'Green Lantern' Tops Weekend Box Office

But Ryan Reynolds' Hal Jordan failed to gather as much green as observers may have hoped.
By Ryan J. Downey

Ryan Reynolds in "Green Lantern"
Photo: Warner Bros.

The big-screen debut of DC Comics' "emerald knight" may have been #1 at the box office over the weekend but it failed to gather as much green as most observers had hoped. "Green Lantern" generated an estimated $52.6 million in its debut weekend, less than the opening numbers for superhero flicks "Thor" and "X-Men: First Class" earlier this year.

The heavily marketed potential franchise starter, which stars Ryan Reynolds, cost an estimated $200 million to produce. To put the numbers in perspective, fewer people saw "Green Lantern" on opening weekend than the film adaptations of lesser known superheroes like "Daredevil" and "Ghost Rider."

And critics were not kind to the film. "Green Lantern is a new primer on how not to make a comic book movie ... flat FX, smirky acting, clunky writing and clueless direction," Rolling Stone wrote.

"Mr. Popper's Penguins" was also something of a disappointment relative to previous Jim Carrey comedies. The film, based on the classic book of the same name, opened with $18.2 million, which wasn't enough to beat last week's #1 movie, "Super 8." J.J. Abrams' throwback homage to '80s movies like "E.T." earned another $21.2 million in its second weekend for a $72.7 million total.

"X-Men: First Class" was #4 over the weekend with $11.5 million, for a $199.9 million total. While the comic-book flick's numbers are lower than most of the movies in the mutant-hero franchise, the reboot/prequel hybrid has enjoyed the best critical response for an "X-Men" movie since "X2."

"The Hangover 2" rounded out the top five with $9.6 million, for a $232.7 million total. And this weekend's new releases include Disney/Pixar's "Cars 2" and the Cameron Diaz comedy "Bad Teacher." Michael Bay's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" follows on Wednesday, June 29.

Check out everything we've got on "Green Lantern."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

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Diddy Settles With Victims Of 1999 Club New York Shooting

Combs, former protégé Jamal 'Shyne' Barrow and club owner reportedly paid one victim $1.8 million.
By James Montgomery

Diddy
Photo: Victor Boyko/ Getty Images

Sean "Diddy" Combs has settled all civil actions against him stemming from the 1999 shooting at Club New York, the New York Post reported Thursday (June 23).

Citing court records, the Post revealed that Diddy, his former protégé Jamal "Shyne" Barrow and the now-shuttered club struck a deal earlier this year with three people shot by Barrow during the incident. The exact terms of the settlements were unknown because of confidentiality agreements between the parties.

But former Club New York owner Michael Bergos, who did not sign the agreement, told the paper that the most seriously injured victim, Natania Reuben, was paid $1.8 million, while two other victims received settlements of $500,000 and $50,000. Bergos said he didn't know who paid what amount in the deal, but Barrow's and the club's shares were covered by insurance companies, while Diddy was forced to pay himself, since his insurance company has since gone out of business.

A spokesperson for Combs did not respond to MTV News' request for comment on the report.

Reuben's lawyer, Debra Reiser, declined to comment on the settlement, telling the Post, "My client wanted the confidentiality agreement because she didn't want any further publicity. She's been victimized enough."

The hip-hop mogul, who was with then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez at the club, was acquitted of all charges in May 2001. Shyne was convicted on two counts of assault, as well as reckless endangerment and gun possession (he was, however, cleared of the most serious charge: attempted murder.)

The following month, Shyne was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released in October 2009 — and subsequently deported to his native Belize — but has always maintained his innocence in the shooting, telling MTV News in 2004 that he fired his gun in the air in an act of self defense.

"I'm a regular guy, man," he said. "I'm not tougher than nobody. I'm not better than nobody. I know real killers. I know people that really snatch bodies. I'm not that. I just did what I had to do. Somebody pulled out a .40 caliber and I had to pull mine our or I was gonna die."

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Photos | Drake, Nicki Minaj, Usher And More At Hot 97 2010 Summer Jam

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Watch: Britney Spears, ?I Wanna Go?

At last … it’s here … at 12:00 AM PT, Britney Spears unleashed her music video for her new single I Wanna Go. Check it out in full below. Fu*king LOVE IT! So amazing!! [Source]

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Los Angeles

I'm here! I'm here! And I saw my first gang-banger get arrested yesterday so I feel like a total Angeleno.

I'm getting ready to go to the gym (again, like a total Angeleno!) so I will update later about my run-ins with Alexander Skarsgard, Pauly Shore, and Jeremy or Jason London (I'm not sure which one it was and seeing if I could force him to do drugs to find out seemed unfair. Besides, as it turned out, he was telling the truth?)

Anyhoo, I've got a lot to tell you about gardening! (Did you know if you get dirt wet it turns into mud? Yuck.)

And bumpers! (They don't bump off anything... they go, "Scraaaaaaaatch!")

And there's probably more but, again, I have to go because I have to get to the gym!

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Lady Gaga To Premiere 'Edge Of Glory' Video On 'So You Think You Can Dance'

Singer is also set to appear as guest judge on show later in season.
By Jocelyn Vena, with additional reporting by Sabrina Rojas Weiss

Lady Gaga
Photo: Getty Images

Lady Gaga is ready to take fans to the "Edge of Glory." The singer confirmed that she will debut the music video for the clip on Thursday on "So You Think You Can Dance." Little is known about the Joseph Kahn-directed clip, but all will be revealed in good time, it seems.

The news comes just as executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe announced he was getting Gaga to join celebrity judges like will.i.am on the show this season.

"Yes, I asked her when she performed on the 'American Idol' finale if she would come on, and she said yes," Lythgoe . "She is on tour so they said it would probably be later in the season. She is an amazing dancer and performer."

He tossed around a few other names of celebs who might be guest judges, including Neil Patrick Harris, Kristin Chenoweth, Ellen DeGeneres and Megan Mullally. "We have a lot of people who want to help the kids become unique. The biggest thing is standing out from the crowd," he said. "The kids have to find something that makes them unique and these performers know how to do that."

When Lythgoe and judge Mary Murphy sat down with MTV News recently, they said they wanted to make sure that celebs who come on the show are the right fit.

"I think [celebrity judges] make it exciting for sure," Murphy said. "I'll never forget when Ellen sat next to me. But it made it a little bit difficult for me because I think she's so funny. ... Then I had to focus."

Lythgoe added that his wish is to have celebrity judges who aren't just famous faces but who know about dancing. "The sad thing for me is when some celebrity judges come on, they just want to be liked, so they're not going to give a good critique," he said. "Just 'you were wonderful, you were wonderful.' ... Then again there's a whole raft of judges, particularly in dance — Shirley MacLaine, Mitzi Gaynor, Debbie Reynolds — that could be called upon to judge, that have been there, done it through the '40s and '50s that are stunning, were stunning dancers.

"I'm going to be talking to Fox about it, but I know in my heart that Fox will say, 'Well, we don't really know them, can you get Lady Gaga?' ... She was excellent on 'Idol,' " he added. "A little naughty!"

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