• Harry Potter is the Biggest Worldwide Debut Ever with $476M

    // Gradly // blog, Movies, News, Poster, Superheroes 1 Response

    Warner Bros. Pictures released the following statement on the record-breaking worldwide debut of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2:

    With an astounding estimated worldwide box office total of more than $476 million, Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” shattered multiple domestic and international box office records in a history-making opening weekend. The announcement was made today by Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution, Dan Fellman, and President of International Distribution, Veronika Kwan-Rubinek.

    The finale of the globally beloved film series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” earned a stunning $168.5 million at the domestic box office, which not only is the biggest Harry Potter opening weekend but also obliterated the industry’s opening weekend record, including holiday weekends. Among the other records broken were single-day box office (Friday at $92.1 million), Friday box office, and opening day box office.

    Opening day-and-date in 59 territories, the international box office take was a staggering $307 million, making it the biggest international weekend of all time. Led by record-breaking grosses in the UK ($36.6 million) and Australia ($26.7 million), all markets have performed exceedingly well, including Germany ($25.7 million), France ($23.9 million) and Japan ($21.5 million).

    Globally, it also broke the IMAX opening weekend record with a worldwide gross of $23.5 million, which includes setting a new record in North America with $15.5 million.

    The film began breaking records even before its opening, as unprecedented advance ticket sales gave the first indication of just how huge the box office bow would be. Midnight opening screenings not only met but exceeded those expectations, with $43.5 million at the domestic box office alone.

    Dan Fellman stated, “These numbers are amazing, but they are only part of the story. It is impossible to quantify how thrilled and grateful we all are that both critics and audiences—especially loyal Harry Potter fans—continue to support the film. This is the culmination of an extraordinary decade, and a reflection of the hard work and dedication of many, many people on both sides of the camera, beginning with the brilliant J.K. Rowling, as well as producer David Heyman. We applaud them all.”

    Veronika Kwan-Rubinek remarked, “Harry Potter is truly a cultural phenomenon the world over. Whether in German, French, Japanese, Russian, or any language, international audiences have embraced the Harry Potter films over the years, with the powerful finale punctuating just how special the property is. We congratulate everyone associated with the films on this monumental achievement.”

    “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” is the final adventure in the Harry Potter film series. In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry Potter who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort. It all ends here.

    Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reprise their roles as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The film’s ensemble cast also includes Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Lewis, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Julie Walters and Bonnie Wright.
    The film was directed by David Yates, and produced by David Heyman, David Barron and J.K. Rowling. Steve Kloves adapted the screenplay, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. Lionel Wigram is the executive producer.

    “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” is the first Harry Potter film to be released in both 3D and 2D. Concurrently with its nationwide theatrical distribution, the film will be released in select IMAX® theatres. The film has been digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® through proprietary IMAX DMR® technology.

    Opening nationwide on July 15, the film is being distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. It has been rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images.

  • Anonymous Hacker Group Could Unleash “Literally Explosive” Material on Bohemian Grove

    // Gradly // blog, Conspiracies, Hack, News, Rants & Raves, Scandal, Sony No Responses

    The hackers’ collective Anonymous may have obtained “literally explosive” information concerning Bohemian Grove, an annual gathering of power brokers from the US and Europe set to meet this week in California, which many see as an avenue through which elitists secretly manipulate world affairs.

    Bohemian Grove is a privately owned 2,700 acre compound in Monte Rio, California surrounded by giant old-growth redwood trees. Once a year it plays host to a bizarre confab attended by some of the most powerful people in the world, including many US politicians and government officials, during which participants embroil themselves in a heady mixture of plutocratic plotting and occult pagan ritual ceremonies.

    Anonymous and Lulz Security (LulzSec), which has recently retired, groups have been responsible for millions of dollars worth of damages to many institutions worldwide, including the CIA, U.S. Senate, Nintendo, Sony and others. They took down the CIA’s website, hacked Sony’s servers, released sensitive documents from the Arizona state government and attacked the U.S. Senate’s website.Sony and the International Monetary Fund.

    The Anonymous group has already announced its intention to occupy the entrance to the Bohemian Grove compound as a protest against the group’s secrecy, may also be about to leak a whole treasure trove of information about the organization as part of what has been dubbed “the biggest day in Anonymous’s history”.

    As part of a series of hacks conducted to protest the treatment of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, to whom Anonymous has attached itself, the collective says it is about to unleash “literally explosive” material on a number of organizations, including the London Metropolitan Police and other agencies connected to the UK judicial system.

    The hacks are timed to coincide with Assange’s appeal hearing against extradition, which begins today.

    According to a report in the Guardian, one of the targets of the hacks could well be the Bohemian Grove club.

    “Speculation centers around material claimed to have been obtained last week from contractors relating to security and secrecy of “former world leaders”, or plans to target a senior leaders’ retreat at Bohemian Grove, California,” write the Guardian’s James Ball and Charles Arthur.

    Alex Jones made history in 2000 when he became the first journalist to capture on video the ‘cremation of care’ ceremony, where Grove members dressed in Eyes Wide Shut-style hooded capes make a mock child sacrifice to Moloch, the pagan owl god, represented as a 50 foot statue carved out of a hollowed redwood tree.

    Although the establishment media routinely claims the event is little more than a holiday camp, in 1942 it was the setting for the birthplace of the Manhattan Project, which led to the creation of the atomic bomb, a story often retold by Grove members who are proud of the fact that the most important scientific development of the 20th century was conceived there.

    Watch the video below in which Anonymous announces its attention to protest the secrecy surrounding Bohemian Grove by occupying the entrance to the compound.

    [via infowars]

  • LIMBO Coming to PS3 and PC After All

    // Gradly // blog, Consoles, Games, News, PS3, Sony, Trailer No Responses

    It has been one year since LIMBO originally launched, and that year has been an incredible time for everyone at Playdead. The game was exclusive title to the Xbox owners and it seems the guys at Playdead managed to expand the experience to PC and PS3 owners after all. refresh your mind with the trailer below:

    We’ve gotten feedback from many people around the world, and it’s been amazing to hear about the experiences people have had with the game.

    So we are happy, on the mark of LIMBO’s birthday, to bring the experience further and share it with even more people. We will be releasing the game on the PS3 through the PlayStation Network on the following dates:

    • US – July 19th
    • Europe – July 20th
    • Japan/Asia – to be announced soon

    LIMBO Soundtrack, will be available starting this Monday, July 11th on iTunes.

    Will Limbo ever make it to the iOS as well?!

  • Apple Releases iOS 5 Beta 3 to Developers

    // Gradly // Apple, blog, Download, iPad, iPhone, News No Responses

    Apple has just released iOS 5 Beta 3 to developers. Alongside this release, Apple has also released Xcode 4.2 Developer Preview 3, iTunes 10.5 beta 3, and Apple TV Software beta 3.

    This release improves the stability and performance of the system and came once gain as a full-size firmware to download for Apple, and not yet as a Delta update delivered over-the-air as was recently speculated. here is the changelog:

    • Considerable Speed and Stability Improvements
    • No Delta Update
    • Improved Safari Mobile & Better HTML5 Support
    • New Location Services Warning
    • New Reminders App Icon
    • Two New Ringtones
    • Faster Camera App
    • Setup Procedure Has Additional Polish and Animations

    Download Links will be put on another post once available