BuzzSugar

Box Office: The Day the Earth Earned a Lot of Money

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:30:45 -0800

The Day the Earth Stood Still may not have been a critical hit but it is now officially a box office success, earning $31 million over the weekend and topping Four Christmases, which slid into second place. Twilight, Bolt, and Australia followed in third, fourth, and fifth places respectively.

Meanwhile, Variety is reporting that smaller, independent films "delivered one of the best weekends ever for the specialty box office." Movies like Doubt, The Reader and Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino all enjoyed strong debuts, while movies like Milk and Frost/Nixon continue to draw good sized audiences in theaters.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Sugar Bits - Twilight Director Drops Out of Sequel

PopSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:30:08 -0800

Catherine Hardwicke, the director of Twilight (which has your current sexiest group of 2008), announced she will not be working on the sequel, New Moon, because of "timing." - BBC News
Four Christmases scored the top spot at the box office again with $18.2 million, and Twilight came in second. - BuzzSugar
Chris Klein and Big Love's Ginnifer Goodwin broke up after dating for two years. - Us Weekly
Eli Stone's Jonny Lee Miller and his wife Michele had a baby boy named Buster Timothy on Wednesday in LA. This is their first child. - AP
Alyssa Milano filed a temporary restraining order against a man she says is stalking her and attempted to break into her house. The court date is set for Jan. 21. - Entertainment Tonight
The host of Man vs. Wild, Bear Grylls, injured his shoulder in Antarctica on Friday while on a private expedition unrelated to his show. - E! Online
Eric Mabius from Ugly Betty and his wife Ivy Sherman welcomed a second baby boy named Rylan Jaxson. Their first son, Max, is two years old. - Life & Style

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Box Office: Audiences Love Christmases

BuzzSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:30:01 -0800

Reese and Vince proved a potent pair at the box office once again as Four Christmases came in at No. 1 for the second weekend in a row. The holiday comedy earned an estimated $18.2 million over the weekend, bringing its overall total since debuting to $70.8 million. Meanwhile, Twilight continues to plow full steam ahead, coming in at No. 2 and bringing its overall total to an impressive $138.6 million. The top five was rounded out by Bolt in third, Australia in fourth, and Quantum of Solace at No. 5.

There are a lot of "specialty" offerings at the moment, many of which are doing very well given how many theaters they're playing in. Cadillac Records had a decent debut at No. 9, and both Slumdog Millionaire and Milk continue to thrive thanks to great buzz.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Pop Poll: Do You Love Festive Movies?

PopSugarUK — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:00:00 -0800

Now it's December, we've officially entered the festive season and Christmas movies are starting to become prominent in the TV schedules. Now Four Christmases is number one at the box office, with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn bringing a little holiday spirit to cinema audiences. But do you love Christmas movies? Or do you find them too schmaltzy and sweet?

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Sugar Bits: Blake Headed Back To Jail After Failing Drugs Test

PopSugarUK — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:00:00 -0800

Blake Fielder-Civil is headed back to jail after failing a drugs test. He could now be in jail until early 2010 after breaking the early release terms of his 27-month sentence.- The Sun
Four Christmases starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn has gone straight in at number one in the UK Box Office, knocking Quantum Of Solace off the top of the chart. - BBC
Jennifer Hudson's former brother-in-law William Balfour has been arrested in connection with the murders of the actress' mother, brother and nephew. - The Sun
Nicola McLean has become the latest contestant to be evicted from the jungle on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. - Daily Mail
A human skull currently being used in the West End production of Hamlet is to no longer be used as it may distract the audience. The skull of concert pianist and Holocaust survivor Andrew Tchaikowsky has appeared in the Stratford production, starring David Tennant. It was his dying wish to have his skull used in Hamlet and he bequeathed it to the RSC. - BBC

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Caption It: Which Caption Should Win?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:30:30 -0800

Thanks to all who found time during the busy holiday week to chip in captions for this week's challenge from Four Christmases:

Here are your finalists:

"Sometimes when I get nervous, I put my fingers in my armpits and sniff them like that. I was prepared to play Moses, not Joseph!"
Vince: "I will now play 'Silent Night' using only armpit farts!"
"Listen up Mary, we got 1 down to go with 4 seconds left so I need you to launch that baby as far as you can. You got that?!"
"Yes. . ."
"Everybody, can I get a 'Hail Mary'?!"
Vince (whiny voice): "I wanted to be baby Jesus!"

Time to vote!

Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers

Sugar Bits - Robert Downey Jr. Injured While Filming

PopSugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:30:10 -0800

Robert Downey Jr. was hurt on the Sherlock Holmes set while filming a fight scene. He was knocked out by another actor and given six stitches on his mouth. - The Sun
Hillary Clinton officially accepted President-elect Barack Obama's offer to be his secretary of state, making her the highest ranking secretary in his cabinet. - CitizenSugar
Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn's Four Christmases opened at the top spot at the box office this holiday weekend with $46.7 million, while Nicole Kidman's Australia debuted in fifth place. - BuzzSugar
Winona Ryder is being investigated by police after she lost $125, 000 worth of Bulgari diamonds on loan to her for a party. Winona said she had given the jewelry to her hotel staff for safekeeping, but the hotel denied this. - Daily Mail
Travis Barker and DJ AM are reuniting on stage for the first time since the concert immediately before their plane crash for a New Year's Eve concert in LA. - AP
Rosie O'Donnell's variety shows have been cancelled, according to a shorthand message Rosie posted on her blog. - Us Weekly

Film Magic

Box Office: Four Christmases Wins the Holiday Weekend

BuzzSugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:30:35 -0800

I was surprised at how much I ended up enjoying Four Christmases starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn, and maybe some of the early buzz from others who also liked it helped the holiday comedy win the Thanksgiving weekend box office this year with an estimated $46.7 million since opening Wednesday.

Meanwhile the highly anticipated Baz Luhrmann epic Australia opened at No. 5 after Quantum of Solace in fourth place, Twilight (which passed the $100 million mark this weekend) in third, and Bolt in second place. Gus Van Sant's biopic Milk also did very well for a limited release, coming in at No. 10 over the weekend.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Four Christmases: A (Very) Light Dash of Holiday Fun

BuzzSugar — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:00:24 -0800

It's most likely that Four Christmases wouldn't be nearly so funny or endearing (though that may be slightly too strong a word for it) if it didn't take place around the holidays. Just watching these family members be mean to each other would probably be merely sad if it weren't juxtaposed with this holiday that is supposed to be at least partially about family togetherness. The premise of the film is gimmicky for sure (four Christmases in one day?), but what happens during those four Christmases is actually a lot of fun to watch.

I didn't expect much from this film and I was delightfully surprised. It's funnier than I thought it would be, and while Vaughn and Witherspoon are pretty much devoid of chemistry, there is an undeniable quirky charm to their pairing, though their best and funniest moments are when they're not in scenes together. The two play San Francisco couple Brad and Kate who go on exotic trips for Christmas each year in order to avoid their families. This year, however, they find out at the airport that all flights are canceled for the day. When a television news crew approaches them for a comment about the cancellations, the cat is let out of the bag: Brad and Kate are, in fact, in town for Christmas. Zaniness, of course, ensues, so read more.

Having seen the news reports, all four sets of Brad and Kate's divorced parents get in touch, hoping for some time with the elusive couple. Thus begins a hectic, harrowing day of physical abuse from Brad's brothers and emotional abuse from Kate's sister. Additionally, Brad has to play Taboo with his childhood buddy who is now dating his mother (Sissy Spacek, who, after Hot Rod, is getting quite good at the comedic older mom roles), and Kate revisits one of her most traumatic childhood moments. In the end, they learn a lot about each other and themselves and their families. You know the drill.

It's actually a good date movie in that I think both men and women will get a kick out of the silly hijinks and surprisingly funny wordplay, and the humor is relatively inoffensive. There are some slower moments but for the most part there aren't many points of forced emotion. In fact, one of the best things about the movie is that it's not "message-y." There's no tearful group hug and professions of the holidays being "all about our wacky, loving family!" There's very little schmaltz, and while the schmaltz is wonderful in many holiday movies, I found the lack of it here to be refreshing.

All in all, it's a forgettable film - I don't foresee any memorable Anchorman-like quotes making their way into our pop culture lexicon, for example - but while it lasts it's a pretty good jolt of holiday fun.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Caption It!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 07:00:08 -0800

Welcome to the Caption It game on BuzzSugar! Every other Wednesday, I'll post a photo still from a TV show or movie here and challenge you to think of the most hilarious caption possible. I'll announce the finalists the following Tuesday, and you'll get to vote for the best caption; the winner will get a fabulous BuzzSugar t-shirt!

First, congrats to tlsgirl, whose entry won last week's poll:

In a not-so-surprising twist, another group of New York waiters hopes to make it big in the fashion industry.

Now onto this week's challenge from Four Christmases starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn:

Leave your captions in the comment space below before 5 p.m. PST on Monday, Dec. 1, to be considered for a spot in the voting round. Have fun! To see a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, just read more.

The BuzzSugar t-shirt

Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers