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...

Whoever would have thought a film about Kong would be so entertaining and so thought provoking at the same time? My expectations were low when I sat down to watch Kong: Skull Island , given its uninspired title. So, imagine my surprise when about 20 minutes into the film, I began to realise that it was actually really, really good. Part of the reason is that Kong: Skull Island has an excellent script, fast-paced without being mind-boggling, with some great lines that underscore an already good dialogue, free of the inanities you usually find in movies like this. Added to the script is an epic soundtrack: the film is set in 1973, so rock n’ roll classics underscore the incredible cinematography. A wide range of likeable characters bring the film to life, barring poor Samuel L. Jackson as the demented Preston Packard, a US Lieutenant Colonel who loses it after his helicopters are annihilated by a furious Kong, the default protector of Skull Island. This is yet another origin ...