'Age of Ultron' tops box office for second week

A movie about The Singularity topped the weekend box office for the second week in a row.  "Ex Machina?"  We should be so lucky. Variety via Reuters has the story in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Tops With $77.2 Million, 'Hot Pursuit' Flounders.

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - "Avengers: Age of Ultron" iced out "Hot Pursuit" at the weekend box office, picking up $77.2 million and topping charts for a second consecutive time.

Disney and Marvel's comic book adventure has made $312.9 million domestically since debuting stateside ten days ago. That massive figure makes it the second fastest film to clear $300 million domestically, and its sophomore weekend is the second biggest in movie history, surpassing "Avatar's" $75.6 million haul.

The film "Avengers: Age of Ultron" trails on both counts? Its predecessor, 2012's "Marvel's The Avengers," which had earned $373 million at a similar point in its run after scoring a $103 million second weekend.

"It's a dominant force," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak. "These second weekend numbers would be a great opening weekend debut for a lot of films."

Internationally, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" picked up $68 million, pushing the film to $875.3 million globally. Given that major markets such as China and Japan are still left to open and domestic audiences continue to embrace the film, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" should have no trouble becoming the second 2015 release to clear $1 billion globally, behind "Furious 7."

I'll celebrate each of the chart-topping weekends with drinks from Tipsy Bartender later.  First, I share Kyle Hill of Nerdist's take on Artificial Intelligence and The Singularity, How Soon Will We Reach ULTRON-level AI?

Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk often warn us about the potential dangers of advanced AI. But how soon will we see sentient, Ultron-level AI? Just when will we reach the point of singularity? Should we be wary of Siri?! Kyle discusses on Because Science.

That's why a superhero blockbuster like "Avengers: Age of Ultron" is worthy of examination at this blog; it looks at a possible doomsday scenario, albeit in a superficial way.  The only good thing about The Singularity, if Kunstler was right in Prophets of Doom, is that it's a sign that other causes of collapse didn't get us first.

Enough DOOM.  Follow over the jump for the two drinks from Tipsy Bartender, one to celebrate each week on top of the box office.

For the first week, here's Skyy and Chelsey demonstrating how to make Ironman - The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

It may not make you a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, but this is one super sexy cocktail you don't wanna miss...IRONMAN from the new movie The Avengers: Age of Ultron!! Watch our girl Chelsey build this drink!
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RECIPE
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1/2 oz (15 ml) Grenadine
1 oz (30 ml) Strawberry Liqueur
1 oz (30 ml) Rum
1/2 oz (15 ml) Peach Schnapps
1/2 oz (15 ml) Triple Sec
Glowing Ice Cubes
1 oz (30 ml) Pineapple Orange Juice
Top off with Lemon Lime Soda

Next, Nikki Limo joins Skyy to concoct Incredible Hulk - The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

This is bound to get you SMASHED.... INCREDIBLE HULK!! Watch Nikki make this deliciously sweet cocktail and tell us her Hulk story!
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RECIPE
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"Polluted" 10 oz Glasses

Purple Layer:
1 oz (30 ml) Viniq
1/2 oz (15 ml) Grape Vodka
Splash of Sprite

Green Layer:
1/2 oz (15 ml) Vodka
1/2 oz (15 ml) Blue Curacao
1 oz (30 ml) Orange Juice

Rim glass with black sugar

Drink responsibly!

For something more post-apocalyptic, Mad Max premieres this Friday.  Also, the post-apocalyptic TV comedy "The Last Man on Earth" just finished its first season and has been renewed for next season.  Finally, there is a serious movie about A.I. in theaters, "Ex Machina."  Any and all of them will make good Sunday entertainment features.  As I'm fond of typing, stay tuned.