'Speed Racer' comes in 3rd as 'Iron Man' maintains grip
LOS ANGELES - Warner Bros.' "Speed Racer" downshifted to third place in its debut weekend with $18.6 million in box-office receipts while Marvel Studios' "Iron Man" kept a lock on first with $51.2 million in ticket sales.
The Wachowski brothers' anime-inspired racing movie came in about $1.6 million short of studio estimates Sunday, finishing way behind expectations. The studio, owned by Time Warner Inc., said the movie would have a tough time covering its $120 million budget.
"What Happens in Vegas," 20th Century Fox's comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, meanwhile pulled down $20.2 million for second, slightly above estimates made early Sunday.
"Iron Man," which stars Robert Downey Jr. in the title role, saw revenue slip a respectable 48 percent from its opening weekend, bringing its domestic sales to a total of $177.8 million. The film is being distributed by Paramount Pictures.
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Media By Numbers LLC:
1. "Iron Man," Paramount, $51,190,629, 4,111 locations, $12,452 average, $177,825,024, two weeks.
2. "What Happens in Vegas," Fox, $20,172,474, 3,215 locations, $6,274 average, $20,172,474, one week.
3. "Speed Racer," Warner Bros., $18,561,337, 3,606 locations, $5,147 average, $18,561,337, one week.
4. "Made of Honor," Sony, $8,116,323, 2,734 locations, $2,969 average, $26,791,494, two weeks.
5. "Baby Mama," Universal, $6,225,790, 2,627 locations, $2,370 average, $40,836,370, three weeks.
6. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," Universal, $3,837,240, 2,376 locations, $1,615 average, $50,781,745, four weeks.
7. "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay," Warner Bros., $3,106,424, 2,264 locations, $1,372 average, $30,667,308, three weeks.
8. "The Forbidden Kingdom," Lionsgate, $2,169,323, 1,724 locations, $1,258 average, $48,530,104, four weeks.
9. "Nim's Island," Fox, $1,463,622, 1,601 locations, $914 average, $44,395,857, six weeks.
10. "Prom Night," Sony Screen Gems, $1,012,986, 1,465 locations, $691 average, $42,785,107, five weeks.
11. "Redbelt," Sony Pictures Classics, $1,012,435, 1,379 locations, $734 average, $1,109,674, two weeks.
12. "21," Sony, $851,385, 978 locations, $871 average, $80,434,035, seven weeks.
13. "The Visitor," Overture Films, $729,212, 217 locations, $3,360 average, $2,475,492, five weeks.
14. "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!," Fox, $605,347, 770 locations, $786, $150,699,120, nine weeks.
15. "88 Minutes," Sony, $534,104, 625 locations, $855 average, $16,460,014, four weeks.
16. "Drillbit Taylor," Paramount, $508,095, 267 locations, $1,903 average, $31,760,807, eight weeks.
17. "Young At Heart," Fox Searchlight, $388,928, 145 locations, $2,682 average, $1,444,646, five weeks.
18. "10,000 B.C.," Warner Bros., $347,407, 409 locations, $849 average, $94,042,448, 10 weeks.
19. "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," Rocky Mountain Pictures, $328,836, 402 locations, $818 average, $7,235,324, four weeks.
20. "Street Kings," Fox Searchlight, $240,553, 297 locations, $810 average, $25,649,703, five weeks.
New CD Releases, May 13: Death Cab for Cutie, Duffy, Jason Mraz
Death Cab for Cutie "Narrow Stairs"
The Pacific Northwest pop-rock quartet returns with a follow-up to 2005's Grammy-nominated "Plans." The first single from "Narrow Stairs," the band's second major-label release, is "I Will Possess Your Heart." The album was produced by Death Cab's guitarist, Chris Walla.
Having appeared last month at Southern California's Coachella Valley music festival, Death Cab is now on the road in support of "Narrow Stairs." The trek includes stops at Tennessee's Bonnaroo (June 15) and British Columbia's Pemberton Festival (July 27).
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Duffy "Rockferry"
The Welsh singer/songwriter is already a star in the U.K., where her debut CD, "Rockferry," was released earlier this year. Now, she's ready to try her luck on this side of the Atlantic as "Rockferry" is officially released in the U.S.
Duffy, whose retro-soul sound invites comparisons to Amy Winehouse, has gotten a head start on familiarizing American audiences with her music. She has already performed at two media magnets--: Coachella and South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. She's also scheduled to appear at the this August's Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimoree in August.
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Jason Mraz "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things"
The pop-rock star is set to release his third studio album, which follows 2005's "Mr. A-Z." "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things"The new album was recorded primarily in San Diego and London and features collaborations with singer/songwriters Colbie Caillat (on the track "Lucky") and James Morrison (on "Details In Fabric"). The first single from the album is "I'm Yours."
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Frank Sinatra "Nothing But the Best"
Fans of Ol' Blue Eyes--a group demographic that includes basically everyone--will certainly appreciate this collection of remastered hits. The set features Sinatra crooning through 22 classic tunes, including "Strangers in the Night," "Luck Be a Lady" and "Come Fly with Me."
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Old 97's "Blame It On Gravity"
The Texas troupe, led by vocalist Rhett Miller, returns with its seventh studio album. "Blame It On Gravity" is the alt-country-rock band's first new studio offering since 2004's acclaimed "Drag It Up." During the hiatus from the studio, the Old 97's did release a concert offering (2005's "Alive and Wired") and a best-of set (2006's "Hit by a Train: The Best of the Old 97's).
More new releases:
Regina Belle, "Love Forever Shines" (Pendulum)
The Black Angels, "Directions to See a Ghost" (Light in the Attic)
T Bone Burnett, "Tooth of Crime" (Nonesuch)
Kerry Butler, "Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust" (P.S.)
Dokken, "Lightning Strikes Again" (Atco)
Christine Ebersole, "Sunday in New York" (Ghostlight)
Filter, "Anthems for the Damned" (Pulse)
Bill Frisell, "History, Mystery" (Nonesuch)
Local H, "12 Angry Months" (Shout)
Pendulum, "In Silico" (Atlantic)
Arsenio Rodriquez, "El Alma de Cuba" (Tumbao)
Siggi Schwarz, "In the Midst of Beauty" (Inakustik)
Keith Sweat, "Just Me" (Rhino)
10 Years, "Division"
Soundtracks and scores:
"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" (Disney)
Metallica Taking Fans Inside New Album Sessions
As the September release of its first album in five years draws near, Metallica has launched the Web site "Mission: Metallica" to offer fans a wealth of exclusive content and teasers of new songs.
A preview clip shows the band recording and clowning around in the studio. Fans who sign up will be eligible to "win backstage passes to every show this summer," among other special offers.
"Mission: Metallica" also has a "platinum" level, entitling fans to a copy of the new album delivered on street date, weekly "fly on the wall" video clips, contests to travel to shows and/or Metallica's San Francisco compound, live show downloads, ringtones and more.
It is unclear what, if anything, the services will cost.
Metallica will be on the road this summer in advance of the as-yet-untitled album, beginning Wednesday (May 14) with a show at Los Angeles' intimate Wiltern Theatre. A European run begins May 28 in Chorzow, Poland.
Neil Young gets new honor -- his own spider
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Iconic singer and songwriter Neil Young has had an honor bestowed upon him that is not received by many musicians -- his own spider.
An East Carolina University biologist, Jason Bond, discovered a new species of trapdoor spider and opted to call the arachnid after his favorite musician, Canadian Neil Young, naming it Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi.
"There are rather strict rules about how you name new species," Bond said in a statement.
"As long as these rules are followed you can give a new species just about any name you please. With regards to Neil Young, I really enjoy his music and have had a great appreciation of him as an activist for peace and justice."
Young, 62, is a veteran rock musician who rose to fame in the 1960s with the band Buffalo Springfield and later became a member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, whose 1970 release "Deja Vu" has become a classic rock album.
The singer/songwriter, whose solo work ranges from older albums such as "Harvest" to newer CDs like "Living with War," has long been an activist for social and anti-war causes.
Bond discovered the new spider species in Jefferson County, Alabama, in 2007. He said spiders in the trapdoor genus, who tend to live in burrows and build trap doors to seal off their living quarters, are distinguished from one species to the next on the basis of differences in genitalia.
He confirmed through the spider's DNA that the Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi is an identifiable, separate species of spider within the trapdoor genus.
Young is not the first musician to have a creature named after him. A species of beetle that looks as if it is wearing a tuxedo -- the whirligig beetle, or Orectochilus orbisonorum -- was named earlier this year after the late rock 'n' roll legend Roy Orbison and his widow Barbara.