What Made 'The Wolverine' Such a Disappointment?

'The Wolverine'

 Welcome to the Box Office Report, where we're betting some Fox executive is telling Hugh Jackman that he's "not mad at him, just disappointed," right this very second. 
1. The Wolverine (Fox): $55 million in 3,924 theaters 
So, oof. Let's get the oof out of the way quickly. Hugh Jackman returning to the role that made him famous was supposed to draw a lot more money than $55 million. It's his fifth time in the role (not counting his cameo in First Class) and the expectations were closer to the $70 million range, after X-Men Origins earned $89 million in its opening weekend. But a number of thing contributed to this disappointment. The first Wolverine movie was terrible: Origins received a 38 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The hype around this Wolverine project was that it was better than the last one -- Darren Aronofsky was originally attached to direct -- except reviews said it was only a marginal improvement.
But executives and analysts are pointing to simple audience fatigue to explain away the numbers. "There have been times before when audience fatigue from the summer sets in," a Fox executive told Nikki Finke. Buzzfeed's Adam Vary says it's not the heat that's tiring people out, it's the super heroes: "Granted, most non-superhero movies would be thrilled with an opening weekend that good," he writes. "But nonetheless, it plays into the ongoing narrative that Hollywood’s dependency on mega-budgeted films based on Comic-Con-friendly source material is starting to go bad." 
The last two summers have brought an onslaught of super hero movies that have practically waged a civil war at the box office, and audiences are realizing they're not obligated to see every single one. And when budgets are rising each year, the lower turnouts should scare film executives to maybe think twice when authorizing another $150 million dud. 
2. The Conjuring (Warner Bros.): $22.1 million in 3,022 theaters [Week 2]
Does this mean we're not going to get the requisite end-of-summer horror movie that comes every year? If they start the summer blockbuster season early, does it end early too? 
3. Despicable Me 2 (Universal): $16 million in 3,476 theaters [Week 4]
Having trouble believing there are still kids left who haven't seen this movie.
4. Turbo (Fox): $13.3 million in 3,809 theaters [Week 2]
The snail racer continues to profit from kids who already saw Despicable Me 2 but didn't want to go to the park this week. 
5. Grown Ups 2 (Sony): $11.5 million in 3,258 theaters [Week 3]

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Hanging in Jake 'The Snake' Roberts' room is a series of drawings portraying him as a hero.

Jake 'The Snake' Roberts

 In the tiny second-floor bedroom, there's a pile of Jake "The Snake" Roberts action figures on a table, plastic muscles ripped and bulging, snarls on tiny faces. Above them, on the wall, are signed comic-book-style cartoons of Jake The Snake fighting atop the Empire State Building and deep in the heart of the jungle. All around the room are photographs of Jake The Snake wrestling in some of the world's largest arenas against fellow iconic wrestlers.
It'd be a hell of a tribute to the man, were it not for Jake the Snake himself writhing in the bed in the center of the room.
It's a summer morning outside Atlanta. Jake Roberts, unshaven, his long hair matted, is lying in the bed, devastated, alone. He'd been clean and sober for eight months, drying out and cleaning out and trying to resurrect his life and his career. But he's just fallen.
Two airline bottles of vodka. That's all it was; that's all it took. Two tiny bottles, boom boom, downed in a parking lot. He drank to blot out the image of an old friend who'd fallen on hard times, the same way he used to drink to blot out the thought of his own fallen image.
And now that he's stumbled back into one bad habit, every seductive, self-loathing instinct in his body is telling him to get back in touch with another: when life gets hard, pack your [stuff] and run.
But on this morning, he doesn't run. He stays. He's got a control over his body and his mind now that he didn't have even eight months ago. He's hating himself for falling – "It was like hitting me in the head with a ball-peen hammer," he says – but he's getting back up to face what he's done. He's got friends now, people pulling harder for him to win now than they ever did back in the ring.
And in a twist so perfect it almost seems like it's scripted, the guy now tasked with helping Roberts save himself is the same guy Roberts once hoisted to wrestling stardom: Diamond Dallas Page.
This is Page's house, and with Page's guidance, Roberts might just be on the way to a peace that's eluded him for six decades.
This, then, is a story of fame and fortune, addiction and recovery, snakes and yoga. It's what happens when lives go off-script, for better and for worse.

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Had he entered the wrestling game any earlier, Diamond Dallas Page might be somewhere working a forklift and punching a time clock today. Page was running a nightclub in Florida in the 1980s, dabbling with wrestling management on the side, when he first met Roberts. At that point, Roberts was well into his career as The Snake, and Page, then in his 30s, mentioned that he was considering getting into the ring himself.
"I wanted to do it, but I assumed I was too old," Page says. "I started managing at 31, but didn't even get into the ring until I was 35."
"Thank God for his day job," Roberts says, shaking his head at the state of Page's early wrestling game.Read More..

Did Kim Kardashian & Kanye West REALLY Spend More Than $750,000 On Gold Toilets?

Did Kim Kardashian & Kanye West

 When it comes to money, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West definitely have a lot of it. That is why it may not be such a big deal for them to drop more than $750,000 on, say, something like gold toilets.
British tabloid The Sun claims Kardashian and West spent around $767,000 on four gold-plated toilets for their swanky new Bel Air, Calif., mansion.
They also reportedly dropped $444,000 on six special beds and nearly $325,000 on kitchen appliances, plus a Swarovski crystal-encrusted fridge freezer.
This isn't the first time the reality star has been linked to an over-the-top commode. Last year, another tabloid report claimed Kardashian spent $100,000 on a self-flushing toilet. She purportedly made the purchase because she was scared of guests forgetting to flush on their own.
Even though they might have a combined net worth of around $140 million, we aren't so sure Kardashian and West would choose to spend their hard-earned cash on luxury latrines.
What we do know for certain is that Kardashian is very particular about her bathrooms and what goes on in them.
While staying with mom Kris Jenner, the 32-year-old has criticized the black shower and black toilet paper in Jenner's house. Back when she was married to Kris Humphries, she complained about the NBA star's bathroom habits, including how he spritzed the mirror while brushing his teeth.(Read More)

This Box Office Disaster Is Bad News for Netflix

turbo_DreamWorks Animations

 As the video streaming wars continue to heat up, companies such as Amazon.com and Netflix  (NASDAQ: NFLX  ) are increasingly trying to find ways to differentiate themselves from their competition.
And for the industry leaders in video streaming over the past two years, those efforts have increasingly involved building a world-class repertoire of original series.
For Netflix, anyway, this move seemed to be paying off in a big way up until last week, after its programs received no less than 14 Emmy nods, including nine for House of Cards, two for Hemlock Grove, and even one for Arrested Development, which the company recently revived for an exclusive fourth season.
Then again, that didn't exactly help Netflix stock Tuesday, which is when it fell more than 6% after the company disappointed investors with weaker-than-expected second quarter subscriber growth.
What's more, as fellow Fool Blake Bos pointed out in March, original content can often prove undeniably expensive, so there's much to be said for the merits of signing deals for lower-cost existing programming -- of which Netflix incidentally also boasts plenty.
Netflix placed this bet too early
But what happens when some of that expensive original content doesn't perform as anticipated?
Thanks to last weekend's dismal box office debut of DreamWorks Animations'  (NASDAQ: DWA  )  Turbo, we may get the chance to find out.
Remember, as part of Netflix's huge content deal with DreamWorks announced back in February, the animation specialist agreed to create an original kids' series exclusively for Netflix, based on the feature film, and aptly named Turbo F.A.S.T.
So what's the problem? 
If Turbo's horrific $21.3 million opening weekend take is any indication, kids may simply not be all that interested in the snail-racing flick.
And considering Netflix probably promised DreamWorks a hefty sum to ensure that the series would be offered only alongside its signature red logo, something tells me the company won't be allowed to back out of the deal, as the animator undoubtedly wants to continue milking every possible penny out of the brand in an effort to recoup its estimated $135 million production budget.
Then again, perhaps Turbo is exactly the kind of show that could do exceedingly well on a streaming $8-per-month service like Netflix, so maybe this won't be a huge problem for the King of Streaming in and of itself. (Read More..)

#OmronPedometer 30 Day 10,000 Step Challenge Ambassador Announcement

OmronPedometer

Mamavation is excited to manage another fitness campaign for Omron Fitness testing out their Tri-Axis Pedometer. This product connects to OmronFitness.com to upload data, set goals & track progress and we will be supporting 15 blogger ambassadors in a 30 Day 10,000 Step Challenge that will put the pedometer through the wringer!
We received over 700 applications to this challenge and it was incredibly difficult to narrow the list down to just 15, but we did! Congratulations to the #OmronPedometer #Mamavation Tri-Axis Pedometer Challenge Ambassadors!(Read More..)

Taylor Swift Leaves HUGE Tip For Very Lucky Fans

Taylor Swift Leaves HUGE Tip For Very Lucky Fans

 Last Friday night was a very good one for the head chef at Ralph's Italian Restaurant in Philadelphia.
And it was all because of Taylor Swift.
She didn't even kiss anyone! And after her creepy fan incident, we could use some good T-Swift news.
Instead, she and her tour mates, Ed Sheeran and Austin Mahone, were craving some late-night Italian after their show. They chose Ralph's.
The head chef immediately called his mother.
"I called my mom to tell her Swift was there, and she wanted me to take a picture because she is a big fan," he told E! News.
"My son has autism, and while I'm at work my mom and my son love to listen to her music. He loves her music!"
Swift took pictures with the staff and had some more surprises in store. She handed over two tickets to her concert for the following night.
"It was so kind-hearted of her," the chef told E! News. "My son is 11. It was my son and I's first concert we've ever been to! It was really special."
And to top it all of, she left a $500 tip.
That's some good karma right there, Swifty!(Read More..)

Incan Girl Who Had Been Frozen For 500 Years

Incan Girl Who Had Been Frozen For 500 Years

Unearthed in 1999 from the twenty two,foot summit of Mount Llullaillaco, a volcano three hundred miles west of here close to the Chilean border, their frozen bodies were among the best preserved mummies ever found, with internal organs intact, blood still gift within the heart and lungs, and skin and facial expression principally uninjured. No special effort had been created to preserve them (See More..)

DJ Khaled Proposes To Nicki Minaj And Stuns Fans

DJ Khaled Proposes To Nicki Minaj And Stuns Fans

 Remember when DJ Khaled proposed to Nicki Minaj with a 10 carat ring and set the Internet on fire? Nicki hasn't officially accepted or declined Khaled's offer, but we know for sure that she's seen the video. So have her fans, who haven't been able to stop talking about the proposal, keeping DJ Khaled's name trending overnight on Twitter. See some of their reactions below.
That ring DJ Khaled proposed to Nicki with is as big as her ass! #10carats #thingisaROCK, @Caruso_Playa wrote, while @Mr_Harris10 added, "So I wonder how DJ Khaled is going to feel when Nicki Minaj turns down his marriage proposal."
Some fans even admitted that they'd been sharing the proposal video with their entire families.(Read More..)