Review of the Year – The 2014 Review Issue

This is the first of a two-part special for Tuorhoth Movies that’ll conclude one year and kick off another. Tomorrow we’re discussing the mammoth releases of 2015 but this year’s given plenty to talk about, from the B-movie delights of Godzilla to the D’Movie horror of Mrs Brown. We’ll begin with the year’s financial countdown featuring the US, UK and international takings. These may not prove to be the definitive figures as Interstellar, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, Big Hero 6 and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies are all still rising and last year Frozen proved us wrong by overtaking Iron Man 3. But for now these calculations are our most accurate.

US:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy – Director: James Gunn – Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan – $332.9 million
2. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman – $311.3 million
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie – $259.8 million
4. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Will Arnett – $257.8 million
5. Transformers: Age of Extinction – Michael Bay – Mark Wahlberg, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci – $245.4 million
6. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Sam Riley – $241.4 million
7. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Peter Dinklage – $233.9 million
8. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Toby Kebbell, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell – $208.5 million
9. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, TJ Miller – $203.2 million
10. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan – $202.9 million
11. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins – $200.7 million
12. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Wyatt Russell – $191.7 million
13. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Jonathan Liebesman – Megan Fox, William Fichtner, Will Arnett – $191.2 million
14. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson – Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Luke Evans, Aidan Turner, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett – $183.5 million
15. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, McKenzie Foy, Bill Irwin, Wes Bentley, David Gyasi, Casey Affleck – $178.8 million

UK:

1. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Will Arnett – £36.5 million
2. The Inbetweeners 2 – Damon Beesley, Iain Morris – Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas – £35.8 million
3. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Toby Kebbell, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell – £35.4 million
4. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn – Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan – £30.4 million
5. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Peter Dinklage – £29.3 million
6. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman – £27.4 million
7. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Dean DeBlois – Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill – £26.6 million
8. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan – £26.1
9. The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorcese – Leonardo Di Caprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew MacConaughey, Margot Robbie – £24 million
10. Gone Girl – David Fincher – Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris – £24.2 million
11. Transformers: Age of Extinction – Michael Bay – Mark Wahlberg, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci – £21.3 million
12. 12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen – Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Brad Pitt – £21.2 million
13. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Sam Riley – £21 million
14. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie – £20.7 million
15. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Wyatt Russell – £20.2 million

Worldwide:

1. Transformers: Age of Extinction – Michael Bay – Mark Wahlberg, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci – $1.1 billion
2. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn – Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan – $772.5 million
3. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Sam Riley – $757.8 million
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Peter Dinklage – $746 million
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie – $714.1 million
6. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan – $709 million
7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Toby Kebbell, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell – $708.3 million
8. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman – $676.2 million
9. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, McKenzie Foy, Bill Irwin, Wes Bentley, David Gyasi, Casey Affleck – $650.1 million
10. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson – Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Luke Evans, Aidan Turner, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett – $628.8 million
11. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Dean DeBlois – Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill – $618.9 million
12. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins – $525 million
13. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jemaine Clement, Jamie Foxx – $498.8 million
14. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Jonathan Liebesman – Megan Fox, William Fichtner, Will Arnett – $477.2 million
15. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Will Arnett – $468.1 million
16. Lucy – Luc Besson – Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman – $458.9 million
17. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson – $369.2 million
18. Noah – Darren Aronofsky – Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ray Winstone, Douglas Booth, Anthony Hopkins – $362.6 million
19. Gone Girl – David Fincher – Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris – $356.6 million
20. The Maze Runner – Wes Ball – Dylan O’Brien, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario – $339.8 million
21. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Wyatt Russell – $331.3 million
22. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro – Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Jack O’Connell – $331.1 million
23. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, TJ Miller – $325.5 million
24. The Fault in Our Stars – Josh Boone – Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe – $304.2 million
25. Divergent – Neil Burger – Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, Miles Teller, Jai Courtney, Zoe Kravitz, Ansel Elgort – $288.7 million

In an era where billion dollar movies are a fairly regular recurrence, 2014’s claim of one film to have accomplished this feat is a slump from previous years (2010 – Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland; 2011 – Harry Potter 8, Transformers 3, Pirates 4; 2012 – The Avengers, Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit; 2013 – Frozen, Iron Man 3) and nearly all new entries are failing to cross the $800 million mark but this is still an overall lucrative year for film.

Interstellar is the only original property to feature in the top 10 and the top 25 only includes Edge of Tomorrow, Lucy and The Lego Movie (also perhaps the very loosely adapted Noah). Godzilla, Maleficent and TMNT are all revivals or remakes of previous material and the only non-sequel adaptations are Guardians of the Galaxy, The Maze Runner, Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars and Gone Girl.

The return of stalwart franchises Planet of the Apes, The Hunger Games, Transformers and The Hobbit dominated but Marvel Comics have most obviously triumphed. The rebooted Spidey’s second outing was actually a slip up from the first but the X-Men’s goliath comeback made it the first time they’d graced the annual top 10 since 2006’s The Last Stand.

While Chris Pine (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit) and Jennifer Lawrence (Serena) have struggled, stars to have consistently impressed this year include Michael Keaton (Birdman), Matthew MacConaughey (Interstellar), Scarlett Johansson (Under the Skin), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher), Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), David Oyelowo (Selma), Tom Hardy (Locke), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Jack Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Domhnall Gleeson (Frank) and Jack O’Connell (Unbroken, ’71, Starred Up).

However our own heroes of the year are Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The duo (behind Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street) brought us a pair of smash hits this year: the first was the greatly dreaded release of The Lego Movie, the year’s most charmingly brilliant film. Comedy sequels seem to never turn out well but Lord and Miller’s follow up to Jump Street outdid the original’s impact. We’re still distraught they they didn’t get the Ghostbusters gig as it’s hard to imagine anyone more perfect for the film.

We now advance to our main feature, the top ten (or twelve) best films of the year. This ought not to be confused with the upcoming Tuorhoth Awards which may include the late entries The Theory of Everything, Into the Woods, Jupiter Ascending, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Paddington and Exodus: Gods and Kings. For now, we feel the need to highlight the releases that almost made the cut, Mr Turner, The Boxtrolls, The Maze Runner, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Noah.

12) The Imitation Game

Director: Morten Tyldum
Writer: Graham Moore/Andrew Hodges
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Allen Leech, Matthew Goode, Charles Dance, Rory Kinnear, Mark Strong
Why It Was Great: This harrowing WW2 story may thrill quite as much as its “race-against-time” pitch suggests but Cumberbatch, Knightley and Dance’s truly thought provoking performances all engage.

11) The Grand Budapest Hotel

Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Wes Anderson, Hugo Guiness
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Jeff Goldblum, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Jude Law, Tom Wilkinson, F Murray Abraham
Why It Was Great: The often tedious Anderson brings us a genuinely hilarious caper. As loveable as Revolori’s Zero is, Fiennes (tied with Channing Tatum) is the comedy revelation of the decade.

10) The Two Faces of January

Director: Hossein Amini
Writer: Hossein Amini/Patricia Highsmith
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac, Kirsten Dunst
Why It Was Great: Amini’s directorial debut is gorgeously shot and Isaac and Mortensen’s roles are stunningly intense.

9) Edge of Tomorrow

Director: Doug Liman
Writers: Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth/Hiroshi Sakurazaka
Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Paxton
Why It Was Great: Maybe a career best for Cruise, this sci-fi flick was excellent in concept and execution via Liman’s thrilling action and Blunt’s reinvention as an action star.

8) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Director: Anthony and Joe Russo
Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Ed Brubaker
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Redford, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Cobie Smulders
Why It Was Great: Marvel’s back to basics premise slips up in the OTT finale but the Bourne like quality of action was astonishing. Evans proves Cap’ as more than the patriotic stereotype.

7) The Lego Movie

Director: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Writers: Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman
Starring: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day
Why It Was Awesome: Consistent in gags and created on of the greatest on screen Batmans. Freeman’s Vitruvius is a delight.

6) The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: Peter Jackson, Guillermo Del Toro, Frank Walsh, Philippa Boyens/JRR Tolkien
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Aidan Turner, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, James Nesbitt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett
Why It Was Great: A slip up from previous instalments but it’s still a phenomenally crafted fantasy adventure.

5) Godzilla

Director: Gareth Edwards
Writers: Max Borenstein, Dave Callaham
Starring: Aaron Taylor Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche
Why It Was Great: An British indie director steps up to the big leagues as he helms a multi-million blockbuster that has all the same style, suspense and human drama of his previous work (Monsters) while still being the ultimate homage to a screen legend.

4) X-Men: Days of Future Past

Director: Bryan Singer
Writers: Simon Kinberg, Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Peter Dinklage, Evan Peters, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore
Why It Was Great: A masterful marketing strategy landed the film on nearly double the series’ previous peak but this time-setting crossover delivers for fans as the most emotionally battering superhero film yet.

3) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Director: Matt Reeves
Writers: Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver/Pierre Boulle
Starring: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Toby Kebbell, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit McPhee, Gary Oldman
Why It Was Great: Serkis is simply brilliant as Caesar, Reeves direction is sharp and stunning and there are APES ON HORSES. What’s not to love?

2) Guardians of the Galaxy

Director: James Gunn
Writers: James Gunn, Nicole Perlman/Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Rooker, Djimon Hounsou, Glenn Close, John C Reilly
Why It Was Great: The return of the one liner (“We’re just like Kevin Bacon”), thrilling, fantastical action and antiheroes to become enduring icons of the decade.

1) Interstellar

Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan
Starring: Matthew MacConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessican Chastain, Mackenzie Foy, Michael Caine, David Gyasi, Wes Bentley, Bill Irwin, Casey Affleck, Topher Grace, John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn
Why It Was Great: If not his greatest, this is Nolan’s grandest picture yet. The visual effects are on a level previously unrealised on film while the performances are numbingly raw and the altogether result is truly beautiful.

Coming Soon – The 2015 Preview Issue

Review of the Year – The Five Best Villains of 2014

Heroes have had their fair share of screentime this year. The clean cut likes of The Winter Soldier’s Steve Rogers, The Lego Movie’s Emmett or The Amazing Spider-Man rival the questionable motives of those who tread a far finer line between right and wrong (Guardians’ Rocket, Grand Budapest Hotel’s M Gustave, almost everyone except the robots in Interstellar, Godzilla and Noah), sometimes even crossing it. But we’re dedicating this one to the more outright villains we’ve had in the past year. To reveal our mega-spoilery honourable mention for Interstellar, highlight the line of text below:

Honourable Mention: Doctor Mann (Matt Damon) – Interstellar

5) Lord Business/The Man Upstairs (Will Ferrell) – The Lego Movie

4) Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) – The Boxtrolls

3) Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) – X-Men: Days of Future Past

2) Jopling (Willem Dafoe) – The Grand Budapest Hotel

1) Koba (Toby Kebbell) – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Review of the Year – The Eleven Best Action Sequences of 2014

Today we celebrate our favourite chases, fights or all out battles of this year. There’s been plenty to choose from so we’ve tried to whittle the numbers down and include a few more out of the box suggestions. We must warn you of spoilers ranging from minor to major taking place in each film mentioned. Enjoy!

11) Zero kills Willem Dafoe – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Our real hero, Zero (newcomer Tony Revolori), comes to the rescue of Ralph Fiennes’ concierge in this mountain-top chase. With director Wes Anderson, screen legend Willem Dafoe plays Adrien Brody’s horrific henchman (who in fact bumps off Jeff Goldblum earlier) flees from the slopes of a monastic village and almost kills the extravagant M Gustave before Zero arrives with a shamefully gleeful kick off the mountain-side.

10) Attack on Cloud Cuckoo Land – The Lego Movie

The year’s undisputed surprise hit shines best in this glorious destruction of Uni-Kitty’s (Alison Brie) sugary-sweet homeland. When Emmett’s (Chris Pratt) attempt at a rousing and heroic speech gets a mixed response from the Master Builders (Morgan Freeman, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Cobie Smulders, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum), the forces of Lord Business (Will Ferrell), led by passive-aggresive secret agent Bad Cop (Liam Neeson), launch.

9) The final chase – The Two Faces of January

Hossein Amini’s directorial debut concludes in this gorgeously shot chase sequence through Istanbul. The brewing tensions of the potential criminals (Viggo Mortensen and Oscar Isaac) culminate in a pursuit prompted by the secret service arriving on the scene. It wasn’t too surprising though that only one would survive.

8) Tidal waves – Interstellar

Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi passion project Interstellar isn’t strictly an action film and the it’s more overwhelming sequences are in the tremendous emotional gut punches of the later scenes but this phenomenally crafted landing on the first of three planets the crew of Endurance explore. The mountains of Miller’s world are soon revealed to be waves that makes us winder if we can put our lives in the hands of robots before things really get dark with the first of the astronaut’s lives claimed, Doyle (Wes Bentley). Then the science really comes into play when Cooper (Matthew MacConaughey), Amelia Brand (Anne Hathaway) and TARS (Bill Irwin) return to the Endurance to the realisation that Miller died just minutes ago and that Romilly (David Gyasi) has waited twenty years for them.

7) Kyln prison break – Guardians of the Galaxy

When Quill (Chris Pratt), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) foil Gamora’s (Zoe Saldana) attempts to backstab her master Ronan (Lee Pace), Corpsman Dey (John C Reilly) transports them all to the Kyln, a high security prison dominated by the fearsome warrior Drax (Dave Bautista). To save their own skins they recruit Drax to assist them in their breakout. Groot’s unintentionally adorable sabotage of their efforts seemingly sets them back at square one before a mad scavenger hunt for the Orb (one of the six most dangerous objects in the entire universe) and a prosthetic leg.

6) The second beach assault – Edge of Tomorrow

Edge of Tomorrow’s (besides making Emily Blunt as good an action star as co-star Tom Cruise) greatest achievement is sustaining the thrill of seeing the same battle take place over and over again but this Doug Liman helmed sci-fi hit takes flight in the second incarnation of the Private Ryan-style beach assault as we finally get the just of what’s going on in Cage’s blood. Bonus points for Liman’s excellently executed action.

5) A skirmish of multiple forces – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

The barrel chase remains the series’ best moment but Peter Jackson turns the stereo to epic in The Defining Chapter’s finale. Thankfully Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and Gandalf are no passengers when these five forces converge on Erebor: the Dwarves (Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner, Dean O’Gorman, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, James Nesbitt, Billy Connolly), Elves (Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace), Men (Luke Evans, Ryan Gage, Stephen Fry), Orcs (Manu Bennett) and Eagles.

4) Quicksilver VS the Pentagon – X-Men: Days of Future Past

You may have been wowed by Nightcrawler’s White House raid in the opening of X-Men 2 but new fan favourite Quicksilver (Evan Peters) blows that out of the water. Escapee mutant Erik (Michael Fassbender) and his rescuers Charles (James McAvoy) and Logan (Hugh Jackman) are seemingly doomed at the hands of Pentagon guards until we get a rare view at how Peter Maximoff perceives our slow world. The music, the brilliantly appropriate Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce, is what defines this sequence from Usual Suspects director Bryan Singer.

3) Koba HIJACKS A TANK

We presumed Apes on horses and Serkis’ note perfect Caesar would be the highlight but here Cloverfield’s Matt Reeves creates truly iconic cinema magic with a masterful swivelling shot as lead villain Koba (Toby Kebbell) hijacks a tank, loses control and veers it into the doors of the human fort.

2) “Let Them Fight” – Godzilla

Like all great horror films, Gareth Edwards’ new incarnation of Japan’s greatest legend, Godzilla, built up the tension with style and suspense before a genuinely breathtaking pay off. Descending into San Francisco in the stunning HALO jump set-piece, Ford (Aaron Taylor Johnson) witnesses Godzilla’s power with a mighty fire breath to finish off the MUTOs.

1) Elevating tensions – Captain America: The Winter Soldier

“Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?”

Our number one is Captain America’s finest hour yet. Idealist Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is unphased by the threats of Robert Redford’s new SHIELD head Alexander Pierce and enters a life, soon to the occupied by Brock Romlow (Frank Grillo) nine of his new agents. Eleven enter the elevator and only one leaves: pure action awesomeness.

Selma, Pride and Grand Budapest Hotel surprise at Golden Globe nominations

The first of the three truly major awards ceremonies, the other two being the BAFTAs and the Oscars, has at last pushed its cards from its chest. Unsurprisingly, the likes of Boyhood, Birdman, Foxcatcher, The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game and The Grand Budapest Hotel feature prolifically but there’s a few unexpected mentions for the films Selma, Pride, Annie, St Vincent, Nightcrawler and Into the Woods and the stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Bill Murray, Naomi Watts, Jennifer Aniston and Meryl Streep. A phenomenal nine Brits have cropped up in the acting nominations (Benedict Cumberbatch, David Oyelowo, Eddie Redmayne, Ralph Fiennes, Felicity Jones, Rosamund Pike, Emily Blunt, Keira Knightley and Helen Mirren). Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will host the ceremony next Spring.

Best Picture – Drama:

Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything

Best Picture – Musical or Comedy:

Birdman
Into the Woods
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Pride
St Vincent

Best Director:

Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay – Selma
David Fincher – Gone Girl
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Best Actor – Drama:

Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
David Oyelowo – Selma
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

Best Actress – Drama:

Jennifer Aniston – Cake
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

Best Actor – Musical or Comedy:

Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Bill Murray – St Vincent
Joaquin Phoenix – Inherent Vice
Christoph Waltz – Big Eyes

Best Actress: Musical or Comedy:

Amy Adams – Big Eyes
Emily Blunt – Into the Woods
Helen Mirren – The Hundred-Foot Journey
Julianne Moore – Maps to the Stars
Quvenzhane Wallis – Annie

Best Supporting Actor:

Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
JK Simmons – Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress:

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Jessica Chastain – A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

Best Screenplay:

Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Gillian Flynn – Gone Girl
Alejendro Gonzalez Inarritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Graham Moore – The Imitation Game

Best Original Score:

Alexandre Desplat – The Imitation Game
Johann Johannsson – The Theory of Everything
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross – Gone Girl
Antonio Sanchez – Birdman
Hans Zimmer – Interstellar

Best Original Song:

Big Eyes – Big Eyes – Lana Del Rey
Glory – Selma – John Legend, Common
Mercy Is – Noah – Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye
Opportunity – Annie – Greg Kurstin, Sia Furler, Will Gluck
Yellow Flicker Beat – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Lorde

Best Foreign Language Film:

Force Majeure
Gett: The Trial of Vivianne Amsalem
Ida
Leviathan
Tangerines

Best Animated Feature:

Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie

Here’s the list of the biggest nomination holders:

Birdman – 7
Boyhood – 5
The Imitation Game – 5
Gone Girl – 4
The Grand Budapest Hotel – 4
Selma – 4
The Theory of Everything – 4
Big Eyes – 3
Into the Woods – 3
St Vincent – 3
Foxcatcher – 3

Edgar Wright reveals his Top Ten of the Year and new images of Vision in Age of Ultron

Critics and fans alike tend to dictate what goes down as the year’s best films; the year’s leaders would have to be Interstellar, Boyhood, Guardians of the Galaxy, Birdman, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Babadook, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Godzilla, The Imitation Game and The Lego Movie. A more interesting pick comes from the filmmakers themselves (Tarantino shocked the world by announcing The Lone Ranger among his) and British director Edgar Wright (The World’s End, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Shaun of the Dead) has revealed his own top ten. In no particular order, his selection was.

• Boyhood – Director: Richard Linklater – Starring: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke
• The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson – Ralph Fiennes, Adrien Brody, Tony Revolori, Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray
• Birdman – Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Zack Galifianakis
• Snowpiercer – Joon-ho Bong – Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, Ed Harris
• Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, David Gyasi, Wes Bentley, Casey Affleck, Mackenzie Foy, Bill Irwin
• Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy – Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed
• Under the Skin – Jonathan Glazer – Scarlett Johansson
• The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, Charlie Day, Alison Brie, Will Arnett
• Whiplash – Damien Chazelle – Miles Teller, JK Simmons
• Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Paxton

In the mammoth release of the trailer for Firefly, Buffy and Toy Story writer Joss Whedon’s superhero sequel The Avengers: Age of Ultron there wasn’t any look at one of the major characters, Vision (played by A Beautiful Mind’s Paul Bettany). A new image reveals a better look at him than before. Age of Ultron also stars Robert Downey Jr (The Judge), Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Samuel L Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), Stellan Skarsgard (Pirates of the Caribbean), Thomas Kretschmann (The Pianist), Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and James Spader (The Blacklist).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – May 1st

Boyhood, Grand Budapest Hotel, Lego Movie, Mr Turner and Babadook triumph in New York Critic’s Awards

While Alejandro Gonzalez Innarritu’s black comedy Birdman led the way in the Indie Spirit Awards, a new leader has been tipped off as an Oscar front runner from the New York Critics’ Circle. The foremost winner was Boyhood, Richard Linklater’s film twelve years in the making charting a boy’s coming of age (the whole time played by newcomer actor Ellar Coltrane). Here’s the list of winner’s in full.

Best Film:

Boyhood

Best Director:

Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Best Actor:

Timothy Spall – Mr Turner

Best Actress:

Marion Cotillard – Two Days One Night

Best Supporting Actor:

JK Simmons – Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress:

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood

Best Animated Film:

The Lego Movie

Best Screenplay:

Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Cinematography:

Daries Khondji – The Immigrant

Best First Film:

Jennifer Kent – The Babadook

Best Foreign Language Film:

Ida

Best Non-Fiction:

Citizenfour

The current leaders in the Oscar race are Boyhood, Birdman, Whiplash, Interstellar, Unbroken, Nightcrawler, The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game and (at a long shot) Guardians of the Galaxy.

The Best Films of 2014 – the Half-Way Point

Looking at any annual film schedule, its evident that the first half of the year can never quite live up to the second and 2014 is no exception. This year really did get off to a rotten start with 47 Ronin, The Legend of Hercules and I Frankenstein dragging their heals at the box-office but this did pave a way for others; The Wolf of Wall Street and Ride Along both enjoyed three consecutive weeks at the top of the UK and US box-office respectively. Following that came some genuine surprises. Wes Anderson’s ensemble comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel reached 1st and 3rd in the UK and US against all odds and The Lego Movie, one of the most poorly marketed films in recent years, was an unexpected treat and certainly and future cult classic.

The biblical format seemed to increase in popularity around Easter with the low-key Christian dramas Heaven is For Real, Son of God and God’s Not Dead taking nearly thirty times their micro-budgets but these religious flicks aren’t proving successful outside of America, besides Aronofsky’s star-driven epic Noah. The “Katniss-effect” of The Hunger Games has evidently given studios the faith to put stronger female characters into the fray of action and adventure with Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent and Shailene Woodley’s Divergent winning out over Johnny Depp’s Transcendence or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Sabotage financially. Edge of Tomorrow even managed it to the extent of Tom Cruise needing saving from Emily Blunt’s ultimate warrior.

In the last six months, certain individuals are lighting up the box-office left, right and centre. Former comedian Kevin Hart has lead a trio of success, Ride Along, About Last Night and Think Like a Man Too, while the Jump Street quartet (director Phil Lord and Chris Miller/stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill) have a cinematic Midas-touch. It’s evident that Lego’s Chris Pratt can do no wrong and, with Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy coming soon, he’s well on his way to man-of-the-year status. The biggest winners of the year have to be Marvel. Even though their heroes are divided across Sony, Fox and Disney, Stan Lee’s creations of Spider-Man, Captain America (kind-of) and the X-Men are currently the three biggest films of the year so far and they’ll only continue to grow bigger.

Below you can find the international box-office top ten followed by our own personal picks of the year so far as well as the ten to look for in the rest of 2014:

International Box-office Top 10:

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Director: Anthony and Joe Russo – Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily Van Camp, Samuel L Jackson, Hayley Attwell, Toby Jones – Box-office: $710.8 million
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper – $703.3 million
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Josh Helman, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Lucas Till – $700 million
4. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville – $531.8 million
5. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche – $478.7 million
6. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, Bruno Mars, Jemaine Clement, Jamie Foxx, will.i.am – $469.4 million
7. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders – $467.2 million
8. Noah – Darren Aronofsky – Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, Anthony Hopkins – $356.2 million
9. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro – Eva Green, Sullivan Stapleton, Lena Headey, Jack O’Connell, Rodrigo Santoro, Callan Mulvey, David Wenham – $331.1 million
10. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Jonas Armstrong – $298.8 million

Tuorhoth’s Top 10:

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Josh Helman, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Lucas Till
2. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche
3. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily Van Camp, Samuel L Jackson, Hayley Attwell, Toby Jones
5. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Jonas Armstrong
6. The Two Faces of January – Hossein Amini – Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac, Kirsten Dunst
7. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – Justin Chadwick – Idris Elba, Naomi Harris
8. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh – Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Costner, Nonso Anozie, Gemma Chan
9. RoboCop – Jose Padilha – Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton, Jay Baruchel, Jennifer Ehle, Jackie Earle Haley, Aimee Garcia, Michael K Williams, Samuel L Jackson
10. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper

Top 10 Anticipated:

1. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Topher Grace, Casey Affleck, David Oyelowo, John Lithgow, Matt Damon
2. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson – Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Aidan Turner, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Sylvester McCoy, Lee Pace, Manu Bennett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee
3. Gone Girl – David Fincher – Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris, Rosamund Pike
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Michael Caine, Samuel L Jackson, Mark Hamill, Mark Strong
5. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn – Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, John C Reilly
6. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – Jason Clarke, Andy Serkis, James Franco, Judy Greer, Gary Oldman, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit McPhee
7. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Jena Malone, Sam Clafin, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Natalie Dormer, Philip Seymour, Hoffman
8. Fury – David Ayer – Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Jason Isaacs, Michael Pena, Shia LeBeouf
9. Exodus: Gods and Kings – Ridley Scott – Christian Bale, Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley
10. The Judge – David Dobkin – Robert Downey Jr, Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thornton, Vera Farmiga

Weekend box-office – 28th of March to 4th April 2014 – will Divergent be dauntless against The Muppets?

It’s likely that this week is the one to cram in your major but risky releases before Captain America arrives to dominate the box office and so we’ve got a battle between sci-fi thriller Divergent and comedy sequel Muppets Most Wanted. On paper, Muppets should triumph due to it’s huge fan base but it’s possible that the young adult novel adaptation Divergent could follow the likes of Twilight and Hunger Games with huge success and not sink like Mortal Instruments, Beautiful Creatures or The Host. Find out what we thought would happen last week before checking out what went down at the box office below.

US:

1. Divergent – Director: Neil Burger – $56 million
2. Muppets Most Wanted – James Bobin – $16.5 million
3. Mr Peabody and Sherman – Rob Minkoff – $11.7 million
4. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro – $8.7 million
5. God’s Not Dead – Harold Cronk – $8.6 million

UK:

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson – £1.3 million
2. Need for Speed – Scott Waugh – £1 million
3. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – £0.8 million
4. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro – £0.8 million
5. Non-Stop – Juanne Collet Serra – £0.7 million

The Muppets have genuinely underperformed in the US but they’re an international sensation and could attempt to recoup oversees. Divergent’s success however may well have greenlighted it’s sequel, most likely called Insurgent. Anderson’s Budapest Hotel has crept up the box office to the top while Need for Speed, Lego Movie, 300 and Non-Stop have all slipped. This week I’ve scored 5/10 taking my running total to 98/210.

US:

1. Noah – Darren Aronofsky
2. Divergent – Neil Burger
3. Muppets Most Wanted – James Bobin
4. Sabotage – David Ayer
5. Mr Peabody and Sherman – Rob Minkoff

UK:

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo
2. Muppets Most Wanted – James Bobin
3. The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson
4. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller
5. The Legend of Hercules – Renny Harlin

Theo James and Shailene Woodley in Divergent, this week’s US number one.

Ralph Fiennes and Saoirse Ronan in The Grand Budapest Hotel, this week’s UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 21st to 27th of March 2014 – will audiences feel the Need for Speed?

Aaron Paul (better known as Breaking Bad’s Jesse Pinkman) is having his qualities as a big-screen action star with his lead in Need For Speed which bids to make a mark on the box-office this week. It seemed like it had no major competition besides returning favourites Mr Peabody and Sherman, Grand Budapest Hotel and 300: Rise of an Empire. We predicted last week that it’d make a strong start but the real measure of success will be the opening numbers themselves.

US:

1. Mr Peabody and Sherman – Director: Rob Minkoff – $21.2 million
2. 300: Rise of and Empire – Noam Murro – $19.1 million
3. Need for Speed – Scott Waugh – $17.8 million
4. Non-Stop – Juanne Collet Serra – $10.6 million
5. The Single Moms Club – Tyler Perry – $8.3 million

UK:

1. Need for Speed – Scott Waugh – £2 million
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson – £1.3 million
3. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro – £1.2 million
4. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – £1 million
5. Non-Stop – Juanne Collet Serra – £0.9 million

Mr Peabody has suddenly bounced into pole position in its second week while 300: ROAE and Non-Stop slipped places Tyler Perry’s Madea Christmas follow up Singles Moms Club made a poor start. Grand Budapest Hotel leaped up a place, thriving in the alternative to the blockbusters that sandwich it. Last week’s predictions score me 2/10 taking my running total to 93/200.

US:

1. Divergent – Neil Burger
2. Muppets Most Wanted – James Bobin
3. Mr Peabody and Sherman – Rob Minkoff
4. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro
5. Need for Speed – Scott Waugh

UK:

1. Need for Speed – Scott Waugh
2. A Long Way Down – Pascal Chaumeil
3. Starred Up – David Mackenzie
4. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson

Max Charles and Ty Burrell in Mr Peabody and Sherman, this week’s US box-office.

Imogen Poots and Aaron Paul in Need for Speed, this week’s UK box-office number one.

Weekend box-office – 14th to 20th of March of 2014 – will 300: Rise of an Empire slay its rivals?

Eight years on from the first film’s success, a sequel to 300 is finally being released but there’s no guarantee that the phenomenal financial triumph of the original can be replicated, particularly when only few cast return. Additionally, it faces tough competition in the form of debuting animation Mr Peabody and Sherman and Wes Anderson’s ensemble The Grand Budpest Hotel. We predicted that it’d go top but let’s find out how it really did.

US:

1. 300: Rise of an Empire – Director: Noam Murro – $45.1 million
2. Mr Peabody and Sherman – Rob Minkoff – $32.5 million
3. Non-Stop – Juanne Collet Serra – $15.4 million
4. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – $11 million
5. Son of God – Christopher Spencer – $10 million

UK:

1. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Nurro – £2.8 million
2. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – £1.6 million
3. The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson – £1.5 million
4. Non-Stop – Juanne Collet Serra – £1.5 million
5. Ride Along – Tim Story – £0.8 million

Rise of an Empire has made a great start in the US with an excellent weekend’s takings, even if they are lower than 300’s debut. Sadly, the UK takings are far below expectations, the original started with £9 million. Budapest Hotel made a great entry, as did Peabody and Sherman, while Non-Stop, Lego Movie, Ride Along and Son of God slipped places. This week’s 6/10 takes my running total to 91/190.

US:

1. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro
2. Need for Speed – Scott Waugh
3. Mr Peabody and Sherman – Rob Minkoff
4. Non-Stop – Juanne Collet Serra
5. Bad Words – Jason Bateman

UK:

1. Need for Speed – Scott Waugh
2. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro
3. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller
4. The Zero Theorem – Terry Gilliam
5. The Stag – John Butler

Eva Green in 300: Rise of an Empire, this week’s UK and US box-office number one.