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

Interstellar and Kingsman win big at the Empire Awards

BAFTA chose Boyhood, Golden Globes elected the latter and The Grand Budapest Hotel, Oscars voted for Birdman while our own pick was Guardians of the Galaxy. Empire, a ceremony that brilliantly mashes together the arthouse and the mainstream, has just revealed its recipients. Previous winners of Best Film have included Seven, The Matrix, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Dark Knight, Avatar, Inception, Skyfall and Gravity. For a bit of background on the honorary awards, Hero marks a current contribution to cinema (Simon Pegg, Daniel Radcliffe, Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Jude Law), the Icon/Legend celebrates a lifespan of great work (Brian Cox, Ewan MacGregor, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Gary Oldman, Hugh Jackman) and Inspiration is for a modern master filmmaker (Monty Python, Aardman, Pixar, Michael Mann, Ray Harreyhausen, Guillermo Del Toro, Sam Mendes, Ron Howard, Kenneth Branagh, Edgar Wright, Stephen Frears, Spike Lee, Paul Greengrass).

Best Film:

Interstellar
Boyhood
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
The Imitation Game

Best British Film:

Kingsman: The Secret Service
Paddington
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Under the Skin

Best Director:

Christopher Nolan – Interstellar
Matt Reeves – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game
Peter Jackson – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Best Actor:

Andy Serkis – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Eddie Redmanye – The Theory of Everything
Richard Armitage – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Best Actress:

Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina
Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game

Best Male Newcomer:

Taron Egerton – Kingsman: The Secret Service
Dan Stevens – The Guest
Daniel Huttlestone – Into the Woods
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood
Jack O’Connell – Unbroken

Best Female Newcomer:

Karen Gillan – Oculus and Guardians of the Galaxy
Carrie Coon – Gone Girl
Essie Davis – The Babadook
Gugu Mbatha Raw – Belle
Sophie Cookson – Kingsman: The Secret Service

Best Comedy:

Paddington
22 Jump Street
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Inbetweeners 2
The Lego Movie

Best Horror:

The Babadook
Annabelle
Oculus
The Guest
Under the Skin

Best Sci-fi/Fantasy:

X-Men: Days of Future Past
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Best Thriller:

The Imitation Game
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Gone Girl
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Locke

Empire Legend:

Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Schindler’s List, Skyfall)

Empire Hero:

Game of Thrones (Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harrington, Lena Headey, Charles Dance, Natalie Dormer, Sean Bean)

Empire Inspiration:

Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy, The Following, Inception, Insomnia, Interstellar, Memento, The Prestige)

Here’s a few images from the night itself, hosted by James Nesbitt. Guests include: Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace), Jessica Chastain (The Help), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), James McAvoy (Atonement), Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Reece Shearsmith (A Field in England) and Matt Berry (The IT Crowd).

Weekend box-office – 28th of March to 3rd of April 2015 – will Divergent 2 surge at the box-office?

Marketing for the action sequel Insurgent will have you believe that it is a worldwide phenomenon but in fact the first film had a lukewarm commercial response at $290 million, outgrossed by the less hyped and far less expensive The Maze Runner ($340 million), and was mainly reliant on the US box-office. Critics particularly picked up on the unoriginality of the film, drawing major similarities to the far more popular Harry Potter, Matrix and Hunger Games franchises. Insurgent, under the new leadership of RIPD’s Robert Schwentke, may not succeed in fooling audiences once more.

US:

1. Insurgent – Director: Robert Schwentke – $52.3 million
2. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh – $35 million
3. Run All Night – Jaume Collet Serra – $5 million
4. The Gunman – Pierre Morel – $5 million
5. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – $4.6 million

UK:

1. Home – Tim Johnson – £6 million
2. Insurgent – Robert Schwentke – £2.9 million
3. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden – £0.6 million
4. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa – £0.5 million
5. The Gunman – Pierre Morel – £0.4 million

By no means a disappointment, Insurgent’s takings are actually slightly down from its previous instalment ($54 million) and is nowhere near the blockbusting triumph of Catching Fire, whose financial success this is desperately trying the replicate. While Cinderella keeps up its money making, the rip-off-of-Taken-from-the-director-of-Taken The Gunman has flopped despite boasting the cast of Sean Penn, Idris Elba and Javier Bardem. In the UK, animated adventure Home has had a surprisingly profitable opening and easily surpassed Insurgent. This week I’ve scored 4/10.

US:

1. Home – Tim Johnson
2. Get Hard – Etan Cohen
3. Insurgent – Robert Schwentke
4. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh
5. While We’re Young – Noah Baumbach

UK:

1. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh
2. Home – Tim Johnson
3. Insurgent – Robert Schwentke
4. Get Hard – Etan Cohen
5. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden

Theo James, Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller in Insurgent, this week’s US number one.

The characters of Rihanna and Jim Parsons in Home, this week’s UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 21st to 27th of March 2015 – will Cinderella have a ball and outrun Liam Neeson?

Disney’s classic properties are now constantly being rebooted with grand financial success. Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and the Huntsman, Oz the Great and Powerful, Maleficent and Into the Woods (although the latter is more based on Grimm’s tales) have all been smash hits and now Cinderella is now launching. Thor director and Shakespeare veteran Kenneth Branagh is at the helm of the fantasy drama (starring the likes of Lily James, Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter) but its opponent is the action thriller Run All Night (starring Liam Neeson, Joel Kinnaman and Ed Harris). Last week, we predicted Cinderella would hit the mark but lets find out.

US:

1. Cinderella – Director: Kenneth Branagh – $67.8 million
2. Run All Night – Juame Collet Serra – $11 million
3. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – $6.2 million
4. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa – $5.7 million
5. Chappie – Neill Blomkamp – $5.7 million

UK:

1. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden – £1.4 million
2. Run All Night – Juame Collet Serra – £0.8 million
3. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa – £0.8 million
4. Suite Francaise – Saul Dibb – £0.5 million
5. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – £0.5 million

Cinderella has made a very impressive debut, running into the ground all other competition. Run All Night is relatively disappointing in comparison to Neeson’s action hits Taken, Non-Stop and The Grey. Robo-thriller Chappie has slipped significantly from first to fifth. In the UK, the sequel to Best Exotic Marigold Hotel enjoys a third week on top of the box-office and period drama Suite Francaise (starring Michelle Williams and Kristin Scott Thomas) makes a surprise arrival in fourth. This week we’ve scored 4/10.

US:

1. Insurgent – Robert Schwentke
2. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh
3. The Gunman – Pierre Morel
4. Run All Night – Juame Collet Serra
5. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn

UK:

1. Insurgent – Robert Schwnetke
2. Home – Tim Johnson
3. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden
4. The Gunman – Pierre Morel
5. The Voices – Marjane Satrapi

Lily James in Cinderella, this week’s US number one.

Judi Dench and Bill Nighy in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, this week’s UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 14th to 20th of March 2015 – is Chappie rebooting at the box-office?

In the aftermath of the smash hit Fifty Shades of Grey, various films have been scrambling for the top spot. Last week, hustling romance Focus (starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie) took top spot but now Neill Blomkamp (the South African behind the Best Picture nominated District 9, Matt Damon sci-fi thriller Elysium and the next Alien film) is releasing his third feature, Chappie – a robo-action with Sharlto Copley (Maleficent), Hugh Jackman (X-Men), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Sigourney Weaver (Avatar) and the rap duo Die Antwood. Its rival is the equally star studded The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, starring Judi Dench (Philomena), Bill Nighy (Love Actually), Maggie Smith (Harry Potter) and Richard Gere (Chicago).

US:

1. Chappie – Director: Neill Blomkamp – $13.4 million
2. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa – $10 million
3. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden – $8.5 million
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – $8.3 million
5. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt – $6.7 million

UK;

1. The Second Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden – £2 million
2. Focus – John Ficarra, John Requa – £1.3 million
3. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – £1.1 million
4. Chappie – Neill Blomkamp – £1 million
5. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – £0.8 million

Chappie’s opening is slightly disappointing but it is still set to surpass the $50 million budget. The comedy sequel to Marigold Hotel is performing well but not well enough to outgross its predecessor. The Vince Vaughn comedy Unfinished Business has flopped, landing in 10th. This week I’ve scored 5/10.

US:

1. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh
2. Run All Night – Juame Collet Serra
3. Chappie – Neill Blomkamp
4. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
5. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden

UK:

1. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden
2. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
3. Run All Night – Juame Collet Serra
4. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson
5. Chappie – Neill Blomkamp

Sharlto Copley in Chappie, this week’s US number one.

Maggie Smith in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, this week’s UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 7th to 13th of March 2015 – is Fifty Shades going to lose Focus?

Controversially graphic romantic drama Fifty Shades of Grey has had an undisputed reign on the past couple of box-office results but now it faces its first serious challenge in the form of hustling thriller Focus, starring rising star Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street) and Will Smith (I am Legend, Hancock). The latter will be hoping for greater things following the commercial and critical bomb After Earth. Last week, we predicted that Focus would win but we’ll soon find out. Meanwhile, the ensemble of Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Richard Gere, Dev Patel and Bill Nighy lead the sequel to smash hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which is hoping for big things in the UK.

US:

1. Focus – Directors: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa – $18.7 million
2. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – $11.9 million
3. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water – Paul Tibbitt – $10.8 million
4. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – $10.6 million
5. The Lazarus Effect – David Gelb – $10.2 million

UK:

1. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden – £3.8 million
2. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – £2.2 million
3. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa – £1.9 million
4. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – £1.2 million
5. Shaun the Sheep: The Movie – Mark Burton, Richard Starzak – £1 million

While nabbing the number one spot, it’s a slightly underwhelming debut for Focus in a generally slow moving week. The only other new entry is Evan Peters horror The Lazarus Effect. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, should it follow the pattern of the first, may well begin to rise in takings next week. This week, we’ve scored a poor 1/10.

US:

1. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
2. Chappie – Neill Blomkamp
3. Unfinished Business – Ken Scott
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn
5. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt

UK:

1. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – John Madden
2. Chappie – Neill Blomkamp
3. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson
4. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
5. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams

Will Smith and Margot Robbie in Focus, this week’s US number one.

Judi Dench in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, this week’s UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 28th of January to 6th of February 2015 – will Fifty Shades retain its top spot?

Last week, The graphic adaptation of the novel Fifty Shades of Grey opened with incredible figures both sides of the Atlantic with $85 million in the US and £13 million in the UK. It seems set for another week of incredible takings but its not thriving as well as expected. Its low takings might be setting up spy thriller Kingsman: The Secret Service for a second week comeback while sequel Hot Tub Time Machine 2, comedy The DUFF and sports drama McFarland USA compete to grace the top five.

US:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Director: Sam Taylor Johnson – $22.6 million
2. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – $18.3 million
3. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt – $16.6 million
4. McFarland USA – Niki Caro – $11 million
5. The DUFF – Ari Sandel – $10.8 million

UK:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – £4.6 million
2. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – £2.6 million
3. Shaun the Sheep Movie – Mark Burton, Richard Starzak – £2.4 million
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – £1.2 million
5. The Wedding Ringer – Jeremy Garelick – £1 million

Its been an almost non-mover week besides the low ranking new entries. Despite keeping the number one spot, Fifty Shades has suffered a catastrophic 75% drop. Hot Tub Time Machine two is a dire flop with a mere $6 million in seventh place. This week I’ve scored 2/10

US:

1. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
2. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson
3. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn
4. The Sponge Bob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt
5. McFarland USA – Niki Caro

UK:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson
2. Focus – Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
3. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams
4. Shaun the Sheep Movie – Mark Burton, Richard Starzak
5. It Follows – David Robert Mitchell

Jamie Dornan in Fifty Shades of Grey, this week’s US and UK number one.

Avengers 2 poster, Blomkamp directing new Alien and Boyhood, Kingsman, Interstellar and Imitation Game rule Empire Awards

Neill Blomkamp has been busy giving sci-fi and the South African film industry a good name with the Best Picture nominated District 9, the Matt Damon-starring Elysium and his new thriller Chappie but he was secretly developing ideas for a new Alien film. When the bold concept art was released it showcased a brilliant insight of the project he’d envisioned and the acclaim it received has sparked some level of interest. The Johannesburg-born filmmaker’s Alien instalment has been officially commissioned in addition to Ridley Scott’s Prometheus sequel. Details such as a release date or cast are yet to be confirmed but we might see appearance from Blomkamp regular Sharlto Copley (Maleficent, Powers) or a return for Sigourney Weaver (Avatar, The Cabin in the Woods) AKA Ripley.

Birdman, Boyhood, Still Alice and Whiplash took centre stage at the Oscars, BAFTAs and Golden Globes in the past few months but the Empire Awards are set to amalgamate the mainstream and the arthouse in their public-voted awards. Previous winners include The Bourne Ultimatum, Men in Black Seven, Skyfall, Inception and Gravity. Click here for the voting while you can admire all of the nominees below.

Best Film:

The Imitation Game
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Boyhood

Best Director:

Peter Jackson – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Matt Reeves – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Christopher Nolan – Interstellar
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game

Best Actress:

Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow
Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina

Jameson Best Actor:

Andy Serkis – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Richard Armitage – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Best British Film:

The Imitation Game
Paddington
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Under the Skin
The Theory of Everything

Best Thriller:

The Imitation Game
Gone Girl
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Locke

Best Comedy:

The Inbetweeners 2
Paddington
The Lego Movie
22 Jump Street
The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Horror:

The Guest
Oculus
The Babadook
Annabelle
Under the Skin

Best Sci-fi/Fantasy:

Guardians of the Galaxy
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Interstellar

Best Female Newcomer:

Carrie Coon (Gone Girl)
Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy)
Essie Davis (The Babadook)
Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Secret Service)
Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle, Beyond the Lights, Jupiter Ascending)

Best Male Newcomer:

Jack O’Connell (Unbroken, ’71, Starred Up)
Dan Stevens (The Guest, A Walk Among the Tombstones)
Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Testament of Youth)
Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood)
Daniel Huttlestone (Into the Woods)

Here’s the leaderboard:

The Imitation Game – 6
Dawn of the Planet if the Apes, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Kingsman: The Secret Service – 4
Boyhood, Gone Girl, Interstellar, The Theory of Everything – 3
The Babadook, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Guest, Oculus, Paddington, Under the Skin, X-Men: Days of Future Past – 2

Finally today, we have the first major poster of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, tipped to be the biggest blockbuster of 2015. Joss Whedon (Serenity, Toy Story, The Cabin in the Woods) directs the cast of Robert Downey Jr (The Judge), Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation), Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Jeremy Renner (American Hustle), Samuel L Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Don Cheadle (Crash), James Spader (The Blacklist), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass), Thomas Kretschmann (The Pianist), Stellan Skarsgard (Good Will Hunting), Andy Serkis (The Hobbit) and Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

Alien 5 – 2017?

Weekend box-office – 21st to 27th of February 2015 – will Fifty Shades whip up a storm?

The novel sensation Fifty Shades of Grey has been rushed into production as a new motion picture which is set to transfer its behemoth popularity into box office success. The controversially graphic romantic drama depicting the antics of an obsessive billionaire and a vulnerable journalist is quickly garnering a critic proof reputation that propelled The Da Vinci Code to stellar financial takings. Last week, we predicted it’d win but challenging it are spy thriller Kingsman: The Secret Service, animation SpongeBob, Oscar favourite American Sniper and the sci-fi action Jupiter Ascending.

US:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Director: Sam Taylor Johnson – $85.2 million
2. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – $36.2 million
3. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt – $31.5 million
4. American Sniper – Clint Eastwood – $16.4 million
5. Jupiter Ascending – The Wachowskis – $9.3 million

UK:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson – £13.6 million
2. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – £1.8 million
3. Shaun the Sheep: The Movie – Mark Burton, Richard Starzak – £1.7 million
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – £1.6 million
5. Jupiter Ascending – The Wachowskis – £0.8 million

Fifty Shades has remarkably storm to success. These results may spell the apocalypse of cinematic integrity but it’s rare to see an 18 certificate film with a female director (Nowhere Boy’s Sam Taylor Johnson) and writers (author EL James and Saving Mr Banks’ Kelly Marcel). In the UK it triumphed with an opening weekend to rival last year’s top hits The Inbetweeners 2 and Transformers: Age of Extinction but we can expect Avengers 2 and Star Wars 7 to smash that record later in the year. The ultraviolent The Secret Service an impressive second place. I’ve scored 8/10 this week.

US:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson
2. Hot Tub Time Machine 2 – Steve Pink
3. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn
4. SpongeBob The Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Paul Tibbitt
5. American Sniper – Clint Eastwood

UK:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – Sam Taylor Johnson
2. The Wedding Ringer – Jeremy Garelick
3. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams
4. Shaun the Sheep: The Movie – Mark Burton, Richard Starzak
5. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn

Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan in Fifty Shades of Grey, this week’s US and UK number one.