On Easter weekend the animated hit Rio managed to hold on to its number one perch for a second weekend in a row with an estimated $26.8 million.  The padding between Fox’s birds and the Tyler Perry’s bawd was pretty slim, however.  In second place Madea’s Big Happy Family was right behind Rio with an estimated $25.8 million.

Universal’s Hop has just earned 2011’s highest debut weekend – if today’s estimate of $38.1 million from 3,579 locations proves accurate. For now the three-day estimate for the live-action/CGI-animated comedy stands less than one million ahead of Rango’s record from five weeks back.

Production has begun on Jonathan Liebesman’s untitled sequel to Clash of the Titans.  Warner Bros. has sent out a press release confirming the film’s cast.  Returning actors Sam Worthington (Perseus), Liam Neeson (Zeus), Ralph Fiennes (Hades), and Danny Huston (seen in the first film for half-a-second as Poseidon), will be joined by Edgar Ramirez (Ares), Toby Kebbell (Argenor, Posiedon’s demigod son), Rosamund Pike (Andromeda), and Bill Nighy (Hephaestus). It’s worth noting that Gemma Arterton, who was rumored to return as Io, isn’t mentioned in the press release.

Warner Bros. has also sent out a full synopsis for the sequel.  The story takes place 10 years after the first film with Perseus attempting to lead a quiet life.  But he’s called back into action in order to rescue Zeus after the god is captured by Ares and Hades in a deal to unleash the titans.  The plot clearly has a major role set up for Kronos, the leader of the titans, but no actor has been linked to the role at this point.

Hit the jump for the full press release and synopsis.  Clash of the Titans 2 is set to be released in post-converted 3D (ugh) on March 30, 2012.

Last month, Warner Bros. moved the sequel to Clash of the Titans up one week from March 30 to March 23, 2012 to face off against another tale inspired by Greek myth, The Hunger Games.  Hope you Clash fans didn’t mark the date with ink: according to Box Office Mojo, Warner Bros. has moved the sequel back to the original March 30 release date.   My Mother’s Curse and The Pirates! Band of Misfits are the other two releases currently slotted for March 30 — markedly less formidable competition than the red-hot Hunger Games property.

Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles) will direct Clash 2, and he discussed his approach in detail with Steve here. Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Liam Neeson, and Rosamund Pike star.

Just a few hours ago I got to interview Battle: Los Angeles director Jonathan Liebesman as Sony is doing a big press junket for the film today and tomorrow.  During the week of release (March 11th) I’ll be posting our full conversation, but with Liebesman directing the sequel to Clash of the Titans, I did get an update on how pre-production has been going and what can people expect in the sequel.

While you can read a full transcript or watch the video after the jump, he told me that the shoot is scheduled for 78 days (which is a sign that it’s a big movie), he’s not filming in 3D but the entire production has been conceived as a 3D picture (unlike the first film).  He went on to say they’ll have a 3D stereographer on set and he’s shooting on film in a 1.8:5 ratio.  And for those wondering about the look of the film, here’s a choice quote:

“For me, taking Greek mythology and all that fantasy and putting it in a real world that’s epic, like Gladiator, like a big Ridley Scott movie, and taking all that fantasy and putting it in, grounding it, making it feel real, that’s the movie that I wanted to see when I walked into Clash 1 and that’s the movie that Clash 2 is gonna be. That’s what I was looking for, I was looking to come in and have a real, intense, visceral kick-ass experience with spectacle but grounded, with great actors, and that’s what the second one will be.”

Hit the jump for more:

Rosamund Pike is an actress who has been circling big-name properties like X-Men: First Class and more recently, Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot.  However, it looks like rather than tangle with the Man of Steel, she’ll be joining Jonathan Liebesman Clash of the Titans sequel, Wrath of the Titans.  Deadline reports that Pike will play Andromeda in the film and that it will be a much larger role than in the 2010 film (when it was played by Alexa Davalos, who was “unavailable for the sequel”).  For those unfamiliar with Pike, she first broke out in 2002′s Die Another Day, and has done some strong supporting work in recent indie films such as An Education and Barney’s Version.

Wrath of the Titans also stars Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, and Liam Neeson.  The film is due out in 3D on March 30, 2012.

There are plenty of terrible movies released each year and I don’t see most of them.  Either they’re not screened for critics, the screening conflicts with a film I want to see more, or I felt that my time could have been better spent another way.  But for all of these terrible films, there’s a fine line between “bad” and “insulting”.  The Switch is a bad movie, but that’s simply because it’s unfunny, lacks creativity, and wastes a talented lead actor in Jason Bateman.  But it doesn’t offend me.  The five movies that made this year’s worst list had to do something that insulted my intelligence and/or my belief that people should be treated equally no matter their sex, race, etc.  These are films I would wish on my worst enemy because then we could bond over having experienced these cinematic travesties.

By now it’s a universal truth that Louis Leterrier’s Clash of the Titans sucked giant, kraken-sized balls. The story was atrocious, the characters flat and the 3D FX were a terrible, headache-inducing mess. About the only thing Clash had going for it was star Sam Worthington – one of the more polished chaps on the Hollywood block if you ask me – who did his damndest in a thankless role, but still couldn’t quite save the film from the critical lambasting it received. Well, following a sudden trend in which stars like Mark Wahlberg and Shia LaBeouf publicly diss their own work, Worthington has seen fit to comment on Clash’s critical reception via Moviefone. His remarks give me hope that director Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles) and his crew have listened to the pleas of fans worldwide and will deliver a much grander sequel.  Said Worthington:

“I just think we can improve on it. I think the first one, we kind of let down some people. And yeah, I totally agree. The only point of doing a sequel is either the audience demands it or you believe you can better the first one. What we’re setting out to do with this one — the writers and the director and myself — is improve. I think I can act fucking better, to be honest … Just take all the notes from people that I have been reading about on the ‘net and give them a movie they fucking want. This one I want to kind of try to satisfy a lot more people.”

Wrath of the Titans is due out March 30, 2012.

As the current 3D trend is taking over movie theaters everywhere, it’s now poised to invade your living room.  In order to complement the surge in production of 3D televisions and Blu-ray players, The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) has announced 36 titles set to be available just in time for the holiday season, with dozens more to follow in early 2011.  10 of the titles will hit stores on November 16, just in time for Black Friday.

The releases include a wide range of titles from AIX Records, DreamWorks Animation, Giant Screen Films, Image Entertainment, IMAX Corporation, Lionsgate, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video. It also includes a number of high-profile titles that will be released as exclusives for certain 3D televisions. “We are excited to see so much industry support for bringing Blu-ray 3D home,” said Ron Sanders, President, Warner Home Video and President, DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group. “And now, consumers buying 3D home entertainment systems over Black Friday weekend will have ample 3D programming to accompany them.” For a full list of films being released on 3D Blu-ray for the holidays, hit the jump.

The estimates are in and it looks like, for once, the financial analysts got it right… I mean the box office analysts. Oh, what’s the difference anyway? There was indeed enough equity left in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street premise after 23 years to put the sequel – Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps – in the top spot for the weekend with an estimated $19 million.

If you grew up in the 1980’s most of the films you may have loved are likely to be remade. Raiders of the Lost Ark is safe – as it were – but if a film has a cult following or was a modest hit… Boom, remake/sequel/something time. 2010’s Clash of the Titans is a remake of the 1981 film of the same name, and this time Louis Letterier directs Sam Worthington as Perseus, the son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) who is the last line of defense for the Athenians under threat from the gods, and especially the Kraken. But to beat the Kraken, Perseus has to defend himself against giant scorpions and behead Medusa. Sounds rousing, right? My review of Clash of the Titans on Blu-ray after the jump.

Walking the convention floor at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, you’ll most likely pick up a lot of swag and make a lot of purchases.  And Warner Bros. has the solution for all that you will own from this Con: an over-sized bag.  I still have the Watchmen one I picked up at the 2008 convention.  It holds almost every other bag I own.  If you’re wearing it over your shoulder, the bag stretches down to your ankle.

Warner Bros. has released images of the bags they’ll be giving out this year.  There will be 11 different bags this year and they’ll be handing them out individually rather than being stampeded by individual Con-goers.  The only different between them is the movie or TV show that’s being promoted.  Hit the jump to see the bags featuring Clash of the Titans DVD/Blu-ray, The Looney Tunes Show, Batman: The Brave and the Bold videogame, Brightest Day, and Smallville/Supernatural.  They’ll also be handing out bags promoting The Big Bang Theory, Fringe, Human Target, Nikita, The Vampire Diaries, and Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated.  It should be noted that the Smallville/Supernatural bag is smaller, but will only be available at Warner Bros.’ booth (#4545).

Today, I got the chance to site down with Sam Worthington (and his partners John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz) to talk about his their imprint Full Clip Productions, which is working to develop comics with Radical Studios.  At the end of the roundtable interview, Worthington was good enough to provide us with brief updates on Clash of the Titans 2 and Avatar 2.

He was open about the first Clash‘s problem both in terms of the final cut and the crappy 3D conversion.  He said this time they’re shooting it in 3D and he’s been speaking to Warner Bros. directly about his ideas for the film.  As for Avatar 2, he makes it sounds like Cameron hasn’t got around to writing it yet.  Hit the jump for the full quotes and again, be on the lookout for the full interview soon as we got a ton of updates on what Full Clip is trying to do and the projects they have in development at Radical Studios.

Louis Leterrier spawned a franchise with Clash of the Titans, but since he passed the sequel gig on to other hopeful directors, the Frenchman is searching for his next project.  Leterrier may have found it in the high-concept disaster film Gravity (not to be confused with the Alfonso Cuarón/Robert Downey Jr collaboration).  The pitch for Universal’s Gravity is “The Day After Tomorrow meets Taken“— hit the jump for details.

With Walt Disney’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time getting released this weekend, a few days ago I got to do a phone interview with the lovely Gemma Arterton.  As most of you have seen the trailers and know what the film is about, I’m going to keep this intro brief.  But if you’re not familiar, here’s a bunch of clips from the movie with the full synopsis.

During the interview we talked about the challenges of filming in Morocco and what it was like making the movie, and we also talked about her other projects like Tamara Drewe and The Disappearance of Alice Creed.  Also, even though Warner Bros. is moving forward with Clash of the Titans 2, she revealed that she’s not yet signed for a sequel so it’s up to her whether or not to come back.  Finally, with how much Clash of the Titans changed during filming, I asked what was her reaction to the final product.  Hit the jump to read or listen to the interview.