Now we know why Sony wanted to announce yesterday that Kazuo Hirai will replace Howard Stringer as CEO in April. U.S. shares are down about 5.4% in pre-market trading after the electronics and entertainment giant released a fiscal 3Q report filled with tales of woe — including in its filmed entertainment and music…

‘Arthur Christmas’ Slays ‘Em In The UK Sony Pictures Animation and Aardman's Arthur Christmas jumped to the top of the UK box office this weekend – in its fourth week of release. This bit of holiday magic came courtesy of a £1.9 million weekend take for a cume of £11.5 million. The film has been holding steady in…

The nominations are out for the 39th annual Annie Awards, which will be awarded February 4 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Here are the contenders for Best Animated Feature: A Cat In Paris, Arrugas (Wrinkles), Arthur Christmas, Cars 2, Chico & Rita, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss In Boots, Rango, Rio, and The Adventures Of Tintin. The…

FRIDAY PM/SATURDAY AM, 4TH UPDATE: Full analysis later this morning. But overall Thanksgiving holiday weekend moviegoing is looking like $230 million, which is still down -12% from last year. So the North American box office slump continues. Nevertheless, the Friday after T-Day is traditionally the biggest…

Here’s a trailer for Sony Pictures Animation’s Arthur Christmas, the first pic to see the light under a three-year deal with Wallace & Gromit producer Aardman Animations. It premieres November 23. James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton do the voice work on the 3D film, which shows…