Fault in Our Stars wins at MTVs, Rebecca Hall joins BFG and Stallone in first still from Creed

BIrdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Birdman, Guardians of the Galaxy and Boyhood were among the most celebrated films of the previous awards season but the MTV Awards have a history of selecting mainstream flicks. Previous films to have been crowned include Terminator 2, A Few Good Men, Scream, There’s Something About Mary, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, Napoleon Dynamite, Wedding Crashers, Transformers, Twilight, The Avengers and The Hunger Games: Caching Fire. Last night’s results are in on the 2015 awards (novelty awards included).

Best Movie:

The Fault in Our Stars
American Sniper
Boyhood
Gone Girl
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Selma
Whiplash

Best Male Performance:

Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Channing Tatum – Foxcatcher
Miles Teller – Whiplash

Best Female Performance:

Shailene Woodley – The Fault in Our Stars
Scarlett Johansson – Lucy
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Emma Stone – Birdman
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

Best Breakthrough Performance:

Dylan O’Brien – The Maze Runner
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
David Oyelowo – Selma
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl

Best Scared Performance:

Jennifer Lopez – The Boy Next Door
Zack Gildford – The Purge: Anarchy
Dylan O’Brien – The Maze Runner
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Annabelle Wallis – Annabelle

Best On Screen Duo:

Zac Efron & Dave Franco – Bad Neighbours
Bradley Cooper & Vin Diesel – Guardians of the Galaxy
James Franco & Seth Rogen – The Interview
Channing Tatum & Jonah Hill – 22 Jump Street
Shailene Woodley & Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars

Best Shirtless Performance:

Zac Efron – Bad Neighbours
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Channing Tatum – Foxcatcher
Kate Upton – The Other Woman

Best Fight:

Dylan O’Brien vs Will Poulter – The Maze Runner
Chris Evans vs Sebastian Stan – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Jonah Hill vs Jillian Bell – 22 Jump Street
Edward Norton vs Michael Keaton – Birdman
Seth Rogen vs Zac Efron – Bad Neighbours

Best Kiss:

Ansel Elgort & Shailene Woodley – The Fault in Our Stars
Rose Byrne & Halston Sage – Bad Neighbours
James Franco & Seth Rogen – The Interview
Andrew Garfield & Emma Stone – The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Scarlett Johansson & Chris Evans – Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Best WTF Moment:

Seth Rogen & Rose Byrne – Bad Neighbours
Rosario Dawson & Anders Holm – Top Five
Jonah Hill – 22 Jump Street
Jason Sudeikis & Charlie Day – Horrible Bosses 2
Miles Teller – Whpilash

Best Villain:

Meryl Streep – Into the Woods
Jillian Bell – 22 Jump Street
Peter Dinklage – X-Men: Days of Future Past
(Spoilers) – Gone Girl
JK Simmons – Whiplash

Best Musical Moment:

Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Bill Hader & Kristen Wiig – The Skeleton Twins
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Seth Rogen & Zac Efron – Bad Neighbours
Miles Teller – Whiplash

Best Comedic Performance:

Channing Tatum – 22 Jump Street
Rose Byrne – Bad Neighbours
Kevin Hart – The Wedding Ringer
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Chris Rock – Top Five

Best On Screen Transformation:

Elizabeth Banks – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Steve Carell – Foxcacher
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Hero:

Dylan O’Brien – The Maze Runner
Shailene Woodley – Insurgent
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Martin Freeman – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy

Trailblazer Award:

Shailene Woodley (The Descendants, Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, The Spectacular Now)

Comedic Genius Award:

Kevin Hart (Get Hard, Ride Along, Think Like a Man, The Wedding Ringer)

Generation Award:

Robert Downey Jr (The Avengers, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Sherlock Holmes, Zodiac)

Here’s the winners’ leaderboard:

Bad Neighbours, The Fault in Our Stars, The Maze Runner – 3
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – 2
22 Jump Street, American Sniper, The Boy Next Door, Into the Woods – 1

With various big names already attached to his fantasy adventure The BFG, famed director Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, Lincoln) has enlisted even more cast members for the project. Rebecca Hall, the Golden Globe and BAFTA nominated star of Iron Man 3, The Town, The Prestige and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, was the first major addition in an announcement that included Jemaine Clement (What We Do in the Shadows, Flight at the Conchords) and Penelope Wilton (Shaun of the Dead, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel). The cast already includes Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall, Bridge of Spies), Bill Hader (Superbad, The Skeleton Twins) and Martin Freeman (Fargo, Sherlock, The Hobbit trilogy).

It’s so far unclear if the new film Creed will be an Oscar favourite or a limp reboot of the lagging Rocky franchise (one that began with a Best Picture win in 1976 steadily declined through four sequels in the 1980s and returned with the minor hit of 2006’s Rocky Balboa). The new addition of the franchise has Michael B Jordan (Chronicle, The Fantastic Four) reteaming with his Fruitvale Station (an acclaimed urban drama) director Ryan Coogler to play Creed’s grandson who recruits Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone – First Blood) as his new mentor to become a new boxing legend. The film’s first still has been revealed. Graham McTavish (The Hobbit, Outlander) and Tessa Thompson (Selma, Dear White People).

Creed – November 25th

The BFG – July 22nd 2016

MTV Movie Award Nominations – Guardians, Mockingjay, Neighbours and Fault in Our Stars lead

Boyhood, Birdman, Whiplash, The Theory of Everything, Still Alice and The Grand Budapest Hotel were the undisputed champions of the awards season but the MTV Awards (which is just a novelty promotional event for 2015’s films) can still provide an alternate choice. Let’s have a look:

Movie of the Year:

American Sniper
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Guardians of the Galaxy
Gone Girl
The Fault in Our Stars
Boyhood
Whiplash
Selma

Best Female Performance:

Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Emma Stone – Birdman
Shailene Woodley – The Fault in Our Stars
Scarlett Johansson – Lucy
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

Best Male Performance:

Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Miles Teller – Whiplash
Channing Tatum – Foxcatcher

Best Scared Performance:

Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Annabelle Wallis – Annabelle
Jennifer Lopez – The Boy Next Door
Dylan O’Brien – The Maze Runner
Zach Gilford – The Purge: Anarchy

Breakthrough Performance:

Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
David Oyelowo – Selma
Dylan O’Brien – The Maze Runner
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood

Best Shirtless Performance:

Zac Efron – Bad Neighbours
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Channing Tatum – Foxcatcher
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Kate Upton – The Other Woman

Best Duo:

Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill – 22 Jump Street
Zac Efron, Dave Franco – Bad Neighbours
Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel – Guardians of the Galaxy
James Franco, Seth Rogen – The Interview

Best Fight:

Jonah Hill vs Jillian Bell – 22 Jump Street
Chris Evans vs Sebastian Stan – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dylan O’Brien vs Will Poulter – The Maze Runner
Seth Rogen vs Zac Efron – Bad Neighbours
Edward Norton vs Michael Keaton – Birdman

Best Kiss:

Ansel Elgort, Shailene Woodley – The Fault in Our Stars
James Franco, Seth Rogen – The Interview
Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone – The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Rose Byre, Halston Sage – Neighbours

Best Villain:

(Spoilers) – Gone Girl
JK Simmons – Whiplash
Jillian Bell – 22 Jump Street
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods
Peter Dinklage – X-Men: Days of Future Past

Best Comedic Performance:

Channing Tatum – 22 Jump Street
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Rose Byrne – Neighbours
Chris Rock – Top Five
Kevin Hart – The Wedding Ringer

Best Onscreen Transformation:

Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Elizabeth Banks – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy
Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood

Here’s the leaderboard:

The Fault in Our Stars, Guardians of the Galaxy – 7
Bad Neighbours – 6
22 Jump Street, Whiplash – 5
Gone Girl, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – 4
Boyhood, Foxcatcher, The Maze Runner – 3
American Sniper, Birdman, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Interview, Top Five, Selma – 2

Weekend box-office – 20th to 26th of December 2014 – will Exodus evict Hunger Games?

Following the classics Blade Runner, Alien and Gladiator, Ridley Scott’s more recent financial success has varied. Both action epic Robin Hood’s mediocre takings of $320 million and crime thriller The Counselor’s measly $70 million but Prometheus ($400 million) proves the seventy seven year old Brit’s staying power in cinema. His new star studded biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings has clocked a budget of $140 million so it’ll be a major feat to reflect success in that. Its week of release sees it battling few other competitors but that may not guarantee its own success. We predicted its triumph last week but let’s discover what really happened.

US:

1. Exodus: Gods and Kings – Director: Ridley Scott – $24.1 million
2. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – $12.7 million
3. Penguins of Madagascar – Eric Darnell, Simon J Smith – $7.2 million
4. Top Five – Chris Rock – $6.9 million
5. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – $6.1 million

UK:

1. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson – £9.8 million
2. Paddington – Paul King – £2.9 million
3. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – £1.1 million
4. Penguins of Madagascar – Eric Darnell, Simon J Smith – £1.1 million
5. The Imitation Game – Morten Tyldum – £0.5 million

Exodus’ debut is by no means a flop but this certainly is sub-par; hopes of crossing the $300 million threshold aren’t promising. Comedy Top Five, directed by and starring Chris Rock, is the only new entry of the week. In the UK, The Hobbit’s final instalment The Battle of the Five Armies makes its debut and has marginally surpassed The Desolation of Smaug’s takings. This is a greatly pleasing sign ahead of its US release. Paddington, Hunger Games 4 and The Imitation Game all slip places. This week I’ve scored an impressive 7/10.

US:

1. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson
2. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb – Shawn Levy
3. Exodus: Gods and Kings – Ridley Scott
4. Annie – Will Gluck
5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

UK:

1. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson
2. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb – Shawn Levy
3. Dumb and Dumber To – Bob and Peter Farrelly
4. Paddington – Paul King
5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence

Christian Bale in Exodus: Gods and Kings, this week’s US number one.

Richard Armitage and Martin Freeman in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, this week’s UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 13th to 19th of December 2014 – will the Hunger Games prevail in slow week?

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 opened with a bang a couple of weeks back, its $120 million opening becoming the biggest of the year, but things have died down greatly now: this week’s highest new entry was horror flick The Pyramid at nine but this spells a second chance for Horrible Bosses 2. The dark comedy sequel (starring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Jennifer Aniston, Chris Pine, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey and Christoph Waltz) entered fifth last week and will hope to make an improvement now. Last week, we predicted it as a non-mover but let’s see what happens in this new edition of the Weekend Box-Office

US:

1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Director: Francis Lawrence – $22 million
2. Penguins of Madagascar – Eric Darnell, Simon J Smith – $10.9 million
3. Horrible Bosses 2 – Sean Anders – $8.4 million
4. Big Hero 6 – Don Hall, Chris Williams – $8 million
5. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – $7.8 million

UK:

1. Paddington – Paul King – £3.8 million
2. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – £2.2 million
3. Penguins of Madagascar – Eric Darnell, Simon J Smith – £1.6 million
4. The Imitation Game – Morten Tyldum – £0.9 million
5. Horrible Bosses 2 – Sean Anders – £0.6 million

Although a 60% drop hurt its chances, young adult, dystopian action The Hunger Games unsurprisingly triumphed this week but the real shock was Horrible Bosses’ leap to third. Its overall takings are still mediocre and, despite the strength of its stars, this is still a failure. In the UK, family comedy Paddington retains top spot while Dreamworks’ animation spin off Penguins of Madagascar makes a vastly disappointing third place entry. This week I’ve scored an impressive 7/10.

US:

1. Exodus: Gods and Kings – Ridley Scott
2. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence
3. Top Five – Chris Rock
4. Penguins of Madagascar – Eric Darnell, Simon J Smith
5. Inherent Vice – Paul Thomas Anderson

UK:

1. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson
2. Paddington – Paul King
3. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence
4. Penguins of Madagascar – Eric Darnell, Simon J Smith
5. The Imitation Game – Morten Tyldum

Natalie Dormer, Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Mahershala Ali in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, this week’s US number one.

Ben Whishaw in Paddington, this week’s UK number one.