Hotel Transylvania 2 Scares Up Big Numbers, The Intern See's Lots Of Clients And Everest [Insert Mountain Pun Here]

For the first time in over 8 weeks, a new family movie entered the marketplace, and Hotel Transylvania 2 prospered in a landscape sorely lacking family films. This Genndy Tartakovsky film grossed $47,5 million over the weekend, about 15% above the opening weekend of the first film, as well as the second biggest opening weekend of Adam Sandler's career and the largest September opening weekend of all-time (not adjusted for inflation). Interestingly, four of the ten biggest September opening weekends now belong to features from Sony Pictures Animation.

Black Mass Review

Johnny Depp has always had a knack for making the outsiders accessible, for twisting the unconventional into the lovable. While his unorthodox protagonist shtick became tired by the time his racially discomforting turn as Tonto came around, characters like Jack Sparrow and Rango were entities that provided immense amounts of humor and enjoyment. What's really surprising in his turn as Whitey Bulger in Black Mass is how much it rails against those sort of characters Depp has played in the past; Bulger is idiosyncratic, no question, but he ain't lovable. He's not even a tragic character who becomes heinous during the story like Sweeney Todd.

Scorch Trials Burns Bright At Box Office, Black Mass Scores While Everest And Sicario Have Massive Limited Release Debuts

Summer may be over, but the sizzling heat of the Scorch was all audiences wanted this weekend, as Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials grossed $30.3 million over the weekend, a 6% dip from the opening weekend of the first movie, but still a decent sum, even if this one's price tag (a $61 million budget versus the first ones $34 million budget) means it won't be anywhere near as profitable as its predecessor. It's also unlikely to hold as well, due to forthcoming movies like The Martian providing much harsher competition for Thomas and his post-apocalyptic chums. 

Johnny Depp Gets Dramatic And Intimidating In Black Mass Trailer

Let's not kid ourselves here; Johnny Depp has had a helluva few years, with duds like Transcendence and Mortdecai tarnishing his reputation. But director Scott Cooper (responsible for two dramas I consider quite underrated, Crazy Heart and Out of The Furnace) is handling his newest film, Black Mass, where Depp plays Whitey Bulger. It's a unique role, one that goes for a much more dramatic approach than Depps past films. Give the first trailer for the film, which comes courtesy of Rope of Silicon, a watch, and then catch my thoughts on the footage beneath that.