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Netflix is shelling out big bucks for the rights to a book series that went viral on TikTok earlier this year. If one is familiar with BookTok, one might have heard of the fantasy book "Quicksilver," released on June 3, 2024. Written by "Blood & Roses" and "Dirty Nasty Freaks" author Callie Hart, Quicksilver exploded in popularity, quickly became a bestseller and, within its first two months of release, garnered 3 million mentions on TikTok. The story of 24-year-old human rebel Saeris Fane inadvertently reopening a gateway between two realms and accidentally binding herself to a handsome but mysterious Fae warrior named Kingfisher was prime material for an adaptation, and Netflix has now set its sights on the property.

Deadline reports that Netflix secured the rights to "Quicksilver" and its two planned sequel books, with the streamer paying seven figures for the rights. The series author, Callie Hart, will be the executive producer,...

The Hunger Games movies might be best remembered for launching Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth to new heights of stardom. That said, the movies are full of vivid supporting characters played by notable actors, even if not all audience members remember them.

From Isabelle Furhman of the Orphan movies to Daredevil's Elden Henson, many of these great actors rose to prominence in other popular films and series. They filled their Hunger Games characters with the same level of complexity and feeling as their most well-known roles, no matter how brief their appearances were.

Related: 9 Hunger Games Characters Who Were Cut From The Movies

Wes Bentley

In The Hunger Games, Wes Bentley brings Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane to life. Seneca conspires with President Snow throughout the movie to keep Katniss Everdeen in line and keep the Games proceeding as usual. However, Katniss proves less predictable than they thought,...

The Heels season 2 cast brings back most of the characters from the first season of the Starz professional wrestling series that tells the family story of family drama and betrayal in small-town America. Heels stars Stephen Amell (Arrow) and Alexander Ludwig (Vikings) as brothers show take on the role of running an indie wrestling company in a small Georgia town after their father dies by suicide. However, the two brothers can't agree on how the company should move forward, and this causes strife in their personal and professional lives.

The second season of Heels brings back most of the cast from the first season, with three other fresh additions to the lineup - both with actors playing wrestlers and some playing other members of the community affected by this wrestling promotion's struggles and success. The actors involved come from both the big and small screen, with a few real-life professional wrestlers thrown in as well.

If you’re trying to figure out what to watch on HBO Max, you may want to prioritize a number of films that are due to leave the streaming service in April.

Set to depart HBO Max at the end of this month are such noteworthy films as the Oscar-winning “Promising Young Woman,” the Tom Hanks Western “News of the World,” the Kurt Russell 1996 thriller “Executive Decision,” and the extended version of Bruce Willis’ final “Die Hard” film “A Good Day to Die Hard.”

Also leaving HBO Max this month is “The Fast and the Furious” and the franchise’s first sequel “2 Fast 2 Furious.”

Check out the full list of what’s leaving HBO Max in April below.

April 3:

Life’s Too Short, 2012 (HBO)

April 30:

2 Fast 2 Furious, 2003 (HBO)

A Good Day to Die Hard, 2013 (HBO) (Extended Version)

Aftermath, 2017 (HBO)

Anna to the Infinite Power, 1982 (HBO)

Bloodsport,...

Exclusive: Hunger Games actor Alexander Ludwig will join Anthony Hopkins, Julia Stiles, and Ray Liotta in Pacific Northwest thriller Go With Me, for director Daniel Alfredson (The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest). The picture centers on a young woman, newly returned to her hometown, who becomes the subject of harassment by a local crimelord and turns to an ex-logger (Hopkins) and his laconic young sidekick (Ludwig) for help.

The Enderby Entertainment and Gotham Group production is adapted from the novel of the same name by Castle Freeman, Jr. and marks a reunion for Alfredson and Hopkins, who recently filmed period drama Kidnapping Freddy Heineken together. Hopkins is producing alongside Rick Dugdale, Lindsay Williams, and Elaine Goldsmith-Vein.

Ludwig started acting at a young age with roles in The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising and Race to Witch Mountain. He appeared in The Hunger Games...

There are cheap costumes, cartoonish special effects and endless nonsense monologues in Brett Ratner's “Hercules." Ergo, there's also Ian McShane. HBO's "Deadwood" blew up the journeyman actor's career, making him a must-have accessory in the eyes of all casting agents. But since the end of that show, where he essayed the role of the iconic Al Swearengen, he's been lost in an increasingly inessential sea of special effects-heavy blockbusters, from “Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” to “Jack The Giant Slayer," from “The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising” to “Snow White And The Huntsman." You figure the qualifications for McShane appearing in your movie involve the least amount of acting possible. “Hercules” may be the first film where, finally, everyone is on the exact same page as McShane. Of course, if you don't know McShane, don't worry: he's in the bulk of scenes in “Hercules," and yet you...

Diving into the genre of young-adult film adaptations is a dangerous proposition these days. "Harry Potter" and "The Hunger Games" are two of the biggest film franchises there are and cross all demographics. "Twilight" is more female-oriented and less critically acclaimed, but is also a box-office juggernaut. Even though this year's "Divergent" may not be on the same level, only an idiot wouldn't call it a hit with major potential.

Yet there have been numerous bodies left in their wake. "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones," "Beautiful Creatures," "The Golden Compass," "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant," "I Am Number Four," "The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising," "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," "City of Ember," "Stormbreaker," "The Spiderwick Chronicles" and more.

Today, Yahoo has premiered the first photo from the latest to give it a go - a film adaptation of Lauren Kate's book series "Fallen". Some...

Thanks to its strong brand and broadly-appealing marketing, The Lego Movie stacked up one of the highest openings ever for an original animated movie this weekend. The Monuments Men also had a solid debut, while Vampire Academy was the latest young-adult debacle.The Lego Movie took first place with $69.05 million, which ranks second all-time in the month of February behind The Passion of the Christ ($83.8 million). That fantastic debut is among the best-ever for an "original" (i.e. not a sequel or prequel) animated movie ever along with Up ($68.1 million), Dr. Seuss' The Lorax ($70.2 million) and The Incredibles ($70.5 million). For reference, the current record-holder is The Simpsons Movie with $74 million.The Lego Movie's success can be attributed to a handful of factors. The brand itself is remarkably strong: most people have some experience with the tiny building blocks, and that experience is generally positive. Warner Bros. built on...

2014 will bring us everything from Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit to X-Men: Days of Future Past. Film titles didn't always used to be like this

• 2014 in film preview: sequels

Prepare yourself for the attack of the colons. A week ago, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones came to a cinema near you, and in 2014 you can look forward to Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 300: Rise of an Empire, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey?, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, The Hobbit: There and Back Again – all of them episodes in ongoing franchises, and all of them with a colon in the middle of the title.

If that weren't dizzying enough, there are three more films released in January alone that use a colon, but which aren't part of a series.

This is where we start a war. We'll lose friends, and cause controversy. Because somewhere on this list below is something you're dying to see. In fact, you might be fanatical about some of these inclusions (Christopher Nolan fans, we're staring straight at you). But it's inevitable. And unavoidable. Hollywood is releasing hundreds of movies in 2014. Some of them will be good. Some of them will be bad. And some will be box office disasters. In compiling this list, we're not declaring that all, or even any, of these movies will be unwatchable. Some will be quite good. Maybe even a masterpiece or a classic in the making. There are a few that we're desperate to see ourselves. We really want them to succeed. But every movie here is a risk taker. And some of this shit? Hollywood should clearly know better. These are the 14 Biggest Potential Bombs of 2014.

1The...

Christopher Eccleston talks Malekith in Thor: The Dark World, opening everywhere this Friday

(From contributing writer Bo Bory)

With his return in Marvel Studios' Thor: The Dark World, the God of Thunder once again has to save Earth and the Nine Realms by battling the vicious and sinister villain, Malekith, who swears to avenge his race, the Dark Elves, and shroud the universe in darkness for all of eternity. It's a daunting task to be certain...Even for a God, and so for the producers to find someone with enough gravitas and stature to fill the role of the complex, vengeful, hell-bent, and older than time itself villain, Malekith...Kevin Feige and Alan Taylor turned to non-other than screen, TV, and stage veteran, Christopher Eccleston.

Eccleston, of course, is no stranger to the fantasy, sci-fi universe...He was Doctor Who for God's sake! But even though that may be...

There’s nothing new under the sun — but somehow, these awesome properties have never been adapted for screens big or small. Psst, Hollywood: Let’s change that.

Once upon a time, the idea of studios making big-budget, mainstream fantasy movies — let alone TV series — seemed as unlikely as actually finding a hidden portal to Narnia.

Thankfully, the smashing success of both the Harry Potter films and the Lord of the Rings series changed all that in the early ’00s. Soon enough, the entertainment landscape was crowded with expensive, magically-laced epics, most of which were based on beloved fantasy book series.

Production on "The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes," the proposed sequel to the young adult fantasy lit adaptation "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones," has been delayed indefinitely.

The news comes following the tepid box-office opening for 'Bones' last month. The $60 million-budget film has pulled in a mere $37 million worldwide so far and opened to both scathing reviews and a disappointing $14 million over five days in the United States.

Pre-production on the sequel was already underway with Sigourney Weaver set to join the cast, and filming to begin as early as next week. Constantin Film says the delay is so that the company can "analyze the results to date and reposition the franchise in order to maximize results for future installments." Constantin Film's Martin Moszkowicz says:

"Pushing back the start of production of City of Ashes was a decision we did not take lightly. But after speaking with all...

Ever since the fantastic success of the "Harry Potter" franchise, Hollywood has been on the lookout for the next big young adult fantasy find. Some of them, like "The Chronicles of Narnia," have been every inch the success the studios wanted, but far more have disappeared into the vast pit of audience indifference. ("The Seeker: The Dark is Rising" anyone?) Now Screen Gems, known more for its bloody "Resident Evil" and "Underworld" franchises than young adult coming-of-age stories, is preparing to step into the arena with its adaptation of Cassandra Clare's "The Mortal Instruments" series. Although the film doesn't open until next week, internal reaction to The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones has been strong enough...

Using 99 different movies from the works of directors such as Christopher Nolan, Zack Snyder, Joss Whedon, Michael Bay, the Wachowskis, Neill Blomkamp, James Cameron, Danny Boyle, Guillermo del Toro and even Darren Aronofsky and Terrence Malick, video director Vadzim Khudabets (official site) delivers the following 6:10 minute compilation of "epic" moments from a slew of recent movies (all listed below the video) for a video titled "Eterna". I'm featuring it here for two reasons; 1.) because it's very well done and 2.) I think it highlights the issues I have with today's blockbuster cinema. The first point is self-explanatory, but to the second point just watching this reminds me of every problem I have with so many of today's big budget spectacle features from the fact they are more style and size over substance and, like the video, overstay their welcome. For as well made as this video is, at the 2:...

Review Mark Harrison Feb 18, 2013

Poor box office may prevent Beautiful Creatures from inheriting Twilight's crown. It deserves a stab at it, though.

It would be unfair to dismiss Beautiful Creatures out of hand, just because it's been released at a time when the dust has barely settled around the Twilight saga. Based on a (nother) series of supernatural romance novels targeted at young adults, it might appear as yet another attempt to clone the massively successful franchise, which ended last year with Breaking Dawn Part 2.

Look at the production output of Summit Entertainment, the house that Twilight built. They've recently distributed Warm Bodies, as a more snarky take on the sub-genre, and they have The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones coming up in the summer. It's all uncomfortably reminiscent of the scramble that followed The Lord Of The Rings, which gave us fantasy franchise non-starters like Eragon and The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising.

Let us pause a moment to reflect on the fallen… Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Eragon (2006), The Golden Compass (2007), The Seeker: The Dark is Rising (2007), City of Ember (2008), The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008), Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (2009), I Am Number Four (2011) These are all movies adapted from the first books of best-selling, young adult fiction series, and while each of them had hopes of spawning cinematic franchises along the lines of Harry Potter and Twilight… all of them failed. The high rate of disappointment hasn’t quenched Hollywood’s thirst though, and many, many more Ya adventures are hitting screens in the next few years. The newest one, and happily, one of the best in some time, is the supernatural themed Beautiful Creatures. The film follows the destined but doomed romance between a mortal teen yearning to escape his backwater hometown and a girl whose upcoming sixteenth birthday will see her claimed by...

We've seen a couple of live-action iterations of Dick Grayson as Robin but never as Nightwing. Quite frankly, Grayson becomes much more interesting and dynamic once he steps out of Batman's shadow. He'll often drop a funny quip or two while beating up the bad guys and then there's quite a few candidates to to chose from for a love interest. It's a little surprising we've yet to get a solo Nightwing show yet. But if that day comes anytime soon, here are five candidates to play him. Tyler Hoechlin American 25 Recognizable from: Road to Peredition (Michael Sullivan Jr.), 7th Heaven (Michael Sullivan Jr.), Teen Wolf (Derek Hale) Robert Sheehan Irish 25 Recognizable from: Misfits (Nathan Young) Harry Lloyd English 29 Recognizable from: Game of Thrones (Viserys Targaryen) Ben Barnes English 31 Recognizable from: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Prince Caspian) Alexander Ludwig Canadian 20 Recognizable from: The Hunger Games (Cato), The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising...

Studios have been eagerly dipping into the pool of young adult book adaptations, following the runaway success of Harry Potter and Twilight. However, in proportion to every film that hits it big (The Hunger Games), there seem to be a handful that only manage mixed business (Percy Jackson, The Spiderwick Chronicles) or fizzle out immediately on impact (The Seeker: The Dark is Rising).

So that begs the question: what will the turnout be for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (which is based on the first installment in author Cassandra Clare’s best-selling fantasy/adventure series)? Well, the first trailer for the film launches in theaters this Friday with the Twilight Saga finale Breaking Dawn – Part 2, but you can check out the theatrical promo online now (along with the official poster).

Mortal Instruments revolves around Clary Fray (Lily Collins, Mirror Mirror), an ...

Click to continue reading ‘The Mortal Instruments’ Trailer...

Writer/director Ciaran Foy's new psychological horror 'Citadel' appears to be getting the thumbs up as it does its rounds. And following on from picking up its Midnighter Audience Award at this years SXSW Film Fest distributors Cinedigm and Flatiron Films have unveiled its creepy new one-sheet. The movie stars Aneurin Barnard ('Guinea Pigs'), James Cosmo ('The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising'), Wunmi Mosuka and Amy Shiels ('Slaughter'). Check out the plot deets, teaser trailer and of course the new poster below....

Page to screen adaptations have been bankable fodder since the studios began feeding celluloid to the movie going masses. It’s relatable and something that filmmakers go to time and time again. Look at the success of The Harry Potter, Twilight, Narnia and Bourne franchises. The studios are returning to the literary well once again with such notables as the upcoming Great Gatsby, Anna Karenina, and Les MISÉRABLES. The latest entry into the fray has been The Hunger Games franchise. With just the first film so far, it’s worldwide box office receipts has it off to a successful start.

Sometimes the transfer, as in the case of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Master And Commander and John Carter books, doesn’t go over so well because in hindsight it only played out to a niche audience and the box office was worse the wear for it. Even the big name stars,...

Each time we think Peter Berg has finished rounding up the thespian troops he needs to fill out the cast of true-life Navy Seal tale Lone Survivor, another recruit pops up on the roster. Today’s soldier is Alexander Ludwig, who will portray Shane Patton.Adapted by Berg from Marcus Luttrell’s book, Survivor follows Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) and his fellow SEALs on patrol in Afghanistan in 2005. When the platoon is ambushed, they must begin a harrowing fight against the Taliban, a battle that leaves only one of them alive.The cast already also includes Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch and Sammy Sheik. Berg will be kicking off the shoot on September 25 in New Mexico.Ludwig is most familiar for The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising and Race To Witch Mountain, and had spent a quiet couple of years largely acting in TV shows until he popped back up...

Svartalfheim! Bless you. Okay, so we’re talking Thor: The Dark World, which got close to locking in a second villain in Mads Mikkelsen, but lost his services to the new TV take on Hannibal Lecter. Instead, director Alan Taylor and the Marvel team have now decided that Christopher Eccleston would make a fine bad guy to take on Asgard’s finest. Eccleston is in final negotiations to play Malekith The Accursed, who, as his title suggests, is not a happy-go-lucky sort. He’s the leader of the dark elves of Svartalfheim (you really should have those allergies checked out) and, in the comics at least, also happens to be a teleport-capable shape-shifter with strong energy powers.Eccleston seems like a good choice for someone to cause chaos in the same film as Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, even if him being a villain conjures thoughts of G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra...

The villainous role in Thor: The Dark World may finally have been filled by Christopher Eccleston (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra).  We'll keep the identity of that particular villain until after the jump for those of you who like to avoid such information.  Suffice it to say, we were right when we recently reported who we thought the villain might be.  And let's not forget, the Marvel sequel will still include Loki (Tom Hiddleston), it's just that this time around he'll have a little more bad to balance out the good.  Hit the jump for more details. If you've been paying attention, you know that we had some pretty good evidence suggesting that Malekith the Accursed had our bet for the sequel's villain.  Now Deadline reports that Eccleston is in final negotiations for the role.  Eccleston was previously seen as The Rider in The Seeker: The Dark is Rising and,...

Update: Alexander Ludwig, who played the natural born killer Cato in The Hunger Games, is taking a much lighter role: David Spade's son in Grown-Ups 2. Ludwig joins other heart-throbby types like Taylor Lautner and David Henrie. Ludwig's previous work includes starring in Race to Witch Mountain and The Seeker: The Dark is Rising.

May 14, 2012 -- Taylor Lautner (Twilight), Oliver Cooper (Project X), Cheri Oteri (Sleeping Beauty in the Shrek movies) and Nick Swardson (Jack and Jill) are joining the cast of Grown-Ups 2. Swardson will play Rob Schneider's brother, a school bus driver who is also a drunk. Oteri, one of Adam Sandler's former "SNL" castmates, will play Sander's ex-girlfriend from junior high who now works in his wife's (Salma Hayek) store. Cooper will play a frat boy type (see David Henrie's role below). Lautner's role hasn't been disclosed except to say it's "fun" and that his...

Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games The Hunger Games has topped the Us/Canada box office for the fourth weekend in a row. Starring Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone), the Gary Ross-directed blockbuster scored $21.5 million according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. The dystopic action-drama was down a relatively modest 35% compared to Easter weekend. Prior to The Hunger Games, the most recent movie to achieve the four-weekend-in-a-row feat was James Cameron / Sam Worthington's Avatar in early 2010. In fact, Avatar remained at the top for seven consecutive weekends. The Hunger Games, however, won't get that far. Next weekend, it'll surely be unseated by Zac Efron / Taylor Schilling's The Lucky One. Among the nearly 30 movies that have managed to be no. 1 for four weekends in a row are Christopher Nolan / Christian Bale / Heath Ledger's The Dark Knight (2008), Peter Jackson / Elijah Wood...

Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games The Hunger Games has topped the Us/Canada box office for the fourth weekend in a row. Starring Jennifer Lawrence, the Gary Ross-directed blockbuster scored $21.5 million according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. The dystopic action-drama was down a relatively modest 35% compared to Easter weekend. Prior to The Hunger Games, the most recent movie to achieve the four-weekend-in-a-row feat was James Cameron / Sam Worthington's Avatar in early 2010. In fact, Avatar remained at the top for seven consecutive weekends. The Hunger Games, however, won't get that far. Next weekend, it'll surely be unseated by Zac Efron / Taylor Schilling's The Lucky One. Among the nearly 30 movies that have managed to be no. 1 for four weekends in a row are Christopher Nolan / Christian Bale / Heath Ledger's The Dark Knight (2008), Peter Jackson / Elijah Wood / Viggo Mortensen's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King...

Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games In all likelihood, The Hunger Games is going to top the North American box office for the fourth weekend in a row. Starring Winter's Bone / X-Men: First Class' Jennifer Lawrence, Gary Ross' film adaptation of Suzanne Collins bestselling novel is expected to score approximately $20 million at 3,916 theaters by Sunday evening after having taken in $6.45 million on Friday as per studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. The most recent movie to achieve that feat was James Cameron / Sam Worthington's Avatar in early 2010. In fact, Avatar stayed at the top for seven consecutive weekends. The Hunger Games, however, won't get that far. Next weekend, it'll surely be unseated by Zac Efron / Taylor Schilling's The Lucky One. Among the nearly 30 movies that have managed to be no. 1 for four weekends in a row are Christopher Nolan / Christian Bale / Heath Ledger's The Dark Knight...

Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games The Hunger Games will likely top the North American box office for the fourth weekend in a row according to early, rough estimates found at Deadline.com. Gary Ross' film adaptation of Suzanne Collins bestselling novel is expected to gross $20 million at 3,916 theaters over the weekend after taking in an estimated $6.5 million on Friday. The most recent movie to achieve that feat was James Cameron / Sam Worthington's Avatar in early 2010. In fact, Avatar stayed at the top for seven consecutive weekends. Among the nearly 30 movies that have managed to be no. 1 for four weekends in a row are Christopher Nolan / Christian Bale / Heath Ledger's The Dark Knight (2008), Peter Jackson / Elijah Wood / Viggo Mortensen's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), James Cameron / Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), James L. Brooks / Shirley MacLaine / Debra Winger / Jack Nicholson...

As expected, The Hunger Games easily topped the North American box office for the third weekend in a row. Gary Ross' dystopic adventure tale collected $33.5 million according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. That represents a 43% drop from last weekend, whereas early estimates published on Friday — Deadline had the film earning $40 million over the weekend — implied a drop-off rate of only 30-35%. [Image: Alexander Ludwig as Cato.] For comparison's sake: although both The Hunger Games and Catherine Hardwicke / Robert Pattinson / Kristen Stewart's original Twilight dropped 62% on their second weekend out, The Hunger Games had a softer drop-off rate on its third weekend, as Twilight was down 50.5%. I should note that good business on Good Friday, when many schools and businesses were closed, helped The Hunger Games quite a bit. The film was down only 31% compared to the previous Friday, whereas it was down an estimated 47% on Saturday compared to the previous week,...

Kate Winslet as Rose, Titanic 3D The Hunger Games will easily top the North American box for the third weekend in a row. Gary Ross' dystopic adventure tale collected $12.9 million on Friday, April 6, according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. The film will likely earn somewhere between $35-$40 million over the Easter weekend. If so, it will be down around 30-35% compared to a week ago — or about half its 62% drop-off rate last (non-holiday) weekend. The Hunger Games should cross the $300 million mark at the domestic box office on Sunday. Its current total is $282.23 million. Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg's American Reunion landed at no. 2 on Friday. At 3,192 locations, the R-rated comedy took in $9.2 million — including $660,000 earned at Thursday midnight screenings. Its weekend total could reach $25 million. If those estimates are correct, Universal will claim that American Reunion far surpassed the $18.7 million earned by the original...

Gary Ross may still come back for Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games, reports Deadline.com. Yesterday, an "exclusive" by indieWIRE/The Playlist's Kevin Jagernauth asserted that Ross had "officially exited the franchise and will not direct the sequel, formally giving Lionsgate and Summit his notice earlier this week, that he will not be coming back." The article went on to claim that Ross had left the movie franchise-to-be not because of money (despite a "lowball salary offer"), but because "the burning desire simply isn't there to spend another couple of years with Katniss in the Capitol." Be that as it may, Deadline's Nikki Finke and Mike Fleming say they've heard "from multiple sources close to Catching Fire that director Gary Ross has not formally withdrawn from The Hunger Games sequel. Ross is off on a family vacation and couldn’t be reached, but these internet reports that...

Leonardo DiCaprio, Titanic The Hunger Games will easily top the North American box office once again this weekend — its third time as no. 1 — according to Deadline.com's "sources." As per Deadline's early, rough estimates, The Hunger Games is expected to collect $12-$14 million on Friday, and could reach $40 million over the Easter weekend. If so, Gary Ross' movie would be down close to 30% compared to last weekend — or less than half its drop-off rate last (non-holiday) weekend. It seems that Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg's American Reunion will be the no. 2 movie on Friday, with somewhere between $8-$10 million at 3,192 locations, and an estimated $25 million by Sunday evening. That includes $660,000 earned at Thursday midnight screenings in North America. If those estimates are correct, Universal will claim that American Reunion far surpassed the $18.7 million earned by the original American Pie at 2,508 sites in 1999. There is, however, a pesky little thing known as inflation,...

Gary Ross, The Hunger Games Gary Ross won't be directing The Hunger Games' sequel Catching Fire, according to various online reports. The Pleasantville and Seabiscuit director wanted more money than Lionsgate was offering him, though some sources claim that Ross wasn't too keen on revisiting Katniss Everdeen and pals. Now, would a more generous offer have sparked his interest in spending extra time with Katniss? And was the "low" offer a means for Lionsgate to get rid of Ross? Either way, some have already begun suggesting various — quite disparate — names to replace Ross. Among those are Alfonso Cuarón, who directed Harry Potter and the Prince of Azkaban in 2004, and Debra Granik, who directed The Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence in the Oscar-nominated Winter's Bone. Considering that the Hunger Games movies focus on Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss, surely Granik won't be the only woman mentioned as a welcome Ross replacement.

The Hunger Games passed the $250 million milestone at the North American box office on Monday, April 2, according to figures found at Box Office Mojo. Although Gary Ross' futuristic adventure tale reached that milestone one day after the studio had predicted, that's an impressive feat all the same. After 11 days, The Hunger Games has collected $253 million in the Us/Canada. Ignoring inflation, only six movies have reached $250 million at the domestic box office in 11 days or less. In addition to The Hunger Games, the others are: Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight in 8 days (Christian Bale / Heath Ledger / Maggie Gyllenhaal) David Yates' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 9 days (Daniel Radcliffe, Ralph Fiennes / Emma Watson / Rupert Grint) Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in 9 days (Shia Labeouf / Megan Fox / Josh Duhamel) Gore Verbinski's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest in 10 days (Orlando Bloom...

Jennifer Lawrence / Josh Hutcherson's The Hunger Games Box Office: $250M Milestone Not Reached Last Weekend. Another consequence of The Hunger Games' lower-than-expected weekend box-office performance was that its drop-off rate was slightly higher than originally thought. At close to 62%, The Hunger Games drop was about the same as that of Catherine Hardwicke / Robert Pattinson / Kristen Stewart's original Twilight movie in fall 2008 — even though Ross' film version of Suzanne Collins' novel received much better reviews. For comparison's sake, among non-sequels: James Cameron / Sam Worthington's Avatar was down a minuscule 2% on its second weekend. Sam Raimi / Tobey Maguire / Kirsten Dunst's original Spider-Man was down 38%. Chris Columbus / Daniel Radcliffe's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was down 36%. Michael Bay / Shia Labeouf / Megan Fox's Transformers was down 47.5%. Tim Burton / Mia Wasikowska's Alice in Wonderland was down 46%. When it comes to sequels, David Yates' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2...

Four movies have reached $250 million (not adjusted for inflation) at the domestic box office in ten days or less. The Hunger Games isn't one of them. Although The Hunger Games easily topped the North American box office this weekend, Gary Ross' futuristic adventure tale grossed $58.55 million — or about $2.5 million less than studio estimates published yesterday. (This is the second weekend in a row that studio estimates for The Hunger Games are considerably inflated.) As a result of its "underperformance," The Hunger Games failed to reach the $250 million milestone. That should happen some time today, however, on the film's eleventh day out. For the record, the four movies that have reached the $250 million milestone (once again, ignoring inflation) are The Dark Knight, Deathly Hallows 2, Revenge of the Fallen, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. At the international box office, The Hunger Games is lagging way behind its North American popularity.

Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games The Hunger Games topped the North American box office this weekend with $61.1 million according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. That represents a 60% drop from last weekend — which, admittedly, had the advantage of Thursday midnight screenings and IMAX surcharges. Even so, that's considerably less than the $75 million Deadline.com's sources had estimated last Friday night. For comparison's sake (among non-sequels): James Cameron's Avatar was down a minuscule 2% on its second weekend. Sam Raimi / Tobey Maguire's original Spider-Man was down 38%. Chris Columbus / Daniel Radcliffe's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was down 36%. Michael Bay / Shia Labeouf / Megan Fox's Transformers was down 47.5%. Tim Burton / Johnny Depp's Alice in Wonderland was down 46%. And Catherine Hardwicke / Robert Pattinson / Kristen Stewart's original Twilight was down 62%. Among sequels, Christopher Nolan / Christian Bale's The Dark Knight was down only 52.5% on its second weekend.

Donald Sutherland as President Snow, The Hunger Games That The Hunger Games would easily top the North American box office this weekend was a given. Now, how much exactly Gary Ross' film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' novel would earn was open to debate. Perhaps that still is. Last night, Deadline.com reported early estimates of $24 million for Friday and $75 million for the weekend, as The Hunger Games is still playing at 4,137 venues (minus IMAX screens). However, it turns out that the futuristic adventure tale collected a much more modest — though still impressive — $18.85 million on Friday as per studio estimates. That's down 72% compared to a week ago, which also included $19.5 million from Thursday midnight screenings. Taking those into account, The Hunger Games actually dropped 61%. Anyhow, instead of the previously announced $75 million for the weekend, The Hunger Games is now expected to earn around $60 million. If so, it'll be down 61% compared to last weekend.

Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games The Hunger Games will easily top the North American box office this weekend. That's no news. Now, how much exactly Gary Ross' film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' novel will earn is still open to debate. [Revised The Hunger Games box-office estimates.] According to Deadline.com, The Hunger Games is poised to take in $75 million from 4,137 venues by Sunday evening, after grossing an estimated $24 million today. If those figures are correct, The Hunger Games will have dropped 51% compared to last weekend's $152 million. That's not bad at all, considering the film's $19.5 million earned from Thursday midnight screenings last week and the fact that it'll have lost numerous IMAX screens this weekend (though the theater count remains the same). Additionally, that would mean The Hunger Games has passed the $200 million mark at the domestic box office some time earlier today. The film's cume after 8 days would be $214 million. Ignoring inflation (or,...

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, The Hunger Games Gary Ross' highly successful film version of Suzanne Collins' bestseller The Hunger Games took in $152.53 million (including $19.75 million from Thursday midnight screenings) at 4,137 locations in North America this weekend, March 23-25, according to box-office actuals found at Box Office Mojo. That's about $2.5 million less than Lionsgate's estimates released yesterday morning. The film's per-theater average was $36,871. Even so, as reported yesterday The Hunger Games had the third biggest debut ever in the Us/Canada in terms of box-office receipts (ignoring inflation). The futuristic adventure saga starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth is now behind only the $169.2 million earned by David Yates / Daniel Radcliffe / Ralph Fiennes' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and the $158.4 million earned by Christopher Nolan / Christian Bale / Heath Ledger's The Dark Knight. If inflation is taken into account* — as it always should, for...

Lenny Kravitz, Woody Harrelson, Josh Hutcherson, The Hunger Games The Hunger Games: Far Ahead of Catherine Hardwicke / Robert Pattinson / Kristen Stewart's Twilight The Hunger Games reportedly cost between $78-80+ million, in addition to $45 million in distribution / marketing expenses. The film's production budget sounds credible, but the reported marketing costs feel suspiciously low. An article in the Los Angeles Times stating that "according to a person familiar with the picture’s economics" The Hunger Games needed $100 million to break even seems absurdly off the mark — unless Lionsgate managed to get for itself a one-of-a-kind deal with exhibitors. On average, studios get 50-55% of a film's gross, though usually they take a bigger cut from the opening weekend receipts. Even so, The Hunger Games would have to earn at least $120 million to break even — if Lionsgate were to get itself 66% of the film's opening weekend take. And that doesn't include marketing / distribution expenses.

Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games movie The Hunger Games: Behind Tobey Maguire / Kirsten Dunst's Spider-man, Christopher Nolan / Christian Bale's The Dark Knight If estimates are accurate, The Hunger Games has already become Lionsgate's biggest box-office hit ever. By Sunday evening it'll have surpassed Michael Moore's Palme d'Or winner Fahrenheit 9/11, the current Lionsgate champ — thanks to Disney's Michael Eisner, who refused to release the anti-George W. Bush/Iraq War film. Moore's political documentary cumed at $119.19 million in 2004 (or about $152 million today). The Hunger Games is also the biggest March blockbuster ever, far surpassing (in both box-office receipts and ticket sales) Tim Burton / Johnny Depp / Mia Wasikowska's Alice in Wonderland's $116.1 million. In fact, it's the biggest non-summer opening ever, ahead of New Moon and Breaking Dawn Part 1. It's also officially the biggest opening for a non-sequel ever, though as pointed out above, Spider-Man sold more...

The Hunger Games: Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne The Hunger Games Box Office: Behind Christopher Nolan / Christian Bale's The Dark Knight, Tobey Maguire / Kirsten Dunst's Spider-man 3 The Hunger Games averaged $16,497 at 4,137 locations. Without taking inflation into account, that's the fourth-highest opening-day per-theater average ever, behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (which had the added advantage of 3D surcharges), New Moon, and Breaking Dawn 1. Even while ignoring IMAX surcharges, if inflation is taken into account The Hunger Games falls behind a handful of other titles, such as The Dark Knight ($15,384; $17,014 today) and George Lucas / Ewan McGregor / Natalie Portman's Revenge of the Sith ($13,661 in 2005; $16,912 today), which opened at 3,661 locations. Distributed by Lionsgate, The Hunger Games will surely become the studio's biggest box-office hit ever — possibly by Sunday evening. Michael Moore's Palme d'Or winner Fahrenheit 9/11 is the current Lionsgate champ — thanks to Disney's Michael Eisner,...

Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, The Hunger Games The Hunger Games should open with approximately $66 million at 4,137 locations in North America on Friday, according to Deadline.com. West Coast showings haven't been tallied yet, so figures could go up or down somewhat before official studio estimates are released Saturday morning. According to Deadline's "sources," The Hunger Games will likely score around $138 million by Sunday evening — placing it on a par with the most recent Twilight movie, Bill Condon's The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, while easily surpassing (both in box-office receipts and ticket sales) the Tim Burton / Johnny Depp / Mia Wasikowska fantasy Alice in Wonderland — $116.1 million at 3,728 locations in 2010 — to become the biggest March blockbuster ever. Now, if The Hunger Games truly reaches $138 million, it'll have collected less than 50% of its total weekend take on opening day: a rarity for such big openers, though the vast majority of...

Josh Hutcherson, The Hunger Games The Hunger Games Box Office: Twilight Opening-Weekend Pattern? The Hunger Games to beat the $138 million opening-weekend debut of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1? According to Deadline.com, that's what "rival studios" are predicting based on matinee screenings. Now, before The Hunger Games fans start rejoicing and Twilight Saga fans start suffering seizures, let's chill a bit. Those rough, early predictions have oftentimes been quite a bit off the mark. For instance, just a few weeks ago The Lorax raked in about $15 million more than expected based on Friday figures. Other movies bring in way less. In other words, it's just too early to tell, really. [Watch The Hunger Games clip: President Snow / Seneca Crane.] What seems pretty certain is that The Hunger Games will surpass Tim Burton / Johnny Depp / Mia Wasikowska's Alice in Wonderland's $116.1 million opening-weekend take in March 2010, thus becoming the record-holder for the month of March — even in number of ticket sales,...

The Hunger Games movie Katniss: Jennifer Lawrence The Hunger Games Box Office: Midnight Screenings Record, But Still Behind The Dark Knight If you look at the top ten midnight openings (in terms of box-office receipts, not ticket sales) in North America (please scroll down), you'll notice that all but one — Gary Ross' The Hunger Games — is a sequel. Those tend to be quite frontloaded, i.e., fans flock to the first screenings of their favorite film franchise. Hence, midnight and opening-day box-office figures generally represent a higher-than-usual percentage of a film's opening-weekend box-office take. Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight is an exception to that rule. The sequel to Batman Begins grossed $67.16 million on Friday (including $18.5 million from midnight screenings), or about 42% of the film's $158 million take on its debut weekend. For comparison's sake, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Friday gross represented 54% of the film's take...

The Hunger Games stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen Lionsgate's The Hunger Games opened to terrific figures: an estimated $19.74 million at midnight screenings held at 2,565 locations in North America. Those are truly outstanding numbers for a non-sequel (officially the best ever), non-summer opening. Starring future film faves Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, the original Twilight opened with $7 million at midnight screenings in November 2008. (I couldn't find information on the number of theaters showing Twilight at midnight. Obviously, that can radically affect a movie's box-office take.) Now, has The Hunger Games truly beat Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight's midnight take as box-office pundits have been heralding everywhere you look? Well, not exactly. Back in summer 2008, The Dark Knight opened with $18.5 million at 3,040 midnight screenings. That would translate into approximately $20.5 million today. In other words, although "inflation-adjusting" can be tricky and the midnight figures for the two movies are very close,...

With his naturally blond hair and muscular shoulders, it's no surprise that Alexander Ludwig was one of many young Hollywood actors who auditioned to play Katniss' love interest Peeta in "The Hunger Games." When he didn't get the part, director Gary Ross offered him the role of Cato, the most fearsome of the 24 Tributes.

Ludwig smartly snapped up the role and made the character his own, committing to an intense fitness and weapons-training regime that left him as dexterous with a sword as Jennifer Lawrence was with a bow and arrow. So he may not be the Boy with the Bread, but he's poised to impress as the Boy with the Brute Strength.

Also Check Out: "Hunger Games" News, Features, Photos and Video

Age: 19

Hometown: Vancouver, Canada

What He's Done: "The Hunger Games" is far from Ludwig's first film. After four supporting parts in straight-to-video family movies, Ludwig landed a...

Prior to 2011, Alexander Ludwig was best known as the somewhat skinny kid with supernatural abilities at the center of both the 2009 Dwayne Johnson family flick Race to Witch Mountain and the 2007 fantasy film The Seeker: The Dark is Rising.

But to take on the role of the ruthless Cato — the deadliest tribute and rival to Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in The Hunger Games — Ludwig says he put on roughly to 30 to 40 pounds, filling out the now 19-year-old Canadian actor into quite the imposing presence. In person, though, he still exudes a youthful squirminess, an inability to sit still for more than a few seconds,...