2013 RELEASE DATES SET FOR "THE HANGOVER: PART III", "PACIFIC RIM", "300" SEQUEL AND MORE

Still from The Hangover: Part II

Movie Lovers! Here's a few new release dates for some of 2013's biggest releases, so get ready!

Warner Bros. has slated a few release dates for its biggest Summer releases:

• A Sequel for 300 on August 2, 2013 
• The Hangover: Part III on May 24, 2013 (the same day as The Fast and the Furious 6 from Universal Pictures!) 
• Pacific Rim (which we have been following closely here in Toronto) on July 12, 2013 

Soon-to-be-filed in Toronto, Robocop also is scheduled for August 9, 2013 via Sony Pictures. 

Should be an exciting Summer filled with blood, grease and bullets! 

(Photo credit: Warner Bros.)

"HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2" IS 2011'S HIGHEST-GROSSING FILM

Still from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

It is absolutely no surprise that 2011 tallies show that Franchise Finale Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, is internationally the year's highest-grossing Film.  The Warner Bros. Fantasy Drama earned a whopping $1.328 billion worldwide, over $200 million more than its closest competition, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. This past Summer I was lucky enough to be a part of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Canadian Press Tour.  Click here to read my Interview with burgeoning Star, Matthew Lewis.

Note that eight out of ten of these Films actually are sequels with Warner Bros., Buena Vista/Disney and Paramount Pictures each accounting for two each. Based on Rotten Tomatoes ratings for the Top Ten, it would appear there is a bit of a divide between Critical and Commercial tastes with these ten averaging 56.3% among Critics, below the "Certified Fresh" threshold.

Without further ado, here are your Top Ten Grossing Films of 2011:

TYRESE IN TORONTO FOR "TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON"

Tyrese & Mr. Will-W.

Model/Singer/Actor Tyrese Gibson, known better as just Tyrese, has been quieter on the Music front after showing considerable promise with his debut in the late '90s.  His Acting career however, is thriving having been cast in two mega-Blockbusters back-to-back and he is in-town today promoting Transformers: Dark of the Moon.  He was seen most recently in Universal Pictures' massive hit Fast Five, which just surpassed the $600 million mark worldwide at the Box Office. Toronto is the first of nine cities which comprise this Promotional Tour and he will be visiting New York City next and going as far away as Russia.

Tyrese starred in two prior installments of the Transformers franchise and will be reprising his role as Sargent Robert Epps once again.  In addition to this, he also just released an inspirational Memoir titled How to Get out of Your Own Way this past April which has won the praise of the likes of Deepak Chopra.

I caught the well-built Actor dressed in a black Adidas Tracksuit, traveling with a Bodyguard and Publicist on his way out of a Radio appearance on KISS 92.5's The Roz & Mocha Show, flagging his attention for a "fast five second" Photo together.  Silent for most of the time, he nodded "yes" to the request and then gave a second nod before he head off to his next stop.  Before heading off, he posed for a couple Photos getting into his SUV for a Station Photographer.

 Transformers: Dark of the Moon hits theatres June 29, 2011 via Paramount Pictures.

Follow Tyrese on Twitter here.

"SUPER 8" TAKES SPIELBERG BACK TO THE TOP OF BOX OFFICE

Still from Super 8

Producer Steven Spielberg makes a triumphant return to the top with J.J. Abram's latest Super 8. The Sci-fi Thriller brought in $37 million in its debut for Paramount Pictures. A critical success also, it garnered an 82% rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

X-Men: First Class slips to second spot this weekend with $25 million in its second week, bringing its tally to $98.8 million domestically. The Hangover Part II is still going strong for Warner Bros., slipping to third this weekend with a respectable $18.5 million and to-date it has earned $216.5 million in its three-week run.

Kung-Fu Panda 2 places in fourth with $16.3 million this weekend. Meanwhile, Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer debuts in sixth spot with $6.2 million and Woody Allen's latest Midnight in Paris sits in eighth spot for a second consecutive week after having expanded to 944 theatres with $6.1 million.

Fast Five after a valiant seven-week run rounds out the Top Ten with $1.7 million, now surpassing $205 million in earnings in North America.

MOVIEGOERS CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF "PIRATES"

If there was any concern over the world ending this weekend, Moviegoers certainly were undeterred from heading to the theatres this weekend.  Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides debuts this weekend with an excellent $91.5 million, making it the biggest-grossing opening weekend for a Film in 2011.  Although not quite as successful as the second and third installments of the Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise -  Dead Man's Chest opened with $135 million back in 2006 - On Stranger Tides, doubled The Curse of the Black Pearl's $46.6 million opening back in 2003.  The Disney Franchise clearly has seen better days, but by no means is showing signs of stopping yet.

Truly embodying what it means to be a Bridesmaid by coming in second two weeks in a row, Universal Pictures' Bridesmaids brings in a healthy $20.9 million this weekend.  In two weeks the Comedy has earned $60 million, almost doubling the Studio's $32 million investment in production costs.

Paramount's Thor is still performing well, landing in third in its third week of release with $15.6 million, just ahead of another former Box Office champion Fast Five with $10.1 million.  Something Borrowed is still hanging on in the Top Ten in seventh, now surpassing the $30 million mark, while 20th Century Fox's Water for Elephants spends its fifth week there with $2.3 million in ninth spot. 

"BRIDESMAIDS" DEBUTS IMPRESSIVELY BEHIND "THOR"

Still from Bridesmaids

Thor shows no signs of stopping, landing on top of the Box Office again for a second week. The Marvel Comics adaptation brought in $34 million this weekend from 3,963 theatres, firmly planting Australian Actor Chris Hemsworth as a star in North America. Hemsworth is said to be starring next in the upcoming Snow White and the Huntsman 3-D adaptation set to film in Montreal with Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron.

Despite opening against a Monster, Universal Pictures' Bridesmaids exceeds expectations, debuting in second spot with $24.5 million from 2,918 theatres. The Comedy pairs Saturday Night Live alumni Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph together and actually has received stellar reviews also. Rotten Tomatoes pegs it in around the 90% mark on its Tomatometer, making it one of the best-reviewed films of 2011. To put this into perspective, despite this being R-rated and showing in only a fraction of theatres that Thor is, Bridesmaids actually is the real champion here.

Fast Five still is going strong this weekend and despite slipping to third in its third week of release, it still earns $20.2 million at the Box Office. Usher who was in Toronto this weekend, could not resist even and had to head to our AMC to see it Friday night!

"THOR" DOMINATES THE BOX OFFICE OVER A RESILIENT "FAST FIVE"

Still from Thor

Although there never was a doubt that it would debut at the top, the question always was just how big it would open. Thor is poised to bring in an impressive $66 million this weekend at the Box Office, equally making it a critical and Box Office hit. Rotten Tomatoes pegs the Marvel adaptation in at 78% on its Tomatometer.

Slipping to second spot but equally performing amazingly well is last week's number one Movie, Fast Five. The high-octane fifth installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise is set to bring in $35 million for Universal Pictures in its second week bringing its North American tally to $142 million.  Believe it.

Sony Pictures' Jumping the Broom starring a talented primarily Black cast of Angela Bassett, Omar Epps, Paula Patton and Loretta Devine exceeds expectations, debuting in third spot with $13.5 million.  The Comedy from Director Salim Akil received heavy promotion on Urban outlets like BET.

Warner Bros.' Something Borrowed had the misfortune of opening up against Fast Five and Thor, and is expected to land in fourth this weekend with $13.4 million.  Despite being targeted towards primarily a Female audience, surely many of those Women had the split decision of seeing those Blockbusters or this Rom-Com negatively impacting Something Borrowed's performance.

Rio is still going strong in its fourth week with $9.5 million for 20th Century Fox bringing its tally to $116 million, ahead of its Sister Film from the same studio Water for Elephants, which slips to sixth with $5.7 million.

Rounding out the Top Ten is Soul Surfer with $2.1 million in its fifth week.  To date it has made $36.7 million in its run.

"THOR" POISED TO DEBUT BIG AT BOX OFFICE

Still from Thor

With surprisingly positive reviews, Thor opens this weekend with high hopes from Paramount Pictures which spent $150 million on production. The latest Marvel Comics adaptation is poised to make upwards of $60 million Friday to Sunday according the Studio estimates.  It will be looking to best Fast Five's stellar opening of $86 million last weekend at the Box Office.

Despite including a Cast with the likes of Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings and Anthony Hopkins, Thor looks to be star vehicle for Australian Hunk Chris Hemsworth and it is winning the praises of key Critics:

"Hemsworth, an Aussie actor with a vocal command to match his heaving brawn, doesn't just play the role, he owns it." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

"FAST FIVE" RACES TO THE TOP OF BOX OFFICE

Still from Fast Five

Moviegoers raced to the theatres this weekend for  Fast Five, the latest in the series of Auto-racing/Action Films, a massive success at the Box Office taking in $83.6 million in its debut. This makes it the best opening yet for The Fast and The Furious Franchise, with the distinction also of being the biggest opening weekend for a Movie so far in 2011.  It is estimated that Fast Five made  $165 worldwide this weekend alone for Universal Pictures. Critics also agree that this one is a hit, with it earning a 79% rating on the Tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes.

20th Century Fox continues to perform well with RIO 3-D, slipping to second this weekend after two weeks on top.  This weekend it pulled in $14.4 million from 3708 theatres, landing just ahead of Madea's Big Happy Family in third with $10 million.

Romantic Drama Water for Elephants slips one spot to fourth with $9.1 million, bringing its tally to $32.1 million domestically.

Debuting below expectations was Disney's PROM which lands in fifth with $5 million from 2,730 theatres.  The Teen Romance was estimated to make upwards of $9 million this weekend.

Hoodwinked Two Hood vs. Evil is the second film in its Series, and it debuts in sixth with $4.1 million.  Its predecessor made a total $51.4 million at the Box Office worldwide for The Weinstein Co.

Rounding out the Box Office Top Ten is Scre4m which after three weeks of release, brings in $2.2 million this weekend.  It its theatrical run domestically, the Horror/Comedy has just surpassed the $70 million mark worldwide for The Weinstein Co./Dimension.