The Movie Pass: Christmas Weekend

The holiday has come and gone and so has the latest box office weekend to feature more Star Wars records.

Even with Daddy’s Home, Joy, Concussion, The Big Short opening this weekend as well as The Hateful Eight‘s roadshow starting and a limited release from The Revenant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens couldn’t be challenged at the box office. Star Wars shattered Christmas Day records on the way to a $158 million weekend; numbers considered fantastic for an opening weekend summer blockbuster.

Surprisingly, at least to me, Daddy’s Home took the number two spot for the Christmas Weekend with a $38.8 million haul. The comedy starring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell wasn’t expected to bomb, but an adult comedy for the holiday weekend wasn’t something many saw rising above the rest of the pack. Coming in at number three was David O. Russell’s Joy with $17.5 million, while holdover Sisters grabbed the number four spot with $13.8 million, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip finished five with $12.7 million.

The remaining new films Concussion, The Big Short, and Point Break, finished sixth, seventh, and eight in that order, all three already trying to figure out how to compete in this crowded end of year box office. New Year’s Weekend should be another successful weekend for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but with The Hateful Eight opening wide we should see that rise towards the top as well.

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Christmas was full of surprises and gifts, including a fun present from Deadpool. Marvel’s Merc with a Mouth that has a Fox movie out in just a couple of months surprised fans with a new red band trailer that is very over-the-top. The trailer is at the bottom of the post, but I ask that you do not watch this around small children or people easily offended.

007 Theme Songs are always a big deal, and typically a big mystery until they happen. With the most recent James Bond film, Spectre, that rule was no exception as it turns out there was more than one theme song floating around. Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke revealed a Christmas treat this past weekend sharing that the band was asked to record a theme song for Spectre.

“Last year we were asked to write a tune for Bond movie Spectre,” Yorke wrote on Twitter. “Yes we were […] It didn’t work out … but became something of our own which we love very much ….”

Yorke then linked the song on SoundCloud for his fans to here, and although he seems completely fine with the decision that Sony went a different direction for the final theme, fans are definitely comparing the two themes with Radiohead as the favorite. In a recent episode of the Nerdcast, Tyler pointed out that the theme usually sets the tone for the movie, but the past few haven’t, including Spectre. While neither theme song seems to set the tone for the movie, the haunting vocals of Yorke and the strong music in the background do help set a tone for the much different enemy Bond faces in Spectre.

cover Doctor Who

Although not necessarily movie news, the rumors around Doctor Who are always swirling. With lower ratings then the past few Doctors, as well as some bad chemistry with recent companions, it appears that Peter Capaldi himself is hinting this will be hist last year as The Doctor.

According to Vulture, Capaldi told the Telegraph: “This could be my final year – it’s terrifying. I love Doctor Who but it can be quite an insular world and I do want to do other things. There will come a time when this is over… But I knew that when I started. I was thinking about my regeneration scene from the outset. That’s my terrible melancholic nature. When you accept the job you know there’ll come a day, inevitably, when you’ll be saying goodbye.”

I am still viewing Season 8 and have very little to complain about in regards to Capaldi as The Doctor. To me, the problems appear to be in the chemistry with other characters as well as a weaker product on the writing side. But I guess we will have to wait and see what happens in 2016, with my fingers crossed that Idris Elba doesn’t say no this time… that is if he doesn’t take over as James Bond (a man can dream!).

It appears that the set of the final Resident Evil film, The Final Chapter, has become the most hazardous place to work in Hollywood. A few months ago it was reported that a stuntwoman was in a terrible accident which has put her in a coma, and now a different crew member has unfortunately been killed on set. Cinemblend reported that Ricardo Cornelius was a crew member on the film’s shoot in South Africa when he was standing near a rotating platform holding a Humvee. Apparently, the Humvee was not properly secured and it slid off the platform. This is more sad news for this production, and even with no public comment from the studio or the production team, it’s hopeful that his family is considered and more precautions on set are taken.

Finally, it’s more rumors in this week’s Movie Pass with us reporting on the news that Christopher Nolan is believed to be preparing a World War II film. Nolan continues to create solid movies, most would consider his recent trek to be nothing short of amazing, so tying his name to a war picture is very interesting. The movie is rumored to be about Operation Dynamo, which involved the difficult and heroic evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) and other Allied troops from the French seaport of Dunkirk between May and June of 1940. If this holds up, it will be interesting to see what Nolan will be able to do in this new genre.

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