We first heard about Disney’s intentions to make a sequel to Tron: Legacy back in April 2010 when they re-hired writers are Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz to get started on the next film.

When Legacy eventually came out in December a sequel looked uncertain do to a soft opening weekend, but with a final gross of $400 million (+ DVD/Blu-ray sales) it looks like Disney is moving forward with a third Tron film.

According to THR David DiGilio (Eight Below) has been brought in as Kitsis and Horowitz are busy working on TV show Once Upon a Time for ABC. Whether a Tron: Legacy sequel gets made is not certain though, as it “may rest on the performance of Tron Uprising, the animated show which will air on Disney XD next year.” $400 million may have been a profitable number, but if the ‘brand’ isn’t strong with kids (who buy merchandise etc.) then a sequel might not be worth it for Disney.

Director Joseph Kosinski has previously said he’d love to return, but his next movie will be Oblivion with Tom Cruise which is expect to start shooting later this year, so if he is returning to direct production on the sequel won’t begin for a while.

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When its theatrical run was over Tron: Legacy finished with close to $400 million worldwide (more than J.J Abrams’ Star Trek, which has a sequel on the way), however whether we see another Tron film will probably depend on the DVD/Blu-ray sales.

Disney hired writers to begin work on a sequel script last April, and it would be a shame to see those plans tossed aside (but only if they learn from their Legacy mistakes, the next film would need a better story, ideally). In a recent interview director Joseph Kosinski was asked about whether we’ll see another film, and he said the story is currently being worked on.

From HitFix:

There have been rumors there will be a ‘Tron 3.’ Would you like to come back for a second go at it or are you ready to move on?

Kosinski: I think that we are working on the story now. If we can come up with the right story and a good reason to return, than absolutely. I’d love to go back. But, it probably won’t be the next thing I do.

The next thing he does is likely to be Oblivion, which is currently looking for studio backing following Disney’s decision to drop the sci-fi project.

Today Tron: Legacy is released on DVD and various Blu-ray combinations, and you can purchase it from Amazon via the links below:

- DVD
- Blu-ray
- Four-Disc Combo Blu-ray
- Five-Disc Combo Blu-ray + Tron: The Original Classic Blu-ray
- Tron: Legacy Limited Edition (Five-Disc Combo + Tron Classic Blu-ray)

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Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski teamed up with Radical Publishing in 2009 to produce a graphic novel called Oblivion, which he then pitched to various studios late last year in order to get it made into a movie.

Disney snapped the sci-fi project up, and William Monahan, the Oscar winning writer behind The Departed, was hired to write the script. Now according to Heat Vision Karl Gajdusek (writer of upcoming Nicole Kidman/Nicolas Cage thriller Trespass) has been brought on-board for re-writes and the title has been changed from Oblivion to Horizons.

The graphic novel synopsis explains that it is set “in a future where the Earth’s surface has been irradiated beyond recognition and the remnants of humanity live above the clouds, safe from the brutal alien Scavengers that stalk the ruins. But when surface drone repairman Jak discovers a mysterious woman in a crash-landed pod, it sets off an unstoppable chain of events that will force him to question everything he knows.”

When Disney bought the project in September it was unknown whether it would be Kosinski’s next movie as Disney was already developing a script for a Tron: Legacy sequel. The studio will most likely be waiting to see how Legacy fares on DVD and Blu-ray before decided whether to move ahead with another film (its box office gross ended at just under $400 million).

If the studio doesn’t want Kosinski to get started on the next Tron movie then Horizons is likely to be his next film, and could potentially get moving sometime this year.

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I’ve been listening to Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy soundtrack for more than 2 months now and i’m still not bored of it, but in case some fans are Disney has decided to release a remix album called Tron: Legacy R3CONFIGUR3D on April 5th. The album will feature remixes from artists like M83, Photek, Moby, Com Truise, and others.

This news comes from Pitchfork, who also posted the tracklist:

Tron: Legacy R3CONFIGUR3D:

01 The Glitch Mob: “Derezzed”
02 M83 vs. Big Black Delta: “Fall”
03 The Crystal Method: “The Grid/Game Has Changed”
04 Teddybears: “Adagio for Tron”
05 Ki:Theory: “The Son of Flynn”
06 Paul Oakenfold: “C.L.U.”
07 Moby: “The Son of Flynn”
08 Boys Noize: “End of Line (Boys Noize Remix)”
09 Kaskade: “Rinzler”
10 Com Truise: “Enron Part II”
11 Photek: “End of Line”
12 The Japanese Popstars: “Arena”
13 Avicii: “Derezzed”
14 Pretty Lights: “Solar Sailor”
15 Sander Kleinenberg: “Tron Legacy (End Titles)”

Pitchfork notes that if you order R3CONFIGUR3D from the Tron soundtrack website you have the option of buying it in various deluxe box set editions that come with a digital EP featuring previously unreleased tracks, the movie on DVD or Blu-ray, a poster, and more.

Tron: Legacy will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 5th, and is now available to pre-order from Amazon via the links below:

- DVD
- Blu-ray
- Four-Disc Combo Blu-ray
- Five-Disc Combo Blu-ray + Tron: The Original Classic Blu-ray
- Tron: Legacy Limited Edition (Five-Disc Combo + Tron Classic Blu-ray)

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We got North America and then there’s the world and that world is big. Starting this week we’re going to also take a look at international box office, you asked for it (well one of you at least, a very long time ago) and now you got it, raw and uncut, more after the break.

Tangled, mostly thanks to a great UK opening of $8.1 million, took the number one spot last weekend with $17.3 million for a total of $254.3 million and $449.2 million worldwide (International plus North America).

The Green Hornet was a close 2nd with $15.4 million for little over $60 million so far and a grand total of $139.8 million worldwide. Unfortunately it will finish with only about $100 million or so Internationally, add to that another $110 in North America and a $210 million worldwide total is definitely a disappointment for a $120 million movie.

On the other end of the disappointment scale is Tron Legacy with $12 million and $196 million so far, $363 million worldwide on a $170 million budget and still not out of fuel. Black Swan is a surprising 4th place with $11.6 million for $28.9 million and when all is said and done this should finish way past the $100 million mark thanks to fantastic holds all over the world. This might just be the movie that makes ballet popular once again. Black Swan is slowly but surely turning into a worldwide phenomenon that will bring director Darren Aronofsky the attention he deserves.

The King’s Speech was 5th with $11.3 million and thus far it has banked $67.4 million, yet another magnificent movie that deserves every last cent made so far and more.

In 6th and 7th place Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter made $10.2 million for $42.3 million so far while Gulliver’s Travels with $9.4 million and $125.8 million is somewhat saved here after the awful performance pulled in North America (only $41 million).

Yogi Bear made $7.8 million and $34.7 million so far for a worldwide total of $127.4 million, definitely not the next Alvin and the Chipmunks. And now for the only non-US movie in the top 10, Gantz coming all the way from Japan (only) made it to 9th place with $7.3 million in just 3 days. IMDB is not very popular in Japan it seems but wikipedia will give you a lot more info on this anime inspired flick.

Finally in 10th place The Tourist with $6.6 million and $150.3 million so far. Foreign box office has definitely been the saving grace of this movie, now standing at $216.8 million worldwide on a $100 million budget.

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Tron Legacy is about to sail over the $300 million worldwide mark, and with the movie still to open in Germany and France, it could end up close to $350 million and beyond before it’s theatrical run is over. While Disney would have preferred a more successful run in the US the numbers show there is still an audience for light cycles and disc battles, and the studio may be about to announce plans for a sequel.

From AICN:

And this was the happy word I received today on the Grapevine of Industry Insiders. TRON LEGACY, a film that many people loved, and a lot of people wanted more from, and that a very vocal minority incessantly bitch about… is getting close, incredibly close to having its SEQUEL announced!

Disney has had writers working on a script for a Tron Legacy sequel since April, and it would be a shame to see those plans tossed aside (but only if they learn from their Legacy mistakes. The next film would need a better story, ideally). Disney will no doubt be waiting to see how the Tron Legacy Blu-ray and DVD sales fare but they already have Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde signed up for more, and director Joseph Kosinski is likely to return.

What would you want to see from a Tron Legacy sequel should Disney decide to move forward with one?

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Don’t be fooled by the title, the flicks mentioned above don’t stand a chance at first place. The real fight is yet again between Little Fockers and True Grit, this time the deserving movie will win, more after the break.

So before moving on to the bigger movies I will talk a bit about the stinkers, I mean the things opening this weekend. First stop, Season of the Witch starring Nicholas Cage in 2816 theaters and sporting an Uwe Boll level 2% Rotten Tomatoes rating. Yeah, this is as low as you can get but fear not, because season of the Cage is starting, you will see a lot of his movies in the upcoming months. I can see about $8 million for this, good for 4th place.

Country Strong, a movie that is actually not really opening this weekend, only expanding, never heard of it, 1424 theaters, probably 6 million fighting with Yogi Bear for 5th place.

Now on to bigger and more important movies, like say True Grit, only the spectacular western that so far made $95.4 million in 16 days. Did I mention that this is now the Coen Brothers highest grossing film ever, oh yeah, it is. If this doesn’t make $17 million for 1st place then I don’t know what more to say, go see it NOW!

Little Fockers will be in 2nd place with probably $14 million for a total of $124 million so far in North America. Maybe it’s a bit soon to tell but Little Fockers might not even pass Meet the Parents ($166 million) in total gross when all is said and done.

And rounding out the top 5, actually, this is 3rd place since I talked about 4th and 5th place before, anyway, Tron Legacy with $12 million or so for $150 million in North America in 24 days.

Next week we get to see The Green Hornet in 3D and The Dilemma from Universal (the real dilemma would be how the hell are they still in business).

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Visual Effects branch has today chosen the seven films in contention for Best Achievement in Visual Effects for the 83rd Academy Awards. A list of 15 movies was drawn up last month, and now from these seven only three will go on to be nominated on January 25th.

Here are the contenders in alphabetical order:

- Alice in Wonderland
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
- Hereafter
- Inception
- Iron Man 2
- Scott Pilgrim vs the World
- TRON: Legacy

Which select few do you think will make it through to the final 3? Last year it was a battle between Avatar, Star Trek and District 9, with Avatar obviously taking the gold.

The nominations will be chosen after a 15-minute screening of each film and its effects, followed by a Q&A.

Update: According to the press release Academy “members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.” So it looks like they have increased the number of films nominated this year.

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It was a close race but Little Fockers managed to grab the top spot for yet another weekend. On the other hand, just like last time the real champ is True Grit, the Coen brothers western that finished just $1.3 million shy of first place, more after the break.

In a year where Despicable Me was about the only ray of light for the bomb factory called Universal Pictures, Little Fockers was a welcome breath of air (box office wise, obviously), I mean for once Universal won’t lose money on a movie. It made $25.7 million during the weekend and $105 million in North America so far.

Now on to True Grit, a movie I recently enjoyed and brought me to the conclusion that it deserves every penny it made so far. May I remind everyone that this is a western, one that made $24.4 million for the weekend bringing its total to $89.2 million in just 13 days. This is going to become the highest grossing western of all time, second only to Dances with Wolves ($184.2 million and some would argue that it ain’t really a traditional western in any way).

In 3rd place Tron Legacy made $18.7 million showing great staying power during the holiday, now at $133.6 million in North America in 18 days. It should go on to make at least $170 million in North America, even when adjusting for inflation that is a lot more then Tron back in 1982.

Yogi Bear was 4th with $12.3 million and $66.9 million so far while The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader made $10.2 million for 5th place and is now at almost $300 million worldwide. To get a 4th one going, this should probably finish with around $400 million.

The Fighter is 6th with $10 million and $47.6 millions so far in North America and Tangled is 7th up 52.5% from a weekend before for $9.8 million and $168.9 million so far. Tangled is also soon to pass Tarzan to become the highest grossing non-Pixar Disney animated movie since The Lion King in 1994.

Gulliver’s Travels was also up 47.4% but still not enough to get away from the bottom of the barrel ($9.3 million and $28.3 million so far) considering Fox spent $115 million on it. A bit of a saving grace for this stinker are the international numbers where it has made $48.6 million for a worldwide total of $77 million.

Rounding out the top 10 are Oscar contenders Black Swan in 9th with $8.8 million ($49.2 million total) and The King’s Speech in 10th with $7.7 million ($22.9 million).

Now a bit of a side fact, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (12th of the weekend) just passed the $900 million mark worldwide, becoming the 4th one in the series to do so, also the 16th highest grossing movie of all time (might finish as high as 12th, just under Half-Blood Prince).

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Despite its blueness Tron Legacy won’t be an Oscar contender for Best Picture or Best Director like Avatar was last year, but one category it may have a shot at is Visual Effects. Digital Domain, the visual effects company founded by James Cameron which has Michael Bay as co-chairman, has posted a ‘Making of’ video for Tron: Legacy which showcases all their amazing work on the movie.

The reel lasts around 8 minutes long and contains quite a few key scenes from the movie, so if you haven’t seen Tron Legacy yet you may want to avoid watching. However if you have seen the movie, enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sAZMCUOW24

I suddenly feel the need to go see it again.

Digital Domain previously won the Best Visual Effects Oscar for Titanic, What Dreams May Come and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and were nominated for Apollo 13, True Lies, I, Robot, so they may have a shot this year with Tron Legacy.

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