Science Fiction Today

Men in Black 3 Opens at Number 1

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:57:10 -0700

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.

Promo Banners for The Dark Knight Rises (5&6 of 6)

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:16:50 -0700

Promo Banners for The Dark Knight Rises (5&6 of 6)

Promo Banners for The Dark Knight Rises (3&4 of 6)

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:16:00 -0700

Promo Banners for The Dark Knight Rises (3&4 of 6)

Promo Banners for The Dark Knight Rises (1&2 of 6)

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:15:32 -0700

Promo Banners for The Dark Knight Rises (1&2 of 6)

Six new character posters for The Dark Knight Rises

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:10:45 -0700

Batman

Bane

Catwoman

Batman

Bane

Catwoman

Six new character posters for The Dark Knight Rises

bbcamerica: Doctor Who’s Matt Smith Carries The Olympic...

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:53:32 -0700

bbcamerica:

Doctor Who’s Matt Smith Carries The Olympic Torch

Photo credit @alun_vega

Star Wars The Old Republic Layoffs

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:41:58 -0700

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

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:29:28 -0700

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

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:18:06 -0700

The Dark Knight Rises Poster

2011 Nebula Award Winners

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:15:31 -0700

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

Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan UK; Del Rey; Subterranean Press)
Firebird, Jack McDevitt (Ace Books)
God’s War, Kameron Hurley (Night Shade Books)
Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, Genevieve Valentine (Prime Books)
The Kingdom of Gods, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

Novella Winner: ”The Man Who Bridged the Mist,” Kij Johnson (Asimov’s Science Fiction, October/November 2011)

Other Nominees

“Kiss Me Twice,” Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s Science Fiction, June 2011)
“Silently and Very Fast,” Catherynne M. Valente (WSFA Press;Clarkesworld Magazine, October 2011)
“The Ice Owl,” Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy andScience Fiction, November/December 2011)
“The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary,” Ken Liu (PanverseThree,Panverse Publishing)
“With Unclean Hands,” Adam-Troy Castro (Analog Science Fiction andFact, November 2011)

Novelette Winner: ”What We Found,” Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September/October 2011)

Other Nominees

“Fields of Gold,” Rachel Swirsky (Eclipse 4,Night Shade Books)
“Ray of Light,” Brad R. Torgersen (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, December 2011)
“Sauerkraut Station,” Ferrett Steinmetz (Giganotosaurus, November 2011)
“Six Months, Three Days,” Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com, June 2011)
“The Migratory Pattern of Dancers,” Katherine Sparrow (Giganotosaurus, July 2011)
“The Old Equations,” Jake Kerr (Lightspeed Magazine, July 2011)

Short Story Winner: ”The Paper Menagerie,” Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March/April 2011)

Other Nominees

“Her Husband’s Hands,” Adam-Troy Castro (Lightspeed Magazine, October 2011)
“Mama, We are Zhenya, Your Son,” Tom Crosshill (Lightspeed Magazine, April 2011)
“Movement,” Nancy Fulda (Asimov’s Science Fiction, March 2011)
“Shipbirth,” Aliette de Bodard (Asimov’s Science Fiction, February 2011)
“The Axiom of Choice,” David W. Goldman (New Haven Review, Winter 2011)
“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees,” E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld Magazine, April 2011)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation Winner: Doctor Who: “The Doctor’s Wife,” Neil Gaiman (writer), Richard Clark (director) (BBC Wales)

Other Nominees

Attack the Block, Joe Cornish (writer/director) (Optimum Releasing; Screen Gems)
Captain America: The First Avenger, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely (writers), Joe Johnston (director) (Paramount)
Hugo, John Logan (writer), Martin Scorsese (director) (Paramount)
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen (writer/director) (Sony)
Source Code, Ben Ripley (writer), Duncan Jones (director) (Summit)
The Adjustment Bureau, George Nolfi (writer/director) (Universal)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and FantasyBook Winner: The Freedom Maze, Delia Sherman (Big Mouth House)

Other Nominees

Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor (Viking Juvenile)
Chime, Franny Billingsley (Dial Books; Bloomsbury)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Hodder & Stoughton)
Everybody Sees the Ants, A.S. King (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
The Boy at the End of the World, Greg van Eekhout (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Rae Carson (Greenwillow Books)
Ultraviolet, R.J. Anderson (Orchard Books; Carolrhoda Lab)

2011 DAMON KNIGHT GRAND MASTER AWARD: Connie Willis

SOLSTICE AWARD: Octavia Butler (posthumous) and John Clute

SERVICE TO SFWA AWARD: Bud Webster

Syfy Cancels Sanctuary

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:09:42 -0700

Syfy has canceled its first run series Sanctuary after four seasons.

From Mark Stern, Syfy President of Original Content:

“We’re honored to have been part of this incredible series. In addition to garnering unmatched devotion by fans worldwide,” Stern said in a release, “Sanctuary was a bona fide trailblazer, setting new standards with its highly innovative production techniques–including pioneering green screen and RED camera technology–and Emmy-nominated visual effects. It’s been an amazing ride and we look forward to our next project with Amanda Tapping, Martin Wood and Damian Kindler.”

Series star Amanda Tapping tweeted about the cancellation to her fans:

“We love and adore you. Thank you for the love and support. Now to the long dark tea time of my soul.”

totalfilm: The Wolverine begins filming in August The...

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:58:26 -0700

totalfilm:

The Wolverine begins filming in August

The Wolverine, Fox’s long-gestating sequel to X-Men Origins, looks to be inching ever closer to our screens with Hugh Jackman announcing that filming is set to begin on the project in August…

Avengers Sinks Battleship

Sat, 19 May 2012 15:29:05 -0700

The Friday showdown of comic juggernaut The Avengers and the Science Fiction action drenched Battleship turned out to be no contest. The Avengers raked in another $15.3 million, easily crushing Battleship which its disastrous $9 million premiere.

The Avengers is now predicted to easily win its third weekend in a row, pulling in somewhere around $55 million. That will drive its domestic total into the $457 million neighborhood. If it passes the $450 million on Sunday as expected it will become the the fastest movie to do so in only 17 days. shattering The Dark Knight’s 27 day record. The Avengers will also surpass Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest as Disney’s highest-grossing film ever.

Battleship’s poor first day puts it on track for a meager $26 million first weekend. With a budget of $209 million, Battleship looks to be an expensive domestic flop for Universal. This year’s other high profile flop John Carter managed a slightly better $30.2 million opening weekend. Both movies fared better overseas, but their high production and marketing costs doom them to financial failure without a huge domestic take. Both film’s start Taylor Kitsch, who is not getting his big screen career off to a particularly good start.

Meanwhile in other genre news Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows collapsed 61 percent to limp in at fifth place with $3.8 million. The film has so far only earned back $41.9 million domestically ($78.6 million worldwide) against its $125 million budget.

The Amazing Spider-Man 4 minute “super preview”.

Sat, 19 May 2012 15:04:55 -0700

The Amazing Spider-Man 4 minute “super preview”.

New Prometheus poster.

Sat, 19 May 2012 14:53:02 -0700

New Prometheus poster.

totalfilm: Sony to screen Total Recall footage at Kapow! Total...

Sat, 19 May 2012 14:49:00 -0700

totalfilm:

Sony to screen Total Recall footage at Kapow!

Total Recall, Len Wiseman’s update of the well-loved Arnie-starring sci-fi, will debut a host of new footage at this weekend’s Kapow! comic-book convention…

Avengers Passes $1 Billion Mark

Sun, 13 May 2012 16:07:56 -0700

The Avengers juggernaut continues, becoming the 12th film in history to earn over $1 Billion at the box office only 19 days after its release. It is the second fastest reaching that milestone after Avatar, which did it in only 17 days. Had the film not been released a week earlier in overseas markets its strong domestic showing probably could have out paced Avatar in reaching the milestone.

The Avengers set a new U.S. record for the biggest opening weekend with a $207 million debut, and set another for the the highest-grossing second weekend ever with an estimated $103 million. Other records include being the fastest movie to reach the $300 million and $350 million marks, and highest eight-day, nine-day, and ten-day grosses according to boxofficemojo.com. The Avengers is outperforming all pre-release estimates, and expectations now are that it will easily surpass the $500 million mark domestically.

There was little competition the weekend, with Dark Shadows as the highest profile release garnering poor reviews and disappointing with a $28.8 million opening.

Awake and The Secret Circle Canceled

Sat, 12 May 2012 00:52:33 -0700

More genre show casualties on TV as NBC cancels “Awake” while The CW axes “The Secret Circle.”

Both shows have struggled in the ratings. “Awake” started strong with 6 million viewers for its premiere, but tumbled quickly to a 2.5 rating/4 share average. That put it at a dismal rank of 21 out of 29 shows on NBC.

“The Secret Circle” was low rated overall, with a 1.2 rating/2 share, only good enough for 109th place overall. However, for The CW that performance wasn’t too bad and it was their second-highest-rated program behind it’s lead in “The Vampire Diaries.” Unfortunately the show regularly lost 33 percent of its “Vampire Diaries” lead in audience and The CW is hoping that a different show will fare better.

Star Wars Main Title Theme (Vocal Cover) (by nmckaig) Tell a...

Fri, 11 May 2012 02:07:00 -0700

Star Wars Main Title Theme (Vocal Cover) (by nmckaig)

Tell a friend.

ABC Renews Once Upon A Time

Fri, 11 May 2012 01:49:00 -0700

ABC has officially renewed its highest rated new show and best Sunday night performer, Once Upon A Time. The fairy tale inspired drama has averaged a 5.3 rating/8 share over the last three weeks, which is good enough for 6th place on ABC’s schedule.