If you get the clumsy baseball references in the title than you get that this weekend was won by 42. The Jackie Robinson biopic earned an estimated $27+ Million, giving the film one of the strongest baseball movie debuts of all time. The film took advantage of perfect timing and well delivered advertising to get out of the gate strong. Despite the impending the parade of competition, the new baseball season should continue to allow the film to stay relevant for a few more weeks than it really should.

Bombing into second place is Scary Movie 5 which managed to pull in $15 Million, and providing tangible proof that no one cares about the spoof franchise any more. If any one is a victor in this instance it would be the Wayne’s Brothers. They conjured up the franchise with the first brilliant film, but eventually parted ways by the third film. The brothers Waynes got back into the horror spoof game earlier this year with A Haunted House, which shines an even larger light on Scary Movie 5‘s failure.

Sticking in third place is the newest hit from Dreamworks, The Croods. Easing a very light 36%, the film brought in another $13 Million giving the film a total haul of nearly $150 million, which is huge for a new animated IP from a studio with a mixed track record. There still remains scant children entertainment competition in the upcoming Box Office calender, so the film should still perform well in the coming weeks.

This weekend had the distinct feel of a throwback celebration with a Reboot-make, a re-release and a sequel to an 80’s iconic franchise inhabiting three of the top four positions.

Coming in at number one, with $26 Million, was the incredibly well advertised Evil Dead which played very strongly for an extreme horror film aimed squarely at a specific niche. Due, in part, to that specific audience target, the film’s reviews have been mixed and the word of mouth has been less than stellar on the whole. Still, the film plays very well to its target audience and with a big weekend under its belt will go into the books as a big win for all involved.

The next two spots ended up being an estimated tie between last weekend’s top two films. G.I. Joe: Retaliation and The Croods. Both brought in an estimated $21.1 Million, with the tie break going to last weeks number 1 because the Rock is in that one and the main event at Wrestlemania this weekend.

The current trend in sequel box office returns is tied to perception. Gone are the days of diminishing returns as a rule, these are the golden times for franchises. How the general public feels about the franchise is now king, and the thing about feelings are, they can be changed.

Case in point, GI: Joe: Retaliation.

The franchise had a below average first film that left a sour taste in the mouths of cinema-goers. It did have a strong opening weekend and final total gross so a sequel was inevitable, but something had to be done to ensure the public perception didn’t bury the new film before it had a shot.

Warming the hearts of movie executives everywhere, GI: Joe Retaliation proved that franchise perception can be fixed and sequels to poorly received films have a shot to come out as strong as its predecessor without waiting on word of mouth or reviews to set in.

There used to be a rule in feature animation. PIXAR was the king of quality and they had a perfect record, Dreamworks had Shrek and a whole train load of Disney and PIXAR knockoffs with star-studded casts. Most of the times those films were turds, and provided a sharp contrast that might have aided in PIXAR’s incredible win streak by providing such horrible comparison.

Well that was the past boys and girls, because the quality gap has been dwindling faster than The Croods just past 100 Million at the international box office. Dreamworks newest animated feature had a solid-to-great opening weekend bringing in over $44 Million. Which puts the film on par with other recent Dreamworks its How to Train Your Dragon and Megamind.

A big weekend was probably expected for The Croods, however, the weekend was not without its shocker. The action flick Olympus Has Fallen surpassed even the most generous of projections to bring in over $30 Million over the weekend. Which is a huge win for an action-centirc film in a year where so many have died horrible box office deaths.

Silly, silly fun. There’s not much of a plot — The Croods are a family of cave-dwellers whose home is threatened by earthquakes; the dad Grug (Nicolas Cage) is over protective; the daughter Eep (Emma Stone) is curious; they meet up with a smarty-pants guy named Guy (Ryan Reynolds) who teaches them the secret of fire, among other things; and they set off to find a new home.

Grug, whose mantra is “Always be afraid!” immediately dislikes Guy while Eep is immediately attracted to him, and in the background are the rest of the Croods, who have their moments but are played for jokes; maybe they could have been something more, but before they can, the earthquake chases them off. There’s two running gags that persist the entire film, and there’s some ugly character design, but those are the biggest flaws.

And they’re easy to overlook because everything else looks so good. Granted, this doesn’t need to be in 3-D, as the lusciousness of the backgrounds, from crags to forests to plains to dried-out oceans encircle and captivate on their own, without added gimmicks. More fun is the creature designs, which must have had even the animators laughing. Each one is a Darwinian nightmare, conjured by a gaggle of mad scientists.

There’s flying turtles, land-whales, two lemurs attached by a single tail and a flock of birds that look like toucans, though their mouths open right below the eyes. Cute at first, then they swarm on one of the land-whales and pick it clean.

Despite that, the emphasis is clearly on the visuals, as are the gags. The talents of Cage, Stone, and Reynolds, as well as Cloris Leachman and Catherine Keener, aren’t necessary. None stand out, but then there’s little the film requires of them. Of course we have the requisite familial tensions and affirmations of love between those who need to hear it — they aren’t earned and slow the movie down considerably whenever they’re brought up, but they’re not often and don’t last long.

Can British actor Daniel-Day Lewis pull of a convincing Abraham Lincoln? Check out the first officially released image from the upcoming biopic Lincoln after the break and judge for yourself. We’ve included a previous snapshot of the actor (above) for comparison.

There’s no question that Day-Lewis is one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood, but playing the iconic and beloved 16th President of the United States may prove to be his most scrutinized role to date. That being said, the new picture with Lewis in full costume and make-up is incredibly good. Even without the stovepipe hat, Day-Lewis looks very convincing. Let’s hope he’s just as good on screen as he is in a photo.

Lincoln follows the president in his final four months as the Union comes closer to victory in the Civil War and slavery is abolished. The Dreamworks/Disney film is directed by Steven Spielberg and is due out November 9.

Steven Spielberg is gearing up for his next major tent pole blockbuster. Summer 2014 is going to begin with a bearded bang with Robopocalypse, and it looks like Spielberg might have found his lead.

Deadline is reporting that secret meetings have been held and Spielberg has decided who he wants to star in his new film:

Chris Hemsworth will be working with Steven Spielberg. I’ve learned that, amid much secrecy (including assumed names), Spielberg met and now wants Hemsworth in his next helming effort Robopocalypse, the big technothriller which is sure to become the director’s next big global popcorn film

Hemsworth is about as big as they come these days, and as Marvel’s phase 2 chugs along his star power will only rise. Signing on to join Spielberg is exactly the kind of career move that can move a guy past flash in the pan and into full fledged stardom.

This is all rumor and speculation at this point, as no contract is currently signed. However, if Steven Spielberg taps you on the shoulder and says, ‘Hey kid, wanna star in my next movie‘ you only have one logical response.

No word yet on if Hemsworth’s character wields a mighty hammer, axe or any other bludgeoning melee weapon. For that info you must stay tuned to The Flickcast.

Every year there are certain cinematic trends. This can manifest in a couple different ways, one such way is the return to popularity of the Bow and Arrow this year. Another way this manifests is two movies with similar core concepts get released in close proximity.

Like Dante’s Peak & Volcano or Armageddon & Deep Impact, these cousin films share a lot in common on paper. 2012 looks like it might have finally found it’s pairing, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter & Lincoln.

Deadline is reporting that Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln biopic has finally set a release date, just in time for the award season push:

The Abraham Lincoln movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Honest Abe will get an exclusive release November 9, 2012, and expand wide November 16, Disney just announced

A relatively ballsy spot to place this movie on the calendar. A Spielberg biopic about Abe Lincoln starring Daniel Day-Lewis could very well be a financial hit as well as a critical darling, but opening limited on the day Skyfall is released and wide the same day as Twilight: Breaking Dawn Pt. 2 seems to really limit its potential audience.

It is true that the winter season is loaded with high-profile films, but this seems like a bad move on the part of Dreamworks. Unless of course all they care about is Oscar posturing. In that case this is a potential smart move to let this movie’s quality seem even greater by comparison of the big blockbusters it is up against.

In any event, we now know when Lincoln hits the screens in the states, and truthfully we here at The Flickcast are eager to see it.

Many people have been quick to judge PIXAR to be in a slump. Saying that their last film, Cars 2, was horrible and Brave is just mediocre. I have a feeling that sentiment will erode over time, when people look back and see that Mars Needs Moms received reviews more or less the same as Cars 2, people will realize they might have been too quick declare PIXAR’s creative death.

This, however, is a nuts and bolts box office report, so the most important thing is that Brave has brought in PIXAR’s 13th strait number one opening. A staggering string of success that shows no sign of letting up in the near future. Brave‘s $66+ Million opening weekend is pretty par for the course for a PIXAR film.

Coming in second place is Madagascar 3, cooling off from back to back number one weekends with a cool $20 Million. This good hold comes as a bit of a surprise with the seeming direct completion from the new PIXAR film. The sequel seems to have strong enough word of mouth to potentially make this the most successful Madagascar yet. 

Good news for all you Anchorman fans. Will Ferrell made the official announcement on Conan O’Brien’s TBS talk show last night that there will be an Anchorman 2. Dressed in full Ron Burgundy get up, Ferrell did an in-character flute solo followed by an official announcement for “the Americas” that the film is in production.

Adam McKay has agreed to direct. McKay will also write the script with Ferrell.  Other than Ferrell’s Ron Burgundy, Steve Carell and Paul Rudd are signed on to return as their characters from the 2004 original. No word yet on whether any other characters will be returning from the original film. The film will once again be produced under Judd Apatow’s production company.

Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy had been a DreamWorks production but Paramount took over the project.

As recently as last month, Will Ferrell had been working on the script for Step Brothers 2, which lead many to believe that Anchorman 2 was dead in the water. The sequel had been on the shelf for a while now due to the studio not being willing to reach an agreement on making the film.

More on the film as it becomes available and see the clip after the jump.

Stay classy, San Diego…

It’s rare that a truly original film comes through the system and actually make us take note. The upcoming animated film from Dreamworks, Rise of the Guardians (formerly Guardians of Childhood) is just that.
With an all-star cast an a premise we haven’t liked this much since Nightmare Before Christmas, this flick could be our new favorite from Dreamworks. Here’s the premise:
 
More than a collection of the well-known childhood legends, Rise of the Guardians tells the story of a group of heroes — each with extraordinary abilities. When an evil spirit known as Pitch lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the world. This epic 3D adventure stars Chris Pine as Jack Frost, Alec Baldwin as North (Santa Claus), Hugh Jackman as Bunnymund (Easter Bunny), Isla Fisher as Tooth (Tooth Fairy) and Jude Law as Pitch (The Boogeyman).
 
With a scheduled release of November 21, 2012, you can expect this one to be the big hit of the 2012 holiday season (provided The Hobbit doesn’t steal our hearts). Take a look at Santa looking bad ass after the jump.

Often times a filmmaker and a composer find a shared voice, a common approach that allows both to make the project they share truly remarkable. One of the highest profile partnerships is that of Steven Spielberg and John Williams, arguably the two greatest artist in their chosen fields. This winter brings us not one, but two brand new collaborations between these two heavyweights, and today we are going to dig into the first of the two, War Horse.

I was extremely excited when I began listening to this music, every time Williams composes music for a Spielberg film there is a good chance he is crafting something remarkable. The first 25 seconds of the War Horse score immediately let me know this music would be no exception. The score is classic Williams, with a somberness that is just subtle enough to be noticed, but not get in the way of the idealistic sheen that Williams uses so well.

The main theme of War Horse is beautiful, Williams is the greatest theme writer in the history of ever and some how he manages to still do it to this day. The theme is simple, but evocative of early 20th century hopes and dreams as well as the nobility of the soliders fighting in the first two world wars. Which makes sense due to the fact that the film is about the incredible journey of a boy, too young to enlist going to the war torn trenches in France to save his friend, the titular horse.