Hasta La Gadget!

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “The Fate of the Furious” is racing to defend its title at the top of the box office, while a number of new releases including “The Promise” and “Unforgettable” are being left in the dust.

Universal’s eighth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise proved to be a global box office titan when it opened last weekend to a record-shattering $532.5 million. This time around looks to tell mostly the same story ― while domestic grosses slipped 61% from its first to second weekend, the movie is still easily topping the box office with $38.7 million from 4,329 locations.

But slipping domestic earnings (and lower U.S. grosses than “Furious 7,” which pulled over $250 million in its first two weekends versus “Fate’s” current sum of $163.6 million) are majorly overshadowed by the movie’s international appeal. A bankable, diverse cast including Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel and Charlize Theron is leading the film, directed by F. Gary Gray, to a two-frame global total of $744.8 million and worldwide sum of $908.4 million.

While studios wait for summer season to commence, there are no surprise hits to come of this weekend’s releases. Warner Bros.’ “Unforgettable” seems to have slipped audiences’ minds, earning $4.8 million in its first weekend from 2,417 theaters.

 “It just didn’t resonate with the intended audience,” said Jeff Goldstein, the president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. Goldstein stressed that the movie was made for a moderate price, and the marketing was “targeted and appropriate” for the audience.

The directorial debut of Denise Di Novi stars Katherine Heigl as a scorned ex-wife, and Rosario Dawson as a woman who is newly engaged to the same man. In his review for Variety, critic Peter Debruge lauded Heigl’s “terrific” performance, and wrote that her casting “savvily exploits the actress’s prickly reputation within the industry.”

“Unforgettable” joins a string of so-so to disappointing releases from Warner Bros. so far this year, including “Chips” and “Fist Fight.” At least the Heigl movie had a low production budget ( about $12 million) to minimize losses.

“The Promise,” too, couldn’t follow through, despite a social media push from stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, the Kardashian sisters and Cher. The movie, from Open Road Films on behalf of Survival Pictures, looks to round out the weekend with about $4.1 million from 2,251 locations ― barely cracking the top ten for the weekend.

While “The Promise” could be considered a massive disappointment for its $90 million price tag, the film’s backers hoped it would raise awareness more than earn money. Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le Bon and Christian Bale make up the central love triangle in the movie directed by Terry George (”Hotel Rwanda”). The film is set during the Armenian Genocide, and bankrolled by the late businessman Kirk Kerkorian who wanted to bring visibility to the systematic extermination to 1.5 million Armenians at the order of the Ottoman empire in 1915 ― a politically fraught subject that Turkey continues to deny happened. All proceeds made from the movie will be donated to charity.

“We certainly hoped for a better box office result,” said Open Road’s president of marketing Jonathan Helfgot, adding that the film’s mission was not purely box office-related. “It was about bring the world’s attention to this issue,” he said. “And looking at the amount of conversation … it’s undeniable that there’s been more focus and attention in the past two weeks than the past hundred years since the atrocity took place.”

Disney’s latest animal documentary “Born in China,” a co-production between Disneynature and Shanghai Media Group, is making $5.1 million from 1,508 theaters. Narrated by John Krasinski, the docu earned more than previous films “Monkey Kingdom” ($4.6 Million) and “Bears” ($4.8 Million), and is the highest grossing Disneynature opening since 2012’s Chimpanzee ($10.7 million).

Cinelou’s “Phoenix Forgotten” opened at 1,592 theaters to an estimated $2 million this weekend. A24’s “Free Fire” raked in only $1 million from 1,070 spots in its first weekend.

In its fourth frame, Fox’s “The Boss Baby” will bottle up $12.8 million from 3,697 locations, putting it in second place behind “Fate.” Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” should hold onto third with $10 million from 3,315 theaters.

Warner Bros.’ “Going in Style” should slide into fourth with $5 million from 3,038 spots. The heist comedy starring Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin is targeting an older demo, and saw only a 20% decline in ticket sales from its second to third weekend. “Born in China” looks to round out the top five.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

A balmy Friday evening gave way to a miserable Saturday, with low, gray clouds that blotted out the sun and soaked Washington DC with rain. That wasn’t enough to stop thousands of people — from all over the country — from gathering on the…

Iceland has long had a progressive outlook on technology. It’s regularly high on lists of the best countries for data privacy, the Pirate Party has a substantial place in its government, and it was the headquarters of Wikileaks for a long time. But Icelanders are currently concerned that their native language could go…

Read more…

When it comes to comic book franchises and superhero universes getting adapted for the big screen, Marvel and DC are the two main players that come to mind. But 20th Century Fox hasn’t given up on its X-Men series, even with a few bombs, and 2018 is shaping to be a big year for fans. The movie studio has announced … Continue reading

There’s nothing like the open road.

A 12-year-old boy attempting to drive across Australia by himself drove more than 800 miles before police arrested him.

Authorities from the Broken Hill Highway Patrol stopped the boy around 11 a.m. on Saturday, the New South Wales Police Force said in a statement.

“Checks revealed the driver to be a 12-year-old boy traveling from Kendall NSW on his way to Perth,” police said.

The boy was pulled over when highway patrol officers noticed his vehicle’s bumper dragging across the ground.

“Officers from Broken Hill Highway Patrol stopped a motor vehicle on the Barrier Highway due to defects which made the vehicle hazardous,” police said.

The child happened to be traveling during day two of “Operation Go Slow,” a driver safety campaign featuring heightened police presence on the roads in New South Wales.

The boy was arrested and taken to the Broken Hill Police Station.  

The road trip would be an ambitious one for even the most experienced traveler. It is unclear how he traveled such a great distance and refueled the car, all without being noticed, The Guardian noted.

Of course, this isn’t the first time a child has decided to take a road trip. Last year, two determined pre-schoolers in Washington state took the keys to their parents’ SUV with hopes of visiting their grandma, only to crash into another car.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.