Jacob Hall
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Ride Along 2’ Dethrones ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
Star Wars: The Force Awakens wasn’t going to reign atop the box office forever. Something was going to take it down sooner or later and we’ll just be honest — we expected it would take a little longer than this. At the same time, anyone who thought that Ride Along 2 wouldn’t perform well has a short-term or poor memory, as the first film was a gigantic hit this time last year. An Ice Cube and Kevin Hart buddy cop comedy dethroned the biggest movie in the history of the U.S. box office from the top of the charts and it’s not that surprising.
SNL and Fred Armisen Pay Tribute to David Bowie
The late, great David Bowie inspired countless artists of all stripes during his time on planet Earth. As a musician, an actor, a personality, and an encapsulation of all things odd, weird and wonderful, he touched countless lives...including former SNL star Fred Armisen, who returned to the stage during last night's episode to pay homage to Bowie in the most appropriate way possible: by sharing a clip from his appearance on the show back in 1979.
SNL Makes Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren an ‘Undercover Boss’ on Starkiller Base
With Star Wars: The Force Awakens star Adam Driver hosting 2016’s first episode of SNL, a Kylo Ren sketch of some kind was inevitable. After all, you don't get the actor who plays the villain in one of the biggest movies of all time to appear on your comedy variety show and not have him reprise that character. And we'll give the show this much: we never would have predicted a faux episode of Undercover Boss set on Starkiller Base, with the angry, murderous Kylo Ren going undercover amongst his troops as a radar technician named Matt.
SNL: Adam Driver and Cecily Strong Recreate ‘Aladdin’ for Some Reason
We’re not entirely sure why SNL decided to riff on Disney’s Aladdin in this week’s episode. It’s not like the 1992 animated movie has entered the national conversation again for some reason. If anything, this feels like someone on the writing staff rewatched the movie with his or her family over the show’s holiday break and came back with an idea or two. The result: the least timely parody you’ve ever seen! Although it is pretty funny and will appeal directly to those click-happy millennials.
Burning the Book: ‘The Revenant’ and When Adaptations Are No Longer Adaptations
When Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant fades to black, you see a very unusual credit wedged between the familiar titles: “Based in part on the novel by Michael Punke.” Not “based on,” but “based in part.” And then it clicked...
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Star Wars’ Narrowly Edges Out ‘The Revenant’
Eventually, another movie will top Star Wars: The Force Awakens and end the incredible run that has transformed it into the highest grossing movie in the history of the American box office. That movie was almost The Revenant. This is no failure, though. The combined powers of Leonardo DiCaprio, stories of a harrowing shoot, and a strong marketing campaign actually gave this movie a fighting chance against a genuine cultural sensation. It may have only hit number two on the top 10, but this is a huge victory for a difficult movie.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Will Surpass ‘Avatar’ in a Day or Two
It took Avatar two and half months to become the highest grossing movie of all time. Star Wars: The Force Awakens will surpass its domestic box office gross within the next day or two after less than three weeks in release. The big question now is when J.J. Abrams’ sequel will find its ceiling because as of right now, it’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Star Wars’ Leads an Exceptional Holiday Weekend
At this point, we can officially start calling the box office for Star Wars: The Force Awakens astonishing. Last week’s record breaking opening was massively impressive, but the endurance showcased by the film’s second weekend is even more so. Not only is the film doing well, but word of mouth is strong enough to propel it to a sophomore weekend gross that most movies would kill to earn in their entire runs. However, the holiday weekend was kind to many movies, including most of the five new releases, making this one of the strongest top 10s we’ve seen in quite some time.
We Had Someone Try to Predict the ‘Star Wars’ Plot Months Ago; How’d They Do?
By the time you read this, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be in theaters and I will be in the middle of the ocean on a boat without internet or access to a movie theater. As the rest of the world watches the latest chapter of the most popular science fiction saga in cinematic history and discusses it online, I will be celebrating a honeymoon with my lovely wife...
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Broke Box Office Records, Of Course
Star Wars: The Force Awakens was always going to make enough money to make most blockbusters tremble in fear. That was inevitable. It’s a Star Wars movie. The big question lingering over this opening weekend concerned whether or not it’s surely enormous opening weekend would break the records set by Jurassic World earlier this year. And now, with the early estimates in, we can answer that question: yes and no.