In order to convey that the X-Men are smaller, less-known characters in the Marvel Universe compared to The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man, director Bryan Singer has been given to describe the “X-Men” of late as the “bastard stepchild of the comic-book universe.” And while the X-Men are far from underground or on the fringes, perhaps Singer’s comments do have a tiny bit of merit. While his latest X-picture, “X-Men: Days Of Future Past,” did open to $90.7 million this weekend, that’s far below the forecasted $100+ million the soaring reviews helped project; the film did fall below the…

The Marshmallows turned out in droves this weekend to check out the theatrical debut of Veronica Mars. The Kickstarter-funded, cult TV show adaptation opened to a cool $2 million from 291 theaters (265 in the U.S.), earning the pic a spot on the top 10 according, to initial estimates.

The PG-13 pic was also released simultaneously on VOD — free for Kickstarter backers who’d contributed $35 or more to the record-breaking campaign, but also available for purchase or rental through digital download services such as iTunes or Amazon. The industry has not gotten into a mode where they share VOD…

When your options are a tepidly received “RoboCop” remake and a Valentine’s Day-themed romance movie that only the teenage girl die-hards seemed interested in (“Endless Love”), is it any wonder “The Lego Movie” blocked out the competition this weekend? That said, performing quite well was the “About Last Night” remake. And no, don’t chalk that one up to ’80s nostalgia—instead, see it as one more film connecting with the underserved African-American audience who are happy to come out in droves when a movie is actually geared towards them.

Well what am I supposed to say to that. And what…

Everything is awesome for the team behind The Lego Movie (Cinema Score: A). The 3D animated extravaganza is estimated to have earned a spectacular $69.11 million this weekend — the biggest opening of the still young year, and the second largest February opening ever (the top spot belongs to 2004′s Passion of the Christ). The Phil Lord and Christopher Miller movie blew past studio and analyst predictions, which had the pic in the $40 to $55 million range. Playing in 3,775 theaters, most of which were in 3D, Lego scored an incredible $18,307 per location average, and, including overseas…

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” is tracking for an opening weekend that could go as high as $185 million when it debuts on Nov. 22, based on box-office marketing data released Thursday.

The higher pre-release tracking goes, the less reliable it becomes, and we’re still three weeks away from the opening. But the Jennifer Lawrence sci-fi sequel looks like it will be a box-office monster for distributor Lionsgate Entertainment.

The distributor views the numbers more conservatively, and is at this point projecting an opening between $140 million and $150 million, citing the crowded…

We’ve only got one new film this weekend that looks good enough for me to mention. But the irony is I’m not currently planning to see it.

New This Weekend

The Counselor — R

I am not currently planning to see this film. Although it looks like it could be good, it also has been looking like it’s going to feature lots of sex and certainly some nudity and the like. The R rating has been given for, among other things, “strong sexual content.” I can’t for myself really justify seeing the film. And a couple of the previous films this summer have got me a bit gun shy on this front so I’m staying…

We’ve got a couple of new films here to choose from, one possible good option, one that doesn’t look great to me but I really just don’t care for the genre, and one that is in limited release.

New This Week

Carrie — R

This is apparently a remake of an older film of the same name from 1976. In any event the film holds no interest for me. But apparently Chad is going to see it (actually I think he saw it last night) and will be able to give a report to us on next week’s episode of The MovieByte Podcast.

A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White (Chloë Grace Moretz), a…

G.I. Joe: Retaliation has already paid the bills, so Paramount is readying the next installment.

Variety is reporting that Paramount is quite pleased with how G.I. JOE: RETALIATION has performed so far and are planning on adding another film to the franchise. Although many of us questioned Paramount’s decision to push back G.I. JOE: RETALIATION in order to tweak the film, it looks like in the end they may have made the right call (at least financially) and they must feel at least a little vindicated after taking a beating from most people about the film’s delayed release.

Keep in mind…

I promise you the following is no joke.

In honor of April Fool’s Day, Paramount released G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The flick easily earned $41,200,000, stealing the lead from The Host, the movie many Twi-Hards went to see out of loyalty to Stephenie Meyer.

In all likelihood, Host will gain on Retaliation in ticket sales over the course of its wide release. I think G.I. Joe will fizzle out in the box office when fewer and fewer fools are left to watch it. Stephenie’s followers are exceptionally loyal.

But this past weekend’s surprise was the blockbuster of The Croods coming in at first in…