Rebecca Furguson rumoured for Captain Marvel

The Phase 1 Avengers lineup (Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner) was added to in Phase 2 (Anthony Mackie, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd). We know that Phase 3’s additions include Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland and Benedict Cumberbatch but Marvel’s new major female hero Captain Marvel has been elusive to cast.

Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones), Katee Sackhoff (Oculus), Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road), Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street), Alice Eve (Star Trek Into Darkness) and Emily Blunt (Looper) had previously been mentioned or rumoured but now Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and The White Queen’s Golden Globe nominated actress Rebecca Ferguson is reportedly in line for the role.

Sadly, Ava DuVernay (Selma) ruled out directing so there currently isn’t a serious candidate for directing. However, some rumours have included Angelina Jolie (Unbroken), Adam McKay (Anchorman) and Joss Whedon (Serenity).

Captain Marvel – October 26th 2018

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 – 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.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron review

Director: Joss Whedon

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, James Spader, Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Andy Serkis, Stellan Skarsgard, Claudia Kim, Thomas Kretschmann, Linda Cardellini, Anthony Mackie, Julie Delpy

It’s fair to say that Joss Whedon’s 2012 superhero smash hit Avengers Assemble has reached phenomenon status. With $1.5 billion hauled in at the international box office, the film paved the way for a massive cult following as well as consecutive hits in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s second phase including The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. Whedon is now reassembling the team for a sequel that has anticipation and dread at fever pitch.

The Avengers – arms dealer Tony Stark (Downey Jr), war veteran Steve Rogers (Evans), ex-spy Natasha Romanoff (Johansson), split-personality scientist Bruce Banner (Ruffalo), expert archer Clint Barton (Renner) and alien prince Thor (Hemsworth) – return to combating Earth’s biggest threats their days may be numbered. When Stark and Banner harness the power of the Infinity Stone from Loki’s sceptre, they use as the basis of an advanced AI to shield Earth from extra-terrestrial threats. However, the machine they create, Ultron (Spader), sees evil in humanity and views them as the threat in need of extinction.

The highest compliment one can give Age of Ultron is that Whedon revives the character-driven, quotable dialogue that makes spies, robots, monsters and gods as human and grounded as possible. Each and every ingenious gag and one liner fleshes out the Avengers from mere heroes to a band of characters as iconic, engaging and lovable as his previous creations such as Buffy and her vampire slaying troop or the crew of the Serenity.

His directorial flair also comes to light in some fantastically constructed action sequences with the excellent special effects we’ve come to expect from Marvel, even if they don’t quite reach the epic or thoroughly detailed levels of Godzilla or Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Sadly the finale resorts to the series’ cliche of the heroes defending a city from an aerial threat but at least this applies the twist of the city itself being the threat. Overall the ridiculousness of the action only serves as an uncanny reflection of the comic’s brash, adventurous tone.

Reinforcing the incredible character dynamic is a brilliantly acted ensemble that may be the films curse as well. We get to witness Stark’s decaying assurance as his own brainchild becomes his downfall in a series best performance from Sherlock Holmes star Robert Downey Jr. Snowpiercer’s Chris Evans and Lucy’s Scarlett Johansson excellently revive their likeable charisma to roles that could easily be annoying as Captain America and Black Widow respectively. There’s nothing wrong with Rush’s Chris Hemsworth performance but the character of Thor struggles with a lack of purpose without his brother Loki driving the plot.

The standouts really are Shutter Island’s Mark Ruffalo (who harnesses the power of donning motion capture to make his Hulk the best and most emotional depicted on screen) and The Hurt Locker’s Jeremy Renner. The latter finally brings in the wise-cracking class that Hawkeye missed out on last time and re-establishes him as the everyman who rallies the team in their time of need.

There’s of coarse some new blood to shake up the lineup. The Blacklist star James Spader brings menace, malice and unnerving showmanship to Ultron, a villain distinguishing himself by being taken far more seriously. Ultron resembles and manifests every Avengers’ fear of an opponent who is more of a frightening concept of their hopelessness rather than a straight forward villain. His recruits are twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (AKA Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver). Accents aside, Wanda is an engaging, powerful character to watch tanks to the agency of Elizabeth Olsen’s first rate performance but Aaron Taylor Johnson’s Quicksilver is far less fun or interesting than the Evan Peters incarnation seen in last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, and the filmmakers know this.

The roster doesn’t end there. Paul Bettany expands his long running role as Stark’s digital personal assistant JARVIS into Vision, a synthetic android whose deeds will have fans raving for months to come. The likes of Samuel L Jackson, Don Cheadle, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie and Stellan Skarsgard all reprise their roles from various MCU films while Andy Serkis, Thomas Kretschmann, Linda Cardellini and Claudia Kim join the fun plus there’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em cameos from Julie Delpy, Idris Elba and more. With fifteen plus principal characters, there’s a clear flaw in messy overcrowding.

There’s a possibility that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is getting too big for its shoes with overpopulation and the increasing pressure to go even bigger than last time. And so its fitting that (alongside bonkers comic book spectacle) Age of Ultron thrives in its smaller moments, It’s a hilarious, extravagant, worthy sequel to a film whose cult status is only boosted by the follow up.

8/10

“The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims! But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no…wounded screams…mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and… gout.”

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.

Brad Bird discusses directing Star Wars

As it stands this is the Star Wars franchise’s directing lineup. The Force Awakens (2015) is directed by Star Trek Into Darkness’ JJ Abrams; Rogue One (2016) is directed by Godzilla’s Gareth Edwards; Episode 8 (2017) is directed by Looper’s Rian Johnson and JJ returns for 2019’s Episode 9. There’s now a vacancy to be filled as Josh Trank (Chronicle, Fantastic Four) has (for one reason or another) quit the second spin off film. Pixar protogee Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Tomorrowland) has been mentioned with Star Wars before and he’s now discussed reentering negotiations for the series as well as some of his other future projects.

“Well, Kathy (Kennedy) and I have discussed the possibility of – I mean she’s basically saying this is a very large sandbox and other people can play in it. I was particularly attracted to the idea of picking up and – J.J. got very excited about the notion of shaping the next trilogy, and that idea was interesting to me too. But I kind of – I’m writing a sequel to The Incredibles and I can’t think too much farther beyond that. I have other things I want to do as well.”

Personally, we’d want to see someone with a solid filmography like Guillermo Del Toro (Pacific Rim, Pan’s Labyrinth) or Joss Whedon (Serenity, Avengers Assemble)

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens – December 18th

Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One – December 16th 2016

Star Wars: Episode VIII – May 26th 2017

Star Wars Anthology project – May 2018

Weekend box-office – 9th to 15th of May 2015 – can Hulk smash the competition with Avengers 2?

Marvel’s blockbuster collaboration of franchises Avengers Assemble is the third highest grossing film ever at $1.5 billion and the established the model of a cinematic universe. Since then, Iron Man ($1.2 billion), Thor ($640 million, Captain America ($710 million) and Guardians of the Galaxy ($770 million) have all thrived but haven’t quite replicated the success of Joss Whedon’s superhero masterpiece. Last week, we predicted the film’s sequel (Age of Ultron) number one spot correctly and we’ll see quite how much it can take in its opening weekend.

US:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Director: Joss Whedon – $191 million
2. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan – $6.6 million
3. The Age of Adaline – Lee Toland Krieger – $6.2 million
4. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 – Andy Fickman – $5.9 million
5. Home – Tim Johnson – $3.5 million

UK:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – £8.6 million
2. Far From the Madding Crowd – Thomas Vinterberg – £1.5 million
3. Unfriended – Levan Gabriadze – £1.3 million
4. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan – £1.1 million
5. Home – Tim Johnson – £0.7 million

This week I’ve scored 4/10 while Age of Ultron has scored a higher opening weekend than Furious 7, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Man of Steel, Iron Man 3, and The Dark Knight Rises and is the biggest debut since the original’s $207 million haul in 2012 (retaining its all time record). The film will undoubtedly be among the top three of all time very soon. The surprise addition to the UK box office is Thomas Hardy’s Victorian drama Far From the Madding Crowd starring Carey Mulligan which has successfully provided a lucrative alternative to the blockbusters.

US:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon
2. Before I Wake – Mike Flanagan
3. Hot Pursuit – Anne Fletcher
4. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan
5. Maggie – Henry Hobson

UK:

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

Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, this week’s US and UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 2nd to 8th of May 2015 – is it a fourth lap victory for Furious 7?

In just a month of release, the action packed racing sequel Furious 7 has outgrossed all of 2014’s biggest hits (Transformers 4, Guardians of the Galaxy, Maleficent, Godzilla, Big Hero 6 and Interstellar) and on the al time chart has surpassed Harry Potter, Iron Man 3 and Frozen on the all time chart. Last week, we predicted that romantic fantasy drama The Age of Adaline (starring Blake Lively, Ellen Burstyn and Harrison Ford) would fend off Furious 7 from its fourth week atop the US box office. Meanwhile in the UK, Hollywood king Joss Whedon follows up the third highest grossing film of all time (superhero adventure The Avengers) with its sequel Age of Ultron.

US:

1. Fast & Furious 7 – Director: James Wan – $17.8 million
2. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 – Andy Fickman – $14.8 million
3. The Age of Adaline – Lee Toland Krieger – $13.2 million
4. Home – Tim Johnson – $8 million
5. Unfriended – Levan Gabriadze – $6.2 million

UK:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon – £18 million
2. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan – £1.6 million
3. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh – £0.8 million
4. Home – Tim Johnson – £0.7 million
5. Cavalleria/Pagliacci Royal Opera London – £0.3 million

Furious 7 fourth triumph in a row is another slow moving week for the box office which we hope will be bolstered by the arrival of The Avengers next week. The sequel’s debut in the UK is the biggest opening weekend since Skyfall hit our screens back in 2012 and the film is set to be an incredible phenomenon. This week I’ve scored 5/10

US:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon
2. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan
3. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 – Andy Fickman
4. The Age of Adaline – Lee Toland Krieger
5. Home – Tim Johnson

UK:

1. The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Joss Whedon
2. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan
3. Far From the Madding Crowd – Thomas Vinterberg
4. Unfriended – Levan Gabriadze
5. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh

Dwayne Johnson in Fast & Furious 7, this week’s US number one.

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