We all knew that Men in Black 3 would wind up overtaking The Avengers after three weeks of record-breaking dominance. What we didn’t know was that that would wind up as MIB3’s sole accomplishment this weekend. With a huge release in 4,248 locations, and on one of the biggest movie-going weekends of the year, MIB3 is not exactly setting the box office on fire with its three-day estimate of $55 million.

Though many are busy finalizing their predictions for the Best Actor and Best Picture Oscar categories, the Costume Designers Guild today announced nominees for excellence in wardrobe. The nods are split into three categories: contemporary, fantasy, and period. Among the films singled out are superhero fare like X-Men: First Class and Thor, blockbusters franchises Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and dramatic critical favorites like Drive and The Descendants. Personally, I’m thrilled to see the excellent work in X-Men: First Class singled out, and I’m still waiting for a reasonably priced way to own Ryan Gosling’s ridiculously cool jacket from Drive.

Hit the jump to see the full list of nominees. The winners will be announced on February 21st, and the nominees for the upcoming 84th Annual Academy Awards will be revealed this coming Tuesday, January 24th.

We’re just a little less than two months away from the 84th Annual Academy Awards, and today the choices in yet another category have been pared down. AMPAS announced today that 10 films remain in contention for the Best Visual Effects award, with films like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Hugo, and The Tree of Life making the cut. The pretty clear frontrunner in this race is Rise of the Planet of the Apes (and rightfully so), but there’s much to admire in the 10 films that have been shortlisted.

Though Terrence Malick’s existential drama The Tree of Life is heavy on the naturalistic visuals, the extended “history of the universe” sequence is gloriously enchanting and features some breathtaking visual effects work (dinosaurs!), so I’m happy to see that it hasn’t been overlooked. All members of the Academy’s visual effects branch will view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films, after which they’ll vote to nominate five pics for the Academy Award. Hit the jump to read the full press release, which includes all 10 singled-out films. The Oscars will be presented on February 26th.

I like to see the guild awards, because the specificity allows for nominees that you won’t see on more general lists.  The Art Directors Guild is especially interesting because they separate the films into three categories: period, fantasy, and contemporary.  The 15 nominees highlight everything from Oscar favorites Hugo and The Artist, to crowd-pleasers Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Captain America, to poorly received films like Cowboys & Aliens and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  There’s a similar contrast in the TV nominees between the classy HBO programs you’d expect (Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, and Mildred Pierce) and the critical punching bags American Horror Story and The Playboy Club.  The full list of nominees is after the break.

Every year, I wonder why I feel the need to call out five films that were the worst of the worst.  No studio exec is going to read this article think, “Matt Goldberg, that voice of sage wisdom, has spoken, and now we must cease production on all of our banal romantic comedies.”  But I make myself sit through a lot of junk every year because I have the idiotic policy of finishing every movie I start.  And these movies were not only a trial, but they managed to waste a potentially good aspect and be shockingly offensive at the same time.  Don’t look for The Zookeeper or Jack and Jill on this list; I prefer not to shove toxic waste into my eye sockets.  The five movies on this list had at least one enticing aspect: the talent involved, the premise, the success of previous entries in the franchise.  And then that lure brought me into a grueling slog where my only solace was knowing the film’s running time and having a wristwatch.  These films punched me for no reason.  This is me hitting back with good cause.

Hit the jump to check out my picks for the worst five films of 2011.

Recently, I was invited to visit the ILM Campus in the Bay Area to discuss the development of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and see some of the new Blu-ray features that Disney has developed for the disc. While touring the effects house, I got to talk to visual effects art director Aaron McBride and visual effects supervisor Ben Snow.

During the interviews, Snow and McBride told me about how pirate maps influence the design of the films, why they can’t reuse digital armatures, what it’s like to be nominated for an Oscar, how the director influences the effects work, and more.  Read on for the complete interviews and a list of the 15 things I learned.

When DVD first hit the scene it was, to steal a phrase from Disney’s Aladdin, “A whole new world.” The bonus features let cinephiles behind the scenes for the first time and laid bare the often-arduous mechanics behind crafting a feature film. But, as the medium matured, many of these features became stagnant. Now, with the advent of Blu-ray and the connectivity opportunities offered by iPads, film studios are once again finding new ways to expand upon the medium of bonus features.

Disney is out ahead of the pack, using big-ticket releases like Bambi and now Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides to introduce new ways to interact with the film and encourage consumers to buy, rather than rent. Read on to hear about the new, “Second Screen” technology.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was a very different film than its three predecessors. Whereas Gore Verbinski’s trilogy traded on the charm of Johnny Depp’s anti-hero swashbuckling his way through some of the biggest effects ever committed to film, this latest entry took a more intimate approach, focusing on the love story of a mermaid and a young missionary who fights to protect her.

Read on to find out why what became of the most extreme monsters.

To promote the upcoming Blu-Ray release of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, hitting stores on October 18, Disney invited myself and a few other journalists up to the Bay Area to visit the Industrial Light and Magic campus and see how the film was made.

During my visit, I got to tour ILM, see concept art, some of which differs wildly from the finished product, and interview visual effects supervisor Ben Snow and visual effects director Aaron McBride. We’ll have write ups on the disc’s unique iPad-based interactive features as well as the interviews everyday this week, but today I just want to tell you about what it’s like to walk through the halls of ILM.  Hit the jump for the full story.

Looks like summer 2011 had one more blockbuster left after all.  Cowboys and Aliens may have been a late-July disappointment but, so far, Fox’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes is performing more like a June release than your typical August afterthought.  Surpassing all early projections, the sci-fi vehicle took in an estimated $54 million from 3,648 locations for an easy number one at the US box office.

In its magical debut, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 has claimed another record: the all-time domestic weekend opening.  With an estimated $168.5 million from its 4,375 locations, Harry Potter’s final installment topped the former record of $158.7 million that The Dark Knight set in July 2008.

We have reached the end of Paramount’s long, long seven-day launch of Transformers: Dark of the Moon.  So, on this no-news day, let’s take a look at some of the more salient figures regarding Michael Bay’s third installment in his blockbusting franchise. Yesterday, Tf3 broke the all-time record for the Fourth of July weekend at $97.5 million.  With Monday’s estimate of $18.9 million included, the record for the four-day holiday weekend has also fallen. The previous winner was 2004’s Spider-Man 2 with $115.8 million. The holiday take for Transformers 3 now stands at $116.4 million. So, that’s more.

In the US, the Fourth of July weekend is traditionally a giant money-maker for Hollywood movies. So, surprise!  This year was a giant money maker for Hollywood movies.  Make that “movie.”  Three movies debuted, but only one – Michael Bay’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon – made an impact.  A big, record-breaking impact.

Here’s a bit of a weird one: despite the fact that Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides got shat on by the critics and boasted the weakest domestic opening weekend at the box office of any Pirates sequel, the movie is still breaking records for Disney. How you ask? Why foreigners, of course! The movie is a hit in North America, but it’s bringing in absolutely absurd amounts of money overseas, so much that the movie currently ranks as the fourth highest grossing film of all time worldwide. That’s right, the movie that made everyone sick of watching Johnny Depp prance around in eyeliner is now officially the most successful entry in the series.

Remember how you were hoping that crapfest would officially kill off the franchise? That ain’t happening. If anything, expect Disney to make more Pirates Of The Caribbean sequels than ever before. I guess the movie is only good with subtitles. Hit the jump for further details about this moneymaking juggernaut.

We all know that this hasn’t been the best year for movies at the domestic box office.  Only a handful of weekends have come out ahead of 2010 in terms of profit.  Luckily, this Memorial Day Weekend was one of them.  Traditionally one of the most profitable of Hollywood’s entire year, this year’s holiday more than measured up.  First, The Hangover Part II crushed the All-Time opening for a comedy.  Then estimates put the combined profits of the domestic box office at nearly 50% above last year’s four-day holiday frame and 10% above 2007’s profits (the year which held the all-time record).  Here’s how the top ten looks, including revised estimates for the three-day weekend: