Other Box Office Records "Avengers: Endgame" May Break

by: keaton marcus

How Far Will “Endgame” Go in Terms of Box Office Records for the Future

Disney and Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame already has many opening weekend records under the belt, but what else can be expected for the future?

Disney and Marvel’s newest record-breaking collaboration, Avengers: Endgame blew through a massive 26 opening records this weekend, along with 44 single overseas market records, totaling 70 overall. While this may seem like the end, Endgame still has many more records to pass through in the future. Here are some that people can expect the massive film to break in the not-so-distant future.

BIGGEST MONDAY-THURSDAY EVER

Monday Record Holder: Black Panther, $40,151,729-FAILED

Tuesday Record Holder: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, $37,361,729-FAILED

Wednesday Record Holder: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, 68,533,840

Thursday Record Holder: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, 50,013,859

Avengers: Endgame came close to the Monday record, set by Black Panther, grossing $36,874,439 a couple days ago, placing third. However, Panther’s Monday was on a Presidential Day Weekend, so technically, it was too hard to compete with. These not-so-possible records are joined by Eclipse and Revenge of the Sith whose Wednesday and Thursday records are both apart of their weekend grosses. However, the one possible single-day record is The Force Awakens’ Tuesday. Disregarding the week, Endgame broke the record for Friday already.

BIGGEST SECOND WEEKEND EVER

Second Weekend Record Holder: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, $149,202,860

While Avengers: Endgame may have broken the opening weekend record by far, but the second weekend record is still in the grasps of The Force Awakens which helmed a 40% drop from its opening three-day. The average second weekend dip for a Marvel movie is around 55%, with Infinity War sliding 56%—considering this, Endgame has the record in the bag, looking for a second weekend of around 158M. Basically, the film needs to dip 58% or less to take the record.

highest domestic gross after 10 days

10 Day Domestic Record Holder: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, $540,058,914

This record seems extremely easy for Endgame to take. Adding its Monday grosses of over 36.8M, the Marvel picture has grossed a massive 393.9M after just four days in release, whilst The Force Awakens had about 288.1M in four days, giving Endgame a notable head start of around 105M. For the 10 day projection, Endgame is looking to cap around 648M, giving a solid path to break more records.

HIGHEST DOMESTIC GROSS EVER

Domestic Gross Record Holder: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, $936,662,225

This will be one of the toughest records to beat for Avengers: Endgame, winning the domestic long-run against the gargantuan 936.6M grossed in North America by The Force Awakens. For Endgame to claim the domestic record, the film needs to score a multiplier of 2.624x to gross 937M+. The Avengers films have an average multiplier of about 2.7x, that would be just enough to claim the record--however, the massive packings in the theaters even after its initial opening suggest that a multiplier close to 3x would be suitable, this would give Endgame a finish of around 1.071B, which would be incredible, and is not so impossible.

highest global gross ever

Global Gross Record Holder: Avatar, $2,787,965,087

Avengers: Endgame may also break the all-time global total record, which is currently held by the visual marvel, James Cameron’s Avatar which docked up more than 2.7 billion dollars taking the record. Endgame already broke the global debut record, grossing over 1.2B in its opening, currently, after Monday and Tuesday grosses, the film has totaled a massive 1.481 billion dollars worldwide, next weekend, the record-breaking film should top around 2.2B, and the next weekend should result in 2.7B—this means that the record is in Endgame’s bag for the future, and its more than likely that it is.

All the MCU Ranked from Best to Worst

by: keaton marcus

The Entire MCU is Put to the Lemonradar Test

Some of the heroes in the MCU—including Tony Stark/Iron Man, Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Thor, Steve Rogers/Captain America and Clint Barton/Hawkeye.

1. Black Panther, 90% “sweet”

2. Avengers: Endgame, 88% “sweet”

3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 88% “sweet”

4. Iron Man, 85% “sweet”

5. Spider-Man: Homecoming, 85% “sweet”

6. Captain America: Civil War, 85% “sweet”

7. Thor: Ragnarok, 83% “sweet”

8. Guardians of the Galaxy, 82% “sweet”

9. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, 82% “sweet”

10. Marvel’s The Avengers, 79% “sweet”

11. Ant-Man and the Wasp, 78% “sweet

12. Captain Marvel, 76% “sweet”

13. Doctor Strange, 70% “sweet/sour”

14. Ant-Man, 70% “sweet/sour”

15. Thor, 69% “sweet/sour”

16. Avengers: Age of Ultron, 69% “sweet/sour”

17. Iron Man 3, 69% “sweet/sour”

18. Iron Man 2, 68% “sweet/sour"

19. Captain America: The First Avenger, 67% “sweet/sour”

20. Thor: The Dark World, 66% “sweet/sour”

21. Avengers: Infinity War, 66% “sweet/sour”

22. The Incredible Hulk, 60% “sweet/sour”

1. Black Panther, 93% “sweet”

2. Iron Man, 90% “sweet”

3. Spider-Man: Homecoming, 89% “sweet”

4. Thor Ragnarok, 88% “sweet”

5. Avengers: Infinity War, 86% “sweet”

6. Avengers: Endgame, 85% “sweet”

7. Captain America: Civil War, 85% “sweet”

8. Guardians of the Galaxy, 84% “sweet”

9. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 84% “sweet

10. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, 83% “sweet

11. Ant-Man and The Wasp, 82% “sweet”

12. Doctor Strange, 81% “sweet”

13. Captain Marvel, 80% “sweet”

14. Ant-Man, 80% “sweet”

15. Iron-Man 3, 79% “sweet”

16. Marvel’s The Avengers, 79% “sweet”

17. Captain America: The First Avenger, 78% “sweet”

18. Avengers: Age of Ultron, 75% “sweet”

19. Thor, 70% “sweet/sour”

20. Iron Man 2, 68% “sweet/sour”

21. Thor: The Dark World, 64% “sweet/sour”

22. The Incredible Hulk, 60% “sweet/sour”

Summer Movies, and Their Box Office

by: keaton marcus

Here is a list of all the Summer pictures and their Box Office predictions:

May 3

The Intruder, Estimate: 10M/Actual: 10.8M

Long Shot, Estimate: 15M/Actual: 9.7M

Uglydolls, Estimate: 17M/Actual: 8.6M

May 10

Detective Pikachu, Estimate: 65M/Actual: 54.3M

The Hustle, Estimate: 17M/Actual: 13M

Poms, Estimate: 10M/Actual: 5.3M

May 17

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, Estimate: 50M/Actual: 56.8M

A Dog’s Journey, Estimate: 15M/Actual: 8M

The Sun is Also a Star, Estimate: 8M/Actual: 2.5M

May 24

Aladdin, Estimate: 75M/Actual: 91.5M

Brightburn, Estimate: 14M/Actual: 7.8M

Booksmart, Estimate: 9M/Actual: 6.9M

May 31

Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Estimate: 60M/Actual: 47.7M

Rocketman, Estimate: 35M/Actual: 25.7M

Ma, Estimate: 17M/Actual: 18M

Jun 7

The Secret Life of Pets 2, Estimate: 75M/Actual: 46.6M

X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Estimate: 55M/Actual: 32.8M

Jun 14

Men in Black: International, Estimate: 45M/Actual: 30M

Shaft (2019), Estimate: 20M/Actual: 8.9M

Jun 21

Toy Story 4, Estimate: 180M/Actual: 120.9M

Child’s Play (2019), Estimate: 20M/Actual: 14M

Anna, Estimate: 9M/Actual: 3.6M

Jun 28 (Wednesday-Early Start for Annabelle 3)

Annabelle Comes Home, Estimate: 28M three-day, 40M five-day/Actual: 20.2M three-day, 31.1M five-day

Yesterday, Estimate: 15M/Actual: 17M

Jul 3 (Tuesday and Wednesday—Early Starts for both)

Spider-Man: Far from Home (on Tuesday), Estimate: 100M three-day, 200M six-day/Actual: 92.5M three-day, 185M six-day

Midsommar (on Wednesday), Estimate: 9M three-day, 13M five-day/Actual: 6.5M three-day, 10.9M five-day

Jul 12

Crawl, Estimate: 6M/Actual: 12M

Stuber, Estimate: 8M/Actual: 8.2M

Jul 19

The Lion King (2019), Estimate: 150M/Actual: 191.7M

Jul 26

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Estimate: 35M/Actual: 41M

Aug 2

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Estimate: 65M/Actual: 60M

Aug 9

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Estimate: 17M/Actual: 20.9M

Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Estimate: 20M/Actual: 17.4M

The Art of Racing in the Rain, Estimate: 9M/Actual: 8.1M

The Kitchen (2019), Estimate: 9M/Actual: 5.5M

Brian Banks, Estimate: 3M/Actual: 2.1M

Aug 13 (Early Start on Tuesday)

The Angry Birds Movie 2, Estimate: 13M three-day, 20M six-day/Actual: 10.3M three-day, 16M six-day

Aug 16

Good Boys, Estimate: 13M/Actual: 21.4M

47 Meters Down: Uncaged, Estimate: 13M/Actual: 8.4M

Blinded By the Light, Estimate: 5M/Actual: 4.3M

Where’d You Go, Bernadette, Estimate: 7M/Actual: 3.4M

Aug 21 (Wednesday-Early Start)

Ready or Not, Estimate: 8M three-day, 12M five-day/Actual: 7.5M three-day, 10.5M five-day

Aug 23

Angel has Fallen, Estimate: 15M/Actual: 21.2M

Overcomer, Estimate: 4M/Actual: 8.2M

Aug 30 (Labor Day Weekend)

Don’t Let Go, Estimate: 5M three-day, 7M four-day/Actual: 2.4M three-day, 3M four-day

Every debut ranked (SO FAR)

1. The Lion King (2019), 191.7M

2. Toy Story 4, 120.9M

3. Spider-Man: Far from Home, 92.5M

4. Aladdin (2019), 91.5M

5. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, 56.8M

6. Pokèmon Detective Pikachu, 54.3M

7. Godzilla: King of the Monsters, 47.7M

8. The Secret Life of Pets 2, 46.6M

9. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, 41M

10. X-Men: Dark Phoenix, 32.8M

11. Men in Black: International, 30M

12. Rocketman, 25M

13. Good Boys, 21.4M

14. Angel has Fallen, 21.3M

15. Annabelle Comes Home, 20.2M

16. Ma, 18.2M

17. Yesterday, 17M

18. Child’s Play (2019), 14M

19. Crawl, 12M

20. The Intruder, 10.8M

21. The Angry Birds Movie 2, 10.3M

22. Long Shot, 9.7M

23. Shaft (2019), 8.9M

24. Uglydolls, 8.6M

25. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, 8.4M

26. Overcomer, 8.2M

27. Stuber, 8.2M

28. Brightburn, 7.8M

29. Ready or Not, 7.5M

30. Booksmart, 6.9M

31. Midsommar, 6.5M

32. Blinded by the Light, 4.3M

33. Anna (2019), 3.6M

34. Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, 3.4M

35. Don’t Let Go, 2.4M

Pros and Cons Tomb Raider 2 and Shazam 2

by: keaton marcus

Me, and Quinn’s Pros and Cons List for the Two Sequels Announced

Tomb Raider was rebooted last year, and starred Oscar winner Alicia Vikander as the iconic Lara Croft—the film received mixed reviews by critics—however, our opinions stand at opposite sides. 70% “sweet/sour” for me, and for my brother—30% “sour”. I thought it was a gritty, realistic take on the video game, with a compelling performance by Vikander and stunning action sequences—Quinn dumped it, and thought that it was blandly acted, had cheap-looking special effects—and hated the “ballet” stunts by Vikander.

Tomb Raider 2 Cons (Quinn)

Con: Alicia Vikander and her ballet jumps—not a great action star

Con: Kristen Scott Thomas also a bad action star

Con: Jump has one bad film, High Rise

Con: Uthaug’s action was not coherent, and was little compared to Steven Spielberg’s direction for Indiana Jones

Con: The cast was not comfortable with the cheap-looking action sequences.

Tomb Raider 2 Pros (Keaton)

Pro: Alicia Vikander is awesome as Lara Croft—un-objectified and fierce.

Pro: Kristen Scott Thomas and Derek Jacabi are returning for villains

Pro: Screenwriter change, Amy Jump

Pro: Roar Uthaug did a exceptional job in the action sequences and realism.

Pro: The action was coherent, and had impressive special effects.

Overall, we are excited for the outcomes of the two sequels—Quinn and I are split for Tomb Raider 2—but we can all agree that Shazam! 2 is going to be awesome.

DC’s Shazam! came out a few weeks ago, and starred Zachary Levi—the film was a hit with the critics and the box office. Me, and Quinn loved the movie—and thought it was a landmark for a usually mediocre DC franchise. Thinking that Levi was fantastic, had a clever script with more than enough humor, and loads of superhero action; I gave it 83% “sweet”, Quinn delivered a 90% “sweet”.

Shazam! 2 Cons (Both)

Con: There is always sequel fatigue (Jaws, Kingsman, Fantastic Beasts etc.

Shazam! 2 Pros (Both)

Pro: The first film was impressive—very funny, and well-acted.

Pro: Zachary Levi was terrific in the title role.

Pro: The humor was hysterical—and better than the normal gritty and bland darkness in the DCEU.

Pro: The special effects were modestly budgeted, and solidly-looking.

Pro: The villain, played by Mark Strong—was excellently executed.

Pro: The sequel sets up another plot ripped from the beloved comics.

Star Wars or Avengers, Which will Be the Biggest

by: keaton marcus

There are two films gaming to be the biggest of the year—both domestically and internationally—Avengers: Endgame is opening on a couple weeks and is apart of the multi-billion dollar, interconnected franchise, Marvel Cinematic Universe. Otherwise, another sequel in a similar sci-fi franchise is the final instalment to the Star Wars franchise, The Rise of Skywalker which is certainly going to put up competition for the biggest of 2019.

Furthermore, Avengers: Endgame is the sequel to last year’s hit superhero flick, Infinity War—which garnered a 257.6M debut from 4,474 locations, before finishing with a massive 678.8M domestic finish, along with over two billion worldwide. Also, there are two other installments to the Avengers franchise—The Avengers debuted with 207.4M back in 2012, before finishing with 623.3M domestically, along with over 1.5 billion globally. The second film, Age of Ultron debuted with 191.2M in 2015, before ending with 459M domestically and 1.4 billion globally. All the installments are massive hits, but Infjnity War seems to be the biggest, creating a solid path for Endgame.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Avengers: Endgame is crushing Infinity War in pre-ticket sales, outpacing the picture 5-1. This can only go so far, but experts are still saying a 300M domestic three-day is suitable, which would be the biggest debut of all time. Internationally, reports are saying a 800M global debut is called for—obliterating the record. Considering the average 2.76x multiplier for Marvel movies—it would mean a massive domestic finish of 800M and a global ending of around 2.2B. However, we are seeing evidence that the picture may gross much higher. It all depends on critics.

The second film willing to take on Endgame, is the much-anticipated ninth and last installment to the Star Wars franchise—The Rise of Skywalker—which seems like the underdog here. However, since its initial release is not till December—there is no big evidence yet. Considering this, we take into mind the previous two movies in the newest trilogy, and their performances. Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuted with a massive 247.9M before finishing with a record-breaking 936.6M domestically, along with over two billion worldwide. The sequel, Star Wars: The Last Jedi opened to 220M before ending with 620.1M domestically and a lesser, but still solid 1.3 billion globally.

Considering this, the two movies score an average multiplier of 3.25x, which is a notable advantage against Marvel. Since this is truly the last movie in the franchise, fans should be more eager to see it than the previous two pictures. Based on this, a 248-300M debut looks very, very nice for the film. And the finish would be around 890M domestically—worldwide is still a mystery. While it’s start looks to be lower than the three-day for Endgame—however, Skywalker looks to throw some good punches in the long run—trying to crush competition.

NEW INFORMATION: Industry tracking sees Avengers: Endgame debuting around 200-250M—however, insiders thought the predictions were conservative—and they see a three-day of around 260-300M—which would be an opening record.

NEW INFORMATION: Box Office Mojo has updated the theater count—Avengers: Endgame is playing in an estimated 4,400 locations—meaning the final count should be topping 4,500.

NEW INFORMATION: Box Office Mojo updated the theater count once again, Endgame is playing in a massive 4,600+ locations—breaking the record for the widest release.

NEW INFORMATION: Updated weekend reports for Endgame track a debut of around 250-280M which could perhaps be a new opening record—also, some experts continue to say that a 300M three-day is not impossible.

NEW INFORMATION: Avengers: Endgame grossed over 169M on its opening day internationally, including with over 107M in China.

NEW INFORMATION: Avengers: Endgame posts massive 305M internationally in two days of global release.

NEW INFORMATION: Endgame garnered a record-breaking 60M from Thursday Night Previews, and is officially heading towards a 300M+ debut.

NEW INFORMATION: Avengers: Endgame broke more records, grossing 157.4M on its opening day domestically, heading towards a record-breaking 350M three-day. The film also has over 643M globally after three days in release.

NEW INFORMATION: Avengers: Endgame finally debuts domestically, opening with a massive 357.1M domestically and over 1.2B worldwide. 21 records, along with 44 single overseas market records.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Takes on Avengers: Endgame for Biggest Film of Year

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Pros and Cons

Pro: J.J Abrams is back to direct

Con: The Last Jedi was disliked by fans

Pro: The hype is big, since its the last installment

Con: Franchise fatigue?? The ninth film???

Pro: The Force Awakens is beloved by fans

Pro: Running times for Star Wars tend to be around 2 hours

Avengers: Endgame Pros and Cons

Pro: The Russo brothers are still on board

Pro: Infinity War was a hit with fans

Pro: The last installment to The Avengers franchise

Pro: Fans still seem keen on watching

Pro: The original two films liked by fans

Con: Avengers: Endgame has a running time slightly over 3 HOURS

In conclusion, very early evidence suggests a 300M domestic debut for Endgame and a 274M opening for The Rise of Skywalker. When Endgame debuts in a couple weeks, we shall have more information.

Until then, it’s still a clash between two giants.

Four Things We Noticed From the "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" Trailer

by: keaton marcus

PALPATINE IS BACK, WELL… SORT OF

Remember Emperor Palpatine in the original trilogy of Star Wars—he never quite showed up in the first, A New Hope, or The Empire Strikes Back—but he obviously got his fair share of screen time in the final installment to the classic trilogy—Return of the Jedi—which at the end of, Darth Vader throws Palpatine into a shaft, making us think that the famed villain is dead. Also, in the prequel trilogy, consisting of The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith—a younger Palpatine showed in all three films, slowly corrupting Jedi Anakin Skywalker—into becoming Darth Vader. Yes, it was hysterically surprising—the entire population was shocked from Palpatine’s “death” in the franchise.

However, the newest installment to the interconnected franchise Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker just released its teaser trailer—and there is valuable evidence that Palpatine is coming back to life—while it looked pretty much like the character was never returning—audiences never actually saw him die per say—and further proof that director J.J. Abrams is setting up the return is Luke Skywalker’s compelling quote during the trailer—which clearly says that “No one is ever gone” right before Palpatine sends chills with his malicious cackle. Otherwise, producer Kathleen Kennedy said it was the franchise’s original plan to bring back the villain in the ninth installment—and so far, they have stayed true to their word. We are all very excited for the anticipated return of Palpatine—but whether it will be his ghost or him in person is still a mystery.

THIS IS THE LAST INSTALLMENT…PERHAPS

We are also tearing up because of the thoughts that The Rise of Skywalker is indeed the last installment to the great franchise—further proof in the trailer, when a title card shows up explaining that “the grand saga comes to an end”. However, fans should not fear—the franchise has just released information on a gritty Star Wars TV show called The Mandalorian which seems to be a prequel series based on the adventures of a bounty hunter—die hard fans will be ready to binge. So, while technically, the film part of the series may be coming to a stop—the TV efforts are not quite finished.

THEY BRING BACK MANY LOVABLE CHARACTERS

In the trailer, we see many returning characters from the previous installments in the newest trilogy—The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi—including the likes of Rey—who is now a total badass Jedi, also we see glimpses of Poe and Finn together on a desert planet of some kind (wow, Star Wars really does love its steamy worlds), Luke Skywalker, the famed Jedi also speaks during the teaser—although we never see him in human form. How can we forget the awesome Androids, BB-8 and his new friend (unknown)—along with the nostalgic robots of C-3PO and R2-D2, who are seen standing together again. Mentioned before, Palpatine laughs at the end of the trailer, and Princess Leia is also shown for a bit. The most exciting character returns, however, are Lando (Billie Dee Williams) and Chewie driving the Millenium Falcon once again—just like in the olden days.

THE DEATH STAR RETURNS…WELL, IN RUINS

In the terrific teaser trailer, besides the returning characters, and the mind-blowing special effects—we also see a very special object for a few seconds. The Death Star’s ruins are clearly shown on some kind of dark, misty planet. Rey, Poe and Finn are shown standing before the giant “planet”—the creepy atmosphere of the scene is great—but we still do not know what significant effect this could have on the unknown plot, and whether the return of Palpatine has anything to do with it—considering he died on the object. Maybe, through all these years, Palpatine lived on the remains of The Death Star—waiting for the perfect moment??? We will know from further trailers, and the actual movie.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives in theaters everywhere December 20th 2019!!!!

James Gunn Is Rehired for Guardians of the Galaxy 3

by: keaton marcus

James Gunn at an event for Guardians of the Galaxy

James Gunn directed the beloved and supremely popular Marvel films Guardians of the Galaxy starring Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana in the lead roles.

Both superhero themed films received general acclaim for us—praising the humor, visual effects and the charming, talented cast. The original film received 85/100 “sweet” on the Lemonradar, followed by another solid 80/100 “sweet” for the sequel—which debuted in 2017. Clearly Gunn had a knack for Marvel pictures—especially those with comedic undertones.

Filmmaker James Gunn, along with Disney and Marvel were set to make the third installment to the successful franchise. However, when Gunn criticized President Donald Trump—propagandists Jack Posobiec and Mike Cernovich looked through he filmmaker’s social media history—only to put light on offensive tweets made from 2008-2011. These tweets included comments that promoted pedophelia, inappropriately phrased comments about gay people and even the terrible 9/11.

When Disney heard about the comments, they immediately fired James Gunn. Saying that these words were disgraceful. Despite the bad publicity now swarming around the director—The “Guardians” cast including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista defended Gunn and them along with more members signed a petition to get him back.

James Gunn immediately apologized for the comments—calling them “unfortunate efforts to be provocative”. Which Disney chairman Alan Horn respected. Gunn also responded to the passionate protests by his fans and fellow cast members. See the comments to your right.

These comments were beloved by the public. It was the trade news website Deadline who reported that Gunn has been suddenly rehired to helm “Guardians of the Galaxy 3”. Gunn also said his thanks to Disney, saying that we was excited to “continue making films that investigate the ties of love that bind us all.”

The first two installments grossed both 773.3 and 863.7 million globally—very impressive numbers. While there may be some serious controversy about the rehiring—the public seems pretty content, and we should expect some big numbers on its debut.

James Gunn is also set to direct the “Suicide Squad” reboot, which is set to come out on August 6th, 2021—this should have some success too, and hopefully critics will like it more, considering the original received terrible reviews.

The “Guardians” third installment is supposedly coming out somewhere in 2020—remember “We Are Groot”.

"Hellboy" Official Loved By Critics; "Shazam!" All Around Awesome

by: keaton marcus

Watch Two New Flaming Superhero Trailers, “Hellboy” and “Shazam!”

“Shazam” drops its second trailer to date, promises many laughs.

“Hellboy” releases its awesome Red Band trailer.

Two new superhero trailers were dropped this week, and both fans/critics alike had their say.

The Baba Yaga in her chicken-legged house.

Firstly, the superhero-themed reboot “Hellboy” dropped its second trailer early in the week, and everybody seemed to take it on a generally positive note. The trailer promises plenty of blood, gore and R-rated laughs, with “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour starring as the title role. Critics say that the second trailer took a plot straight out of the comics successfully, and features titular characters such as Baba Yaga who supposedly has a long history with Hellboy, along with her chicken-legged house. The trailer also shows more of Nimue the Blood Queen who is now portrayed as one of the villains.

London being turned into Hell on Earth.

The original trailer was dropped a couple months ago, and received almost no popularity; fans compared the film’s teaser negatively to “Suicide Squad” which received lackluster reviews from critics. Generally, people are saying that the “Red Band” trailer is much better, bloodier and funnier and got fans a little more hyped for the somewhat “anticipated” April release. However, on a more negative note, fans are still judging Hellboy’s new, more modern look, apparently loving the original design much more.

Other notes from the trailer is that London get’s completely trashed, and looks like Hell on Earth. This destruction theme is promising a big-budget, and estimates say that a 170M+ cost looks suitable to keep up with loads of visual flash. Lot’s and lot’s of gross monsters, trolls and giants alike storm the beloved city, destroying icons such as the London Bridge.

Overall, our take on the new, flaming red trailer is generally positive; We liked how the reboot is going for the R-rating, promising much more blood and swearing than the original, also the role seems extremely suitable for David Harbour, although maybe not as legendary as Ron Perlman. The special effects look top-notch, and the film has some interesting comics mythology going, the only problems we had were the lack of originality, and creativity to differ from the original, and with all the chaotic action sequences, there are chances that it could end up a mess. Box Office estimates are moderate, standing at around 40-45M from a possible 4,000+ locations, and could easily top the Box Office, but would still need solid international numbers to break even with its big-looking budget.

Sivana (Mark Strong) using his crazy-cool powers as the villain.

A second superhero trailer dropped later in the week, this was the second released trailer for comedy-themed pic “Shazam!”. This was received as all-around awesome by both critics and fans, calling it “funny”, “entertaining” and most of all “badass”. The trailer teases many things, and we will list a couple. The trailer teases new characters such as Mary (Grace Faulton) who so far plays as the damsel in distress, otherwise we saw more of the teased villain Sivana (Mark Strong) who gets incredibly strong lightning-type powers in the new trailer; the certain villain is Shazam’s oldest foe, and is generally known as a character of science in the comics, and fans will be surprised to see him in such violent form in the film adaptation. The film is also trying to play a little like “Star Wars” as Sivana is the Wizard’s old pupil, before he turned on the hero. The trailer teases the origin of Shazam and Sivana becoming mortal enemies, as the hero seems clueless when the antagonist first attacks him. Sivana’s powers also provide visual flash, and will likely add to the expense, of a so far moderate budget cost.

Shazam in the middle of using The Speed of Mercury.

A second thing the film teases is that “Shazam” is still nameless, and for sure, we know his name is not Captain Sparklefingers, which his friend teases him with. The comics were first released in 1940, before starting to outsell the “Superman” comics by far, and on the acclaimed pages, we always referred to the hero as “Shazam”, but the trailer promises something different and unique. Mary, also right after Billy/Shazam saves her refers to him as ‘the hero’ which is truly a subsequent moment—we still have no guesses for the name—but we likely know by the end of the movie, which releases everywhere April 5th.

The trailer teases a major power in the comics also, which is The Speed of Mercury which Shazam helms. Freddie, in both trailers helps Billy/Shazam find out his superhero powers, this is hoped to be shown in a good old-fashioned montage in the film. The Speed of Mercury is shown briefly in the second trailer, wen Shazam uses the speed to save the aforementioned Mary (Grace Faulton)—the certain superpower rivals even the Flash’s hysterically fast speed—as the superhero also uses his super speed to fly—and—well save buses.

Overall, we were both very happy with the second trailer for “Shazam!” which promises laughs, and many powers, villains and characters right out of the still-popular comics—the action sequences and visual effects look well-down, the humor is top-notch, and we are thinking Zachary Levi is an actor right for the cheeky hero. There are no “problems” that come straight to mind, except that the DCEU has had a rocky past, besides the well-reviewed “Wonder Woman” and “Aquaman”, but the certain franchise has never tried a full-on action/comedy flick—this could cause some big problems, but the ads object.

The Sour, Sour Awards

by: keaton marcus

The Worst Films of 2018

John C. Reilly and Will Ferrel in their terrible new film Holmes and Watson

Last year, we saw films such as Transformers: The Last Knight (18%), The Mummy (27%), Geostorm (17%) and Power Rangers (30%) all take nominations for the worst film of 2017, but the overall winner was in fact, the worst reviewed film of the year, which is The Emoji Movie which scored a brutal 6% D-sour on the Lemonradar.

Here is the primary list of some of the worst films of 2018:

Worst Picture

Robin Hood 27% D-sour

The Darkest Minds 20% D-sour

Winner: Winchester 19% D-sour

Holmes and Watson 15% D-sour

Worst Actor

Winner: Johnny Depp (Sherlock Gnomes)

Will Ferrel (Holmes and Watson)

Taron Egerton (Robin Hood)

Worst Actress

Helen Mirren (Winchester)

Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades Freed and Robin Hood)

Winner: Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald)

Worst Adaptation, Remake or Sequel

Rampage 47% sour

Death Wish 27% D-sour (estimated)

Winner: Holmes and Watson 15% D-sour

Robin Hood 27% D-sour

Worst Film of 2018:

holmes and watson 15% d-sour

The Sour, Sour Award Goes to Holmes and Watson.

The Snubs and Surprises of the 91st Academy Awards

by: keaton marcus

Who Was Successful, and Who Came Home empty?

Rami Malek winning Best Actor, Olivia Colman winning Best Actress and Mahershala Ali winning Best Supporting Actor

Surprise: Green Book Takes Best Picture, Along With More Wins

Peter Farrelly’s Green Book was nominated for five categories, and surprisingly took home a few; The biggest surprise for the film was when the acclaimed pic took home Best Picture, instead of the anticipated Roma, which also took home a few wins. The film scored a solid 77% “sweet” on the Lemonradar; The film also took Best Supporting Actor, going to Mahershala Ali who was also not expected to nab this particular Oscar, it also won Best Original Screenplay, against First Reformed, Vice, The Favourite and even Roma.

Snub and Surprise: Roma takes home three, but misses many nominations

Alfonso Cuàron’s Roma was nominated for ten oscars, and was expected to take home at least half, but settled for a few, which is still impressive for a “foreign film"; The acclaimed film took home the expected Best Director for Alfonso, who clearly deserved it, it also won Best Cinematography and obviously Best Foreign Film for the country of Mexico. The total three wins is a little pale to what was expected, as it was anticipated to nab Best Picture, Best Writing (Original Screenplay) and possibly Best Sound Editing.

Surprise: Bohemian Rhapsody takes home both Sound Editing and Sound Mixing, along with a few others

Fox’s Bohemian Rhapsody was not only a smash in the Box Office, it also took home a grand total of four wins after being nominated for five categories, which is a surprise, considering it only managed to score a disappointing 55% “sour” on the Lemonradar, one of the lowest rated winners in history. The film nabbed Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing, along with Rami Malek winning Best Actor and Best Film Editing. It took home 80% of its nominations, which is far more than the 30% for Roma and the 60% for Green Book. The surprise only failed to win Best Picture, which it was expected to win the most, but the dull biopic managed to amaze.

Snub: Mary Poppins fails to take Best Music (Original Score) and Best Music (Original Song)

Disney’s update on the classic children’s pic, Mary Poppins Returns managed to get nominated for three oscars, but failed to take home any, which was disappointing; Especially abnormal, it missed both Best Music (Original Score) and Best Music (Original Song), otherwise it also failed to nab Best Production Design. The film even received some very positive reception from us, offering a decent 67% “sweet/sour” on the Lemonradar, but not enough people voted; Actress Emily Blunt, who shines in the main role, failed to even get nominated for Best Actress, which is disappointing, considering the talented actress clearly deserved it.

Surprise: Black Panther wins Best Costume Design, along with a couple other big wins

Marvel’s 2018 Box Office and critical hit, Black Panther soared in the 91st Academy Awards; The film was initially nominated for a massive seven categories, and managed to win three, shocking the Oscars, as the film is a high-octane superhero pic, which rarely win. The film received an acclaimed 85% “sweet” on the Lemonradar, marking one of the best Marvel flicks ever made. The two big surprises was when it took home Best Production Design, and especially Best Costume Design, considering it was up against The Favourite; it also nabbed Best Music (Original Score) which also surprised the Awards; I, personally would have wanted the diverse superhero film to take home Best Picture, although Green Book, the winner of that category deserved it.

Surprise: Regina King and Olivia Colman win Best Supporting Actress, and Best Actress

The Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories were both major surprises this year; For Best Actress, Regina King took home the award for her acclaimed drama If Beale Street Could Talk which is a landmark for diversity, seeing that she was up against Amy Adams, Marina de Tavira, Emma Stone and even Rachel Weisz. Otherwise, in the Supporting Actress category, actress Olivia Colman took home the award for The Favourite, which might have been the biggest surprise of the day, as most critics said Glenn Close was very much expected to win for her newest pic The Wife.

Snub: The Favourite nominated for ten, wins just one

Critically-acclaimed biopic The Favourite was expected to be the big-bang at the Oscars last night, the film was nominated for a massive ten categories, and managed to only win one, which was when actress Olivia Colman took Best Actress, and while that was considered a “surprise”, everywhere else, it was never too good for the much-anticipated contender. The biggest snub of the evening for the film was when it lost to Black Panther for Best Costume Design, and otherwise, we were disappointed when it lost Best Production Design, Best Supporting Actress for Rachel Weisz and Best Director; The film was nominated for a few more, but never managed to take much.

The Snubs and Surprises of the 91st Academy Awards Nominations

by: keaton marcus

Favourite, Panther, A Star is Born, Rhapsody Dominate with Surprises; the Snubs and Surprises list

Snub: Bradley Cooper Fails to Land Nomination for Best Director; But A Star is Born landed eight nominations

WB and Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born scored a solid 80% “sweet” on the Lemonradar, and landed eight nominations; However, Cooper, who directed and acted in the film, failed to be nominated for Best Director, which was much anticipated. This was disappointing, and a snub indeed, but the talented actor still landed three nominations including Best Actor.

Surprise: Bohemian Rhapsody lands five nominations, including Best Actor for Rami Malek

Fox and Bryan Singer’s Bohemian Rhapsody was one of the most disappointing films of the year, projected to be amazing, considering the subject matter, but ending up a so-so 55% “sour” on the Lemonradar, although it has grossed over 200M domestically. Still, Rhapsody managed to land an impressive five nominations including one for Best Actor, Rami Malek who shined in the disappointing film, this is a surprise indeed, considering the low-quality.

Surprise: Black Panther becomes first superhero pic to land Best Picture nomination, totaling massive seven nominations

Buena Vista and Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther scored a very good 85% “sweet” on the Lemonradar, praising its visual effects, all-black cast, emotion and incredible directing, despite its long run-time; This Marvel feature was the first superhero film to land a nomination for Best Picture, and otherwise managed a total of seven nominations, one of the most this year which is very surprising, especially for a Marvel pic, which barely even get nominated. So despite the fail to land Best Director for Ryan Coogler, or a spot in the Best Visual Effects category, we are expecting a couple Oscars for this impressive film.

Snub: Despite positive review, Crazy Rich Asians landed zero nominations, disappointing

WB and John Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians was not only one of the biggest hits of the year, grossing over 170M domestically, the film also scored an impressive 86% “sweet” on the Lemonradar, and was much anticipated to be a surprise Oscar contender, looking at Best Supporting Actress for Constance Wu, or perhaps Best Director for John Chu, but it failed to land any such nominations which means, the film is indeed, a snub, and one of the most disappointing ones of the 91st Academy Awards.

Snub: Won’t You Be My Neighbor is very well-reviewed, but failed to earn a spot in Best Documentary, or any other category

Tremolo Productions and Morgan Neville’s 2018 released doc on Fred Rogers/Mr. Rogers earned a very impressive 89% “sweet” on the Lemonradar, and did well in its limited release in the Box Office, but failed to land a Best Documentary nomination, or any other category for that matter. Besides Best Doc, we could imagine a Best Director for Neville, and a Best Picture, but the film landed zero nominations.

Surprise: Christopher Robin lands a Best Visual Effects nomination, but why?

Buena Vista, Disney and Marc Forster’s Christopher Robin sported a disappointing 50% “sour” on the Lemonradar, while praising McGregor’s performance, and cinematography, the film was a tedious, poorly directed film. The film did have some visual effects, standing at a 75M production cost, but that and First Man were the primary reasons that Black Panther (85% sweet) or especially Aquaman (86% sweet) could have fit into the Best Visual Effects category easily. This was also a surprise, because it stood up to the 400M costing Avengers: Infinity War, the 300M cost for Solo: A Star Wars Story and the 175M budget for Ready Player One which all focus on dazzling visuals. Christopher Robin was supposed to be a harmless children’s pic, but ended tangling in the Visual Effects category; This might be the biggest surprise, but is confusing, and very unfair, shame on the Effects category.

Surprise: The Favourite and Roma lead, with a massive 10 nominations; Wow

Fox and Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite was well-reviewed, and mostly received universal praise; And we were expecting a few nominations to come out of the Academy Awards, but the film landed a massive 10 nominations, leading the Oscars with the most, along with Roma which also sported 10 nominations, receiving universal praise, and was nominated categories including Best Director and Best Cinematography. Both films are expected to take home at least 3-5 wins which is very impressive, and we could expect more.

Surprises of the Golden Globes: Winners Announced for 2019

by: keaton marcus

Rhapsody and Malek surprise, Gaga, Cooper, Ali Win etc.

Some of the Chosen Winners including Mahershala Ali and Lady Gaga.

Bohemian Rhapsody and Rami Malek

Bohemian Rhapsody won a Golden Globe for Best Drama over A Star is Born (80%), Black Panther (85%), BlaKkKlansman (97%) and If Beale Street Could Talk (90%), which was very much, a surprise, as the film scored a disappointing 55% “sour” on the Lemonradar, and while we praised the music, and Rami Malek’s performance, the pitiful directing and storytelling drowned the film; Rhapsody stands as one of the worst-reviewed winners, as we predicted A Star is Born to take the Best Drama section. Also having to do with the film, lead actor Rami Malek (as Freddie Mercury) won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, against Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born), Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate), Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased) and John David Washington (BlaKkKlansman). While his performance was magnetic for the role, this still counts as a surprise, because of the film’s poor execution.

The Animated Category and Into the Spider-Verse

We had another pleasant surprise in the Best Animated Film section, with a win from critically-acclaimed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, directed by Rodney Rothman and scoring an impressive 91% “sweet”. While Spider-Verse is the best scored animated film of the year, and it deserves the win, we were predicting the run-of-the-mill Disney pic Ralph Breaks the Internet to take the gold (80%), however Spider-Verse remains one of the only superhero films (perhaps the only) to win a Golden Globe which is a very impressive delight. Furthermore, a sequel and many spin-offs are being developed for the film due to its Box Office and critical success.

The Golden Globes Shut out A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place, which is the official best-reviewed film of the year, scoring a massive 100% “sweet” on the Lemonradar, deserved some Golden Globes, the film was shut out of two categories, both Best Original Score, and was completely eliminated from Best Drama, which the film was perfect to win in. The film lost to First Man, Mary Poppins Returns, Black Panther and Isle of Dogs. A Quiet Place also should have at least been nominated for Best Director, with filmmaker John Krasinski acting and directing with style and atmosphere. A Quiet Place may have been critically-acclaimed, and a Box Office amazement, but it truly disappointed at the Golden Globes.

A Side Note: The Kominsky Method dominates TV

Although, we announced the film, not TV, The Kominsky Method won two Golden Globes this year, one with Michael Douglas, who won Best Actor - Comedy TV, and the show itself won Best Comedy, actor Alan Arkin was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

The Snubs and Surprises: The 76th Golden Globe Nominees

by: keaton marcus

WHO GOT SHUT OUT, AND WHO CAME WITH NOMINATIONS

1. A SOUR, SOUR SNUB: A QUIET PLACE COMES HOME WITH JUST ONE NOMINATION

After receiving an acclaimed 100% sweet on sweetandsourmovies.com, A Quiet Place scared up just one nomination from the 76th Golden Globes, for Best Original Score, and got shut out of the Best Drama section, most likely by competing blockbuster Black Panther. This modern-classic should have been nominated for much more.

2. A SWEET, SWEET SURPRISE: BLACK PANTHER NOMINATED FOR THREE

Becoming the first Marvel pic to be nominated, Black Panther received an 85% sweet approval rating on sweetandsourmovies.com, being praised for its almost all-black cast, powerful performances and thrilling special effects and was later nominated for Best Drama, Best Original Song (“All the Stars”) and Best Original Score totaling three. Overall, this is very, very impressive for a high-octane superhero flick.

3. A SOUR, SOUR SNUB: MARY POPPINS RETURNS SHUT OUT FROM BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Although having No Score currently, Mary Poppins Returns was thrown into the nomination bowl, after having received mixed social media reactions, the film was nominated for Best Musical or Comedy, Best Actress in Musical or Comedy (Emily Blunt), and Best Actor (Lin-Manuel Miranda), and Best Original Score, totaling a jumbo four nominations, however, its most relevant and obvious nomination Best Original Song, the Musical was shut out from which is very disappointing.

4. A SWEET, SWEET SURPRISE: ROSAMUND PIKE AND NICOLE KIDMAN NOMINATED FOR BEST ACTRESS

Rosamund Pike, acted in A Private War which scored 89% on rottentomatoes.com scored a surprising nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama, along with another surprising Best Actress nominee Nicole Kidman who acted in Destroyer which scored a solid 82% on rottentomatoes.com before being nominated.

5. A SOUR, SOUR SNUB: SAM ELLIOT SHUT OUT FROM BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

After delivering a somewhat electrifying performance in this year’s new Drama pic A Star is Born which received an impressive 80% sweet on sweetandsourmovies.com, was shut out from the Best Supporting Actor section in the Golden Globes, which was very unfair, although the actor was up against amazing performances from Adam Driver (BlaKkKlansman), Mahershala Ali (Green Book), Timothée Chalamet (Boy Erased), Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) and Sam Rockwell (Vice).

6. A SWEET, SWEET SURPRISE: BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY FOR BEST PICTURE, BEST DRAMA

After receiving an extremely disappointing 55% sour from sweetandsourmovies.com, being praised for an amazing performance by Rami Malek, and fantastic music, but was put down for its terrible directing and shortage of story. Despite that, Rhapsody still landed two nominations for Best Picture, and Best Drama which is similar to last year’s musical disappointment, The Greatest Showman which although scored just 60% sweet/sour, landed several nominations.

7. A SOUR, SOUR SNUB: RYAN GOSLING FAILS TO SHOW IN BEST ACTOR

Acting in this year’s First Man, about Neil Armstrong, and landing a 95% sweet with us, Ryan Gosling, who delivered a truly awesome performance failed to be nominated for Best Actor in a Drama Motion Picture, which is somewhat sad, however going up against Bradley Cooper and John David Washington from A Star is Born and BlaKkKlansman is very tough.

8. A SWEET, SWEET SURPRISE: LUCAS HEDGES NOMINATED FOR BEST ACTOR

Acting as Jared Eamons, the main character in drama pic Boy Erased which received a good 80% on RottenTomatoes, before being nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, which was very surprising, going up against veteran actors such as Willem Dafoe and Bradley Cooper. And while we are predicting a win for Cooper for Best Actor, it is still impressive that young actors were included.

9. THE FINAL SOUR, SOUR SNUB: MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTTS NOMINATED FOR NOTHING

Starring impressive actresses, Saorise Ronan and Margot Robbie, Mary, Queen of Scotts after receiving a Certified Fresh score of 74% from RottenTomatoes, came home bereft from nominations, losing chances for Best Drama mostly, Black Panther seemed to be the surprise that kicked this historical drama from the list.

Mr. Lee: Saying Goodbye to a Legend

by: keaton marcus

R.I.P. Stan, 1922-2018

My 7-year old brother Hudson’s drawing of Stan Lee and his creations…

Who is the old man who shows up in every Marvel film? Who is the funny dude that cameos in superhero films? Stan Lee was rushed to the hospital this Monday in an emergency, the 95-year-old-man died soon after, truly breaking the world’s heart. Stan Lee created Marvel Comics in 1939, and produced your favorite characters such as Spider-Man, Iron Man and Captain America, Lee also cameos in every single Marvel-related movie there is from The Wolverine to Deadpool to Spider-Man: Homecoming, that funny old man is always there to make you laugh;

Stan Lee created a whole universe and transferred it from the pages in a book, to the delightful big screen at the movie theaters, whether you were a superhero fan or not, The last cameo we have seen from him was in 2018’s Venom, which he had a scene of hysterical banter with Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), you may have noticed the bus driver in Avengers: Infinity War, the war veteran in Age of Ultron, and the nutty neighbor in Spider-Man: Homecoming, no matter what, he was always one of the key motives to go see a Marvel branded movie, and for superhero fans, the man has become an extremely important figure in their lives and it truly leaves everybody in tears that such a delightful person has passed.

Lee will be mourned by both comic, tv and movie lovers and would be considered another legend lost, as he is one of the only people who have managed to create spectacular, creative and thrilling entertainment in all three forms. The greatest impact on me is that we will not be able to go to a Marvel film in theaters knowing that Lee will be there.

Although the legend has passed, his cameos will live on, Stan Lee has done scenes in upcoming films such as Ralph Breaks the Internet, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Avengers 4 and even 2019’s Captain Marvel. So technically, Stan still lives through his creations.

We all wish we could see more of Lee, though when somebody has passed, they are gone forever, Rest in Peace Mr. Lee, we all love you here at Sweet and Sour Movie Reviews!!!!

Will Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Steal Next Weekend with Successful Box Office???

by: keaton marcus

UNIVERSAL AND illumination’s THE GRINCH: WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FOR BOX OFFICE

Soon after this weekend’s Bohemian Rhapsody trumped the Box Office, next week, we see Universal and Illumination’s Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch which is so far doing well on marketing and is expected to play in an estimated 4,000 locations which does boost the chances of The Grinch being a Box Office success, as it is heading in similar footprints as the Despicable Me trilogy, and with baa nkable star Benedict Cumberbatch, the top of the chart will be glowing green most likely.

Budget wise, comparable films such as Despicable Me 1,2,3 and Minions hold costs from 69-80M and have all been Box Office successes (domestic grosses: from 251-368M, worldwide grosses: from 543-1.159B). The other similar flicks include the Dr. Seuss films, which also have all been immediate successes such as The Lorax, Horton Hears a Who!, The Cat in the Hat or How the Grinch Stole Christmas which hold budget costs from 70-123M; (Domestic grosses: from 101-260M, worldwide grosses: from 133-348M).

Here is a list of the similar films to The Grinch, showing how their Box Office numbers both domestic and international compared with the production cost.

Illumination films:

• The Secret Life of Pets: $368.384M domestic and $875.5M worldwide on 75M production budget

• Despicable Me 2: $368.061M domestic and $970.8M worldwide on 76M production budget

• Minions: $336.045M domestic and $1.159B worldwide on 74M production budget

• Sing: $270.395M domestic and $634.2M worldwide on 75M production budget

• Despicable Me 3: $264.624M domestic and $1.034B worldwide on 80M production budget

• Despicable Me: $254.513M domestic and $543.1M worldwide on 69M production budget

• Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax: $214.030M domestic and 348.8M worldwide on 70M production budget

• Hop: $108.085M domestic and $184M worldwide on 63M production budget

  Dr. Seuss Adaptions:

• Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas: $260.044M domestic and $345.1M worldwide on 123M production budget

• Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax: $214.030M domestic and $348.8M worldwide on 70M production budget

• Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!: $154.529M domestic and 297.1M worldwide on 85M production budget

• Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat: $101.149M domestic and $133.9M worldwide on 109M production budget

  Based on this list of the two brands, now here are the domestic, international and budget averages which may determine roughly the Box Office performance for The Grinch.

• Domestic Box Office Average: $242.3M

• International Box Office Average: $389.9M

• Production Budget Average: $80.7M

  This proves that The Grinch is looking for success next weekend.

What Will Become of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms' Box Office: The Dwindling performances of Disney live-action adaptations

by: keaton marcus

Will audiences flock to Disney’s Nutcracker, or simply give it not attention this weekend

If you have a look at all the Disney-live-action adaptions completed so far, you will notice many, many Box Office hits such as Malecifent, Beauty and the Beast, Oz the Great and Powerful or the remake of Cinderella, but going down the list, you may also take to mind the big-budget flops Disney has created such as The Lone Ranger, A Wrinkle in Time, Tomorrowland and Alice Through the Looking Glass, looking at this, the results are seemingly mixed, but what will become of Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms which although has popular themes behind it, and an all-star cast, may be destined to flop for many reasons:

• Bad critical reception

• Most likely a 150M+ budget

• Lack of marketing

• Tough competition, Bohemian Rhapsody

These are all reasons why Nutcracker may be the latest Disney Box Office bomb, and considering the early suggestions of a 23-26M three-day debut, things are not looking good for the Disney children-targeted flick. However, there is still a couple of reasons (maybe not enough), why this might be a Disney hit.

• An all-star cast, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and Kiera Knightly

• Pure visual razzle-dazzle

• Popular themes, (the nutcracker)

Now here is the list of every Disney-live action adaption, and as you may notice the results are mixed:

• Beauty and the Beast: $504.014M on a 160M production budget

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest: $423.315M on a 225M production budget

• The Jungle Book: $364.001M on a 175M production budget

• Alice in Wonderland: $334.191M on a 200M production budget

• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End: $309.420M on a 300M production budget

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: $305.413M on a 140M production budget

• Malecifent: $241.410M on a 180M production budget

• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: $241.071M on a 410M production budget

• Oz the Great and Powerful: $234.911M on a 217M production budget

• Cinderella: $201.151M on a 95M production budget

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: $172.558M on a 280M production budget

• A Wrinkle in Time: $100.478M on a 115M production budget

• Tomorrowland: $93.436M on a 185M production budget

• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: $90.759M on a 200M production budget

• The Lone Ranger: $89.302M on a 215M production budget

• Alice Through the Looking Glass: $77.041M on a 170M production budget

• Pete’s Dragon: $76.233M on a 65M production budget

As you can see, this list of the some of the newer Disney-live-action films result in mixed feelings, showing that while some movies created by Disney have audiences going nuts, and some of the others, have massive production budgets and small Box Office; Here are our collected averages:

• Average Domestic Gross: $226.647M

• Average Production Budget: 196M

  This proves that although Disney has had many misses, its average gross is usually higher than the occasional massive production budgets, however this does not determine the fate of the new film.

run tom run

by: keaton marcus

DO TOM'S MOVIES MAKE MORE WHEN HE RUNS MORE?

If you have seen at least one of his action films, you would have noticed that Cruise runs a little too much and that he is very, very good at it. So I decided to analyse this and ask the question of whether Tom Cruise's movies are more successful with the Box Office if he is shown sprinting more. Here is the data we have so far collected. 

When Tom IS a COUCH POTATO, 1-500 ft.

1. Endless Love - Box Office: $31.184m

2. T.A.P.S - Box Office: $35.856m

3. Losin' It - Box Office: $1.246m

4. The Outsiders - Box Office: $25.697m

5. Risky Business - Box Office: $63.541m

6. Legend - Box Office: $15.502m

7. Top Gun - Box Office: $179.800m

8. The Color of Money - Box Office: $52.293m

9. Rain Man - Box Office: $172.825m

10. Cocktail - Box Office: $78.222m

11. Days of Thunder - Box Office: $82.670m

12. A Few Good Men - Box Office: $141.340m

13. Far and Away - Box Office: $58.883m

14. Interview with the Vampire - Box Office: $105.264m

15. Jerry Maguire - Box Office: $153.952m

16. Eyes Wide Shut - Box Office: $55.691m

17. The Last Samurai - Box Office: $111.127m

18. Rock of Ages - Box Office: 38.514m

19. Jack Reacher - Box Office: $80.070m

20. American Made - Box Office: $51.342m

Domestic Box Office Average: $76m

When Tom IS A 5K RUNNER, 501-1000 ft.  

1. All the Right Moves - Box Office: $17.233m

2. Born on the Fourth of July - Box Office: $70.001m

3. Mission: Impossible - Box Office: $180.981m

4. Mission: Impossible 2 - Box Office: $215.409m

5. Vanilla Sky - Box Office: $100.618m

6. Collateral - Box Office: $101.005m

7. Knight and Day - Box Office: $76.423m

8. Oblivion - Box Office: $89.107m

Domestic Box Office Average: $106m

When Tom Is freakin' usain bolt, 1,001+ ft.

1. The Firm - Box Office: $158.348m

2. Minority Report - Box Office: $132.072m

3. Mission: Impossible 3 - Box Office: $134.029m

4. War of the Worlds - Box Office: $234.280m

5. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - Box Office: $209.397m

6. Edge of Tomorrow - Box Office: $100.206m

7. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - Box Office: $195.042m

8. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back - Box Office: $58.697m

9. The Mummy (2017) - Box Office: $80.227m

Domestic Box Office Average: $144m

This concludes that the more Tom Cruise runs in his movies, on average his flicks make a considerable amount more. a recommendation for the studio is to make a tom cruise flick that has double the running of most of his movies making sure that his films will make twice as much money. a great idea for the movie is a reboot of run lola run starring tom cruise!!

Should We listen to Age Ratings from Netflix?

by: keaton marcus

Netflix has been a movies and TV hub for 21 years since it's founding in 1997 in Scotts Valley, California. So far the website has proved a useful and mostly free place for entertaining, but in my opinion there still stands one problem, why are there age or maturity ratings so off balance.

For example Amazon.com, Netflix's main "rival" uses the common MPAA ratings we see everyday (G: General Audiences, PG: Parental Guidance, PG-13: Some material may be inapprpiate for children under 13, R: Restricted and NC-17: No children under 17) But that does not seem enough for Netflix.

Coming to America

The real ball-buster on Netflix was what I found a couple days ago when me and my family decided to watch a comedy and found Coming to America starring Eddie Murphy which showed a 7+ age rating, since my dad said it was most likely PG-rated, we started to watch it; However on one of the first scenes we saw R-rated type nudity and language including "The Royal Penis is Clean" showing naked women cleaning Eddie Murphy's character's genitals. Once we saw that we looked on other common age rating sites and saw that it titled an R-rated MPAA and a 15+ age rating; Now that is something unforgivable from Netflix.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

The Matrix

Maybe, we should let Netflix off of the hook on this problem since most people go to other movie websites for age ratings usually, but nobody can deny that they just have it completely wrong with another example of PG-rated The Phantom Menace v R-rated The Matrix which still both have the 16+ rating for violence according to Netflix.

Despicable Me

The Last Airbender

Although some films on Netflix have accurate age ratings including the common PG-13 action flicks such as the Transformers franchise, Marvel franchise and other popular movies, but when you travel deeper and deeper into the age ratings you find that even some kids films have the same problems such as comparing the Despicable Me franchise to a live-action older kids flick like The Last Airbender, on Netflix they both show a 7+ maturity rating, but with my opinion busting in Despicable Me deserves about 5+ and The Last Airbender deserves about 8+.

Concluding this article, there are lot's of amazing things about Netflix such as free films with a wide variety, but for better options on age ratings go to our website Sweet and Sour Movies.com or CommonSenseMedia.org. 

Will 2018's Movies Be Sick or Not??: 5 Movie Sequels Predicted for Critics and Box Office

by: keaton marcus

This year, 2018 coming up there is an abundance of movie sequels, but how will they turn out in the Box Office or with the critics??? 

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, sequel to Jurassic World (70% sweet/sour)

Box Office wise, the original 'Jurassic World' was smashing grossing a mind-blobbing 652.270M domestically and a wonderfully massive 1.671B worldwide coming off of an 208.806M three-day opening, based off of the original 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' will likely have similar success. Currently we are predicting an early 190M three-day total which happens to be a little less than the previous movie which is common for sequels. 

Now with the critics it could have an entirely different story, and while the original 'Jurassic World' was a fun, visually dazzling thrill ride (scoring at 70% sweet/sour), the sequel will likely slow down more slipping to a prediction of 55-65%. (currently 60% sweet/sour) However that may or may not create 'huge' affect to the Box Office performance, but it will be much more of a disappointment to fans of the great 'Jurassic Park' scoring at 93% sweet.

Avengers: Infinity War, sequel to Avengers Franchise (average: 67% sweet/sour)

Bringing us back to the Box Office, this will likely be the strongest standpoint for 'Avengers: Infinity War' which happens to have two previous movies that have been Box Office smashes, however predicted on a downward trend, the original of the bunch 'Marvel's The Avengers' struck a 207.438M three-day opening finishing at a huge 623.357M domestically and 1.518B worldwide, then the sequel, 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' opened with a still successful despite smaller 191.271M finishing at an even smaller 459.005M domestically and 1.405B worldwide, this still means a decent deal of success for the third film. (predicting 165M three-day total)

Quality wise, this is the weakest two-film franchise in the inter-connected universe of Marvel, with the original film, 'Marvel's The Avengers' scoring a solid 75% sweet, we (Sweet and Sour Movies) described the film as a well-acted, despite CGI-fueled, thrilling superhero combo. However despite the first movie's decent success with the critics, the most-anticipated sequel did not do as great with us, scoring a Marvel-low of 59% sour, 'Age of Ultron' was described for it's amazing special effects, although too much CGI-extravaganzas, a crowded (talented cast) and a so-so acted script; For the third and hopefully not final movie of the 'Avengers' franchise, 'Infinity War' based on the well-put-together trailer is expected to do well with the critics predicting a 75% sweet final score. Putting together the trend of the franchise, 'The Avengers' did well in both the Box Office and with Sweet and Sour Movie Reviews, though like I explained 'Age of Ultron' was still entertaining enough to watch but hit a Marvel-low, so based on that we are tracking for another Marvel success for 'Infinity War'.

Mary Poppins Returns, sequel/reboot to Mary Poppins (95%)

Back to the Box Office numbers, this half sequel half reboot children's flick is likely to do solidly well; Starring Emily Blunt as the lead, this will be great at appeal to both children and adults with the particular decision. Although it may not be just right for the critics, Box Office wise 'Mary Poppins Returns' is predicted to gross a fun 40M+ which will be a rare-hit for Disney live-action movies most likely coming off of a reasonable budget. Other Disney live-action tales include many flops, 'A Wrinkle in Time' was not just a let-down for critics, it also failed to generate big numbers settling for a weak 33.123M three-day start heaving on a 110M+ production budget. Another example is Disney's 'Tomorrowland' which belly-flopped 33.028M on a massive 190M production budget.

Critics wise, it could be great, or it could be another Disney disaster; 'Mary Poppins Returns' is sadly only predicted a weak 60% sweet/sour based on it's slow, tired, and surprisingly dark trailer, despite some nostalgic scenes and a couple laughs from Emily Blunt. Based on our two comparisons from the Box Office it does not help with 'Tomorrowland' tanking on 20% D-sour (Sweet and Sour Movies) and 'A Wrinkle in Time' with 39% (RottenTomatoes). The only real reason we are predicting 'Mary Poppins Returns' to be a so-so reboot is because of it's cherished original 'Mary Poppins' which scored a great 95% sweet.

Wreck-It Ralph Breaks the Internet, sequel to Wreck-It Ralph (80%)

Focusing on the Box Office once again, the original did well, grossing a solid 49.038M three-day opening and finishing with an average 189.422M domestically and a smashing 471.222M worldwide, although coming off of a jumbo 165M budget. Basing off of this information, 'Wreck-It Ralph Breaks the Internet' will likely loose some valuable steam, but will conjure up similar success. Currently we are predicting a 35-40M three-day jolt, which may be a little low considering the Disney animated Box Office successes. Otherwise it will go the other way and proceed higher off of it's predecessor.

Scoring a relatively high 80%, 'Wreck-It Ralph' proved itself to be another funny, entertaining, well-told and visually dazzling Walt-Disney hit, this may or may not carry on with the upcoming sequel, currently predicted to be a funny, but thin movie. 'Internet' is going for the average range off 55-65% sweet/sour which can affect the Box Office quite a lot in a usually harmful way. However critics tend to be very wrong sometimes, other Disney animated (hence live-action) films do have extremely high-quality, of course including last year's 'Coco' which scored a perfect 99% sweet coming off of a bad trailer and Pixar's first feature movie, 'Toy Story' which scored a stellar 95% sweet.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout, sequel to Mission: Impossible franchise (average: 81%)

The whole spy Tom Cruise starring franchise has been Box Office hits one after another, starting with 1996 released 'Mission: Impossible' which exploded 56.811M in three-days and 74.906M in four-days before ending with a solid bang of 180.981M domestically and an impressive 457.696M worldwide. The hit sequel, 'Mission: Impossible 2' exploded out of the gate grossing 57.845M in three-days and 78.848M in four-days before increasing on it's previous movie finishing with 215.409M domestically and 546.388M worldwide. Hitting theaters in 2006, 'Mission: Impossible 3' did lose a little gas on the franchise's third outing grossing a still solid debut of 47.743M in three-days before ending with a franchise low of 134.029M domestically and 397.850M worldwide. However never fear, in 2011, the fourth film in the franchise 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' had a robust limited start in 425 theaters grossing 12.785M before expanding nationwide to 3,448 theaters opening with an additional 29.556M before finishing with a rock-hard 209.397M domestically and a franchise high of 694.713M worldwide. Closing the five-film franchise, in 2015, 'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation' opened with a decent 55.520M before ending with a good 195.042M domestically and 682.714M worldwide. Seeing this, the five-film series is obviously a very successful franchise with fan-pleasing action and an appealing star (AWESOME TOM CRUISE), but how will this new sequel do in the Box Office, with Rebecca Ferguson reprising the role as the rogue agent Ilsa Faust. Currently we are predicting another hit, projecting a 50-65M three-day jump-start in over 4,000 theaters.

Adding to the successfulness of the massive franchise, the series also went well with quality (most of the time) with us averaging 81% sweet, the original was a little bit of a stutter, featuring stylish action, a fun cast and a incoherent plot and story. (scoring 60% sweet/sour) The sequel however was a smash with me rated a solid 80% sweet released in 2000 known for cool gadgets, decent directing, a well-told fun story, and more stunts from actor Tom Cruise. Debuting thirdly in 2006, 'Mission: Impossible 3' was both a miss and hit for me scoring a so-so 70% sweet/sour, positives include dazzling cars, eye candy and visuals, a solid performance by Tom Cruise, but flabby, senseless directing by J.J. Abrams working with a story that does not quite make enough sense. Stopping me there is the fourth outing of the franchise, 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' which to me was a perfect action movie, great directing, wonderful stylish and funny acting and a thrilling plot scoring a robust 99% sweet. Finishing the group was 2015's 'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation' which completed the franchise on a strong note averaging 96/100 sweet, in my opinion it was a fun thrill ride with amazing, dazzling and fun action sequences compelling me to interest. As for the sixth movie in the long-running franchise, 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' we are tracking another fun hit scoring a predicted 90% sweet.

Yes, this article was very interesting, though the real astonishing thing about movies is the relationship between the Box Office numbers and the quality.

Taking in some random examples, 'Blade Runner 2049' scored an insane 90% sweet, but with the Box Office it was entirely different grossing a three-day total of 32.753M before finishing on a weak 92.054M domestically and 259.239M worldwide based on a 150M production budget. It does not stop there, on the opposing side of things there are loads of bad movies that were great in the Box Office, 'Ride Along' starring Kevin Hart and Ice Cube which scored a rote 19% on RottenTomatoes but surprisingly playing at just 2,663 locations grossed an impressive 41.516M three-day total.

Yes, I know what you are thinking, there is no relationship between the Box Office and movie quality, think again... That is the relationship between the two!! That it does not matter whether it has great reviews or terrible reviews, you will almost always have varied results.   

Trailers and their Peculiar Results 2017

by: keaton marcus

As you may have noticed in 2017 with the right intellectual standard, most films with quality first trailers end up to be flops with critics, I am not saying this happens all the time, but if you do some research and watch some trailers you will see what I mean; Yes, I know predictable, most of the low quality trailers of 2017 happened to actually be quite good in movie form, but why is this??

In my belief the quality trailers such as 'The Mummy' starring Tom Cruise find it easier to put their storyline in 2 minutes instead of make it quality in full length movie form, as you also can see 'The Mummy' surprisingly flopped with us scoring a 35/100 just off of the D-sour range; This info proves that 'The Mummy' had viewers excited by the fun trailer since nothing negative was within the two minutes, but in the 1 hour and 46 minutes running time of the film everything came into different perspective.

Now that I have cleared my belief with you there are many more quality trailers that ended up flops such as 'Sing' which ended up marketing well with a marvelous trailer, but in film form only debuted on a light 57/100, another example was 2017's release of 'The Book of Henry' which had a truly touching trailer but ended up a piece of crap; Finishing is another film with a hysterical trailer, but a flat out terrible movie, 'The Lego Ninjago Movie' which ended up 25/100; Featuring more is the decent, but silly trailer of 'Daddy's Home 2' which crashed with the reviews despite starring a great cast that consists of Will Ferrel, John Lithgow, Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg.

Now for the other side of things there were also many horrible trailers or advertisements that actually turned out to be quite good as a movie, these were the films that had trouble showing all of the great stuff in the movie in the short trailer but ended up amazing on the big screen. Starting the show off is kid friendly sequel 'Paddington 2' which sadly flopped in the Box Office just because of these bad ads, but never fear this children's film actually came out to be not only better than the original it became one of the best films of the year with 90/100 despite the gloomy results of the trailers, secondly there is Pixar's newest release of 'Coco' which promised nothing positive in the trailer which actually looked quite like a rip-off of 'The Book of Life', but clearly once the film came out not only did the Box Office spark, the critics raved about it including us with 99/100 which places it runner-up in the best movies of the year and the best Pixar film ever created; Saying this also leads to the fact that the first advertisements for DC's 2017 summer release of 'Wonder Woman' actually were quite cheesy and overrated, but again superhero fans were mostly finally satisfied from an actually good piece of work from DC and ended up scoring an above-average 85/100 with us.

Yes, I know practically everything does not make sense in this article, the bad trailers end up good movies and the good trailers end up bad movies, but I have stated my reasons to make this credible.