The Rundown: April 22-28

Hey Quickflixers! Welcome to the latest installment of The Rundown, a new feature that will appear on the blog every Wednesday, highlighting our favourite news items from the past 7 days, as well as notable box office and weekly rental figures.

So, what did we learn this week?

First up, Avatar broke (even more) records upon its home entertainment debut, surpassing The Dark Knight to become the fastest selling Blu-ray title in history. More than 4 million DVDs were sold on its first day in the U.S., despite being in disgusting, unwatchable 2D.

Did someone say “sequels?!” Sigh. We discovered that Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones would reteam for a third Men in Black film, and that Monsters, Inc. 2 will hit cinemas November 2012. Perhaps most maddening was the rumour that Kristen Stewart would play the female lead in Wanted 2, filling the void left by Angelina Jolie’s absence. Maybe Taylor Lautner can replace Morgan Freeman too?

From sequels to prequels. Ridley Scott dished some funky tidbits about his upcoming Alien projects (particularly stressing the fact that – yes – they will be in 3D). Also getting a 3D “upgrade” is Michel Gondry/Seth Rogen’s seemingly troubled superhero flick The Green Hornet, which saw its release shift from December ($$$) to January (x-|).

And, in the same week in which we debated the very merits of what constituted “art” and showcased a Q&A with genius screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, we also featured trailers for Piranha 3D and The Twilight Saga’s Eclipse.

By the way – hope you weren’t looking forward to catching the new Ricky Gervais film anytime soon. Don’t cry. Enjoy this Dutch poster for Get Him To The Greek instead.

Top 5 Quickflix Rentals

1. The Twilight Saga’s New Moon
2. 2012
3. Julie and Julia
4. The Ugly Truth
5. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs

In Cinemas This Week

Iron Man 2
44 Inch Chest
The Concert

On DVD This Week

Avatar
It’s Complicated
Away We Go

On DVD Next Week

Zombieland
Sherlock Holmes
Did You Hear About The Morgans

Weekend Box Office Apr 22 -26*

1. Hot Tub Time Machine
WKND = $1,669,868 / TOTAL = $1,669,868
2. Date Night
WKND = $1,620,045 / TOTAL = $7,008,213
3. Clash Of The Titans
WKND = $1,369,513 / TOTAL = $18,193,068
4. How To Train Your Dragon
WKND = $1,324,075 / TOTAL = $19,263,571
5. The Book of Eli
WKND = $1,083,748 / TOTAL = $2,880,693
6. When In Rome
WKND = $1,059,722 / TOTAL = $1,059,722
7. Kick Ass
WKND = $1,008,441 / TOTAL = $4,976,182
8. Beneath Hill 60
WKND = $870,819 / TOTAL = $1,689,996
9. Alice in Wonderland
WKND = $555,249 / TOTAL = $37,010,376
10. The Last Song
WKND = $548,252 / TOTAL = $6,475,724

*From Urban Cinefile.

Discuss: So, what do you think of this week’s rundown?