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This week's episode of Inside the Bucket is online! Revel in the digital mastery! Inside the Bucket returns with juicy goodness as Matt is joined by Brandon and Rama to give you all this week's movie and television news and reviews from our website SANDWICHJOHNFILMS.COM . Already dripping with SJF ballsy grease, the boys endeavor to discuss several items of supposed importance. This week, they focus on the frontrunner for the Han Solo standalone movie, break down the first Doctor Strange trailer, and then provide a SPOILER-FREE review of Captain America: Civil War . Then it's on to this week's box office report, as The Jungle Book and the newest Barbershop flick do battle for the top spot. The boys also discuss movies and television shows hitting Blu-ray this week. After a short beer break, it's on to Rants and Raves, where the boys bitch and gripe about all the things they've been watching a reading about this week. See our show notes to see

Its second-week slide is one of the largest in history. Story by Matt Cummings Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice witnessed a monumental drop in its second week in theaters, marking it as one of the highest declines ever. At 68% (far higher than the traditional 60%), Warner Bros.' tentpole is starting to look like a misfire. After a strong domestic opening of $166m, the pundits were scratching their heads as to how a film with a "B" CinemaScore and a 29% Rotten Tomatoes rating could rake in that much cash. Additionally, Monday ($33m) and Tuesday ($15m) showed strong numbers, possibly indicating a backlash by audiences who wanted to see it for themselves. But as the week wore on, numbers began to decline rapidly, with Thursday offering just $7.7m. This weekend's decline places it with other not-so-great company, including 2015's Fantastic Four (68.2%) and X-Men: The Last Stand (66.9%) The whole free fall obviously should have WB and the Zack S

...Darkseid might not be this superhero movie's greatest threat after all. Story by Matt Cummings It was a weekend for the box office history books, as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice set several worldwide and domestic records, but slightly under-performed here in the States. Warner Bros on Monday reported that BVSDOJ took in a domestic total of $166m, establishing a new March opening weekend record and the largest Easter opening, besting the $147.1m brought in by Furious 7 last year. It's also the largest opening for a DC Comics film, a record previously held by The Dark Knight Rises ($160.8m). Such a premiere had been a foregone conclusion, based on the extra year Director Zack Snyder took to bring the film to audiences. But with all the celebration at WB's Burbank studios, there's probably a lot of worrying going on. Destroyed by critics (with only a 29% Rotten Tomatoes rating as of this posting) and netting only a "B" CinemaScore,

Interesting lessons learned as Q1 ends down 7.4%. Story by Matt Cummings With the largest box office ever recorded now in the books, 2016 has always been viewed as the bastard stepchild, the fat kid someone has to pick because all the studs and girls are taken. After the close of Q1, that view is probably accurate. Note: The Winter Season is defined as the first day after New Year's week or weekend through the Thursday before the first Friday in March. According to our friends at BoxOfficeMojo.com, Quarter 1 of 2016 took in $1.0342 billion domestically, as compared to 2015's take of $1.1167b and 2014's $1.0992b. Here's the master list, but notice the problem. We'll share it afterwards: 1. Deadpool (Fox) $311,158,132 2. Kung Fu Panda 3 (Fox) $133,831,833 3. Ride Along 2 (Uni.) $89,514,865 4. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (Par.) $52,513,494 5. How to Be Single (WB) $43,318,465 6. Dirty Grandpa (LGF) $35,379,525 7. The Bo

The animated three-peater scores the biggest January opening ever. Story by Matt Cummings In what's generally been a tough month for film, January did deliver a last-minute surprise as 20th Century Fox took No. 1 this weekend with DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 3 . Making an estimated $41.3m, it's the best opening for a January cartoon and the third best January opening ever, behind American Sniper ($89.3m) and Ride Along ($41.5m). That's an excellent start for a series which saw Panda #1 make $631.7m and Panda #2 and $665.7m respectively. The news couldn't be better for a studio that has apparently seen the box office light. With so many big films opening between now and the end of March - including Disney’s Zootopia (March 4), Deadpool (February 12) and Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice (March 18) - Fox rolled the dice and hit big with Panda . Meanwhile, The Revenant held on to No. 2 with $12.8m, giving it a six-week cum of $138.8m. S

The sci-fi film will achieve the impossible in record time. Story by Matt Cummings The Force truly is with this one. At a stunning at $742.2 million domestically, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now only $18.3m away from overtaking Avatar as the all-time top-grossing domestic film. With the third-weekend $90.24m sum, TFA took in as much money as some first-run weekend numbers. But the Holy Grail of records - the all-time domestic winner - is the real prize. Held by some as once unbeatable, Avatar 's dominance at No. 1 will likely fall sometime on Tuesday, and will do so in the shortest time ever. At just 16 days, TFA is the fastest film ever to reach the top spot; as a matter of comparison, Avatar took 72 days to do the same. This weekend's box office was once again dominated by Episode VII , which overtook the 2nd highest-grossing release Titanic 's $658.7m and Jurassic Park 's $652.3m. But there were some records TFA didn't beat: the act

Here's what Hollywood can do immediately to ensure lush 2016 profits. Story by Matt Cummings In a year that saw Hollywood take home the biggest profits of all time (just over $11b), there were many glaring signs that the industry needed a new set of resolutions. And while don't condone the greedy getting greedier, the 2015 box office proved that Hollywood still doesn't have its act together when it comes to producing, distributing, and marketing their films. In some cases, terrible choices were made that cost Sony, Paramount, and Lionsgate millions. What are the essential resolutions which Hollywood must adopt for a profitable 2016? We list just a few below: 1. Fox must give Fantastic Four back to Marvel: When fans heard about the on-set troubles behind FF , it was more than an indication the Josh Trank film was in big trouble. Then the film came out and fans realized it was much worse than we thought. With the dust now settled - and a sequel apparent

The number was actually a tad below expectations. Story by Matt Cummings The 2015 box office results are in, and some Hollywood studios are singing all the way to the bank. The overall domestic number hit a new record with just over $11b, beating 2013's $10.93b. That's a little lower than expected, mainly due to several high-profile disasters including Fantastic Four , Pixels , and Terminator: Genysis . This is the first time that the North American box office has surpassed $11b. For those of you who think such numbers are bloated due to the high cost of today's tickets, consider another number: attendance at NA theaters surpassed 1.33 billion moviegoers. That's 5% higher than 2014's 1.27b. But early on, things didn't look so good, even though everyone was expecting top numbers as far back as 2013. The first quarter (January through March) staggered to just $18.87b billion, which only ranked in the middle of the past 10 years. But it was Q2

Just how big was The Force Awakens this weekend? Read on to find out! Story by Matt Cummings Star Wars: The Force Awakens stormed into local theaters over the weekend, setting several box office records along the way. Some could see it coming: October's trailer release on ESPN generated huge interest, which eventually led to a record pre-sale that saw website crashes and frantic efforts by fans to score first-day tickets. On Monday, Disney reported the final stunning numbers: $247.9m domestically, which shatters the previously held record by Jurassic World earlier this year. And yet, that massive number is only one of several records which The Force Awakens broke. Here are just a few, as provided by BoxOfficeMojo: $57m in its Thursday night "preview", besting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($43.5m) $119.1m on Friday, beating, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($91m) $247.9m domestically, beating Jurassic World ($208.8m)

Another week, another disastrous opening for an Oscar contender. Story by Matt Cummings It's clear that while a Ron Howard/Chris Hemsworth marriage looks good on paper, audiences just aren't sold. This weekend's box office proved once again that a to-notch director and a successful Marvel leading man aren't enough to guarantee box office win. Such is the story behind In the Heart of the Sea , as it floundered in the open water with a second place opening to a film that's been in theaters for four weeks. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 kept its No. 1 status for another week, earning just $11.3m. It's second film in the Hunger Games franchise to manage a four-weekend run, and the first since Furious 7 did it back when the summer began. But the news ins't all good: Mockingjay 2 is still the fourth best overall performer in the franchise, crossing just $564m worldwide. At No. 2 is the aforementioned In the Heart of the Sea , making ju

Mockingjay Part 2 leads in its second week, while another newbie suffers a disastrous opening. Story by Matt Cummings The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 topped a long Thanksgiving weekend box office which saw yet another disastrous opening for a newcomer live action and disappointing numbers for an animated film. With all of this negativity spreading into December, it's time to start asking what will bring out audiences without the title Star Wars: The Force Awakens . Repeating at the top spot is Mockingjay Part 2 took in an estimated $51.6m, dropping only 49.7%. It's still playing far behind its predecessors, but is still making good money overseas, having crossed the $440m threshold. In second place is Pixar's The Good Dinosaur , earning $39.19m over the three-day weekend. That number is the worst for Pixar since A Bug's Life and 1995's original Toy Story . Still, it received an "A" CinemaScore, which could mean a long run into De

Here's the reason why so many hopefuls have fallen on hard times. Story by Matt Cummings In a year that will go down as the most profitable in box office history, Hollywood is shaking its head over a new problem: the disastrous run of Oscar hopefuls. What seemed like a small issue back in September has become a full-fledged marketing nightmare. From Our Brand is Crisis to Suffragette , audiences have stayed away in massive numbers, even in the face of critical praise. Take Steve Jobs for example. The biopic starring Michael Fassbender has made only $16.7m in 5 weeks, tumbling 65% in its second weekend of wide release. But don't tell critics that: it still enjoys an 85% Rotten Tomatoes rating, making it one of the highest-rated movies of the year. And yet audiences didn't buy it. And then there's The Walk , Burnt , Everest , 99 Homes , Truth , Room , and several others that have walked a very short gang plank into cultural obscurity. So, why the sad

Did the 24th James Bond film perform to expectations? Story by Matt Cummings For the first time in over a month, the North American box office enjoyed a strong showing, as audiences flocked to see two new releases. Coming in at No. 1 was the James Bond film SPECTRE with $70.4m. While the the 24th entry in the series took the top spot, SPECTRE only matched the low end of expectations, opening around 20% below the $88.36m debut of 2012's Skyfall . It was also just 4% higher than the $67.53m of 2008's Quantum of Solace . Although Skyfall became the highest-grossing Bond film ever, its impressive numbers failed to help the newest (and perhaps last Daniel Craig adventure) to break-out. Part of that lay in the mixed critic's reviews in North America (enjoying only a 60% combined rating on Metacritic). It certainly appears that played a part in its tailing off as Sunday arrived. Still, SPECTRE enjoys a solid 'A-' rating on CinemaScore and should take t

October's new releases continue their disastrous run. Story by Matt Cummings Although the weather has begun its transition into Fall, someone has apparently forgotten to tell moviegoers that it's time to celebrate by seeing newer releases. This week's top 5 welcomed only one new film, while three others continued their 'dominance' in the absence of anything better. In fact, the top spots - The Martian ($10.7m), Goosebumps ($9.2m), and Bridge of Spies ($7.6m) - haven't changed their positions since last weekend. Add Hotel Transylvania 2 at No. 5, and the only newcomer to make a dent was Bradley Cooper's Burnt at $4.7m. But the bigger news continues to be Hollywood's inability to draw significant amounts of moviegoers to newer releases. How bad have October's releases fared? Just consider the following: seven major releases (those premiering on 2,000+ screens) had total openings of just $54.8m. That's only $500k over what T

It's one of the closest weekends ever as audiences return to Ridley Scott's epic. Story by Matt Cummings This weekend's box office reminded us of the old saying "Just Because It's New Doesn't Mean It's Great," as audiences stayed away from five new releases, while returning a familiar name to No. 1. Although we discussed the race this weekend on our Inside the Bucket podcast, SJF was unwilling to crown anyone No. 1 because the numbers were so close. In fact, the winner was eventually crowned by the smallest margin of the year - just $219,000. But its return to the top saw many new releases under perform, perhaps fairing worse than the pre-sale of Star Wars: The Force Awakens . Returning to the top is the Ridley Scott/Matt Damon Science Fiction epic The Martian with $15.7m. The Fox space survival film has endured with audiences for a variety of reasons: the terrific science behind the story, and the fact that Author Andy Weir's boo

The Martian keeps the rescue coming, while Pan walks the plank. Story by Matt Cummings As discussed in our Inside the Bucket podcast this weekend, the US box office proved once again that legitimately bad press can kill a movie long before it gets released. Meanwhile, Ridley Scott's newest film continues to impress. Leading the box office for the second consecutive week is The Martian with a very good $37.01m haul, dropping only 32% from its release. That's better than 2014's Interstellar , which dropped 40% in its second week. Riding high on critical and popular praise, the Matt Damon survival film has already made a stunning $108.72m by emphasizing friendly teamwork and no manufactured drama. Remaining at a distant No. 2 was Hotel Transylvania 2 , with an estimated $20.42m, dropping only 38% in its third week. The Adam Sandler/Selena Gomez animated follow-up is really the only game in town for families, but that's not the only reason why it&#

The Ridley Scott film could be the biggest October opening ever. Story by Matt Cummings If August 2015 broke all kinds of box office records for infamy, October 2015 could do the same but in the more preferred direction. The beginning of the Oscar season kicked off with two very good showings, even though the specter of serious disappointment has already claimed one hopeful submission. Coming in at No. 1 was Science-Fiction epic The Martian with a stunning $55m haul, which nearly doubles the performance of the No. 2 film. Martian is only $700,000 behind the Oscar winner Gravity , which is also about an American astronaut stranded in space and needing a rescue. Director Ridley Scott is back in a big way with The Martian , which tells of astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) surviving on Mars until a rescue mission can reach him. We loved the movie (read our review HERE ), so it was no surprise it resonated with both fans and critics. The impressive performance is jus