Last Updated:
Tue, 22 May 2012
| 1. Marvel's The Avengers - $55.6M |
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Marvel Studios delivers the ultimate comic-book film, which ties together such characters as Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) for a big-screen franchise team-up like no other. Taking center stage this time is Nick Fury (played once again by the note-perfect Samuel L. Jackson), leader of the peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury, along with former Russian spy Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), recruits a super team to combat Thor's ever-deceptive brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) after he brainwashes ace archer Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) while stealing a cosmic cube from an underground base. Thus the heroes must learn to work together alongside outlaw scientist Bruce Banner (Ruffalo), who can track down the artifact's gamma signals when he's not hulking out into a giant green monster. Show runner Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) adapted and helmed the script by Zak Penn. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi |
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Last Updated:
Tue, 22 May 2012
| 2. Battleship - $25.5M |
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Milton Bradley's enduringly popular strategic board game makes the leap to the big screen in Hancock director Peter Berg's epic sci-fi adventure pitting an international naval fleet against an army of invading aliens. When the two forces find themselves evenly matched, each must rely on strategy and cunning in order to emerge the victor. Taylor Kitsch and Alexander Skarsgard head-up a cast also featuring Liam Neeson, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker, and Tadanobu Asano. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi |
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Last Updated:
Tue, 22 May 2012
| 3. The Dictator - $17.4M |
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Comic Sacha Baron Cohen re-teams with director Larry Charles (Borat, Bruno) for this satirical tale of an oppressive, democracy-hating dictator and a goatherder (both played by Cohen) whose misadventures in America lead to a series of outrageous culture clashes. Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, and Curb Your Enthusiasm's J.B. Smoove co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi |
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Last Updated:
Tue, 22 May 2012
| 4. Dark Shadows - $12.5M |
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Transformed into a vampire and entombed for 200 years after betraying vengeful witch Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green), 18th century fishing magnate Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) returns to Collinwood Manor in 1972, only to find his once proud estate in ruins and his family plagued by macabre secrets. It was the year 1752 when Barnabas' parents came to America to expand their business empire. But after establishing the thriving New England fishing town of Collinsport, the family experienced a series of misfortunes when Barnabas fell for the gorgeous Josette DuPres (Bella Heathcoate) and cast aside beautiful witch Angelique, who cursed him with eternal life and buried him deep in the earth. Returning home to Collinwood Manor after being dug up by a construction crew in 1972, Barnabas learns that Angelique has nearly driven his family out of business, and turned the townspeople against them. Determined matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) employs live-in psychiatrist Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter) and enchanting governess Victoria Winters (Heathcoate) to try and help young David Collins (Gully McGrath) get over the mysterious death of his beloved mother, but as Barnabas gets acquainted with his distant ancestors -- including Elizabeth's black-sheep brother Roger (Jonny Lee Miller) and headstrong teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Moretz) -- their suffering weighs heavily on his shoulders. Later, when Angelique learns that Barnabas has returned on a mission to restore his family to its former glory and fallen for the radiant Victoria (who is actually Josette reincarnate), she vows to make his suffering unimaginable if he should dare refuse her once again. Jackie Earle Haley, Bella Heathcote, and Gulliver McGrath co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi |
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Last Updated:
Tue, 22 May 2012
| 5. What to Expect When You're Expecting - $10.5M |
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Five expectant couples learn that having a baby is anything but predictable in this uplifting romantic comedy based on Heidi Murkoff's ubiquitous best-seller. A household name thanks to her popular fitness show, Jules (Cameron Diaz) can't contain her excitement after learning she is about to have a baby with Evan (Matthew J. Morrison), the sure-footed star of a popular dance show. But the closer Jules gets to her due date, the more she and Evan realize the demands of parenthood and the responsibilities of a celebrity couldn't be more different. Meanwhile, outspoken infant-advice author Wendy (Elizabeth Banks) contends with surging hormones as her belly begins to swell, and her devoted husband Gary is shell-shocked to discover that his overbearing trophy wife will soon be having twins. Of course not everyone is cut out to be a father, and as professional photographer Holly (Jennifer Lopez) prepares to scour the globe for a child to adopt, her reluctant husband Alex gets his first glimpse of fatherhood in a brutally honest support group for new dads. And while some parents spend years preparing for the right moment to have a child, feuding food-truck owners Rosie (Anna Kendrick) and Marco (Chace Crawford) get the surprise of their lives when an impulsive act of passion has permanent repercussions. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi |
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Last Updated:
Tue, 22 May 2012
| 6. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - $3.2M |
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A small group of British retirees learn that the life they want to live might not be the life they need to live after pooling their resources to spend their twilight years in a unique setting located in India. Upon arriving at the once-opulent Marigold Hotel, however, the eager pensioners come to realize that rumors of the building's restoration have been greatly exaggerated. But just when it starts to seem that the privileged seniors have been swindled out of their life savings, they summon the courage to sever their ties to the past, and embrace their new life with a sense of wonder and adventure. Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, and Dev Patel star in this uplifting comedy-drama from director John Madden (The Debt, Shakespeare in Love). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi |
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Last Updated:
Tue, 22 May 2012
| 7. The Hunger Games - $2.9M |
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Based on the best-selling young-adult novel by author Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games tells the dark tale of a 16-year-old girl named Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), who is selected to compete in a vicious televised tournament in which 24 teenagers from a post-apocalyptic society fight to the death for the entertainment of the masses. In the future, North America is no more. In its place has risen Panem, a divided nation split into 12 districts. Every year, each district selects a teen of each gender (called "Tributes") to test their worth in a competition known as the Hunger Games, which are broadcast across the nation as entertainment, and to reinforce the government's total power. When her younger sister is selected as District 12's latest "Tribute," Katniss volunteers to take her place, and trains under hard-drinking former Hunger Games champion Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) to sharpen her killer instincts. Now in order to survive the game and emerge the victor, this young combatant must put all of her skills to the ultimate test. Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi |
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Last Updated:
Tue, 22 May 2012
| 8. Think Like a Man - $2.6M |
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This adaptation of Steve Harvey's non-fiction relationship advice book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man focuses on six friends who regularly get together to play basketball, and usually are commiserating about women issues. Jeremy (Jerry Ferrara) is a geeky pothead and comic-book obsessive whose career is stuck in neutral and who won't pop the question to his girlfriend of nine years. Zeke (Romany Malco) is a former musician-turned-businessman who is great at picking up the ladies but can't commit to a long-term relationship. Michael (Terrence J) is good looking and charming, but his mother still has him wrapped around her finger and doesn't want to let him go. Dominic (Michael Ealy) keeps changing career goals, and while he's an excellent chef, he hasn't found a way to make it pay. And short, motormouthed Cedric (Kevin Hart) is in the midst of a divorce and can't wait to be free of his wife. Nerdy but well-meaning Bennett (Gary Owen) is the only one in a functioning relationship, and he gets a lot of grief from his buddies for his happy marriage. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi |
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Last Updated:
Tue, 22 May 2012
| 9. The Lucky One - $1.7M |
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An Iraq War veteran searches for the woman from a mysterious photo that he credits with saving his life during three tours of duty in this romantic drama adapted from the book by Nicholas Sparks. U.S. Marine sergeant Logan Thibault (Zac Efron) was serving his country overseas when he happened across a discarded photo of a beautiful woman. An inscription on the back read "Keep Safe," yet the photo revealed no clues about either the subject or her whereabouts. Upon returning home to civilian life, Logan conducts his own research and discovers that the woman's name is Beth (Taylor Schilling) and that she cares for dogs at a small-town kennel. Before long, Logan manages to get a job at the kennel, and sets his sights on winning Beth's heart. But it won't be easy because Beth's past experiences have made her wary of relationships. Meanwhile, as Logan works to earn Beth's trust, a dark secret from her past threatens to derail his hope for a happy future together. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi |
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Last Updated:
Tue, 22 May 2012
| 10. The Pirates! Band of Misfits - $1.5M |
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Set sail for fun with this family-friendly Aardman Animations adventure following a bumbling, abundantly bearded scallywag who competes against his two biggest rivals for the title Pirate of the Year. Try as he might, the Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) just can't be taken seriously as a plunderer. But that might change if he could only manage to win the Pirate of the Year competition. As the event gets under way, the Pirate Captain makes it his mission to leave dreaded foes Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek) sinking in his wake. Before that can happen, though, the determined Pirate Captain will have to seek out the help of a love-struck scientist (David Tennant) and defeat a malevolent queen (Imelda Staunton), who might just send him down to Davy Jones' Locker. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi |
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