Weekend box-office – 22nd to 28th of November 2014 – will Interstellar outsmart Dumb and Dumber To?

Christopher Nolan’s intended Zeitgeist event movie Interstellar arrive to a hefty but muted $50 million debut last week having lost out to Disney’s animation Big Hero 6. The mammoth runtime and complex science may have alienated audiences, the same ones who’ll enjoy the light relief of comedy sequel Dumb and Dumber To. We did predict last week that Dumber would succeed but the twenty year gap between this and the original is going to be a strain.

US:

1. Dumb and Dumber To – Directors: Bob and Peter Farrelly – $36.1 million
2. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – $34.7 million
3. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – $28.3 million
4. Beyond the Lights – Gina Prince Bythewood – $6.2 million
5. Gone Girl – David Fincher – $4.6 million

UK:

1. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – £3.8 million
2. The Imitation Game – Morten Tyldum – £2.7 million
3. Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey – Debbie Isitt – £1.8 million
4. Mr Turner – Mike Leigh – £0.7 million
5. The Drop – Michael R Roskam – £6.3 million

Dumber To has won out in a fairly quiet week at the American box-office while Interstellar is well on its way to $100+ million domestically. New drama Beyond the lights makes a surprise entry at four. Nolan’s sci-fi has also held its ground impressively in the UK, against Benedict Cumberbatch’s wartime biopic The Imitation Game, maligned festive sequel Nativity 3 and well performing Tom Hardy thriller The Drop. This week I score 4/10.

US:

1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence
2. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan
3. Dumb and Dumber To – Bob and Peter Farrelly
4. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams
5. The Imitation Game – Morten Tyldum

UK:

1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence
2. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan
3. Get on Up – Tate Taylor
4. The Imitation Game – Morten Tyldum
5. What We Do in the Shadows – Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi

Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in Dumb and Dumber To, this week’s US number one.

Matthew MacConaughey in Interstellar, this week’s UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 9th to 15th of August 2014 – will Marvel’s Guardians secure the box-office?

Marvel Studios’ triumphant formula of Thor, Captain America, Iron Man and The Avengers has confidently swept away competition, even Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice cowered away from the release clash with Captain America 3. They’ve now taken the seemingly bizarre detour of cramming a huge budget into relatively unknown material that has almost no connection to the franchise so far. Financial doom seemed imminent but then, shockingly, everybody loved it. Last week, we predicted that Guardians of the Galaxy would top both the UK and US box office but this kind of margin was unpredictable.

US:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy – Director: James Gunn – $94 million
2. Lucy – Luc Besson – $18.3 million
3. Get on Up – Tate Taylor – $14 million
4. Hercules – Brett Ratner – $10.7 million
5. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – $8.7 million

UK:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn – £6.4 million
2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – £3 million
3. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Dean DeBlois – £1.1 million
4. Hercules – Brett Ratner – £0.9 million
5. The Purge: Anarchy – James DeMonaco – £0.8 million

Guardians has smashed the box office making nearly five times its nearest competitor. This debut his higher than other big hitters such as Godzilla ($93 million), X-Men: Days of Future Past ($91 million), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($92 million), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ($72 million), The Lego Movie ($69 million), Maleficent ($69 million) and 22 Jump Street ($57 million) although not quite at the heights of Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($95 million) or Transformers: Age of Extinction ($100 million). Depending on how long it grips its place at the top of the box office, we could expect an international gross north of $500 million.

Meanwhile, sci-fi thriller Lucy has dropped sharply but the biggest loser will be action epic Hercules with a fall of 66%, its easily of the year’s great financial disappointments. James Brown biopic Get on Up has made the fairly mediocre entry of $14 million. In the UK, Guardians has made an impressive but, in comparison to its US takings, slightly underwhelming debut while Dawn of the Apes his holding its place brilliantly. This week I’ve scored 8/10.

US:

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Jonathan Liebesman
2. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn
3. Into the Storm – Steven Quale
4. Lucy – Luc Besson
5. Get on Up – Tate Taylor

UK:

1. The Inbetweeners 2 – Damon Beesley, Iain Morris
2. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn
3. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves
4. Planes: Fire and Rescue – Roberts Gannaway
5. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Dean DeBlois

Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista and Zoe Saldana in Guardians of the Galaxy, this week’s US and UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 2nd to 8th of August 2014 – can Lucy outsmart Hercules’ brawn?

It’s hugely ironic that this week we face a battle between a film whose concept revolves around maximising brain power and the tale of the strongest man in mythology. Lucy is the new thriller from Leon’s Luc Besson and stars Scarlett Johansson and it faces off with Hercules, the latest mythical team up of Dwayne Johnson and Brett Ratner. While neither films garnered great critical praise, it’ll be an intriguing race this week between the premise of brains or brawn. Last week, we predicted that Hercules would be victorious but let’s find out what really went down.

US:

1. Lucy – Director: Luc Besson – $43.9 million
2. Hercules – Brett Ratner – $29.8 million
3. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – $16.8 million
4. The Purge: Anarchy – James DeMonaco – $10.5 million
5. Planes: Fire and Rescue – Roberts Gannaway – $9.5 million

UK:

1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – £3.8 million
2. Hercules – Brett Ratner – £1.5 million
3. The Purge: Anarchy – James DeMonaco – £1.2 million
4. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Dean DeBlois – £1 million
5. Transformers: Age of Extinction – Michael Bay – £0.8 million

Johansson’s sci-fi has shocked us all with its triumph and if it continues this form internationally it could be one of the summer’s surprise hits. Not only does this prove to Marvel that The Winter Soldier star could easily carry her own Black Widow spin off but renews the integrity of Luc Besson who hasn’t had a major hit since The Fifth Element nearly twenty years ago. Hercules’ takings meanwhile are thoroughly disappointing. We know they’re similar to Edge of Tomorrow which eventually covered its costs with $360 million worldwide but Doug Liman’s flick had the immense advantage of excellent word of mouth, a space which Guardians of the Galaxy will completely consume. The Rock’s labours faired no better in the UK getting a battering from the second week of release of Dawn of the Apes. This week I scored 5/10.

US:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn
2. Lucy – Luc Besson
3. Get On Up – Tate Taylor
4. Hercules – Brett Ratner
5. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves

UK:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn
2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves
3. Hercules – Brett Ratner
4. The Nut Job – Peter Lepeniotis
5. The Purge: Anarchy – James DeMonaco

Scarlett Johansson in Lucy, this week’s US number one.

Toby Kebbell in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, this week’s UK number one.

JK Simmons set for Terminator: Genesis role and Get on Up trailer released

Chadwick Boseman experienced huge success last year with his breakout role in drama 42 alongside Harrison Ford but he’ll propel himself to success further with the lead in James Brown biopic Get on Up. The first trailer is online at last and, after years of stalled development, we can get a first look at the film. Alongside Boseman, who plays the troublemaking rock/soul legend, in the cast is Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Dan Aykroyd plus director Tate Taylor (The Help).

Director Alan Taylor moves on from his blockbuster success of Thor: The Dark World to a new franchise with Terminator: Genesis. So far, we have little clues about the plot but we know that Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thrity), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and Jai Courtney (Jack Reacher) will join the series as John Connor, Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese respectively with Arnold Schwarzenegger (Predator, True Lies) likely to return as The Terminator. The similar ages of the central trio hints that there’ll be a Back to the Future 2-like set up involving John Connor travelling back in time to the original’s setting.

Now, JK Simmons is negotiating his way to a role in the film. The star is most likely known for Spider-Man (where he plays Bugle editor J Jonah Jameson) and Juno as well as TV’s The Closer and video game franchises Portal and Half Life. He could be joining this summer’s shoot as a weary detective who aids Sarah in her attempts for survival from the robot that’s hunting her down.

Terminator: Genesis – June 26th 2015

Get on Up – August 1st