Last month The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced 15 films had been selected for consideration for Achievement in Visual Effects for the 84th Academy Awards. Today those 15 movies were narrowed down to 10.

Here are the movies still in the race:

“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
“Hugo”
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”
“Real Steel”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“The Tree of Life”
“X-Men: First Class”

For those wondering, the 5 movies no longer in the race are Thor, Sucker Punch, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Cowboys & Aliens, and Super 8.

On January 19th the 5 official nominations will be selected after members of the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee view 10-minute excerpts from each film. The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012. Billy Crystal will host the actual ceremony on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

Which movies do you think should get a VFX nod?

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced the 15 films that have been selected for consideration for Achievement in Visual Effects for the 84th Academy Awards.

In early January members of the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee will narrow the list down to 10, and then on January 19th the 5 official nominations will be selected after members view 10-minute excerpts from each film.

Here’s the list of films in alphabetical order:

“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Cowboys & Aliens”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
“Hugo”
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”
“Real Steel”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”
“Sucker Punch”
“Super 8″
“Thor”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“The Tree of Life”
“X-Men: First Class”

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012. Billy Crystal will host the actual ceremony on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

Which movies do you think should get a VFX nod?

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Walt Disney Studios has announced that Real Steel will be released on DVD and Blu-ray January 24, 2012. The movie starred Hugh Jackman as an out-of-work fighter who bonds with his estranged son (Dakota Goyo) when they go to work rescuing a junkyard find named Atom, and groom it as a potential champion in the World Robot Boxing league.

Real Steel was released back in October and has made $250m worldwide so far. It’s a good number, but with a budget of around $110m (excluding marketing) it’s still unknown whether DreamWorks will move forward with the sequel they’ve been planning. Maybe after the DVD and Blu-ray sales they’ll have an idea.

DVD special features include:

- Making of Metal Valley
- Building the Bots
- Bloopers

2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (1 Blu-ray Disc + 1 DVD) features nclude:

All DVD Bonus Features PLUS
Real Steel Second Screen
Countdown to the Fight — The Charlie Kenton Story
Sugar Ray Leonard: Cornerman’s Champ
Deleted and Extended Scenes with introductions by Shawn Levy: Extended “Meet Ambush,” Deleted “Butterfly” Storyline

Real Steel is now available to pre-order from Amazon on: DVD | Blu-ray

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The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 opened on top around the world after a great weekend that signalled the return to form of the international box office. Below things weren’t as jolly for Immortals. The previous leader took a bit of a dive from 1st to 4th place.

$152.9 million is what Breaking Dawn – Part 1 made in 54 countries, a new opening record for the series internationally. Granted, this is the widest release ever for a Twilight flick. Anyway, with these kind of numbers The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 should be headed for the usual series range, $380-400 million internationally and what might become $700 million worldwide. Right now it sits at $291 million after just one weekend.

The Adventures of Tintin was yet again in 2nd place with $21.7 million this time. The Steven Spielberg- directed motion-capture flick has grossed $187.6 million so far and will open on December 21st in North America. When all is said and done The Adventures of Tintin should end up with $400 million or more worldwide, depending on how strong it performs in the US.

3rd place belongs to French comedy Intouchables, a regular of the international box office by now. With another $17.6 million, this film is well on track to become the highest grossing movie of the year in France. Rien a Declarer, a Dany Boon comedy, is currently in the lead with $74.6 million.

Immortals lost quite a few millions compared to the previous weekend and had to settle for $17.5 million, giving it an international total of $65.8 million and a worldwide tally of $118.8 million. I think now Immortals might stop just shy of $200 million worldwide at the end of its run.

Rounding up the top 5 was Real Steel with $6.9 million for a grand total of $242.5 million worldwide. Now reports regarding the cost of this Hugh Jackman film have been rather different, I’m hearing anything from $110 million up to $140 million, and if the truth is somewhere in the middle then Real Steel might just start turning a profit before it leaves theaters.

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With not much else besides Tintin out there, it wasn’t much of a fight for Immortals to get on top of the international box office. Besides that, the French comedy Intouchables managed to go up in its second weekend instead of the usual drop that we have come to expect from every movie at this point.

Immortals made $38 million in 35 countries, thus getting the top spot and, surprisingly, enough to match the $75 million production budget. Yes, Immortals stands at $75.2 million worldwide so at this point we know it will be profitable since it’s bound to double that figure in the coming weeks. The fact that there are a lot more markets left to open also helps. Looking at Immortals now, I say it will finish with at least $250 million worldwide. 300 made $456 million in 2006.

The Adventures of Tintin was 2nd with $28.2 million and now sports a total of $159.1 million. It seems the movie could maybe pull another $60 million from its current markets and considering it still has more than a few countries left to open, $300 million internationally should be achievable. If The Adventures of Tintin doesn’t reach that mark and the US box office disappoints (under $100 million) then I don’t know if the planned sequel will get a green light. I’m certainly crossing my fingers for good word of mouth and great holiday box office legs.

Turns out Intouchables, in 3rd place, could be a fantastic movie since I don’t see how else it could have made even more money this time. Instead of going down the French comedy went up 58% for $23.6 million. Again, the vast majority of that money was made in France and besides that the movie is only running in Belgium.

Thanks to a great opening in China, Real Steel finished 4th with $12 million last weekend for an international total of $147.5 million, and an even mightier $229.3 million worldwide. Unfortunately since this cost around $140 million to make, Disney needs it to gross at least $280 million worldwide, an almost impossible goal.

And finally In Time is 5th with $8.7 million for a worldwide total of $84.3 million. On a $40 million budget, that’s just about enough if Fox played the distribution cards right.

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The Adventures of Tintin spent another weekend at the top of the international box office thanks to little to no competition. Besides the usual suspects, French flick Intouchables found its way into the top 5.

Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin had another good weekend with $39 million made from 45 markets. After two weeks the movie stands at a respectable $123.4 million. Like I already said, respectable but it still has a long way to go before we can call it a hit. On the bright side, there are still loads of territories where The Adventures of Tintin hasn’t opened yet.

Puss in Boots was 2nd with $16.9 million for a new total of $36.5 million internationally. What’s really impressive is Puss only opened in 4 countries so far. Worldwide the animated flick stands at $118.6 million and if the $130 million budget is to be believed, then this movie is definitely on the right track to profitability.

Strange enough, In Time was 3rd with $16.8 million, somewhat of a bump from the $15.3 million made a week before. With $37.6 million internationally and $62.8 million worldwide, In Time will very soon eclipse the $72.6 million made by the previous Andrew Niccol directed flick, Lord of War (Nicholas Cage), thus becoming his most successful feature film.

4th place belongs to the French comedy I wrote about in the introduction, Intouchables. Now if only IMDB would work properly, I’d know a lot more about Intouchables, alas, I shall improvise. Here’s a trailer in French for the francophones out there (of which, sorry to say, I ain’t). Also the movie made $15 million, most of that (98% to be more exact) from France. This is no Dany Boon flick (so I ain’t so francophone-less after all) but it did score the 4th best opening of the year in the country with one of the hottest first ladies out there.

Paranormal Activity 3 was 5th with $13.6 million for $77.1 million so far internationally, on the way to $100 million, besting the $92.8 million made by Paranormal Activity 2. When it comes to worldwide totals, Paranormal Activity 3 will not only beat the 2nd film but also the original, $200 million and more being the target.

Outside the top 5, Real Steel made another $10.7 million for a worldwide total of $206.6 million while Tower Heist debuted in 7th place with $9.3 million.

In 8th place Johnny English Reborn made $7.6 million ($147.4 million worldwide), Rise of the Planet of the Apes also $7.6 million ($468.9 million) and Contagion grossed $5 million ($120 million).

The undeniable star of last week, RA One, took a huge nosedive to about $1.96 million from India and under $1 million from the rest of the world.

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The Adventures of Tintin started to roll into theaters around the world last weekend to great success, bringing the international box office back to life after weeks of lackluster numbers. But, it wasn’t just Tintin making the rounds, Bollywood superhero flick RA One also opened to monstrous numbers.

With Steven Spielberg directing and Peter Jackson producing, expectations for The Adventures of Tintin were rather high and with $56.1 million from 19 markets, I’m pleased to announce that it certain meet them. Now there is still a long way to go for the Herge character that appeared to the world for the first time almost 83 years ago, but this is definitely a great start. Based on this opening I’d say Tintin is headed for at least $350 million internationally. I can’t stress enough that this is just a very conservative prediction. Since The Adventures of Tintin is aimed clearly at the international market, by the time it opens in North America on December 21st, we’ll probably know if Paramount thinks it’s successful enough to green light the sequel that Peter Jackson wants to direct.

Second place is kind of a surprise for me with RA One at a staggering $33.4 million. You don’t see Bollywood film open that high every day. Obviously most of that money was made in India ($28.3 million) where it now holds the opening weekend record. All I’ve seen of this is a trailer that shows a very effects driven Bollywood flick, so if there are any people that saw this, please tell us in the comments why do you think RA One is so big and if it deserves such success.

Puss in Boots was 3rd with $17.2 million, mostly from a huge $15.1 million opening in Russia. The Shrek movies have always found great success around the world with the last one, Shrek Forever After, grossing $513.8 million internationally. Puss in Boots should at least aim for $300 million and if that happens, we might just see another adventure featuring the feline hero.

Former leader Paranormal Activity 3 fell to 4th place with $16.6 million for $54.1 million internationally and a grand total of $138.8 million worldwide. This movie cost $5 million to make, just saying.

In Time opened last weekend to somewhat better results than in North America, specifically $15.4 million. A decent start and I can see this finishing close to $80 million worldwide.

Real Steel made $12.2 million for $108 million internationally and $182.7 million worldwide. Good numbers if only Real Steel wasn’t so expensive. On the other hand Johnny English Reborn was a lot cheaper and made $12.1 million last weekend for $123.8 million internationally and $130.7 million worldwide (since it only made $6.8 million in North America).

Finally Rise of the Planet of the Apes was 8th with $10.4 million thanks to a huge $9 million opening in China. Rise of the Planet of the Apes now sits at $453.2 million worldwide, a good deal higher than the 2001 Planet of the Apes ($362.2 million).

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Paranormal Activity 3 seems to be quite on a roll and after setting a few records in North America, it now tops the international box office. Truth be told, it wasn’t all that hard to come out in the lead around the world since box office numbers have been kind of anaemic in the past weeks.

With $26.1 million Paranormal Activity 3 was #1 in its first weekend. Looking back, Paranormal Activity grossed $85.4 million internationally while the sequel made $92.7 million. That’s not much of a difference between the two but things are about to change with the 3rd entry. Based on the opening weekend I’d say Paranormal Activity 3 is headed for over $120 million internationally and something like $230 million worldwide when all will be said and done, which is mighty impressive for a $5 million movie.

Real Steel was 2nd with $18.5 million from 32 markets. The big budget robot boxing flick gathered $86.1 million for a worldwide total of $153.4 million so far. Based on the estimated $110-140 million budget (no numbers were reported directly from DreamWorks) I’d say the movie is half way into profitability but most likely won’t make it all the way to the finish. $250 million worldwide is about as high as I can see it going.

While not all that popular in North America, Rowan Atkinson’s Johnny English Reborn had another great weekend with $14.3 million. Worldwide the movie is at $108.5 million and I think it will keep going up to $160 million or so. Considering the $45 million budget, I’d say Mr. Rowan Atkinson should be able to buy himself a brand new McLaren F1 after breaking the old one (we’re talking about a very exclusive $2 million car here).

In 4th place, The Three Musketeers is saving face a bit after that awful opening in North America. Internationally the swashbuckler made $13 million and so far it stands at $73.7 million worldwide. Things aren’t looking too pretty for this film and I think it won’t be profitable during its box office run unless it can make at the very least $160 million worldwide. I highly doubt it can go that high anymore.

Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion is starting to move around the world with $9.8 million for 5th place and $23 million internationally so far. Worldwide the movie is at $96.1 million. The Smurfs ($3.6M), Abduction ($3.3M), The Lion King ($3.3M), Rise of the Planet of the Apes ($3.1M) and Friends with Benefits ($2.7M) round up the top 10.

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I was way off last weekend when predicting this would open with $30 million and i’m not ashamed to recognize when I’m wrong. Not only did Paranormal Activity 3 open higher than the last entry in the series but it took the number one pure horror opening record and the best fall opening to date. Meanwhile, everything else bombed.

It’s very hard to find words to express just how incredible a $52.5 million opening for Paranormal Activity 3 is. The first movie in the series, as many know, became a sleeper hit in the fall of 2009. In 2010 Paranormal Activity 2 turned from sleeper to event movie with a $40.6 million opening. Now, Paranormal Activity 3 did what few expected and bested the previous film’s opening. As mentioned in the introduction, Paranormal Activity 3 is now the highest opening horror flick, beating brother Paranormal Activity 2 that held said spot for just one year. The fall opening record (at least what Hollywood considers as fall) was previously under Jackass 3D with $50.3 million a year ago. Paranormal Activity 3 should have no problem finishing ahead of Paranormal Activity 2‘s $84.7 million total and even attempt to out-gross the original’s $107.9 million.

In 2nd place former leader Real Steel makes $10.8 million for a respectable $67.3 million after 18 days. Footloose was 3rd with $10.3 million and $30.9 million in 11 days. Made with $24 million, this 80′s remake is on the right track to becoming profitable.

The Three Musketeers in 4th place was for lack of better words, a disaster thanks to an $8.6 million opening weekend. This is enough to make even Conan the Barbarian jealous (one of the bigger bombs this year). With this puny opening, even a total of $20 million from North America seems like a stretch now. Director Paul W.S. Anderson probably isn’t very happy with this result but around the world musketeers is still doing decent business so it ain’t all bad.

The Ides of March rounds up the top 5 with $4.8 million and a total of $29.4 million after 18 days. In Dolphin Tale/Moneyball news, the flicks are still at it with $4.2 versus $3.9 million in 6th and 7th place with $64.6 and $63.9 million after 32 days. I can’t remember the last time two movies opening at the same time ran so close to each other. Next weekend (thanks to Puss in Boots) should be when Moneyball leaves Dolphin Tale behind.

Johnny English Reborn in 8th place with $3.8 million was a far cry from the $9.1 million opening of Johnny English in 2003. With numbers like that, this film is looking at $9-10 million max.

The last wide release of the weekend, The Mighty Macs, wasn’t able to even reach $1 million and had to settle for 15th place. This will be out of theaters in 2 weeks with no more then $2 million made in total.

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We have a decent line-up today with four new flicks coming out starting with the biggest of the bunch and ironically, the cheapest, Paranormal Activity 3. Yep, the series that started so small is now a trilogy and number 4 is definitely on the horizon. Johnny English Reborn, The Three Musketeers and The Mighty Macs also open wide today.

A year ago Paranormal Activity 2 opened with $40.6 million and went on to gross $84.7 million in North America, quite a bit less than the $107.9 million made by Paranormal Activity in 2009. Now even if Paranormal Activity 3 opens with half that it should still be extremely profitable since it didn’t cost more than $5 million to produce. Paramount knows what they have here, this property won’t be here forever so they plan on milking it as much as they possibly can and who can blame them, really. I can see a $30 million opening weekend for Paranormal Activity 3 and obviously first place.

The Three Musketeers, the latest adaptation of the famous Alexandre Dumas novel, now in 3D, comes from director Paul W.S. Anderson of Resident Evil fame, so we can expect at least some decent action scenes. Interest doesn’t seem to be all that high for this flick so I’m going to say $15 million is what this will do for 2nd place.

Real Steel should have a tiny lead on Footloose for 3rd place. Both should hover around $9 million. Johnny English Reborn, the latest Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) flick to hit US shores, won’t match the $9.1 million opening of the original Johnny English from 2003. A $7 million opening and 5th place is most likely here.

The last new wide release of the weekend, The Mighty Macs, won’t have an easy time trying to reach the top 10. The movie won’t see more than $1.5 million this weekend considering it only opens in a few theaters and there has been little to no marketing campaign for it.

Next week Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried star in the sci-fi thriller In Time, Antonio Banderas lends his voice once again for Puss in Boots in his very own movie, and Johnny Deep is pretty much his awesome self in The Rum Diary, a movie that has been a long time coming.

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