Rise of the Guardians

Given the massive role of special effects in today’s film industry, the Visual Effects Society has plenty of material to consider in determining each year’s stand-outs.

And earlier today, the nominees for the 11th Annual VES Awards were announced, spanning 24 categories of film, animation, television, video games, and commercial projects. The winners will be declared during an official ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 5th.

With the long wait finally over, entertainment seekers flocked to their local cinemas in the droves while helping "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" claim the top spot at the box office for the weekend of December 14-16, 2012.

The Peter Jackson directed tale of Bilbo Baggins piled up first day sales of $37 million to break the December record for Friday earnings while taking in a U.S. December weekend best of $84.8 million.

It’s time for the 40th Annual Annie Awards and this year’s nominations have just been announced by the International Animated Film Society.

ASIFA-Hollywood honcho Frank Gladstone declared, "I am very excited about this year's slate of nominees! We had more submissions to choose from this year than for any prior year in Annie Award history, running the gamut from big studio features to indie films, television series to internet shows, games, shorts and, for the first time, student films, all showcasing the huge variety of venues, creativity, technical innovation, and story-telling that our art form has to offer."

Continuing its reign atop the movie world, “Breaking Dawn - Part 2” emerged victorious at the box office while comfortably out-earning its theatrical competition during the Thanksgiving weekend of November 21-25, 2012.

The final installment of "The Twilight Saga” franchise churned out $13.3, $8.3 and $17.4 million in ticket sales on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, respectively, while the Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart fronted vampire flick is projected to take in $63.5 million over the five day holiday run.