Super Mario Bros. Movie Rakes in Approximately $26 Million in U.S. Box Office on Its Debut Day

According to Deadline, the animated film, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, has reportedly earned an estimated $26 million on its opening day in the United States, not including preview screenings. In the Asia Pacific market, which includes sneak preview screenings, the movie has earned approximately $7.95 million. The movie’s first three-day gross is estimated to be $86.2 million, with a first five-day gross of $127.5 million from Wednesday to Sunday in the United States. The film opened in over 60 markets worldwide on Wednesday and will open in Japan on April 28th. The movie is directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, with a script by Matthew Fogel. Chris Pratt and Charlie Day voice Mario and Luigi, respectively, while Anya Taylor-Joy plays Princess Peach, and Jack Black voices Bowser. Seth Rogen, Keegan-Michael Key, Fred Armisen, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Sebastian Maniscalco also star. The film is co-produced by Illumination founder Chris Meledandri and Super Mario Bros. creator Shigeru Miyamoto, with Universal Pictures distributing the movie worldwide.

Share This:

Orlando Bloom to Lead Cast in TV Series Based on This Must Be The Place

Amazon Studios is developing a series adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel This Must Be The Place, with Orlando Bloom set to star as an American linguist. The story follows Daniel Sullivan, a New Yorker living in the Irish countryside with his reclusive ex-film star wife, Claudette. Their idyllic life is threatened by a secret from Daniel’s past, which has unexpected consequences in their present. The series explores the redemptive power of love and the impact of past choices. Suzanne Heathcote, known for her work on Killing Eve and Fear The Walking Dead, will write and executive produce the series. In addition, a film adaptation of the book is also in development by writer-director Chloé Zhao.

Share This:

First Half of April 2023’s Xbox Game Pass Additions and Removals

Xbox Game Pass is getting five new games in the first half of April, including Loop Hero and Ghostwire: Tokyo. Loop Hero, available on console and PC starting April 4, puts players in a world thrown into a timeless loop by a powerful Lich, with mystical cards that must be used to place enemies, buildings, and terrain along each expedition loop. On April 6, Iron Brigade, a tower defense shooter game from Double Fine Productions, will be available on cloud and console. Ghostwire: Tokyo, a supernatural action-adventure game set in an overrun Tokyo, will be available on cloud, console, and PC starting April 12, including the new Spider’s Thread update. On April 13, Game Pass Ultimate members can play EA Sports NHL 23, offering a breakthrough experience in hockey with cross-platform matchmaking and the addition of women’s players in Ultimate Team. Minecraft Legends, available on cloud, console, and PC starting April 18, puts players against piglins that threaten to consume the Overworld, forcing them to form alliances and engage in epic battles. Unfortunately, some games will be leaving Game Pass on April 15, including Life is Strange: True Colors, Moonglow Bay, and Rainbow Six Extraction, among others.

Share This:

France Confers Knighthood upon Manga Creator Rumiko Takahashi

French government awards manga creator Rumiko Takahashi with Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters decoration. The ceremony took place at the France ambassador’s residence in Tokyo, where Takahashi was recognized for her contributions to the arts and literature. Known for her internationally renowned works such as Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Mermaid Saga, and Inuyasha, Takahashi has been a prolific manga creator since her debut in 1978. In addition to this recent recognition, she has previously been inducted into both the Harvey Awards’ Hall of Fame and the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame, as well as receiving the fall 2020 Medal with Purple Ribbon from the Japanese government. Takahashi joins the ranks of other esteemed Japanese artists, including Jiro Taniguchi, Katsuhiro Otomo, and Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata, to receive this French honor.

Share This:

Live A Live, Popular Fantasy RPG, to Launch on PC and PlayStation

Live A Live, a classic RPG that originally launched on SNES, is finally making its way to more platforms. Square Enix previously released the game worldwide on Nintendo Switch, and now the company has announced that it will be available on PS4, PS5, and PC via Steam starting April 27th. The game offers players the chance to explore eight different stories with unique characters and settings, spanning from pre-historic times to the Wild West and beyond. Each chapter features its own gameplay mechanics, including stealth, suspense, and trap placement, all revolving around a turn-based battle system. The episodic story format allows players to complete each chapter in any order they choose or even play through multiple chapters simultaneously. The HD-2D remake of Live A Live is produced by the original game director, Takashi Tokita, and features a rearranged soundtrack by the original composer, Yoko Shimomura. A playable demo is available on both platforms, and gamers can customize their gameplay adventure to their preference. Which platform will you choose to embark on this exciting journey?

Share This:

New Cast Members Revealed in Sweet Reincarnation TV Anime’s First Promo Video

The first promotional video for the television anime adaptation of Nozomu Koryu’s Sweet Reincarnation (Okashi na Tensei: Saikyō Patishie Isekai Kōrin) light novels was released on Thursday via the official anime website. The trailer unveiled additional cast members for the series, including Hiroshi Tsuchida as Casserole Mill Morteln and Rumi Okubo as Josephine Mill Morteln. The show, which is set to premiere in July, will feature Ayumu Murase as Pastry Mill Morteln, Natsumi Fujiwara as Marcarlo Doroba, Maaya Uchida as Ruminiito Aidilichpa, and Kaede Hondo as Licorice Mill Hubarek. Naoyuki Kuzuya (Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire) is directing the anime at Synergy SP and collaborating with Studio Comet. The scriptwriting and supervision are handled by Mitsutaka Hirota (Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire). Tomoko Miyakawa (Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire sub-character design) is responsible for designing the characters, and Hiroshi Nakamura (The Dragon Dentist) is composing the music.

Share This:

Emmy-Winning Animator Leo D. Sullivan Passes Away at 82; Known for Soul Train and Transformers

On March 29, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Leo D. Sullivan, an award-winning animator, passed away on March 25 at the age of 82 due to heart failure. Sullivan is most famous for animating the iconic train sequence that served as the opening for the music show Soul Train for many years.

Sullivan was active in the entertainment industry for over five decades and worked in various positions such as a writer, producer, director, layout artist, and storyboard artist. His work includes popular shows such as Fat Albert, My Little Pony, The Incredible Hulk, Flash Gordon, Scooby-Doo, and BraveStarr. He also served as a storyboard artist for the 1986 U.S. television series Transformers.

Sullivan was born in Texas and began his career in Los Angeles in 1952, working with Bob Clampett, the animator behind Looney Tunes. He co-founded Vignette Film in the 1960s with Floyd Norman, who was the first Black animator at Disney.

In 1979 and 1991, Sullivan was honored by the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. On March 29, the official Twitter account for the documentary Floyd Norman: An Animated Life posted a video tribute to Sullivan.

Share This:

The Horror Movie based on Five Nights At Freddy’s To Be Released in Theaters and Streaming this October

According to producer Jason Blum, the highly anticipated film adaptation of the horror game franchise, Five Nights at Freddy’s, is set to be released on October 27th, 2023, and will be available both in theaters and on the Peacock streaming service. The movie follows a night security guard as he uncovers the sinister activities of the animatronic animals at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. The film is directed by Emma Tammi and stars Matthew Lillard, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Kat Conner Sterling, and Mary Stuart Masterson. Jim Henson’s Creature Shop will be working alongside Blumhouse to bring the game’s animatronic creatures to life. Blum has expressed his excitement for the project and assures fans that the wait will be worth it. The director also shared her enthusiasm for the project, describing the world of Freddy’s as rich and terrifying, and promising an immersive and wild playground for audiences to enjoy.

Share This:

YouTuber Recreates Entire Breath of the Wild Map in Minecraft

Grazzyy, a Minecraft player, has been playing Minecraft for many years and has almost exclusively played in survival mode. However, he has been getting the urge to test his building skills in creative mode with tools like world edit. Grazzyy decided to build the entire map of Breath of the Wild in Minecraft’s creative mode. This has been a massive undertaking as Grazzyy is building “everything” in BotW, including landmarks like Hyrule Castle, the Divine Beasts, every incidental ruin, and the guardians patrolling them.

Grazzyy has been working on this project for some time and has completed several locations in BotW, such as the Temple of Time, the Shrine of Resurrection, the Bridge of Hylia, the Faron Region, Zora’s Domain, the Great Plateau, Kakariko, Hateno Village, Lake Floria, and Lurelin Village. However, he faces several challenges while working on this project. The most challenging aspect has been getting started on a new location after completing a massive part of the map and releasing a video about it.

According to Minecraft’s in-game statistics, Grazzyy has spent 19.25 days building his BotW Minecraft world, which does not include the time spent editing and rendering footage documenting his progress on his YouTube channel. Grazzyy estimates that the total time spent on the project, including editing and everything else, will exceed 1200 hours by the time he finishes the project, which he hopes to complete by the end of 2023 or early 2024.

Many viewers have expressed their interest in playing Grazzyy’s BotW Minecraft world, but he has not decided whether to make it available for download or not. He plans to finish the entire BotW map before deciding to share it with the public. Grazzyy also plans to make Tears of the Kingdom in the future since the sequel seems to be adding on to Breath of the Wild’s map. However, this will have to wait until he finishes the BotW map.

Share This:

New Book of the Dead Unearthed in Latest Evil Dead Rise Clip

Director Lee Cronin’s upcoming horror movie Evil Dead Rise has released a new clip featuring the discovery of The Book of the Dead. As the caption reads, the book is “NOT an easy read,” which holds true for fans of the franchise who know it’s never been a simple or harmless tome.

In Army of Darkness, the third installment of the Evil Dead series, director Sam Raimi introduced the idea that there are at least three Necronomicon books, also known as The Book of the Dead, in the world. Cronin builds on this concept in Evil Dead Rise and explained in a recent interview with SFX Magazine that the film is set in the same world as the previous movies. The events in the story take place after Fede Alvarez’s Evil Dead and Raimi’s original films.

Cronin also elaborated on the book’s significance, stating that the one featured in Evil Dead Rise is connected to the past. He was given the opportunity to tell an Evil Dead story in the context of the third book, which had not been featured in the previous movies.

The film follows a road-weary Beth, played by Alyssa Sutherland (Vikings), as she reunites with her older sister Ellie, portrayed by Lily Sullivan (Picnic at Hanging Rock). Ellie is raising her three kids in a cramped L.A apartment, and the sisters’ reunion is cut short by the discovery of a mysterious book deep in Ellie’s building. The discovery unleashes flesh-possessing demons, leading Beth to fight for survival in a terrifying battle. The cast also includes Gabrielle Echols (Reminiscence), Morgan Davies (The End), and Nell Fisher (Splendid Isolation).

Evil Dead Rise is set to release in theaters on April 21, 2023.

Share This: