The seventh chapter of the Star Wars series, JJ Abrams’ The Force Awakens, will land top potentially record breaking financial success this December. It’ll be followed up in next year in Godzilla director Gareth Edwards’ spin off of the franchise which has been massively secretive up until this point. Rogue One is the new release we can look forward to. It’ll depict a post-Return of the Jedi fighter pilot team Rogue Squadron. The film is confirmed to star Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) but her role remains unrevealed.
In other news for the franchise, Looper director Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII is now set for a May 2017 release, as oppose to the Christmas debut of VII. Plot details and cast members are yet to be revealed.
Winning two Oscars (Best Original Song, Best Animated Film) and becoming the one of the highest grossing films of all time, Disney were always going to look to expand Frozen into a series and the official announcement of a sequel. We’re confused as to how the Mouse House have taken so long. This may well be to bump up the hype of their current major release, Cinderella. We’ll presume that directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee (Wreck-It Ralph) as well as stars Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel and Josh Gad.
Defining success is a difficult thing to categorise: critically, the likes of Boyhood, Birdman, The Imitation Game, Foxcatcher and Gone Girl lead the pack; commercially, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Guardians of Galaxy, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and Maleficent thrived. A digital word of mouth is another interesting definition and Google Trend’s end of year report publishes the most searched, and perhaps most popular, releases of 2014.
Frozen – Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – Starring: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad
Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Mackenzie Foy, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Michael Caine
Divergent – Neil Burger – Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort
Gone Girl – David Fincher – Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris
Lone Survivor – Peter Berg – Mark Wahlberg, Emile Hirsch, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster
Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Elizabeth Olsen
22 Jump Street – Phil Lord and Chris Miller – Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Wyatt Russell
Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, TJ Miller, Maya Rudolph, Alan Tudyk
Annabelle – John R Leonetti – Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton
Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Juno Temple, Imelda Staunton, Sharlto Copley
The most surprising entry hear is Annabelle, a low budget and universally trashed horror flick that’s beaten off the likes of The Fault in Our Stars, The Lego Movie, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Edge of Tomorrow, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Marvel’s four smash hits (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past) has conceded to a Disney triple bill (Maleficent, Big Hero 6, Frozen).
You can find the BAFTA winners here and the Oscar announcements aren’t too far away but here the only ceremony that matters is the Tuorhoth Awards. The nominations were announced last week but last night’s winners can be found below. Remember our aim is to blend the awards favourites with the best blockbusters around for an honest awards.
Best Movie:
12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Cloud Atlas
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Kings of Summer
Much Ado About Nothing
Rush
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Thor: The Dark World
Best Leading Actress:
Carey Mulligan – The Great Gatsby
Amy Acker – Much Ado About Nothing
Rinko Kikuchi – Pacific Rim
Sandra Bullock – Gravity
Amy Adams – American Hustle
Best Leading Actor:
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave
Idris Elba – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Martin Freeman – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips
Zachary Quinto – Star Trek Into Darkness
Best Director:
Justin Chadwick – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity
Ron Howard – Rush
Peter Jackson – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Baz Luhrmann – The Great Gatsby
Best Supporting Actress:
Doona Bae – Cloud Atlas
Naomi Harris – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
Evangeline Lilly – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
Best Supporting Actor:
Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
Moises Arias – The Kings of Summer
Daniel Bruhl – Rush
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hiddleston – Thor: The Dark World
Best Comedy:
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
The Kings of Summer
Much Ado About Nothing
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Wreck-It Ralph
Best Sci-Fi:
Cloud Atlas
Ender’s Game
Man of Steel
Pacific Rim
Star Trek Into Darkness
Best Fantasy:
47 Ronin
Cloud Atlas
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Thor: The Dark World
The Wolverine
Best Animated Film:
Despicable Me 2
Monsters University
Wreck-It Ralph
Best Drama:
12 Years a Slave
The Great Gatsby
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Rush
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Best Thriller:
Captain Phillps
Gravity
The Lone Ranger
Now You See Me
World War Z
Kermode Award for Best Newcomer:
Barkhad Abdi
Moises Arias
Doona Bae
Luke Evans
Lupita Nyong’o
Best Original Song:
Atlas – Coldplay – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Young and Beautiful – Lana Del Rey – The Great Gatsby
I See Fire – Ed Sheeran – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Ordinary Love – U2 – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Happy – Pharrell Williams – Despicable Me 2
Best Musical Score:
Oz: The Great and Powerful – Danny Elfman
Gravity – Steven Price
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Howard Shore
Cloud Atlas – Tom Tykwer
Man of Steel – Hans Zimmer
Harreyhausen Award for Best Special Effects:
Ender’s Game
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Pacific RIm
Star Trek Into Darkness
Best Original Screenplay:
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa – Armando Iancucci, Steve Coogan
American Hustle – Eric Warren Singer, David O’Russell
Gravity – Jonas Cuaron, Alfonso Cuaron
The Kings of Summer – Chris Galletta
Wreck-It Ralph – Jennifer Lee
Best Adapted Screenplay:
12 Years a Slave – John Ridley
Captain Phillips – Billy Ray
Cloud Atlas – Andy Wachowksi, Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer
The Great Gatsby – Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty – Steve Conrad
Captain Phillips comes away with a six-win sweep, The Hobbit and Gravity won three and Alpha Papa tails the leaders with two triumphs. Well, that was our Tuorhoth Awards but we want to here which releases from the last year you loved the most. Please tell us in the comments.
Both the UK and US box offices have had films completely dominate the box office recently. However, Ride Along and The Wolf of Wall Street both have to compete with two major releases each; The Wolf must face off with RoboCop and Mr Peabody and Sherman while Ride Along tackles head on The LEGO Movie and The Monuments Men. Find last week’s predictions here.
US:
The Lego Movie – Director:Phil Lord, Chris Miller – $69.1 million
The Monument’s Men – George Clooney – $22 million
Ride Along – Tim Story – $9.6 million
Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – $6.9 million
Lone Survivor – Peter Berg – $5.6 million
UK:
Mr Peabody and Sherman – Rob Minkoff – £3.9 million
RoboCop – Jose Padhila – £2.4 million
The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese – £1.6 million
Dallas Buyers Club – Jean Marc Vallee – £1 million
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen – £1 million
Toy adaptation The LEGO Movie has made a brilliant entry, trumping the flat release of Clooney’s WW2 drama Monument’s Men. RoboCop’s UK opening has been pretty sluggish, losing out to sci-fi comedy animation Mr Peabody – that doesn’t fair well for its US release next week. The Oscar laden Wolf of Wall Street, Dallas Buyers Club and 12 Years a Slave cap off the box-office this week. My predictions from last week score me 6/10 taking my running total to 76/150.
US:
RoboCop – Jose Padhila
The LEGO Movie – Chris Miller, Phil Lord
Endless Love – Shana Feste
Winter’s Tale – Akiva Goldsman
The Monument’s Men – George Clooney
UK:
The LEGO Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Mr Peabody and Sherman – Rob Minkoff
The Monument’s Men – George Clooney
Her – Spike Jonze
RoboCop – Jose Padhila
Mr Peabody and Sherman (voiced by Ty Burrell and Max Charles), this week’s UK box-office number one.
Emmet (Chris Pratt) and Batman (Will Arnett) in The LEGO Movie, this week’s US box office number one.
Tune in tomorrow at nine o’clock for our live BAFTA’s special. See you then.
If you’ve been following some of our recent posts, you’ll have picked up that The 2014 Tuorhoth Awards are on their way and today we’re going to announce the nominees. The nominees have been selected by a group of four elite judges. Our aim is to provide a mix of mainstream and arthouse for a honest awards ceremony to celebrate the best in film. The winners will be announced next week.
Best Movie:
12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Cloud Atlas
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Kings of Summer
Much Ado About Nothing
Rush
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Thor: The Dark World
Best Leading Actress:
Carey Mulligan – The Great Gatsby
Amy Acker – Much Ado About Nothing
Rinko Kikuchi – Pacific Rim
Sandra Bullock – Gravity
Amy Adams – American Hustle
Best Leading Actor:
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave
Idris Elba – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Martin Freeman – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips
Zachary Quinto – Star Trek Into Darkness
Best Director:
Justin Chadwick – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity
Ron Howard – Rush
Peter Jackson – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Baz Luhrmann – The Great Gatsby
Best Supporting Actor:
Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
Moises Arias – The Kings of Summer
Daniel Bruhl – Rush
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hiddleston – Thor: The Dark World
Best Supporting Actress:
Doona Bae – Cloud Atlas
Naomi Harris – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
Evangeline Lilly – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
Best Comedy:
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
The Kings of Summer
Much Ado About Nothing
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Wreck-It Ralph
Best Sci-Fi:
Cloud Atlas
Ender’s Game
Man of Steel
Pacific Rim
Star Trek Into Darkness
Best Fantasy:
47 Ronin
Cloud Atlas
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Thor: The Dark World
The Wolverine
Best Animated Film:
Despicable Me 2
Monsters University
Wreck-It Ralph
Best Drama:
12 Years a Slave
The Great Gatsby
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Rush
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Best Thriller:
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Lone Ranger
Now You See Me
World War Z
Kermode Award for Best Newcomer:
Barkhad Abdi
Moises Arias
Doona Bae
Luke Evans
Lupita Nyong’o
Best Original Song:
Atlas – Coldplay – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Young and Beautiful – Lana Del Rey – The Great Gatsby
I See Fire – Ed Sheeran – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Ordinary Love – U2 – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Happy – Pharrel Williams – Despicable Me 2
Best Musical Score:
Oz: The Great and Powerful – Danny Elfman
Gravity – Steven Price
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Howard Shore
Cloud Atlas – Tom Tykwer
Man of Steel – Hans Zimmer
Best Special Effects:
Ender’s Game
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Pacific Rim
Star Trek Into Darkness
Best Original Screenplay:
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa – Armando Ianucci, Steve Coogan
American Hustle – Eric Warren Singer, David O’Russell
Gravity – Jonas Cuaron, Alfonso Cuaron
The Kings of Summer – Chris Galletta
Wreck-It Ralph – Jennifer Lee
Best Adapted Screenplay:
12 Years a Slave – John Ridley
Captain Phillips – Billy Ray
Cloud Atlas – Lana Wachowksi, Andy Wachowski, Tom Tykwer
The Great Gatsby – Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty – Steve Conrad
Are We Crazy? Did we miss out a classic? Tell us your favourite movies from the last year in the comments and get unsung heroic in the soptlight!
The Transporter trilogy is probably the Stath’s most iconic and well known performance, alongside Crank, Switch and Lock Stock, and is probably his best selling, with the blockbusting third instalment boosting the series total to about $220 million, but he’s not to be included in the new prequel/reboot. Variety has confirmed that Ed Skrein will be replacing Statham as the younger Frank Martin in an origin tale. The London born Skrein is notably fastened into the hard-edged, gangster role after his work on Ill Manors and The Sweeney as well as playing Daar Naharis in Game of Thrones. The producers’, among them Luc Besson, next stop will be hiring a director.
A win in Best Editing can always be a sign for a Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards. Nearly all of the awards focus this year has been on visually stunning, space-set epic Gravity and period drama of struggle and injustice 12 Years a Slave. However, the American Cinema Editing Awards (or Eddies) have announced three surprising winners. Best Editing in Dramawas received by Paul Greengrass’ electrifying hostage thriller Captain Phillips and Best Editing in Comedywas won by David O’Russell’s star studded gangster tale American Hustle. Best Editing in Animationwent to Disney’s family fantasy adventure Frozen, directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. Meanwhile at the Art Directors Guild for Excellence in Production Design awards went to cyber love story Her and Baz Luhrmann’s exuberant, jazz-age drama The Great Gatsby.
Two films have have dominated the box office recently and their wrath as continued today. New entries such as Jack Ryan, I Frankenstein and That Awkward Moment haven’t been able to knock off The Wolf of Wall Street and Ride Along for a third week running, despite my predictions from last week.
US
Ride Along – Director:Tim Story – $12 million
Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – $8.9 million
That Awkward Moment – Tom Gormican – $8.7 million
The Nut Job – Peter Lepeniotis – $7.3 million
Lone Survivor – Peter Berg – $7.1 million
UK
The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese – £2.7 million
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen – £1.4 million
That Awkward Moment – Tom Gormican – £1 million
I, Frankenstein – Stuart Beattie – £0.8 million
Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – £0.8 million
New comedy That Awkward Moment has had a vastly disappointing start, making just two thirds of its $12 million budget, even though its only rivals were films that were kicking around in box-office for weeks, nearly two months in Frozen’s case. Jason Reitman’s Labor Day didn’t make a major impact either, entering seventh place with $7 million. Lone Survivor dropped three places but, seeing as it’s already made a brilliant $114 million, the studios won’t be fussed at this point. Sadly, these surprisingly low new entries mean that this week’s total is 2/10 taking my running score to 70/140.
US
The LEGO Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller
The Monument’s Men – George Clooney
Ride Along – Tim Story
Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
That Awkward Moment – Tom Gormican
UK
RoboCop – Jose Padhila
The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese
Mr Peabody and Sherman – Rob Minkoff
Dallas Buyers Club – Jean Marc Vallee
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen
Leonardo Di Caprio in The Wolf of Wall Street, this week’s UK box-office number one.
Ice Cube and Kevin Hart in Ride Along, this week’s US box-office number one.
It’s fair to say that Stuart Beattie’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel and Jevin Grevioux’s comic book has received an appalling reception from all. However, the film, which stars Aaron Eckhart, Miranda Otto and Bill Nighy, could have redeemed itself with a box office surpassing its $65 million budget but, to do that, I’d have to reach around the top three. Last week, we predicted it’d come first but what really counts is the results themselves. Find out how I, Frankenstein did at the box-office:
US:
Ride Along – Director: Tim Story – $21.2 million
Lone Survivor – Peter Berg – $12.6 million
The Nut Job – Peter Lepeniotis – $12.3 million
Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – $9 million
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh – $8.8 million
UK:
The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese – £3.6 million
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen – £2.3 million
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh – £1.3 million
Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – £1.1 million
American Hustle – David O’Russell – £1 million
Yep, Frankenstein hasn’t scratched the Top 5 with a dismal $8.3 million opening. The Wolf of Wall Street seems to be a huge hit in the UK, despite some of the gross-out features – take note of it thrashing Oscar favourite 12 Years for a second week running. Jack Ryan’s UK opening was less than stellar and it isn’t really hanging on at all in the US. Sadly, last weeks predictions were terrible, scoring me 1/5 in both US and UK and taking my running total to 68/130. Here’s my predictions for next week:
US:
That Awkward Moment – Tom Gormican
Ride Along – Tim Story
Lone Survivor – Peter Berg
The Nut Job – Peter Lepeniotis
Labor Day – Jason Reitman
UK:
That Awkward Moment – Tom Gormican
The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh
I, Frankenstein – Stuart Beattie
Jonah Hill in The Wolf of Wall Street, this week’s UK box-office number one.
Kevin Hart in Ride Along, this week’s US box-office number one.
Lots of bug budget, action movies aim their releases for Oscar season, hoping to bring in the mainstream market who don’t won’t to see the year’s more critically appealing hits, such as The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle or 12 Years a Slave. This year’s January/February action hopefuls included The Legend of Hercules, a huge flop which doesn’t bode well for the upcoming I Frankenstein, RoboCop and this week’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Ride Along. Last week’s predictions aren’t as accurate as we’d hoped, however.
US
Ride Along – Director:Tim Story – $41.2 million
Lone Survivor – Peter Berg – $23.2 million
The Nut Job – Peter Lepeniotis – $20.6 million
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh – $17.2 million
Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – $12 million
UK
The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese – £4.7 million
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen – £3.1 million
American Hustle – David O’Russell – £1.5 million
Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – £1.2 million
Devil’s Due – Matt Bettinelli-Oplin, Tyler Gillet – £1 million
Well, Ride Along and The Nut Job’s takings from this week have led to the confirmation of sequels for the both of them. Jack Ryan has a different story however. It’s low takings aren’t as shocking as say The Legend of Hercules but fans and studios alike would’ve hoped for better. The film may yet make back its $60 million budget but a sequel may be out of reach. Comparatively, Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street has been a huge success in the UK, topping the chart despite the 18 certificate and multiple controversial topics. A 4/10 this week takes the running total to 64/120.
US
I, Frankenstein – Stuart Beattie
The Nut Job – Peter Lepeniotis
Ride Along – Tim Story
Lone Survivor – Peter Berg
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh
UK
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh
The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen
August: Osage County – John Wells
American Hustle – David O’Russell
Leonardo Di Caprio in The Wolf of Wall Street, this week’s UK box-office number one.
Ice Cube and Kevin Hart in Ride Along, this week’s US box-office number one.
Oscar season is in full swing and that’s had an effect on the box office. Some of the blockbuster action movies try to launch this time of year, hoping to lure the more mainstream watchers to the cinema, but they usually get swamped. New star lacking but $70 million adventure Hercules: The Legend Begins is no different with Oscar tipped 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle plus harrowing action film Lone Survivor dominating.
US
Lone Survivor – Director:Peter Berg – $37.8 million
Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – $14.7 million
The Legend of Hercules – Renny Harlin – $8.9 million
The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese – $8.8 million
American Hustle – David O’Russell – $8.3 million
UK
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen – £2.5 million
American Hustle – David O’Russell – £1.9 million
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Peter Jackson – £1.5 million
Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – £1.3 million
Last Vegas – Jon Turteltaub – £1.3 million
A disappointing 2/5 in both US and UK takes my running total to 60/110. Delivery Man made a very underwhelming seventh place entry in the UK while brand new The Railway Man debuted at sixth. The Hobbit 2 has definitely proved it’s got more legs, and perhaps more of a fanbase, in the UK than in the US as it’s stayed at three while, in America, it sank to sixth.
US
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh
Lone Survivor – Peter Berg
The Nut Job – Peter Lepeniotis
Ride Along – Tim Story
The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese
UK
The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Peter Jackson
American Hustle – David O’Russell
Frozen – Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
The UK seems to be a bit more award season giddy than the US at the moment so I bet Scorsese’s star studded Wolf of Wall Street will enter at the top. Branagh’s new Jack Ryan should hopefully prove to be a better success than the flop of Hercules.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave, this week’s UK box office number one.
Taylor Kitsch, Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster and Emile Hirsch in Lone Survivor, this week’s US box office number one.
tuorhothmovies 