FilmZap

Beauty and the Beast completed the threepeat earning first place on the international chart with $66.5 million in 55 markets for totals of $480.8 million internationally and $874.1 million worldwide. The film had no major market openings this past weekend, but it did do really well in a number of mid-level markets. Malaysia was the best earning $2.4 million, which is the second best opening in that market this year. Kong: Skull Island earned $2.6 million during its debut there. The Netherlands managed $1.8 million over the weekend for a total opening of $2.3 million, which is the best opening of the year so far. Likewise, it had the best openings of 2017 in both New Zealand ($1.4 million over the weekend and $1.7 million including previews) and in Chile ($1.5 million / $1.6 million). It will soon become the first film of 2017 to reach $1 billion worldwide and the 14th film from Disney to reach that milestone. Ghost in the Shell opened in second place with $40.1 million in 5...

What more could the Scarlett Johansson remake hope to say after films like 'The Matrix' already built on the anime classic's themes? Over 20 years ago, director Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell was a ground-breaking animated adaptation of the popular manga series and a post-cyberpunk, existentialist projection of a possible future, one dominated by the use of artificial intelligence, terrorism, cyber-criminals and cyborgs. In 1995, these ideas weren’t just innovative, they were bold speculations of the future, creating a compelling, fully fleshed-out world jam-packed with complicated philosophical and cultural implications. Ghost in the Shell embraced these ideas, tackling them head on, but despite its innovation, the film had trouble finding an audience of theatergoers, DVD customers and critics alike. But Oshii’s cult masterpiece did capture the eyes of a very specific audience — other innovative filmmakers, from the Wachowskis to Steven Spielberg. Those who h...

Manga are Japanese comics and for this very short list I really had to scrape the bottom of the barrel. Since Ghost in the Shell is out today I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at what came before it. Full disclosure, this was not a good idea. Now I could’ve bent the rules a bit, include Hollywood movies based on Japanese work in general, be it manga, anime or whatever else. But no, I’m not going to do that so to be included on this list a movie must be based on something that started as a manga. The fantastic Edge of Tomorrow for example is based on a Japanese light novel which has manga style illustration, but isn’t actually a manga. So that’s sadly not in, same goes for anything that was first an anime. What did I eventually find? Well only 4 titles, and one of those is actually a Japanese-United States co-production. So without further ado here are the top 4 highest grossing Hollywood (ish) movies based on Manga. 1. Oldboy (2013) – $4.9 million A lousy remake...