Industry

What happens when two comedians and a pair of divas walk into a spaceship? Well, if the ship happens to be made by the CGI maestros at DreamWorks, you end up with the biggest opening for animated film so far in 2015. Home, featuring the vocal talents of Jim Parsons, Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez, and Rihanna topped the North American box office with a $54 million take in its domestic debut.

The HFPA got a peek under the hood of the massive operation that is a James Bond production, traveling to Mexico City, the location for the elaborate opening sequence of the upcoming Spectre. As is a 007 tradition, the intricate action scene which opens the movie takes place on the backdrop of an exotic festival, in this case a Day of the Dead parade and festival in the Zocalo, the capital city’s grand central square.

As happens every March, there is no missing the fact that the film festival has come to town – Las Palmas, that is the capital city of the Canary Islands. The billboards are ubiquitous and the local newspapers follow every screening in the 10-day event with the same coverage that any Hollywood movie would get.

From New York to Nuremburg, Tallinn to Tianjin, Cuzco to Kuala Lumpur and throughout the towns and cities of 32 nations between them, Cinderella took center stage. Combined domestic and international revenues reached an outstanding $132.

In a slow weekend at the U. S.

Con-artist comedy Focus starring Will Smith finally managed to unseat Fifty Shades of Grey, though its $19. 2 opening is less then stellar for a film led by a star of Smith’s caliber.

A natural drop in last weekend’s spectacular numbers for Fifty Shades of Grey wasn’t unexpected, but the fall-off was steeper than expected: minus 73%.  Commentators are claiming that the film based on the erotic thriller by E.

The suave French actor Luis Jourdan, who appeared in movies both in Hollywood and in his native France, passed away February 14, 2015, aged 93. His most notable and popular role was in the musical comedy Gigi, (1958) the last major musical out of MGM.

To say that Fifty Shades of Grey won the St. Valentine’s and President’s weekend box office contest would be a major understatement.