Category Archives: Movies

Blockbuster closing all its U.S. stores

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The video-rental company, now owned by Dish Network, is closing its last 300 stores by early January.

By Nick Turner

Blockbuster, the video-rental company now owned by Dish Network, will close its remaining 300 U.S. stores, ending an era for a retail chain that was once a hallmark of shopping centers nationwide.

Blockbuster will shut the outlets by early January and discontinue its DVD-by-mail service by the middle of next month, Englewood, Colo.-based Dish said Wednesday in a statement. The company will keep the licensing rights to the Blockbuster brand and use it with Dish services. It also has a video-streaming product called Blockbuster On Demand.

While the chain had more than 20 stores in Jacksonville less than three years ago, it’s now down to two: one at Atlantic and Hodges boulevards and another on Old St. Augustine Road in Mandarin.

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‘Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ Tracking for Massive $185M Box-Office Opening

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By Todd Cunningham

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” is tracking for an opening weekend that could go as high as $185 million when it debuts on Nov. 22, based on box-office marketing data released Thursday.

The higher pre-release tracking goes, the less reliable it becomes, and we’re still three weeks away from the opening. But the Jennifer Lawrence sci-fi sequel looks like it will be a box-office monster for distributor Lionsgate Entertainment.

If it does hit that mark, “Catching Fire” would be the year’s biggest opening, ahead of the $174 million May debut of “Iron Man 3.” And it’s within striking distance of the all-time record for a weekend debut of $207 million, established by “The Avengers” in May of 2012. The record for a November opening, the $142 million rung up by “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” in 2009, is well within reach.

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Batfleck Wants to Save the Day — And Detroit

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By Emily Coyle

Batfleck is brushing Detroit’s bankruptcy blues aside and is here to save the day. That’s right, Superman and Batman are officially heading to Motor City to shoot the sequel of Warner Bros’s (NYSE:TWX) blockbuster Man of Steel, and the good news is it only took a $35-million state incentive to get them there.

According to USA Today, the Michigan Film Office announced the news Thursday and told the largest city in Michigan to expect Batman and Superman on its grounds sometime in the first three months of 2014. The original Man of Steel hit U.S. theaters on June 14 of this year, and was a blockbuster success not only domestically, but also in theaters overseas with a worldwide opening of $196.7 million.

That means good things for debt-ridden Detroit, which will benefit from the $131 million worth of in-state expenditures that the film will require, as well as its widespread popularity and far-reaching audience. Officially announcing its bankruptcy earlier in the summer, the metro area needs all the help it can get to rebuild — help to regain consumer and investor trust, and make Detroit a more appealing place to live once again.

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Filmmaker Lucas Purchases $10 Million in Starbucks Shares

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By Miles Weiss

George Lucas, the “Star Wars” creator who reaped $4 billion selling his company to Walt Disney Co. last year, invested a fraction of his fortune in Starbucks Corp. (SBUX), the world’s largest chain of coffee shops.

A trust controlled by Lucas bought almost $10 million of Starbucks shares, according to a filing yesterday by Mellody Hobson, the billionaire’s wife and a member of the Starbucks board. The couple married in June at Lucas’s Skywalker ranch in Marin County, California, and announced the birth of their daughter, Everest Hobson Lucas, this month.

Lucas, 69, in December sold Lucasfilm Ltd., whose movie franchises include “Indiana Jones” as well as “Star Wars,” to Disney for about $4 billion of cash and stock. The next month, he announced his engagement to Hobson, the president of Ariel Investments LLC, a Chicago-based money-management firm with $6.3 billion in assets as of June 30.

Hobson, 44, didn’t immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. Connie Wethington, a Lucas representative, said in an e-mail that “no comments or statements will be issued with regard to stock inquiries.”

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Ben Affleck to Play Batman in Man of Steel Sequel

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Warner Bros. has announced Affleck is the new Dark Knight.

August 22, 2013

Ben Affleck is set to star as Batman in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel sequel, Warner Bros. has announced.

“We knew we needed an extraordinary actor to take on one of DC Comics’ most enduringly popular Super Heroes, and Ben Affleck certainly fits that bill, and then some” said Greg Silverman, President of Creative Development and Worldwide Production at Warner Bros. earlier today. “His outstanding career is a testament to his talent and we know he and Zack will bring new dimension to the duality of this character.”

“Ben provides an interesting counter-balance to Henry’s Superman,” added director Snyder. He has the acting chops to create a layered portrayal of a man who is older and wiser than Clark Kent and bears the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but retain the charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne. I can’t wait to work with him.”


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Superman to battle Batman in Man of Steel sequel

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Sunday, Jul 21, 2013, 8:56 IST | Place: SAN DIEGO | Agency: Reuters

After announcing the plan to bring the two superheroes together, Snyder issued a statement via Warner Bros. saying the two would be fighting each other, and conceded this might surprise some.

A sequel to last month’s hit Superman film Man of Steel is not only in the works, but will feature two of DC Comic’s best-known caped crusaders – Superman and Batman – facing off against each other, director Zack Snyder said on Saturday.

Snyder, who directed British actor Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, was a surprise addition to the end of the Warner Bros. film panel at San Diego’s Comic-Con, an annual comics convention, and received thunderous applause from the 6,000-plus in attendance.

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Weekend Report: ‘Man of Steel’ Soars, Scores New June Record

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by Ray Subers

Man of Steel was one of the most-anticipated movie events of the year, and from a box office perspective it did not disappoint.

Through Sunday, Man of Steel earned a fantastic $128.6 million—$116.6 million during the traditional Friday-to-Sunday period, and another $12 million from Thursday night group sales. That’s the second-best opening of 2013 so far behind Iron Man 3, and it’s a new record for highest opening ever in June ahead of Toy Story 3 ($110.3 million). The official three-day figure of $116.6 million ranks second all-time among non-sequels behind The Hunger Games.

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Netflix, DreamWorks Team in Huge Original Content Deal

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By Peter Suciu

Netflix may have just lost kid-friendly Nickelodeon content to Amazon Prime Instant Video, but now it’s got a new partnership with DreamWorks to fill that void. The result, apparently, will be more than 300 hours of brand-new programming inspired by characters from DreamWorks franchises including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon.

Video streaming service Netflix on Monday announced a new, multiyear partnership with DreamWorks Animation whereby it will bring many of the studio’s beloved characters to the TV market via a branded collection of shows.

Marking the largest deal for original first-run content in Netflix’s history, the partnership will include more than 300 hours of new programming and give DreamWorks Animation a way to greatly expand its TV production and distribution. In fact, this will be the first time DreamWorks Animation’s characters will be introduced into the television market in this way.

The new shows will be inspired by characters from DreamWorks Animation’s hit franchises — including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon — as well upcoming feature films. It will also incorporate the vast Classic Media library that DreamWorks acquired in 2012.

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