Weekend box-office – 5th to 11th of July 2014 – will Transformers face its Extinction?

So far this year, not one film has managed the coveted spot of $100 million in its US box-office opening weekend or gone onto $1 billion worldwide (although only 18 films ever have), Maleficent and 22 Jump Street managed about $60 million on their debuts while X-Men 7, Captain America 2, Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Godzilla edged towards $90 million. Despite the fact that all but one of them have been terrible, Michael Bay’s fourth robot adventure Transformers: Age of Extinction is set to roar in its opening weekend. Last week, we predicted that the film would go top but, for the sake of cinema, we sincerely hope it doesn’t.

US:

1. Transformers: Age of Extinction – Director: Michael Bay – $100 million
2. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – $15.4 million
3. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Dean DeBlois – $13.1 million
4. Think Like a Man Too – Tim Story – $10.4 million
5. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – $8.2 million

UK:

1. Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie – Ben Kellett – £4.3 million
2. The Fault in Our Stars – Josh Boone – £1.7 million
3. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – £1.2 million
4. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – £0.8 million
5. Chef – Jon Favreau – £0.6 million

Well my attempts to boycott Transformers have drastically failed but at least it’s taken less than its franchise predecessors. I’d be greatly surprised if it doesn’t go on to surpass $800 million at least. Animation, fantasy sequel How to Train Your Dragon 2 underperformed on its debut but it is recovering with its financial long livety while Maleficent continues its impressive run by storming past the $600 million mark. In the UK, the critically shunned, Irish TV adaptation Mrs Brown’s Boys has topped the box-office, mainly due to its massive success in Ireland while teen weepie, which dropped down to fifth in its second week in the US, has slipped up only one place this time round. This week I’ve scored a disappointing 3/10.

US:

1. Transformers: Age of Extinction – Michael Bay
2. Deliver Us From Evil – Scott Derickson
3. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller
4. Tammy – Ben Falcone
5. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Dean DeBlois

UK:

1. Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie – Ben Kellett
2. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller
3. The Fault in Our Stars – Josh Boone
4. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg
5. Tammy – Ben Falcone

Peter Cullen in Transformers: Age of Extinction, this week’s US number one.

Brendan O’Carroll in Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie, this week’s UK number one

ABC calls for more Marvel TV, Bourne 5 gets a new writer and John Goodman and Ken Watanabe

The Bourne Legacy was a fairly mediocre action spin-off to a modern masterpiece trilogy, and was a minor box office let down, and yet Universal want to expand on Aaron Cross’ (Jeremy Renner) story, despite Matt Damon, the original Jason Bourne, saying he’s willing to do another with director Paul Greengrass. We had believed that Sherlock Holmes’ Anthony Peckham would be the new Bourne’s writer but newcomer Andrew Baldwin has been appointed. Baldwin has no existing credits but has multiple projects in development such as Bastille Day and The Outsider. As long as the script has smarts to it, my only existed issue would be the style. The Bourne films are far more hard hitting when they subscribe to less CG effects but that’s unlikely with Justin Lin (Fast and Furious) aboard.

The principal photography of Michael Bay’s action sequel Transformers: Age of Extinction wrapped up long ago but that hasn’t stopped it from making a few last minute castings. These aren’t your run of the mill extras or post production stand ins. Golden Globe winner John Goodman (The Big Lebowski, Monsters Inc, Argo, The Artist, Barton Fink) and Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Inception, Letter From Iwo Jima, Godzilla, Batman Begins) will be voicing their own transformers named Hound and Drift respectively. They join the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Jack Reynor, Peter Cullen, Nicola Peltz, TJ Miller, Kelsey Grammer and Stanley Tucci in the cast.

Agents of SHIELD hasn’t been the ratings smash many expected but the meticulous twists of the second half of its first season have been great fun. That lead to the making of Netflix’s The Defenders but ABC will be looking to install future Marvel adventures. It’s pleasing to hear that a second series has been confirmed, most likely in time for the new season.

As well as this, Captain America star Hayley Atwell took to Twitter to confirm a 13 part Agent Carter series which, if successful, will likely be extended to 22. The expansion of 2013’s Agent Carter short film will likely explore the origins of SHIELD shortly after WW2. Hopping and dancing around MAOS and The Winter Soldier spoilers, we’d be surprised if the eagle eyed Carter doesn’t find something askew in the intelligence organisation. Although there’s been no word on this, it’d be awesome if the films’ stars Dominic Cooper (Howard Stark) and Toby Jones (Arnim Zola) reprised their roles to become series regulars.

Agent Carter – 2015 on ABC

Agents of SHIELD season 2 – this autumn on ABC

The Bourne Betrayal? – August 21st 2015

Transformers: Age of Extinction – July 10th

The Super-Bowl 2014 Trailers special: Transformers 4, Noah and more!

We’re not venturing into sports just yet but the American Football extravaganza known as Superbowl is a huge event for advertising. With well over 100 million Americans watching, companies have to pay the whopping sum of $8 million dollars just for a one minute advertising slot. Only the biggest of big budget, big star blockbusters can afford to make the cut so you may be quite surprised when I tell you that among the nine titanic efforts trailered last night is the new project from Darren Aronofsky!

But before we get to that, we have the matter of a movie I recently predicted to make over a billion dollars. I speak of the fourquel of a monster series – Transformers: Age of Extinction.

Director Michael Bay (Armaggedon, Pearl Harbour, Bad Boys) returns to the series after a quick, and unsuccessful, break to make Pain and Gain. The franchise hopes to continue it success with an new human cast with Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz and Jack Reynor, replacing the old guard of Shia LaBeaouf, Rosie Huntington-Whitley and Megan Fox. This time, the Autobots are at battle with the villainous Dinobots and the technology tycoon Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer), the former is revealed in the very first trailer. The film also stars Stanley Tucci and Peter Cullen. July 10th.

The second instalment in this nine-part epic is Marvel’s very own Captain America: The Winter Soldier. We’ve seen footage from this before but Superbowl unveiled the second trailer, which offers more in depth look at new antagonist The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). The plot pitches Captain America (Chris Evans) still adjusting to life in the 21st Century as well as working with SHIELD Agents such as Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Crossbones (Frank Grillo) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) to bring down a new menace who’s terrorising Washington. Cap 2 also stars Emily VanCamp, Samuel L Jackson, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Attwell and Toby Jones and is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. March 28th.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is next. Marc Webb returns to direct the sequel which increases the stakes for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) who has to balance life between his superhero alter ego Spider-Man, who’s battling Electro (Jamie Foxx), Rhino (Paul Giamatti) and the sinister father/son double act of Oscorp (Dane DeHaan as Harry and Chris Cooper as Norman), and normal life with the grieving Gwen (Emma Stone) and lonely Aunt May (Sally Field). The new trailer can be found here. To be honest, I’m not that impressed. April 18th.

Following on from their “Across the Internet” campaign, Muppets Most Wanted has launched a new ad in which the new doppelganging villain Clementine literally reaches out to us Across the Internet. Tina Fey, Ty Burrell, Stanley Tucci, Ricky Gervais, Lady Gaga, Tom Hiddleston, Salma Hayek, Christoph Waltz and Danny Trejo make up the human cast alongside the classic Muppets such as Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Sam the Eagle, Beaker, Dr Honeydrew, Walter and Animal. Flight of the Conchords/The Muppets’ James Bobin directs. March 28th.

With a premise of no CG, just expensive cars going ridiculously fast, video game adaptation Need for Speed is actually in good shape. It sees newly released ex-con Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul – Breaking Bad’s Jesse Pinkman) getting back into the dragraces that got him locked up for a year. Upon hearing the news, Marshall’s ex racing partner Dino (Dominic Cooper – Marvel’s Howard Stark) puts a bounty on his head. Scott Waugh (Act of Valour) directs a huge cast including Michael Keeton, Dakota Johnson, Scott Mescudi and Imogen Poots. The superbowl spot can be found here. March 12th.

We return to the aforementioned Darren Aronofsky who, after impressing with the likes of Black Swan, The Wrestler, Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, makes his comeback with a huge budget and cast list for his new epic picture Noah. The new trailer is available but I’m shocked that a director as prestigious as Aronofsky would fall to the depths of a Twitter hashtag; this time it’s “#TheFloodIsComing”!. The film stars Russell Crowe, Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Ray Winstone, Kevin Durand, Douglas Booth, Nick Nolte and Frank Langella. April 4th.

Pompeii seems to me like one of the potential box office clunkers of the year with a decent cast list which doesn’t match its huge budget but director Paul WS Anderson (Event Horizon, Resident Evil) may prove me wrong. The new trailer unveils a fair bit of spectacle so the film won’t rely on the cast of Kit Harrington, Carrie Anne Moss, Emily Browning, Jessica Lucas, Kiefer Sutherland, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jared Harris and Jessica Lucas alone. May 2nd.

3 Days to Kill launched a new trailer too. McG (This Means War, Terminator: Salvation, We Are Marshall, Charlie’s Angles) directs this new action thriller starring Kevin Costner as an dying agent who teams up with his daughter for one last assignment which get him the life saving drug he needs. Also starring Amber Heard, Connie Nielson and Hailee Steinfeld. February 21st.

Lastly, we have another Kevin Costner project. Draft Day sees the manger of American Football’s Cleveland Browns who’s struggling to find the number one draft pick for his team. Costner will star alongside Terry Crews, Jennifer Garner and Ellen Burstyn while director Ivan Reitman (Ghost Busters, No Strings Attached). April 11th