রবিবার, ৩০ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০১২

'Hotel Transylvania' checks in with $43M debut

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Dracula, voiced by Adam Sandler, in a scene from "Hotel Transylvania." (AP Photo/Sony Pictures Animation)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Dracula, voiced by Adam Sandler, in a scene from "Hotel Transylvania." (AP Photo/Sony Pictures Animation)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Adam Sandler's monster mash-up "Hotel Transylvania" has brought the weekend box office back to life after a late-summer slump.

The animated comedy from Sony Pictures debuted at No. 1 with $43 million, one of the strongest starts ever for a movie opening in September, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"Hotel Transylvania" set a new high for September debuts in terms of actual dollars, beating the previous record of $35.7 million for 2002's "Sweet Home Alabama." But factoring in today's higher admission prices, "Sweet Home Alabama" sold more tickets.

This weekend's box office was further strengthened by a solid No. 2 debut for another Sony release, Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's time-travel thriller "Looper," which took in $21.2 million.

Hollywood's overall grosses rose for the first time in a month compared to the same weekend last year. Revenues totaled $120 million, up 21 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when "Dolphin Tale" led with $13.9 million, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

"Sony really kind of saved the day here, turning things around after a full month of less-than-stellar box office," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "The post-summer period didn't exactly set the world on fire."

It's rare for one studio to open two wide releases over the same weekend, but Sony had two movies that complemented each other well without overlapping their audiences.

Locking up the family crowds, the PG-rated "Hotel Transylvania" features Sandler providing the voice of Count Dracula as proprietor of a resort catering to Frankenstein, the Wolfman and other monsters.

The R-rated "Looper" pulled in male action fans. Set in 2044, the film stars Gordon-Levitt as a hit man assigned to kill victims sent back in time ? including his future self (Bruce Willis).

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Open Road Films' police story "End of Watch," fell to No. 3 with $8 million, raising its domestic total to $26.2 million.

In narrower release, Universal Pictures' music tale "Pitch Perfect" opened strongly at No. 6 with $5.2 million. The movie stars Anna Kendrick as a college freshman who joins an a cappella singing team and livens up the group's conservative style.

Playing in 335 theaters, "Pitch Perfect" averaged an impressive $15,560 a cinema. That compared to an average of $12,840 in 3,349 theaters for "Hotel Transylvania" and $7,086 in 2,992 cinemas for "Looper."

The weekend's other new wide release, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis' school drama "Won't Back Down," flopped at No. 10 with $2.7 million, averaging just $1,074 in 2,515 theaters. The movie centers on two mothers who organize a campaign to save a failing elementary school.

For Sandler, "Hotel "Transylvania" was a return to hit status after his summer dud "That's My Boy" and so-so results on last year's comedy "Jack and Jill."

Sandler's audience of young males generally has waned as he ages. But Sony, which has released most of his movies, remains eager to stay in the Sandler business.

"I have said that many times, and it still holds in a big way," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Hotel Transylvania," $43 million ($8.1 million international).

2. "Looper," $21.2 million ($8.5 million international).

3. "End of Watch," $8 million.

4. "Trouble with the Curve," $7.5 million.

5. "House at the End of the Street," $7.2 million ($1.5 million international).

6. "Pitch Perfect," $5.2 million.

7. "Finding Nemo," $4.1 million ($1.1 million international).

8. "Resident Evil: Retribution," $3 million ($20.7 million international).

9. "The Master," $2.75 million.

10. "Won't Back Down," $2.7 million.

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "Resident Evil: Retribution," $20.7 million.

2. "Ted," $9.1 million.

3 (tie). "Masquerade," $9 million.

3 (tie). "Les Seigneurs," $9 million.

5. "Ice Age: Continental Drift," $8.7 million.

6. "Looper," $8.5 million.

7. "Hotel Transylvania," $8.1 million.

8. "The Bourne Legacy," $7.7 million.

9. "Taken 2," $6.4 million.

10. "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," $6.1 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-09-30-Box%20Office/id-feacb3ffc9a245b883362bbdbd2e26b3

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New pathogen epidemic identified in sub-Saharan Africa

ScienceDaily (Sep. 27, 2012) ? Researchers have found that the spread of a dangerous bacteria that can be fatal in up to 45% of people infected in sub-Sahara Africa may have been instigated by the emergence and spread of HIV in Africa. The study also found that one of the major contributing factors for the successful spread of the disease -- non-Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) -- was the acquisition of genes that afford resistance to several front line drugs used to treat blood-borne infection such as iNTS.

A new study out September 30 reveals that the emergence and spread of a rapidly evolving invasive intestinal disease, that has a significant mortality rate (up to 45%) in infected people in sub-Saharan Africa, seems to have been potentiated by the HIV epidemic in Africa.

The team found that invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) disease is caused by a new form of the bacteria Salmonella Typhimurium that has spread from two different focal hubs in Southern and Central Africa beginning 52 and 35 years ago, respectively. They also found that one of the major contributing factors for the successful spread of iNTS was the acquisition of genes that afford resistance to several front line drugs used to treat blood-borne infection such as iNTS.

iNTS is a blood-borne infection that kills approximately one of four people in sub-Saharan Africa who catch it. Yet, in the rest of the world, NTS is a leading cause of acute inflammatory diarrhea that is self-limiting and tends to be fatal in less than 1 per cent of people infected. The disease is more severe in sub-Saharan Africa than the rest of the world because of factors such as malnutrition, co-infection with malaria or HIV and potentially the novel genotype of the Salmonella bacteria.

"The immune system susceptibility provided by HIV, malaria and malnutrition at a young age, may provide a population in sub-Saharan Africa that is large enough for this detrimental pathogen to enter, adapt, circulate and thrive," says Chinyere Okoro, joint first author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "We used whole genome sequencing to define a novel lineage of Salmonella Typhimurium that is causing a previously unrecognised epidemic across the region. Its genetic makeup is evolving into a more typhoid like bacteria, able to efficiently spread around the human body"

From sequenced samples, the team created a phylogenetic or 'family tree', depicting the pathogen's evolution, dating when each sample first emerged and overlaying this with geographical information about where these samples came from. They found that this invasive disease comprises of two very closely related waves; the first wave originated from a possible south-eastern hub, about 52 years ago and the second originated about 35 years ago, possibly from the Congo Basin.

"The HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa is thought to have begun in a central region and underwent expansion eastwards, a strikingly similar dynamic to that observed for second iNTS wave," says Dr Robert Kingsley, joint first author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "Our findings suggest the current epidemic of iNTS and its transmission across sub-Saharan Africa may have been potentiated by an increase in the critical population of susceptible, immune-compromised people."

The team identified that the vast majority of samples from the second wave of iNTS contains a gene that makes them resistant to chloramphenicol, a frontline antibiotic in the treatment of Salmonella. This gene was not present in the samples from the first wave of iNTS. This observation suggests that iNTS acquired this gene early on in the evolution of the second wave, probably around the time of its spread from the Congo basin.

"Because it acquired resistance to chloramphenicol, this pathogen has much greater opportunity to survive and spread across the region," says Professor Gordon Dougan, lead author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. "This is the first time that the power of whole-genome sequencing has been used to track the spread of iNTS. Our research highlights the power this approach has to monitor the emergence and spread of dangerous pathogens both locally and globally over time."

"There has been some evidence that this disease can be passed from human to human. Now the race is on to discover how NTS is actually transmitted in sub-Saharan Africa so that effective intervention strategies can be implemented."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

  1. Chinyere K Okoro, Robert A Kingsley, Thomas R Connor, Simon R Harris, Christopher M Parry, Manar N Al-Mashhadani, Samuel Kariuki, Chisomo L Msefula, Melita A Gordon, Elizabeth de Pinna, John Wain, Robert S Heyderman, Stephen Obaro, Pedro L Alonso, Inacio Mandomando, Calman A MacLennan, Milagritos D Tapia, Myron M Levine, Sharon M Tennant, Julian Parkhill, Gordon Dougan. Intracontinental spread of human invasive Salmonella Typhimurium pathovariants in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature Genetics, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/ng.2423

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/SuSCC8XrBPo/120930141545.htm

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