We all knew it was going to be huge but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 broke every record in the book this weekend. Starting with the Thursday midnight grosses the final Harry Potter film broke the record previously set by The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Potter brought in a smashing $43 million just from midnight showings alone. The record breaking continued into Friday when the movie beat the opening day record (also previously held by New Moon) with $91 million. By the end of the weekend Harry Potter 7 beat The Dark Knight for the opening weekend record. TDK held the record since 2008 with $158 million but the Hogwarts wizards topped that with $169 million.

As I previously mentioned, we all knew this film was going to be huge but even I am surprised by just how much business this movie pulled in. The big question is can Harry Potter keep em’ coming to the theater? Having an opening weekend of $169 million is impressive, but being able to maintain the big numbers in week two will really set this film up for even more record breaking success. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1 ended its run with $295 million in domestic receipts. Part 2 will easily be able to top that but could it potentially break even more records?

Currently the highest grossing film of all time is James Cameron’s Avatar with $749 million, followed by James Cameron’s Titanic which grossed $600 million. I think Harry Potter will have a hard time catching up to Cameron’s movies but could Potter top The Dark Knight? Christopher Nolan’s superhero movie The Dark Knight sit at number three with $533 million. That could be a more attainable goal.

That is my opinion – what do you think?

Box Office numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo

Source: Walt Disney Pictures

Today, Disney announced that Chris Hemsworth will be reprising his starring role in Thor 2, opening in theaters July 26, 2013. Thor, a big success for Marvel, has already grossed $437 million at the box office. However, there’s someone who won’t be returning to their spot from the first; director Kenneth Branagh will not be returning to the director’s chair. He might be looking at a different project that will conflict with the production. I bet Disney set the date to coincide with Iron Man 3‘s May 2013 release, looking to capitalize on their hoped success on The Avengers, and Branagh might be wanting to do something else at that point. He might still be involved in producing or oversee the script, but I wonder who Disney will be looking to direct. Who would you like to see fill the director’s chair? Let us know below.

A few more casting tidbits have rolled out for the upcoming Superman feature Man of Steel. Hot of the news Russell Crowe had signed up to play Jor-El, Superman’s father, Deadline is reporting Julia Ormond has joined the cast to play Lara Lor-Van, Superman’s mother. I hope we get to see a good amount of Kal-El’s parents on Krypton, that’s something I’ve felt a lot of the movies have lacked. Obviously, Kal-El is found by the Kent family who raise them as their child, but I hope we see what his home planet is like and how different the culture is from ours. Along with the casting news of Ormond, we’ve also been hearing that Christopher Meloni, famous for his starring role on the hit TV show Law & Order: SVU, is in talks to play an unspecified role in the film. While we don’t know what role it is, Deadline is also reporting it’ll be opposite Henry Cavill, Superman himself. Deadline is also stating it’s a major role, so could it be he’s going to be Lex Luthor? He definitely has the look, and his character on the NBC show really highlighted how deep he can go emotionally and psychologically. Even if we don’t see Lex, Superman will no doubt have his hands full with General Zod and Faora. Watch for more news on Man of Steel as we get closer to its December 2012 release date.

The Hangover was widely held as one of the best original comedies of the past decade. In an attempt to capitalize on the success of the original, the sequel, The Hangover: Part II, hit theaters last week. While it didn’t capture the original spirit of the first film (or maybe it did too much), it made an exorbitant amount of money. Because it’s breaking records, there’s a lot of talk about a third and final film. Director/writer Todd Philips has said he’d like to do a finale that breaks the cycle of the first two and gave the series a definite ending. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Zach Galifiankis spoke about the possibility of a crazy storyline for The Hangover: Part III. Most notably, he explained the prevailing idea right now is that his character, the lovable but probably mentally handicapped Alan, would get help from the Wolfpack (Stu, Phil and Doug) as they break him out of a mental institution. It’s a interesting concept, I’m glad they’re looking to abandon the “wasted-can’t-remember-anything” routine. I think the second film highlighted the fact there isn’t much room left in that plot device. What do you think? Is there enough interest to see the Wolfpack for one, final adventure? Leave your thoughts below.

Straight from the lips of George Bluth, Sr., the Arrested Development script is almost completed. Jeffrey Tambor, who played the patriarch George Bluth on the television show’s three season run on Fox said the script is either “being written as we speak” or “may even be completed.” We’ve been hearing chatter about an Arrested Development feature for a few years, but coupling this with an interview Jason Bateman gave last month, it looks like the project is really gearing up. As it has achieved cult status among American comedy fans, there’s no doubt the interest exists for seeing the show live on. But do fans really want an Arrested Development movie? And could it negitively impact the legacy the show has left us?

First, consider the fact that Arrested Development incredibly lived on despite how short the show was on air. Lasting barely three seasons, the show caught critics off guard with outrageous humor and larger than life characters. However, the show never caught on with viewers. Fox put the show on the back-burner, putting it up against Monday Night Football. After the cancellation, the show caught like a firestorm on DVD. It was the type of thing people would watch, then pass along to friends to check out. I was introduced to it by my brother, and after watching a handful of episodes, went out and bought all three seasons. I know I’m not alone, the DVD’s have sold phenomenally and it’s one of the most popular shows to watch on Netflix. So, yes there is an audience for the movie. But the biggest hurdle to a movie is the show itself.

The show follows the workings of the Bluth family, a loose conglomeration of a law breaking father, a drunk mother, and four children (the magician GOB, the lazy yet beautiful Lindsay, the “special” Buster and the main character Michael). Michael, wishing he could take his son George Michael away with him and leave his family behind, ends up realizing his family needs help and he’s the only one who can keep them together. Throughout the three seasons, we see Michael increasingly getting frustrated at his father’s selfish desires for the company, George Michael ends up falling more in love with his cousin Maeby, and other shocking truths about the Bluth Company’s dealings with Saddam Hussein. The show’s finale episode reveals a lot about what’s been going on, and some amazing truths come to life. Therein is the problem: how will a movie fit in with the show? Continuity is important for a franchise, and we’ve seen shows rework their story to fit feature films (Serenity is a notable example) but will the movie be a retelling, or perhaps fit in after the events of the series finale? If that’s the case, wouldn’t audiences need to have seen all three seasons to understand where the movie is going?

The second concern is that of necessity. If Arrested Development came back on the air, on any given night, I’d bet it would get fantastic ratings. Fans of the series would tune in to watch the show all over again, and newcomers could watch the series for the first time on a weekly basis. It’s not going to happen, but I do believe it’d bring in a lot of viewers. Since the show has such a great legacy, is a movie necessary to carry on the franchise? I’d say I would love to see anything I like live on for as long as possible, but TV shows and movies have a way of staying past their welcome. Will the movie just rehash the same humor and jokes that made the show hilarious, or are we going to be getting something different? Will executive producer Ron Howard lend his narrating voice? I don’t want to see a 90 minute episode on film, I want something unique. If they can’t do that, I’d rather them pass on the movie. If it’s true that the script is done or near done, they could begin shooting as soon as this year. As more details roll out, we’ll keep you posted.

Are there any Arrested Development fans holding out hope for a movie, or would you rather them leave the series alone?

Cloverfield and director Matt Reeves has just signed on to adapt the Ray Nelson short story Eight O’Clock in the Morning for Universal Studios. We previously saw Reeves adapt the wonderfully styled Let Me In, and this new feature will involve Matt writing and directing. The story served the basis for the John Carpenter film They Live, a movie about aliens having secretly infiltrated our world and are only visible through special glasses. However, it sounds like this film is going to be a stark departure from the over-the-top alien conspiracy we got in that feature. From the details in his interview, we’re going to be getting a cross of The Manchurian Candidate and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. As you may be aware, we are huge fans of Matt Reeves at Fanboyz.net, and have examined his last venture thoroughly. He has shown he can adapt a film and give the source material justice, so I cannot wait to see where he goes with this movie. Read more details about the new film below.

According to the interview, Matt explains that while the original film They Live explores aliens and crazy sunglasses, we won’t be getting any of that in his new work. “I saw an opportunity to do a movie that was very point-of-view driven, a psychological science fiction thriller that explores this guy’s nightmare,” he states. If I had to guess, we’re going to be seeing the film focus on the subliminal messaging used by the aliens in They Live, possibly by nefarious political cohorts. In the John Carpenter movie, the aliens have been hiding in plain sight, posting messages like “Conform” and “Obey” and the human population is either oblivious and effected or collaborating with the evil entities. He likens it to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, so I’m sure we’ll get some sequences of the antagonists coming after the hero, and he doesn’t know who to trust. After blowing onto the Hollywood scene with Cloverfield and following up with the underrated vampire flick Let Me In, I am excited to see where he’s going to go with this new project.

Anyone else a fan of Matt Reeves’ work? Let us know if this project interests you, or if you are a fan of the John Carpenter movie.

Source: Deadline

This summer Sly Stallone orchestrated every action junkies biggest fix. He put together some of the biggest names in action movies into one film and called it The Expendables. It grossed over $100 million and even before the film was released there was talk of a sequel. Now it looks like that sequel will be happening for sure and possibly with an even bigger cast. Bruce Willis was recently interviewed for his new film Red, and during the interview was asked about his involvement in a sequel to The Expendables. Willis had this to say:

Deadline is also reporting that the studio is looking to give the franchise a face-lift and will not title the new film Mission: Impossible 4. Instead they will choose a new title for the movie as a way to reboot this franchise.

Brad Bird will be directing the project which will begin production this fall for a December 16th 2011 release date.

This past weekend at Wonder Con it was announced that director Jon Turtletaub will be directing a third National Treasure movie. The National Treasure franchise has been a huge money maker since the first movie hit theaters in 2004 and grossed $173 million in its domestic run. The sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets was released in 2007 and tapped out at $219 million so it is not surprising a third film is in the works. Writer Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro, the pen masters behind this summer’s Prince of Persia and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, have been hired to write the script. For more on this hit the jump.

There have been no confirmed reports what the story for the third National Treasure will be but the studio is pushing for the movie to be in theaters next year sometime. We would assume Nicolas Cage, Justin Bartha, and Diane Kruger will all return for a third go around.I enjoyed the first National Treasure movie but I thought the second one was not as much fun as the first. That may come as a surprise since most people thought they were pretty much the same film. I do think this is a fun franchise and a third movie will be a hit.

If you are not familiar with the National Treasure franchise here is a synopsis of the first film:

Ben Gates comes from a family of treasure hunters. Now his grandfather believes that the forefathers’ buried a treasure somewhere in the country and have placed clues everywhere but unfortunately the clues are highly cryptic and scattered all over the place. Now Ben thinks he has found it but it only leads him to another clue which is on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Now one of his associates Ian wants to steal it so that they could get the clue but Ben refuses to do it so he tries to kill Ben. But Ben evades him and tries to warn the authorities about Ian’s plans but they don’t believe him. So Ben takes it upon himself to steal it in order to protect it. And he does but Abigail Chase the curator of the National Archives, where it is kept, discovers what he has done and tries to stop him but gets caught in the crossfire between Ben and Ian, so Ben takes her with him. While she doesn’t believe him, he is determined to prove he is right about the treasure. But it won’t be easy cause Ian’s always a step behind him and he is being hunted by the FBI.

Last week we reported the big news that Sony had pulled the plug on Spider-Man 4 and had now planned to reboot the Marvel franchise with a new director and actors. There had been many red flags leading up to this which suggested not everything in production for Spider-Man 4 was running smoothly. In fact, we had reported just two weeks ago that Sony had postponed production when director Sam Raimi reportedly hated the script and refused to go any further with production. Rumors swirled as to who would play Spider-Man and just as important: who would direct. Tonight we are able to confirm (via Sony) that (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb will be directing the reboot. Continue reading for more on this breaking news.

Here is the official press release from Sony regarding this news:

“At its core, Spider-Man is a small, intimate human story about an everyday teenager that takes place in an epic super-human world. The key for us as we sought a new director was to identify filmmakers who could give sharp focus to Peter Parker’s life. We wanted someone who could capture the awe of being in Peter’s shoes so the audience could experience his sense of discovery while giving real heart to the emotion, anxiety, and recklessness of that age and coupling all of that with the adrenaline of Spider-Man’s adventure. We believe Marc Webb is the perfect choice to bring us on that journey.” “Over the years, the Spider-Man comics have been told with bold and creative new writers and artists who have re-calibrated the way audiences see Peter Parker. Marc Webb will do for the new direction of the films what so many visionary storytellers have done with the comic books. He is an incredibly talented filmmaker and we look forward to working closely with him on this new adventure.”

Here is what director Marc Webb had to say:

“This is a dream come true and I couldn’t be more aware of the challenge, responsibility, or opportunity. Sam Raimi’s virtuoso rendering of Spider-Man is a humbling precedent to follow and build upon. The first three films are beloved for good reason. But I think the Spider-Man mythology transcends not only generations but directors as well. I am signing on not to ‘take over’ from Sam. That would be impossible. Not to mention arrogant. I’m here because there’s an opportunity for ideas, stories, and histories that will add a new dimension, canvas, and creative voice to Spider-Man.”

Spider-Man creator Stan Lee had this to say:

“I’m excited that Sony has chosen a director with a real penchant and understanding for the character. This is a brave, bold direction for the franchise, and I can’t wait to see what Marc comes up with next.”

I’m not sure just yet how I feel about Marc Webb directing a Spider-Man reboot. His claim to fame at this point in time is 2009′s (500) Days of Summer. Although that film was nominated for a Golden Globe for best picture (as well as being one of my favorite films of the year,) I just don’t see this being the guy to direct a big budget superhero movie. Earlier tonight, before this news was confirmed, many fellow movie news sites were reporting that Webb was set to direct a trilogy for Spider-Man, but currently the studio claims he is only set to direct one film.

What do you think of this news? If you are unfamiliar with Marc Webb you can check out his IMDB profile by clicking here.