'Resident Evil: Afterlife' also wins overseas!

"Resident Evil: Afterlife" kicked butt at the North American box office this weekend, but the 3D sequel directed by Paul W.S. Anderson also took the No. 1 spot on the international circuit, earning $46.2 million.

The film kicked off its run in 29 countries and dethroned "Inception" to lead the race. Christopher Nolan's hit flick, meanwhile, slipped to second place with earnings of $14.6 million for a total of $447 million.

Finishing third overseas was Nicolas Cage's sci-fi action-adventure "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." The film grabbed another $9.1 million from 52 territories to lift its international cume to $189.8 million.

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Box Office: 'Inception' explodes with $60.4M

Christopher Nolan's fantastic sci-fi thriller "Inception" stormed to the top of the North American box office this weekend with a strong $60.4 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The film starring Leonardo DiCaprio scored an average of $15,928 per theater at 3,792 locations. Following at a distant No. 2 was "Despicable Me," which scored $32.7 million for a total gross of $118.3 million.

New entry "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" finished third this weekend, earning $17.3 million. The Walt Disney action adventure with Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel brought its cumulative gross to $24.4 million.

At No. 4, David Slade's "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" slipped to fourth place, bagging $13.5 million. The third installment in the popular vampire/werewolf series lifted its domestic total to $264.9 million.

Meanwhile, Pixar's "Toy Story 3" picked up another $11.7 millio at No. 5, bringing its cume to $362.7 million. Following at No. 6 with $10 million was "Grown Ups," which reached a total haul of $129.2 million.

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Box Office: 'Despicable Me' steals top spot

Universal's 3D-animated family adventure "Despicable Me" easily defeated its competition at the North American box office with $60.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The film featuring the voice of Steve Carell locked in a huge average of $17,295 per theater at 3,476 locations.

"Predators," the weekend's second wide release, finished third with $25.3 million. The Robert Rodriguez-produced sci-fi horror flick scored an anverage of $9,479 per theater at 2,669 locations.

Still doing well was "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," which collected $33.4 million at No. 2. Directed by David Slade, the third installment in the popular series lifted its domestic total to $237 million.

Meanwhile, Pixar's superb hit movie "Toy Story 3" dropped to No. 4, taking home $22 million. After four weeks in release, the 3D sequel has brought its cumulative gross to a strong $340.2 million.

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Box Office: 'Twilight Saga: Eclipse' rules them all

David Slade's sequel "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" easily smashed its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $69 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"Eclipse" reached a domestic total of $161 million after five days, scoring a weekend average of $15,443 per theater at 4,468 locations. "New Moon" managed to grab $164 million after five days in release.

Also doing surprisingly well was M. Night Shyamalan's big-screen adaptation of "The Last Airbender," which finished second with a three-day gross of $40.6 million. The film's total stands at $57 million.

It really was a busy weekend at the movies, and Pixar's "Toy Story 3" was far behind with its earnings of $30.1 million. The third installment in the animated series finished third with a cume of $289 million.

Slipping to No. 4 was Adam Sandler's comedy "Grown Ups," which took $18.5 million for a domestic total of $77 million. Following with $10.2 million was "Knight and Day," which reached $45.5 million.

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'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' takes $28M Friday!

David Slade's "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" continued its reign at the top of the North American box office Friday with another strong $28.6 million in ticket sales. The film has now reached a total of $121.3 million.

"Eclipse" is grossing a bit slower than "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," but the sequel will have a very solid opening weekend gross to show off once the weekend ends.

Summit Entertainment released "Eclipse" in 4,416 theaters Wednesday, and the film scored an average of $6,476 per theater Friday. "The Last Airbender" followed with an average of $5,238 per location.

"Airbender" is now playing at 3,169 sites, and it bagged $16.6 million Friday. It has reached an early cumulative gross of $32.9 million after only two days in release, and this depite incredibly negative reviews.

Coming in third Friday was Pixar's "Toy Story 3," which generated $10.4 million for a total haul of $269.2 million. "Grown Ups" finished at No. 4, earning a solid $6.9 million for a domestic total of $65.4 million.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)

Movie Review: "The Last Airbender"

Seen on: June 29, 2010

The players: Director: M. Night Shyamalan, Writer: M. Night Shyamalan, Cast: Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz, Cliff Curtis, Aasif Mandvi, Shaun Toub

Facts of interest: None whatsoever.

The plot: A young boy with powers has to embark on a mission to stop the evil Fire Nation from taking over the world.

Our thoughts: “The Last Airbender” is undoubtedly one of the worst films of 2010. In fact, it is so bad, it almost made me want to pack up my stuff and leave the city for a few days to recuperate. In other words, M. Night Shyamalan has created a huge big-screen disaster that sucks the money straight out of your wallet and offers you absolutely nothing in return. It’s one to skip, for sure.

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Two new character posters for 'Last Airbender'

M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming action adventure "The Last Airbender" hits theaters July 2, 2010, and the folks at IGN posted two new character posters for the flick based on Nickelodeon's animated TV series "Avatar: The Last Airbender." Check them out below. Noah Ringer and Dev Patel star, and the film follows Aang, a young boy who heads out to stop the ruthless Firebenders from controlling the great nations.

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New feature trailer for 'The Last Airbender'

Paramount has released the final feature trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming action adventure "The Last Airbender," which hits theaters July 2, 2010. Check it out after the jump. As you may have heard, the film will be converted to 3D, but luckily, we will also get to see it in 2D. The choice is ours...

Anyway, this new trailer looks pretty spectacular, filled with decent special effects and cool stunts. Based on Nickelodeon's animated TV series "Avatar: The Last Airbender," the film follows Aang (Noah Ringer), a young boy who heads out to stop the ruthless Firebenders from controlling the great nations.

Dev Patel, Jackson Rathbone, Nicola Peltz, Shaun Toub, Jessica Andres and Aasif Mandvi co-star. I'm not familiar with the whole "Airbender" thing, but I am interested in this thing to see what Shyamalan has done with it. It's not exactly the kind of movie he usually goes for.

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'The Last Airbender' goes 3D, unfortunately...

Oh, those darn 3D conversions... "Clash of the Titans" in 3D sucked in my book, and compared to flicks shot in 3D, these converted films just don't deliver as well in terms of that 3D effect. The latest one to be converted to 3D is "The Last Airbender," M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming film starring Noah Ringer.

Deadline New York says Paramount has hired Stereo D (the company that worked on "Avatar") to take care of the conversion, so I hope this thing will look better than "Clash." I'm fine with conversions as long as they also give us the 2D option, but my guess is 3D will soon take over full force.

The better option, of course, is to shoot it all in 3D. "Avatar" and "How to Train Your Dragon" recently proved that shooting in 3D really makes a huge difference, and I can only hope that will soon kill off the conversions. Anyway, "Airbender" will open in 3D July 2, 2010. Who is excited about this one?

'The Last Airbender' Super Bowl Spot hits

You don't need to wait until Sunday to see what movies will have commercials during the Super Bowl. One you will see for sure is M. Night Shyamalan's "The Last Airbender," which will hit theaters July 2, 2010.

Based on Nickelodeon's animated TV series "Avatar: The Last Airbender," the film follows Aang (Noah Ringer), a young boy who heads out to stop the ruthless Firebenders from controlling the great nations.

Although short, this spot shows viewers tons of brand-new footage. I never saw the show and won't be able to tell whether the film does it justice, but right now, I admit this one looks visually interesting.

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