Audiences Take a Big Bite out of “The Hunger Games”

The first massive movie smash of 2012 opened this weekend and boy did it bow big. Lionsgate’s film adaptation of the massively successful young adult book trilogy, The Hunger Games, opened to a huge $155 million making it the third biggest debut in history (behind only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 and The Dark Knight). It set the record for the biggest opening for a non-sequel film and a March debut. The film is wowing audiences with great exit polls (I gave this very entertaining and surprisingly intense film an “A-” grade) and is likely to have long legs ahead as there is no big competition for franchise films until May. Hunger also benefitted from strong reviews and an attractive and very talented cast including Oscar nominees Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Donald Sutherland, Emmy nominee Elizabeth Banks, SAG Award Nominee Josh Hutcherson, SAG Award winner Wes Bentley, Grammy winner Lenny Kravitz and Aussie breakout Liam Hemsworth. (Take that you Twilight crap!). In fact, the movie seems to have single-handedly tuned around Lionsgate’s financial troubles with their shares rocketing over the past week… No other films made much noise this weekend, but 21 Jump Street and The Lorax held well despite the big Games onslaught. Take a look at the new top ten below and head to Box Office Mojo for more on all the numbers.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N The Hunger Games LGF $155,000,000 – 4,137 – $37,467 $155,000,000 $78 1
2 1 21 Jump Street Sony $21,300,000 -41.3% 3,121 – $6,825 $71,051,000 $42 2
3 2 Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Uni. $13,100,000 -42.5% 3,677 -92 $3,563 $177,300,000 $70 4
4 3 John Carter BV $5,014,000 -63.1% 3,212 -537 $1,561 $62,347,000 $250 3
5 5 Act of Valor Rela. $2,062,000 -44.8% 2,216 -549 $931 $65,942,000 $12 5
6 4 Project X WB $1,950,000 -51.8% 2,065 -857 $944 $51,752,000 – 4
7 6 A Thousand Words P/DW $1,925,000 -47.0% 1,787 -108 $1,077 $14,926,000 $40 3
8 N October Baby (2012) Gold. $1,718,000 – 390 – $4,405 $1,718,000 – 1
9 7 Safe House Uni. $1,400,000 -48.5% 1,330 -590 $1,053 $122,600,000 $85 7
10 8 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island WB $1,373,000 -42.5% 1,340 -595 $1,025 $97,155,000 $79 7

The Hunger Games~ Please let this be better than that Twilight crap!

The latest film in the crapfest Twilight film series hits theatres this weekend and you can’t pay me to see it. However, there’s a new teen literary to film phenomena coming our way that I may just have to check out. It’s the adaptation of the popular Hunger Games series. These books follow a young boy and girl from 12 different districts that are forced to fight to the death by their capital in a future society. Unlike Twitard which features atrocious acting (ahem Kristen Stewart and the lovely but boring Taylor Launter, to name a few), these Games feature an awesome cast lead by Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones),  SAG Award nominee Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are Alright), Emmy nominee Elizabeth Banks (30 Rock), Grammy winner Lenny Kravitz, plus Liam Hemsworth (The Last Song) and two-time Oscar nominee Woody Harrelson (The Messenger, The People V. Larry Flint). The action packed drama hits theatres in March and I’m cautiously optimistic. Take a look at the trailer below and let me know if you think this one will be worth your while.

The Hunger Games trailer

Hollywood’s Hot Aussie Invasion

G’day Mate. “Throw Another Shrimp on the Barbi.” Koala Bears, Crocodile Dundee and Olivia Newton-John. What do all these things have in common? Why, they’re all synonymous with Australia. Now, Hollywood has always been interested in the lovely land down under in films like The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert, Australia and Crocodile Dundee and its actors (Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman) and musicians (Kylie Minogue, Midnight Oil, Men At Work,The Veronicas), and now a new wave of hot Australians are about to take over our shores. Seriously, you can’t really watch TV or go to the movies without happening upon a hot and talented Aussie on display. So, I’ve compiled a little guide of some of the hottest new and buzzed about Aussie actors storming the entertainment world. Which one do you wanna do a walkabout with? Let me know below.

Alex O’Laughlin: this hunky stud has been searching for a hit TV series for the last few years. Unfortunately, both Moonlight and Three Rivers tanked. However, he’s back at it with CBS’s reinvention of Hawaii Five-O next fall and he’s currently on the big screen with J Lo in The Back Up Plan.

Abbie Cornish: after receiving a lot of critical plaudits and some Oscar buzz for last year’s Bright Star, it looks like Abbie will be hitting the big time with several features on tap like Sucker Punch and The Dark Fields co-starring Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro. She might also look familiar because she’s the one Ryan Phillipe left Reese Witherspoon for… Alas, that’s over now too.

Chris Hemsworth: We first noticed the ridiculously attractive Chris Hemsworth playing Capt. Kirk’s dad in last year’s reboot of Star Trek. Well, he’s poised to eclipse the star of that pic, Chris Pine, as he steps into leading roles in the Red Dawn remake and as the norse legend Thor.

 

Liam Hemsworth: Chris’s little brother is currently sharing the screen with his real life girlfriend Miley Cyrus in the romance The Last Song. Up next, he shoots the big budget action adventure and potential franchise Arabian Nights.

Anna Torv: Playing straight-laced detective Olivia Dunham on Fox’s Fringe, Torv has to deal with parallel universes, modern-day occult and Joshua Jackson, and she does it beautifully. You can also catch this blonde bombshell in HBO’s latest miniseries The Pacific.

Ryan Kwanten: as the sexy dimbulb Jason Stackhouse on HBO’s guilty pleasure True Blood, Kwanten spends as much time fighting off vampires and beasts as he does naked wooing the ladies. He was also half-naked during his run on Summerland as a surfer. Kwanten has season 3 of Blood on tap along with a couple of indie films Red Hill and Griff the Invisible. And for more hot pics like the one below, click here.

Mia Wasikowska: as the titular character in this spring’s smash hit Alice in Wonderland, Wasikowska tangle with rabbits, cats, scary monsters and Johnny Depp. Up next she tangles with Julianne Moore and Annette Bening in the Oscar worthy comedy-drama The Kids are Alright followed by the iconic role as Jane Eyre. You might also recognize her from her performance on the acclaimed series In Treatment.

Sam Worthington: Ok, fine, he was born in England, but so was Olivia Newton-John. The point is they grew up in Australia and they’re Aussies through and through. You all know him best from Avatar, but he also headlined the recent hot mess Clash of the Titans and last year’s Terminator Salvation. Currently Hollywood’s go to action guy, Sam will be changing gears with the upcoming dramas The Debt with Helen Mirren and Last Night with Keira Knightly.

Teresa Palmer: Teresa first claim to fame in the U.S. were the films The Grudge 2 and Bedtime Stories. Now, she’s poised to hit it big with this summer’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and the upcoming Mad Max re-invention Fury Road.

So, which Aussie is gettin you hot down under? Oh, yeah, I had to go there… And if they don’t do it for you, here are a few more of our fave Aussies~ Emilie DeRavin, Simon Baker, Portia DiRossi, Guy Pearce, Jacinda Barrett, Toni Collette, Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts, Eric Bana, Heath Ledger, Rachel Griffiths.