Analysts gaze into a crystal ball and make educated guesses about how well a film will open. This week, they used a Power Battery instead and suggested that Warner Bros’ Green Lantern would open between $50-60 million. Box Office Mojo just released the numbers and they are estimated the Emerald Crusader brought in $52.7 million, placing it at the lower end of the spectrum.

For comparison purposes, a month earlier, Thor, one of Marvel’s ongoing series of films, opened with a god-like $65,723,338. GL’s modest numbers certainly have to be disappointing to both Warner and their DC Entertainment division. Mixed to negative reviews from the mainstream media no doubt blunted the film’s opening weekend so the better indicator of its changes will be next weekend when we gauge how much of a drop off there has been. This would be the “word of mouth” barometer and a chance for the fans to spread the gospel or take in a repeat showing.

No doubt 3-D fatigue is also a factor in the lower numbers despite being shown on approximately 2700 screens. That recent trend has shown that 3-D may actually be once more a fad and not a new form of entertainment. The jury remains out on this issue.

Coming in second was Super 8, the original thriller from J.J. Abrams. It took in $21.3 million for a two week total of $72.8 million.

In third place was the debut of Mr. Popper’s Penguins, adapted from the popular children’s book, starring Jim Carrey. It took in just $18.2 million demonstrating recognizable name value doesn’t always bring in audiences. It certain show how far Carey’s marquee value has dropped.

Speaking of Marvel, their X-Men: First Class nabbed an addition $11.5 million in its third weekend, totaling a pleasant $119.9 million, almost ensuring it a sequel order any minute now.

Warner no doubt is taking comfort in the wild success of The Hangover II, which earned an additional $9.6 million for a cumulative total of $232.7 million after four weeks.

The Ryan Reynolds action flick, directed by Martin Campbell, was made for an estimated $150 million with a nearly equal amount spent on marketing and promotion.  It was plagued with a weak debut trailer in November that meant a new plan needed be created. The spring buzz turned around after several minutes were shown at Wonder Con and a steady stream of new trailers helped reshape public opinion.

Box Office Mojo Editor Brandon Gray has written that any opening short of $70 million would make a sequel questionable despite Warners already asking for script treatments. Obviously, worldwide box office may turn the tide as an increasing percentage of a film’s performance is now coming from overseas markets.

One Ring. One Release. One Unforgettable Night.

Here’s the skinny: Warner Home Video is finally unleashing the extended versions of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy on Blu-ray this coming June 28. As part of the celebration, Warner Bros is hosting midnight screenings to remind you of just how cool these movies are. What follows is the formal press release. Our review of the handsome box set with its hours and hours of bonus material will be on hand next weekend.

Burbank, Calif., June 17, 2011 — On June 28, Warner Home Video will release all three of Peter Jackson’s visual masterpieces on Blu-ray in a 15-disc stunning collection entitled The Lord of the Rings™ The Motion Picture Trilogy: Extended Edition. To celebrate the occasion, Warner Home Video has announced a count-down to “Middle-earth Midnight Madness” celebratory event at Best Buy’s West Los Angeles location, 11301 W. Pico Blvd., where fans can join in the anticipation of the magic moment when they’ll finally be able to own the new extended edition trilogy on Blu-ray. (more…)

Star Wars Character Encyclopedia
By Simon Beecroft
208 pages, DK Publishing, $16.99

The Star Wars Universe spans thousands of years and multiple galaxies, telling the eternal story of good versus evil time and again. The saga has expanded to such a degree that you really cannot tell the players apart without a scorecard. For those who dislike clicking their way through a dizzying array of droids, Jedi and colorful aliens, there are now a series of guidebooks to help you. Last year there was DK Publishing’s The Star Wars: Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia or their Complete Visual Dictionary or even the incredibly useful Year by Year: A Visual Chronicle.

DK Publishing knows how to recycle information in all manner of sizes and shapes, synthesizing the data in new ways for its eager audience of readers of all ages. Editor Simon Beecroft has honed those skills as an author, having previously written Inside the Worlds of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones among other titles. He’s back with this breezy look at George Lucas’ sprawling universe in the Star Wars Character Encyclopedia.

Despite telling us the comic books, RPGs, and novels are part of the greater canon, this book only focused on characters from the six feature films and the CGI-animated Clone Wars television series. Also, given the trim size of 7.25” x 9.25”, DK’s designers had to rein in their normal frenetic design. While that can be seen as a plus, the smaller size also means the amount of detail provided for each character is little more than can be found on a trading card.

You read a page and know from repeated viewings of the movies that there are vital details missing. The Obi-Wan Kenobi page, for example, ignores his guidance and counsel provided to Luke Skywalker after his corporeal form was struck down by Darth Vader. Anakin Skywalker’s page ignores the term “midichlorian” and omits his transition to the dreaded Sith lord. Similarly, Vader’s page refers to him as being Luke’s dad but his given name is missing. I guess there’s only so much information you can give when you present each character with equal weight despite having much more to say about Luke, Leia, Han and Darth Vader than you have to a Hoth Rebel Trooper, a Rancor, Coleman Trebor, or a Colo Claw Fish. Popular players, such as Wedge Antilles, don’t even get a page but is crammed into a page about the X-Wing pilots. From what I can tell, the facts here are only what has been presented on screen, nothing new is provided.

Beecroft writes in a clear, alert style that is easily comprehensible for those only casually familiar with these people and does a nice job condensing things down to their basics. But Star Wars fandom tends to prefer depth and detail so may come away from this disappointed.

As a result, the book feels incredibly lightweight and incomplete so despite DK proclaiming this a must-have book for all ages, this is more a primer for younger readers less familiar with the mythos. If you want a true encyclopedia, DelRey’s more authoritative three-volume offering is for you.