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Source: Marvel / Disney
It’s no secret that the last few films that Marvel Studios has released have been doing less than stellar numbers at the box office and though many feel that superhero fatigue is the main culprit for the slippage, Avengers: Infinity War directors, Anthony and Joe Russo feel that technology is to blame.
According to Variety, the Russo Brothers don’t necessarily believe that comic book fans are simply tired of all the superhero films and shows that we’ve been getting bombarded with for the past few years, but rather how audiences actually take in and consume whatever these film studios churn out. With people living in a digital age where they want everything in whatever manner they’ve become accustomed to, they feel that the old school “lets make plans to go to the movies” isn’t as viable as it was in years past.
Per Variety.
“I think it’s a reflection of the current state of everything. It’s difficult right now, it’s an interesting time,” Joe Russo said. “I think we’re in a transitional period and people don’t know quite yet how they’re going to receive stories moving forward, or what kinds of stories they’re going to want.”
“There’s a big generational divide about how you consume media,” he continued. “There’s a generation that’s used to appointment viewing and going to a theater on a certain date to see something, but it’s aging out. Meanwhile the new generation are ‘I want it now, I want to process it now’, then moving onto the next thing, which they process whilst doing two other things at the same time. You know, it’s a very different moment in time than it’s ever been. And so I think everyone, including Marvel, is experiencing the same thing, this transition. And I think that really is probably what’s at play more than anything else.”
Joe Russo noted that the new generation of moviegoers communicates largely though “memes and headlines with nobody reading past two sentences, so everything’s 100 characters or less – or 10-second videos on social media you swipe through.”
Well, he’s not wrong. But truth be told, the last few Marvel films and shows have had struggle storylines and when you couple that with weak special effects, fans are going to tune out.
Luckily for Marvel, the hype behind Deadpool & Wolverine will almost certainly lead to another billion dollar haul at the box office and if they’re lucky it’ll also help generate interest in the future of the MCU as Deadpool seems like he’s going to be a big part of it’s future going forward. At least that what fans are hoping for as it’s being said that the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will focus on mutants with the Avengers taking a back seat to the likes of the X-Men in the next few phases.
What do y’all think led to the fall off of comic book movies? Is it superhero fatigue? Online media? Let us know in the comments section below.
Zendaya‘s romance-tennis drama Challengers easily won the weekend box office match with a $15 million opening from 3,477 theaters, in line with expectations and marking the second-best start for an original R-rated drama since the pandemic behind Don’t Worry Darling.
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It was a bold move for MGM Amazon Studios to open Luca Guadagnino‘s sexy adult drama nationwide, versus giving it a platform release, considering it’s more of an arthouse movie than a commercial play. The studio did so in part to raise awareness among those who might choose to wait to watch the movie on Amazon’s streaming service, Prime — including Zendaya fans who aren’t yet subscribers. High-profile titles also keep existing subs satisfied, or at least that’s the hope.
And by midweek, Challengers will easily become Luca Guadagnino’s highest-grossing film domestically after passing up Call Me By Your Name, which grossed roughly $18 million.
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The film also impressed overseas, grossing $9 million from 52 markets for a global score of $25 million (it earned $1 million last weekend in Australia and New Zealand). Not surprisingly, it is doing well in Europe and Australia. The U.K. led all markets this weekend with $1.8 million to place No. 1 and come in on par with Oscar contender Poor Things and well ahead of Ben Affleck‘s sports drama Air. Warner Bros. International is handling the film offshore for MGM.
Audiences aren’t embracing the R-rated film quite to the degree that reviewers did, giving it a B+ CinemaScore. Female moviegoers made up 58 percent the Friday’s audience, while a whopping 76 percent of ticket buyers were between ages 18 and 34. Challengers is performing best on the two coasts and benefiting from playing to an ethnically diverse audience. White moviegoers made up 43 percent of Friday ticket buyers, followed by Latino moviegoers (27 percent), Black moviegoers (17 percent), Asian moviegoers (9 percent) and Native American/others (4 percent).
Challengers, co-starring Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, features Zendaya as a tennis player torn between two loves.
A substantial chunk of the opening weekend gross, or 37 percent, came from Imax and other premium-format screens.
Challengers was supposed to open last year in time for awards season, but those plans were scuttled because of the SAG-AFTRA strike and the ban on talent doing press. Zendaya, in particular, has a huge social reach needed for the film. Exhibitors have praised Amazon for embracing the theatrical model instead of sending a movie such as Challengers straight to streaming.
Coming in No. 2 at the domestic box office is Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company’s Unsung Hero, which landed ahead of expectations after earning a coveted A+ CinemaScore. The faith-based film opened to an estimated $7.8 million (tracking had suggested $5 million to $6 million).
Unsung Hero is skewing heavily female (91 percent) and is performing best in the middle of the country. It also skewed notably older, with 55 percent of the audience over the age of 55.
Based on a true story, the $6 million film follows David Smallbone as he moves his family from Australia to the U.S. searching for a brighter future after his successful music company collapses. Along the way, he and his wife begin to realize the musical talent of their seven children; three of whom would become two successful acts — KING + COUNTRY and Rebecca St. James.
Godzilla x Kong and Dune: Part Two — both from Warner Bros. and Legendary — celebrated major milestones this weekend in crossing $500 million and $700 million, respectively, at the global box office. They are the two biggest films of the year to date at the worldwide box office.
Coming in No. 3 domestically, Godzilla earned $7.2 million to finish Sunday with a domestic tally of $519.3 million globally, including $181.7 million in North America and $337.7 million overseas. For its part, the Dune sequel finished Sunday with a domestic cume of $279.7 million domestically and $424.5 million overseas for $704.5 million worldwide.
DreamWorks Animation and Universal also had reason to cheer as Kung Fu Panda 4 crossed the $500 million mark globally, including $185 million domestically, where it is the No. 2 film of the year, and $318.5 million overseas. And the Kung Fu Panda series has now passed Madagascar to become the second biggest DreamWorks Animation franchise behind Shrek, with a combined $2.3 billion in ticket sales.
Also making news was 20th Century and Disney’s rerelease of Ridley Scott’s 1979 feature Alien, which placed No. 11 domestically with $1.6 million and drew glowing exit scores. The rerelease is a promotion for the upcoming Alien: Romulus, which opens in August, and includes a nine-minute interview between Scott and Romulus director Fede Álvarez that includes footage from new Romulus.
Back in the top five, A24’s Civil War held in well with $7 million to come in No. 4, boasting a domestic total of $56.2 million through Sunday.
Universal’s horror pic Abigail rounded out the top five with $5 million in its second weekend for a 10-day domestic total of $18.5 million.
With domestic revenue running behind last year by more than 20 percent, Hollywood and theater operators are looking forward to next weekend when the summer box office kicks off The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling. The pic opened early in 38 overseas markets this weekend, earning $8.7 million. Among the handful of major territories where it rolled out, Australia, where the film is set, led with a strong $2.9 million.
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
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Source: Marvel Studios / Marvel Studios
We’re still a few months away from finally indulging in the highly-anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine movie. The latest trailer to the film almost ensures that it will cross the billion-dollar mark as it features all kinds of action, comedic dialogue and a lot of cursing.
With Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” playing in the background, we find Deadpool recruiting a hesitant and somewhat broken Wolverine for his mission to save the Marvel multiverse. Apparently, this version of Wolverine somehow “let down” his universe and may be looking to make amends. Ultimately, he joins Deadpool on his quest to save all of Marvel’s realities, but not before squaring up against the Merc With A Mouth. With all kinds of violence, comedic quips and F-bombs galore, the hype for this film will only intensify in the coming months. And we still haven’t seen any of the guest superhero cameos that have been rumored for months.
From Wolverine fighting the Hulk to Thor supposedly crying over Deadpool’s dead body, fans are said to be in for a treat when this film finally hits theaters. We only hope all these rumors prove to be true because if they’re not, we’re going to be low-key let down. Just sayin’.
Check out the second trailer to Deadpool & Wolverine, and let us know if you’re as hype for this film as we are in the comments section below.
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Source: Paramount Pictures / Paramount Pictures
It’s been almost 40 years since Transformers: The Animated Movie had ’70s and ’80s babies shedding tears in movie theaters across the globe when Optimus Prime took the sacrificial L. (That was a hard one to process.)
Now, Paramount Pictures is releasing a brand new animated Transformers film. To celebrate the first animated feature in decades the movie studio decided to release the first trailer for the movie… in space! A comedic buddy story centered around the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron (who were known as Orion Pax and D-16 respectively), Transformers One takes fans into their humble beginnings as friendly underground worker robots before they became bitter enemies and generals in the war for Cybertron.
After breaking defying regulations and breaking into the outside world, an adventurous Orion Pax and reluctant D-16 come to realize all is not what it seems before meeting an ancient robot being and being blessed with the abilities to transform for the first time in their lives.
Chris Hemsworth (Optimus Prime) and Brian Tyree Henry (Megatron) introduce the trailer to the upcoming film and showcase how it became the first movie trailer to debut in space with the help of a weather balloon which flew into our atmosphere and premiered it where no one other than maybe some space aliens could see it.
Extraterrestrial life must wonder why we use such advance technology for such primitive reasons. Transformers One also stars Scarlett Johansson (Elita-1) and Keegan-Michael Key (B-127), who join Orion and D-16 on their brotherly adventure.
Check out the trailer for Transformers One below. Let us know if you’ll be checking for it when it hits theaters Sept. 20 in the comments section.
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Source: Hulu / hulu
Jeezy and Common take part in a new documentary examining Hip-Hop’s journey to being embraced on the American political landscape.
As the 2024 presidential election season is in full swing, a new documentary is set to debut with a focus on the relationship that Hip-Hop culture now has with politics. Hip-Hop And The White House is a new feature that examines the journey of the culture’s acceptance by the executive branch of the nation, with prominent artists such as Jeezy and Common appearing to share their perspectives. The film is produced by &360, an anthology franchise created by Andscape, the multimedia platform created by ESPN and Disney to focus on the major contributions of Black people to American society.
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Hip-Hop And The White House will also feature notable figures such as U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, KRS-One, Roxanne Shante, Bun B, YG, Bakari Kitwana, Farai Chideya, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Curren$y, Dave “Davey D” Cook, Grandmaster Caz and more. Jesse Washington, who is also an executive producer of the documentary along with Jeezy, is directing. Other producers include Dwayne Bray, Jason Aidoo, Jordan Benston, Mary Almonte, Steve Reiss and Ernest Dukes.
Jeezy spoke at length about the documentary in a recent interview with MSNBC host and analyst Ari Melber. “This documentary was to educate people on how much our impact and our influence is needed in this country,” he began. “Because if you want to talk to Black and brown people, you got to talk through them. And we are the ones that are the translators, you can’t talk directly to them unless you come to one of us, whoever that may be.”
The Church In These Streets rapper continued: “I think that’s something that everybody should be able to understand, that this is not just violence when we talk about this…when you think about, you know, everything that comes along with Hip-Hop is always negative. We do positive stuff as well. We actually are able to speak to our people, mobilize our people. I think that’s important.”
Hip-Hop And The White House will make its premiere on Hulu on April 22. Check out the trailer above.
As Cowboy Carter enjoys a second consecutive week atop the Billboard 200, the world continues to dissect Queen Bey’s latest opus. On Thursday (April 18), via a press release, Max announced a new documentary titled Call Me Country: Beyoncé & Nashville’s Renaissance slated to hit the streamer on Friday, April 26.
Produced by CNN FlashDocs, the upcoming documentary will provide a look at the impact of high-profile acts like Beyoncé and Lil Nas X on the contemporary country music scene and how their contributions connect to the history of Black artists in Nashville.
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Earlier this year, Queen Bey made history with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the lead single for Cowboy Carter, announced and released during the 2024 Super Bowl (Feb. 11). On the chart dated Feb. 24, “Texas Hold ‘Em” reached No. 1 on Hot Country Songs, marking the first time a Black woman had ever topped the ranking. The following week (chart dated March 2), “Texas Hold ‘Em” became the first country song by a Black woman to top the Billboard Hot 100. Following the release of “Texas Hold ‘Em” and its B-side, “16 Carriages,” streaming activity for other Black women in country exploded across the board.
Call Me Country will feature interviews with Grammy-winning country duo Brothers Osborne, “Texas Hold ‘Em” banjo player Rhiannon Giddens, Rissi Palmer, Aaron Vance and Denitia, as well as analysis from a slew of cultural critics and country music experts, including Touré and co-directors of the Black Opry Holly G. and Tanner D.
Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé’s eighth solo studio album, arrived March 29 with 27 tracks that pay homage to the Black roots of country music and envision a distinctively Beyoncé-esque future for the genre. The sprawling album included collaborations with several ascendant Black country stars including Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tiera Kennedy, Shaboozey and Willie Jones. In addition, country music legends Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton voiced interludes on the album, which Beyoncé described as a “continuation” of her Grammy-winning Renaissance record.
Fans may still be waiting on the visuals, but, in the meantime, they can enjoy the Call Me Country documentary.
Forget “The Power of Love,” the world is going to get an up-close behind-the-scenes look at the power of Céline Dion in her new documentary, which finally received an official release date. On Tuesday (April 16), via a joint Instagram post on the official pages for Dion and Prime Movies, Amazon MGM Studios announced that […]
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While the world awaits Drake’s Kendrick Lamar diss record to drop (and vice verse), K. Dot continues to move forward with his life outside of rap. He and pgLang co-founder Dave Free will team up with South Park creators Trey Park and Matt Stone for a new live-action comedy film set to drop next Summer.
According to Variety, the aforementioned comedy film is set to release July 4, 2025. Details on the project are being kept under wraps for the time being (such as the title, plot and film cast), but the fact that Kendrick Lamar and the team behind South Park are in is enough to get some big buzz going already. With more than a year to continue to build on that buzz, we expect to learn bits and pieces of what we can expect as time goes by. We’re excited to see what Paramount is cooking up for us Hip-Hop junkies.
Variety reports:
The news came as part of Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation, where the studio also debuted footage and trailers from its sequels to “Smile,” “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “Gladiator.” Paramount also announced it is rebooting the “Scary Movie” franchise.
From the stage, Paramount CEO Brian Robbins said: “This script is one of the funniest and most original scripts we’ve ever read and it’s certain to create some fireworks.” Get the pun?
The live-action comedy was written by Vernon Chatman. The studio didn’t share any details about what the film is about beyond the involvement of its top-shelf talent.
Lamar and PGLang partner Free will produce the project alongside Stone and Parker. The duo launched their company in 2020. Lamar has created such chart-topping hits as “Swimming Pools (Drank),” “Poetic Justice” and “The Blacker the Berry.” He also curated the soundtrack album for “Black Panther.”
By the time next Summer roles around we’ll know what role Kendrick Lamar will play in said film and maybe even know who “won” the battle between him and Drake (if those diss records ever release anyway).
What do y’all think of K. Dot and the South Park team working on a live-action comedy film together? Y’all have high hopes or nah? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: Paramount Pictures / Transformers: Rise of The Beasts
While the Transformers film series has enjoyed massive success over the years, the same cannot be said for the big-screen adaptation of G.I. Joe. But that isn’t stopping the movie studios from going forward with a crossover event that may help transform G.I. Joe into a popular film franchise.
According to Deadline, Paramount Pictures has confirmed that a Transformers and G.I. Joe film has been given the green light and though that would’ve been a dream come true for kids in the 80’s, we’re not sure how well that’ll fair with fans in 2024. After the crossover was teased during last summer’s Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts, fans weren’t sure if it would actually happen but it seems like it will and we’re not gonna lie, we’re lowkey interested to see how it all plays out.
Per Deadline:
Steven Spielberg is executive producing the new film. No filmmaker attached yet, despite the idea being hatched by filmmaker Steven Caple Jr. in Rise of the Beasts.
Caple Jr said he was in talks for another Transformers movie after the success of Rise of the Beasts at the B.O. which made close to $439M worldwide more than Disney/Lucasfilm’s franchise finale last summer, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny which only did north of $383M.
Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura is returning along with Mark Vahradian, Michael Bay, Tom DeSanto & Don Murphy.
With Steven Spielberg attached to the project there’s actually hope that the film could be much better than those horrible Alien vs. Predator films. What a f*ckin’ letdown. Just sayin.’
No word on whether G.I. Joe alumni such as Channing Tatum or Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson will be taking part in the upcoming crossover, but if they do you can bet it’ll be a blockbuster event for whatever summer this film releases.
Would ya’ll be checking for a G.I. Joe / Transformers crossover movie? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: Warner Bros. Pictures / Warner Bros. Pictures
Joaquin Phoenix’s iteration of the Joker in Todd Phillips’ 2019 film centered around the iconic Batman villain was arguably the greatest version of the Clown Prince of Crime moviegoers had seen to date (Heath Ledger is up there too). And though the film was originally said to be a one-off affair, fans of the film demanded more. Now, we’re getting a sneak peak of what to expect in the follow-up to the cult classic that captivated a comic book nation just a few years ago.
After months of anticipation, Warner Bros. has just released the first trailer for the upcoming JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX, which once again stars Phoenix as the titular character and Lady Gaga as the new Harley Quinn of the DCEU. Breaking ground as the first musical live-action comic book film made, the film will pick up where Joker left off as he was institutionalized at Arkham Asylum where he ultimately meets his counterpart in Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga) who feeds off his crazy as he does hers.
Though plot details aren’t really known, it seems like the film will be a sort of Natural Born Killers affair as the two ultimately break out of Arkham Asylum and wreck havoc on the streets of Gotham City while singing show tunes and dancing away the pain of their past as they evade the law.
Seems like a hit to us.
Check out the trailer for JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX below, and let us know if you’ll be checking it out when it hits theaters Oct. 4.
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