“The Hangover 2″ brings in $30 million on Friday night

For the moment, The Hangover 2 seems to be even stronger than I anticipated, whileKung Fu Panda 2 may not be breaking out as large as I hoped. Anyway, The Hangover 2 scored another $30 million on Friday night, showing almost no decline from its $31 million opening day. In fact, when you factor in the $10 million in midnight screenings that made up 1/3 of the opening day, the Friday performance is even more impressive. Point being, there is a chance that The Hangover 2 will have consistent business all weekend long, as opposed to a heavily-front-loaded opening day. The two models that may apply are Sex and the City 2 and Terminator: Salvation. Last year’s TV sequel grossed $51 million in five days, earning $26 of that in the first two. Obviously that film was frontloaded in its first two days, and there is a risk thatHangover 2 may suffer the same fate if it gets harder to do the whole ‘guy’s night out’ thing over the family-friendly holiday (which is a problem that Sex and the City 2 faced last year, with ‘girls’ night out’ being hard to arrange while taking care of the kids and setting up the family events). Under that model, The Hangover 2 will gross $115 million by Monday night, which is still a solid take. Under the Terminator: Salvation model, the film will play all weekend long at a consistent pace, giving The Hangover 2 a stunning $141 million over five days. Obviously, Saturday numbers will tell the tale.

Photo Dreamworks Animation

Kung Fu Panda 2 pulled in $13.5 million on its first Friday. That’s 2.3x its Thursday number, showing that audiences were indeed waiting for the weekend. It still makes me question why Dreamworks wasted a Thursday opening day on this one, as a one-day opening of $19 million is far more impressive than a two-day opening of $19 million. Anyway, it would look like the picture is going to end up with a $75 million five-day total, which is impressive but frankly lower than I would have pegged it, considering the popularity of the original and the strong reviews for this entry. Still, that would still give the picture a 12x weekend multiplier.

The other big news was the expected, but still impressive showing for Terence Malick’s rollicking action comedy, The Tree of Life. The Brad Pitt adventure grossed $115,000 on in just four theaters (pretty much all of those theaters had it on three screens or more), setting the film up for a $500,000 four-day weekend and a massive $130,000 per-screen average. Oh, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides grossed just $10.8 million on its second Friday, or a 69% drop from last Friday. Good. And Bridesmaids grossed $4.4 million, a mere 29% drop from last Friday even against The Hangover 2. Also good. As always, we’ll know more tomorrow, but it’s looking like a BIG Memorial Day weekend at the box office.

Who wins when it comes to Kardashian engagement rings

The Kardashians are wearing some major engagement rings these days, but one obviously comes out on top of the rest in the family.

While the Kardashian sister’s mom, Kris Jenner, has a major rock on her finger, it isn’t quite 20.5 carats, states People. And while Khloe Kardashian is rocking a 12.5-carat engagement ring, Kim Kardashian takes the cake.

Kourtney, the only one without an engagement ring, decided to crown a winner in the competition: “Kim wins! Kim’s is the largest!”

One Kardashian is unsure Kim’s wedding will actually happen

Maybe Kim’s sibling is just jealous, but one Kardashian is speaking out about being unsure of the wedding actually taking place.

Kim Kardashian is now engaged to Kris Humphries, but Rob Kardashian has his doubts, states PopEater. Rob told radio hosts Kidd Kraddick and Hyla that it just might not be in the cards for Kim.

“I just don’t feel confident because Kim has always been so like, you know, she’s, how old? She’s just been through a lot of relationships and she always gets hurt or never finds the right dude,” Rob said, but addedthat Kris is great and they seem to be a good match.

Do you think the wedding will happen?

Charlie Sheen selling his Sherman Oaks home

Do you have any interest in living in Charlie Sheen’s old pads?

Do you have $7.2 million to spare?

The former “Two and a Half Men” star reportedly is listing his Sherman Oaks, Calif. Residence, according to The Real Estalker and Zillow.com.

Sheen has owned the place since 1997, when he purchased it for $2.5M. That’s a nice investment, if he gets what he’s asking.

Sheen’s Sherman Oaks mansion is “a custom-built Mediterranean estate with 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms and nearly 8,000-sq ft of living space. Other features include a private screening room, and a professional outdoor kitchen with dining area, pool, and spa,” according to the site.

Just make sure you change the bedroom sheets.

Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez can’t keep hands off each other in Hawaii

vacation in Hawaii.

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez aren’t hiding a thing about their relationship while they 

The two have been spotted and photographed enjoying their time with their hands all over each other, statesTMZ. Bieber and Gomez did take part in activities like jetskiing, but made sure to make out during it.

They also kept their arms wrapped around each other with Bieber even going to grab Gomez’s butt.

“Hangover” sequel is darker, more bold, and better than the original – Sean’s review

“I can’t believe this is happening again,” Ed Helms’ embattled bride-to-be Stu says after waking up alongside equally dazed Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) in “TheHangover Part II.”

Apparently Stu didn’t get a look at the original’s box office receipts. The minute Todd Phillips’ raucous, bleary-eyed “Hangover” made north of $460 million worldwide, a return trip for this intoxicated trio became as inevitable as the headache that follows an evening of binge drinking.

Phillips’ “The Hangover Part II” (*** out of 4) serves as the identical twin of its successful predecessor – sometimes mirroring the original shot for shot – save for one beneficial twist. A shift in the action from Las Vegas’ artificially glitzy but never really dangerous adult playground to the seedy, depraved and downright deadly streets of Bangkok, Thailand results in a darker and far more demented adventure for “the three best friends that anyone could ever have.” I suppose that makes this “The Hangover’s” evil twin. Yet every time Phillips pushed his undoubtedly formulaic sequel down yet another squalid alley for the sake of a shocking joke, I grew to appreciate, respect and even love “The Hangover Part II” more than the original (which I never embraced as wholeheartedly as the general public).

Once again, our familiar leads find themselves in an awkward (and contrived) situation where, after a wild night, they wake up in a strange location and must work backwards through the rubble to piece together their buffoonish actions. This time, the missing person Stu, Alan and Phil are racing to find is Teddy (Mason Lee), younger brother of Stu’s beautiful fiancée (Jamie Chung) who shares a drink with the guys the night before Stu’s wedding but is nowhere to be found the following morning.

Teddy actually begins creating problems for our trio long before they arrive in Thailand for Stu’s nuptials. He’s not a member of Alan’s self-enforced wolf pack, naturally, and Galifianakis — more unhinged and socially awkward in this installment — turns Alan’s possessive, jealous attitude toward Teddy into a fountain of inspiration for fresh laughs. It’s also Teddy’s severed finger that Phil finds on the floor of the Bangkok apartment where the trio wakes up, alerting the audience to the fact that the rules are somewhat different and slightly more treacherous this time around.

Most will criticize Phillips’ sequel for adhering to the structure established in the first film. I’d argue it’s the smartest choice he could make. Cooper admitted in a recent interview that the “Hangover” characters weren’t beefy enough to stand on their own outside of the formula, and I’d tend to agree. Yes, there’s also the old adage about something not needing to be fixed if it isn’t broken, and clearly the first “Hangover” worked well for a lot of people. But by establishing a foundation of familiarity (almost to the point of spoof), Phillips creates enough wiggle room to build commendably disturbing new scenarios involving Asian transvestites, silent monks, corrupt tattoo artists. drug-smuggling monkeys, and the music of Billy Joel.

“The Hangover Part II” doesn’t reinvent the wheel. But it does drive its dependable vehicle down unexpected avenues and arrives at some twisted destinations that will surprise – and entertain – an audience hoping for another crazy adventure with these memorable antiheroes. For one more film, at least, there was enough juice left in the premise. But take note: If a third “Hangover” happens (and there’s no reason to believe it won’t), the game will have to change drastically to avoid giving everyone involved on both sides of the screen a massive headache.

Haley Reinhart debuting single on Wednesday’s “Idol”?

Haley Reinhart looked shocked when Ryan Seacrest revealed that Lauren Alaina was moving on to this week’s “American Idol” finale … but she didn’t look as sad as some might have expected.

We think we know why.

Reinhart’s parents are telling folks that their daughter’s circling a record deal and “has already recorded a single and plans to debut it on the season 10 finale this Wednesday,” THR notes.

“She likes the song she’s doing, and we hope you like it too,” Haley’s mother told fans who recently gathered to support Relay For Life. As for Reinhart’s runner-up finish, the Reinharts are proudly stating, “No. 3 is pretty darn good,” primarily because “you don’t have to be so tied to [19 Recordings and Interscope Records] that way.”

Ashton Kutcher is the “Hollywood TV Star of the Week”

: When news broke that Ashton Kutcher would be replacing Charlie Sheen on CBS’ “Two and a Half Men,” the news came from Kutcher himself, and he chose tobreak it on Twitter.

Smart move. The news was going to get out, but Kutcher chose to share it with his 6,775,980 followers. Wow. No wonder CBS wants the one-time star of “The ‘70s Show” on board their rudderless sitcom.

Kutcher Tweeted this photo with the caption “First cast argument 2.5 men.”

Kutcher has been a multi-faceted talent for years, starting in modeling before moving on to TV and, eventually, movies. He’ll return to television in one of the most high-profile sitcoms of the moment, taking over Sheen’s slot on “Men.”

But it’s Kutcher’s work off the screen that also keeps him in the spotlight. His Twitter feed isn’t the stuff of celebrity. It is humanitarian, seeking assistance for less-fortunate citizens around the globe. For his ability to entertain, as well as his desire to give back, we are proud to name Ashton Kutcher, the latest member of “Two and a Half Men,” as our “Hollywood TV Star of the Week.”

*Pirates of the Caribbean looking good… $86 million*

It’s a $35 million opening Friday for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. That’s expectedly below the opening Fridays for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest ($55 million – a record at the time) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End ($42 million, despite $13 million in Thursday night sneaks). The film pulled in about 13% of its Friday total in midnight screenings ($4.7 million), which is slightly less than the 16% midnight haul of Dead Man’s Chest ($9 million of its $55 million Friday), even though Dead Man’s Chest obviously pulled in more midnight cash overall. Considering inflation and 3D/IMAX ticket price bumps, it stands to reason that attendance was way down compared to the prior sequels.

As it is, the second film (the only prior entry up to now with a pure Fri-Sun opening weekend) had a 2.4x weekend multiplier, which led to a then-record $135 million opening weekend. If the sequel follows suit, we get the predicted $86 million opening haul.

The third film is a more difficult comparison. If you purely count Fri-Sun, it had a 2.7 weekend multiplier ($114 million for Fri-Sun), which would give the fourth film $96 million for the weekend. But At World’s End made $13 million on those Thursday night sneaks, meaning that it basically made $56 million on its first 1.25 days. Using that, it means that the film pulled in over 1/2 its opening weekend in just the first 1.25 days (and then it did another $25 million on Memorial Day Monday). So the safest bet is to split the pure Fri-Sun difference, hope for strong kiddie-driven matinée attendance (poor kids…), and guess a 2.55 weekend multiplier, which will give the film $89 million for the weekend, good enough for 2011’s top opening haul thus far. In better news for humanity, Bridesmaids only dropped about 24% from last weekend (about $6 million), setting it on course for a $20 million second weekend.

*“Breaking Dawn” movie poster rumors not confirmed*

 Fan sites far and wide have been reporting that a new movie poster for “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn” will be released tomorrow. Yet, why haven’t many official “Twilight” news sources confirmed the rumor? The official Twilight Saga Facebook and Twitter pages have remained silent on the matter, and the origins of the original rumor are unclear.

Some self-declared insiders are going so far as to say that the poster will definitely not be released on Sunday, with Corazon Films tweeting that Summit just informed them that no “Breaking Dawn” poster is ready for immediate release, but that the first movie trailer is coming soon.

*3 reasons why Lauren Alaina just might win “American Idol”*

We’ve been predicting the finalists for nearly three months, and, as always, the future seems clear. Blue-eyed teen heartthrob Scotty McCreery from Garner, North Carolina seems like a cinch to win Season 10 of “American Idol”.

The reasons are plenty—more young southern males have won “American Idol” than any other demographic, and the number of southern male runners up is also high. Yet, history dictates that Lauren Alaina might just have a shot at winning the Season 10 title:

Reason #1: Though southern men represent the top winning demographic, southern women are a closesecond. Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks, David Cook, and Kris Allen comprise four of nine “American Idol” winners and are all from the south. Yet southern women Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia Barrino, and Carrie Underwood make up a close second; Lauren Alaina could even things up.

Reason #2: Two of the four female winners so far beat out southern male contenders in the finals. Kelly Clarkson beat fellow southerner Justin Guarini and Carrie Underwood beat Bo Bice. Neither Fantasia Barrino nor Jordin Sparks went up against a southern male in the final.

Reason #3: Underdogs sometimes do well. Scotty McCreery has sailed through the competition wholly unscathed, never having been named among the bottom two or three. Sympathy for “wild card” or underdog competitors has often seen a boost in support for contestants. If Lauren Alaina is seen as a distant second to Scotty McCreery, such an image may come to her rescue just in time.

Yet, for every reason Lauren Alaina just might be able to pull off a win, there is at least one other strike against her. For one, most “American Idol” voters are young girls whose teen hormones may dictate favor for a male contestant. And, to many, Lauren Alaina, who fared better than most, may not seem like an underdog at all.

Robert Pattinson: Hot Hollywood Celebrity Photo Gallery of the Day

Justin Bieber caught on video kissing Selena Gomez

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez may not be admitting to dating, but now a video is showing that something is definitely going on.

The two were reportedly caught while in Malaysia on camera exchanging a little kiss, states HollywoodLife. Bieber and Gomez definitely share a little kiss on the lips which implies they are more than just friends.

But for now, the two are reportedly sticking with not talking about their budding romance.

Do you think they will soon talk about their relationship?

*Did Justin Bieber recently deny Selena Gomez relationship?*

 It seems pretty definite that Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez are dating, but is the young singer denying anything is going on?

Bieber was recently interviewed by a New Zealand television program when he kind of addressed the rumors, states HollywoodLife. When asked about Gomez, Bieber stuck with the same comment: “She’s one of my best friends.”

He also added, “I think that’s an important thing in my life is dating around and having some sort of a personal life.”

*How Krasinski Said Goodbye To Carell On ‘The Office’*

We’ve known Michael Scott was leaving Dunder Mifflin for awhile, so we’ve had time to mentally prepare ourselves. The cast of “The Office” has known even longer, but they weren’t prepared to get emotional on Steve Carell’s last day. While promoting the romantic comedy Something Borrowed, John Krasinski shared his own tearful farewell.

(Click Here To See Video Of Will Ferrell’s Debut On “The Office.”)

“I definitely cried on the last day,” Krasinski said. “Wasn’t expecting it and then the last scene of the day was our goodbye of characters. We hadn’t said goodbye and so that was an incredibly existential black hole. It was like way too much happening. So there were definitely tears.”

The show has wrapped for the season but it was several weeks ago that Carell wrapped. Krasinski describes his feelings graphically. “Brutal, in no uncertain terms which I only say because it wasn’t so clear when it was happening. I think I was under the impression of my logical brain saying, ‘This is just what happens. People move on and they have contracts that expire and there’s nothing personal’. Then you realize that a huge part of your show, a huge part of your everyday life, a huge part of the energy around you every day is gone. It’s just sad to lose a friend like that. It was tough but it’s all fantastic and our energy level on set is tremendous and we all feel incredibly excited about what’s to come. Everybody was talking about a spinoff 2 ½, three years ago. This is the show sans Steve. It’s ‘The Office 2.’”

When Will Ferrell appeared last week as the new boss, Jim and Pam’s storyline had them showing off their baby a little too much for his tastes. They won’t beat that joke any further. Instead they’ll find all new ways to annoy their new boss.

“No, I think that played out in the episode, or at least was highlighted in that episode and we definitely find other relationship avenues to take.”

“The Office” airs Thursday nights at 9 on NBC.

Kate Hudson isn’t ready to have her second child

Kate Hudson is apparently just weeks away from giving birth to her second child, but she doesn’t really feel ready for the big moment.

Hudson and Matthew Bellamy will be having their first child together, but the actress thinks it has all gone too quickly, states UsMagazine.com. “I don’t feel prepared,” Hudson told David Letterman.

But it seems that she better be ready because she admitted she is already almost at the point where she can’t fly anymore.

Housewives of OC’ star talks how the show has changed her life

Real Housewives of Orange County’ star Alexis Bellino is in her second season of reality TV and it seems she’s finally realizing how much everything has changed.

Bellino recently admitted that her friendships have definitely undergone a drastic change, states Celebuzz. “It’s sad because I thought with Peggy [Tanous] coming on we would be able to survive and get back to the friendship. We’re not really on good terms as of right now,” Bellino admitted.

But, she has learned how to deal with all the changes and scrutiny that come with the show: “I don’t even read what is in the press. I stay out of it because I know that no matter what, people are going to say negative things.”

‘Jersey Shore’ cast can’t be filmed in Italy bars or clubs

The upcoming season of ‘Jersey Shore’ is apparently going to be very different as themayor of Florence has set down some strict rules for the MTV crew.

Matteo Renzi, the mayor, reportedly wants to show Florence as it is, not as a party scene, states the New York Post. Due to this, he has set down some strict guidelines that include the cast not being filmed in bars or clubs that serve alcohol.

Snooki and the rest also can’t be filmed drinking in public as the mayor wants the Italian culture to be on display instead.

So, it sounds like the cast will have to get creative this time around.

*Who survived another week on ‘Dancing with the Stars’?*

Dancing with the Stars’ finished off another week and another contestant was voted off.

The person who will not be seeing another performance was model Petra Nemcova, states RadarOnline.com. Despite doing well with the judges in past weeks, her most recent performance wasn’t up to par.

Other low scorers, Kendra Wilkinson, Ralph Macchio and Kirstie Alley, all survived without being in the bottom two with the final tally.

“It’s been a life-changing journey … Not just for me, but also so many people got inspired because of the ‘Dancing With the Stars’ show,” Nemcova said about the journey.

Do you think the right person was voted off?

Photo Courtesy ABC/Dancing With The Stars

*This Week In Movies By Pete Hammond “Rio”*

Family films continue to rule this week at the movies, and not just in America. With an estimated $40 million in its domestic launch and a very impressive $168 million worldwide 20th Century Fox’s Rio is clearly taking flight. The tale of a macaw who can’t fly and his adventures in Brazil had the year’s best opening in the States following an international debut last week. It soared past the $37 million opening of another family hit with three letters in its title, Hop (now up to $82 million in its third week) although to be fair Rio has the advantage of hiked-up 3D ticket prices while the 2D Hop was relying on regular admissions. Both films though prove the resilience of the family market in saving Hollywood from itself and both are “originals”. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Rio is doing well . It comes from Blue Sky, the same company responsible for the monster Ice Age series. This one works as an animated charmer with bright, colorful visuals , a great voice cast and characters and some seriously terrific music. Sergio Mendes of Brasil ’66, ’77,’88 etc was involved along with other fantastic Brazilian musicians . You can already bet the Jamie Foxx –will.i.am duet “Fly Love” will be an Oscar contender. Standouts in the cast are Jesse Eisenberg, at his neurotic best in the lead role and Anne Hathaway as his love interest along with Foxx , George Lopez and Jemaine Clement as a psychotic bird. I’ve decided these ‘G’ and ‘PG’ rated flicks this season are really the pick of the crop. Not quite sure why it is the animators who are turning it out so consistently but the rest of theindustry could take a lesson in the kind of quality work these artists are doing. It’s reflected in the box officeand audience satisfaction. Rio scored a solid “A” from Cinemascore which means it should have a long play in theatres and probably spawn a whole new franchise for Fox. Even the 3D effects here are winning and the dark glasses don’t really take away from the overall sunniness of the picture.

Opening opposite it in a wide break this weekend was the fourth installment of the endless Scream horror series. I am not sure why 11 years after the third one the Weinstein Company decided we had to have another but here it is. Does anyone really get scared by this guy in the Ghostface mask? We know even though he gets killed in every sequel the filmmakers will just resurrect the character and set him loose again. Without credibility these things are just so repetitive . Perhaps that’s why Scream 4 completely underperformed with only about $19 plus million for the weekend. That’s just under half what the first two Screams generated in their opening rounds but again that was over a decade ago. The exit polling indicates the biggest audience sector to show up was over 25, somewhat older than the average horror film gets and probably people with nostalgic pains for Ghostface. There are people who actually fondly remember this series? At any rate if you are into horror skip Scream and run, do not walk to catch Insidious. Now THERE’S a freakin’ scary movie . And it is clearly getting great word of mouth, dropping only 27% in its third weekend after a similar miniscule drop in its second. That’s almost unheard of in the horror genre. It means movie goers are liking what they are seeing and telling their friends. Insidious is a devilish cross of The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror and Night Of The Living Dead. It also proves you don’t need an’R’ rating (it’s PG13) or a slasher plotline to satisfy true horror fans. This one is the real thing and at only a $1 million dollar production cost its profit potential is enormous. And enormously encouraging.

In a semi-wide break on only 700 screens Robert Redford’s gripping historical drama, The Conspirator hit the top ten with an estimated $3.9 million, very strong for something in this genre . Clearly it is drawing older audiences who are into this story of the conspiracy behind the Abraham Lincoln assassination. It is the first venture from the American Film Company, a Chicago-based group dedicated to making movies with new twists on American history. The fact that there was a conspiracy behind Lincoln’s murder comes as news to anyone who studied this stuff in school. It was never brought up. John Wilkes Booth shot him. End of story. Yet the fact that there were seven conspirators charged including a woman,Mary Surratt was big media news of the day and on the front pages of every newspaper. Somehow this information was not deemed that important by our educators. It is nice now that writer James Solomon and Redford have put it back in the conversation. Lincoln is really hot again. Steven Spielberg has been plotting to shoot his own Lincoln bio for years now and only this week announced the casting of Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln . She will join previously cast Daniel Day Lewis in the biopic written by Tony Kushner (Angels In America). It should finally roll in the Fall. Can’t wait.