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No Iron Man 3 for Director Jon Favreau

Jon Favreau

Iron Man will need a director to help get him off the ground in the next sequel.

Jon Favreau, the man behind the first two installments, recently announced that he won’t be participating on Iron Man 3.

It’s unclear exactly why Favreau has chosen to leave the successful franchise, but it’s believed a lack of direction – and his growing paycheck – were both factors.

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Read More | New York Magazine

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Cowboys and Aliens: This is Happening

Daniel Craig. Harrison Ford. Sam Rockwell. Olivia Wilde. Jon Favreau. Steven Spielberg. Ron Howard. If you attach all of these names to one movie, does it legitimize the movie? Many Harry Potter fans had to ask themselves this question over the weekend when they were treated to the trailer you’ll find in the video above. The project is called Cowboys & Aliens, and this is not a joke.

Craig plays protagonist Jake Lonergan, who wakes alone in the desert with no memory of who he is. He knows only that he is alone, and has a mysterious metal shackle around his wrist. Things go from bad to worse when he learns that he is a criminal, wanted by the chief lawman in the nearest town (Harrison Ford).

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Box Office Breakdown: Toy Story Still Has Game

Toy Story 3

The number “11” appears to be a good one for .

Although it’s been almost 11 years since we had fun with Woody and Buzz Lightyear, those classic characters were apparently anything but forgotten. This weekend’s long-anticipated debut of rang up $110 million, giving Pixar its 11th chart topper in a row. The sequel also surpassed all previous Pixar debuts (including The Incredibles’ $70.5 million from 2004) and became the second best animated opener of all time (right behind Shrek the Third‘s $121.6 million from 2007).

, on the other hand, was unfortunately cursed from the start. The comic book adaptation - starring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox - fired up a underwhelming $5.4 million. That performance was even more dismal than the debut of Megan Fox’s last film, Jennifer’s Body, which opened to $6.9 million in September 2009.

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Box Office Breakdown: A-Team’s Face Kicked by Karate Kid’s Foot

Jaden Smith in The Karate Kid

The battle of the ‘80s remakes was won by an actor born in 1998.

Despite featuring no actual karate and a Smith named Jaden, had no problem kicking up Will Smith-esque dollars this weekend. (I’m sure it had something to do with that Justin Bieber song.).  Sony’s remake of the 1984 classic surpassed early projections by rallying to a $55.7 million finish. The film’s debut means the 11-year-old star has already managed to outperform most of his father’s films. (I Am Legend opened to $77.2 million in 2007; Hancock premiered to $62.6 million in 2008.)

Meanwhile, Fox’s reboot of cranked out what could be considered a B-grade performance. The movie, which cost over $95 million to make (compared to Karate‘s $40 million), only rang up $25.7 million in its first three days. That’s barely above the figure Liam Neeson’s Taken earned in 2009 ($24.7 million) and nowhere near the debut Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel had with Valentine’s Day ($56.2 million).

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Read More | Box Office Mojo

Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Get to the Greek…and Shrek

Get Him to the Greek

Ashton Kutcher may have more Twitter followers than Diddy and Russell Brand combined - but that achievement wasn’t reflected at the box office this weekend.

Despite pirating the first 13 minutes of Killers, Kutcher was unable to generate enough interest to earn more than third place. The film - Katherine Heigl’s first since leaving Grey’s Anatomy - only rounded up a mere $15.8 million. (In other words, Ashton got about $3 from each of his Tweeps.)

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Read More | Box Office Mojo

Casting Corner: Ashley Judd, Jeremy Renner and More

Ashley Judd

Here’s a quick look at some of the casting announcements made recently:

Ashley Judd: The actress will return to the big screen in Flypaper, an indie project being helmed by The Forbidden Kingdom‘s Rob Minkoff. Judd replaces the originally-cast Liv Tyler in the bank heist film. The movie written by The Hangover‘s Jon Lucas and Scott Moore also includes Patrick Dempsey and Tim Blake Nelson.

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Box Office Breakdown: Theatergoers Choose Shrek Over Sex

Sex and the City 2

Shrek - not cosmopolitans - was what fans were buying this weekend.

Despite competition from two heavily-promoted features, an aging green ogre was able to hang on to his title for two weeks in a row. raised an additional $57 million during the Memorial Day frame to bring its domestic total to $146.8 million.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. proved that people can get tired of sex. Sex and the City 2 - which featured the return of Aidan Shaw (John Corbett) - couldn’t get past the bad reviews to even match the first film’s numbers. (Sex and the City opened to $56.8 million in May 2008.) The lovely ladies also couldn’t overpower Jake Gyllenhaal’s four-day haul. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time wound up snagging second place with a $37.8 million debut.

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Read More | Box Office Mojo

Box Office Breakdown: MacGruber IS a Bomb

MacGruber

Disappointment can come in all shapes and box office sizes.

may have earned nearly three times as much than its nearest competitor, but it wasn’t exactly a winner for Paramount or Dreamworks. The film, which grossed $70.8 million in ticket sales, become the first sequel in the Shrek franchise to open below the $100 million mark (and that’s with the help of higher 3-D prices). The comedy did, though, place fourth on the all-time animated debuts list behind Shrek the Third ($121.6 million), Shrek 2 ($108 million)  and The Simpsons Movie ($74 million).

Meanwhile, it appears will last just as long in theaters as he does in Will Forte’s sketches. Although the character is (supposedly) known for diffusing bombs, he actually helped deliver one this weekend. The latest Saturday Night Live-based comedy - also starring Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe - generated a mere $4 million this weekend. While that number seems (understandably) dismal, there is one positive thing to note: the film only cost approximately $10 million to make.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: MacGruber IS a Bomb

Read More | Box Office Mojo

Box Office Breakdown: Iron Man Fights Off Robin Hood

Robin Hood

‘s excellent aim couldn’t keep Robert Downey Jr. off target.

Despite increased competition in its second week of release, remained firm at the box office. Paramount’s sequel generated another $52 million between Friday-Sunday and vaulted over the $200 million mark domestically.

Meanwhile, ‘s arrow was sharp enough for a $36 million bounty, but a bit too dull for a first place finish. The film did, though, earn approximately $74 million in foreign dollars. That topped the $43.1 million overseas debut for 2000’s Gladiator - another Crowe/Ridley Scott production.

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Read More | Box Office Mojo

Box Office Breakdown: Iron Man 2 Soars High Above the Competition

Iron Man 2

Only one movie earned over $10 million over this weekend…and only movie scored over $125 million as well.

Iron Man 2 - with help from Mickey Rourke’s powerful weapons - whipped up $128.1 million over the past three days, giving Paramount its biggest open in history. The sequel, which was produced for approximately $170 million, easily improved upon Iron Man‘s $98.6 million premiere in 2008 and nabbed the fifth-largest debut of all time. (The Dark Knight still tops that leader board with its $158.4 million outing.)

Focus Features’ also made news of its own despite coming nowhere near Iron Man 2‘s numbers. The documentary, which was only released in 534 theaters, delivered $2.2 million and a ninth-place finish over the Mother’s Day weekend.

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Read More | Box Office Mojo

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