The fact that we all saw it coming doesn’t make it less sweet. Disney’s Oz the Great and Powerful opened big this weekend, earning an estimated $80.2 million from 3,912 locations. Not only does that more than double 2013’s highest debut, it also stands as the third-best March opening of all time, behind Alice in Wonderland and The Hunger Games.

Ding-dong the slump is dead! After weeks of disappointing returns, the domestic box office is receiving a much-needed boost from Oz the Great and Powerful. The Disney feature opened in 3,912 locations on Friday with an estimated $24.1 million – including $2 million from Thursday and midnight previews. Oz is now projected to earn almost $80 million through Sunday, dwarfing the $34.5 million of Identity Thief, 2013’s previous best-opener.  Though any relief from the mediocrity of recent frames is welcome, the Technicolor success of Oz the Great and Powerful should not come as a surprise. Inspired by one of cinema’s most beloved properties and heavily marketed to the family audiences that this year has so badly neglected, Oz the Great and Powerful was all but guaranteed an impressive debut. FilmDistrict’s Dead Man Down also opened on Friday but, as another in 2013’s long-line of unremarkable R-rated releases, the thriller’s prospects for success were never very strong. We’ll have full details tomorrow.

From acclaimed Danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and screenwriter J.H. Wyman (Fringe), the crime drama Dead Man Down tells the story of two strangers who are bound together by their mutual obsession with revenge.  Victor (Colin Farrell) is a mysterious man who has infiltrated the crime empire run by ruthless kingpin Alphonse (Terrence Howard) for his own very definite reasons, while his neighbor Beatrice (Noomi Rapace) wants Victor’s help to carry out her own plans for retribution.

At the film’s press day, director Niels Arden Oplev and writer/producer J.H. Wyman talked about what this film brings to the revenge genre, never wanting to talk down to an audience, assembling such a talented cast, and using Google Earth for location scouting.  Oplev also talked about what made him want to direct the pilot for the CBS adaptation of Stephen King’s Under the Dome and why the Flatliners remake appealed to him, while Wyman talked about what inspired the futuristic cop drama that he’s doing for Fox with J.J. Abrams.   Check out what they had to say after the jump.

From acclaimed Danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and screenwriter J.H. Wyman (Fringe), the crime drama Dead Man Down tells the story of two strangers who are bound together by their mutual obsession with revenge.  Victor (Colin Farrell) is a mysterious man who has infiltrated the crime empire run by ruthless kingpin Alphonse (Terrence Howard) for his own very definite reasons, while his neighbor Beatrice (Noomi Rapace) wants Victor’s help to carry out her own plans for retribution.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, the charming and talented actor Dominic Cooper, who plays the ambitious gangster Darcy, talked about the appeal of the complex story arc his character has in the film, the challenge of making this guy both dangerous and likeable, and working with a director with such a specific vision.  He also talked about how terrifying it is to take on Ian Fleming for the BBC America mini-series Fleming and how he’s portraying the man the way he saw himself, as opposed to recreating him, and what attracted him to Need for Speed, about a street racer (played by Aaron Paul) fresh out of prison after having been framed by a wealthy business associate, who joins a cross country race with revenge in mind.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

From acclaimed Danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and screenwriter J.H. Wyman (Fringe), the crime drama Dead Man Down tells the story of two strangers who are bound together by their mutual obsession with revenge.  Victor (Colin Farrell) is a mysterious man who has infiltrated the crime empire run by ruthless kingpin Alphonse (Terrence Howard) for his own very definite reasons, while his neighbor Beatrice (Noomi Rapace) wants Victor’s help to carry out her own plans for retribution.

At the film’s press day, actress Noomi Rapace talked about talked about reuniting with her The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo director Niels Arden Oplev for this film, what it was like to add Colin Farrell to that mix, sharing her acting roles with her son so that he knows what she’s doing now, what it was like to see herself with all of her character’s scars, establishing the mother-daughter dynamic with co-star Isabelle Huppert, and how comfortable she is with English now.  Check out what she had to say after the jump.

For a movie with two characters pursuing separate revenge stories, Niels Arden Oplev‘s Dead Man Down, manages to find a way to turn vendettas into plodding and tedious chores.  The film lacks the courage of its convictions, and when it writes itself into a corner, it simply refuses to acknowledge the shortcomings of the script, and trudges on to the next bland scene.  Oplev does seem to enjoy the cunning and violence his protagonist inflicts on the bad guys, but the revenge is so cliché that there’s no weight to any of the actions.  Vengeance has never been so dull.

From acclaimed Danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and screenwriter J.H. Wyman (Fringe), the crime drama Dead Man Down tells the story of two strangers who are bound together by their mutual obsession with revenge.  Victor (Colin Farrell) is a mysterious man who has infiltrated the crime empire run by ruthless kingpin Alphonse (Terrence Howard) for his own very definite reasons, while his neighbor Beatrice (Noomi Rapace) wants Victor’s help to carry out her own plans for retribution.

At the film’s press day, actor Colin Farrell talked about relating to his character, the environment on set, how much he enjoyed working with Noomi Rapace, chatting about work on their shared hotel balcony the night before they would shoot, and how he got cleaner than he’s ever been to play this character.  He also talked about his roles in the upcoming films Saving Mr. Banks and Winter’s Tale, as well as voicing a character for his first animated feature, Epic.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

FilmDistrict has released a batch of new high-resolution images from director Niels Arden Oplev’s (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) upcoming thriller Dead Man Down.  The film stars Colin Farrell as Victor, the right-hand-man for a New York crime lord (Terrence Howard) who seeks revenge against his boss following the death of his wife and daughter.  When a victim (Noomi Rapace) blackmails Victor into getting some revenge of her own against the crime lord, the two get caught up in the fallout.  These images highlight the intense nature of the pic, as we see the cast in some particularly stressful situations.

Hit the jump to take a look at the images.  Dead Man Down opens on March 8th.

FilmDistrict has released a new featurette and clip from director Niels Arden Oplev’s (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) crime thriller Dead Man Down.  The film stars Colin Farrell as Victor, the right-hand-man for a New York crime lord (Terrence Howard) who seeks revenge against his boss following the death of his wife and daughter.  When a victim (Noomi Rapace) blackmails Victor into getting some revenge of her own against the crime lord, the two get caught up in the fallout.  The clip shows a Rear Window-esque view of Farrell involved in some sort of fight, while the featurette highlights Rapace’s character.  It’s a great introduction to Rapace as an actress and her character, as Oplev, Farrell, and Howard talk about what she brings to the film.

Hit the jump to watch the clip and featurette.  Dead Man Down opens on March 8th.

We have some new TV spots to share with you from the following films:

• Dead Man Down – Director Niels Arden Oplev’s crime thriller starring Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace as an unlikely pair out for revenge against a mob boss.  Dead Man Down, also starring Dominic Cooper and Terrence Howard, opens March 8th.
• Dark Skies – Writer/director Scott Charles Stewart’s sci-fi thriller starring Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton as struggling parents whose limits are tested when strange events start happening to their family.  Also starring Dakota Goyo and J.K. Simmons, Dark Skies opens February 22nd.

Hit the jump to watch the TV spots.

A new featurette has been released for Niels Arden Oplev‘s action-thriller Dead Man Down.  Colin Farrell stars as Victor, the right-hand-man for a New York crime lord (Terrence Howard) who seeks revenge against his boss following the death of his wife and daughter.  When a victim (Noomi Rapace) blackmails Victor into getting some revenge of her own against the crime lord, the two get caught up in the fallout.  Dead Man Down is the American debut of Opley, who previously directed the Swedish adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  This featurette does a great job of introducing Oplev to people who haven’t seen his version of Dragon Tattoo, and I really like what I’m seeing from his new film, especially in terms of the visuals.

Hit the jump to check out the featurette.  The film also stars Dominic Cooper.  Dead Man Down opens March 8th.

We’re happy to bring you an exclusive image from Niels Arden Oplev’s Dead Man Down, starring Colin Farrell as a hitman out for revenge.  The new image shows just how serious Victor (Farrell) is about his business as it features what will prove to be a brutal torture scene.  Things get complicated for Victor when he is seduced by one of his mob boss’s former victims (Noomi Rapace) who blackmails him into helping her exact her own vengeance.

Also starring Dominic Cooper and Terrence Howard, Dead Man Down opens March 8th.  Be sure to check out the fantastic first trailer here, along with recent images from the film.  Hit the jump to check out our exclusive look at a new image.

We’ve got a round-up of some of the latest posters from the following movies:

• Beautiful Creatures – A French poster for the Richard LaGravenese film starring Alice Englert, Alden Ehrenreich, Viola Davis, Emma Thompson, Emmy Rossum and Jeremy Irons.  Beautiful Creatures opens February 14th.
• Spring Breakers – An alternate poster to the ones that we posted earlier for Harmony Korine’s film starring Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez and James Franco.
• Epic – The animated film from Blue Sky and the creators of Rio and Ice Age is directed by Chris Wedge and features the voices of Amanda Seyfried, Jason Sudeikis, Pitbull, Beyonce Knowles, Josh Hutcherson, Colin Farrell, Steven Tyler and Judah Freidlander.  Epic opens May 24th.
• Dead Man Down – The revenge thriller from director Niels Arden Oplev and Fringe writer J.H. Wyman stars Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper and Terrence Howard.  Dead Man Down opens March 8th.

Hit the jump to see the posters and synopses.

2012 is now officially over, and over the past few weeks we’ve been looking back at what the best of 2012 had to offer.  As we turn our attention to the year ahead, it’s time for the latest installment of our “Most Anticipated” feature.  Throughout 2013, we’ll once again be taking a quarterly look at what Collider’s editors are most looking forward to, and today we’re focusing on the films that will be hitting theaters from January through March.

Hit the jump to see the films that Matt, Adam, Brendan, and Dave are most anticipating in the next few months.

FilmDistrict has released a batch of new images from the upcoming revenge film Dead Man Down.  We recently caught a look at the film’s first trailer, and the footage promises a rather intense thriller led by Colin Farrell and Noomie Rapace.  Directed by Niels Arden Oplev (the Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Farrell stars as Victor, a right-hand-man for a New York crime lord who seeks revenge against his boss following the death of his wife and daughter.  When a victim (Rapace) blackmails Victor into getting some revenge of her own against the crime lord, the two get caught up in the fallout.  In addition to the release of these new images, FilmDistrict has announced that another trailer for the pic will be released on January 2nd, so check back here on Collider on Wednesday to take another gander at the film.

Hit the jump to check out the new images.  The film also stars Dominic Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger).  Dead Man Down opens on March 8, 2013.