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July 27th, 2008

Top 10 Genre Movies: Dark Knight dominates box office – again

The latest Batman flick. The Dark Knight continued its reign at the box office this past weekend. It brought in more than $75.6 million in ticket sales in its second weekend – more than the next five top-grossing films combined.

The only sci fi flick to debut this weekend was The X-Files: I Want to Believe, which debuted at No. 2 on the genre movie list and No. 4 overall with just over $10 million.

To make room for X-Files, Eddie Murphy flick Meet Dave dropped out of the genre Top 10 after making slightly more than $10 million in North American sales. With a $60 million budget – a movie this unprofitable almost ensures a sequel for this will never see the light of day.

Genre films set to debut next week: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is set for wide release and Clive Barker’s Books of Blood short horror story Midnight Meat Train debuts on the big screen in big cities only.

Following are the Top 10 speculative fiction movies in release in North America for the weekend of July 25 -27, 2008.

RANK #. (Overall Rank) Title – Weekend Gross | Total Gross [Budget]

  1. (1) The Dark Knight – $75.6 million | $314.2 million [$185 million]
  2. (4) The X-Files: I Want to Believe – $10.2 million | 10.2 million [$30 million]
  3. (5) Journey to the Center of the Earth – $9.4 million | $60 million [$60 million]
  4. (6) Hancock – $8.2 million | $206.3 million [$150 million]
  5. (7) WALL-E – $6.3 million | $195.2 million [$180 million]
  6. (8) Hellboy 2 – $4.9 million | $65 million [$85 million]
  7. (9) Space Chimps – $4.3 million | $16 million [$40 million]
  8. (10) Wanted – $2.7 million | $128.6 million [$75 million]
  9. (11) Get Smart – $2.3 million | $124.2 million [$80 million]
  10. (12) Kung Fu Panda – $1.0 million | $209.0 million [$130 million]

Source: Box Office Mojo – list only includes science fiction, spy fi, fantasy and dark fantasy/horror titles.

July 21st, 2008

Top 10 Genre Movies: Dark Knight lights up the box office

Most people thought the opening of the new Batman movie would be big – but few thought it would be this big. The Dark Knight brought in more than $155 million in ticket sales in its first weekend – the biggest opening of any movie in Hollywood history.

The other sci fi flick to debut is the kiddie animated entry, Space Chimps, which debuted at No. 6, behind WALL-E.

To make room for the two new comers, both Incredible Hulk and Indiana Jones fell out of the genre top 10 for the first time in months.

With Journey to the Center of the Earth still performing well against stiff kiddie competition, expectations are growing for, The Mummy; Tomb of the Dragon Emperor  which opens in two weeks and like Journey, stars Brendan Fraser.

Of all the Top 10 films of the week – all but the second spot (Baby Boomer-targeted musical Mama Mia!) were either science fiction, fantasy, horror or spy fi.

Following are the Top 10 speculative fiction movies in release in North America for the weekend of July 18 -20, 2008.

RANK #. (Overall Rank) Title – Weekend Gross | Total Gross [Budget]

  1. (1) The Dark Knight – $155.3 million | $155.3 million [$180 million]
  2. (3) Hancock – $14 million | $191.5 million [$150 million]
  3. (4) Journey to the Center of the Earth – $11.9 million | $43.1 million [$60 million]
  4. (5) Hellboy II – $10.0 million | $56.4 million [$85 million]
  5. (6) WALL-E – $9.8 million | $182.5 million [$180 million]
  6. (7) Space Chimps – $7.4 million | $7.4 million [unknown budget]
  7. (8) Wanted – $5.1 million | $123.3 million [$75 million]
  8. (9) Get Smart – $4.1 million | $199.6 million [$80 million]
  9. (10) Kung Fu Panda – $1.8 million | $206.5 million [$130 million]
  10. (11) Meet Dave – $1.6 million | $9.4 million [$60 million] 

Source: Box Office Mojo – list only includes science fiction, spy fi, fantasy and dark fantasy/horror titles.

June 20th, 2008

Jaded Sci Fi pulls Charlie out of prime time after two weeks

TIVO ALERT!

Charlie Jade, the show the Sci Fi called “too intelligent” for American audiences has been pulled off the Sci Fi Friday programming block after only two weeks on the air.

The network says it plans to finish out the full season of the show and viewers are invited to tune into the series on its new date and time: 3 a.m. on Mondays.

The channel had been showing Charlie Jade in the 8 p.m. Friday slot for the past two weeks aired the split-up the two-hour premiere movie as two one-hour programs on consecutive weeks. Apparently that strategy failed to bring in enough viewers on Friday – causing the move the the graveyard Monday night slot.

Instead of an original series, Sci Fi will program the Friday 8 p.m. slot with repeats of the previous week’s Doctor Who.

The Sci FI channel has done this after-midnight showing of disfavored programs with previous series in 2001 and 2002 with The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne and Lexx.

June 5th, 2008

Cult hit ‘Charlie Jade’ finally gets U.S. TV debut June 6

Mark your calendars, set your TiVo or tune in Friday, June 6 at 8 p.m. ET/PT to the SciFi Channel.

The TV series the Sci Fi channel originally rejected as “too intelligent” for an American audience three years ago is finally making its U.S. debut on that very channel Friday after a 21-episode run in Canada, South Africa, the UK, Japan, Korea, France, Romania and just about every other developed country on the globe.

Hailed by critics for its writing and acting and cinematic artistry, the alternate universe- and bind-bending Charlie Jade with its catch phrase, “Three worlds… One hope,” follows the adventures of a missing persons detective who finds himself caught between three parallel universes.

Created by the team of Chris Roland (Lexx) and Robert Wertheimer (Friday the 13th: The Series), Charlie Jade was filmed almost exclusively in urban South Africa, which gives the series an odd familiar/unfamiliar, otherworldly feel.

SYNOPSIS
from the SciFi.com Sci Fi Weekly:

The series is about a detective named Charlie Jade who lives in a cold, corporate world called Alphaverse. Charlie finds missing people. However, his life is turned upside down when he tries to help a lost young woman with no identity, only to be thrown into a parallel universe. Suddenly Charlie is the lost one as he attempts to get home, along the way discovering an intricate mystery involving three separate parallel universes, Alphaverse, Betaverse and Gammaverse.

“I have to say how thrilled I am that it’s actually going to get an airing on SCI FI in the United States, because when I started this, that was my ultimate objective,” Wertheimer  said in the Sci Fi Weekly interview.

The series’ tone is dark, gritty, violent and very sexy – similar to that of Sci Fi’s current hit series, Battlestar Galactica, although some of the sex scenes which played unedited in other countries are ripe for censor trimming in the U.S.

Nominated for [[Gemini award]]s in 2006 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series for Michael Filipowich, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series for Patricia McKenzie, Best Picture Editing in a Dramatic Program or Series, and Best Visual Effects; the series won a Gemini for best sound editing.

CAST
Jeffrey Pierce (Close to Home, The Nine) as Charlie Jade
Michael Filipowich (Earth: The Final Conflict) as 01 Boxer
Michele Burgers as Essa Rompkin
Tyrone Benskin (Persian Emmisary in 300) as Karl Lubinsky
Danny Keogh as Julius Galt
Marie-Julie Rivest (Leonidas’ mother in 300) as Jasmine
Patricia McKenzie as Reena
Graham Clarke as Brion Boxer
David Dennis as Sew Sew Tukarrs

April 6th, 2007

Top 10: March 2007

Below are the most popular articles, and search terms for FanDominion for March 2007.

Top 10 Most-Popular Articles

1. Narnia fans: Recipe for authentic Turkish Delight
2.. A ‘Charmed’ run as series enters the history books
3. Sci Fi Magazine: The Top 10 sexiest men and women of sci fi
4. Smallville, Supernatural picked up for 2006-2007, Charmed canceled
5. The Most-Successful Science Fiction and Fantasy Films of 2006
6. Most-Successful Sci Fi and Fantasy Movies of 2005 (so far)
7. List of new CW, My Network Affiliates
8. ‘Heroes,’ ‘Lost’ top genre nominees for 2007 Golden Globes
9. ABC taps David E. Kelly to develop sci-fi crime drama for fall 2007
10. ‘Smallville’ dominates Thursday genre TV ratings; ‘Alias’ collapses, ‘Night Stalker’ struggles
Read the rest of this entry »

March 1st, 2007

Top 10: February 2007

Below are the most popular articles, and search terms for FanDominion for February 2007.

Top 10 Most-Popular Articles
1. Narnia fans: Recipe for authentic Turkish Delight
2. Top 10: December 2006
3. List of new CW, My Network Affiliates
4. Sunset for ABC’s ‘Day Break’ as show cancelled
5. A ‘Charmed’ run as series enters the history books
6. Sci Fi Magazine: The Top 10 sexiest men and women of sci fi
7. WGA nominations honor Lost, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica writers
8. Smallville, Supernatural picked up for 2006-2007, Charmed canceled
9. Most-Successful Sci Fi and Fantasy Movies of 2005
10. Trek’s Takei boldly comes out of the closet
Read the rest of this entry »

February 1st, 2007

Top 10: January 2007

Below are the most popular articles, and search terms for FanDominion for January 2007.

Top 10 Most-Popular Articles
1. Sunset for ABC’s ‘Day Break’ as show cancelled
2. Sci Fi Magazine: The Top 10 sexiest men and women of sci fi
3. Narnia fans: Recipe for authentic Turkish Delight
4. Video: Two more Jericho sneak peek videos here
5. Smallville, Supernatural picked up for 2006-2007, Charmed canceled
6. List of new CW, My Network Affiliates
7. Press Release: Genius Products & The Weinstein Company Announce Strategic Alliance With RHI Entertainment
8. Studio picks younger, hunky and blond ‘James Bond’?
9. Press Release: ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ Approved for Xbox 360
10. First Look: Dresden Files
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January 5th, 2007

Top 10: December 2006

Below are the most popular articles, and search terms for FanDominion for December 2006.

Top 10 Most-Popular Articles
1. Sci Fi Magazine: The Top 10 sexiest men and women of sci fi
2. Sunset for ABC’s ‘Day Break’ as show cancelled
3. List of new CW, My Network Affiliates (March 2006)
4. Narnia fans: Recipe for authentic Turkish Delight (December 2005)
5. Film Review: ‘Vendetta’ does future imperfect in perfect pitch (March 2006)
6. ‘Heroes,’ ‘Lost’ top genre nominees for 2007 Golden Globes
7. ABC taps David E. Kelly to develop sci-fi crime drama for fall 2007 (March 2006)
8. Film Review: Hello Double-O-Sexy, goodbye spy fi
9. Sci Fi UK plans British invasion of ‘Ice Planet’ (April 2006)
10. Aussie mag offers free access SF from back issues (March 2006)

NOTE: It is nice to see that some of the older stories here are still popular.
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January 3rd, 2006

WB shows heading to an iPod near you

According to reports in Variety, Garth Ancier, the network boss of The WB, said primetime shows on his netowrk will be available for download on Apple’s iTunes service “sooner rather than later.”

The WB airs several shows in the sci fi arena, including fantasy series, Smallville, Charmed and Supernatural. The network also is developing a pilot for a new series based on Aquaman for the 2006-2007 season.

January 2nd, 2006

Top 10 most popular FanDominion stories

Here are the Top 10 most-visited FanDominion pages for 2005:
(Excluding index pages)

  1. Narnia fans: Recipe for authentic Turkish Delight
  2. ABC’s cancelled ‘Nightstalker’ finds new life on Sci Fi Fridays
  3. Most-Successful Sci Fi and Fantasy Movies of 2005 (so far)
  4. Sci Fi adds “John Doe” to Sci Fi Friday starting Jan. 20
  5. Disney angers fans as it “kills off” Christopher Robin
  6. Sci Fi picks up rights to campy NBC soap opera
  7. Axe falls on ‘Nightstalker,’ ABC not to air end of cliffhanger
  8. Film Review: Swinton’s White Witch saves Narnia flick from Disney mediocrity mill
  9. NBC plans time travel adventure series ‘Pen and the Sword’
  10. Lost, Narnia, Medium and Kong garner Golden Globe nods