Box office: RESULTS August 8, 2014 - August 10, 2014

TW	LW	Title	Studio	Weekend	Theaters	Total	Week
1	-	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Paramount Pictures	$65,575,105	3,845	$65,575,105	1
2	1	Guardians of the Galaxy	Walt Disney Pictures	$42,124,922	4,088	$176,515,761	2
3	-	Into the Storm	New Line Cinema (Warner Bros.)	$18,015,000	3,434	$18,015,000	1
4	-	The Hundred-Foot Journey	DreamWorks Pictures	$10,979,290	2,023	$10,979,290	1
5	2	Lucy	Universal Pictures	$9,488,805	3,147	$97,511,610	3
6	-	Step Up All In	Summit Entertainment (Lionsgate)	$6,469,857	2,072	$6,469,857	1
7	4	Hercules	MGM, Paramount Pictures	$5,746,891	2,896	$63,508,138	3
8	3	Get on Up	Universal Pictures	$5,195,150	2,469	$23,109,760	2
9	5	Dawn of the Planet of the Apes	20th Century Fox	$4,334,532	2,306	$197,768,156	5
10	6	Planes: Fire & Rescue	Walt Disney Pictures	$2,451,526	2,280	$52,982,854	4
11	7	The Purge: Anarchy	Universal Pictures	$2,285,060	1,602	$68,533,360	4
12	10	A Most Wanted Man	Roadside Attractions (Lionsgate)	$2,229,000	808	$10,441,000	3

Despite horrendous reviews going into the weekend, the Michael Bay-produced reintroduction of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Paramount), starring Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, scored big at the box office this weekend, taking in an estimated $65 million from 3,845 North American theaters. That's the fourth-biggest August opening behind last week's Guardians of the Galaxy record-setter, previous record holder The Bourne Ultimatum and 2001's Rush Hour 2. The Turtles added another $28.7 million from its overseas openings for a global opening total of $93.7 million.

With a reported budget of $125 million, it probably won't be much of a surprise that Paramount has already announced a sequel to the movie, which will once again be produced by Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes partners Andrew Form and Brad Fuller with a screenplay written by Josh Appelbaum & André Nemec. There's no word whether director Jonathan Liebesman will return, but they already have a release date of June 3, 2016 picked out for the sequel. This means that it will open the same weekend as Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's R-rated animated comedy Sausage Party and one week after both X-Men: Apocalypse from Fox and Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass from Disney.

Marvel Studios' latest blockbuster, the James Gunn-directed outer space adventure Guardians of the Galaxy, starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista and more, tried but failed to hold the top spot against the Turtles, dropping to second place with $41.5 million, down 56%. It has grossed $176 million domestically since opening last weekend, which means it will be pulling ahead of the domestic grosses of the original Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger in the next few days. More importantly, it has grossed $313 million globally in its first ten days. It added another $40.1 million overseas this weekend where it opened in Australia, New Zealand, India and other territories with $30 million of the "Guardians'" global take so far accredited to its worldwide IMAX release.

Hoping to interest some of the teen and older viewers not interested in mutant turtles or space-faring raccoons, New Line released the giant tornado disaster flick Into the Storm, starring Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh and more. While it was never expected to be a huge breakout summer hit, it still was able to take in about $18 million in 3,434 theaters, averaging $5,242 per site.

Opening in the fewest theaters of the new releases, the Helen Mirren-starring The Hundred-Foot Journey (DreamWorks), a France-based food-lover's dramedy based on the novel by Richard Morais, opened adequately with $11.1 million in 2,023 theaters. With an "A" CinemaScore, it has a good chance of building on that with its older targeted audience.

Luc Besson's sci-fi action thriller Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson, dropped to fifth place with $9.3 million (down 49%). With a three-week take of $97.3 million, it should become the 20th movie of the year to cross the $100 million sometime in the coming week.

The fourth installment of the dance franchise Step Up All In (Summit) continued to show the series' diminishing returns with the weakest opening yet, $6.6 million in 2,072 theaters. That's half the amount made opening weekend by the previous installment, Step Up Revolution two years ago and this should finally put the nail in the coffin of the once popular series.

Dwayne Johnson and Brett Ratner's Hercules (Paramount/MGM) captured seventh place with $5.7 million, which brings its three-week gross to $63.5 million. With a reported budget of $100 million, it's fully relying on its international release to recoup its budget and turn a profit.

Despite receiving an "A" CinemaScore last week, the James Brown biopic Get On Up, starring Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis, fell hard in its second weekend, dropping 63% to eighth place with $5 million over the weekend and $23 million total.

20th Century Fox's sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes took ninth place with $4.4 million as it edges closer to becoming the sixth movie of the summer to cross $200 million with $197.8 million grossed so far.

Walt Disney Pictures' animated sequel Planes: Fire & Rescue wrapped up the Top 10 with $2.4 million and $52.9 million in four weeks. That's behind the $70.8 million grossed by the original movie over the same period of time.

Heres something extra for the delay. Sorry for the wait !

Aaron McGruder's Black Jesus, Episode 1

Aaron McGruder, creator of the well-known series The Boondocks, is back with his new comedy called Black Jesus. This controversial series finds Jesus on a mission to help mankind while living in present day Compton, California. Black Jesus is on a daily quest to spread kindness and love throughout the downtrodden neighborhood with the help of his small but loyal group of followers.

Adult Swim recently announced this live-action comedy series will air for a half-hour starting Thursday, August 7th at 11:00 in the evening (ET/PT). Black Jesus in not animated as was his last series, instead is a live-action scripted series. The series stars some familiar faces in the comedic industry such as John Witherspoon, Charlie Murphy and Corey Holcomb. The role of Black Jesus stars newcomer Gerald “Slink” Johnson along with Antwon Tanner, Kali Hawk, Angela Gibbs, Andrew Bachelor, and Valenzia Algarin. McGruder is the writer and executive producer through his company 5 Mutts Productions.

McGruder is an American cartoonist and writer best known for his cartoon strip called The Boondocks. This Universal Press Syndicate comic strip follows the lives of two young African-American brothers from Chicago’s inner city. These brothers are now living with their grandfather in the upper echelon suburb named Woodcrest. The strip explores issues involving American politics and African-American culture through the exceptionally intelligent Huey and his gangster wannabe younger brother Riley.

McGruder’s followers were upset to learn the creator of The Boondocks would not be involved in the series’ fourth and last season. Many of his fans will be happy to learn that his new series Black Jesus will follow his style as a magnet for criticism.

The creator’s work has been an absolute lightening rod for criticism since it debuted in 1999. Some of the series most notable targets have been Whitney Houston, Black Entertainment Television (BET), Al Sharpton, Condoleezza Rice, Bill Cosby, Dr. Martin Luther King and black political commentator Larry Elder. McGruder received a host of criticism for the strip he released immediately following the attacks of 9/11. He went on to explain his views in a keynote address at the 2002 H2K2 conference where he bluntly stated,

Outside of the world of whackos and conspiracy theorists and all of that, very few people in the mainstream have been willing to say what I’m about to say, which is, I really and truthfully believe that George W. Bush is somehow involved, either directly or indirectly, in the attacks on New York City on September 11.

When speaking of The Boondocks McGruder stated that it was important to offend, but just as important to do it for the right reasons. Even though he was not a part of the final season, the creator said he personally navigated the series for three seasons through the minefields of controversy. He went on to say,

Although it was not perfect, it was always done with a keen sense of duty, history, culture and love. Anything less would have been unacceptable.

A disagreement with BET has fueled much of the creator’s material for his animated series and comic strip. A couple of The Boondocks episodes have depicted BET as an evil media empire which seeks to destroy black people. McGruder and BET have had an adverse relationship for years, but this mastermind of a creator has found much success on the Adult Swim network. In a statement McGruder said,

It’s a rare thing to have a network home. Even more rare is a home that wants to see you grow and expand as a creator. Adult Swim is headed to new horizons and I’m happy to be along for the ride.

To the delight of his many fans, Aaron McGruder is back with a new comedy series named Black Jesus. This live-action series follows Jesus living in present day Compton while on a mission to spread kindness and love throughout the “hood” with the help of his downtrodden followers.

THE RWR REPORT: IN CASE YOU MISSED IT - JIM ROSS INTERVIEWS STING (PT. 1 & 2)

This interview was just too big to fit in one podcast...so here's part 1 of JR's conversation with Sting! Hear about his wrestling start in California, his first meeting with Hulk Hogan, training with Jerry Jarrett, working with Cactus Jack and Big Van Vader, and the most embarrassing match of Sting's career !



It's part 2 of JR's conversation with Sting! Hear about the Crow persona, Terry Funk, Scott Hall, the Owen Hart tragedy and how that affected Sting, his WCW years, his time in TNA, AJ Styles, Sting's steroid use, and the Scorpion Deathlock.

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In theaters NOW

Whats good world ??? Here's the latest movies in theaters. Not a whole bunch to choose from, but thats to be expected as we approach the end of the summer. We'll have the box office results on monday. See ya then !! 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

• AUGUST 8, 2014
• PG-13 , 1 hr 41 min
• Action/Adventure
  Family

Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay present this reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise with Wrath of the Titans' helmer Jonathan Liebesmandirecting. The sinister Shredder has seized control of New York City's police and politicians, leaving his ruthless Foot Clan to spread chaos in the streets. With no prospects for salvation in sight, mutant crime-fighters Raphael, Leonardo , Donatello, and Michaelangelo leap into action. They put up a fierce fight, too, though in order to truly defeat Shredder, the heroes in a half shell will need the help of courageous reporter April O'Neil (Megan Fox) and her quick witted cameraman Vern Fenwick (Will Arnett) as well. With their help, Shredder's plan will quickly unravel, and this once-great city will rise again. 

INTO THE STORM 

• AUGUST 8, 2014
• PG-13 , 1 hr 29 min
• Action/Adventure
  Suspense/Thriller

Fearless storm-chasers brave impossible odds in their quest to collect data on an unprecedented super-storm that unleashes multiple tornados on a small town as the terrified locals race for shelter. Richard Armitage (The Hobbit trilogy), Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead), and Matt Walsh star in this tense tale of Mother Nature's fury. 

The Hundred-Foot Journey 

• AUGUST 8, 2014
• PG , 2 hr 2 min
• Comedy
  Drama

An Indian teen in France goes to work for his father's culinary adversary in this drama based on the bestselling novel by Richard C. Morais. Put young Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) in a kitchen, and he's bound to emerge with a dish that will dazzle. When Hassan's family is forced to move from their native India, his Papa (Om Puri) relocates to a peaceful hamlet in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. Determined to give his new neighbors a little taste of home, Papa decides to open an Indian restaurant in the village, and names it Maison Mumbai. Meanwhile, across the street at the traditional French restaurant Le Saule Pleureu, uptight proprietor Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren) doesn't exactly welcome the competition. When Madame Mallory ignites a bitter feud that quickly escalates, the only hope for a peaceful resolution lies in Hassan's talent for French haute cuisine, and his growing affections for Mme. Mallory's pretty young sous chef Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon). Subsequently impressed by Hassan's undeniable culinary talents, Mme. Mallory agrees to become Hassan's mentor, in the process providing the perfect creative environment where his unique fusion cuisine can thrive. Lasse Hallström directs a film produced by Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Juliet Blake. 

STEP UP: ALL IN

• AUGUST 8, 2014
• PG-13 , 1 hr 52 min
• Drama
  Music/Performing Arts

A ragtag dance troupe compete to win a lucrative three-year contract at a Las Vegas casino in this installment of the energetic dance-movie franchise. 

In case you missed it: The Combat Jack show -The Cormega ‘Mega Philosophy’ Episode

In this age of tweaking, thots, wanton capitalism, violence and outsiders dictating what our culture is, QB veteran Cormega and legend Large Professor drop their brilliant ‘Mega Philosophy’ album. Cormega walks us through this classic, track by track. Go ‘head and press play y'all. 

Box Office RESULTS

After an entire month where the box office was down from last year, things picked up in the first weekend of August as Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures released James Gunn's take on Guardians of the Galaxy, starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Karen Gillen and the voices of Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper, which set a new August opening record with an estimated $94 million from 4,080 theaters. 

Capitalizing on solid reviews (91% on Rotten Tomatoes) and an "A" CinemaScore, "Guardians" built on its $37.8 million opening day to achieve the third-biggest opening of the year, averaging $23,000 per location. "Guardians'" estimated opening puts it just behind Marvel Studios' earlier 2014 release, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but puts it ahead of the latest installment of other long-running superhero franchises, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past.

The previous August record of $69 million was held by Universal Pictures' The Bourne Ultimatum back in 2007, which itself beat Rush Hour 2's $67.4 million from 2001. The point is that there have not been a lot of big movies opened in the first weekend of August in a number of years and "Guardians" perfectly capitalized on Marvel and Disney's solid record with moviegoers to set what may be an unbeatable August opening record.

3D accounted for 45% of the movie's opening weekend with males over 26 making up the largest portion of the audience. The movie grossed $11.7 million on 354 IMAX screens, besting the previous August IMAX record set by last year's Elysium.

Overseas, "Guardians" took in $66.4 million with $13 million coming from Russia, $10.8 million from the UK and $6.5 million from Mexico. It made $5.3 million from its release on 157 international IMAX screens for a global weekend haul of $17 million, also a new August record for IMAX.

Luc Besson's sci-fi action thriller Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson, dropped significantly in its second weekend, taking second place with $18.3 million, which is down 58% from its opening weekend. It has grossed $79.3 million domestically.

The James Brown biopic Get On Up, starring Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis, directed by The Help's Tate Taylor, opened in 2,468 theaters with a somewhat disappointing $14 million--$5,685 per theater--to open in third place.

Dwayne Johnson's turn as the mythological hero Hercules (Paramount/MGM) in director Brett Ratner's action flick dropped to fourth place with $10.7 million, down a whopping 64% from its opening weekend, as its domestic gross reached $52.3 million.

The hit sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (20th Century Fox) wrapped up its first month in theaters with $189 million, adding another $8.7 million this weekend to take fifth place.

Walt Disney Pictures' animated sequel Planes: Fire & Rescue took sixth place with $6.4 million and $47.6 million total--still below its reported $50 million production budget.

Universal's low-budget thriller The Purge: Anarchy took seventh place with $5.6 million and a $62.9 million domestic gross. After three weeks, it's close to surpassing the $64.5 million grossed by the original movie despite the sequel opening softer.

Eighth place went to the Cameron Diaz-Jason Segel sex comedy Sex Tape (Sony) with $3.5 million and a disappointing $33.9 million total when compared to the duo's previous comedy Bad Teacher, which made nearly that amount opening weekend.

The Michael Douglas-Diane Keaton comedy And So It Goes (Clarius) took ninth place with $3.3 million, down just 28% from its opening weekend, with $10.5 million grossed in its first ten days.

After opening in the Top 10 last week, the John LeCarre adaptation A Most Wanted Man, starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, doubled its theaters to 729 and retained tenth place with $3.3 million.

The Top 10 took in an estimated $167 million, which for the first time in a month, was up from the same weekend last year when weaker releases like the Denzel Washington-Mark Wahlberg action comedy 2 Guns (Universal) topped the box office with just $27 million and Sony's sequel The Smurfs 2 disappointed with an opening of $17.5 million for third place.

Richard Linklater's critically-acclaimed slice-of-life drama Boyhood (IFC Films) expanded into 311 theaters on Friday where it grossed $2.5 million, allowing it to break into the Top 12 at #11. Having grossed $7.6 million in limited release, Linklater's long-running pet project is destined to become IFC Films' second-highest grossing release ever, especially if they continue to expand it across the country.

While Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction (Paramount) has fallen out of the Top 10, the $241.2 million it has grossed domestically since opening in late June makes it the third-highest grossing movie of the year. It has also earned $763.8 million overseas allowing it to surpass the $1 billion mark worldwide. Here's the top 10 films y'all:

1 Guardians of the Galaxy Walt Disney Pictures

$94,000,000

4,080

$94,000,000

1

2 Lucy Universal Pictures

$18,283,000

3,202

$79,590,000

2

3 Get on Up Universal Pictures

$14,031,000

2,468

$14,031,000

1

4 Hercules MGM, Paramount Pictures

$10,700,000

3,595

$52,348,000

2

5 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 20th Century Fox

$8,700,000

3,283

$189,329,673

4

6 Planes: Fire & Rescue Walt Disney Pictures

$6,424,000

3,241

$47,596,000

3

7 The Purge: Anarchy Universal Pictures

$5,551,000

2,656

$62,962,000

3

8 Sex Tape Columbia Pictures (Sony)

$3,550,000

2,500

$33,908,000

3

9 And So It Goes Clarius

$3,344,000

1,816

$10,473,000

2

10 A Most Wanted Man Roadside Attractions (Lionsgate)

$3,324,000

729

$7,059,000

2