The Big StoryThis weekend’s main box-office narrative was always going to be the battle between two very different franchises: Warner Bros.’ Lego Batman Movie, and Universal’s Fifty Shades Darker. But despite those films leading the tally, the happiest campers might be over at Lionsgate, which saw John Wick: Chapter 2 hugely improve on its first installment. The strict order of the three big releases had Lego Batman at No. 1 with $55.6 million, Fifty Shades at No. 2 with $46.8 million, and John Wick at No. 3 with $30.0 million. Both Lego and Fifty Shades saw marked declines from their predecessors, which debuted at $69.1 million and $85.2 million, respectively. But the opening weekend of Fifty Shades of Grey included Valentine’s Day on Saturday and led to a heavily front-loaded box-office take, whereas Fifty Shades Darker still has that holiday to look forward to this Tuesday. Meanwhile, while Lego Batman took the top spot, it actually came in lower than the typically cautious studio expectations, which were set at $60 million.
Box Office Mojo actually predicted it to beat the first Lego Movie and make $76 million, a number that it missed by a good $20 million. At just a $55 million budget, and with another $100 million overseas, Fifty Shades Darker is already a healthy performer, with more to come as Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day Weekend approach; at an $80 million budget, and with good word of mouth and reviews, The Lego Batman Movie should still turn out to be very solid, but its slower-than-expected start means that once again, DC can’t quite seem to generate an unmitigated hit. As for John Wick: Chapter 2, the sequel to the surprise 2014 hit doubled the original’s opening weekend, turning $15 million into $30 million and proving that its cult status is the real deal. The first John Wick was made for just $20 million, and assuming that the budget of the second remained in that neighborhood, this should provide a nice return on investment and set the stage nicely for the third episode of the franchise.
M. Night Shyamalan’s three-week reign of terror over the box office finally ended, with Split falling below the three newcomers to fourth place, with $9.3 million. Trailing behind it were a mix of Oscar contenders and holdovers, with Hidden Figures, A Dog’s Purpose, Rings, La La Land, and Lion rounding out the only real moneymakers of the weekend. Hidden Figures in particular continues to impress, with its $8 million gross increasing its lead over La La Land as the highest-grossing Best Picture nominee. But Lion in particular appears to have significant momentum, earning more money this week than it did last week, even though it shed theaters. Its total currently stands at $30 million, making it no threat to Hidden Figures or La La Land but a nice release nonetheless for the Weinsteins.Want to see the future of car technology? Brian Cooley found it for you at CES 2017 in Las Vegas and the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.The Lego Batman Movie Trailer Is a Reminder That Batman Can Be FunMar 24, 2016 11:55 AM EDT
Award Season Focus ‘LEGO Movie’ Directors Mock Oscars After They Win BAFTA Since 2006 when the British Academy of Film and Television Arts started awarding an honor for best animate feature, the organization has accurately predicted the winner of the Oscar 100% of the time. All eight films that had won the BAFTA Award had gone on to also win the Oscar. That won’t happen this year. Tonight the BAFTA Awards were presented in London, and the animated feature award was presented to The LEGO Movie, a film that wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. LEGO Movie contended against Big Hero 6 and The Boxtrolls. The current Oscar frontrunner, How to Train Your Dragon 2, didn’t even garner a nomination. “You are our favorite Academy by far,” said the film’s directors, Chris Miller and Phil Lord after accepting their award, a clear swipe at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which selects the Oscars. “You guys win the award for best Academy. This is the end of the awards road for us, so we can say whatever we want.
There’s no one left to impress.” They tweeted this photo of themselves with their BAFTAS. — philip lord (@philiplord) February 8, 2015 In the animated short category, Daisy Jacobs’s The Bigger Picture won the top prize. Jacobs’s film is also nominated for an Oscar this year. In the visual effects category, Paul Franklin, Scott Fisher and Andrew Lockley were honored for their work on Interstellar.The LEGO Movie 2: Will Arnett CONFIRMS LEGO Batman’s return (EXCLUSIVE) – WATCH THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE star Will Arnett confirmed he is reprising his LEGO Batman role in The LEGO Movie 2, during an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk. It’s been three years since movie fans were treated to the comic delights of The LEGO Movie.Having starred in that and now his own solo outing in The LEGO Batman Movie, Arnett is already working on The LEGO Movie 2.Express.co.uk was lucky enough to sit down with Arnett (Arrested Development, Bojack Horseman) in London’s Mayfair Hotel, brilliantly made up as the LEGO Batcave – where he opened up about the upcoming sequel.
Chevrolet have created a life-size Lego Batmobile - and it's awesome Chevrolet have created a life-sized Lego Batmobile, which was featured at the Detroit Motor Show last week. Following some witty remarks about Trump’s cabinet being like Batman villains, the actor spoke out about The LEGO Movie 2 and even The LEGO Batman Movie 2.He said: “First off I don’t know about LEGO Batman 2, let’s hope people like this movie and we’ll see about that.“But we are starting to work on the LEGO Movie sequel, which is going to be really fun.”WBArnett continued: “I can’t really reveal anything. We’re so early on that I can’t really tip anything.“But it’s a really funny idea and conceit, and Batman is firmly at the centre of it, with everybody else.”We also asked the actor whether The LEGO Batman Movie could only exist because of the success of The LEGO Movie.WBWBHe added: “Well yeah of course, a million percent and full credit has to be given to Phil Lord and Chris Miller who wrote and directed the first movie.“