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.

The Best of 2015 – Half way review

In the first sixth months of 2015, we haven’t quite yet found a release worthy of the prestigious 10/10 score but there’s been no shortage of box-office goods with three films already breaching the $1 billion mark with more to come.

Worldwide:

1. Furious 7 – Director: James Wan – Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker – $1,511,636,779
2. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson – $1,372,063,254
3. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow – Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard – $1,259,873,609
4. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan – $569,651,467
5. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh – Lily James, Cate Blanchett – $538,986,777
6. San Andreas – Peyton Reed – Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra Daddario – $441,858,144
7. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – Colin Firth, Taron Egerton – $403,788,617
8. Home – Tim Johnson – Jim Parsons, Rihanna – $367,811,449
9. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron – $356,649,491
10. Taken 3 – Oliver Megaton – Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker – $325,771,424

US:

1. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow – Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard – $514,374,155
2. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson – $452,963,254
3. Furious 7 – James Wan – Vin Diesel, Paul Walker – $351,032,910
4. Inside Out – Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen – $200,844,477
5. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh – Lily James, Cate Blanchett – $200,286,777
6. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks – Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson – $181,513,690
7. Home – Tim Johnson – Jim Parsons, Rihanna – $174,901,605
8. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan – $166,167,230
9. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt – $162,994,032
10. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron – $147,594,972

UK:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson – £49,096,981
2. Jurassic World – Colin Trevorrow – Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard – £39,216,914
3. Furious 7 – James Wan – Vin Diesel, Paul Walker – £38,399,325
4. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan – £33,065,566
5. Home – Tim Johnson – Jim Parsons, Rihanna – £24,908,077
6. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh – Lily James, Cate Blanchett – £20,886,693
7. The Theory of Everything – James Marsh – Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones – £20,446,079
8. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – TJ Miller, Maya Rudolph – £19.527,404
9. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks – Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson – £17,466,588
10. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron – £17,260,896

Here’s our personal top 7 for January to June. To give you a taste of our opinions, 2014’s top picks were Interstellar, Nightcrawler, Boyhood, Guardians of the Galaxy and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

8) Into the Woods

Director: Rob Marshall
Starring: Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, James Corden, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine
Budget: $50 million
Box-office: $212.9 million

7) Tomorrowland

Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Britt Robertson, George Clooney, Raffey Cassidy, Pierce Gagnon, Hugh Laurie
Budget: $190 million
Box-office: $202 million

6) Minions

Director: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin
Starring: Pierre Coffin, Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Geoffrey Rush
Budget: $74 million
Box-office: $141 million

5) The Theory of Everything

Director: James Marsh
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, Simon McBurney, David Thewlis
Budget: $15 million
Box-office: $121.2 million

4) Still Alice

Directors: Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland
Starring: Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin, Hunter Parrish, Kate Bosworth
Budget: $5 million
Box-office: $41.8 million

3) Selma

Director: Ava DuVernay
Starring: David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson, Oprah Winfrey, Tim Roth
Budget: $20 million
Box-office: $66.8 million

2) The Avengers: Age of Ultron

Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner
Budget: $280 million
Box-office: $1.3 billion

1) Jurassic World

Director: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan, Jake Johnson, Vincent D’Onofrio
Budget: $150 million
Box-office: $1,2 billion

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.

New Black Mass poster, Bryce Dallas Howard talks Marvel and first Hunger Games 4 trailer

The first two instalments of the Hunger Games franchise were genuine phenomenons, the first taking $691 million and Catching Fire receiving $864 million but Mockingjay: Part 1 slipped up with a drop to $752 million. The trailer for the series’ conclusion has been released and is hoping for a return to form.

Francis Lawrence (I am Legend) directs a cast including Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle), Josh Huthcherson (Epic), Liam Hemsworth (Cut Bank), Jena Malone (Inherent Vice), Sam Claflin (The Riot Club), Donald Sutherland (Ordinary People), Juliianne Moore (Still Alice), Woody Harrelson (True Detective), Elizabeth Banks (The Lego Movie), Stanley Tucci (Margin Call), Toby Jones (Infamous), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Jeffrey Wright (Source Code), Mahershala Ali (House of Cards), Willow Shields (Beyond the Blackboard), Elden Henson (Daredevil), Natalie Dormer (Rush) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master).

Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help, 50/50) once worked with Marvel playing Gwen Stacy in 2007’s Spider-Man 3. Whilst promoting the new sci-fi sequel Jurassic World, she was questioned about returning to the studio in a different role, specifically Captain Marvel. Howard seemed immensely in favour of the idea.

“Oh my God, will you write that? Will you write that please? Yes, let’s start a campaign now. That would be rad. Those movies are so fantastic, because talk about just these incredibly drawn characters! That’s the joy of the comics, is that you fall in love with these characters and it’s who they are that carries you from journey to journey to journey… it’s not just about set pieces. It’s really about who these people are, and so, yes, I just would love to be in a Marvel film.”

So far the only serious suggestion for a casting and director are Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Prometheus) and Angelina Jolie (Unbroken) respectively. We do know that the script is penned by Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) and Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy) and is heading for a 2018 release.

Johnny Depp’s career is in a particularly horrific phase of his career. The star of Edward Scissorhands, Donnie Brasco and Pirates of the Caribbean hasn’t hit the spot recently besides 2009’s Michael Mann thriller Public Enemies, 2011 animation Rango and cameos in 21 Jump Street and Into the Woods. A varied reception for Alice in Wonderland, The Tourist, The Rum Diary and Dark Shadows plus financial failures The Lone Ranger, Transcendence and Mortdecai. Gangster drama Black Mass might be a return to Oscar contender form. The first proper poster for the film has been released.

Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace) directs a cast including Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game, Sherlock), Joel Edgerton (Warrior, The Great Gatsby), Juno Temple (Atonement, Maleficent), Corey Stoll (House of Cards, Ant-Man), Dakota Johnson (21 Jump Street, Fifty Shades of Grey), Adam Scott (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Parks and Recreation), Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad, The Homesman), Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County, Masters of Sex), Peter Sarsgaard (Jarhead, Blue Jasmine) and Kevin Bacon (Apollo 13, Cop Car).

Black Mass – November 13th

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 – November 20th

Captain Marvel – November 2nd 2018

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.

Weekend box-office – 23rd of May to 5th of June 2015 – will Tomorrowland enhance the future?

We’ve have two weeks of box-office to cover.

Firstly, in the biggest movie showdown since Interstellar and Big Hero 6 went head to head last November, post-apocalypric action reboot Mad Max: Fury Road – starring Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) and Charlize Theron (Prometheus) – rivals musical comedy sequel Pitch Perfect 2 – starring Anna Kendrick (Into the Woods) and Rebel Wilson (Night at the Museum 3). This two horse race culminates in a major week for the box-office and last week we predicted a pitch perfect opening for the Barden Bellas.

Week 1:

US:

1. Pitch Perfect 2 – Director: Elizabeth Banks – $69.2 million
2. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – $45.4 million
3. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – $38.9 million
4. Hot Pursuit – Anne Fletcher – $5.7 million
5. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan – $3.6 million

UK:

1. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks – £5 million
2. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – £4.5 million
3. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – £1.7 million
4. Spooks: The Greater Good – Bharat Nalluri – £0.5 million
5. Far From the Madding Crowd – Thomas Vinterberg – £0,4 million

Week 2:

In the next week, Brad Bird (the mind behind the hits The Iron Giant, The Incredible and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) is launching his sci-fi spectacle Tomorrowland. At $190 million in costs, it might turn out to be another of Disney’s high budget/high profile live action disappointments John Carter and The Lone Ranger, despite the fact that talented directors Andrew Stanton (WALL-E) and Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) were at the helm.

US:

1. Tomorrowland: A World Beyond – Brad Bird – $33 million
2. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks – $30.8 million
3. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – $24.6 million
4. Poltergeist – Gil Kenan – $22.6 million
5. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – $21. 7 million

UK:

1. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks – £2.7 million
2. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller – £2.6 million
3. Tomorrowland: A World Beyond – Brad Bird – £1.5 million
4. Poltergeist – Gil Kenan – £1.5 million
5. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – £1.1 million

Anna Kendrick in Pitch Perfect 2, last week’s US and UK number one and this week’s UK number one.

Britt Robertson in Tomorrowland, this week’s US number one.

Weekend box-office – 16th to 22nd of May 2015 – Witherspoon chases Avengers in a Hot Pursuit?

Superhero sequel The Avengers: Age of Ultron came out to the second biggest opening weekend of all time at $191 million, bested only by the 2012 original. The film is already just shy of $1 billion at the international box-office but it isn’t without competition this week. Reese Witherspoon is trying to replicate fellow Oscar winner Sandra Bullock’s success with the cop comedy franchise. Bullock’s The Heat was a smash hit with a $40 million opening and $230 million total but last week we reckoned that it would fall flat in third.

US:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Director: Joss Whedon – $77.7 million
2. Hot Pursuit – Anne Fletcher – $13.9 million
3. The Age of Adaline – Lee Toland Krieger – $5.8 million
4. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan – $5.4 million
5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 – Andy Fickman – $5.3 million

UK:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – £3.5 million
2. Spooks: The Greater Good – Bharat Nalluri – £1 million
3. Far From the Madding Crowd – Thomas Vinterberg – £0.8 million
4. Unfriended – Levan Gabriadze – £0.7 million
5. The Age of Adaline – Lee Toland Krieger – £0.6 million

Age of Ultron retains top spot despite a sharp 60% drop while Hot Pursuit has come to a disappointing slow halt. The in UK, spy thriller follow up to the hit TV series Spooks: The Greater Good has reached a fairly mediocre £1 million pounds in second place as The Avengers is still dominating in its third weekend. This week we’ve scored 4/10.

US:

1. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks
2. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller
3. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon
4. The Age of Adaline – Lee Toland Krieger
5. Hot Pursuit – Anne Fletcher

UK:

1. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller
2. Pitch Perfect 2 – Elizabeth Banks
3. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon
4. A Royal Night Out – Julian Jarrold
5. Spooks: The Greater Good – Bharat Nalluri

Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, this week’s US and UK number one.

New still from Bridge of Spies and first logo for Hunger Games 4

Films such as The Revenant (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarrity; Leonardo Di Caprio, Tom Hardy), Suffragette (Sarah Gavron; Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan), Steve Jobs (Danny Boyle; Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet) and Snowden (Oliver Stone; Joseph Gordon Levitt, Shailene Woodley) are leading the Oscars 2016 race but Bridge of Spies is quickly gaining. The film’s director, Oscar winner Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, Minority Report, Lincoln), has now revealed the first still from the film. The cast includes Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Captain Phillips), Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall), Amy Ryan (Birdman, Gone Baby Gone) and Alan Alda (The Aviator).

The Hunger Games third instalment, Mockingjay Part 1, was a slip up from the superior Catching Fire but the final entry in the series, Mockingjay Part 2, should make amends. The first poster has been revealed.

Francis Lawrence (I am Legend) directs the cast of Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right), Woody Harrelson (True Detective), Liam Hemsworth (Cut Bank), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Donald Sutherland (Ordinary People), Elizabeth Banks (The Lego Movie), Sam Claflin (The Riot Club), Jena Malone (Contact), Stanley Tucci (The Terminal), Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Jeffrey Wright (Source Code), Willow Shields (Beyond the Blackboard), Natalie Dormer (Rush), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Mahershala Ali (House of Cards) the late great and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote, The Master, The Big Lebowski).

Bridge of Spies – October 9th

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 – November 20th

Jessica Chastain joins The Hunstman, Avengers 2 character poster and new director and title for Lego Movie 2

By no means a disaster, Snow White and the Huntsman’s lukewarm commercial and critical performance led to a spanner in the works of the intended darker reboot franchise. With Kristen Stewart dropped, the spin off gained the returning cast of Chris Hemsworth (Rush, The Avengers) and Charlize Theron (Monster, Prometheus) with new addition Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, The Adjustment Bureau, Looper).

The next new casting is Jessica Chastain, a two time Oscar nominated star of Zero Dark Thirty, The Help, A Most Violent Year, Lawless, The Tree of Life and Interstellar, who’s set to be playing Ravenna’s (Theron) potentially eviller sister. Were she more heroic, we’d be hoping there’s not an overplayed good/bad relationship portrayed, like Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter in Alice and Wonderland.

On the subject of future castings, the first film’s dwarves (Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan, Johnny Harris, Ian McShane and the late Bob Hoskins) have ruled themselves out and Sam Claflin’s (The Hunger Games’ Finnick) won’t have much to do without his romantic interest. Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) writes for first time director Cedric Nicolas Troyan.

We were disappointed when Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the team of 21/22 Jump Street and the BAFTA winning animation smash hit The Lego Movie, announced that, while they are still writing the latter’s sequel, they’re handing over the director’s keys. We’re now slightly relieved to hear that it’ll be in the hands of Emmy winner Rob Schrab, part of the team of the immensely popular Community. It’s also confirmed to be titled the simple and ingenious The Lego Movie Sequel.

The sequel will likely star Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), Elizabeth Banks (The 40 Year Old Virgin), Will Ferrell (Anchorman), Will Arnett (Bojack Horseman) and Liam Neeson (Batman Begins, Taken).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron opened in a big way yesterday with its major one sheet poster. Joss Whedon’s (Serenity) team are kicking off a new character poster series with a shot of a very worried looking Tony Stark. The painted “A” We’ll soon be seeing similar glimpses at Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor Johnson), Vision (Paul Bettany), Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) and Ultron (James Spader).

Age of Ultron will also star Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong), Stellan Skarsgard (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

The Huntsman – April 22nd 2016

The Lego Movie Sequel – 2018