.

 
Cartoon Network’s ‘Over the Garden Wall’ receives a nomination for Outstanding Animated Program at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards.

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED PROGRAM
•Archer • Pocket Listing • FX Networks • FX Productions
•Bob’s Burgers • Can’t Buy Me Math • FOX • Bento Box Entertainment
•Over The Garden Wall • Cartoon Network • Cartoon Network Studios
•The Simpsons • Treehouse Of Horror XXV • FOX • Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television
•South Park • Freemium Isn’t Free • Comedy Central • Central Productions

OUTSTANDING SHORT-FORMAT ANIMATED PROGRAM
•Adventure Time • Jake The Brick • Cartoon Network • Cartoon Network Studios
•Disney Mickey Mouse • Mumbai Madness • Disney Channel • Disney Television Animation
•Regular Show • White Elephant Gift Exchange • Cartoon Network • Cartoon Network Studios
•Robot Chicken • Chipotle Miserable • Adult Swim • A Stoopid Buddy Stoodios Production in association with Stoopid Monkey and Williams Street
•Steven Universe • Lion 3: Straight To Video • Cartoon Network • Cartoon Network Studios
•Wander Over Yonder • The Gift 2: The Giftening • Disney XD • Disney Television Animation

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER VOICE-OVER PERFORMANCE
•Bob’s Burgers • Eat, Spray, Linda • FOX • Bento Box Entertainment
John Roberts as Linda Belcher and Tim
•Family Guy • Our Idiot Brian • FOX • Fox Television Animation
Seth MacFarlane as Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin and Dr. Hartman
•Robot Chicken • Victoria’s Secret Of Nimph • Adult Swim • A Stoopid Buddy Stoodios Production in association with Stoopid Monkey and Williams Street
Seth Green as The Nerd, Quarterback, Pirates, Bryan Mills/Liam Neeson, Batman and The Count
•The Simpsons • Bart’s New Friend • FOX • Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox
Television
Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson
•The Simpsons • My Fare Lady • FOX • Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television
Tress MacNeille as Laney Fontaine, Shauna and Mrs. Muntz
•The Simpsons • The Princess Guide • FOX • Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television
Hank Azaria as Moe Szyslak and Pedicab Driver

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

Black Sails • XVIII • Starz • Platinum Dunes and Quaker Moving Pictures in association with Starz Originals
Erik Henry, Visual Effects Supervisor
Kevin Paul Rafferty, On-Set VFX Supervisor
Paul Stephenson, Special Effects Supervisor
Annemarie Griggs, Visual Effects Producer
Mitch Claspy, Visual Effects Coordinator
Ken Jones, Lead FX Artist
Lari Karam, SFX Lead
Whitman Gove Lindstrom, Matte Painter
Charles Baden, Compositor

The Flash • Grodd Lives • CW • Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television
Armen V. Kevorkian, Visual Effects Supervisor
James Baldanzi, Visual Effects Producer
Keith Hamakawa, Associate Visual Effects Supervisor
Jason Shulman, Animation Supervisor
Stefan Bredereck, 3D Supervisor
Kurt Smith, 3D Character Artist
Lorenzo Mastrobuono, 3D Artist
Andranik Taranyan, Compositing Supervisor
Gevork Babityan, Lead Compositing Artist

Game of Thrones • The Dance Of Dragons • HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with Bighead, Littlehead; Television 360; Startling Television and Generator Productions
Steve Kullback, Visual Effects Producer
Joe Bauer, Visual Effects Supervisor
Adam Chazen, Visual Effects Associate Producer
Jabbar Raisani, Visual Effects Plate Supervisor
Eric Carney, Visual Effects Previs Lead
Stuart Brisdon, Special Effects Supervisor
Derek Spears, Lead CG Supervisor
James Kinnings, Lead Animator
Matthew Rouleau, CG Supervisor

Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. • The Dirty Half Dozen • ABC • ABC Studios in association with Marvel Studios
Sabrina M. Arnold, Lead VFX Producer
Mark Kolpack, VFX Supervisor
Garry D’Amico, Special Effects Supervisor
Tracy Takahashi, VFX Producer
Kevin Lingenfelser, Compositing Supervisor
Matthew Von Brock, CG Supervisor
Mitch Gates, CG Lead Artist
Kevin Yuille, Lead Compositor
Briana Aeby, VFX Coordinator

Vikings • To The Gates! • HISTORY • An Octagon and Take 5 production in association with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for History
Dennis Berardi, Senior Special Visual Effects Producer
Michael Borrett, Visual Effects Producer
Ovidiu Cinazan, Lead Compositor
Jeremy Dineen, Lead FX Artist
Bill Halliday, Visual Effects Producer
Dominic Remane, Visual Effects Supervisor
Paul Wishart, Lead Environment Artist
Engin Arslan, Lead Lighter
Ken MacKenzie, Lead Animator

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

American Horror Story: Freak Show • Edward Mordrake, Part 2 • FX Networks • 20th Century Fox Television
Jason Piccioni, Visual Effects Supervisor
Justin Ball, Visual Effects Supervisor
Jason Spratt, VFX Producer
Tim Jacobsen, VFX Producer
David Altenau, Compositing Supervisor
Tommy Tran, Lead Compositor
Mike Kirylo, Lead CG Artist
Matt Lefferts, CG Artist
Donnie Dean, SFX Supervisor

Boardwalk Empire • Golden Days For Boys And Girls • HBO • HBO Entertainment in association with Leverage, Closest to the Hole Productions, Sikelia Productions and Cold Front Productions
Lesley Robson-Foster, VFX Supervisor
Parker Chehak, VFX Producer
Douglas Purver, Compositor
Paul Graff, VFX Supervisor
John Bair, VFX Supervisor
Greg Radcliffe, Digital Artist
Rebecca Dunn, Compositing Supervisor
Aaron Raff, Lead Digital Artist
Steven Kirshoff, Special Effects Forman

Gotham • Lovecraft • FOX • Warner Bros. Television
Thomas Joseph Mahoney, Visual Effects Supervisor
Joseph Bell, Visual Effects Producer
Erin Perkins, VFX Coordinator
Eric Deinzer, Compositing Supervisor
Sina San, Matte Painter
Adam Coggin, Compositor
Mark Nazal, Compositor
Henrique Reginato, Compositor
Errol Lanier, CG Artist

Marvel’s Daredevil • Speak Of The Devil • Netflix • Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios for Netflix
David Van Dyke, Visual Effects Producer
Bryan Godwin, Visual Effects Supervisor
Karl Coyner, Digital Effects Supervisor
Steve J. Sanchez, Senior Compositing Lead
Julie Long, Visual Effects Coordinator
Pedro Tarrago, Visual Effects Editor
Neiko Nagy, Associate Compositing Lead
Moshe Swed, CG ArtistKjell Strode, FX Technical Director

The Walking Dead • Conquer • AMC • AMC Studios / Stalwart Films, LLC / Circle of Confusion / Valhalla Entertainment
Victor Scalise, VFX Supervisor
Darrell Dean Pritchett, Special FX Supervisor
Matt Robken, VFX Producer
Gary Romey, VFX Coordinator
Martin Hilke, Lead 2D Artist
Franco Leng, Senior 2D Artist
Dylen Velasquez, 2D Artist
Michael Cook, Lead CG Artist
William L. Arance, Senior CG Artist

Andy Samberg will host the 2015 Primetime Emmy Awards on September 20. Fox will broadcast them live from the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

 

 

 

 

Checking the Penguins tally, 1,567 fans sign in as the 2015 Emmy Awards are set this fall, and Team Skipper will determine which show will add an Emmy to their tally.

 

 

 

New episodes of Clarence are on this week as Cartoon Network’s weekly summer marathon continues. This is Realistic Fish Head saying, have fun with Clarence and friends!

Inside Out beats Jurassic World with 30 million to win July 4th weekend; Disney acquires prince charming project; Cartoon Network renews entire original lineup by 1 season each ahead of Comic-Con

 

 

Welcome to the Comic-Con 2015 edition of Gene Scallop’s entertainment report. Here’s what’s topping today.

 

 

It was a close race last Sunday, as Jurassic World was well ahead of Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out in the box office by 30 million smackers in the box office on the verge of nailing a 5th weekend win. But did the Feelings Team beat the dinos to end the rampaging streak to win July 4th weekend Danny?

 

 

Danny Angelfish (via The Hollywood Reporter)- Firework champs Inside Out and Jurassic World beat new entries Terminator: Genisys and Magic Mike XXL to top the holiday in their third and fourth weekends, respectively.

On Sunday, Universal had Jurassic World winning the weekend with $30.9 million, but final numbers show Inside Out topping the holiday chart with $29.8 million. Jurassic World came in at $29.2 million for a domestic total of $556.5 million — the fourth-best showing of all time in North America and eclipsing The Dark Knight ($534.9 million). Inside Out earning $30.1 million for a domestic cume of $245.9 million.

 

Either way, the duo trounced the new two entries, both of which opened Wednesday and did notably less business than expected. It’s never good when the Fourth of July falls on a Saturday, but overall revenue for the weekend was still up narrowly over last year, or by more than 3 percent.

Terminator: Genisys — which never expected Jurassic World to still be so strong — placed No. 3 with an estimated weekend gross of $28.7 million for a five-day debut of $44.1 million, a poor start that threatens the revival of the storied franchise (two other installments are already dated).

Coming in No. 4 was Magic Mike XXL with a $12.8 million weekend and five-day debut of $27.9 million, compared to the $39.1 million opening of Magic Mike. The sequel played almost entirely to females, who made up 96 percent of the audience, an unheard of number and compared to 73 percent female for the first film.

Genisys clearly has far more at stake, considering its $155 million production budget. Paramount and David Ellison’s Skydance partnered on the film, which had hoped to at least hit $55 million in its North American launch. Instead, it has been hampered by poor reviews and a B+ CinemaScore, although the movie did pick up somewhat as the long holiday wore on.

 

The good news for Genisys is that it is doing well overseas, where it grossed $74 million this weekend from 60 percent of the international marketplace (or 46 territories) for an early foreign total of $85.5 million and global cume of $129.6 million. It has yet to open in major markets including China, Japan, Germany, Italy and Spain, and could ultimately earn $300 million-$400 million overseas, three to four times its domestic take.

“There is no question that the U.S. market got affected by reviews, but through the weekend, we actually played above what people thought we would. And the international numbers are spectacular,” said Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore.

Alan Taylor directed Genisys, with Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising his role as Terminator. He stars opposite Emilia Clarke, who plays John Connor’s mother, Sarah, and Jason Clarke, who plays John Connor. Jai Courtney and J.K. Simmons co-star. This time out, John Connor sends Kyle Reese (Courtney) back in time to protect his mother, but things soon go awry.

Males made up 62 percent of the audience, while 65 percent of ticket buyers were over the age of 25.

Warner Bros.’ Magic Mike XXL had hoped to clear $45 million-$50 million for the five days. The sequel had won Wednesday, thanks to female fans rushing out to see the movie, but fell fast after that.

Magic Mike XXL, the follow-up to Steven Soderbergh’s sleeper hit, fared well with critics and even better with moviegoers, who gave it an A- CinemaScore.

 

The sequel was made this time without Matthew McConaughey, who played an undeniable role in turning Magic Mike into a sleeper hit in summer 2012. But Channing Tatum, himself a popular star and whose early career as a male stripper inspired the film series, did return, alongside Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello. Gregory Jacobs directed.

“I’m definitely down, but not out. When you have a movie that plays this strongly to women, it should begin over-indexing this week as females settle in after the holiday,” said Warners domestic distribution chief Dan Fellman. “And the film will be profitable, it’s just a question of how high we go. The fat lady hasn’t sung yet.”

Rounding out the top five was Ted 2, another R-rated comedy sequel that has underwhelmed since debuting last weekend. The film tumbled a steep 67 percent to $11 million for a domestic total of $58.3 million.

Some industry insiders suggest it is difficult to make sequels to a films like Magic Mike or Ted, both of which were unique concepts.

Internationally, Genisys knocked Jurassic World from the top spot, although the latter still racked in a hearty $42 million from 66 markets for a foreign total of $826.9 million and global haul of $1.385 billion. Inside Out took in $18.6 million from only 42 markets for an early foreign cume of $117.3 million and global total of $363.5 million.

Making headlines at the U.S. specialty office was BAFTA-winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia’s documentary Amy, chronicling the life and death of British singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse. The indie film, launching in six theaters in New York and Los Angeles, opened to $222,015 for a location average of $37,002, one of the top averages of all time for a documentary. To boot, it scored one of the top openings overall for a doc opening in less than 10 theaters, joining a club that includes An Inconvenient Truth and Capitalism: A Love Story.

A24 films, which is handling Amy in the U.S., will expand the film nationwide next weekend.

 

Looks like Arnie’s on the lookout as the minions come to the box office. Will they beat the terminator this weekend? Find out in our box office report.

 

 

The mouse continued its Disney classic live action reboot plans this week. So far, they finished Maleficent and Cinderella 2015 this year. They upped the ante this time as they plan to bring back all the Disney Princes but for what reason Johnny?

 

 

 

Johnny Trout (via The Hollywood Reporter)- Disney is continuing its push into live-action fairy tales, closing a deal for a feature project centering on Prince Charming.

Matt Fogel wrote the script, while David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films/TV as well as Tripp Vinson are on board to produce.

Disney pioneered the recent and lucrative trend of taking either old animated classics or fairy tales and spinning them into live-action features.

And since no other studio has done more to ensconce the idea of Prince Charming into the public mind — with movies such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella — it is most appropriate the studio take a close look at the man as well.

Details are being kept behind a moat, but the script is described as a revisionist take on the fairy tales.

Mandeville’s Alex Young will executive produce.

Mandeville is production on Disney’s live-action take of its 1991 classic Beauty and the Beast that stars Emma Watson and Dan Stevens.

Vinson was an exec producer on New Line’s summer hit San Andreas and has the Colin Farrell-Anthony Hopkins thriller Solace in the can.

Fogel was the assistant to Phil Lord and Chris Miller when the filmmaking team worked on Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. He also worked on the most recent draft of Bob: The Musical, the long-in-the-works project set up at Disney. He is repped by UTA.

 

 

Cartoon Network’s originals were cut in half at the last Comic-Con leaving Gumball out of the picture. Just in time for this year Perch, have all of their shows have given an extra season?

 

 

Perch Perkins (via Toon Zone)- The Hollywood Reporter has just received word in advance of San Diego Comic-Con that Adventure Time, Regular Show, Uncle Grandpa, Steven Universe and Clarence have all been renewed by Cartoon Network for another season.

For Adventure Time and Regular Show this will mark season eight. Steven Universe and Uncle Grandpa are currently going through their second seasons and are now guaranteed a third. According to the Hollywood Reporter, nearly all five of these shows have consistently ranked #1 in the ratings with children 6-11. Steven Universe in particular is a rising star with a rapidly growing fanbase.

We should find out more about these upcoming seasons and future plot tidbits thereof at SDCC. The Regular Show and Uncle Grandpa panels will take place Friday at 10 a.m. in the Indigo Ballroom, Adventure Time and Steven Universe panels will happen one hour later at the same place, and Clarence will host a Pajama Party at 8 p.m. in Room 7AB.

As for when these shows broadcast new episodes on Cartoon Network (from the seasons currently airing), new episodes of Steven Universe will air the week of July 13, Clarence episodes will run the week of July 20, and new Uncle Grandpas will air during a currently unscheduled future week after that. The particular week we’re in is occupied with new episodes of Gumball, but there was no mention of that show’s fate yet.

Teen Titans Go! was also not mentioned, but I’m assuming that has been already renewed through the year 2045.

 

We’ll recheck their actual run of Teen Titans Go! fresh off their 100th episode.

 

 

Checking the Penguins tally, 1,569 fans sign in as The Feeling Team derails Jurassic World’s winning streak as July 4th champs.

 

 

 

We’ll bring you Comic-Con coverage tomorrow all the way to Sunday as more surprises are expected. In the meantime, see you soon for the next edition of Gene Scallop’s entertainment report.

Jurassic World edges Inside Out with 30 million, Terminator Genisys underperforms, Magic Mike XXL flops; Dan Berger appointed as head of corporate communications; DreamWorks Puss in Boots and other shows moved to Spain

 

 

After July 4th numbers push both The Feeling Team and the dinos in holiday record territory! I’m Realistic Fish Head. Both movies managed to keep up the pace during July 4th weekend with plenty of dollars to add to their estimates. Both the dinos and Inside Out were on the verge of staying both spots as competition has worked very well through summer movie season so far. In short, they both were inline to make the most millions in the box office. Their latest attempt was to keep both Terminator Genisys and Magic Mike XXL out of the running from racing to the finish. How close is the race so far Gene?

 

Gene:

 

It was a very close race this weekend between fellow blockbusters Jurassic World and Inside Out. Based on studio estimates, Universal’s Jurassic World has the edge with an estimated $30.94 million. That places it $0.84 million ahead of Disney’s Inside Out for the weekend, which took in an estimated $30.11 million. It’s obviously close enough between the two films that positioning could still change when actuals are released on Monday.

Jurassic World decreased 43 percent from last weekend’s performance. If its positioning holds, the film has now led the weekend box office for four consecutive frames (a feat which Universal also achieved with Furious 7 earlier this year). Without adjusting for ticket price inflation, Jurassic World registered the third largest fourth weekend performance of all-time (behind only 2009’s Avatar and 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers). Jurassic World has grossed a massive $558.20 million through 24 days of release. This weekend the film surpassed the $534.86 million final gross of 2008’s The Dark Knight to move into fourth place on the all-time unadjusted domestic list.  Jurassic World is now just $65.16 million away from passing the $623.36 million final domestic gross of The Avengers to move into third place on the list. Jurassic World is currently running $44.83 million and 9 percent ahead of the $513.37 million 24-day take of The Avengers.

Inside Out was down a solid 42.5 percent from last weekend. Holdovers in general were noticeably affected by Independence Day falling on Saturday this year (the first time that has occurred since back in 2009). Inside Out continues to exceed its lofty expectations with a strong 17-day start of $246.16 million. That already makes the film the fourth highest grossing release of 2015 thus far (behind only Jurassic World, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Furious 7). Compared to other previous blockbusters from Pixar, Inside Out is running an impressive 14 percent ahead of the $216.25 million 17-day take of 2013’s Monsters University and 15 percent behind the $289.11 million 17-day gross of 2010’s Toy Story 3. Competition for family audiences will soon be getting much tougher with the release of Universal’s highly anticipated Minions this coming Friday.

Paramount’s Terminator Genisys wasn’t far behind with an estimated third place debut of $28.7 million. The Arnold Schwarzenegger led 3D sci-fi action sequel has grossed $44.16 million through five days of release. Terminator Genisys is performing on the very low end of scaled back expectations and in the bigger picture is performing softly with both its cost and the previous history of The Terminator franchise in mind. Terminator Genisys is running 32 percent behind the $65.32 million five-day start of 2009’s Terminator Salvation (which opened on a Thursday) and percent 39 behind the $72.39 million five-day take of 2003’s Terminator 3 (which opened on a Wednesday). The film is performing much more in line with the $40.14 million five-day Independence Day weekend start of 2009’s Public Enemies.

One positive aspect of the holiday start for Terminator Genisys is that the film was relatively back-loaded with a five-day to three-day weekend ratio of 1.54 to 1. That stat, along with the film’s B+ rating on CinemaScore suggests that Terminator Genisys is going over better with moviegoers than it has with critics. On the other hand, Terminator Genisys will be facing new direct competition from the likes of Disney’s Ant-Man, Sony’s Pixels and fellow Paramount release Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation throughout the month of July.

Terminator Genisys took in an estimated $5.5 million from IMAX locations over the five-day frame. That represented 12.5 percent of the film’s overall five-day start.

After getting off to a solid start on Wednesday (when the film took first place for the day) and Thursday, Warner’s Magic Mike XXL lost major momentum over the weekend and had to settle for a distant estimated fourth place take of $12.04 million. That places the five-day start for the Channing Tatum led sequel at a significantly softer than expected $27.07 million and gives the film a 5-day to 3-day weekend ratio of 2.25 to 1. The film’s early front-loading is obviously a troubling sign going forward, though some of the front-loading is clearly due to the film being greatly affected by Independence Day falling on Saturday (the film was down 60 percent from Friday on Saturday). Magic Mike XXL is running 45 percent below the $49.62 million five-day take of 2012’s Magic Mike (which opened on a Friday) and 30 percent behind the $38.51 million five-day start of 2003’s Legally Blonde 2 (which opened a Wednesday).

The audience breakdown for Magic Mike XXL skewed towards moviegoers over the age of 25 (73 percent) and extremely towards female moviegoers (96 percent). In comparison, the film’s predecessor skewed 73 percent towards female moviegoers. Magic Mike XXL will be helped out by its very modest production budget and the film did receive a promising A- rating on CinemaScore, so it may be able to stabilize a bit after this weekend, especially on weekdays.

Universal’s Ted 2 rounded out the weekend’s top five with an estimated $11.02 million. On the heels of last weekend’s already softer than expected start, the Seth MacFarlane directed comedy sequel was down a very sharp 67 percent.  Ted 2 has grossed a much softer than expected $58.33 million in ten days. That places the film a very disappointing 51 percent behind the $119.85 million ten-day take of 2012’s Ted (which fell just 41 percent in its second weekend to gross $32.20 million). Given its far poorer second weekend hold and its nature as a sequel, Ted 2 is set to fall further and further behind the pace of its predecessor going forward. Ted and Magic Mike broke out at the same time three years ago during the summer of 2012, but in hindsight audiences clearly weren’t all that hungry for a sequel to either film.

Max held up far better this weekend with an estimated sixth place take of $7.0 million. The modestly budgeted family film from Warner Bros. and MGM was down 42 percent from last weekend. Max continues to perform in line with expectations with a solid ten-day take of $25.75 million. That places the film 23 percent ahead of the $20.87 million ten-day gross of last year’s Earth to Echo.

On the platform front, A24’s Amy was off to a nice start with an estimated $222,015 from 6 locations in New York and Los Angeles. That gave the critically acclaimed documentary on the late Amy Winehouse a per-location average of $37,003 for the frame. Amy will be expanding into additional locations on Friday.

 

To recap, Jurassic World continues to stomp forward in 1st, Inside Out stays in 2nd, Terminator 5 continues to fight for our future in 3rd, Magic Mike 2 works his magic in 4th, and Ted 2 facing trouble yet again, moves 5th. Monday’s estimates will determine whether the dino’s can slice through another win in the July 4th battle.

 

 

Back in April, former corporate exec Chip Sullivan left DreamWorks in favor for a job over at NBC. The company was without a corporate job since then. A replacement was needed to fill in Sully’s place at the studio. Who did they get this time Dan?

 

Dan Barry (via Animation World)- DreamWorks Animation has hired former Fox communications executive Dan Berger as head of corporate communications, filling the void left by Chip Sullivan who departed the company in April for a job at NBC.

Berger will serve as DreamWorks Animation’s chief corporate spokesperson, while leading the Company’s global corporate communications efforts and its Glendale-based communications team. His appointment is effective July 27.

 

“Dan is an accomplished communications executive who has spent the past 15 years working in every corner of the media business, which makes him the perfect fit for this important role,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation. “He will be an invaluable addition to our team, leading our efforts to effectively communicate our corporate vision to key audiences around the world.”

“DreamWorks Animation is not only one of the entertainment industry’s most forward-thinking and innovative companies, but also one of the world’s most trusted and beloved corporate brands,” Berger said. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to work with Jeffrey, Ann Daly and the entire team to support the Company’s efforts. I can’t wait to get started.”

Prior to joining DreamWorks Animation, Berger spent nine years in a variety of senior communications roles at 21st Century Fox, most recently as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications. From 2009 to 2013, he was Vice President of Communications for News Corporation — 21st Century Fox’s corporate predecessor — and previously served as Vice President of Corporate Communications for Fox Interactive Media, the parent company of News Corporation’s digital businesses.

From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Berger served in a number of communications roles at Yahoo!, and previously spent time at several New York-based public relations firms, including Edelman Worldwide and GCI Group.

 

After months of viewership on Netflix piling up with viewers since last season, DreamWorks newest shows are taking a worldwide tour to increase viewership from outside the states hoping to exceed their goal of having the most viewers. What’s their first stop Dan?

 

 

Dan Barry (via Animation World (continued)- DreamWorks Animation’s biggest stars will be making their way to Spanish homes this year via main public broadcast channels. According to a report by Kidscreen, nine television series from DWA will debut on four major Spanish TV networks in an unprecedented agreement signed by Planeta Junior, which handles DreamWorks TV distribution in Spain.

The nine DWA series will air beginning in October in prime slots on the schedules of RTVE, TV3 (Catalonia), EITB (Basque Country) and TVG (Galicia), beginning with Turbo F.A.S.T., All Hail King Julien, The Adventures of Puss in Boots and Dinotrux.

Planeta Junior is a leading European company in the production, distribution and licensing of animated series such as Maya the Bee, Heidi 3D and Sesame Street. Last year, Planeta Junior signed an extensive multi-year television output agreement with DreamWorks Animation including more than 1,100 programming half-hours that covered Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Turkey.

 

 

Checking the Penguins tally, 1,581 fans sign in as Team Skipper’s animated corporate operatives plan a worldwide tour after tons of online hits on Netflix.

 

 

Flash! SpongeBob’s on the wrong side of Bikini Bottom! When he ends up on a city similar to it, he finds out that our hero has ended up missing! Will SpongeBob find his way back to city limits? Find out July 16th in the newest SpongeBob special, that he is Lost in Bikini Bottom! This is Realistic Fish Head saying, Be sure to get back soon SpongeBob!

Guardians of the Galaxy sequel confirmed as Guardians of The Galaxy Volume 2; Boomerang nabs multi-year deal for new animated shows from Warner Bros.; Genius Brands hooks up with Dennis The Menace and Carmen Sandiego for Kid Genius network launch set for September 1st

 

 

Welcome to the Guardians Galaxy sequel edition of Gene Scallop’s entertainment report. Here’s what’s topping today!

 

In last Sunday’s entertainment news, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn wanted the same and powerful emotion in the first film. Well, he got his wish yesterday as the Galaxy Guardians sequel was properly named. What’s the new title Johnny?

 

 

 

 

Johnny Trout (via The Hollywood Reporter)- The official title for the follow-up to Guardians of the Galaxy has been confirmed, and for those hoping it would hint at plot details about the movie — bad news, sadly. Everyone else, prepare for Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2.

The title was originally reported by Collider after Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige accidentally revealed it during an interview with the site. Writer/director James Gunn later confirmed it on Twitter.

The sequel was originally announced at Comic-Con in 2014 as Guardians of the Galaxy 2. The movie will be release May 2017.

 

Since Boomerang was introduced back in 2000 as the sister station of Cartoon Network, it clearly focused on Hanna-Barbera’s entire library. Now since the refresh in 2013, it obtained CN’s entire daytime lineup and those from outside the US. The network hit pay dirt when a deal was struck between the Warner’s cartoon collection and Turner. Which new additions are added to Boomerang Dan?

 

 

Dan Barry (via Animation World)- Turner Broadcasting and Warner Bros. have announced that together, the two Time Warner companies are deepening their ongoing partnership with a global agreement that will build on the company’s two-network strategy by strengthening the pipeline of original content being developed for the recently rebranded Boomerang, the beloved network known for its funny and timeless contemporary animation.

The agreement, which represents the first-ever original content being developed exclusively for Boomerang, includes nearly 450 half-hours of programming from Warner Bros. Animation. The content will premiere on all Boomerang channels worldwide and on some Cartoon Network channels internationally, along with potential crossover with Turner Broadcasting’s Pogo, Boing, Toonami and Cartoon Network (U.S.)

The partnership also extends Boomerang’s access to the classic animation portfolio from the Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Warner Bros. Animation collection, a total of 3,500 titles. Drawing upon the vast resources of the world’s largest animation library which includes contemporary classics from Cartoon Network Studios, Boomerang’s on-air schedule will continue to feature such timeless favorites as Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo!, programming that has multi-generational appeal and great co-viewership.

 

“Turner Broadcasting has a very strong kids and family business around the world and our exciting new partnership with Warner Bros. presents a number of new opportunities that will help strategically grow the Boomerang brand,” said Christina Miller, President and General Manager, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang. “Through this expanded relationship with our corporate partners, we will create new content that will engage fans across a variety of screens and platforms and further grow these timeless franchises that we’ll leverage not only across Boomerang but also our global kids and family portfolio of businesses.”

“With the television landscape becoming more and more crowded, we are extremely fortunate to have one of the largest animation libraries, with some of the world’s most iconic and revered characters, and to be embarking on this important new partnership with Turner and Boomerang,” said Sam Register, President, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Digital Series. “This deal presents an exciting creative opportunity to explore this vast collection, to develop new and compelling programming based on these beloved characters, and to introduce them to new generations of families.”

Premiering this fall will be the first of Boomerang’s new original series from Warner Bros. Animation. Bunnicula is an all-new animated comedy series based on the bestselling children’s book of the same name. The series follows the paranormal comedy adventures of Bunnicula the vampire rabbit, who — instead of drinking blood — drains the juice of carrots and other vegetables to boost his supernatural abilities. Be Cool Scooby Doo! is an all-new 22-minute animated comedy series featuring the Scooby gang, back with a modern comedic twist on the beloved classic. This time, the gang is working as hard to solve their own personal problems as they are to solve the endless, mind-bending mysteries that await them. In Wabbit – A Looney Tunes Production, Bugs Bunny is starring in all-new shorts that find the iconic carrot-loving rabbit matching wits against — and getting the best of — classic characters like Yosemite Sam and Wile E. Coyote, along with brand new foes.

 

 

Also participating in the new face lineup is Genius Brands whom like Shout Factory is bringing back old shows from yesteryear. The company brought back 2 classics, one back in the 80’s and one in the 90’s. Who’s coming back to the tube Dan?

 

 

Dan Barry (via Animation World)(continued)- Tween-focused content and brand management company Genius Brands International (GBI) has acquired two new animated series to offer on its new Kid Genius channel, debuting on Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand service in September 2015.

Joining the line-up are the Daytime Emmy Award-winning and multiple Daytime Emmy Award-nominated series, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?, and Dennis the Menace, based on the classic comic strip created by Hank Ketcham.

“Both of these properties are perfectly suited to join the line-up of our new Kid Genius channel, where we will offer a safe viewing experience for children and their families that also provides positive value,” explained GBI’s Senior Vice President of Global Distribution Sales, Andy Berman. “In addition to both properties being well-respected global brands, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? gives kids the opportunity to learn about geography and culture, and Dennis the Menace delivers wholesome storytelling for everyone.”

The new Kid Genius channel is set to offer a variety of programming for young viewers (toddlers to 12-years-old) that align with the company’s mission to provide “content with a purpose.” The channel will also feature GBI original programming, including Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab, Llama Llama and Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club, as well as other shows from program creators around the world.  GBI will announce the full schedule for Kid Genius prior to the September 1, 2015 launch.

To help define guidelines for content acquisitions, Kid Genius has enlisted renowned children’s media expert, Don Roberts, former Chair of the Communications School at Stanford, to incorporate a program code that will address sensitive issues such as violence, negative stereotypes, the environment, and inappropriate language to ensure that parents will feel comfortable that their kids are never being exposed to inappropriate subject matter.

 

Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? features the world famous super-thief Carmen Sandiego who travels all over the globe in search of famous artifacts to steal. Teenage ACME detectives Zack and Ivy are on a quest to capture Carmen as she tempts them with encrypted clues about her whereabouts and the object of her interest. Zack and Ivy must use their knowledge of geography and world cultures to keep up with Carmen and her henchmen.

In Dennis the Menace, Dennis’ curiosity, escapades and well-meaning ways usually lead to trouble; and usually on the receiving end is neighbor and retired postal worker George, who just wants to be left alone.  Dennis is accompanied by friends Margaret, Tommy and Joey and faithful canine companion Ruff, who often find themselves involved in all kinds of wild adventures, including international espionage and trips into history.

 

 

Checking the Penguins tally, 1,582 fans have signed in so far as Team Skipper enters the dog days of summer.

 

 

We’ve enter July with plenty of DVD’s to spare. Let’s have a look-see:

 

 

7/7/2015
 
Maggie
Woman in Gold
Slow West
Kill Me Three Times

7/14/2015
 
It Follows
Ex Machina
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
The Longest Ride
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2

7/28/2015
 
Home

 

 

We’ve also entered the dog days of summer too at entertainment central as we induct Sanjay and Craig and Breadwinners into the Bros. Hall of Fame for simply being best brothers. See the marathon on Nicktoons this Sunday. And don’t miss a 2 week marathon of Ninjago this week all the way to next week so you won’t miss any of the greatest ninja action! We’ll see what’s cooking next time on Gene Scallop’s entertainment report!