This weekend was the most profitable box office weekend for the entire month, with theaters across the United States making a total of $53.9 million due to it being the opening weekend for two films: “Mortal Kombat” and anime “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.” The new releases ranked #1 and #2 respectively for this weekend’s top 5 highest grossing films.

The top 5 highest grossing films for this past weekend were:

1. Mortal Kombat
2. Demon Slayer: Mugen Train
3. Godzilla vs. Kong
4. Nobody
5. Raya and the Last Dragon

“Mortal Kombat” serves as a reboot to the film series based on the popular martial arts game franchise. After the previous installment in the series, “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation”, flopped at the box office, a reboot laid in development hell for more than two decades. The new film already is off to a better start, receiving average-to-positive reviews from critics. It follows Following its release on Friday, “Mortal Kombat” has made $22.5 million in its opening weekend.

“Mugen Train” is based on the popular manga “Demon Slayer”, and serves as a sequel to the first season of the anime. It follows a teenage boy named Tanjiro who sets out on a mission to kill demons after his sister turns into one and his family is violently murdered. When he embarks on a train The film grossed $19.5 million across the United States in its opening weekend. This number is likely to increase as time passes, considering the dark fantasy anime film has already broken multiple records internationally, becoming the highest-grossing anime film and the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time, grossing $407.7 million worldwide. “Mugen Train” grossed $19.5 million across the United States in its debut weekend.

Also smashing box office records around the globe is monster crossover “Godzilla vs. Kong”. Featuring stars like Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things”) and Alexander Skarsgård (“The Legend of Tarzan”), two worlds collide when Kong is transported into the Hollow Earth to find an energy source powerful enough to halt Godzilla’s wrath. Now in its fourth week of release, it grossed $4.2 million over the weekend.

“Nobody” made $1.7 million over the weekend, and has now made a total of $21.5 million since its March 26 release.

Disney’s animated fantasy “Raya and the Last Dragon” has been available in theaters and on Disney+ since March, and made $1.6 million over the weekend. In total, it has grossed $39.8 million.

With the vaccine slowly becoming available to the public, things are finally starting to look closer to “normal” than they did at this time last year. As a result, people are starting to watch films, instead of just streaming them from home.

Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for Weekend of April 9-11
1. Godzilla vs. Kong
2. Nobody
3. The Unholy
4. Raya and the Last Dragon
5. Voyagers

The top grossing film for this weekend was “Godzilla vs. Kong,” which grossed $13.8 million. This action-packed monster movie has raked in a monstrous $70 million (and that’s just in the United States – it’s a hit around the world, too) since its release two weeks ago, which is no small feat. It has fared so well in theaters that experts believe that moviegoing will return this summer.

“Nobody” grossed $2.6 million this weekend, and has made $15.6 million since its release three weeks ago.

Currently in its second week of release, “The Unholy” grossed $2.4 million, and has now made a grand total of $6.7 million.

Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” soared to the number 4 spot for this weekend, grossing $2.2 million. It’s now made $35.3 million since it first arrived in theaters and on Disney Plus on March 5.

The fifth-highest grossing film of this weekend was the new sci-fi film “Voyagers,” which made its debut on Friday. To date, it’s made $1.3 million.

This past weekend was the second biggest this month for the box office, grossing $16.7 million.

Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for Weekend of March 26-28, 2021:
1. Nobody
2. Raya and the Last Dragon
3. Tom and Jerry
4. Chaos Walking
5. The Courier

Nobody just rolled into theaters on Friday, and quickly became number 1 in the box office. This action thriller, which stars Bob Odenkirk, grossed $6.7 million this weekend. It has been met with mostly positive reviews, and follows a man on a mission to save his family from a revenge-seeking drug lord.

The second highest-grossing film of this past weekend was Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon. Currently in its fourth week at the box office, this movie features a predominantly Asian-American cast as it tells the story of Raya, a warrior on a quest to track down the last dragon in her homeland of Kumandra before it gets attacked by evil monsters. Currently available in theaters, as well as on Disney+ for an additional fee, Raya and the Last Dragon grossed $3.5 million over the weekend, and has now grossed $28.3 million in total.

Tom and Jerry, currently in its fifth week of release, came in at number three, having grossed $2.5 million over the weekend. When this live action/CGI hybrid arrived in theaters at the end of February, it had the most successful opening weekend all year. It features the famous animated rivals when they escape to the Big Apple and their long-lasting feud threatens a lavish, high-profile wedding. Since its release last month, Tom and Jerry has grossed $37.1 million.

Chaos Walking, which stars Tom Holland as a boy named Todd who lives on a mysterious planet populated entirely by men, grossed $1.2 million. It has now grossed $11.5 million since its release four weeks ago.

Two weeks into its release, The Courier has grossed $3.4 million in total. This weekend, the Cold War thriller film about a Russian spy (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) on a mission to end the Cuban Missile Crisis raked in $1 million.

Coronavirus restrictions are gradually loosening across the United States, specifically for movie theaters. With cinemas slowly reopening – at reduced capacity – people are thrilled to be able to leave their homes and enjoy films on the big screen for the first time in a year, and the box office is flourishing, slowly returning to the active and prosperous state it was in before the ongoing pandemic.

Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for Weekend of March 12-14, 2021:
1. Raya and the Last Dragon
2. Tom and Jerry
3. Chaos Walking
4. Boogie
5. The Croods: A New Age

The highest grossing film for last weekend was Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon. Having been in theaters and available on Disney+ with Premier Access since March 5, this film continues to soar at the box office a week after its release, raking in $5,500,000 this past weekend. In total, the animated action feature has grossed $15,837,165 since its release.

Tom and Jerry, which had the most successful opening weekend of 2021 when it first rolled out to theaters and HBO Max on February 27, continued to thrive at the box office this weekend, grossing $4,100,000. The live-action/CGI film following the iconic cat-and-mouse rivals as they chase each other around the Big Apple has now made $28,200,000 in total.

Now in its second week of release, Chaos Walking grossed $2,250,000. This sci-fi action film stars Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley, and is based on Patrick Ness’ novel series of the same name. It has now grossed a total of $6,911,407 since its March 5 release.

Coming in at number four is coming-of-age drama Boogie, which made $730,000 this weekend. Written and directed by Eddie Huang, this film follows basketball prodigy Alfred Chin, also known as “Boogie,” who feels pressured by his parents as they make him focus on earning a scholarship.

The fifth highest-grossing film for this past weekend is The Croods: A New Age. This Dreamworks animated feature released on Thanksgiving in 2020, and has now been out for sixteen weeks. Over the weekend, it grossed $520,000, a slight decrease compared to the weekend before. In total, it has grossed $54,303,725 since its release nearly four months ago.

As one of America’s biggest movie theater markets, New York City opens up at 25% capacity, vaccine levels rising and recently president Joe Biden claims vaccines will be available for every American by the end of May. Every day life seems like it may go back to “normal” soon. Especially movie studios who continue to make schedule moves. Last week allowed studios a chance to test the waters again.

Box Office for Weekend of March 5 – 7, 2021

1. Raya and the Last Dragon: $8.5M (Premiere)
2. Tom & Jerry: $6.6M ($23.0M Gross Sales)
3. Chaos Walking: $3.8M (Premiere)
4. Boogie: $1.2M (Premiere)
5. The Croods: A New Age: 788k ($53.6M Gross Sales)

“Raya and The Last Dragon” was the top grossing film over the weekend with an underwhelming $8.6 million at the domestic box office and did $17.6 million in box office returns in the global markets. This is the first animated film released to theaters by Disney since the pandemic began. The film opened to mostly positive reviews, but this did not guarantee box office returns. Last week’s box office winner, “Tom & Jerry” from WarnerMedia, raked in $13.7 million, the highest opening weekend since the pandemic started, for its premiere despite mostly negative reviews, including our review.

“Tom & Jerry” also tallied an additional $6.6 million in it’s second week in theaters. Those results, along with additional premieres for “Chaos Walking” and “Boogie,” and “The Croods: A New Age” and “Wonder Woman 1984,” helped this weekend’s box-office results to $24 million in total.

The Blue Beetle is one of the oldest superheroes to be introduced in comic books, first appearing in Mystery Men Comics issue #1 in 1939. The rights to the character were passed off to multiple comics publishers until it ultimately landed at DC Comics in the 1980s.

The upcoming movie will focus on the 2006 version of Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, a Mexican-American teen who’s powers come from a mysterious scarab that latches onto Reyes’ spine and provides him with a powerful suit of blue alien armor that can also equip him with bespoke weapons and wings. This a historic announcement as this will be DC Comics’ first Latinx super hero to have its own movie.

Angel Manuel Soto is best known for his 2020 movie “Charm City Kings” about an extreme dirt bike gang in Philadelphia. This film won a special jury prize at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival for its ensemble. We are excited to see what’s in store for DC Comics and the talented Angel Manuel Soto.

Quavo, the head “huncho” of the Atlanta rap group “Migos”, is set to make his feature-film debut in the upcoming movie “Wash Me in the River”. He makes his debut alongside a talented set of actors in Robert DeNiro, John Malkovich and Jack Huston. It is is directed by Randall Emmett who brought us “The Irishman” in 2019 and “Lone Survivor” in 2013.

Quavo is to play Coyote, the antagonist and ruthless druglord who is responsible for selling the drugs that resulted in the Protagonist’s wife dying from an overdose. The protagonist, named Shelby John and played by Jack Huston, is filled with fiery rage, as he embarks on a vengeful killing spree to right all the wrong done to his deceased fiancé by killing every link in the drug dealing chain.

Armed with nothing but adrenaline and a nail gun, Shelby John picks off dealers and junkies one by one until he gets to the top. Sheriff Church (Robert DeNiro) and Detective Zeppelin must race against the clock to put an end to Shelby’s vigilante justice before his fight with the crime lord Coyote (Quavo) turns the entire town into a bloodbath.

Quavo, excited about his role in the movie, had this to say:

“I honestly think this movie is going to be one of the greatest to come of this time,” Quavo says. “The experience was unbelievable for me, with Robert DeNiro and Jack Huston being so down to earth and making me feel like family. Gonna see me doing some stunts and a lot of what you hear from me in my raps! This is one of my biggest debuts I’ve ever had, and so proud of what we did and to get to work with Randall who’s such an amazing guy — I can’t wait to do more films with him”

Quavo is currently wrapping up filming in Puerto Rico and recently shared this video of him holding a gold plated assault rifle with a chainsaw attachment. A creation that only Pablo Escobar, Scarface, El Chapo or any other ruthless drug lord would own.

Quavo has held small roles and cameos in many television shows, including Netflix’s “Narcos: Mexico”, FX’s “Atlanta,”ABC’s “Black-ish” and Fox’s “Star.”, but this is his first time landing a role on the big screen.

Nicole Kassel has been hired as the director by New Line Cinema for the upcoming “the Wizard of Oz” remake. New Line Cinema has been searching for a visionary filmmaker to re-imagine L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz“. Baum’s story has be retold on all levels of theatre and cinema, so it was imperative for New Line to approach the story with a fresh take on the Land of Oz.

New Line Cinema believes Kassell is the right woman for the job based on her performance directing the HBO series “Watchmen” & “Westworld“. It is her ability to create worlds with striking visual tones with no details overlooked that landed her this directing role for “The Wizard of Oz”.

Kassel stated, “I am incredibly honored to join Temple Hill and New Line in bringing this beloved classic to the screen, While the 1939 musical is part of my DNA, I am exhilarated and humbled by the responsibility of re-imagining such a legendary tale. The opportunity to examine the original themes, the quest for courage, love, wisdom and home, feels more timely and urgent than ever. These are profoundly iconic shoes to fill, and I am eager to dance alongside these heroes of my childhood as we pave a newly minted yellow brick road!”

There is currently no information on the cast for the movie as it is still in early development, but with the land of Oz in the hands of Kassel, it is sure to be a great crew.

Kevin Hart has been casted along side Cate Blanchett to star in “Borderlands” a movie adaptation of the popular video game with the same name.

As of now, the plot details for the motion picture have not been revealed to the public, but it is safe to say it will be loosely based on the Borderlands’ main storyline. The video game takes place in the fictional planet Pandora in the year 2864. It follows a group of treasure hunters who attempt to find and unlock an ancient alien vault carved on the side of a mountain left behind by the planet’s previous inhabitants.  The Vault is said to contain vast stores of alien technology and secrets, making those who possess it the most powerful people in Pandora.

Hart will play Roland a soldier turned mercenary who seeks to open the vault with his team of treasure hunters. Cate Blanchett will play Lilith, a siren and one of the most powerful women in the galaxy. Roland and Lilith are two of the four playable characters in the first of the Borderlands video games.

Released in 2009, Borderlands is one of the world’s best-selling video game franchises of all time and Lionsgate Motion Pictures is looking to capitalize on this fanbase and deliver blockbuster film. Adding a star like Kevin Hart to the cast will surely intensify the hype surrounding the upcoming movie.

Director Eli Roth stated “I’m thrilled to be working with Kevin, ‘Borderlands’ is a different kind of role for him, and we are excited to thrill audiences with a side of Kevin they’ve never seen before. He’s going to be an amazing Roland.” Fans of the franchise can only watch in excitement as more details of the movie are to revealed in due time.

[usr 4.5]

Jojo Rabbit (2019), directed by Taika Waititi, follows 10-year-old Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) who’s growing up during World War 2. Young Jojo is thrilled to be part of the Hitler Youth along with his peers, but doesn’t quite understand what it means to be a Nazi. He’s mostly just enamored with Swastikas and the idea of being a Nazi, so much so that he even has Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi) as his imaginary friend. It’s a childish version of Hitler who’s somewhat of a father figure to Jojo, but the fact that he’s even there shows Jojo’s dedication to the idea of being a Nazi. One of Jojo’s first tests at the Hitler Youth training camp comes when he is called on to murder a rabbit with his bare hands, and refuses. It’s at this moment that he first questions whether the Nazi life is truly for him, as he doesn’t want to harm an innocent creature. Jojo ends up leaving the training camp early due to his injuries, and is shocked to discover that his mother is hiding Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie), a Jewish girl, in their attic. There’s no safe way out of this situation for Jojo; if he tells on his mother, then she’ll get executed. Adolf pushes Jojo to maintain what seems at first glance to be a patriotic view, causing Jojo problems with his single mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), who is opposed to the Nazi party and the war. Over the course of the film, Jojo figures out what it really means to be a Nazi, and has to decide where he stands on WW2.

One of my favorite aspects of this film is its cinematography. It almost reminded me of a graphic novel. There were so many unique shots, for example when Jojo is rushed to the hospital after a grenade explodes at his feet. At this point it switches to a first-person perspective, showing us the world through Jojo’s eyes. Things appear blurry and dreamlike as he’s loaded into an ambulance and Adolf chases after him as he’s wheeled into the operating room on a stretcher. The cinematographer is Mihai Mălaimare Jr., who revealed in a Deadline interview that the distinctive camera shots were inspired by the film taking place in the world of a 10-year-old boy. Mălaimare recalls, “most of the time, [Waititi and I] talked about the fact that it’s really interesting to just go lower, and look [at] how the world or the set looks from Jojo’s height.”

My only issue with this film was that there wasn’t a lot of context for Jojo’s family situation. We know that he lives with his single mother, but it’s not explicitly mentioned where his father went. I didn’t know whether he was dead, supporting the war effort, or something else. It is also revealed that Jojo had an older sister, Inge, who died shortly before the events of the film, and Elsa pretends to be her when the Gestapo show up so that she doesn’t get taken away. However, we aren’t told a whole lot about the relationship that Jojo had with his sister, and we only see pictures of her. I realize that the lack of context about Jojo’s family was most likely intentional, but I was still a little confused at times.

Other than this, I found Jojo Rabbit to be a beautiful film that was quirky and creative! It’s sweet and funny at times, but also emotional. The relationship that formed between Elsa and Jojo was sweet, and I got a kick out of the fictionalized version of Hitler that lived inside Jojo’s imagination, eating unicorn meat and cheering for Jojo. It was also sad, because as the film progresses, Jojo is seen to realize what it really means to be a Nazi, and that it’s not all swastikas and “Heil Hitlers”. We witness him grow up and start to think for himself, with this epiphany being signified at the end when Jojo says to Hitler, “Fuck off, Hitler” and kicks him out of his bedroom window.