LONDON | Thu Dec 20, 2012 11:18am EST

LONDON (Reuters) - Global temperatures are forecast to be 0.57 degrees above the long-term average next year, making 2013 one of the warmest years on record, Britain's Met Office said on Thursday.

"It is very likely that 2013 will be one of the warmest 10 years in the record which goes back to 1850, and it is likely to be warmer than 2012," the Met Office said in its annual forecast for the coming year.

Next year was expected to be between 0.43 and 0.71 degrees Celsius warmer than the long-term global average of 14 degrees (1961-1990), with a best estimate of around 0.57, it said.

Its forecast is based on its own research as well as data from the University of East Anglia, the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Rising temperatures could be due to the natural variability of the climate and global warming from increasing greenhouse gas emissions, Dave Britton, Met Office forecaster, told Reuters.

A warmer global average temperature does not necessarily mean every region of the world will get hotter, as regional climate variability produces different effects in different parts of the world, he added.

Eleven of the 12 hottest years on record have occurred since 2001, according to data from the World Meteorological Organisation.

Last year is ranked the warmest on record, having been 0.54 degrees above the long-term average, while 2012 is ranked the ninth warmest, with a rise of 0.45 degree Celsius.

Many scientists blame increasing temperatures on man-made greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels and say they can lead to rising sea levels and extreme weather events.

Global carbon dioxide emissions hit a record high in 2011, led by China, the International Energy Agency said in May.

This year has already seen several examples of extreme weather events, such as superstorm Sandy which hit the east coast of the United States in October. Parts of the United States also experienced their worst drought in more than half a century this summer.

Britain had been suffering a drought before a record wet spring and early summer.

Last week, a leaked draft report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed global average temperatures could be more than 2 degrees above average by 2100 and may reach 4.8 degrees.

Low-lying island states and other countries vulnerable to rising sea levels, floods and hurricanes have been putting pressure on developed countries to curb greenhouse gas emissions and keep the rise in temperatures to within a limit of 2 degrees this century.

A U.N. conference aimed at curbing emissions ended this month with little progress.

(Editing by David Holmes)

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Actor Liam Neeson poses before a news conference to promote his movie, ''Taken 2'' in Seoul September 17, 2012.

LOS ANGELES | Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:06pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Liam Neeson thriller "Taken 2" won a battle between two hostage movies over the weekend, holding on to its top box office rankings for a second week with $22.5 million from ticket sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters.

Ben Affleck's highly praised Iran hostage thriller "Argo" was as close second, earning $20.1 million from Friday through Sunday. Low-budget horror movie "Sinister" came in third with $18.3 million, according to studio estimates compiled by Reuters.

Action sequel "Taken 2" stars Neeson as a former CIA agent who is captured while on vacation in Istanbul. The movie has pulled in $86.8 million at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters since its debut a week ago, plus $132.8 million from international markets.

"We continue to play broadly across all demographics and it is a testament to the strength of Liam's character and the property," said Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution at 20th Century Fox, which released the film.

With a worldwide box office total already reaching nearly $220 million, he said the film was close to equaling the final box office total of the first "Taken" movie ($226.8 million), and therefore labeled the sequel as "a much bigger movie."

"Taken 2" sales outpaced receipts for "Argo," a movie that Affleck stars in and directs. The film is based on a real-life CIA plot to smuggle six U.S. diplomats out of Iran in 1979 under the guise of a fake movie production.

The diplomats had escaped the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran at the height of the Islamic revolution. They hid at the Canadian embassy until a CIA agent came to sneak them out of the country.

"Argo" is generating buzz as an Oscar contender after earning stellar marks from critics, with 94 percent of reviews collected on the Rotten Tomatoes website praising the film. Ahead of the weekend, box-office forecasters had predicted an opening of $15 million or more.

"The movie is like the perfect storm, everything came together at the right time," said Dan Fellman, president of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros, noting that the combination of the film's appeal to all ages combined with critical acclaim and awards season buzz would spell a long commercial run.

"It's going to have legs," he said. "Critical acclaim is going to translate into commercial success."

Warner Bros. and GK Films paid about $44 million to produce the movie.

Sales for third-place film "Sinister" came in more than 6 times its tiny $3 million production budget. The movie stars Ethan Hawke as a crime novelist who moves into a new house and finds disturbing home movies. It was produced by Jason Blum, producer of the hit "Paranormal Activity" series of horror flicks.

Family film "Hotel Transylvania" held on to the No. 4 spot during its third weekend in theaters, pulling in $17.3 million. Total domestic sales since its debut reached $102.2 million.

New comedy "Here Comes the Boom," earned $12 million and landed in fifth place. The $40-million film stars Kevin James as a high-school biology teacher who competes in mixed martial arts to raise money for his school.

Another new entry, comedy "Seven Psychopaths," earned ninth place, grossing $4.3 million from a medium-sized run in about 1,500 theaters. The film stars Colin Farrell and Woody Harrelson in the story of a screenwriter who gets wrapped up in criminal activity after his friends kidnap a gangster's dog.

The movie, which won an 89 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, cost $15 million to make. It will expand to more theaters in two weeks.

Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, released "Argo." "Taken 2" was distributed by News Corp's 20th Century Fox studio. Summit Entertainment, owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, released "Sinister."

Sony Corp's movie studio distributed "Hotel Transylvania" and "Here Comes the Boom." CBS Films, a unit of CBS Corp, released "Seven Psychopaths."

(Additional reporting by Christine Kearney, editing by Doina Chiacu and Gunna Dickson)

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Universal's effort to reboot one of its marquee franchises takes center stage this weekend as The Bourne Legacy opens five years after the previous installment.

Jay Roach's R-rated comedy The Campaign and David Frankel's dramedy Hope Springs also enter the fray, but all three new titles will have to compete with the 2012 Summer Olympics, which heads into its homestretch culminating with Sunday's Closing Ceremony.

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Sony's Hope Springs, starring Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell, bowed Wednesday and is predicting a modest five-day opening in the $16 million to $17 million range.

Bourne Legacy -- featuring Jeremy Renner as new leading man Aaron Cross -- is widely expected to wrest the weekend crown from The Dark Knight Rises, which has dominated the box office for three consecutive weekends.

Along with Renner, other newcomers to the Bourne franchise include Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton; returning actors include Albert Finney, Joan Allen and David Strathairn.

Tracking suggests Bourne Legacy will open in the $40 million range, a solid number considering the departure of franchise star Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass. This time it's Bourne scribe Tony Gilroy in the director's chair.

COVER STORY: Jeremy Renner: $5 Million for 'Bourne,' Advice From Tom Cruise, Brutally Honest About Fame

Threequel The Bourne Ultimatum debuted to $69.3 million in August 2007, while sequel The Bourne Supremacy opened to $52.3 million in 2004. Franchise starter The Bourne Identity debuted to $27.1 million in 2002.

Gilroy, who also directed Duplicity and Michael Clayton, wrote or co-wrote the first three Bourne films and co-wrote Bourne Legacy with his brother Dan Gilroy.

Relativity Media partnered with Universal in financing the $125 million movie. Returning Bourne producers are Frank Marshall, Pat Crowley, Ben Smith and Jeffrey Weiner.

Bourne Legacy is opening in a number of foreign countries, many of them Asian markets.

Box-office observers expect Campaign, from Warner Bros., to open in the $22 million to $25 million range domestically.

PHOTOS: 'The Campaign' Premiere: Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis Celebrate Their Political Comedy

The pic, starring Will Ferrell and Zack Galifianakis and timed to the U.S. presidential and congressional elections, is incredibly raunchy and features two candidates vying to represent their North Carolina district on Capitol Hill.

Costing less than $60 million to produce, Campaign is showing good traction with moviegoers under age 35. Ferrell produced the pic with his partner Adam McKay, Galifianakis and Roach.

The comedy has a shot at beating fellow Warners title The Dark Knight Rises, which has grossed $367 million to date in North America, for the No. 2 spot at the domestic box office. 

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Sony's sci-fi action epic Total Recall is in a close race with holdover The Dark Knight Rises at the Friday box office, with each pic on track to gross in the $9 million to $10.5 million range.

PHOTOS: 'Total Recall' Premiere

It's possible that Total Recall -- headlining Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel -- could win the Friday race and even cross $11 million, but most observers believe Dark Knight Rises will pull ahead on Saturday and stay atop the domestic box office for a third weekend in a row.

Total Recall, based both on the 1990 Paul Verhoeven film and the short story by Philip K. Dick, is expected to earn in the high-$20 million range for the weekend, while Dark Knight Rises is slotted to gross $31 million to $34 million. Some believe Total Recall also could cross $30 million, though.

The weekend's other new entry is Fox's family pic Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. The threequel is expected to gross $6.5 million to $7.5 million on Friday for a weekend debut north of $17.5 million.

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Research tracking firm NRG continues to advise studios that 20 percent of the moviegoing audience remains skittish about going to see a movie in the wake of the Aurora theater shooting during a midnight screening of Dark Knight Rises on July 20. And the London Olympics are proving a huge draw.

Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Rises, from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, has earned north of $600 million worldwide in its first two weeks, a massive number even though the film continues to pace behind its 2008 predecessor The Dark Knight.

Overseas, Universal's Ted is making headlines as it opens in another 10 markets, including Germany, where it grossed $1.2 million on Thursday to top the box office. And in the U.K., the R-rated comedy from writer-director Seth MacFarlane earned a stellar $5.3 million in its first two days of previews.

Ted has been rolling out slowly overseas, earning an impressive $54.5 million to date.

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David Frankel's adult comedy-drama Hope Springs opened to $2.3 million at the domestic box office Wednesday, putting it on course for a modest five-day debut in the $15 million to $16 million range.

Hope Springs -- starring Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell -- opened at No. 2 behind The Dark Knight Rises, which grossed $3.7 million for a domestic cume of $367 million.

FILM REVIEW: Hope Springs

Reuniting Streep and Frankel for the first time since The Devil Wears Prada in 2006, Hope Springs is about an older couple who go to a couple's retreat. 

The film is tracking best among older women and couples. Studio insiders caution that the 2012 Summer Olympics are likely to distract older moviegoers but are confident that the film will have strong legs.

Hope Springs also could face some competition from Warner Bros.' comedy The Campaign, which opens Friday and stars Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. Campaign is likely to play to a broader audience.

Sony acquired domestic rights to Hope Springs for roughly $15 million in partnership with MGM.

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Director Seth MacFarlane's raunchy comedy Ted jumped the $200 million mark at the domestic box office this weekend in addition to scoring stellar numbers in key foreign markets.

From Universal and Media Rights Capital, Ted has now earned $203.4 million in North America and will soon eclipse Wedding Crashers ($209.3 million) to become the No. 4 R-rated comedy of all time behind The Hangover ($277.3 million), The Hangover Part II ($254.8 million) and Beverly Hills Cop ($234.5 million).

Ted -- starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, along with the MacFarlance-voiced teddy bear -- is rolling out slowly overseas. After enjoying big business, the comedy opened in another of other markets over the weekend for an early international total of $77.3 million.

The pic's worldwide gross of $280.7 million lands it on the top ten list of R-rated comedies globally.

The pic's international weekend gross was $32 million from 20 markets, including first-place finishes in the U.K., Germany, Russia, Austria Switzerland and Ukraine. 

Ted grossed $15.3 million from 508 screens in the U.K., the third-best showing ever for a Universal film behind the Bridge Jones sequel and King Kong. Germany turned in $7.4 million, the best debut of the year for a Universal title.

The film will roll out in an additional 38 territories over the next few months.

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