There’s no “Rush” to see the Newcomers at the Box Office

This weekend proved a really sad one for Hollywood as all three new releases tanked and The Expendables 2 easily won a second week on top despite a 52% drop. The action film took in $13.5 million and now has a total of $52 million. This week’s newcomers included the bike messenger thriller Premium Rush starring the awesome Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who was brilliant in last year’s 50/50 and this summer’s The Dark Knight Rises) which fared the best of the worst with only $6.3 million while the new Dax Shepard/Kristen Bell comedy Hit and Run stumbled in tenth place with just $4.6 million. Luckily the latter film had a low production budget and should break even. The same can’t be said for the final new entry, the horror film The Apparition, which didn’t even make the top ten pulling in a sad $2.9 million… For more on these numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here and check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 1 The Expendables 2 LGF $13,500,000 -52.8% 3,355 +39 $4,024 $52,314,000 $100 2
2 2 The Bourne Legacy Uni. $9,300,000 -45.5% 3,654 -99 $2,545 $85,500,000 $125 3
3 3 ParaNorman Focus $8,546,000 -39.3% 3,455 +26 $2,474 $28,274,000 – 2
4 4 The Campaign WB $7,440,000 -43.3% 3,302 +47 $2,253 $64,543,000 – 3
5 6 The Dark Knight Rises WB $7,150,000 -35.1% 2,606 -551 $2,744 $422,188,000 $250 6
6 7 The Odd Life of Timothy Green BV $7,125,000 -34.2% 2,598 – $2,742 $27,080,000 – 2
7 N Premium Rush Sony $6,300,000 – 2,255 – $2,794 $6,300,000 $35 1
8 13 2016 Obama’s America RM $6,238,000 +401.2% 1,091 +922 $5,718 $9,075,000 – 7
9 8 Hope Springs Sony $6,000,000 -34.1% 2,402 +41 $2,498 $45,000,000 – 3
10 N Hit and Run ORF $4,675,000 – 2,870 – $1,629 $5,868,000 $2 1

It’s the first musical number from Christina in “Burlesque”!

As I’m sure you’ve all heard me babble a million times, Christina Aguilera is about to make her big screen debut in the movie musical Burlesque, out November 24. The film which costars Kristen Bell (When in Rome), Cam Gigandet (Twilight), Diana Agron (Glee), Eric Dane (Greys Anatomy), Julianne Hough (Dancing with the Stars), Peter Gallagher (The O.C.), Emmy nominee and Tony Award winner Alan Cumming (The Good Wife, Cabaret), Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones) and Oscar-winning icon Cher features new musical numbers by Christina and Cher among others along with some classic tunes. The first of those classic songs has just hit the web in a new scene from the beginning of the film directed by Steve Antin (the actor/writer/director brother of Pussycat Dolls creator Robin Antin). In the Clip, Xtina sings her heart out, but the context seems a bit boring and uninspiring. I’m hoping it’s just a simple taste of the fabulousness that is yet to come in the film which many are comparing to either the much maligned camptastic classic Showgirls or the super successful Flashdance. We’ll see when the film is released this fall, but place your bets now after watching Christina belt out the Etta James song “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” below.

Christina Aguilera “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” from Burlesque

Xtina and Cher take you to the “Burlesque”

Christina Aguilera is ready to take it all off again… but this time it’s on the big screen. Yes, multiple Grammy Award winner Xtina is making her movie debut in the fall musical feature Burlesque co-starring Cam Gigandet (Twilight), Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones) and Academy Award winning icon Cher. The movie tells the tale of a young woman coming to Hollywood to make her dreams of being a singing dancing sensation come true who ends up working in a burlesque joint with Cher as her boss and mentor and Bell as her rival. Sounds interesting but will it be more Moulin Rouge or Showgirls is the question. Perhaps it’s a new generation Flashdance. Either way, the first trailer just hit the web and now you can see for yourself. For more on the film which hits theatres Thanksgiving weekend and also features new music from Christina AND Cher, click here.

Burlesque trailer

Christina Aguilera is still looking for a hit… Is it “You Lost Me”?

5 time Grammy winner Christina Aguilera is having a bit of a rough year. Despite ridiculously talented chops, the pop singer’s latest album, Bionic, has been a bit of a disappointment and has yet to yield a big pop hit. While “Not Myself Tonight” hit the top of the dance charts, it peaked at # 23 on the Hot 100 and subsequent dance flavored songs sent to radio, “Bionic” and “Woo Hoo”, have floundered. So, now, the record company has finally pulled its head our of its you know what and decided to release the gorgeous ballad “You Lost Me”. Could this single finally return her to the top of the charts? I sure hope so because the song and the new video are stunning and easily a standout from the album. We’ll see if “You Lost Me” is Xtina’s new “Beautiful” as the song hits radio this week. Check out her latest below. And if this doesn’t rescue Bionic, Christina can always just look forward to her next project, the film Burlesque with Cher, Kristen Bell and Stanley Tucci which hits theatres on November 24. As an added bonus, we’ll get a ton of new Xtina music on the soundtrack too.

Christina Aguilera “You Lost Me”

And for her fanboys and the clubgoers, check out this awesome new remix of “You Lost Me” by Hex Hector & Max Quayle

Betty’s Brilliance, the lost “Debbie Downer” sketch, muffins, and more!

We all know Betty White is a comedic TV legend who’s riding a hot streak in her 6th decade on-screen. With hit movies (The Proposal), big Super Bowl commercials, iconic TV roles on cherished shows (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls),16 Emmy nominations and 4 wins, Betty can do wrong, and she proved it yet again with her hilarious and brilliant turn hosting Saturday Night Live over the weekend. The 88 1/2 year old showed the kids how you do it with one of the funniest SNL’s in ages and its highest rated in over 2 years. She’s not easing up anytime soon either with a funny new TV Land sitcom, Hot in Cleveland, premiering in June (co-starring Jane Leeves, Valerie Bertinelli, and Wendie Malick), plus another comedy feature, You Again with Kristen Bell, out in September. Whew, I’m tired just typing. Imagine how Betty must feel. Oh, let’s be honest. She is the unstoppable energizer bunny and, I’ll say it, a national treasure. The SAG Awards even bestowed their Lifetime Achievement Award upon her in January where she gave an uproarious speech and memorably chided her Proposal costar Sandra Bullock. Everybody loves Betty! And you can love her some more right now. I’ve got arguably the funniest sketch from this weekend’s SNL for you, The NPR “Muffin” scene, plus the lost sketch with “Debbie Downer” and the full episode. Check them out below and long live Betty!

Betty White, Molly Shannon, Ana Gastayer “NPR Muffin” sketch:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/147961/saturday-night-live-npr

The lost “Debbie Downer” sketch with Rachel Dratch, etc.
http://watching-tv.ew.com/2010/05/09/betty-white-saturday-night-live-downer/

The full episode with Betty White and guest stars Dratch, Shannon, Gastayer, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph (as Whitney again!).
http://www.hulu.com/watch/147989/saturday-night-live-betty-white