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.

Ant-Man review

Director: Peyton Reed

Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, Tip Harris, David Dastmalchian, Martin Donovan, John Slattery, Hayley Atwell

The production of Ant-Man is the most troubled in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s history: the departure of fan favourite director Edgar Wright seemed to leave an irreplaceable hole in the superhero production. His replacement – rom-com filmmaker Peyton Reed who’s credits include the mediocre Bring It On, The Break-Up and Yes Man – didn’t inspire a great amount of confidence but the flick might have been able to overcome its rough road to the big screen.

Low level thief Scott Lang (Rudd) is released from prison and attempts to fund his estranged daughter (Ryder Fortson) by breaking into the house of an old inventor/businessman Hank Pym (Douglas) and stumbles across a suit that can shrink its user to the size of an ant. Pym then recruits and trains him to pull off a heist to prevent Pym’s former pupil and successor of his company from using that technology for evil.

Despite concerns, Peyton Reed has managed to pull off an accomplished superhero adventure even though he was only drafted into the project just over a year ago. The studio’s trick of banking on a risky candidate for the director’s chair (Joss Whedon in Avengers, Anthony and Joe Russo in The Winter Soldier, James Gunn in Guardians of the Galaxy) often pay off more frequently than films from seasoned filmmakers (Joe Johnston in The First Avenger, Kenneth Branagh in Thor).

While sequels such as Avengers: Age of Ultron seek to take the action to new heights in scale and stakes, Ant-Man cleverly brings the action to a smaller stage to make some of the more preposterous events more relatable. However because of that it often feels more like a charming sidenote to the films that are actually developing and expanding the MCU. The film still impresses off of its conservative $130 million budget (less than half the cost of this year’s Age of Ultron) but the special effects, while far from second rate, are also far from the groundbreaking likes of the similarly budgeted Rise of the Planet of the Apes or Life of Pi.

The film’s ensemble of performances are decent but never prove to be as engaging as the likes of Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson or Chris Pratt. Anchorman star Paul Rudd’s portrayal of Scott Lang is likable the first act, bringing Rudd’s trademark flair and charisma but also being far more down to Earth than either his previous work or various other heroes in the MCU. Sadly, later on in the film, he struggles from the same problem of Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man: once Lang is in the suit he’s hard to appreciate as a character and sinks to just being a vehicle for the action, a problem that Downey Jr’s Iron Man easily overcame with the in-suit camera to capture Stark’s typically arrogant persona in the midst of an epic fight sequence.

Two time Oscar winner Michael Douglas’ aging inventor Hank Pym who becomes Scott’s mentor exists as this film’s venerable-actor slot (previously occupied by Anthony Hopkins, Robert Redford or Samuel L Jackson). His performance is distinctly standard as the world weary original Ant-Man, a 1970s SHIELD project that turned sour after a fatal final mission. Pym’s infamous temper and checkered past are alluded to but never actually deepen the character or effect the plot.

Similarly, Lost alumni Evangeline Lilly’s role as Pym’s hard edged daughter Hope is one of the better aspects of the cast but is frustratingly written out of the finale and never significantly contributes to the action. A post credit scene teases the future of the character of Wasp but the filmmakers disappointingly missed out on not providing a platform for the fan favourite sooner.

House of Cards star Corey Stoll manages to prove why Marvel’s villains are some of the weakest around. Crooked businessman Daniel Cross is sadly one of the more generic, cookie-cutter stock villains in the MCU so far; his motivations are never explained until they’re no longer relevant to the plot and he becomes an attempted child murderer and terrorist, besides the unconvincing implication of his disappointment in Hank in a mentor. Too many elements of his story tread on the toes of Obadiah Stane (a wealthy sucessor of a protagonist’s business who turns his power and technology to terrorism) and Loki (a spoiled protegee who turns on his disappointment of a father figure). Despite the success of James Spader’s Ultron earlier this year, Marvel’s issue with bad guys appears to be ongoing.

The main gem among the ensemble is Michael Pena’s performance as Lang’s hyperactive, fast talking and eternally optimistic partner in crime, Luis. The role is one of the best original characters in the series so far and Pena’s electric double act with Rudd is one of the few pairing’s in the film with a tangible dynamic. Sadly, the other members of Lang’s crew don’t match up: two outdated racial stereotypes played by David Dastmalchian and rapper T.I.

The film struggles to find use of the talents of Judy Greer (Archer) and Bobby Cannavale (Blue Jasmine) as Scott’s estranged ex-wife Maggie and her new husband/cop Paxton but there was a surprisingly likeable performance from newcomer Abby Ryder Fortson as Scott’s young daughter Cassie. Overall, too many members of the ensemble are stand-ins (only present to advance the plot or fill time) with no real emotional connection to the story or the audience.

However, Ant-Man thrives in other moments: the shrinking sequences (while hardly groundbreaking) are entertaining and well executed and thankfully Marvel’s formula of the finale setting up the heroes to defend a city from an aerial threat is finally retired with one of the studio’s most funny thrilling and refreshing endings in years. Additionally, Lang’s close encounter with an Avenger is a hilarious highlight. Aside from the action, the humorous elements suffice (“Baskin Robbins always finds out.”) but never reach the erudite heights of Joss Whedon’s zingers in Avengers or James Gunn’s iconic dialogue in Guardians of the Galaxy.

While it’s unquestionably enjoyable, exciting and action packed, years from now Ant-Man will most likely go down as one of the more lightweight and less revolutionary flicks in the Marvel cannon. Far from disappointing, Peyton Reed has done a fine job considering his short amount of time at the helm of the film but (with the exclusion of Edgar Wright) many fans will leave wondering what could have been.

7/10

“Scott, I need you to be the Ant-Man.”

“One question…is it too late to change the name?”

Summer box-office part 1 – Ant-Man, M:I-5, Ted 2, Terminator 5, Minions and more!

Its been a while since our last box-office update so in this instalment we’ll roundup the best of the summer so far. The pre-Summer cash-in period was dominated by the likes of superhero smash hit sequel The Avengers: Age of Ultron ($1396 million), Pixar’s acclaimed animation Inside Out ($556 million), fast follow up Furious 7 ($1512 million), musical comedy Pitch Perfect 2 ($282 million), disaster thriller San Andreas ($461 million), action reboot Mad Max: Fury Road ($367 million) and the multi-record breaking dinosaur mayhem of Jurassic World ($1547 million). Moving into July, here some major favourites.

Film: Ted 2
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Stewart
Budget: $68 million
Opening weekend: $33.5 million
Box-office: $160 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
Budget: $155 million
Opening weekend: $27 million
Box-office: $318 million
Summary: While it was a healthy opening but the franchise has long lost its previously stellar hype.

Film: Magic Mike XXL
Director: Gregory Jacobs
Starring: Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Amber Heard, Jada Pinkett Smith
Budget: $14 million
Opening weekend: $12.9 million
Box-office: $102 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
Budget: $74 million
Opening weekend: $115 million
Box-office: $854 million
Summary: This triumphant spin off managed to surpass and compete with the previous instalments of the beloved Despicable Me franchise.

Film: Ant-Man
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena, Michael Douglas
Budget: $130 million
Opening weekend: $57 million
Box-office: $291 million
Summary: It’s an underperformance in comparison to Marvel’s fellow Phase 2 superhero flicks such as Avengers Assemble ($1519 million), Iron Man 3 ($1215 million), Thor: The Dark World ($644 million), Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($714 million), Guardians of the Galaxy ($774 million) and The Avengers: Age of Ultron ($1396 million) but is a worthy reception for the kings of summer blockbusters.

Film: Trainwreck
Director: Judd Apatow
Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn, Tilda Swinton
Budget: $35 million
Opening weekend: $30.1 million
Box-office: $80 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
Budget: $88 million
Opening weekend: $24 million
Box-office: $102 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
Budget: $25 million
Opening weekend: $16.7 million
Box-office: $34.2 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
Budget: $12 million
Opening weekend: $12.7 million
Box-office: $49.5 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
Budget: $31 million
Opening weekend: $14.9 million
Box-office: $22 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
Budget: $150 million
Opening weekend: $56 million
Box-office: $121 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.

Paul Rudd in new Ant-Man poster, Emily Blunt in Sicario trailer and Kick-Ass sequel talk

Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Layer Cake, Stardust, X-Men: First Class) most celebrated film was the ingenious superhero satire Kick-Ass. As well as brilliant turns from Aaron Taylor Johnson, Christopher Mintz Plasse and Mark Strong, the most outstanding performances came from Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas, Lord of War) and Chloe Grace Moretz (Hugo, Clouds of Sils Maria) as the duo of superheroes Big Daddy and Hit Girl. The disappointing Kick-Ass 2 had Jeff Wadlow in place of Vaughn and seemed to derail the franchise.

Vaughn has now revealed that he’s developing a Big Daddy/Hit Girl based spin off as well as a straightforward sequel. “We’re working on an idea for a prequel of how did Hit-Girl and Big Daddy become Hit-Girl and Big Daddy,” he said. “If we make that, hopefully that will be the sorbet for the people that didn’t like Kick-Ass 2 and then we can go off and make ‘Kick-Ass 3’ I think we’ve got to do this prequel to regain the love that we had with ‘Kick-Ass.” We expect the prequel to star Cage and Moretz and Kick-Ass 3 to star Aaron Taylor Johnson (Godzilla, The Avengers: Age of Ultron).

The unimpressive first poster for Ant-Man may have put some off the Marvel sci-fi blockbuster but it seems to be getting its marketing right in these stylish new shots. Peyton Reed (Yes Man) directs the cast of Paul Rudd (Anchorman, Knocked Up), Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Corey Stoll (House of Cards, Salt), Michael Pena (End of Watch, American Hustle), Judy Greer (Archer, Jurassic World), Bobby Cannavale (Chef, Blue Jasmine) and Michael Douglas (The Game, Falling Down).

After receiving acclaim at Cannes, the Oscar-tipped action thriller Sicario has debuted its first trailer in breathtaking style. Denis Villeneuve (Enemy, Prisoners) directs the cast of Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, Into the Woods, Looper), Benicio Del Toro (Guardians of the Galaxy, Traffic, The Usual Suspects), Jon Beranthal (Fury, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, The Wolf of Wall Street) and Josh Brolin (American Gangster, Inherent Vice, No Country for Old Men).

Ant-Man – July 17th

Sicario – September 15th

Hit Girl – 2018?

Kick-Ass 3 – 2019?

New poster for Marvel’s Ant-Man

Marvel Studios took a major gamble last year with Guardians of the Galaxy, a sci-fi action that picked up on one of the comics’ little known properties, and gained one of their biggest ever hits. Ant-Man seems even riskier with various dropouts from director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead), composer Steve Price (Gravity) and supporting star Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) seemingly plaguing the film. The new poster however is significantly more promising than the last.

Ant-Man stars Paul Rudd (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Knocked Up), Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Corey Stoll (House of Cards, The Strain), Bobby Cannavale (Danny Collins, Blue Jasmine), Judy Greer (Archer, Men Women & Children), Michael Pena (End of Watch, American Hustle) and Michael Douglas (The Game, Wall Street).

Ant-Man – July 17th

Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie and Frank Grillo in new Captain America 3 shots

Back in 2014’s Captain America: Winter Soldier, HYDRA’s double agent Brock Rumlow was crushed and severely burned but still alive and he’s returning for the sequel, Civil War. Frank Grillo (Warrior, The Grey) is back in his menacing armour with these on-set photos we can also see new looks at Chris Evans (Snowpiercer, The Iceman) as Captain America/Steve Rogers and Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau, Real Steel) as Falcon, Sam Wilson.

Civil War also stars Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes) as Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson (Lucy) as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) as Hawkeye, Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind) as Vision, Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla) as Scarlet Witch, Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights) as War Machine, Daniel Bruhl (Rush) as Baron Zemo, Emily Van Camp (Revenge) as Agent 13, Sebastian Stan (Black Swan) as Winter Soldier, Chadwick Boseman (Get on Up) as Black Panther, Paul Rudd (Anchorman) as Ant-Man, William Hurt (Artificial Intelligence) as General Ross and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit).

Captain America; Civil War – April 29th 2016

New Avengers return for Civil War: Vision, Agent 13, Ant-Man and more to star

Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for Avengers: Age of Ultron.

In the end of Age of Ultron, Captain America and Black Widow have assembled a team we’ll be referring to as the New Avengers (Vision, Scarlet Witch, War Machine, Falcon) while the Original Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye) have gone their separate ways but various cast members from across the Marvel Cinematic universe are uniting. Here’s the lineup of Civil War:

Name: Captain America/Steve Rogers
Star: Chris Evans (Snowpiercer, The Iceman)
Appearances: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Avengers Assemble (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Name: Iron Man/Tony Stark
Star: Robert Downey Jr (Chaplin, Sherlock Holmes)
Appearances: Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Avengers Assemble (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Name: Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff
Star: Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Lucy)
Appearances: Iron Man 2 (2010), Avengers Assemble (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Name: Hawkeye/Clint Barton
Star: Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, American Hustle)
Appearances: Thor (2011), Avengers Assemble (2012), The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Name: Falcon/Sam Wilson
Star: Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau, The Hurt Locker)
Appearances: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Name: Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff
Star: Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene, Godzilla)
Appearances: The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Name: Vision/JARVIS
Star: Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander: Far Side of the World)
Appearances: Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Avengers Assemble (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Name: War Machine/James Rhodes
Star: Don Cheadle (Crash, Boogie Nights)
Appearances: Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Iron Man 3 (2013), The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Name: Agent 13/Sharon Carter
Star: Emily Van Camp (Revenge, The Girl in the Book)
Appearances: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Name: Ant-Man/Scott Lang
Star: Paul Rudd (Anchorman, Knocked Up)
Appearances: Ant-Man (2015)

Name: Black Panther/T’Challa
Star: Chadwick Boseman (Get on Up, 42)
Appearances: Black Panther (2018)

Name: Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes
Star: Sebastian Stan (Black Swan, Ricki and the Flash)
Appearances: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Name: Crossbones/Brock Rumlow
Star: Frank Grillo (The Purge: Anarchy, The Grey)
Appearances: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Name: Thaddeus Ross
Star: William Hurt (Artificial Intelligence, A History of Violence)
Appearances: The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Name: Baron Zemo
Star: Daniel Bruhl (Rush, The Bourne Ultimatum)
Appearances: 0

Name: ???
Star: Martin Freeman (Fargo, The Hobbit trilogy)
Appearances: 0

Captain America: Civil War – April 29th 2016

Marvel double bill: new Spider-Man director shortlist and poster for Ant-Man

Spider-Man has been absorbed into the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it appears as if the casting of Peter Parker is in place – either Hugo’s Asa Butterfield or The Impossible’s Tom Holland one of whom will debut the role in next year’s Captain America: Civil War. We reckoned that the newly announced Cap’ 3 cast member Martin Freeman (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Sherlock, Fargo) will play villain Norman Osborn. We also thought that The Cabin in the Woods’ Drew Goddard would helm the film but Marvel had produced an alternative director’s shortlist.

The lineup includes Jonathan Levine (50/50, Warm Bodies), Ted Melfi (St Vincent), Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect), Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) and the duo John Francis Daley & Jonathan M Goldstein (Horrible Bosses). Honestly, none of the names are especially exciting considering that Marvel have let names like Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) and Patty Jenkins (Monster slip by in the past. We’d rather see a classier hiring like Nikoaj Arcel (A Royal Affair), who nearly made Doctor Strange or someone with a Sam Raimi-like horror heritage like Aussie newcomer Jennifer Kent (The Babadook).

Our final item today is the first major poster for Marvel’s other upcoming sci-fi action Ant-Man and we can best describe the one sheet as truly awful. The first point of business is the remarkably dull colour scheme, which is highlighted in all its horror when you compare it to the colourful shots for Guardians of the Galaxy (below).

Next, while it’s good to see two time Oscar winner Michael Douglas adding some class to proceedings his on screen daughter, Evangeline Lilly who played an eternally youthful Elf in The Hobbit films, looks like an aged version of Cate Blanchett’s woeful Ukrainian explorer Irina Spalko from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There’s good points with the suit making a guy called Ant-Man actually appear cool and new villain Darren Cross looking very sinister (or unhappy, still undecided) in the bottom left corner but Cross’ unfathomably generic sun-bespectacled henchman and two guys called Paxton and Luis on the right looking like they’ve been pulled off the set of a dull economic drama make this poster, overall, a hideously constructed disaster.

Ant-Man is directed by Peyton Reed and stars Paul Rudd (Anchorman, Knocked Up), Evangeline Lilly (Lost, The Hobbit), Corey Stoll (House of Cards, The Strain), Michael Pena (American Hustle, The Lincoln Lawyer), Judy Greer (Archer, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Bobby Cannavale (Danny Collins, Blue Jasmine) and Michael Douglas (The Game, Wall Street, Behind the Candelabra).

Ant-Man – July 17th

Spider-Man – July 28th 2017

Michael Fassbender in new shots from Macbeth and new Avengers: Infinity War details

The upcoming retelling of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is already gathering the potential to be a prime Oscar candidate. The latest set of stills have been released and show what’s expected of the Scottish period drama. Justin Kurzel (Snowtown) directs the cast of Michael Fassbender (Prometheus, X-Men, Frank, 12 Years a Slave), Marion Cotillard (Inception, Rust and Bone, Two Days One Night, The Dark Knight Rises), Paddy Considine (The World’s End, Dead Man’s Shoes, Pride, The Bourne Ultimatum), Sean Harris (Harry Brown, ’71), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, The Man From UNCLE), Jack Reynor (What Richard Did, Delivery Man) and David Thewlis (Harry Potter, Kingdom of Heaven, War Horse, The Theory of Everything).

The second instalment of the Avengers film franchise, Age of Ultron, debuted recently and plans for the third are already underway. Infinity War will release in two parts of 2018 and 2019 and the details of the filming has emerged. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (who replace Joss Whedon after impressing with The Winter Soldier, the films will shoot back to back over a course of nine months starting in late 2016.

We have no idea which characters will actually survive Phase 3 but we can expect the cast list to include Robert Downey Jr (Chaplin) as Iron Man, Mark Ruffalo (Shutter Island) as Hulk, Scarlett Johansson (Her) as Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth (Rush) as Thor, Jeremy Renner (The Town) as Hawkeye, Chris Evans (Snowpiercer) as Captain America, Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla) as Scarlet Witch, Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind) as Vision, Don Cheadle (Crash) as War Machine, Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) as Falcon, Karen Gillan (Oculus) as Nebula, Paul Rudd (Anchorman) as Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly (Lost) as Wasp, Chadwick Boseman (Get on Up) as Black Panther, Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) as Doctor Strange, Tom Hiddleston (Crimson Peak) as Loki and Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men) as Thanos.

Macbeth – 2015

The Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 – April 27th 2018

The Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2 – April 29th 2019