LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Zachary Levi, star of the late, lamented NBC action comedy “Chuck,” will make his Broadway debut in the musical comedy “First Date,” the show’s producers stated Monday.

Levi anchored the cult TV series for five seasons, starring as a computer-whiz who becomes an improbable spy. He also did voice work for 2011′s “Tangled” and is set to appear in “Thor: The Dark World.”

In “First Date,” Levi plays a high-strung man who gets set up with a serial-dater. Their romantic evening gets upended by a series of unexpected events ranging from Google background checks to fake emergency phone calls.

Krysta Rodriguez (“Smash,”) will co-star. The book is by Austin Winsberg (“Gossip Girl”), music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner (“Secondhand Lions”) and musical staging by Josh Rhodes (“Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella”).

The show will start preview performances on July 9, 2013, and will open on August 8, 2013, at the Longacre Theatre.

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Zachary Levi, star of the late, lamented NBC action comedy “Chuck,” will make his Broadway debut in the musical comedy “First Date,” the show’s producers stated Monday.

Levi anchored the cult TV series for five seasons, starring as a computer-whiz who becomes an improbable spy. He also did voice work for 2011′s “Tangled” and is set to appear in “Thor: The Dark World.”

In “First Date,” Levi plays a high-strung man who gets set up with a serial-dater. Their romantic evening gets upended by a series of unexpected events ranging from Google background checks to fake emergency phone calls.

Krysta Rodriguez (“Smash,”) will co-star. The book is by Austin Winsberg (“Gossip Girl”), music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner (“Secondhand Lions”) and musical staging by Josh Rhodes (“Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella”).

The show will start preview performances on July 9, 2013, and will open on August 8, 2013, at the Longacre Theatre.

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Zachary Levi, star of the late, lamented NBC action comedy “Chuck,” will make his Broadway debut in the musical comedy “First Date,” the show’s producers stated Monday.

Levi anchored the cult TV series for five seasons, starring as a computer-whiz who becomes an improbable spy. He also did voice work for 2011′s “Tangled” and is set to appear in “Thor: The Dark World.”

In “First Date,” Levi plays a high-strung man who gets set up with a serial-dater. Their romantic evening gets upended by a series of unexpected events ranging from Google background checks to fake emergency phone calls.

Krysta Rodriguez (“Smash,”) will co-star. The book is by Austin Winsberg (“Gossip Girl”), music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner (“Secondhand Lions”) and musical staging by Josh Rhodes (“Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella”).

The show will start preview performances on July 9, 2013, and will open on August 8, 2013, at the Longacre Theatre.

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Zachary Levi, star of the late, lamented NBC action comedy “Chuck,” will make his Broadway debut in the musical comedy “First Date,” the show’s producers stated Monday.

Levi anchored the cult TV series for five seasons, starring as a computer-whiz who becomes an improbable spy. He also did voice work for 2011′s “Tangled” and is set to appear in “Thor: The Dark World.”

In “First Date,” Levi plays a high-strung man who gets set up with a serial-dater. Their romantic evening gets upended by a series of unexpected events ranging from Google background checks to fake emergency phone calls.

Krysta Rodriguez (“Smash,”) will co-star. The book is by Austin Winsberg (“Gossip Girl”), music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner (“Secondhand Lions”) and musical staging by Josh Rhodes (“Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella”).

The show will start preview performances on July 9, 2013, and will open on August 8, 2013, at the Longacre Theatre.

“Star Trek Into Darkness,” the sequel to director J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot of the almost 50-year-old sci-fi franchise, is expected to dominate the North American box-office as it warp speeds its way toward a $100 million four-day-plus kickoff. The movie, boasting a heavily guarded secret about its villain and the return of Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, opened exclusively in IMAX on Wednesday (making an estimated $3.3 million from 336 locations), followed by regular and 3-D showings on Thursday.

“Star Trek” should beat the $75 million domestic launch of its predecessor by at least $25 million. It’s outperforming the first motion picture overseas as well, where it was released in seven markets a week earlier. “Into Darkness” carried a much bigger production budget than Abrams’ first foray into the “Trek” universe, with a bigger marketing budget behind it as well.

Captain Kirk and crew will certainly steal much of the main demographic for “Iron Man 3,” but Tony Stark’s latest adventure should still be the runner-up with an expected $30 million domestic haul. While it will not make as much as “The Avengers” in the long run, “Iron Man 3″ will certainly crack $1 billion worldwide and is far and away more successful than its predecessors.

With no other huge new wide releases in theaters, last weekend’s runner-up should fall just one spot to #3. “The Great Gatsby” will collect about $28 million in its second weekend, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com and Exhibitor Relations.

Check out everything we have got on “Star Trek Into Darkness.”

“Star Trek Into Darkness,” the sequel to director J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot of the almost 50-year-old sci-fi franchise, is expected to dominate the North American box-office as it warp speeds its way toward a $100 million four-day-plus kickoff. The movie, boasting a heavily guarded secret about its villain and the return of Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, opened exclusively in IMAX on Wednesday (making an estimated $3.3 million from 336 locations), followed by regular and 3-D showings on Thursday.

“Star Trek” should beat the $75 million domestic launch of its predecessor by at least $25 million. It’s outperforming the first motion picture overseas as well, where it was released in seven markets a week earlier. “Into Darkness” carried a much bigger production budget than Abrams’ first foray into the “Trek” universe, with a bigger marketing budget behind it as well.

Captain Kirk and crew will certainly steal much of the main demographic for “Iron Man 3,” but Tony Stark’s latest adventure should still be the runner-up with an expected $30 million domestic haul. While it will not make as much as “The Avengers” in the long run, “Iron Man 3″ will certainly crack $1 billion worldwide and is far and away more successful than its predecessors.

With no other huge new wide releases in theaters, last weekend’s runner-up should fall just one spot to #3. “The Great Gatsby” will collect about $28 million in its second weekend, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com and Exhibitor Relations.

Check out everything we have got on “Star Trek Into Darkness.”

“Star Trek Into Darkness,” the sequel to director J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot of the almost 50-year-old sci-fi franchise, is expected to dominate the North American box-office as it warp speeds its way toward a $100 million four-day-plus kickoff. The movie, boasting a heavily guarded secret about its villain and the return of Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, opened exclusively in IMAX on Wednesday (making an estimated $3.3 million from 336 locations), followed by regular and 3-D showings on Thursday.

“Star Trek” should beat the $75 million domestic launch of its predecessor by at least $25 million. It’s outperforming the first motion picture overseas as well, where it was released in seven markets a week earlier. “Into Darkness” carried a much bigger production budget than Abrams’ first foray into the “Trek” universe, with a bigger marketing budget behind it as well.

Captain Kirk and crew will certainly steal much of the main demographic for “Iron Man 3,” but Tony Stark’s latest adventure should still be the runner-up with an expected $30 million domestic haul. While it will not make as much as “The Avengers” in the long run, “Iron Man 3″ will certainly crack $1 billion worldwide and is far and away more successful than its predecessors.

With no other huge new wide releases in theaters, last weekend’s runner-up should fall just one spot to #3. “The Great Gatsby” will collect about $28 million in its second weekend, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com and Exhibitor Relations.

Check out everything we have got on “Star Trek Into Darkness.”

“Star Trek Into Darkness,” the sequel to director J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot of the almost 50-year-old sci-fi franchise, is expected to dominate the North American box-office as it warp speeds its way toward a $100 million four-day-plus kickoff. The movie, boasting a heavily guarded secret about its villain and the return of Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, opened exclusively in IMAX on Wednesday (making an estimated $3.3 million from 336 locations), followed by regular and 3-D showings on Thursday.

“Star Trek” should beat the $75 million domestic launch of its predecessor by at least $25 million. It’s outperforming the first motion picture overseas as well, where it was released in seven markets a week earlier. “Into Darkness” carried a much bigger production budget than Abrams’ first foray into the “Trek” universe, with a bigger marketing budget behind it as well.

Captain Kirk and crew will certainly steal much of the main demographic for “Iron Man 3,” but Tony Stark’s latest adventure should still be the runner-up with an expected $30 million domestic haul. While it will not make as much as “The Avengers” in the long run, “Iron Man 3″ will certainly crack $1 billion worldwide and is far and away more successful than its predecessors.

With no other huge new wide releases in theaters, last weekend’s runner-up should fall just one spot to #3. “The Great Gatsby” will collect about $28 million in its second weekend, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com and Exhibitor Relations.

Check out everything we have got on “Star Trek Into Darkness.”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – At $40 million, the headlines would have been “‘Iron Man’ Crushes ‘Gatsby’.”

At $51 million, it was “‘Gatsby’ Dazzles, But Can’t Catch ‘Iron Man.’”

In the world of summer box-office and blockbusters, $10 million normally doesn’t mean that much. But it was large for “The Great Gatsby,” which opened this weekend at about that much over what analysts were projecting a week ago.

At $51 million, “Gatsby” was seen as a hit – and the fallout from that should greatly help it over the next few weeks.

The reality of the film doesn’t change. It’s still a big, glitzy $105 million take on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel from the stylish writer-director Baz Luhrmann, featuring A-list star Leonardo DiCaprio at the top of his game, a strong supporting cast and a cool soundtrack from Jay-Z – a 1920s costume drama that skews very female in a season typically dominated by sequels and superheroes.

Indeed, last fall’s decision by Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow to shift “Gatsby” from last Christmas – when it would have faced competition from “Les Miserables” — looks like a counter-programming masterstroke.

At $40 million, it might have struggled to reach $100 million. At $50 million, it has a very good shot at hitting $120 million for its domestic run – or even higher.

The positive buzz from the strong debut greatly increases its chances of holding up well this week against “Star Trek Into Darkness” and the following weekend, when “Hangover III” and ‘Fast and Furious 6″ hit theaters.

The strong U.S. debut also will turn Wednesday’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival into a victory lap for Luhrmann, which should in turn provide major momentum for the film’s foreign rollout, which begins this weekend.

“I think analysts, and maybe at one point moviegoers, were skeptical because of the nature of the film, along with the fact that Luhrmann has never really had a huge box-office success,” Exhibitor Relations vice president and senior analyst Jeff Bock told TheWrap.” He always seemed ready for a breakout hit – it just took him 20 years to do it.”

Luhrmann’s directorial debut came on 1993′s “Strictly Ballroom,” and “The Great Gatsby” is just his fifth film. His most recent effort was “Australia,” which cost $130 million to make and took in a disappointing $211 million worldwide for Fox in 2008.

“I’m guessing he will not wait another five years to make a movie,” Bock said.

Being the only major motion picture in the market that directly targeted women – on Mother’s Day weekend, no less – certainly helped “Gatsby.” Six of 10 people who went to see it were women, and a similar number were over the age of 35.

“This is a great begin to the summer for us,” Warner Bros. President of Domestic Distribution Dan Fellman told TheWrap. “We feel really good about the next few weeks.”

Fellman is convinced “Gatsby” will play steadily in the next few weeks, and could see an uncommon boost.

Movies typically show box-office “legs” by attracting older moviegoers, who normally do not rush out on opening nights, in their second and third weeks. That was the case with the studio’s Jackie Robinson motion picture “42,” which opened to $27 million last month and has taken in $58 million since then.

What’s more, Fellman stated that exit polling indicated that younger viewers actually liked “Gatsby” more than the overall audience, which gave it a “B” CinemaScore. If “Gatsby” can broaden its base to include more young people and continue to draw older audiences, it should thrive.

To that end, look for the studio to continue to its big marketing campaign, which very much targets the young crowd by playing up the hip-hop soundtrack. (What you will not see is a focus on 3D; even though the majority of the 3,350 theatres showed it in the format, just 33 percent of the grosses on opening weekend came from 3D.)

“The music matters on this movie, especially with the young crowd,” Exhibitor Relations’ Bock said, “and the fact is, ‘Gatsby’ is still on just about every student’s must-read list. You have to figure that will pique their interest.

“Or maybe they will go see the motion picture instead of reading the book.”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – At $40 million, the headlines would have been “‘Iron Man’ Crushes ‘Gatsby’.”

At $51 million, it was “‘Gatsby’ Dazzles, But Can’t Catch ‘Iron Man.’”

In the world of summer box-office and blockbusters, $10 million normally doesn’t mean that much. But it was large for “The Great Gatsby,” which opened this weekend at about that much over what analysts were projecting a week ago.

At $51 million, “Gatsby” was seen as a hit – and the fallout from that should greatly help it over the next few weeks.

The reality of the film doesn’t change. It’s still a big, glitzy $105 million take on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel from the stylish writer-director Baz Luhrmann, featuring A-list star Leonardo DiCaprio at the top of his game, a strong supporting cast and a cool soundtrack from Jay-Z – a 1920s costume drama that skews very female in a season typically dominated by sequels and superheroes.

Indeed, last fall’s decision by Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow to shift “Gatsby” from last Christmas – when it would have faced competition from “Les Miserables” — looks like a counter-programming masterstroke.

At $40 million, it might have struggled to reach $100 million. At $50 million, it has a very good shot at hitting $120 million for its domestic run – or even higher.

The positive buzz from the strong debut greatly increases its chances of holding up well this week against “Star Trek Into Darkness” and the following weekend, when “Hangover III” and ‘Fast and Furious 6″ hit theaters.

The strong U.S. debut also will turn Wednesday’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival into a victory lap for Luhrmann, which should in turn provide major momentum for the film’s foreign rollout, which begins this weekend.

“I think analysts, and maybe at one point moviegoers, were skeptical because of the nature of the film, along with the fact that Luhrmann has never really had a huge box-office success,” Exhibitor Relations vice president and senior analyst Jeff Bock told TheWrap.” He always seemed ready for a breakout hit – it just took him 20 years to do it.”

Luhrmann’s directorial debut came on 1993′s “Strictly Ballroom,” and “The Great Gatsby” is just his fifth film. His most recent effort was “Australia,” which cost $130 million to make and took in a disappointing $211 million worldwide for Fox in 2008.

“I’m guessing he will not wait another five years to make a movie,” Bock said.

Being the only major motion picture in the market that directly targeted women – on Mother’s Day weekend, no less – certainly helped “Gatsby.” Six of 10 people who went to see it were women, and a similar number were over the age of 35.

“This is a great begin to the summer for us,” Warner Bros. President of Domestic Distribution Dan Fellman told TheWrap. “We feel really good about the next few weeks.”

Fellman is convinced “Gatsby” will play steadily in the next few weeks, and could see an uncommon boost.

Movies typically show box-office “legs” by attracting older moviegoers, who normally do not rush out on opening nights, in their second and third weeks. That was the case with the studio’s Jackie Robinson motion picture “42,” which opened to $27 million last month and has taken in $58 million since then.

What’s more, Fellman stated that exit polling indicated that younger viewers actually liked “Gatsby” more than the overall audience, which gave it a “B” CinemaScore. If “Gatsby” can broaden its base to include more young people and continue to draw older audiences, it should thrive.

To that end, look for the studio to continue to its big marketing campaign, which very much targets the young crowd by playing up the hip-hop soundtrack. (What you will not see is a focus on 3D; even though the majority of the 3,350 theatres showed it in the format, just 33 percent of the grosses on opening weekend came from 3D.)

“The music matters on this movie, especially with the young crowd,” Exhibitor Relations’ Bock said, “and the fact is, ‘Gatsby’ is still on just about every student’s must-read list. You have to figure that will pique their interest.

“Or maybe they will go see the motion picture instead of reading the book.”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – At $40 million, the headlines would have been “‘Iron Man’ Crushes ‘Gatsby’.”

At $51 million, it was “‘Gatsby’ Dazzles, But Can’t Catch ‘Iron Man.’”

In the world of summer box-office and blockbusters, $10 million normally doesn’t mean that much. But it was large for “The Great Gatsby,” which opened this weekend at about that much over what analysts were projecting a week ago.

At $51 million, “Gatsby” was seen as a hit – and the fallout from that should greatly help it over the next few weeks.

The reality of the film doesn’t change. It’s still a big, glitzy $105 million take on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel from the stylish writer-director Baz Luhrmann, featuring A-list star Leonardo DiCaprio at the top of his game, a strong supporting cast and a cool soundtrack from Jay-Z – a 1920s costume drama that skews very female in a season typically dominated by sequels and superheroes.

Indeed, last fall’s decision by Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow to shift “Gatsby” from last Christmas – when it would have faced competition from “Les Miserables” — looks like a counter-programming masterstroke.

At $40 million, it might have struggled to reach $100 million. At $50 million, it has a very good shot at hitting $120 million for its domestic run – or even higher.

The positive buzz from the strong debut greatly increases its chances of holding up well this week against “Star Trek Into Darkness” and the following weekend, when “Hangover III” and ‘Fast and Furious 6″ hit theaters.

The strong U.S. debut also will turn Wednesday’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival into a victory lap for Luhrmann, which should in turn provide major momentum for the film’s foreign rollout, which begins this weekend.

“I think analysts, and maybe at one point moviegoers, were skeptical because of the nature of the film, along with the fact that Luhrmann has never really had a huge box-office success,” Exhibitor Relations vice president and senior analyst Jeff Bock told TheWrap.” He always seemed ready for a breakout hit – it just took him 20 years to do it.”

Luhrmann’s directorial debut came on 1993′s “Strictly Ballroom,” and “The Great Gatsby” is just his fifth film. His most recent effort was “Australia,” which cost $130 million to make and took in a disappointing $211 million worldwide for Fox in 2008.

“I’m guessing he will not wait another five years to make a movie,” Bock said.

Being the only major motion picture in the market that directly targeted women – on Mother’s Day weekend, no less – certainly helped “Gatsby.” Six of 10 people who went to see it were women, and a similar number were over the age of 35.

“This is a great begin to the summer for us,” Warner Bros. President of Domestic Distribution Dan Fellman told TheWrap. “We feel really good about the next few weeks.”

Fellman is convinced “Gatsby” will play steadily in the next few weeks, and could see an uncommon boost.

Movies typically show box-office “legs” by attracting older moviegoers, who normally do not rush out on opening nights, in their second and third weeks. That was the case with the studio’s Jackie Robinson motion picture “42,” which opened to $27 million last month and has taken in $58 million since then.

What’s more, Fellman stated that exit polling indicated that younger viewers actually liked “Gatsby” more than the overall audience, which gave it a “B” CinemaScore. If “Gatsby” can broaden its base to include more young people and continue to draw older audiences, it should thrive.

To that end, look for the studio to continue to its big marketing campaign, which very much targets the young crowd by playing up the hip-hop soundtrack. (What you will not see is a focus on 3D; even though the majority of the 3,350 theatres showed it in the format, just 33 percent of the grosses on opening weekend came from 3D.)

“The music matters on this movie, especially with the young crowd,” Exhibitor Relations’ Bock said, “and the fact is, ‘Gatsby’ is still on just about every student’s must-read list. You have to figure that will pique their interest.

“Or maybe they will go see the motion picture instead of reading the book.”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – At $40 million, the headlines would have been “‘Iron Man’ Crushes ‘Gatsby’.”

At $51 million, it was “‘Gatsby’ Dazzles, But Can’t Catch ‘Iron Man.’”

In the world of summer box-office and blockbusters, $10 million normally doesn’t mean that much. But it was large for “The Great Gatsby,” which opened this weekend at about that much over what analysts were projecting a week ago.

At $51 million, “Gatsby” was seen as a hit – and the fallout from that should greatly help it over the next few weeks.

The reality of the film doesn’t change. It’s still a big, glitzy $105 million take on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel from the stylish writer-director Baz Luhrmann, featuring A-list star Leonardo DiCaprio at the top of his game, a strong supporting cast and a cool soundtrack from Jay-Z – a 1920s costume drama that skews very female in a season typically dominated by sequels and superheroes.

Indeed, last fall’s decision by Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow to shift “Gatsby” from last Christmas – when it would have faced competition from “Les Miserables” — looks like a counter-programming masterstroke.

At $40 million, it might have struggled to reach $100 million. At $50 million, it has a very good shot at hitting $120 million for its domestic run – or even higher.

The positive buzz from the strong debut greatly increases its chances of holding up well this week against “Star Trek Into Darkness” and the following weekend, when “Hangover III” and ‘Fast and Furious 6″ hit theaters.

The strong U.S. debut also will turn Wednesday’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival into a victory lap for Luhrmann, which should in turn provide major momentum for the film’s foreign rollout, which begins this weekend.

“I think analysts, and maybe at one point moviegoers, were skeptical because of the nature of the film, along with the fact that Luhrmann has never really had a huge box-office success,” Exhibitor Relations vice president and senior analyst Jeff Bock told TheWrap.” He always seemed ready for a breakout hit – it just took him 20 years to do it.”

Luhrmann’s directorial debut came on 1993′s “Strictly Ballroom,” and “The Great Gatsby” is just his fifth film. His most recent effort was “Australia,” which cost $130 million to make and took in a disappointing $211 million worldwide for Fox in 2008.

“I’m guessing he will not wait another five years to make a movie,” Bock said.

Being the only major motion picture in the market that directly targeted women – on Mother’s Day weekend, no less – certainly helped “Gatsby.” Six of 10 people who went to see it were women, and a similar number were over the age of 35.

“This is a great begin to the summer for us,” Warner Bros. President of Domestic Distribution Dan Fellman told TheWrap. “We feel really good about the next few weeks.”

Fellman is convinced “Gatsby” will play steadily in the next few weeks, and could see an uncommon boost.

Movies typically show box-office “legs” by attracting older moviegoers, who normally do not rush out on opening nights, in their second and third weeks. That was the case with the studio’s Jackie Robinson motion picture “42,” which opened to $27 million last month and has taken in $58 million since then.

What’s more, Fellman stated that exit polling indicated that younger viewers actually liked “Gatsby” more than the overall audience, which gave it a “B” CinemaScore. If “Gatsby” can broaden its base to include more young people and continue to draw older audiences, it should thrive.

To that end, look for the studio to continue to its big marketing campaign, which very much targets the young crowd by playing up the hip-hop soundtrack. (What you will not see is a focus on 3D; even though the majority of the 3,350 theatres showed it in the format, just 33 percent of the grosses on opening weekend came from 3D.)

“The music matters on this movie, especially with the young crowd,” Exhibitor Relations’ Bock said, “and the fact is, ‘Gatsby’ is still on just about every student’s must-read list. You have to figure that will pique their interest.

“Or maybe they will go see the motion picture instead of reading the book.”