Men in Black 3 bumped The Avengers from the number one spot Friday with an $18 million first day take. That’s on par for the series, with the first film making $18.9 million and Men In Black 2 earning $18.6 million. However, when taken in context of ticket price inflation and 3D premiums the film’s ticket sales are significantly more tepid than its box office indicates. Regardless, it is on pace to earn around $70 million over the Memorial Day weekend, which is a very respectable showing.
After 22 days in release The Avengers fell only 36% for the number two spot, raking in another $9.68 million on Friday. The movie has now earned $486.4 million and remains ahead of The Dark Knight’s earnings pace. It is expected to break the $500 million barrier this weekend.
Battleship sunk 66% in its eighth day of release with a meager $3 million box office on Friday bringing its domestic total to $36.5 million domestically. The movie has been bolstered by its significantly better overseas showing for a $263,805,000 worldwide gross. With significant promotion and distribution costs on top of its $209 million production budget Battleship will be hard pressed to break even.
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Doctor Who’s Matt Smith Carries The Olympic Torch
Photo credit @alun_vega
(Source: Flickr / alun_vega)
BioWare and EA’s Star Wars The Old Republic MMORPG had a very successful launch last December, quickly growing to 1.7 million users. Subscriber numbers have dwindled sharply since then, down by an estimated 400,000 from its peak. While 1.3 million is still an exceptional subscriber result, the game is far from the “Warcraft killer” that so many predicted it could be and such a large drop off so soon after launch raises questions about its long term appeal.
Now BioWare has announced that they will be laying off an undisclosed number of the SWTOR development team:
“Sadly, we are bidding farewell to some talented, passionate and exceptionally hard-working people who helped make SWTOR a reality,” said BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk on the game’s forum. “Impacting people’s lives this way is always very hard, but we’re ensuring the affected people are treated with dignity, fairness and respect.”
The news may not be as gloomy as it sounds at first blush. The SWTOR team reportedly includes over 800 people. With a team that large some belt tightening was probably inevitable post launch regardless of subscriber numbers.
James Doohan’s Ashes Successfully Launched Into Orbit | TrekMovie.com -
“After a delay last Saturday, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was successfully launched this morning from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The Dragon capsule is now in orbit and headed to the ISS. Part of the payload includes the partial remains of Star Trek’s original Scotty, James Doohan.”
RIP Mr. Scott
The Dark Knight Rises Poster
The 2011 Nebula Awards were presented on Saturday, May 19, 2012 in a ceremony at the Nebula Awards Weekend, held in Arlington, Virginia. Walter Jon Williams was Toastmaster, and Astronaut Michael Fincke was the keynote speaker.
Novel Winner: Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)
Other Nominees
Novella Winner: ”The Man Who Bridged the Mist,” Kij Johnson (Asimov’s Science Fiction, October/November 2011)
Other Nominees
Novelette Winner: ”What We Found,” Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September/October 2011)
Other Nominees
Short Story Winner: ”The Paper Menagerie,” Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March/April 2011)
Other Nominees
Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation Winner: Doctor Who: “The Doctor’s Wife,” Neil Gaiman (writer), Richard Clark (director) (BBC Wales)
Other Nominees
Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and FantasyBook Winner: The Freedom Maze, Delia Sherman (Big Mouth House)
Other Nominees
2011 DAMON KNIGHT GRAND MASTER AWARD: Connie Willis
SOLSTICE AWARD: Octavia Butler (posthumous) and John Clute
SERVICE TO SFWA AWARD: Bud Webster
(Source: sfawardswatch.com)