No surprise with the weekend's No. 1 movie, right? After all, "The Hunger Games" must have made millions from all of my Facebook and Twitter friends alone, for how much I saw them talking about it.

From The Associated Press:

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. “The Hunger Games,” $155 million ($59.3 million international). (Review by The News-Herald's Mark Meszoros; "Hunger Games" overflows with ingredients that should mix together to form a giant hit at box office by The AP's David Germain)
2. “21 Jump Street,” $21.3 million ($5.3 million international). (Review by Germain)
3. “Dr. Seuss’ the Lorax,” $13.1 million ($5.5 million international). (Review by The AP's Chris Vognar)
4. “John Carter,” $5 million ($22.2 million international). (Review by Meszoros)
5. “Act of Valor,” $2.1 million. (Review by The AP's Jake Coyle)
6. “Project X,” $2 million ($4.4 million international). (Review by The AP's Christy Lemire)
7. “A Thousand Words,” $1.9 million. (Review by Germain)
8. “October Baby,” $1.7 million.
9. “Safe House,” $1.39 million ($2.3 million international). (Review by Meszoros)
10. “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” $1.37 million. (Review by Germain)

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

This morning I sat down with onetime criminal Phil Christopher of Lyndhurst, subject of the new documentary "Superthief," and Tommy Reid of Los Angeles, the director-producer. The movie, based on the book of the same name by Lyndhurst Police Chief Rick Porrello, makes its debut at the Cleveland International Film Festival.

Although I'll have a full story in the next week or two -- as "Superthief" begins runs in Euclid and Mentor -- I wanted to get the word out there for anyone who might want to head down to CIFF this weekend.

Here's a quick video I shot today in the green room at WKYC-TV 3 in Cleveland, where the gentleman would later go on the air to talk about the movie and Christopher's involvement in what once was the biggest bank heist in U.S. history:



-- Mark Meszoros | Entertainment@News-Herald.com | @nhfeatures

Michael Rorrer and his family recently hit the jackpot and it had nothing to do with playing lucky lottery numbers.

The 31-year-old found a stash of old comic books in his great uncle's Virginia home after his death and the magnitude of that collection fetched the family millions.

Included in that stash were Action Comics No. 1 from 1938 and Detective Comics No. 27  from 1939. Anyone with interest in comic books knows the significance of these two issues. They're two of the most sought-after comic books in history, the holy grails of the industry.

Action Comics No. 1 marks the first appearance of Superman, while Detective Comics No. 27 introduced the world to Batman.

In early March, the collection brought in about $3.5 million at auction.

"The scope of this collection is, from a historian's perspective, dizzying," said comics publisher J.C. Vaughn in a published report.

Talk about a one-in-a-million find.

- Mark Podolski | @mpodo

Entertainment Editor Mark Meszoros, Sports Editor Mark Podolski and Community Engagement Editor Cheryl Sadler sat down to talk about a new movie, some new TV shows and some returning TV shows.

Some of the stuff we talked about this week:

• The Hunger Games
• Mad Men
• Game of Thrones
• Smash
• Fashion Star
• the new iPad
• The Shins, "Port of Morrow"
• The Green Lantern

Follow us on Twitter @nhfeatures, @mpodo and @nhcheryl.

A little earlier today, I took my talents to the Behind the News-Herald blog to write about a movie I can't yet write about. I'd love if you had a look.

-- Mark Meszoros | Entertainment@News-Herald.com | @nhfeatures

 "21 Jump Street" got a mediocre review, but surely anyone who likes a) Jonah Hill, b) Channing Tatum or c) the television show "21 Jump Street" is certainly headed to theaters for this new release. Don't know if I'll see the movie, but it has made me want to check out the TV show, which I was too young to enjoy when it was on the air.

From The Associated Press:

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. “21 Jump Street,” $35 million ($7 million international). (Review by The AP's David Germain)
2. “Dr. Seuss’ the Lorax,” $22.8 million ($11.6 million international). (Review by The AP's Chris Vognar)
3. “John Carter,” $13.5 million ($40.7 million international). (Review by The News-Herald's Mark Meszoros)
4. “Project X,” $4 million ($5.6 million international). (Review by The AP's Christy Lemire)
5. “A Thousand Words,” $3.8 million. (Review by Germain)
6. “Act of Valor,” $3.7 million. (Review by The AP's Jake Coyle)
7. “Safe House,” $2.8 million ($3.5 million international). (Review by Meszoros)
8. “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” $2.5 million ($5 million international). (Review by Germain)
9. “Casa de mi Padre,” $2.2 million.
10. “This Means War,” $2.1 million ($9.2 million international). (Review by Lemire)

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

The latest movie-fied version of a Dr. Seuss story has stayed at the top of the box office for a second straight weekend. (Though that's not much of a shock, since its competition has gotten mediocre reviews.)

From The Associated Press:

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. “Dr. Seuss’ the Lorax,” $39.1 million ($1.4 million international). (Review by The AP's Chris Vognar)
2. “John Carter,” $30.6 million ($70.6 million international). (Review by The News-Herald's Mark Meszoros)
3. “Project X,” $11.6 million ($3 million international). (Review by The AP's Christy Lemire)
4. “Silent House,” $7.01 million. (Review by Lemire)
5. “Act of Valor,” $7 million. (Review by The AP's Jake Coyle)
6. “A Thousand Words,” $6.4 million. (Review by The AP's David Germain)
7. “Safe House,” $5 million ($6.1 million international). (Review by Meszoros)
8. “The Vow,” $4 million ($2.4 million international). (Review by Lemire)
9. “This Means War,” $3.8 million ($9.4 million international). (Review by Lemire)
10. “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” $3.7 million ($9.2 million international). (Review by Germain)

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

March 25th can get here quick enough.

It's been more than a year since we last saw Don Draper and Co. in a Mad Men episode, 17 months to be exact. The wait is almost over.

Season Five of the 1960s addictive AMC drama about New York's most stylish, most aggressive and most successful ad execs will return in a few weeks. What can we expect? Surely there will be plenty of boozing and smoking, boardroom meetings, as well as ... well, if you watch the show, you know what I mean.

Donald Draper (Jon Hamm) likes his booze, his smokes and his women, but will he actually follow through on his marriage proposal to his former secratary? What about Betty (January Jones)? Something tells me we have not seen the last of Donald and Betty as some sort of couple.

The answers and more begin to get revealed March 25. The four-time Emmy Award winning series has been away for too long. Don Draper, you have been missed.

- Mark Podolski | @mpodo

How crazy has the world revolving the launch of a new Apple product become? How nuts am I now about these things.

This nuts: I'm bothered -- actually ANNOYED -- over the name of the new iPad.

What's the name? That's it: the new iPad.

Not the iPad 3 as we thought it would be for so long. Not the iPad HD "confirmed" by a number of tech sites in recent days -- and, for the record, a moniker I though made a lot of sense.

After all, the new iPad, as expected, boasts a so-called Retina Display, Apple's branding for it version of a high-definition display. Already on recent models of the iPhone and iPod Touch, a Retina Display means the human eye can see the individual pixels at a distances of 10 inches or so.

 Above is an Apple press image showing the new iPad running the new iPhoto app.

The Retina Display on my iPhone 4 is beautiful, and as soon as I see the RD iPad, I'm going to look with disgust at my iPad 2. (Not with enough disgust to throw hundreds of dollars at the problem, but disgust nonetheless.)

The pricier versions new iPad also will support high-speed LTE data networks, and all the new tablets will have a more powerful graphics processor -- needed to make things like games look great on that super display. Oh, and the battery? You're still going to get nine to 10 hours of battery life despite the power-sucking nature of the RD. (Might explain why the new iPad is a tiny bit heavier and thicker than it's predecessor.)

All in all, it's a nice update. But, seriously, simply iPad? Come on, Apple, you could have done better. You'll regret this ... when you're selling millions and millions of these things, beginning March 16.

Yeah, well, I'm still weirdly annoyed. If you're not to annoyed to watch Apple's promotional video, check it out, courtesy of my favorite tech site, The Verge:










-- Mark Meszoros | Entertainment@News-Herald.com | @nhfeatures

Things are starting to look a lot better for the year. And when I say "things," I mean musical things. And when I say "musical things," I mean concerts.

After stewing for a good month or two because Florence + the Machine wasn't bringing its tour to Cleveland, the band announced a show July 30 at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica in Cleveland. (The show quickly sold out, but I got my pair of tix, which, I hope you'll agree, is all that really matters.)

And this morning brought more great news. Radiohead has added a Northeast Ohio show to its 2012 tour, bringing the intricate musicality of "The King of Limbs" to Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls on June 6. Reserve tickets are $69.50 and lawn seats are $30 -- before those lovely fees, of course -- and the tickets go on sale Saturday morning.



Radiohead is playing a lot of newer material -- much of it on the mellow side -- on this tour, so it may not be for everybody. But the set list from Saturday night has me totally juiced.

-- Mark Meszoros | Entertainment@News-Herald.com | @nhfeatures

How fitting that a film based on a Dr. Seuss book lands in first place at the box office the weekend of Dr. Seuss' birthday. And it's nice to see that after winning the Academy Award for best picture, "The Artist" has made it back in to the top 10.

From The Associated Press:

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. “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax,” $70.7 million ($500,000 international). (Review by The AP's Chris Vognar)
2. “Project X,” $20.8 million ($1.7 million international). (Review by The AP's Christy Lemire)
3. “Act of Valor,” $13.7 million. (Review by The AP's Jake Coyle)
4. “Safe House,” $7.2 million ($10.8 million international). (Review by The News-Herald's Mark Meszoros)
5. “Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds,” $7 million.
6. “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” $6.9 million ($14.7 million international). (Review by The AP's David Germain)
7. “The Vow,” $6.1 million ($4.1 million international). (Review by Lemire)
8. “This Means War,” $5.6 million ($14.1 million international). (Review by Lemire)
9. “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,” $4.7 million ($6 million international).
10. “The Artist,” $3.9 million ($5.3 million international). (Review by Coyle)

-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

The trailer for "The Avengers" was released this week. I'm not sure what to think about it.

I'm always concerned about a movie with too many characters and this superhero flick fits the bill. You've got Ironman, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor and more. How can a movie with that many heavy hitters work? I'm looking forward to finding out in May, when "The Avengers" hits the big screen. Check out the trailer:

- Mark Podolski | @mpodo