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.

2013 has not been a banner year at the box office by any stretch of the imagination, but this weekend will set a new low. For the first time in months, no film took in $15 million. That includes the first-place Identity Thief, which was back on top in its third frame. With an estimated $14.1 million, Identity Thief barely edged out the $13 million debut of Snitch but, when we’re talking numbers this small, gloating over rank seems a little pointless.

Conventional wisdom tells us that people don’t go to the movies on Super Bowl weekend. Of course, that wisdom has been tested by the big debuts of Hannah Montana: The Best of Both Worlds, Taken and Dear John, in recent years. In 2013, Warm Bodies should become the latest title to buck Super Bowl convention. The teen-zombie romance earned an estimated $8.1 million from 3,009 locations on Friday, including $600,000 from its midnight premieres. That puts the film on track for a three-day total of $20 million instead of the low-to-mid teens that had been projected. Projections also failed to gauge the future of the frame’s second wide release: Bullet to the Head. The Sylvester Stallone action movie was expected to earn between $6 and $7 million this weekend – in the manner of Schwarzenegger’s recent The Last Stand. Instead, Bullet to the Head took in an estimated $1.7 million from 2,404 locations on Friday, placing its three-day prospects at just $4.6 million. We’ll have full details tomorrow.

Director Kim Jee-woon (The Good, The Bad and the Weird) couldn’t have picked a bigger action star in Arnold Schwarzenegger to make his American film debut with The Last Stand.  The old school actioner pits a small town sheriff’s department up against a ruthless drug lord and his high-powered militia as they attempt to blast their way through a border town.

In a recent interview (facilitated by a translator), Kim talked about transcending the language barrier as a director, directing Arnold as the man he is instead of the characters he’s been, relying on old fashioned practical effects over digital manipulations and even revealed two or three deleted scenes that will appear on the eventual Blu-ray and DVD.  Hit the jump for our interview with Kim Jee-woon for The Last Stand.

Here’s something you don’t hear very often: “It was a good week for strong women at the box office.” Up against two new, male-driven action movies, actress Jessica Chastain claimed first and second place with Mama and Zero Dark Thirty. Chastain’s fellow Golden Globe winner, Jennifer Lawrence, took third with Silver Linings Playbook – ahead of Gangster Squad and the big name boys that launched debuts on Friday. Both Broken City (with Mark Wahlberg) and The Last Stand (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) were disappointments – though, fittingly, Arnold’s was on a much more epic scale.

This time last week I was two movies into the triple feature I teased the last time we met. While I can’t say I was overly impressed by Gangster Squad, both Zero Dark Thirty and Django Unchained made their respective cases as qualified Best Picture nominees. Of the two, Zero Dark‘s unrelenting final act not only made it my top pick of the day but also provided some of the most sustained tension I can remember experiencing in a movie theater. Having now seen it for myself, I must say that I wholeheartedly agree with those who have voiced their disbelief at Kathryn Bigelow‘s Best Director Oscar snub.

Zero Dark Thirty praise aside, on tap in this week’s Top 5 are The Last Stand interviews with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Johnny Knoxville, and more, a live-action remake of Toy Story, a new trailer for Primer writer/director/star/almost literally everything else Shane Carruth‘s Upstream Color, Mama interviews with Guillermo del Toro and more, and all of our Sundance 2013 coverage to date. For your reading pleasure, a recap and link to each awaits after the jump.

Two films starring newly-minted Golden Globe winner Jessica Chastain topped Friday’s box office. Zero Dark Thirty, the film that brought Chastain her Best Actress win on Sunday, was expected to run neck-and-neck with Mama, the new PG-13 horror feature, at this weekend’s box office. Instead, with a better-than expected $10 million estimate from 2,647 locations on Friday, Mama should easily claim the MLK weekend title with over $25 million. Zero Dark Thirty, last weekend’s number one film, will take second with around $15 million through Sunday. Chastain’s one-two sweep upstaged the weekend’s R-rated action debuts: Broken City and The Last Stand. Both underwhelmed – though with its estimate of $3 million from 2,620 locations, Broken City at least made it into Friday’s top five. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Last Stand was not so lucky. With just $2 million from 2,913 locations, The Last Stand will finish the weekend near the bottom of the top ten. Finally, Silver Linings Playbook expanded into 2,523 locations on Friday, propelling the R-rated Oscar nominee into the top five on its tenth weekend in theatres. Check back tomorrow for full details.

Though they don’t have a lot of screen time together, Rodrigo Santoro and Forest Whitaker play two characters on opposite sides of the law who band together to fight a common evil in The Last Stand.  The Kim Jee-woon action picture sees a rag-tag bunch of sheriff’s deputies go up against a ruthless drug lord and his well-armed militia bent on crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.  In a recent video interview, Santoro and Whitaker talked about their approach to playing their characters, what it was like to work with action star Arnold Schwarzenegger and teased a little about The Butler and 300: Rise of an Empire. 

Also starring Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzman, Eduardo Noriega, Peter Stormare and Zach Gilford, The Last Stand opens on January 18th.  Hit the jump to watch our video interview with Santoro and Whitaker.

Jaimie Alexander kicks ass with the best of them in Kim Jee-woon’s The Last Stand.  Playing the Sheriff deputy Sarah Torrance, Alexander mixes it up with the boys and gets in on the gun fights and the stunts as their over-powered team attempts to prevent a ruthless drug lord and his well-armed militia from crossing the border.  In a recent video interview, Alexander talked about doing her own stunts, working with action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, revealed her favorite weapon and even teased fans about her character’s involvement in Thor: The Dark World.

Also starring Johnny Knoxville, Luis Guzman, Eduardo Noriega, Rodrigo Santoro, Zack Gilford and Peter Stormare, The Last Stand opens January 18th.  Hit the jump to watch our video interview with Alexander.

The unexpected pairing of comedy star Johnny Knoxville with action legend Arnold Schwarzenegger works surprisingly well in Kim Jee-woon’s The Last Stand.  Schwarzenegger stars as small-town sheriff Ray Owens who needs access to the weapons kept by resident military history buff, Lewis Dinkum (Knoxville).  Their on-screen chemistry provides some of the best light moments in the movie. I recently had a chance to talk to them about their experience working with each other, as well as finding out their favorite weapons and sequences to film in The Last Stand.  For more on the film, watch the red band trailer and all our previous coverage.

Also starring Luis Guzman, Eduardo Noriega, Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander, Peter Stormare and Forest Whitaker, The Last Stand opens on January 18th.  Hit the jump to watch the video interview with Knoxville and Schwarzenegger.

Before she aids the God of Thunder later this year in Thor: The Dark World, Jaimie Alexander will back up Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Last Stand.  From director Kim Jee-woon, this old school actioner pits a small town sheriff’s department against a ruthless drug lord with a high-powered militia who are making a beeline for the border.  Also starring Johnny Knoxville, Luis Guzman, Rodrigo Santoro, Eduardo Noriega, Forest Whitaker and Peter Stormare, The Last Stand opens January 18th.

In a recent interview, Alexander talked about The Last Stand and how its action compared to that of the fantasy world of Thor, as well as her favorite action sequences to film, her favorite weapon used in the movie and the benefits of working with an international cast and crew.  She also gave us an update on Thor: The Dark World and revealed a bit more about what we can expect to see from her character, Sif.  Alexander also talked about her work in David Marconi’s film, Intersection, an undisclosed action film she has coming up and her desire to star in a comedy with Will Ferrell.  Hit the jump for the full interview.

Best known stateside for his portrayal of Xerxes in 300, Rodrigo Santoro will next be seen in considerably less makeup in Kim Jee-woon’s The Last Stand.  The old-fashioned action movie serves as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to a lead role, but Santoro gets in on the excitement as the newly-deputized Frank Martinez.  The Last Stand also stars Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Eduardo Noriega, Luis Guzman, Forest Whitaker and Peter Stormare and opens January 18th.

During a recent interview for The Last Stand, Santoro talked about the experience of working with the international cast and crew, the various relationships between his character and others, how much material was left on the cutting room floor and moments of improvisation on set.  Santoro also gave us updates on Senna, Rio 2 and 300: Rise of an Empire.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Sometimes you just need a red-band trailer to get a good sense of a film’s tone and that’s exactly the case for The Last Stand.  Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a former LAPD officer turned small town sheriff, The Last Stand sets his rag-tag department and their under-powered arsenal against a reckless and dangerous drug lord and his militia, who are set to blaze through town and cross the border out of the country.  While this red-band trailer gives you a much better idea of the level of action and mayhem you can expect, it also ruins a few of the kill scenes, which are some of the film’s strongest moments and biggest surprises.  If you’re still so inclined, hit the jump to watch the red-band trailer for The Last Stand, which opens January 18th.

Some days you write about Studio Ghibli Zippo lighters and some days you’re invited out to ride along with Arnold Schwarzenegger on his own personal tank; such is the nature of the business.  I joined my fellow film journalists in a press event held at Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio, a locale that is home to such Western-styled projects as Gunsmoke, Deadwood and even Django Unchained.  It also happens to be the home of Schwarzenegger’s 50-ton M47 Patton tank, the very machine he drove as a youth in the Austrian Army.  We spent the morning being driven around by Schwarzenegger in the tank, learned some amazing anecdotes about his time in the army, watched him crush a car and even talked about The Last Stand, featuring the former Governor’s return to a lead action role, which opens January 18th.  Hit the jump for a recap of the event along with a bunch of insane images. 

Although he’s made an appearance in The Expendables movies, Kim Jee-woon’s The Last Stand marks Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s true return to the big screen. Schwarzenegger plays a retired LAPD officer who now works as a border town sheriff.  When a notorious cartel leader escapes from FBI custody, the sheriff and his ragtag group are all that stand between the criminals and the Mexican border.  Lionsgate has released a new clip that shows while Schwarzenegger may be old, henchmen are still terrible shots.

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  The film also stars Forest Whitaker, Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzman, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford and Genesis Rodriguez.  The Last Stand opens January 18th.