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The previous record holder was Spiderman at 125.8 million dollars.

There's nothing like a good resurrection story on an Easter Sunday, especially for a Baptist preacher. But in 1999, as the Rev. Chris Seay relaxed into a theater seat for a late movie after a long day on Christianity's central holiday, he was just looking for a smarter than average sci-fi flick. Quickly he realized that The Matrix was about to offer him a version of the very story he had been trying all day to bring alive for his congregation. The first hint of deeper meaning came from a leather-clad club boy paying befuddled hacker geek Neo a pretty...

<p>BURBANK, CALIF. -- "Cool breeze off the mountain." Could there possibly be a better description of Keanu Charles Reeves' demeanor than the translation of his Hawaiian first name?</p> <p>Uncorrupted by his massive renown, he keeps the world at arm's length, unlike megaphone-addicted stars who gratuitously expose us to their nightly club-hopping, their affairs, their trips to rehab.</p>

"The Matrix" Sequels Released as IMAX Films Los Angeles - April 23, 2003 IMAX Corporation announced today that "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions," the second and third chapters in the Wachowski Brothers' revolutionary film trilogy, will be coming to IMAX(R) theatres this spring and fall. Advertisement "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions," from Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures and producer Joel Silver, will be digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience(R), using the revolutionary and proprietary IMAX(R) DMR(TM) (Digital Re-mastering) technology. "The Matrix Reloaded: The IMAX Experience" will open shortly...

The average American moviegoer taking in the Matrix Reloaded this weekend will likely be wowed by the elaborate action sequences and dazzling special effects. But hackers who've seen the blockbuster are crediting it with a more subtle cinematic milestone: it's the first major motion picture to accurately portray a hack. That's right: Trinity uses a 'sploit. A scene about two thirds of the way through the film finds Carrie-Anne Moss's leather-clad superhacker setting her sights on a power grid computer, for plot reasons better left unrevealed. But at exactly the point where audiences would normally be treated to a brightly-colored...

Beat Star Wars, Spidey, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter (previous record holders) by close to 10 million!This is an estimate of Thursday ticket sales.

The Matrix Reloaded appears to me a true monster-bigger than even Godzilla.Warner Brothers much hyped mega action sequel bowed to record grossed Wednesday night prior to its formal opening Thursday, and first day matinees were ringning up what executives called unprecented numbers despite the pics 'R' rating.Early performance made it clear there is virtually zero chance that 'Reloaded' will fail to match the enormous pre release expectations.'Its become an event. The numbers I'm looking at on a hourly basis--nobody has ever seen anything like it before, Warners distrubution proxy Dan Fellman said. 'The film is really a cultural phenomenon.'In keeping...

For the past four years, a lot of people have been obsessed with the movie “The Matrix.” As the sequel, “The Matrix Reloaded,” arrived in theatres this week, it was obvious that the strange, violent science-fiction film, by the previously more or less unknown Wachowski brothers, had already inspired both a cult and a craze. (And had made a lot of money into the bargain, enough to fuel two sequels; “Matrix Revolutions” is supposed to be out in November.) There hasn’t been anything quite like it since “2001: A Space Odyssey,” which had a similar mix of mysticism, solemnity, and...

The movie studio releasing "The Matrix Reloaded" today is firing back at suggestions the science-fiction thriller somehow portrays albinos in a bad light. The $127 million sequel continues the story of mankind's struggle against machines which use artificial intelligence to enslave the human race in a dream world. And while Warner Bros. is optimistic the movie will generate plenty of green in terms of revenue, the film's white color scheme for villains has given carte blanche to some critics. 'Matrix Reloaded' with pale villains Part two of the trilogy introduces two new enemies: twins with pale skin and light-colored hair....

A Philosophy Professor who teaches at Oxford says there is roughly a 20 percent chance that most humans today are really software created beings living in a virtual reality.Dr. Nick Bostrum says there is a good chance technology can mature to the point where life like simulation programs are regularly run.If that is the case there is no way of knowing whether right now youre currently living in real history or a simulation of the year 2003.However, he says it is equally likely that humans will become extinct before then can develop such advanced computer simulations or lose their interest...

Forget sci-fi and guns - The Matrix is really about religion By Steven Tomkins The sequel to The Matrix is being keenly awaited by many of the film's fans - geeks, sci-fi addicts, as well as those who just love stylish violence. But also lining up outside cinemas will be those who see the film as a work about religion. No end to the religious parallels found in the film In a quiet moment in The Matrix, our hero Neo talks with one of his new crewmates, Cypher. Neo is still getting used to the news that all he...

from the May 09, 2003 edition METAPHYSICS, 'MATRIX' STYLE: Sci-fi fans, philosophers, Buddhists, and evangelical Christians are finding resonant themes in 'The Matrix.' The sequel, 'The Matrix Reloaded,' arrives in theaters May 15. WARNER BROS./AP The Gospel according to Neo: Theologians and pop-culture experts see 'The Matrix' as a phenomenon shaping public opinion about religion By Josh Burek | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor In a film era long gone, the Bible was a major player. Charlton Heston and Jimmy Stewart starred in movies that directly drew on themes of Bible history and Christian redemption. Hollywood treats religion...

Flanked by Trinity and Morpheus, Neo meets the Merovingian and his luscious wife Persephone (Monica Bellucci). The Merovingian is a Frenchman out of the Bush Administration bestiary: cruel, supercilious, with a love of cursing in French—which he describes as like "wiping your ass with silk." He refuses to release the Key Maker.

(2003-05-01) -- U.S. President George Bush will take over where Keanu Reeves left off when he stars in 2004 release of The Matrix IV: Re-Elected. Mr. Bush, whose popularity ratings shot off the chart today when he landed in a Navy jet on a moving aircraft carrier, said he's eager to put on the dark shades. "Laura and I loved the first movie," said Mr. Bush,"And I'm sending some Secret Service guys to stand in line and get tickets for Reloaded. It's great to have a franchise so successful that you know more than a year in advance it...

Princeton Scholar Dr. Cornell West has a role in both films [The 'Maxtrix Reloaded' and 'Revolutions'] as a Zion elder.Like the first movie the sequels continue to draw on a variety of sources from Japanese Anime to Eastern Philosophy as well as kung-fu films and the Holy Bible, the kinds of concepts that 'Matrix' fans have relished discussing.'All the ideas and concepts are there,' Producer Joel Silver promised, 'Only better.'The same goes for the computer generated images and special effects in Reloaded and Revolutions, said John Gaeta, special effetcs supervisor.

The Matrix Makers One year, two sequels—and a revolution in moviemaking. An exclusive look behind the scenes of 2003’s hottest flicks Jan. 6 issue — The Warner Brothers studio lot in Burbank, Calif., is frenetic on most days, but on a Thursday in early November it was really humming. The company’s box-office Bigfoot for 2002, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” was set to open in eight days, and nearly every division of the studio was working furiously to get it ready. Until 2:30 p.m. That’s when everything stopped. For the next half hour, the boy wizard had to...

  One day when I was an intern at the Lunatic Asylum, I sat in on a most remarkable panel interview.  Present were a presiding doctor, two female nurses, two male attendants, myself, and one other student.  Much like a parole board, highly placed medical professionals often questioned one inmate after another as to their health and well being, any progress (or lack thereof) toward mental stability, their level of self-confidence and self-control, their hopes and dreams, etc.  It was little more than a way of checking the pulse of the Asylum to make sure that the doctors (who rarely...