Review of 2015 from January to August

A couple of months ago we released our top picks for the first half of the year but, with the summer season finishing, we’ll give an overview of the year’s films from a commercial and critical perspective.

Film: Taken 3
Director: Olivier Megaton
Starring: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Dougray Scott
IMDb/RT: 6.1/10 – 9%
Budget: $48 million
Opening weekend: $39 million
Box-office: $325 million
Summary: The second highest grossing outing in the series is thankfully the last. There’s been growth since Taken ($226 million) but less than Taken 3 ($376 million).

Film: Blackhat
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Leehom Wang, Ritchie Coster, Holt McCallany, Viola Davis
IMDb/RT: 5.4/10 – 34%
Budget: $70 million
Opening weekend: $4 million
Box-office: $18 million
Summary: The star of Thor ($644 million) and Rush ($90 million) and the director of Heat ($187 million) and Collateral ($217 million) should have been a match-up to enjoy but somehow Blackhat flopped.

Film: The Wedding Ringer
Director: Jeremy Garelick
Starring: Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuco Sweeting, Alan Richson, Jorge Garcia
IMDb/RT: 6.7 – 27%
Budget: $23 million
Opening weekend: $20 million
Box-office: $79 million
Summary: A slip up in comparison to Kevin Hart’s 2014 hit Ride Along ($154 million).

Film: Mortdecai
Director: David Koepp
Starring: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, Paul Bettany
IMDb/RT: 5.5/10 – 12%
Budget: $60 million
Opening weekend: $4 million
Box-office: $30 million
Summary: This disastrous caper is proof of former superstar Johnny Depp’s dwindling popularity outside of Pirates.

Film: Jupiter Ascending
Directors: Andy and Lana Wachowski
Starring: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, Terry Gilliam
IMDb/RT: 5.5/10 – 25%
Budget: $176 million
Opening weekend: $18 million
Box-office: $182 million
Summary: This effort from the creators of The Matrix ($463 million) suffered from its release delays and ridiculously overpriced budget.

Film: Fifty Shades of Grey
Director: Sam Taylor Johnson
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eloise Mumford, Jennifer Ehle, Marcia Gay Harden
IMDb/RT: 4.2/10 – 25%
Budget: $40 million
Opening weekend: $85 million
Box-office: $570 million
Summary: Being critically reviled didn’t get in the way of this erotic drama.

Film: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Samuel L Jackson, Sophie Cookson, Mark Strong
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 75%
Budget: $81 million
Opening weekend: $35 million
Box-office: $406 million
Summary: The spy thriller from Kick-Ass ($96 million) Vaughn turned out to be his most acclaimed and profitable yet, even out grossing the likes of The Bourne Legacy ($276 million).

Film: Focus
Director: Glenn Ficara, John Requa
Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Gerald McRaney, BD Wong
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 57%
Budget: $50 million
Opening weekend: $19 million
Box-office: $159 million
Summary: A strong performance from Smith renews his popularity after the mediocre After Earth ($243 million).

Film: Chappie
Director: Neill Blompkamp
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Die Antwoord
IMDb/RT: 7.0/10 – 30%
Budget: $49 million
Opening weekend: $13 million
Box-office: $102 million
Summary: A let down in comparison to Blomkamp’s more lucrative works – District 9 ($210 million) or Elysium ($286 million).

Film: Cinderella
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgard, Helena Bonham Carter
IMDb/RT: 7.1/10 – 85%
Budget: $95 million
Opening weekend: $68 million
Box-office: $542 million
Summary: Branagh’s lavish take on the period fantasy romance has successfully found a new following for the fairy tale.

Film: Insurgent
Director: Robert Schwentke
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Kate Winslet
IMDb/RT: 6.4/10 – 30%
Budget: $110 million
Opening weekend: $53 million
Box-office: $295 million
Summary: The Divergent series has quickly turned out to be the inferior of The Hunger Games.

Film: Home
Director: Tim Johnson
Starring: Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Jones, Steve Martin
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 45%
Budget: $135 million
Opening weekend: $52 million
Box-office: $387 million
Summary: Dreamworks are struggling to stand out with their new properties in a market dominated by the likes of Warner Bros’ The Lego Movie or Disney’s Frozen.

Film: Get Hard
Director: Etan Cohen
Starring: Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, Alison Brie, Tip Harris, Craig T Nelson
IMDb/RT: 6.1/10 – 29%
Budget: $40 million
Opening weekend: $34 million
Box-office: $106 million
Summary: The combination of these celebrated comics ought to have been special but didn’t come close.

Film: Furious 7
Director: James Wan
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham
IMDb/RT: 7.4/10 – 81%
Budget: $190 million
Opening weekend: $147 million
Box-office: $1.512 billion
Summary: The blockbuster sequel made seven times more than the original did 14 years ago ($207 million) but the series might not have much room to grow into for film eight.

Film: The Avengers: Age of Ultron
Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, James Spader
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 74%
Budget: $280 million
Opening weekend: $191 million
Box-office: $1.401 billion
Summary: A slight slip up from 2012’s Avengers Assemble ($1.520 billion), the sequel still delivered the goods for the fans.

Film: Pitch Perfect 2
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld, Elizabeth Banks
IMDb/RT: 6.7 – 67%
Budget: $29 million
Opening weekend: $69 million
Box-office: $285 million
Summary: Pitch Perfect is quickly rivaling Jump Street and Bridesmaids to be the best comedy of the decade so far, while growing from the original’s $115 million.

Film: Mad Max: Fury Road
Director: George Miller
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Rosie Huntington Whitely, Zoe Kravitz, Nicholas Hoult
IMDb/RT: 8.3/10 – 98%
Budget: $150 million
Opening weekend: $45 million
Box-office: $374 million
Summary: A stunningly successful return from the road warrior.

Film: Tomorrowland
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Britt Robertson, George Clooney, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Hugh Laurie
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 50%
Budget: $190 million
Opening weekend: $33 million
Box-office: $208 million
Summary: While it polarized critics, concealing many secrets during marketing may have been the financial downfall of the underrated sci-fi adventure and another disappointment for Disney after John Carter ($284 million) and The Lone Ranger ($260 million).

Film: San Andreas
Director: Brad Peyton
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Ioan Gruffudd, Paul Giamatti
IMDb/RT: 6.4/10 – 50%
Budget: $110 million
Opening weekend: $55 million
Box-office: $469 million
Summary: The disaster thriller was a success but not a 2012 ($769 million) style smash hit.

Film: Spy
Director: Paul Feig
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Jude Law
IMDb/RT: 7.3/10 – 94%
Budget: $65 million
Opening weekend: $29 million
Box-office: $236 million
Summary: After striking big with Bridesmaids ($288 million) and The Heat ($229 million), Paul Feig is continuing to put himself on a good track for the Ghost Busters reboot.

Film: Jurassic World
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan, Omar Sy, Vincent D’Onofrio
IMDb/RT: 7.3/10 – 71%
Budget: $150 million
Opening weekend: $208 million
Box-office: $1.642 billion
Summary: With a sequel coming in 2018, the franchise (dormant for fourteen years) is now set for big things.

Film: Inside Out
Directors: Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen
Starring: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Kyle MacLachlan
IMDb/RT: 8.6/10 – 98%
Budget: $175 million
Opening weekend: $90 million
Box-office: $701 million
Summary: Inside Out has become Pixar’s third biggest original feature.

Film: Ted 2
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Stewart
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 46%
Budget: $68 million
Opening weekend: $33.5 million
Box-office: $180 million
Summary: A very disappointing follow up to 2012’s Ted ($549 million). After the mediocre performance of MacFarlane’s western A Million Ways to Die in the West ($86 million), there’s increasing doubt in the Family Guy creator’s popularity.

Film: Terminator Genisys
Director: Alan Taylor
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke, JK Simmons
IMDb/RT: 6.9/10 – 26%
Budget: $155 million
Opening weekend: $27 million
Box-office: $352 million
Summary: While it was a healthy opening but the franchise has long lost its previously stellar hype. Still not an improvement on 2009’s Terminator Salvation ($371 million).

Film: Magic Mike XXL
Director: Gregory Jacobs
Starring: Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Amber Heard, Jada Pinkett Smith
IMDb/RT: 6.3/10 – 65%
Budget: $14 million
Opening weekend: $123 million
Box-office: $117 million
Summary: The progressive stripper comedy sequel has decreased from Steven Soderbergh’s 2012 original ($167 million) and other raunchy blockbusters have been more profitable – for example Fifty Shades of Grey ($569 million) – but it’s still an impressive tally.

Film: Minions
Directors: Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Pierre Coffin, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Geoffrey Rush
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 54%
Budget: $74 million
Opening weekend: $115 million
Box-office: $1.004 billion
Summary: This triumphant spin off managed to surpass and compete with the previous instalments of the beloved Despicable Me franchise ($543 million – $970 million).

Film: Ant-Man
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena, Michael Douglas
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 79%
Budget: $130 million
Opening weekend: $57 million
Box-office: $363 million
Summary: It’s an underperformance in comparison to Marvel’s fellow Phase 2 superhero flicks such as Iron Man 3 ($1215 million), Thor: The Dark World ($644 million), Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($714 million) or Guardians of the Galaxy ($774 million) but is a worthy reception for the kings of summer blockbusters.

Film: Trainwreck
Director: Judd Apatow
Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, John Cena, Tilda Swinton
Budget: $35 million
Opening weekend: $30 million
Box-office: $123 million
Summary: A traditional fooled-around-and-fell-in-love rom-com might have sank but the presence of rising star Amy Schumer has elevated this to the likes of Apatow’s The 40 Year Old Virgin ($177 million) or Knocked Up ($219 million).

Film: Pixels
Director: Chris Columbus
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Josh Gad, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage
IMDb/RT: 5.6/10 – 17%
Budget: $88 million
Opening weekend: $24 million
Box-office: $174 million
Summary: This sci-fi adventure’s financial reception didn’t live up to the premise but a budget half the size of Tomorrowland’s means that it may actually breakeven at the box-office.

Film: Southpaw
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, Oona Laurence, Naomie Harris, Rachel McAdams
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 60%
Budget: $25 million
Opening weekend: $17 million
Box-office: $67 million
Summary: This sport drama failed to rekindle the mass popularity of boxing flicks such as Rocky ($225 million).

Film: Paper Towns
Director: Jake Schreir
Starring: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Halston Sage, Jaz Sinclair, Austin Abrams
IMDb/RT: 6.9/10 – 55%
Budget: $12 million
Opening weekend: $13 million
Box-office: $75 million
Summary: A decent opening for the young adult romantic drama but well off the other John Green adaptation The Fault in Our Stars ($307 million).

Film: Vacation
Directors: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley
Starring: Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Leslie Mann, Chris Hemsworth, Chevy Chase
IMDb/RT: 6.3/10 – 26%
Budget: $31 million
Opening weekend: $15 million
Box-office: $69 million
Summary: The comedy reboot of the adored Chevy Chase franchise didn’t inspire a great amount of nostalgia for fans of the originals.

Film: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Alec Baldwin
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 93%
Budget: $150 million
Opening weekend: $56 million
Box-office: $445 million
Summary: The Cruise action vehicle builds off the wobble of Edge of Tomorrow ($369 million). The spy series returned in style and will grow throughout the summer.

Film: Fantastic Four
Director: Josh Trank
Starring: Miles Teller, Michael B Jordan, Jamie Bell, Kate Mara, Toby Kebbell
IMDb/RT: 4.0/10 – 8%
Budget: $120 million
Opening weekend: $26 million
Box-office: $134 million
Summary: A superhero reboot full of hope and promise morphed into the year’s most depressing car crash. It was even a decrease from the 2005 film ($330 million) and its sequel ($289 million).

Film: Straight Outta Compton
Director: F Gary Gray
Starring: O’Shea Jackson Jr, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Aldis Hodge, Paul Giamatti
IMDb/RT: 8.4/10 – 89%
Budget: $28 million
Opening weekend: $60 million
Box-office: $125 million
Summary: The musical biopic has become one of August’s biggest hits but did smaller numbers than 2002’s Eminem effort 8 Mile ($242 million).

Film: The Man From UNCLE
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Hugh Grant
IMDb/RT: 7.6/10 – 67%
Budget: $75 million
Opening weekend: $13 million
Box-office: $57 million
Summary: The star studded spy thriller from the director of the Sherlock Holmes films ($524 million – $545 million) has struggled to find a home with fans.

Weekend box-office – 27th of June to 3rd of July 2015 – is it an emotional debut for Pixar’s Inside Out?

Critically, San Francisco’s animating legends Pixar may have wavered in the past few years but financially they’re as strong as ever. They’ve been fairly consistent financially since their debut twenty years ago: 1995’s Toy Story ($362 million), 1998’s A Bug’s Life ($363 million), 1999’s Toy Story 2 ($511 million), 2001’s Monsters Inc ($562 million), 2003’s Finding Nemo ($936 million), 2004’s The Incredibles ($631 million), 2006’s Cars ($461 million), 2007’s Ratatouille ($623 million), 2008’s WALL-E ($521 million), 2009’s Up ($731 million), 2010’s Toy Story 3 ($1 billion), 2011’s Cars 2 ($559 million), 2012’s Brave ($529 million) and 2013’s Monsters University ($743 million). Following a rare two year hiatus, Pixar are back with Inside Out, which challenges the record breaking behemoth that is Jurassic World. You can find last week’s predictions here.

US:

1. Jurassic World – Director: Colin Trevorrow – $106.6 million
2. Inside Out – Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen – $90.4 million
3. Spy – Paul Feig – $11.2 million
4. San Andreas – Brad Peyton – $8.7 million
5. Dope – Rick Famuyiwa – $6.1 million

UK:

1. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow – £11.1 million
2. Take That Live – £1 million
3. Spy – Paul Feig – £0.9 million
4. Mr Holmes – Bill Condon – £0.7 million
5. Entourage – Doug Ellin – £0.6 million

While Jurassic World does keep its first place spot, Inside Out is still a triumph as it’s the biggest opening for an original film since 2009’s Avatar. In this time period, original sci-fi works like Edge of Tomorrow have struggled but filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan (Inception, Interstellar) remain champions of the field. Indie comedy Dope makes a respectable fifth place entry. This week I’ve scored 5/10.

US:

1. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow
2. Inside Out – Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen
3. Ted 2 – Seth MacFarlane
4. Max – Boaz Yakin
5. Spy – Paul Feig

UK:

1. Minions – Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin
2. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow
3. Spy – Paul Feig
4. Slow West – John Maclean
5. Mr Holmes – Bill Condon

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard in Jurassic World, this week’s UK and US number one.

Weekend box-office – 20th to 26th of June 2015 – Is it a walk in the (Jurassic) park for Chris Pratt?

Starring Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Richard Attenborough, Steven Spielberg’s 1993 sci-fi smash hit Jurassic Park had everything: critical and fan adoration and box-office phenomenon status with over $1 billion in ticket sales. The sequels however didn’t hit the mark with Spielberg’s 1997 follow up The Lost World taking $618 million and Joe Johnston’s 2001 effort Jurassic Park III receiving $368 million, despite additions such as Pete Postlethwaite and Julianne Moore. Jurassic World has taken an unorthodox approach by ditching the original cast for new blood such as underdog actors Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help), Jake Johnson (TV’s New Girl) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Netflix’s Daredevil) as well as indie director Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed). Last week we predicted it’d be number one but it hardly seems like to team to bring a record breaking smash hit.

US:

1. Jurassic World – Director: Colin Trevorrow – $208.8 million
2. Spy – Paul Feig – $15.6 million
3. San Andreas – Brad Peyton – $10.8 million
4. Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell – $7.3 million
5. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks – $6.4 million

UK:

1. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow – £19.4 million
2. Spy – Paul Feig – £1.5 million
3. San Andreas – Brad Peyton – £0.8 million
4. Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell – £0.7 million
5. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks – £0.4 million

While we had expected Jurassic World to be successful, we didn’t anticipate it stealing box-office records from Avengers Assemble and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. At the beginning of the year, we predicted that Age of Ultron, Spectre and Star Wars: The Force Awakens would be the big hitters with Jurassic World, Ant-Man, Terminator 5, Mission Impossible 5 and others lagging behind but this is just one in a series of upsets including the flops of Tomorrowland and Jupiter Ascending and the successes of Furious 7, Mad Max: Fury Road and Fifty Shades of Grey. This week I’ve scored 8/10.

US:

1. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow
2. Inside Out – Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen
3. Dope – Rick Famuyiwa
4. Spy – Paul Feig
5. San Andreas – Brad Peyton

UK:

1. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow
2. Mr Holmes – Bill Condon
3. Spy – Paul Feig
4. The Longest Ride – George Tillman Jr
5. Entourage – Doug Ellin

Chris Pratt in Jurassic World, This week’s US and UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 13th to 19th of June 2015 – Entourage vs espionage: will Spy debut well?

Actress Melissa McCarthy and director Paul Feig began their winning partnership with 2011’s unexpected smash hit rom-com Bridesmaids ($288 million) – also starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Chris O’Dowd and Jon Hamm – and they returned in Sandra Bullock-starring cop comedy The Heat ($229 million). They’re even behind next year’s Ghostbusters reboot but for now we have action caper Spy, whose cast of McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne and Jude Law have whipped up critical acclaim. The competition: horror sequel Insidious Chapter 3 and spin-off of HBO comedy show Entourage. Last week, we predicted Spy would top the box office.

US:

1. Spy – Director: Paul Feig – $29.1 million
2. San Andreas – Brad Peyton – $25.8 million
3. Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell – $22.7 million
4. Entourage – Doug Ellin – $10.3 million
5. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – $7.8 million

UK:

1. Spy – Paul Feig – £2.6 million
2. San Andreas – Brad Peyton – £2 million
3. Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell – £1.4 million
4. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – £0.8 million
5. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks – £0.7 million

Spy has had a fine entry at $30 million where as Insidious pales in comparison to its more star-studded predecessors. Entourage has disappointed but that might be a reflection of HBO’s outrage-provoking risks now working in cinemas (their Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra – with Michael Douglas, Matt Damon and Rob Lowe – got a UK audience but was pulled off US screens). This might put a damper on those Game of Thrones movie rumours.

The UK release to watch out for is Secret Cinema’s screening of The Empire Strikes Back in an immersive experience recreating Hoth Echo Base. The company’s previous screenings include The Third Man, The Shawshank Redemption, Brazil and a Back to the Future themed recreation of Hill Valley. It took £300,000 from just one site. This week I’ve scored 5/10.

US:

1. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow
2. Spy – Paul Feig
3. San Andreas – Brad Peyton
4. Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell
5. Entourage – Doug Ellin

UK:

1. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow
2. Spy – Paul Feig
3. San Andreas – Brad Peyton
4. Insidious Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell
5. London Road – Rufus Norris

Melissa McCarthy in Spy, this week’s US and UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 6th to 12th of June – is it a fault-less start for San Andreas?

Dwayne Johnson (AKA The Rock) is widely respected as one of the biggest action stars of his time. Despite mixed success – Doom ($55 million), Southland Tales ($0.3 million), Race to Witch Mountain ($106 million), Tooth Fairy ($112 million), Pain & Gain ($96) – he hit his biggest stride in the past couple of years with Hercules ($243 million), Journey 2: The Mysterious Island ($325 million) and the Fast and Furious franchise ($2.9 billion in three films). His latest work is the disaster action San Andreas and its challenger is Aloha, the new romantic drama from Jerry Maguire’s Cameron Crowe and starring Bradley Cooper (American Sniper, The Hangover), Emma Stone (Easy A, Birdman) and Rachel McAdams (About Time, The Notebook).

US:

1. San Andreas – Director: Brad Peyton – $54.6 million
2. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks – $14.8 million
3. Tomorrowland – Brad Bird – $14.3 million
4. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – $14.2 million
5. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – $11.4 million

UK:

1. San Andreas – Brad Peyton – £4.6 million
2. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Bannks – £1.9 million
3. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – £1.7 million
4. Tomorrowland – Brad Bird – £1 million
5. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – £0.9 million

San Andreas is a clear victor with an impressive $50 million debut but Aloha has been a major disappointment in a poor sixth place with a dismal $9 million. Last week’s sci-fi mystery Tomorrowland slips to third while musical sequel Pitch Perfect 2 and action reboot Mad Max: Fury Road continue to perform well.

US:

1. Spy – Paul Feig
2. Insidious: Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell
3. San Andreas – Brad Peyton
4. Entourage – Doug Ellin
5. Tomorrowland – Brad Bird

UK:

1. Spy – Paul Feig
2. San Andreas – Brad Peyton
3. Insidious: Chapter 3 – Leigh Whannell
4. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks
5. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller

Dwayne Johnson in San Andreas, this week’s US and UK number one.

X-Men’s Bryan Singer confirms Apocalypse, The Rock’s Sand Andreas for 2015 and new director for The Fifth Beetle

Director Bryan Singer, after a couple of misfire action flicks, launched a career of brilliance with The Usual Suspects (ranked by IMDB as the 25th greatest film of all time) which led to a job on the first two X-Men films. They remain the best in the series as he left after that and neither Brett Ratner or Gavin Hood could pick up the pieces. A glimmer of light was shown in the Singer produced and Matthew Vaughn directed First Class and I guess James Mangold did the best he could with the stale The Wolverine. However, the series should be back to its full glory next year when Singer returns to directing the series, after going off to do the iffy Superman Returns and Jack the Giant Slayer as well as the brilliant Valkyrie, with Days of Future Past. But Singer could be here to stay.

He confirmed on twitter that X-Men: Apocalypse was to arrive in 2016. Besides the fact that it’ll feature the title characters the X-Men and Apocalypse, we can’t tell to much about the plot with our current knowledge. I not well versed in recent Marvel Comics runs but the internet’s main suggestion seems to be The Age of Apocalypse. We’re not sure how this’ll run with the new James Mangold/Hugh Jackman Wolverine film but Marvel Disney are having good success with two releases every year. Another project Apocalypse could tie into is Josh Trank’s 2015 reboot of The Fantastic Four who we presumed would be part of Singer’s “marvel mash-up” project.

We move onto San Andreas. As well as being a fault, it’s the new action disaster movie set to star Dwayne Johnson as a rescue helicopter pilot separated from his daughter as a huge earthquake strikes California. Journey 2 director Brad Peyton is currently set to direct but the 2014 scheduled film has had to slip into the ever changing, and busy, 2015 slot but I don’t think it’ll cope and make a great box office against the giants coming our way in two years time.

Another Peyton, this time a first name not a surname, is the subject of this article. It’s Peyton Reed, director of The Break-Up and Yes Man. His next project could be both biopic and Dark Horse comic book adaptation The Fifth Beetle. It’s the story of Brian Epstein, the man behind the decade defining band The Beetles who rose to international fame and legend while Epstein was left behind. The reason the film has taken so long to get out of development was because of the tricky business of claiming the rights to the songs but they’re going to have a even bigger task of casting the legendary members: John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney.

X-Men: Days of Future Past – May 22nd 2014

X-Men: Apocalypse – 2016

The Wolverine 2 – 2016

The Fantastic Four – June 19th 2015

San Andreas – 2015

The Fifth Beetle – 2015