Daniel Craig got serious in a gray suit on the London set of the new James Bond movie today. He’s filming Skyfall after wrapping up a worldwide press tour for the thriller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Daniel and his leading lady Rooney Mara traveled to Berlin, Paris, and more spots around the globe promoting the project. Rooney’s style was the star of many photo ops, but heads also turned whenDaniel’s wife Rachel Weisz joined them on the red carpet in Madrid. It was the couple’s first public appearance since tying the knot last Summer. Rachel recently made headlines when her L’Oréal ad was banned in the UK for being “misleading.” Attention will be back to Rooney later this month though, when she hits the red carpet at the Oscars, where she’s nominated for best actress.
The new issue of Empire hits shelves this week (Thursday January 26, fact fans) and it’s a doozy. We’ve turned all Nick Fury and assembled The Avengers in the shape of four barnstorming superhero covers. Take your pick of Black Widow, Thor, Iron Man and Captain America. Awesome, non? The greatest gathering of superpower in movie history takes place inside the issue. It’s an exclusive, access-all-areas set report from the Marvel blockbuster’s Cleveland set. Empire caught up with the whole crew, as well as a certain villain of the piece. “He knows who he is now, and what his powers are,” says Tom Hiddleston of Loki. “In order for The Avengers to come together, Loki has to be more menacing, and all of his malevolence is founded in a completely delusional dream.”
Kate Beckinsale is back with a vengeance, with her latest “Underworld” movie opening at No. 1 this weekend.
“Underworld Awakening” made an estimated $25.4, distributor Sony Screen Gems reported Sunday.
This is the fourth film in the vampire action saga. Beckinsale starred in the first two movies as the warrior Selene, then bowed out of part three but returned for this latest installment.
“Underworld Awakening” was shown for the first time in 3-D as well as on IMAX screens, where it made $3.8 million. That’s 15 percent of the film’s weekend gross, which is a record for an IMAX digital-only run.
Opening in second place was “Red Tails” from executive producer George Lucas, about the Tuskegee Airmen who were the first black fighter pilots to serve in World War II. It made an estimated $19.1 million, according to 20th Century Fox, which was well above expectations.
Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian said a grass-roots effort to get groups of people into the theaters to see “Red Tails,” along with positive word-of-mouth, helped its strong showing. The film saw an uptick from about $6 million on Friday to $8.65 million on Saturday.
Overall box office receipts are up 31 percent from the same weekend a year ago, Dergarabedian said, thanks to new releases as well as movies like “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” which had limited runs for awards consideration at the end of 2011 and are now expanding nationwide. The 9/11 drama from Warner Bros., starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, came in fourth place with $10.5 million.
Last week’s No. 1 film, the Universal smuggling thriller “Contraband” starring Mark Wahlberg, dropped to the No. 3 spot with $12.2 million. It’s now made $46.1 million in two weeks.
Meanwhile, Steven Soderbergh’s international action picture “Haywire” from Relativity Media, starring mixed martial arts superstar Gina Carano in her first film role, opened in fifth place with $9 million, which was above expectations.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com:
1. “Underworld Awakening,” $25.4 million
2. “Red Tails,” $19.1 million.
3. “Contraband,” $12.2 million.
4. “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” $10.5 million.
5. “Haywire,” $9 million.
6. “Beauty and the Beast (3-D),” $8.6 million.
7. “Joyful Noise,” $6.1 million.
8. “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” $5.5 million.
9. “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” $4.8 million.
10. “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” $3.75 million.
