'Brave' hits bull's-eye at the box office

By Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter

Pixar

"Brave" earned $66.7 million on its opening weekend.

Fears that a female heroine would slow down "Brave" proved unfounded as the animated tentpole opened to a whopping $66.7 million at the domestic box office -- the fifth best debut of all time for a Pixar title.

PHOTOS: From 'Toy Story' to 'Brave': Your Essential Guide to Pixar's Movies

"Brave,"?continuing Pixar's unblemished record of opening all of its movies to No. 1, also scored the second highest June opening for an animated pic after Pixar's "Toy Story 3" ($110.3 million). Overseas, the Pixar and Disney title debuted to $13.5 million in 10 markets.

The 3D event pic -- receiving an A CinemaScore in North America -- marks Pixar's 13th film and is the first movie in the company's history to feature a female lead. "Brave" did skew female (57 percent), but got plenty of male attention.

"You have to draw men and boys as well to see this number," Disney executive president of worldwide distribution Dave Hollis said. "The themes in the movie -- bravery, fighting for your fate -- transcend gender."

Hollis credited Pixar/Disney animation chief John Lasseter, producer Katherine Sarafian and directors Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman for delivering an "enveloping experience" that drew both families (66 percent) and adults.

One troubling statistic: 3D revenues only made up 34 percent of "Brave's"?opening gross, furthering worries that families find the upcharge for a 3D ticket too expensive.

Still, family product ruled the box office all the way around. DreamWorks Animation and Paramount holdover "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" fell to No. 2 in its third weekend with an estimated $20.2 million for a domestic cume of roughly?$157.6 million ("Madagascar 3"?opened to $60.1 million).?

Animation also ruled overseas, where "Madagascar 3" stayed at No. 1 for the third weekend in a row, grossing $30.1 million from 44 markets to race past the $200 million mark. The pic has now earned $208.4 million internationally for an impressive worldwide total of $366 million.

Managing only a third-place domestic finish was 20th Century Fox's 3D genre epic "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter." The R-rated film, playing like a horror title, grossed a soft $16.5 million in its opening. Fox had predicted a debut in the $15 million range -- considering there are no big stars in the film --? but box office observers believed it could get to $20 million.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov and featuring Tim Burton in the producer's seat, "Abraham Lincoln" received a C+ CinemaScore. The pic's cast is led by Benjamin Walker.

"Abraham Lincoln,"?costing $68 million to produce, features the storied U.S. president as a vampire hunter and is based on the novel by?Seth Grahame-Smith, who also wrote the adapted screenplay. The film is an important test for the "mash-up" genre, with Lionsgate queued up to make the film adaptation of Grahame-Smith's book "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies."

Fox believes "Abraham Lincoln,"?which skewed male, will have good legs.

"Audiences will continue to seek out Timur's daring and brilliant vision of 'Abraham Lincoln,' " Fox's incoming president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson said.

The news wasn't good for Steve Carell-Keira Knightley indie pic "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," which debuted to $3.8 million from 1,625 locations. The Focus Features title, directed and written by Lorene Scafaria, came in No. 10, just ahead of fellow Focus pic "Moonrise Kingdom," which grossed a pleasing $3.4 million from only 395 theaters for a pleasing cume of $11.6 million.

"It's disappointing. The right people turned up to see "Seeking a Friend," but they didn't come in volume," Focus president of distribution Jack Foley said.

At the specialty box office, Woody Allen's new entry "To Rome With Love" got off to a strong start, grossing $379,371 from five theaters for a sizeable location average of $75,874 -- easily the best of the weekend. Sony Pictures Classics, which distributed Allen's box office hit "Midnight in Paris," is once again handling domestic distribution duties for the filmmaker.

Elsewhere, New Line and Warner Bros.' troubled musical "Rock of Ages" fell to No. 6 in its second weekend, grossing $8 million for a 10-day domestic cume of $28.8 million. Adam Sandler's comedy "That's My Boy," likewise troubled, fell to No. 7 in its second outing, grossing $7.9 million for a 10-day total of $28.2 million.

Related content:

?

dallas tornadoes dallas weather nike nfl uniforms ben and jerrys free cone day tornado in dallas texas the island president the maldives

3-year plan to heal wounds of Bohai Bay oil spill

2012-06-23 06:38:28 GMT2012-06-23 14:38:28(Beijing Time) ?China Daily

Hebei and Liaoning first to get share of 1b yuan compensation fund

Environmental authorities have mapped out a three-year plan for the restoration of Bohai Bay, which was severely damaged by oil spills last year, China's ocean watchdog said Thursday.

According to a statement by the State Oceanic Administration, the Ministry of Agriculture aims to rebuild the area's fishery industry by 2015, including putting about 3.4 billion aquatic animals into the bay.

The agency also announced that money from a 1 billion yuan ($157 million) compensation fund has already been allocated to Hebei and Liaoning provinces to be used to help fishermen affected by the leaks from the Penglai 19-3 oilfield.

ConocoPhillips China, the operator of the oilfield, has also agreed with the government to set up another 1.1 billion yuan fund based on estimated damages.

The company, based in the United States, and its Chinese partner, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, will also jointly pay another 600 million yuan.

The money will go toward Bohai Bay's marine environment recovery, construction and protection, the statement said.

ConocoPhillips China confirmed the agreement and said the company places the highest priority on its commitment to the country, and it looks forward to continuing operations in China.

In June 2011, Penglai 19-3 oilfield experienced two unrelated leaks, with initial estimates indicating that about 723 barrels (115 cubic meters) of oil were released into the sea and 2,620 barrels (416.45 cubic meters) of mineral oil mud were released onto the seabed, according to the US company.

A State Oceanic Administration investigation report in November said the leaks polluted an area of about 6,200 square kilometers (nearly nine times the size of Singapore), including 870 square kilometers that were severely polluted.

The contamination killed large amounts of aquatic animals and led to a growing abnormality in the water, the report said.

Although progress is being made in dealing with the impact of the leaks, legal experts said restoration and compensation efforts should be more transparent.

Zhou Ke, a professor on environment law at Renmin University of China, said the incident had damaged the interests of not only the government, but also the people.

"More public voices should be heard before the compensation agreement is completed," he said.

In August, the State Oceanic Administration said that a lawsuit would be filed against the companies responsible for the leaks. However, Zhou said that the agreement between authorities and ConocoPhillips China means legal action appears unlikely.

Filing a lawsuit could make the investigation and damage assessment process more transparent, he added.

Wang Yamin, an associate professor at Shandong University's marine college, also suggested that an independent, third-party assessment on the environmental impact should be carried out.

the weeknd echoes of silence gio gonzalez san francisco fire patti labelle the weeknd the weeknd payroll tax

Study explains functional links between autism and genes

Thursday, June 21, 2012

A pioneering report of genome-wide gene expression in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) finds genetic changes that help explain why one person has an ASD and another does not. The study, published by Cell Press on June 21 in The American Journal of Human Genetics, pinpoints ASD risk factors by comparing changes in gene expression with DNA mutation data in the same individuals. This innovative approach is likely to pave the way for future personalized medicine, not just for ASD but also for any disease with a genetic component.

ASDs are a heterogeneous group of developmental conditions characterized by social deficits, difficulty communicating, and repetitive behaviors. ASDs are thought to be highly heritable, meaning that they run in families. However, the genetics of autism are complex.

Researchers have found rare changes in the number of copies of defined genetic regions that associate with ASD. Although there are some hot-spot regions containing these alterations, very few genetic changes are exactly alike. Similarly, no two autistic people share the exact same symptoms. To discover how these genetic changes might affect gene transcription and, thus, the presentation of the disorder, Rui Luo, a graduate student in the Geschwind lab at UCLA, studied 244 families in which one child (the proband) was affected with an ASD and one was not.

In addition to identifying several potential new regions where copy-number variants (CNVs) are associated with ASDs, Geschwind's team found genes within these regions to be significantly misregulated in ASD children compared with their unaffected siblings. "Strikingly, we observed a higher incidence of haploinsufficient genes in the rare CNVs in probands than in those of siblings, strongly indicating a functional impact of these CNVs on expression," says Geschwind. Haploinsuffiency occurs when only one copy of a gene is functional; the result is that the body cannot produce a normal amount of protein. The researchers also found a significant enrichment of misexpressed genes in neural-related pathways in ASD children. Previous research has found that these pathways include other genetic variants associated with autism, which Geschwind explains further legitimizes the present findings.

###

Cell Press: http://www.cellpress.com

Thanks to Cell Press for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 29 time(s).

beyonce dance for you video asu football asu football arkansas lsu storage wars storage wars millionaire matchmaker

Computer Forensics ? Finding Out What The Bad Guys Did With ...

Computer forensics is a lot like the CSI investigation programs on the television. Using advanced techniques and technologies, a computer forensic scientist will reconstruct a possible crime using the data that one computer systems. This data may include email trails, files, hidden directories and other related clues.

Computer Forensics is the scientific study of computers or computer related data in relation to an investigation by a law enforcement agency for use in a court of law. While this technology may be as old as computers themselves, the advances in technology are constantly revising this science.

While all computer languages are created with ones and zeros, it?s much easier to track what was done when, although by whom continues to be problematic. Forensic science has done well to keep up with the task of tracking and tracing what is done and creation of a timeline in an attempt to reconstruct a possible crime. Although it?s possible to clean and remove data from a hard drive, most people simply think that a delete key really removed the data. In actuality, the delete key simply removed the file location from an index file and the actual data is still safely on the system. It?s up to the data recovery skills of the forensic computer personnel to capture and restore that data without modification.

Computer forensics can be used to track emails, instant messaging and just about any other form of computer related communications. This can be necessary, especially in the world where computers and data travel around the world in seconds. Packet sniffers can literally be placed within a data stream and provide information on what?s running through the network in real time. This is really phenomenal considering the millions upon millions of data packets moving through any individual part of the network.

Computer forensic science is an interesting niche in the law enforcement field that is seldom considered as a career. As it?s relatively new, the field is considered by many to be wide open for anyone with the initiative to learn the skills. Unlike many computer related jobs, a computer forensic specialist will not be outsourced to a country on the other side of the world. The confidentiality of the data is just too sensitive to allow it to travel throughout the world just to save a little cash.

This entry was posted in Computer Forensics by mywordpress. Bookmark the permalink.

clive davis cause of whitney houston death the watchmen

Rodney King autopsy under way; results weeks away

FILE - This April 13, 2012 photo shows Rodney King posing for a portrait in Los Angeles. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)

FILE - This April 13, 2012 photo shows Rodney King posing for a portrait in Los Angeles. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)

(AP) ? An autopsy on Rodney King is being conducted, but it is not expected to lead to an immediate declaration on what killed him.

San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller says the autopsy is under way Monday afternoon. She says a cause of death determination will not be made until after investigators have toxicology results, which typically take six to eight weeks.

King was pulled from his pool in Rialto, Calif., early Sunday morning.

The 47-year-old became famous after he was severely beaten by Los Angeles police in 1991. The acquittal and mistrial of four officers tried for felony assault a year later sparked the Los Angeles riots.

Rialto police are investigating King's death as an apparent drowning and say there are no signs of foul play.

Associated Press

super bowl tickets superbowl birmingham news lee evans lee evans 49ers 49ers vs giants

Bo Xilai scandal 'greatly damaged' China: replacement

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

2012 nfl draft kevin durant jazz fest zurich classic selena lamichael james lamichael james

Japan prepares to switch nuclear reactors back on

Fifteen months after an earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Japan has decided that it cannot do without nuclear power after all. There are, however, signs of a fresh commitment to renewable energy.

All 50 of the country's reactors ? which supplied about 30 per cent of the country's electricity ? were shut down for maintenance and safety checks in the aftermath of the disaster. The last reactor went offline last month, leaving Japan nuclear-free.

Now, with an energy crunch predicted for the summer, it seems that nuclear power is on the way back. Last weekend, Japan's prime minister Yoshihiko Noda gave the Kansai Electric Power Company the go-ahead to restart reactors 3 and 4 at the company's Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, on the west coast of the country.

Return of confidence

Despite continuing public unease about nuclear power in the wake of last year's disaster, Noda hinted in April that Japan would be severely hobbled without it. Relying on energy generated by fossil fuels would prevent Japan from meeting its obligations to cut climate-changing greenhouse gases.

The two Fukui reactors, due to restart in early July, will add 2.36 million kilowatts to the supply in western Japan.

Whether additional reactors will come online remains to be seen. "It does indicate there's a return of confidence to a certain extent," says Andrew Sherry , director of the Dalton Nuclear Institute at the University of Manchester, UK. "How strong it is, I don't know, but I think people recognise the need for an energy mix, and nuclear provides a low-carbon component of that."

In a sign of parallel commitments to boost green energy, Yukio Edano, Japan's minister of economy, trade and industry, this week introduced tariffs to drive the provision of renewable energy. They will force utility companies to buy electricity from solar, wind and geothermal suppliers at pre-set premiums for at least two decades.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

Have your say

Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in.

Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article

Subscribe now to comment.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

red wings willie nelson penguins the band colton dixon jenny mccarthy houston weather

Podcast app, Power Nap, and how the future of iOS will be automated

One of the more interesting aspects of both iOS 6 and OS X Mountain Lion is the way in which Apple is further enabling intelligent background activity when iPhones, iPads, and Macs are otherwise "asleep".

beverly hills hotel whitney houston national anthem dolly parton i will always love you beverly hilton hotel whitney houston found dead i will always love you whitney houston 2012 grammy awards