March 8, 2017 – The world according to Dan.

Box office report: Logan claws to the top, The Shack builds solid opening

Hugh Jackman is bowing out of the X-Men franchise on a high note.

Logan, the final installment in the actor’s trio of Wolverine spinoffs, roars atop the North American box office this weekend, amassing an estimated $85.3 million over its first three days despite overall domestic totals trailing last year’s by 2 percent, according to comScore’s tracking data. The number stands as the best ever posted by an R-rated title for the month of March.

The James Mangold-directed superhero flick, which had its world premiere in February at Berlinale, averages $20,953 from its 4,071 locations to tally the fourth highest opening weekend in history for a March release. The film also landed with critics and audiences, earning a 77 percent on Metacritic, light Oscar buzz, and an A- grade from polled moviegoers on CinemaScore.

The $97 million production additionally posts $152.5 million from international markets, bringing its global total to a whopping $237.8 million to date — $20.6 million of which comes from IMAX screens, which catapult the film to the format’s No. 2 spot on the all-time R-rated worldwide box office list (falling just short of Deadpool‘s $24.4 million IMAX launch).

Dipping a slight 22 percent from its stellar $33.4 million opening, Jordan Peele’s racially charged thriller Get Out holds audience attention for the second weekend in a row, making an impressive $26.1 million over its sophomore frame. The micro-budgeted $4.5 million film has now made $75.9 million in the U.S. and Canada after just 10 days in theaters.

Hot off her hosting gig on last night’s edition of Saturday Night Live, Octavia Spencer lands her second film in the domestic top 10 this weekend, as The Shack bows to an impressive $16.1 million at No. 3 — four slots ahead of Hidden Figures, which scored the actress the distinction of being the first black, Oscar-winning actress to secure a follow-up nod from the Academy in January.

Lionsgate’s targeted marketing campaign — which included specific outreach to religious audiences around the country — paid off, as the film averages an A-grade on CinemaScore and $5,574 from 2,888 sites for an opening above those of similarly themed films like 2016’s Miracles From Heaven ($14.8 million) and 2014’s God’s Not Dead ($9.2 million).

Warner Bros. Animation’s The LEGO Batman Movie adds another $11.7 million to its ballooning $148.6 million national total at No. 4, while the YA-adapted drama Before I Fall slightly exceeds expectations, rounding out the top five with an estimated $5 million.

Outside the top 10, the Academy’s reigning best picture champion, Moonlight, reaps its best three-day gross of its 20-week theatrical run, earning around $2.5 million after expanding to 1,564 theaters Friday. The festival favorite has made $25.38 million thus far and is poised to overtake 2015’s Ex Machina ($25.44 million) as distributor A24’s top earner in the days ahead.

Elsewhere, the Anna Kendrick comedy Table 19 pulls in a meager $1.6 million from 868 theaters, while Shirley MacLaine’s The Last Word averages a decent $8,905 at four sites for a limited $35,620 opening.

Check out the March 3-5 box office estimates below.

1. Logan – $85.3 million
2. Get Out – $26.1 million
3. The Shack – $16.1 million
4. The LEGO Batman Movie – $11.7 million
5. Before I Fall – $5 million
6. John Wick: Chapter 2 – $4.7 million
7. Hidden Figures – $3.8 million
8. The Great Wall – $3.5 million
9. Fifty Shades Darker – $3.48 million
10. La La Land – $3 million

Roy Halladay returns to Baseball as guest instructor

CLEARWATER, FLA.—Roy Halladay is back wearing a baseball uniform.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner returned Tuesday to serve as a guest instructor for the Phillies in spring training. Halladay, who threw a perfect game in his first season in Philadelphia in 2010 and a no-hitter later that year in his first post-season start, is considering a more permanent role in the big leagues.

“I definitely want to get back in,” Halladay said. “So just getting here and being around, obviously with a new front office they need to see who you are. I think it’s just a great opportunity to get out here again and be around the guys. Especially with so many new, young players, it’s exciting for a guy like myself to come in and watch them. If I can share anything that’ll help them, that’s awesome.”

The 39-year-old Halladay plans to work with pitchers on the mental side of the game along with the fundamentals and mechanics of pitching.

“Whatever concerns they may have, if any, or talking about things that helped me be successful, so it can cover a range of things,” Halladay said. “For me, it’s just a pleasure to be able to help out. If it’s throwing BP, I’ll throw BP.”

Halladay watched young starters Zach Eflin and Jake Thompson throw and talked with others on his first day in camp.

“He’s probably 95 per cent mental, whether it’s thought process going into pitches or sequence, it’s incredible,” Thompson said.

Eflin said he was excited to introduce himself to Halladay.

Halladay spent 16 seasons in the major leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays and Phillies. He retired in December 2013 because of an ailing back. Halladay was a guest instructor with the Phillies in 2014 but hadn’t returned until now.

“There are all kinds of options,” he said about his future in baseball. “I don’t ever try to get too far ahead of myself. I’m going to enjoy this first week here, being a guest coach, and see where things go. We’ll continue talking, but, you know, I think it’s always trying to find a good fit, too.”

Halladay was 203-105 with a 3.38 ERA in 416 career games, including 390 starts. He had 67 complete games and 20 shutouts. His resume includes three 20-win seasons, eight all-star games, and three other top-3 finishes for the Cy Young Award.

He’s going to Cooperstown this summer with one of his son’s baseball teams and looks forward to possibly being enshrined in the Hall of Fame one day.

“You see guys get in that are deserving and you see guys that are possibly deserving that don’t get in,” he said. “Boy, it’s a tough thing to figure out. But absolutely I would love to be there. I think every player who ever played the game would love to be there. It would be a tremendous honour.”