People's Choice Award Nominations: We Pick Our Predicted Winners

September 17, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

We Predict the Winner of Each Category of the People’s Choice Awards

The Snubs and Surprises of the Summer Box Office

September 03, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

The 2019 Summer box office had its winners and losers, its ups and downs; we break down all the snubs and surprises of the year’s hottest movie season.

THE Major WINNERS

THE LION KING (2019)

Based off of Disney’s 1994-released classic original, the live-action retake of The Lion King opened in July to some pretty mixed reception from the critics, scoring 60/100 “sweet/sour” with us. We praised the photo-realistic visual effects, and the signature humor by director Jon Favreau—however, we disliked the lack of originality and heart. Even more skeptical, on RottenTomatoes, the reboot was handed just 53% “Rotten” on the Tomatometer—and similarly on Metacritic, the picture earned 55/100. However, on a positive side, it opened to explosive box office numbers, debuting to a massive 191.7 million in North America—from 4,725 theaters, making it the widest release of all-time. Currently, after 46 days of theatrical release, the film has earned 523.5 million domestically, along with 1.046 billion in other territories making for a global total of 1.569 billion dollars on a budget capping 260 million. The film holds the biggest debut of the Summer, and is the biggest Disney live-action re-imagining along with standing as the seventh biggest global release. An obvious financial winner.

TOY STORY 4

The most likely conclusion to the beloved animated series, Toy Story 4 was both a critical darling, as well as a smashing box office hit—making it the ultimate gift basket for the Summer holidays. On Sweet and Sour, we gave it an excellent rating of 80/100 “sweet”, praising the beautiful animation, the voice-acting, the emotional themes and especially the humor. Even more surprising, RottenTomatoes gave the fourth installment a nearly-perfect 97% “Certified Fresh” on the Tomatometer. Otherwise, Metacritic labeled it with a “must-see” icon, handing it a wonderful 86/100. In the box office, the picture was originally projected to gross 150-200 million in its opening weekend, but ending up underperforming to a debut of 120.9 million. However, while a bit of a disappointment, the sequel still scored a franchise opening record, had the third largest animated debut of all-time and scored one of the biggest debuts of the year and the Summer. The picture has had extremely long-legs throughout its run, and currently has grossed 430.8 million domestically, with an additional 615 million in other territories for a worldwide bout capping 1.045 billion. It may have underperformed a little, but its remains a hit with the critics, and the box office (technically speaking), making it a winner.

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME

After the massive success of Spring’s Avengers: Endgame, we were expecting big things from Marvel’s next production and sequel Spider-Man: Far from Home. The superhero picture debuted on the Fourth of July weekend, and opened to some very positive reception from the critics, scoring a solid, if unspectacular 75/100 “sweet” on the Lemonradar—we praised the performances, laughs and teen romance—but noted the constant CGI overkill. RottenTomatoes, however, went for it—handing the Spidey flick 90% “Certified Fresh” on the Tomatometer. Metacritic was more on the “average” side than the “good” side, handing the action film 69/100, which is still generally positive. In the box office, Far from Home kicked off its release with a six-day start and was originally projected to open with a Fri-Sun performance of around 90-100 million, with a Tue-Sun six-day weekend capping 180-190 million or so. The Marvel installment opened right on expectations, debuting with 92.5 million in three days, resulting in a monster six-day performance of 185 million. After 63 days in the theaters, the film has generated 386 million in North America, accompanied by an additional 738.2 million in foreign countries for a worldwide total of 1.124 billion dollars on a budget of 160 million. Its the fifth biggest film of the year, the third largest picture of the Summer (the second globally) and is ranked second in the Spider-Man franchise (the biggest globally). A true winner.

ALADDIN (2019)

Another 2019 Disney reboot was the live-action version of Aladdin which was released in late May, and garnered only mixed reviews from the critics. However, while most reviewers weren’t that happy with the Will Smith-starring reboot, Sweet and Sour handed it a 70/100 “sweet/sour” on the Lemonradar. Although we were a little disappointed on the over-stuffed plot and characterization, we completely praised the performances (particularly Will Smith), the dazzling visual effects and the musical score. RottenTomatoes and Metacritic were a little more negative, handing the children’s picture 57% “Rotten” and 53/100 respectively. The box office was a completely different story. Heading towards its four-day holiday release (Memorial Day Weekend), Aladdin was originally projected to earn 75 million from Fri-Sun, and around 90 million from Fri-Mon. The film went on to debut to a three day of 91.5 million resulting in a four day holiday performance of 116.8 million from 4,476 theaters—outperforming expectations. Being in release for 102 days now, the flick has garnered 354.5 million domestically, and 691 million overseas for a worldwide bout of 1.045 billion. The picture is the fourth biggest Disney live-action re-imagining (the third globally), and the sixth biggest release this year. Winner.

fast & furious presents: hobbs & shaw

Universal expands the Fast & Furious universe even further with action-packed spin-off dubbed Hobbs & Shaw, which breaks off from the nine-chapter series, focusing on the two most beloved franchise characters, Dwayne Johnson’s Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Shaw. The film kicked off the last month of the Summer (August) with generally positive reviews from the critics, and some solid numbers in the box office. With Sweet and Sour, the picture earned an above-average 70/100 “sweet/sour” on the Lemonradar—praising the Johnson and Statham’s chemistry, the choreography of the action sequences and the laughs—despite noting that the picture considerably loses steam towards the last half. RottenTomatoes mainly agreed with us, giving it a weighted average of 67% “Fresh” on the Tomatometer—along with review aggregator Metacritic giving it 60/100. Financially, Hobbs & Shaw was set to debut on August 2nd, 2019—with lower projections of 45-50 million, and higher expectations being 75-90 million—however, right in the middle was the majority, predicting a 60-70 million start. It ended garnering 60 million from 4,253 locations—on most expectations—but still weaker than most of the F&F series. The long run is more impressive, now after only 32 days in release—the film has grossed a substantial 159.2 million domestically, along with a monster 528.7 million internationally, gaming for an undeniably impressive 687.9 million in worldwide ticket sales. It broke even with its 200M budget, its the 10th biggest film of the year (eighth worldwide), and Universal decided to make a sequel. Check, check and check—its a winner.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM

The third and most anticipated installment to the John Wick trilogy, dubbed Parabellum, hit theaters in mid-May to excellent critical reception, and some wonderful earnings in the top charts. On Sweet and Sour, it ranks as one of the best films of the year, garnering 85/100 “sweet” on the Lemonradar—giving a big round of applause to the expertly directed violence (by Chad Stahelski), the consistently entertaining acting by Keanu Reeves and the pure popcorn-flick type value in the story. On RT, they gave it a almost-perfect 90% “Certified Fresh” on the Tomatometer—along with Metacritic handing it 76/100. The series might be a critical darling, the trilogy is still not quite known for being notable pics in the box office—that changed with Chapter 3. Originally, we were expecting a debut of 45-50 million (considering the incline from the first-to-second film), while Box Office Mojo was betting on 48 million. The sequel ended surprising, delivering a three-day capping 56.8 million from 3,850 theaters—toppling the fourth weekend for Avengers: Endgame. After a monster 109 days in theatrical release, the film has so far earned 170.9 million in North American sales, garnering an impressive 3x multiplier. It also made an additional 150.6 million in foreign, material markets—adding to a global bout of 321.5 million on a budget reaching 75M. John Wick: Chapter 4 is being released on May 21, 2021. Winner!!

SPECIAL MENTIONS (WINNERS)

POKÈMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU:

OPENING WEEKEND: 54.3M

DOMESTIC TOTAL: 144.1M

WORLDWIDE TOTAL: 431.6M

BUDGET: 150M

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD:

OPENING WEEKEND: 41M

DOMESTIC TOTAL: 131.1M (STILL IN RELEASE)

WORLDWIDE TOTAL: 284.5M (STILL IN RELEASE)

BUDGET: 90M

ROCKETMAN:

OPENING WEEKEND: 25.7M

DOMESTIC TOTAL: 96.3M (STILL IN RELEASE)

WORLDWIDE TOTAL: 192.4M (STILL IN RELEASE)

BUDGET: 40M

There were various other winners special mentions. Check Box Office Mojo for the whole Summer list. Now for…

THE MAJOR LOSERS

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS

The anticipated third installment to the Monsterverse franchise was to hit theaters the last weekend of May, which is the kick-off month of the Summer. Godzilla: King of the Monsters opened to some pretty rough reception quality wise, and didn’t soar in the box office either. On Sweet and Sour Movies (it was Keaton’s birthday film), we gave the picture a split 55/100 “sour” on the Lemonradar—praising the visual effects, and the scope—but panning the laughable script and performances. RT went even harder on the creature-feature, ending it with a weighted average of only 41% “Rotten” on the Tomatometer. Metacritic was also right down the middle, giving the king of the monsters only 48/100 based on the reviews. So, critics weren’t happy, but audiences were—so its an automatic hit, right? Wrong. It should have been a massive hit, but while the opening day audience scores were high, they didn’t quite show up. On the weekend of May 31-Jun 2nd we were expecting King of the Monsters to open to 60-70 million, while Box Office Mojo was more conservative, predicting only 53 million. The kaiju battle royale only ended up debuting to a mediocre 47.7 million from 4,108 theaters—topping the charts, but way behind expectations—and with a big-budget. Currently, after its 91 days in release—the flop earned just 110.5 million in North America, along with 275.4 million in foreign territories for a worldwide total of 385.9 million. Its the lowest grossing film in the franchise, it failed to break even with its 170-200M budget and was way behind expectations. It also spells some serious worries for the sequel, Godzilla vs. Kong (March 13, 2020). Loser!!

DARK PHOENIX

The last stand before Disney took over Fox and the X-Men franchise—the popular series had its last film dubbed Dark Phoenix, set to debut early June. The widely anticipated take on the “Dark Phoenix” comic arc was panned by the critics, and was most likely the biggest flop of the year. The picture still has no score on Sweet and Sour, but we will have a review coming soon. Anyways, on RottenTomatoes, the X-Men installment scored only 23% “Rotten” on the Tomatometer, ranking as the worst-reviewed film to the series—on Metacritc, it was more mixed-to-negative, earning a still-disappointing 43/100. The critics praised Turner’s performance, but said the special effects were lackluster, it was anti-climatic, and the action was lacking. Originally, it was supposed to be another solid hit for the franchise, and receive a sequel—with Sweet and Sour projecting a debut of 50-60 million from 3,721 theaters. However, after the negative critical reception, we were betting on a conservative 40 million or so, with Box Office Mojo estimating 39 million, and the studio saying 45 million. Dark Phoenix ended underperforming to even the lowest of expectations, debuting behind The Secret Life of Pets 2 with just 32.8 million. Its finished its theatrical release after tallying 70 days, and has earned a franchise low of 65.8 million in North America, along with a poor 186.5 million in foreign countries for a paltry worldwide total capping 252.4 million on a massive 200M budget. Its the lowest grossing film in the series both domestically and globally, the film lost Fox 100-120 million, and was the cause of the cancellation of many planned sequels. The biggest loser of the year!!

MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL

Nobody really asked for a Men in Black reboot, or even a sequel—especially when the last two films underperformed critically. Sony and director F. Gary Gray have actually decided to do a mix of that, both a retake and an installment to the original franchise, dubbed Men in Black International. The trailers were fun, and surprisingly, it could have been a good Summer popcorn flick. However, after its debut in mid-June, our faces were turned upside down, especially after the picture earned some scathing reviews from the critics, and didn’t even open well in the box office. Sweet and Sour handed the reboot/sequel a mediocre 40/100 “sour”, praising the considerable chemistry between Hemsworth and Thompson—but pondering the incredibly dull storyline, and the crudely written screenplay. Other critics weren’t nearly as soft as we were, with RT giving it a terrible 22% “Rotten”, with Metacritic handing it a lukewarm 38/100. Before the reception, we were expecting a debut of around 45-55 million dollars, with the studio anticipating 40 million from 4,224 theaters. After, after the Tomatometer reveal, and our opinion—Sweet and Sour was expecting a much lower 35 million, with Sony at 30 million. International then opened on the lowest of expectations, with 30 million give or take. Furthermore, after 81 days in release—the sci-fi/buddy cop flick earned 79.7 million in North America, along with a so-so 173.4 million in other territories for a global tally of 253.2 million on a 110M budget. Lowest grossing film in the franchise, a waste of an incredible duo of stars and failing to break even. Not the biggest loser, but certainly not a winner!!

SPECIAL MENTIONS (LOSERS)

LONG SHOT:

OPENING WEEKEND: 9.7M

DOMESTIC TOTAL: 30.3M

WORLDWIDE TOTAL: 52.8M

BUDGET: 40M

UGLYDOLLS:

OPENING WEEKEND: 8.6M

DOMESTIC TOTAL: 20.1M

WORLDWIDE TOTAL: 27.5M

BUDGET: 45M

SHAFT (2019):

OPENING WEEKEND: 8.9M

DOMESTIC TOTAL: 21.3M

WORLDWIDE TOTAL: 21.3M

BUDGET: 35M

That’s it folks—while there’s much more minor losers and winners to find in the Summer box office—we have listed the major ones. The season’s 2019 bout was severely disappointing compared to last year’s, exactly six percent off the total. However, there were many hits, which several of earned over one billion worldwide. The lackluster turn out was partly because of the so-called “Sequel Slump” (Read “Sequels and Their Under-Performances at the Summer Box Office”)—which featured various sequels underperforming compared to pre-weekend expectations. Overall, though, it certainly wasn’t a terrible season—but it could have been better.

Fall Movies, and Their Box Office

September 01, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

We Predict Every Film’s Box Office in the Fall Movie Season

SEPTEMBER 6-8

It: Chapter Two, Estimate: 95M/Actual: 91M

SEPTEMBER 13-15

Hustlers, Estimate: 25M/Actual: 33.1M

The Goldfinch, Estimate: 10M/Actual: 2.6M

SEPTEMBER 20-22

Downtown Abbey, Estimate: 15M/Actual: 31M

Ad Astra, Estimate: 17M/Actual: 19M

Rambo: Last Blood, Estimate: 20M/Actual: 18.8M

SEPTEMBER 27-29

Abominable, Estimate: 25M/Actual: 20.6M

OCTOBER 4-6

Joker, Estimate: 85M/Actual: 96.2M

OCTOBER 11-13

The Addams Family (2019), Estimate: 20M/Actual: 30.3M

Gemini Man, Estimate: 25M/Actual: 20.5M

Jexi, Estimate: 7M/Actual: 3.1M

OCTOBER 18-20

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Estimate: 50M/Actual: 36.9M

Zombieland 2: Double Tap, Estimate: 25M/Actual: 26.8M

OCTOBER 25-27

Countdown, Estimate: 8M/Actual: 9M

Black and Blue, Estimate: 10M/Actual: 8.3M

“Terminator: Dark Fate” Releases Second Trailer

August 31, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

Will it be good? That’s a real gamble. The teaser and the official trailers both look explosive, violent and faithful to the classic trilogy—but considering the most recent franchise installments, it’s a maybe. We see the returning of both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, who reprise their respective roles as the Terminator and Sarah Connor. “Dark Fate” is also helmed by filmmaker Tim Miller who directed 2016’s critical and box office darling “Deadpool”. That’s good news for both the quality and financial criteria, but it may not be enough.

The first “Terminator” flick, release in 1984 scored 85/100 “sweet” on the Lemonradar, we praised the special effects, make-up and the inventive storytelling. Cause of the success it was in the box office, the picture gave birth to a sequel dubbed “Judgement Day” which debuted in 1991 with even more success, grabbing 90/100 “sweet” on the Lemonradar. To conclude the original trilogy, Jonathon Mostow helmed the third installment called “Rise of the Machines” which got less raves in the critical reception, but delivered a mild victory in the box office. After hints of fatigue sniffed in the final film in the trilogy, McG rebooted the series with “Terminator Salvation” which flopped with critics, scoring 40/100 “sour” on the Lemonradar, and disappointed financially, especially cause of its 200 million budget. Even with the fault that was the previous installment, Alan Taylor decided to continue the saga with “Terminator Genisys” which got a similar 35/100 “sour” with us, but did decently in the global box office. It’s a real question whether “Dark Fate” can pull it off with the critics, but there’s a chance.

Will it be a hit? Meh, it depends. The original three pictures were all successes, grossing 207, 979 and 603 million globally respectively, all with inflation. They were all solid successes, especially the second installment. The rebooted franchise, kicked off with “Salvation”, did not have as much kick. The first to the 2009-2015 couplet grossed 371.3 million worldwide (443M with inflation), on a 200 million production cost (239M with inflation), giving the franchise its first major box office disappointment. Additionally, “Genisys” fares a bit better, but still completely failed in North America. The film given earned 440.6 million globally on a cost of 155 million, a mild success, largely cause of its impressive performance in China. It still looks as if audiences are still somewhat intrigued of what the series will do next, so “Dark Fate” could either be the next big flop or the next Big Bang.

Remember, “Terminator: Dark Fate” arrives in theaters everywhere on November 1st this year. Show some spirit!!

The Final “Joker” Trailer Has Arrived: Five Things We Noticed

August 30, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

He started an outcast

In the haunting and dramatic final trailer for Warner Brothers’ “Joker”, the stand-alone prequel for the villain, the fanatic started out an outcast in a clown suit. In the beginning, he was a street performer, and not a very good one in fact, we also Joker was mercilessly bullied and beat during his job, something just ticked inside of him. After the many years of walking the streets, he began to own his clown suit, becoming proud of who he was. Protests, fires and trouble with the police, apparently, this was the start of the troubled time-line of the murderous criminal. While we will get much more when the anticipated film is released, the second teaser certainly tells the story of a nobody-turned-somebody tale for all the wrong reasons.

Considering his back-story, “Joker” is obviously more of a drama than an action film. It’s much more different than his previous appearances in films such as “The Dark Knight” starring Christian Bale, or even “Batman” released in 1989 and starring Michael Keaton. It’s not just as much of a blockbuster, he also stands alone as he main character, which could be a refreshing plot turn from the fatiguing hero-beats-villain shenanigans. Joaquin Phoenix is playing the title role, and he looks a bit too excellent, perfectly chosen for the dark-humored, smiling monster of a human. Closing, the first major thing we have noticed is that his backstory looks like something worth a damn watch.

Robert De Niro is a huge part of the story

Another notable, and surprising note happens to be Robert De Niro becoming a big part in the origins of Joker, or should I say Arthur Fleck. De Niro plays talk-show host Murray Franklin, straight outta Gotham. Audiences are comparing his part of Franklin to his role in “The King of Comedy”, where he plays another talk show host. We didn’t quite know this before, but Franklin and Arthur actually meet in the duration of the picture. De Niro’s character actually happens to showcase Arthur for stand-up comedy in a scene, but it looks to be another one of Joker’s signature traps. As Arthur’s one request is that he is to be introduced as the “Joker”. Why so serious?

It doesn’t quite fit in with the “Batman” films

There have been various Jokers in the DC comic-film inter-connected series. Jack Nicholson was the first to play the villain in a feature film in 89’s “Batman” (mentioned before). He was not however, the best, but far from the worst either. If you really want the real deal, go and watch Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”, which features a darker, and more horror film antagonist Joker than the previous attempts. “Joker”, however, is different, and is more of a “gritty character study”. There’s no hero to stop him, no explosive action sequences, none of this meets the booming quota for the DCEU. Despite the franchise’s honorable efforts, this 40 million production is an R-rated, drama, and does not connect in any way to the 200+ million tagged for “Batman v Superman” or “Man of Steel”. This could be a good thing, as many installments have certainly not met the quality bar they were aiming for.

This could be the best film in the franchise

The DCEU’s average Lemonradar being only 54/100 “sour”, it could be a refreshing new start to a struggling, action laden superhero franchise. Sure, “Wonder Woman”, “Shazam!” and “Aquaman” are all above 60% on the Lemonradar, which means the series has been improving, but the majority of the pictures are in the “sour” range even still. “Joker” is directed by Todd Phillips who is known for helming a range of comedies, which could be a risk. Phillips directed “Old School”, “Borat”, and even “The Hangover” franchise, which is sporadically impressive, but not quite for this film. This conflicts with the whole “this might show the real side of the DCEU” sort of thing, with the modest budget and all, but there should be some comedic moments in “Joker” However, back to the “sporadic” point, this is not a comedy, it’s not supposed to make audiences laugh! Though who am I to Tell Mr. Phillips off, it’s a bold move for the guy, and believe me, he’s got the talent to pull it off.

Its a clown revolution!

We don’t know for sure who started it, but in the trailer, there are many violent protests. In the rallies, the protesters seem to be donning clown masks, and even a poster saying “we are all clowns”. This could be defending Arthur’s alternate identity, Joker, after his crimes, but it didn’t reveal too much. It sure is dramatic, and does spell some big trouble with the coppers, and adds considerably to the film’s hard R-rating for some anticipated brutal violence. We will see when the film is released, but the protesting looks to be a key part of the film.

The picture opens everywhere October 4th this year, so do the clown-masked villain a favor and put on a happy face!

Five Things We Learned from the "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" D23 Trailer

August 27, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

An Explosive “The Rise of Skywalker” Trailer Was Released at D23

This Could Really Be the End
Audiences and die-hard fans alike won’t want to believe that “The Rise of Skywalker” could be the conclusion to the “Star Wars” film franchise, but from the looks of it, its quite possible. One reason why is the first thirty seconds or so of the trailer is flashbacks to the previous installments, even some emotional clips from the classics. By doing this, the editors are sort of reminding you how much films you’ve been through, and really how the franchise has become such a big part of culture all up to this installment. However, we wouldn’t be too surprised if Disney and “Star Wars” stretched the saga even more—they are expanding the universe with their newest TV show “The Mandalorian” which is going to be released on streaming site Disney+. There are still many stories that deserve to be told on the big screen, but as of now, this could be the last time that you hear the clash of lightsabers in the theater.
Rey Has a Double-Sided Light-Saber
In the last clip of the trailer, audiences will likely get their biggest surprise, as the footage shows Rey (Daisy Ridley) in common Sith clothing donning a red, double-sided lightsaber. Is Rey turning to the dark side? What are these Darth Maul vibes? Is it a trick? There are many thoughts that come to your mind, but its all very confusing. This scene looks to be during the finale of the film, and could be connected to Palpatine theories. If so, Palpatine and Kylo Ren could have turned Rey over to be a Sith lord. It’s all very possible. In the previous film, “The Last Jedi”, Ren tricked Rey that he was on the light side, and they even fought evil together in the scene. In “The Rise of Skywalker”, it may be the opposite, and we may have Rey tricking Ren before an epic fight. However, deep in the back of your minds, you have that negative thought that it could end in destruction, and Rey may become the next big Sith lord. It’s not extremely likely—but you’ll have to wait and see.
J.J. Abrams is Returning to Direct
Sci-fi afficinado J.J. Abrams is returning to helm “The Rise of Skywalker”. Abrams directed the first film in the 2015-2019 trilogy, “The Force Awakens”, which scored an excellent 80/100 “sweet” on the Lemonradar. However, he did not come back to direct the sequel, “The Last Jedi” which was helmed by Rian Johnson and was handed a less-enticing 70/100 “sweet/sour” on the Lemonradar. With Abrams returning for the third, and the trailer looking pretty damn epic, we could be looking at one of the best installments yet. Abrams reported that he wanted to bring something “new” to the franchise, which is refreshing, and it looks like Abrams is here to save the day from franchise fatigue. We think he’s true to his promises, cause based on the new footage, there is a bunch of unknown worlds, and even a couple new characters.
Lando is Back! (Leia too?)
Another thing we came bye was the returns of a couple old characters. Footage shows that Billy Dee Williams returning to play Lando once again. The previous time we see him was back in “The Empire Strikes Back” when he helped defeat the Empire once again. Actually, we also saw a younger version of Lando in prequel “Solo: A Star Wars Story”, played by Childish Gambino. We don’t know exactly why the old pal is back, but he’s back in the Millenium Falcon, and with Chewie—so, we’re happy. Another little fun surprise was to see Carrie Fischer returning after the previous picture to play Leia Organa in the trailer. It could be flashbacks, but from the looks of it, Organa is back. After Fischer’s death in 2016, they will likely have to use computer-generated-imagery for the role, but, you never know, they could have grabbed Fischer for a couple scenes before her tragic passing.
The New Planets and Characters
In the clips during the trailer, we get small glimpses of new planets entering the film universe. The Death Star is shown for a few seconds, resting on some sort of rainy, grassy type planet—but is unknown. That’s just the beginning. Kylo Ren and his troops also seem to be invading a world laden with dead forests, and we’re thinking Endor, but it is also likely another new planet. One last planet that is officially known is the snow planet dubbed Kijimi which will hold new character Zorri Bliss (Keri Russel), who is an old friend of Poe’s. Don’t worry, fans, you will still get your standard desert planets. Other freshly arriving characters include a new droid dubbed D-0, who audiences are hoping will be BB-8’s newest pal. Secondly, we see First Order General Pryde played by Richard E. Grant. Finally, a character that is still pretty unknown is Jannah played by Namoi Ackie.

The logo for the film.

The Death Star rests on an unknown planet.

"It: Chapter 2" is Tracking for a Debut of 130-150M

August 21, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

WB’s “It: Chapter 2” released its terrifying second trailer this Summer, and after a heavy amount spent on marketing, and its general anticipation generated by the original film—we are expecting some serious numbers in the box office. Where will it land? Well, that’s out of the question for now, but the weeks leading up to the release say that tracking is reported to be explosive. We are looking at the biggest R-rated debut of all-time, or at least could be looking at it. We”ll be the judge of whether we believe this unbelievable update, but from the looks of it, we are ready to see a smashing weekend debut.

The original “It” picture opened to positive reviews, and an amazing financial start, topping the box office charts for two weekends straight. The film received 68/100 “sweet/sour” with us, we praised the performances, and the emotional storytelling, but noted the cheaply executed, CGI-worn jump-scares. however, RottenTomatoes handed the picture 85% “Certified Fresh”, giving it certain acclaim. Financially, “It” opened to a massive 123.4M from 4,103 sites, giving it the biggest R-rated debut, and the biggest opening for an R-rated horror film. This was before a successful domestic finish capping 327.4M along with an impressive global total of 700.3M on a production budget tallying to only 35 million. Considering these stats, the anticipated sequel may not quite live up the the high bar its predecessor set, but the tracking makes it look easy.

So, regarding “It: Chapter 2”, things look good, with strong advertising, critical acclaim, a solid fan base, and a novel—we think this sequel might just pull it off. In our Comic-Con article, we reported on the “It: Chapter 2” final trailer and predicted its box office numbers for the weekend—I have to say, we were a little too conservative, stating that the horror sequel was headed towards a 70M debut. A couple insiders are on the safe side, projecting a 95-120 million opening, which Wikipedia reported—however, the majority are saying that the picture has a possibility of making a monster 130-150 million three-day weekend. This not only caps the original’s already huge debut, but breaks a couple records too. Overall, we”re obviously in for a huge Fall opening from the Stephen King adaptation. Sweet and Sour Movies is officially predicting an opening from 110-140 million, with chances of topping the original. It’s too early to tell exact numbers, but from the looks of it, a 100M+ three-day looks pretty definitive.

For the finish, there’s also a variety of predictions to observe. The original film scored a multiplier of 2.65x, which means with our 110-140 million predictions, the sequel would end with a range of 291 million to 371 million. However, that’s not the only comp we could look at—other notable R-rated horror pictures include Jordan Peele’s Us, which finished with a 2.46x multiplier—meaning a finish from 270 million to 344 million. Otherwise, on a much lower standard, we could look at 2018’s reboot of Halloween which carved up a multiplier of only 2.09x, which would mean a bout from 229 million to 292 million. We could also look at The Conjuring franchise, which has an average multiplier of 2.78x, which would scare up a conclusion of 305 million to 389 million. There’s a number of different films we could look at for evidence, but nothing official has come across us yet.

wallpapersden.com_it-chapter-two-2019-movie-poster_2597x1456.jpg

Scorsese’s Passion project “The Irishman” Gets First Trailer

August 08, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

“The Irishman”: Will it be Good? Will it be a Hit?

Masterful filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s long-in-development, passion project “The Irishman” has landed its first trailer, and it’s a star-studded, expensive political thriller. The film circles on a WWII veteran Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) reflecting on his career in the mob, primarily him taking part in the tragic disappearance and murder of Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). The film has a massive 200 million production budget, and will be released in a limited bout, soon before a release on Netflix, hoping to have another sleeper hit. Otherwise, we will also determine whether will it be any good, fans should know that Scorsese should have some creative fuel left, but will it be executed well enough?

So, will it be a hit? The chances are varied, but in the past, audiences have fueled many hits for the popular Scorsese, though with the expensive budget, it’s obviously a gamble. The limited start might make around five to ten million for the indie, but its anticipated Netflix release is where everyone is supposed to watch it. There are chances that “The Irishman” could become another “Bird Box” type phenomenon, which would be huge for the filmmaker, but there are also chances that it could be the next big-budget bomb. Scorsese’s biggest film in North America remains “The Departed”, which grossed 132.3M domestically, and his biggest global release is “Shutter Island”, which earned 294.8M in its worldwide release. However, even his biggest films couldn’t take a budget the size of 200 million, his most expensive release caps only 110 million. It looks pretty foggy for the new picture. Overall, our early predictions say it will be a flop, but it could surprise.

Will it be good? While the trailer looks a little like a jumbled, expensive mess, it still has a great cast, and the director almost never fails in creating more than satisfying films for audiences. One of his newest films is a Liam Neeson-starring drama dubbed “Silence” which scored 83% “Certified Fresh” on RottenTomatoes along with a positive 79/100 on Metacritic, they called it thoughtful and emotionally resonant. His films are generally very well received with the critics, with his highest rated films on RT being “GoodFellas” 96%, “The Last Waltz” at 98%, “Raging Bull” at 96%, and “King of Comedy” at 91%, with many more acclaimed pictures. This proves that Scorsese was a great director, and still is. For “The Irishman”, we are expecting similar turnouts, but look for our review later this year.

The film will have its world premiere in New York, while the picture will debut on Netflix somewhere in October.

Andy Serkis In Line for Directing “Venom 2”

August 06, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

Andy Serkis, chosen to direct “Venom 2”, released 2020.

UPDATE:

Andy Serkis, known for the performing in “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies, and directing “Jungle Book” reboot “Mowgli” has been chosen for directing “Venom 2”. The release is scheduled for October 2nd, 2020.

With “Venom 2” announced months ago, the sequel to the hit film has finally got its line of directors racing to helm the anti-hero picture. These three filmmakers have directed some good films, and this will possibly increase the chance of a better score on the Lemonradar, especially considering what the original film received, directed by Ruben Fleischer (“Zombieland”). Andy Serkis, Rupert Wyatt, and Travis Knight are in the race for directing this anticipated film, all have worked for CGI-driven productions. The most likely right now seems to be Mr. Serkis who is both an acclaimed voice-actor and wonderful director, but who knows, one of our other two candidates might duke it out for the win.

Andy Serkis, 55, voice-actor and director.

The filmmaker is known best for acting in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, as well as the three films for “The Hobbit” franchise. The two franchises mentioned are his biggest films, and hold some of his best performances as Gollum, a wholly CGI’d creature. The original “Lord of the Rings”, “The Fellowship of the Ring”, earned 315.5M domestically, along with 871.5M worldwide, with much more in inflation. The two sequels, “The Two Towers” and “The Return of the King” earned 926M and 1.177B globally respectively, marking an exponential growth from the first to third film. Some other big films Serkis performed in were Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of “The Adventures It Tintin” (77.5M domestically, 373.9M globally), as well as the rebooted “Planet of the Apes” franchise, where he voiced Caesar the chimp, with the trilogy grossing 532.1M combined domestically, along with a combined worldwide total of 1.683 billion dollars, along with receiving critical acclaim. He also acted in a couple of new “Star Wars” films, as well as Marvel feature “Black Panther”. This was until he made his directorial debut with “Mowgli” last year, a Netflix produced reboot of “The Jungle Book”, making for an expensive, but pretty dull film. The picture scored 45% “sour” on the Lemonradar, we praised the dazzling special effects, but the thin plotting, and the dull script were panned. The actor is great at performing CGI’d creations, whether it’s a monkey, or a bear, a captain, or even a withered up monster. However, his one directed film had pretty low success, but who knows, with his skills with CGI, “Venom 2” could be great.

Rupert Wyatt, 46, director

The filmmaker has not done much, but he’s had some experience with CGI too, and could be a good fit for the picture. It’ll be a gamble on whether Wyatt will have a financial or critical victory with the sequel, but there’s chances. Wyatt is primarily known for helming the original film in the rebooted “Planet of the Apes” trilogy, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”, which scored 80% “sweet” on the Lemonradar, while grossing 176.7M domestically, and 481.8M worldwide, a financial success. His second feature film is a reboot of the classic James Caan film, “The Gambler” starring Mark Wahlberg, which scored 50% “sour” on the Lemonradar, and grossed just 33.6M in North America, and 39.2M worldwide on a budget reaching 25 million dollars. His latest film, “Captive State”, had its debut earlier this year, opening to mixed reception and horrible box office. To be exact, the picture ended with only 5.9M domestically, and 8.7M worldwide on a budget capping 25 million. He’s had his ups and downs, but Wyatt has proved to be an inventive filmmaker nonetheless.

Travis Knight, 45, director

Our third and final filmmaker in the race is savvy with both stop motion animation and robots, but will he bring justice to the comics. Knight has produced both ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls, which both had good successes with the critics, and the box office, but they weren’t showcased financially. Otherwise, his directorial debut was “Kubo and the Two Strings”, which opened in 2016 with a very positive 80% “sweet” on the Lemonradar, we praised the performances, the stop-motion animation and the storytelling. The film struggled in the box office though, grossing just 48M domestically, and 69.9M worldwide on a budget of 60 million. His second film was a “Transformers” prequel dubbed “Bumblebee”, which scored 70% “sweet/sour” on the Lemonradar, the highest rated “Transformers” installment. The CGI driven picture had some success in the box office, and earned 127.1M in North America, along with 467.9M globally on a budget of 135 million, despite being the lowest-grossing film in the franchise.

Will "Fast & Furious" Spin-Off "Hobbs & Shaw" Be the Last Big Bang of the Summer

August 03, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

“Hobbs & Shaw” Kicks off the Last Month of the Summer

Besides various hits such as Spider-Man: Far from Home, Toy Story 4, and Disney’s reboot of The Lion King, this Summer has been underperforming badly, largely because of the sequel slump right at the beginning. Now, as we enter the last month of the blockbuster-laden season, Universal will expand the hit Fast & Furious franchise with a spin-off dubbed Hobbs & Shaw, starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. The film has garnered generally positive reviews from critics, and excellent reception from audiences heading into its opening weekend, and is expected to hold the biggest debut of August. There are slim chances that the action flick might be the next, 200M tagged Summer flop, but generally, we are expecting big things for the much-anticipated blockbuster.

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Going back to the under performances of the season, this Summer is tracking much lower than the same time last year, and has so far grossed 2.966 billion dollars in North America so far, projected to gross around 3.5 billion by the end of August. Last year ended grossing 4.1 billion domestically, while 2017 earned 3.7 billion; not only that, but from 2007 to 2016, the season has always managed picked off more than four billion dollars in the United States and Canada, meaning that 2019 is supposed to have the lowest in a heck of a while. Hopefully, Hobbs & Shaw will aid the final month to race past the poor predictions. Tonight, we will get the Thursday Night Previews for the film, which will be reported on Box Office Face Offs.

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The tracking for the Fast & Furious installment has been positive, but not the greatest, seeing to it the spin-off will be far from the biggest in the franchise, but will do solid numbers. Predictions are saying that a 60-70 million domestic debut is in order, from a reported 4,253 theaters across North America, and with a production budget of 200 million dollars, Universal will be hoping for long-legs domestically, and big numbers globally. Comparable films would be Mission: Impossible - Fallout (61.2M), or maybe a high of 2009’s Fast and Furious which debuted to the tune of 70.9M, however, we are seeing some evidence that the spin-off could jump as high as last year’s Venom (80.2M), but its not extremely likely. The biggest films of the franchise include Fast & Furious 6 (97.3M), 2017’s The Fate of the Furious (98.7M), and the massive hit that was Furious 7 which opened to a monster three-day of 147.1M domestically—considering this, we also have to consider the possibility of an all-out manic debut that could top 100M, but from the looks of it, the two-digit projections seem safe.

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Despite the healthy projections, there are some precautions we have to take in case of a serious underperformance, and the unlikely event that the film becomes the next big-budget belly-flop this Summer. Furthermore, there is evidence saying that Hobbs & Shaw is pacing behind Skyscraper (24.9M), Rampage (35.7M), and last year’s The Meg (45.4M), which opens up the possibility of complete failure. We will get more confirmation tonight on Thursday’s performance on whether the pre-weekend tracking is accurate or not, but fans better cross their fingers. Another serious low would be to accompany fellow franchise spin-off, Tokyo Drift, which opened to the tune of 23.9M back in 2006, however, with better critical reception, and a more bankable cast, Shaw should do much better numbers this weekend.

Overall, we have considered the highs and lows of the extremely varied early projections, but on the bright side, it looks pretty good for the high-octane picture. On the whole, the most likely prediction seems like a 65 million weekend, with a high that could reach 90-100M, and an unlikely low that could pummel towards the likes of 30-50M. Check for updates on Box Office Face Offs.

Bits and Pieces From the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con

July 28, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

“Thor 4” Handed to Natalie Portman? “Blade” Reboot Casting? “Top Gun: Maverick” and “It: Chapter 2” Trailers?

THE TRAILERS: FLYING HIGH WITH TOM CRUISE, SQUARING OFF WITH PENNYWISE, AND SOME terrible “CATS” footage

Ever wanted a reboot, or even a sequel to the 80’s hit film “Top Gun”? Well, the San Diego 2019 Comic-Con seemed to tend to fans’ desperate needs, releasing an official trailer to a long-awaited sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick” still starring Tom Cruise as the title character. The epic trailer shows Cruise in his default, bad-ass action mode, and it showcased Cruise’s training on how to fly an actual army jet. Forget the script, forget the crude storytelling, you will “feel the need, the need for speed” after seeing those exhilarating, dazzling flying sequences. Otherwise, in the supporting cast, the picture will star more talents such as Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, and even veteran Jon Hamm. The new sequel will also be helmed by filmmaker Joseph Kosinski, whose career is made up of reboot “Tron: Legacy” (55% “sour”), a Tom Cruise starring sci-fi flick, “Oblivion” (65% “sweet/sour”), and a true story about firemen dubbed “Only the Brave” (85% “sweet”).

Will it be a hit?: Depends. The original film managed to gross a massive 418.3M domestically with inflation, and globally, 831.9M with more than 20 years of inflation. Considering this, people may still be lining up to see Maverick fly a plane once again on the big screen, however, Kosinski’s biggest film was a disappointment with “Tron: Legacy”, which grossed 172M domestically and just over 400M worldwide on a 170M production budget. Tom Cruise, more bankable in the box office, had a recent action hit last year with “Mission: Impossible - Fallout” which earned 220.1M domestically, and 791.1M globally on a 178M cost. On a negative side, however, the actor tanked two years ago with reboot “The Mummy”, which grossed 409M worldwide on a budget nearing 200M. Nevertheless, our final prediction is hard to say, but we are looking at a 40-50M opening and a possible 150-200M production budget.

Will it be good?: Possibly, but not very likely. The original “Top Gun” film scored 60% “sweet/sour” on the Lemonradar, praising the very visual flying sequences, and the entertainment value, but noting the overwhelming cheese, and the laughable script. The picture also scored 55% “Rotten” on RottenTomatoes, and a mixed 50/100 on Metacritic. Tom Cruise’s latest film, already mentioned, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, scored an excellent 90% “sweet” with us, 97% “Certified Fresh” on RottenTomatoes, and a 86/100 on Metacritic. Recent action films include Jack Reacher (65% “sweet/sour”), Oblivion (65% “sweet/sour”), Live, Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow (85% “sweet”), Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (80% “sweet”) and The Mummy (27% “D-sour”). He’s had his highs and lows, but his biggest franchise, the Mission: Impossible series, has had three “sweet” films out of the six pictures total. Our final prediction is ranging from 50-70% on the Lemonradar.

Remember the hit book adaptation dubbed “It” two years ago, and how it trampled the box office, and had similar success with the critics, well the Comic-Con has just released a brilliant final trailer. Months before, the teaser trailer was released, and we already knew that we were in for more gory scares. The new footage still depicts the Losers, as adults, returning to Derry 27 years after they faced off with evil clown Pennywise. The film stars James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader, but will it be a success? The music, narration by good ol’ Pennywise, and the sheer scope look masterful, even better than its predecessor, and faithful enough to the classic, 1,166 paged novel. There were problems with the first movie, but overall, it was good enough for another solid sequel, still, the studio should be looking more for box office success than critical success.

Will it be a hit? Very likely, but still not confirmed. The original picture, as mentioned surprised in the box office, and finished with a massive 327.4M in North America, and 700.3M globally on a production budget of just 35 million dollars. It’s not only impressive, it’s also incredible for an R-rated horror picture, but it’s Stephen King. It: Chapter 2 should earn enough to top the box office in it’s opening weekend, but it’s almost impossible to live up to the predecessor’s numbers. We are looking for the sequel to play closer to Jordan Peele’s Us which debuted with 71.1M, or maybe last year’s reboot of Halloween which earned 76.2M in three days. On the lower side, we could be looking at The Nun (53.8M), but that would be a serious underperformance. Overall, our final predictions should be around 70M for the three-day on a production budget of 30-40M.

Will it be good? Maybe, maybe not. It’s predecessor, It, scored a solid 68% “sweet/sour” on the Lemonradar, we praised the performances, and the emotional overtones, but pinned it’s over reliance on ridiculous jump-scares. On RottenTomatoes, the bloody horror flick was handed an extremely positive 85% “Certified Fresh”, and on similar website Metacritic, critics gave it a more skeptical 69/100. The sequel’s trailer is very solid, and gives us anticipation that it still could be a good fright, but sequels can disappoint, and we have to take some precautions. The director, Andy Muschietti, had some success with his first feature film, Mama, starring Jessica Chastain—which scored 65% “Fresh” on RottenTomatoes, and was a financial hit, but he’s not experienced enough to confirm it. Screenwriter Gary Dauberman is returning from the original film, having all three Annabelle films (two of which were good) and two more Conjuring films, both The Nun (financial hit, critical flop) and The Curse of La Llorona (minor financial victory, critical bomb). While the remainder of his career is not the best, It’s screenplay wasn’t half bad. Our final prediction is too varied to have a range, but has an average of 70% “sweet/sour” on the Lemonradar.

“Cats”, “terminator: dark fate”, “walking dead” film etc.!!

On an additional note, the “Cats” musical adaptation official trailer was released. Yep, it’s got Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, and even James Corden—however, the trailer is too horrifyingly bad to post, but anyway, above is the horrific footage. Will it be a hit? Nope. Will it be good? Obviously not. And will be expensive? Heck ya.

After over 10 seasons of “The Walking Dead” TV show, along with a couple of spin-offs, this tease promises fans that we will get a “Walking Dead” feature film on the big screen. While it doesn’t reveal much, Rick Grimes, a famous character from the original show, will be returning. If they get the right screenwriter and director, yes, it can be good—and it may almost be confirmed for being a massive hit considering the show’s success.

“Terminator: Dark Fate” released a teaser trailer a few months ago, explosive with action sequences. This new featurette released at the Comic-Con reinforces the violence with promises of an R-rating, and relentless action. However, considering the last couple of installments flopped both critically and financially, it will be tough to say whether this sequel will pan out well.

After a teaser trailer was released earlier in the year, Chadwick Boseman starring action thriller “21 Bridges” finally gets a full look at this year’s Comic-Con. It’s explosive, violent, but sorta kinda bereft of a good plot. However, considering the talented cast, and the Russo brothers, it could be both a hit, and have good quality. It all depends.

It’s not just robots, Tom Cruise action films and some cats, nope, Kevin Smith has released the first trailer for the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot picture to be released later this year. It’s completely R-rated, hysterical, and has some killer cameos—there’s lot’s of drug use, crude jokes and Dumb and Dumber type fun in the red band footage. The original film garnered mixed reviews, but is supposedly a load of fun—and was a disappointment in the box office. This information brings us to question as to whether Kevin Smith and crew can make this R-rated comedy work financially or critically.

some MARVEL PHASE 4 movie NEWS: NATALIE PORTMAN TO WIELD, “BLADE” CASTINGS, “AVENGERS” TOPS “AVATAR”, and a load of sequels

After “Avengers: Endgame”, and the seemingly conclusion to the character of Thor, fans were heartbroken around the globe, but Comic-Con comes to save it again, announcing that there will be, in fact, another “Thor” film dubbed “Love and Thunder”. However, while Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson will be in it, Natalie Portman will be wielding the hammer as the title character. Yep, we have a female Thor. In the first two “Thor” films, Portman portrayed Thor’s love-interest, Jane Foster, but was never expected to be an action hero. Foster even appeared briefly in “Avengers: Endgame”, but still no major parts. It could work, it may not, but I’m still excited for this anticipated female-led Marvel film. How she became the female Thor so suddenly is still a mystery, but its possible that Hemsworth’s Thor retired, and passed it on to Jane to become the Phase 4 hero. The official release date is November 5th, 2021, and remember to show some MCU spirit!!

Will it be a hit? Pretty Confirmed. The original three films grossed 181M, 206.3M and 315M domestically respectively, with global totals ranging from 449.3M to 853.9M. Considering this, you notice that the earnings increased with each film, and it could be the same case with the fourth installment to the franchise. We are looking at a debut from 100-150M, which could mean a franchise best for Love and Thunder, but we are looking for the sequel to play closer to Wonder Woman (103.2M). A high would be around Captain Marvel, which debuted to 153.4M in three-days, and finished with 426.8M domestically—a low, maybe even an underperformance, would be a similar debut to the original Thor (65.7M), but that’s not likely to happen. Our final prediction is around 125M for the opening, maybe much lower, or much higher.

Will it be good? Most likely. Thor, the original installment, scored 70% “sweet/sour” on the Lemonradar, we praised the visual effects, and the funny performance by Chris Hemsworth, but thought it was a weaker MCU installment. The sequel, The Dark World, was handed 65% “sweet/sour” on Sweet and Sour Movies, again loving the action, but it continued the one Marvel produced franchise that didn’t quite work. However, what changed the beforehand weakest MCU series was the third installment, Ragnarok, and with a change of directors, it scored an excellent 85% “sweet” on the Lemonradar, 93% “Certified Fresh” on RT, and a positive 74/100 on Metacritic, a high ranking film in the interconnected saga. For Love and Thunder, the Ragnarok director Taika Watiti is returning and promises lot’s of laughs, and most likely, the fourth installment should have good quality, but there are slim chances that it could disappoint. Our final predictions are 60-80% on the Lemonradar.

TWO-TIME ACADEMY AWARD WINNER MAHERSHALA ALI TO REPLACE WESLEY SNIPES IN “BLADE” REBOOT

There were three film adaptations to the world known Marvel comics series dubbed Blade, all starring Wesley Snipes, and all having some limited success critically, but delivering decently financially. After the reception for the third picture, very little of the fan base were expecting a fourth installment, or even a reboot—however 2019’s Comic Con announced a Blade reboot in San Diego, helmed by the MCU and starring Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali will be released. It will be a gamble whether the comic book adaptation and reboot will be a hit or not, or even if it will be worth a watch, but Ali is more than capable for the role after performing in both Luke Cage, and the masterful Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The superhero picture’s director is still unknown, but fans at the Comic-Con were supposedly demanding a black filmmaker for the extremely anticipated film. Jordan Peele, the director for acclaimed R-rated horror films such as Get Out and Us turned down the offer for the role, and James Wan (Aquaman), who pitched the idea, has also been cancelled. The dangerous waters of development hell are hitting the reboot, and hopefully they”ll find a filmmaker suited for the title. The film is being released either 2022, or 2023.

Will it be a hit? Perhaps, but not likely. A Blade remake starring Mahershala Ali should interest fans enough for some good early buzz, but considering the limited victories for the original three films, it’s not likely to meet the regular MCU, “top the charts” quota, as it is an R-rated gore-fest. The original Blade film scored well in the box office, grossing just over 70M in North America, and 131.1M globally on a budget that reaches just 45M. With inflation that counts to 110M domestically, and 205.8M globally. The sequel, Blade II, improved on the original’s success with a solid 82.3M earned domestically, and 155M worldwide on a cost of 54M. With almost 20 years of inflation, that counts to 116.7M domestically, and 220.6M globally. The third, and final film, dubbed Trinity, was the single flop in the series, grossing just 52.4M in North American totals, and 128.9M globally on a budget nearing 70M. Even with 15 years of inflation, the totals count to 70.5M domestically along with 173.5M globally on an inflated budget of about 94M. Well, after the third installment, fans said their goodbyes to the vampire-slaying trilogy until now. Our final predictions for the reboot are a debut of around 20M, and a domestic total of 50M on a budget of 100-120M, however, there is lot’s of evidence saying that the numbers could jump much higher.

Will it be good? There’s a chance. With Ali playing the title character, there is a chance that the quality could at least beat the low standard set by the first three films, considering the actor is a two-time Oscar winner, however, that’s a slim gamble against the rising tides of franchise fatigue. The first Blade picture got mixed reception, scoring 54% “Rotten” on RottenTomatoes, and 45/100 on Metacritic, critics praised the fierce action sequences, but panned the lack of plot. Blade II didn’t wow much either, handed 57% “Rotten” on RottenTomatoes, and 52/100 on Metacritic, praising the doubled-down violence once again, but the lack of character development, and storytelling were noted. Trinity, the least-favored of the trilogy, scored just 25% “Rotten” on RottenTomatoes, and a still-negative 38/100 on Metacritic, reviews said it’s overly loud, too campy, and the violence is too incoherent to match up to it’s two predecessors. Considering the dim reception, we shouldn’t bee expecting much from a reboot, but with a compelling star, and hopefully a solid director, we are thinking the film could either be around 20% “D-sour”, or maybe a high of about 70% “sweet/sour”.

“DOCTOR STRANGE” SEQUEL TO BE MARVEL’S FIRST “HORROR” FILM

The sequel to the hit Doctor Strange, which debuted three years ago has finally been announced to be released on May 7th 2021, and it is to be dubbed, In the Multiverse of Madness. While the sequel might not be R-rated, it’s supposed to be the first Marvel produced “horror” film, still starring Benedict Cumberbatch and bringing Elizabeth Olsen into the cast. The film is to be helmed by Scott Derrickson, who directed the original superhero picture, along with a couple of mediocre horror films such as The Excorcism of Emily Rose, and the two Sinister films. It should do solid numbers in the box office, and perhaps, it shall be another good MCU produced romp, though the horror genre attempt could tip the production sideways.

Doctor Strange stats:

77% “sweet” on the Lemonradar

232.6M in North America

677.7M worldwide

165M production cost

“shang-chi” adaptation set for 2021

Another MCU comics adaptation, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is set to be released on the big screen in 2021. The film is based on a comics strip dubbed Shang-Chi, which tells the story of a master of kung-fu, and his battles against Fu Manchu, his arch-nemesis. Awkwafina is playing an unknown role, and Canadian actor Simu Liu will play Shang-Chi, while Tony Leung will be starring as the Mandarin (the new villain). The film looks like a cool fantasy Marvel mash-up, and should be another solid hit in the box office, but the film looks overbearingly familiar.

Shang-Chi predictions:

60% “sweet/sour” on the Lemonradar

150M in North America

500M worldwide

125M production cost

“CAPTAIN MARVEL 2”, “BLACK PANTHER 2”, AND “GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3” TO HIT THEATERS

Amidst all the adaptations, and reboots, Marvel is returning to produce three more sequels to some immensely popular predecessors. Captain Marvel 2, Black Panther 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 are all coming to the big screen hopefully by 2022. Guardians 3 was delayed because James Gunn was fired temporarily, before being re-hired to direct the third installment in the franchise. We have to question whether the three sequels will be taken place after the events of Endgame, or before? Panther 2 was also delayed, and was supposedly because of cast troubles, but Marvel is still on board and confirmed that both this and the other two are in the works. They are all extremely anticipated to do both incredible numbers in the box office, and be critical successes additionally considering their predecessors.

Black Panther stats:

90% “sweet” on the Lemonradar

700M in North America

1.346B worldwide

200M production cost

Captain Marvel stats:

76% “sweet” on the Lemonradar

426.8M in North America

1.128B worldwide

152-175M production cost

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 stats:

80% “sweet” on the Lemonradar

389.8M in North America

863.7M worldwide

200M production cost

“ETERNALS” SET FOR 2020, WITH A CONFIRMED CAST

Another comic-book adaptation dubbed Eternals is set to be released in 2020, and has a confirmed, and talented cast. Angelina Jolie was first cast as Avengers member Sersi, but at the Comic-Con, the actress was switched to star as Thena, who is lightly based off of Athena. Salma Hayek, and Lauren Ridloff will be playing female versions of Ajak and speedster Makkari. Kumail Nanjiani is also joining the cast as Kingo, a samurai Eternal. Train to Busan star Don Lee is set to star as The Forgotten One, a.k.a Gilgamesh. The exact release is November 6th.

Eternals predictions:

70% “sweet/sour” on the Lemonradar

140M in North America

400-500M worldwide

175M production budget

“BLACK WIDOW” SET FOR NEXT MAY WITH MORE CASTINGS

The MCU has yet again announced a superhero origin story, this one is a stand-alone feature dubbed Black Widow. The origin tells the untold story of assassin turned Avengers, Natasha Romanoff a.k.a Black Widow, this film will take place much before her sacrifice in the tragic Avengers: Endgame. The picture is to be helmed by Cate Shortland who has Somersault, Lore, and Berlin Syndrome, all which have raved critical reception. The film is set to be released May, 2020 as Scarlett Johansson will return as the title character, it will also star Stranger Things’ David Harbour as the Red Guardian, and Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, the second Black Widow. Finally, famed Marvel antagonist the Taskmaster will also appear, but the casting choice is still unknown.

Black Widow predictions:

85% “sweet” on the Lemonradar

180M in North America

600M worldwide

90M production budget

“AVENGERS: ENDGAME” FINALLY TOPS “AVATAR” FOR GLOBAL #1

After a long, 87 days in release, Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame has finally topped James Cameron’s Avatar for the biggest global release of all-time with over $2.790 billion dollars worldwide. Domestically, the film has earned over $850 million dollars in North America, making it the second biggest domestic release of all-time behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The massive success for the last installment of the Infinity saga, as well as Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far from Home mean good news for Marvel’s Phase 4.

Five Things We Learned from the “It: Chapter 2” Trailer

July 18, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

“It: Chapter 2” Trailer Dropped at San Diego comic con

At the San Diego Comic Con, which happens recently, the final trailer for “It: Chapter 2” was dropped, and Pennywise is back bloodier, more brooding and as terrifying as ever. In the terrifying new trailer we also happened to notice a couple significant bits and pieces.

A “Shining” Reference With That Water Attack?

In one of the first clips in the trailer, we see A man (maybe one of the losers) get attacked by loads of threatening waters in the sewer right before a vision of Pennywise groping for him. Fans of Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of “The Shining” should have noticed that how the water entered ominously, and then covered the entire screen was almost identical to the blood rushing out of the door in similar quantities. While it’s just a theory, director Andre Muschetti might be playing a few tricks of his own.

The Losers are Coming Back to Kick Some Clown Ass

Here we see the Losers Club gathering once again as adults, ready to fight Pennywise again since their last encounter 27 years ago. The tricky clown won’t go down without a fight, but the Losers have defeated him once, and look born ready to do it again. It looks like we will have to say goodbye to a couple of our favorite nerdy friends, but James McAvoy’s Bill is still ready for revenge.

Are Beverly and Bill falling in love Again?!

In this screenshot we see that Bill and Beverly might have the hots for each other once again. Both have had tough relationships in the past, but it looks like, 27 years after their last encounter, Stuttering Bill and Bev are back at their love story again. While it’s great and everything, it might not be the best time, considering we have a murderous, shape-shifting clown on the loose, but…

Oh S..t, Pennywise Flies

It sure seemed the situation couldn’t get any worse, but you know Pennywise. Well, the thing is…It can now fly with enough balloons. That sure spells some trouble to the already struggling Losers, but well, you know them too, they’ll think of something, hopefully.

Pennywise’s Daughter (Creepy old lady) is Here

In the teaser trailer we got a good 30 seconds of her, and in the new trailer there was a faint glimpse. We quickly realized this was Pennywise’s daughter, evil as charged. In the scene she tricks adult Beverly into thinking she lives in Bev’s father’s old house, and turns out to be another version of It. Get the hell out Bev!!!!!!!

”It: Chapter 2” arrives in theaters September 5th!!

Disney is Ruling the 2019 Box Office With Huge Market Shares

July 17, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

It’s Mostly Cause of “Avengers: Endgame”, but Disney is on Record Pace

Disney, and Buena Vista have taken over the box office for a long, long time—and since the year 2000, the massive studio has won the yearly market share six times, in the years 2000, 2003, 2016, 2017, 2018, and this year. If you noticed, since the collaborations with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney has been thriving more than ever—and furthermore, of the Disney share this year, a Marvel picture, Avengers: Endgame, has taken a massive 39% of the total 2.1 billion dollars grossed so far.

Here is a list of the top four films produced by Disney/Buena Vista/Marvel and their grosses and collaboration to the total gross:

The biggest film this year for Disney is Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame, which has taken the leading 39% of the studio grosses this year domestically. The film has grossed 851.9M in North America, and 1.9B overseas for a worldwide total of 2.781B. This makes it second domestically all-time, and runner-up globally all-time. This is one of the examples of the sheer force that Marvel has brought Disney.

Another Marvel production is number two for Disney this year, Captain Marvel, which has taken about 20% of the studio earnings. The film ended grossing an impressive 426.8M domestically, along with 701.4M in foreign territories for a worldwide tally of 1.128B. The picture is 21st all-time in North America, and 22nd all-time worldwide.

A collaboration with Disney and Pixar holds in third for the year, Toy Story 4, which has contributed to about 16% of the totals this year. Currently, the animated flick has earned 349.4M domestically, and an additional 427.2M overseas, resulting in a global total of 776.7M. These grosses make the hit 51st all-time domestically, and 92nd all-time worldwide.

The one film in the top four that wasn’t a collaboration was Disney’s reboot, Aladdin, which accounted for about 15% of all studio grosses this year. The film tallied 332.6M domestically, with 629.7M overseas for a global bout of 962.4M. The earnings make the live-action reboot 61st domestically and 45th worldwide.

Yes, Disney has been a behemoth in the box office this year, grossing 35% of the entire film industry’s earnings this year, leading the group by more than 20%. As you also have noticed, three of the top four Disney pictures this year have been collaborations wth either Marvel or Pixar, proving once again that the giant studio does better with collabs. Already having grossed 2.1B, the studio is also on pace to have it’s second biggest year of all-time, about 300 million behind last year. With The Lion King coming just next weekend, we’re looking for some more box office hits. Keep checking Box Office Face Offs for more updates!

"Spider-Man: Far From Home" and it's Shocking Post-Credit Sequences

July 11, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

What the Brilliant Post-Credit Scene (s) Means for Phase 4 Marvel

MJ (Zendaya), and Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) in Spider-Man: Far From Home. — MJ (Zendaya), and Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) in *Spider-Man: Far From Home*.

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” is no “Endgame”, but it had its share of surprises and massive spoilers. So, if you haven’t seen “Far From Home”, don’t continue reading, however, if you have, by all means, continue.

After the two-hour duration of the film, like most other Marvel films, “Far From Home” got it’s very own post-credit scene. The sequence is after Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) tricked Peter into giving him multi-billion dollar sunglasses, and access to drones able to destroy the planet. However, the public still thinks Mysterio is a hero, the hero to destroy the Elementals, who were actually projections with special effects and illusions, basically, Mysterio, and the “villains” were all faux. The scene depicts “Mysterio’s final moments”. Crawling for his life, Mysterio is using a camera to film Spidey execute a drone attack to destroy London. The video was specially edited by Mr. Beck/Mysterio’s disgruntled ex-Stark co-workers to depict Spider-Man as the bad guy, and Mysterio as the dead hero. Not just that, Mysterio revealed that Spider-Man’s real identity is Peter Parker, that spells trouble.

The second post-credit scene reveals that Skrulls Talos and Soren have been posing as Agents Fury, and Hill the entire film. Fury, however, is commanding them the entire time back in a Skrull spaceship. The two aliens are shape-shifters who had their debut in “Captain Marvel” earlier this year, and be-friended both Captain Marvel, and Nick Fury. Are the Skrulls here to help, or was it all a trap? Is an alien invasion coming?

Will Spider-Man Be a Fugitive?

After the video was projected, it’s likely the public, dim-witted as they are, to believe Mysterio and his faux hero dreams. What will happen to good ol’ Spidey though? A few people do know the truth including Peter’s friends Ned, and MJ. The rest of his classmates know too, but will they believe Peter’s a mass-murderer, or the real hero in the story. It’s likely Peter will have to go in hiding with Nick Fury, and the gang at S.H.I.E.L.D, some more folks that know Mysterio is all lies. Still with all his close relatives and friends, its more than likely that Mysterio will become the next Iron Man, and Spider-Man will be forced into hiding for the next films. However, a positive fact for our web-slinging friend, is that the video was uploaded to a very controversial news website called, you guessed it, The Daily Bugle.net, genuine Spidey-haters. Considering this, there’s likely to be some protest defending our friend. Again, the reporter on the screen, was no other than….J. Jonah Jameson, played once again by J.K. Simmons. The post-credit scene might not just put Spidey into hiding, but it’s also a major crossover from the Sam Raimi trilogy.

Is Mysterio Really Dead?

In the beginning of the film, Mysterio appears as another fellow superhuman from a different version of planet Earth. He quickly becomes a fatherly figure to Spider-Man, and they end up fighting the Elementals together, however, Mysterio gets inside his head, and subtly convinces him to give multi-billion dollar Stark tech with access to destroy the world to him. When Peter finds that Mr. Beck is a fraud, and a master of illusions, he finds that this might be his toughest contender yet. In the final battle, after many magic tricks, and terrifyingly real special effects—Peter finally defeats the real villain. Or does he? Remember that Mysterio is terrific with illusions, so the death of him may or may not be real.

Are the Skrulls Here to Help?

In their debut in “Captain Marvel”, at first, the Skrulls were depicted as hungry-for-power war-lords attempting to conquer the universe. However, it was all Kree fake news, handed out by Ronan, a war-lord himself. When Captain Marvel and Agent Fury figure this out they help the Skrulls defeat the Kree civilization and free them of terror. They then become friends in the end. In the second “Far From Home” post-credit sequence, they appear to be posing as Nick Fury and Agent Hill the entire time, with the real Fury back in a space station with the remainder of the Skrulls. It appears that Talos and Soren (the Skrulls) have been helping Fury, and aiding Spider-Man in his fight against Mysterio…but, will they stop there? I mean seriously, there is a likely possibility that it was a trap just to get the Skrulls on Earth for an all-out alien invasion. Come on, they literally have control over the most dangerous man in the world, and suspicious aliens do nothing???

Both post-credit sequences have their shocks. They left many questions un answered for desperate Marvel fans. Will Spider-Man go into hiding? Will Mysterio come back? Will the Skrulls betray Fury and invade Earth? There are so many more, and we can only wait for the kick-off of Marvel Phase 4 to tell us.

How Special Effects Have Changed Over the Years

July 09, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

A VISUAL TIME LINE FROM 1906-2019

“Avatar”, released in 2009.

You look at films today, with big macho budgets ranging up to nearly 400 million dollars spent just on 120 minutes or so of moving pictures, take the “Avengers” franchise in to hand, the usage of something called CGI is non stop. It’s almost in every scene.

It was not always like that, have you ever watched the famous films almost 90 years ago? Pictures like “Metropolis”, or the Fay Wray starring “King Kong”, both made in the 20’s and 30’s, and both considered a marvel of special effects, but not with CGI.

Even before that, even over 100 years ago appeared pictures that ran just seven minutes long, but dazzled audiences even without big action sequences, with smaller scale sort of magic tricks used for entertainment. Now, I will take you on a time line of special effects from 1906-2019, yep 113 years of wonders.

1906-The Beginning

Above is a picture of a short film called “Dream of a Rarebit Fiend” directed by Edwin S. Porter. The film depicts an old man having trouble going to sleep, after a long night of alcohol. Soon after, three devil characters appear on the head of his bed, and he starts to fly through the city. The first marvel of special effects without CGI. The film ended the biggest hit for the studio the year 1906.

1927-1954-DYSTOPIAS, AND CREATURE-FEATURES

Above you see one of the first films with special effects used on a massive scale, “Metropolis” which debuted in theaters 1927, opening to wonderful critical appraise, especially for the visuals. Directed by Fritz Lang, the film depicts a haunting vision of the future. It centers on a beautiful utopia, which lays on top of a horrible underworld filled with mis treated workers. The special effects of the cities, and flying cars were created by miniature models, and mirrors to make illusions that actors are on the little sets. The film grossed over 1.2M in 1927, counting to an inflated total of 18.1M.

The photo right above shows an image for the motion picture “King Kong”, the original, made in 1933. The picture was a one of a kind, the primary film to capture a giant monster in moving action. The film was praised for its innovative usage of special effects, taking stop-motion animation, miniature sets, and some full-scale practical models. It inspired a whole genre, and a whole load of fans for creature-features to come. The monster flick earned 10M at the 1933 domestic box office, for an inflated gross of 196.9M.

Above is another creature-feature inspired by the great “King Kong”, “Godzilla”, released in 1954. The singular film inspired a massive money-making franchise, and a whole new monster icon. The film also used big models, and little sets, another innovative, low-budget piece of work; proving once again that there are always ways of creating wonders without expensive budgets. The big ol’ lizard earned only 491K at the 1954 domestic box office, translating into 4.6M today. Despite the little interest, the film garnered a massive franchise.

1968-1977-flying High in space

Forget monsters, and dystopias, what you’re looking at above is a dazzling look at space in the movies. Nope, it’s not CGI, “2001: A Space Odyssey” used a miniature rear-projected image of a window in a spacecraft, green screens, various models and even backdrops filled with stars. It ended a dazzling achievement, again without CGI. The space adventure grossed 56.7M in 1968, and with the inflation, today it would make an outstanding 417.3M.

Above is 1977 released sci-fi adventure “Star Wars”, the beginning to a marvelous franchise that inspired countless fans. The film was directed by George Lucas, and was another successful example of a large scale action feature without CGI. The picture used miniature models, practical effects and painted backgrounds with astonishing detail. “Star Wars” was an astonishing hit, grossing 307.2M domestically, and with the two re-releases, a total of 460.9M in North America. With the inflation, its 1.2B, and with the inflation and the re-releases, it tops 1.9B, making it the largest film of all time.

THE 80’S AND THE 90’S-THE RISE OF CGI

Showing on top is James Cameron’s masterful sequel, “Aliens”, the first film to use CGI on a large scale, in many scenes. The film was released in 1986, and looked as good as many films released today. The sci-fi horror was loaded with action sequences, lots of guns, and well Xenomorphs to film. It inspired many sequels, and the genre today, surprising critics with both dazzling visuals and compelling suspense. Grossing a solid 85.1M in 1986, the inflation translates into an impressive 198.6M today.

Another sequel to use CGI to a predecessor that didn’t was another James Cameron classic, “Terminator 2: Judgement Day”. While the original was just models, and a lot of make-up, the sequel was full-blown expensiveness. Costing 102M back then, translating to 191M today—the action flick was full of loud, dazzling action sequences. These particularly violent affairs included a new version of a Terminator, whose body could melt into liquid, this was the biggest razzle-dazzle of the film. “Judgement Day” earned 205.8M back in 1991, translating into a whopping 385.4M today.

Slow-Motion-App-iPhone-The-Matrix-Bullet-Time-Gif-Keanu-Reeves-Bullet-Time-Slow-Motion-iPhone-App-Smartphone-314965.gif

Later on, released in 1999, was another CG’d wonder to audiences back then, and even today. That wonder is “The Matrix”, one of the most visually inventive films of all time. The film only cost 96M to make today, and was a huge hit financially, and critically—with many slow-mo action sequences, which included robots, martial arts with fantastical elements, and rollicking gun fights. The sci-fi pic delivered 171.4M 20 years ago, making a inflation translation to 262.8M today.

2000-2019-THE DAZZLING SPECIAL EFFECTS OF TODAY

“The Perfect Storm”, a CGI laden film released in 2000.

“Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith”, one of the first “Star Wars” flicks with CGI. Released in 2005.

“Avatar”, a modern James Cameron film, was considered one of the most visually impressive films of all-time. Released in 2009.

A “Godzilla” reboot, considered a technical marvel. Released in 2014.

“War for the Planet of the Apes” was praised for its magnificent attention to detail in its CGI, and visual effects. Released in 2017.

“Avengers: Endgame” was a 3-hour epic filled with visual effects, one of the most expensive films of all-time. Released in 2019.

Looking at this visual time line, all the way from 1906, to 2019—you realize that 100 years ago, films didn’t start out like the blockbusters you see today. They were low-budget pieces of innovation, and while CGI and visual effects have brought so much to the table, its good to be reminded by the ancestors of film.

Visual effects used to wow people back then, and while there are certainly moments in film today where the audience is blown away; it’s becoming less, and less frequent. This makes you question what visuals will be like in 20 years? Will they keep pumping the budget up, or will they go back to the old motion-picture roots?

Sequels and Their Under-performances at the 2019 Summer Box Office

July 04, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

The year of 2019 started off with trembles in the box office, and it quickly fell over 20% behind last year’s pace; despite hits such as “Aquaman”. Later on chart toppers such as “Us”, “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” and “Captain Marvel” started to dig the year out of the coffin.

Then to put the odds even more towards 2019, “Avengers: Endgame” opened. Then John Wick: Chapter 3” surprised. Furthermore, “Shazam!”, and “Detective Pikachu” all opened with impressive 50M+ debuts, the Spring was massive. Later even the reboot of “Aladdin” scores big on Memorial Day weekend, boosting the year’s checks even more.

We were right on the brink of the Summer box office, Spring over-performed, and the weekend had an anticipated 70M three day for the “Godzilla” sequel, then the first issue arises. “King of the Monsters” opened to just 47.7M, which wasn’t terrible, but was the first of many underperforming Summer sequels.

The following weekend, early June, we saw two sequels flop on top of the charts. “The Secret Life of Pets” was projected for around 68M, and opened to just 46.6M. Additionally, “X-Men” installment, “Dark Phoenix” had predictions that reached 55-60M, and ended tanking with a franchise low of 32.8M, and it cost 200M.

It doesn’t stop there, two more sequels (or reboots in this case) fell below expectations once again. Ring leader number one was poorly-reviewed “Men in Black International” which was projected for 45M originally, before opening to just over 30M, topping the charts, but earning a franchise low, and diminishing chances for sequels. Secondly, right outside the top five was another critically panned reboot, “Shaft” which was on its way towards a three day of around 20M, before completely restricting to just 8.9M.

Then, it quieted down a little next weekend, where highly anticipated “Toy Story 4” arrived to save the day. Still, even the biggest film of the Summer got nipped by the slump, projected for a mighty 180-200M, before a debut of 120.9M. Easily topping the box office, earning a franchise record and excellently reviewed; but still underperforming.

The slump seems to be slowing, with “Spider-Man: Far from Home already starting to punch some big numbers, but what was it with the terrible Summer start. Generally, it seemed like the critics. “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” scored 55/100 with us, 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 48/100 on Metacritic. “The Secret Life of Pets 2” also scored mixed reception, with 57% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 54/100 on Metacritic. Another contender that weekend, “Dark Phoenix” was also received negatively, handed just 23% on RT, and 43/100 on Metacritic. Even “International”, and “Shaft” received 23%, and 31% respectively.

That seems to be the main problem, but then again, “Toy Story 4” got raves, and scored 80/100 with us, yet still failed to reach expectations. However, that was still a solid victory.

What this means for sequels and reboots such as “The Lion King”, “Hobbs and Shaw”, “Dora and the Last City it Gold” etc. is still unknown, but keep checking for weekend updates on Box Office Face Offs.

Monster Films are Taking Over at the Box Office: We Need to Talk

June 24, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

Creature-FeatureS and Their Fame in the Box Office

THE BIGGEST CREATURE-FEATURE: “JURASSIC WORLD”

An Image of Jurassic World’s weekend dominance. — An Image of *Jurassic World’s* weekend dominance.

Here is an image of the biggest creature-feature of all-time, Jurassic World, which is a reboot/sequel of the original Jurassic Park trilogy. As you can see, the monster picture opened to a mammoth 208.8M domestically from 4,274 locations—averaging $48,855 per-screen. The film had surprisingly long-legs, and easily managed a domestic sales total of 652.2M, and a global total of 1.6B—ranking seventh on the all-time domestic list, and sixth on the worldwide.

THE SECOND BIGGEST “JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM”

The sequel to Jurassic World, Fallen Kingdom managing to maintain box office velocity. — The sequel to *Jurassic World, Fallen Kingdom* managing to maintain box office velocity.

Universal’s sequel, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ended the second-biggest creature-feature film at the box office, as you can see, the dino-themed picture debuted with 148M from 4,475 locations, averaging $33,078 per-screen. While the three-day was supposedly around 29% less than its predecessor’s opening—the film still managed massive velocity, and worked to top the biggest Summer weekend that year. It held well to a finish of 417.7M domestically, and over 1.3B globally. A third film is in development.

THE THIRD BIGGEST (FIRST WITH INFLATION) “JURASSIC PARK”

In 1993, Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park may have started small, but over the year, it became a global empire. — In 1993, Steven Spielberg’s *Jurassic Park* may have started small, but over the year, it became a global empire.

In the screenshot of the 1993 classic, Jurassic Park, you can see its actually only decent debut of just over 47M. However, when you take in the inflation, you get a massive 83.2M start today. Not only that, the film held remarkably well, dipping only 18% through its second weekend—managing to top 357M before it was re-released to gross over 402M domestically, and over 1 billion globally, making it the third biggest creature-feature to date. Furthermore, when you take in inflation for the totals, you get a domestic gross of 632.6M without the re-release, but with it, you have over 712M domestically, and 1.8B worldwide. Giving it the title of biggest creature-feature, if you count the re-release, and the inflation difference.

THE FOURTH BIGGEST “THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK”

Another Spielberg-directed Jurassic feature, The Lost World hit theaters in 1997—and the photo sees the increasing popularity. — Another Spielberg-directed *Jurassic* feature, *The Lost World* hit theaters in 1997—and the photo sees the increasing popularity.

Obviously, cause of the massive hit Jurassic Park was, especially the inflation—Spielberg conjured a sequel dubbed The Lost World four years later. The film managed a massive 4-day weekend of 90.1M, showcasing the increasing popularity of the blooming franchise (with inflation, that’s a debut over 143M). While the long-run was not quite impressive as its predecessor, with inflation—the sequel ends grossing 365.3M domestically, and globally, the total tallies to over 986M worldwide. While those numbers still trail the original (even non-inflation), it means audiences want a conclusion to the trilogy.

THE FIFTH BIGGEST “KING KONG” (2005)

Peter Jackson’s reboot of King Kong taking the box office. — Peter Jackson’s reboot of *King Kong* taking the box office.

The original King Kong film hit theaters in 1933, and terrified the globe, becoming an instant classic to audiences everywhere. It had many sequels, and reboots—heck, the giant ape faced Godzilla once. Peter Jackson, however, was the first to adapt the classic with CGI, and special effects galore—resulting in a 207M budget. The reboot topped the box office in 2005, with a three-day weekend of 50.1M, and a five-day of 66.1M—with inflation, that means a Fri-Sun total of 65.5M, and the Wed-Sun gross of 86.5M. The film ended with over 218M domestically, and 550.5M globally—take in the inflation prices, you have a North American gross of 285.8M, and a worldwide total of 721.2M. While that’s not as big as our dino pals, it sure is large.

So what is it with monster films and their massive box office numbers? It’s become a major part of our lives, from the year 1933, all the way here. In the olden days, when creature-features such as the Alien franchise, or the first Jurassic Park picture, heck even Jaws came to theaters it was because the audiences wanted the combo feel of horror, and action. Today, with the reboots such as Jurassic World, or expensive sequels such as Kong: Skull Island, or Godzilla: King of the Monsters—its more for the dazzling special effects, and the big action sequences. What has the genre become today? The increasing lack of scares, the 200M production budgets—and what will happen in the future, will directors decide to go back to the genre’s old roots, or will they continue dazzling audiences with large-scale visuals, and not jump-scares?

5 Great Scenes in Sour Films

June 22, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

The Glimpses of Greatness Mired in Mediocrity

Bumblebee Fights Nemesis Prime in “Transformers: The Last Knight”

Remember the latest installment to Michael Bay’s gargantuan sci-fi franchise, The Last Knight, remember it was considered one of the worst films of 2017? Well, while the fifth Transformers picture scored just 27% “D-sour” on the Lemonradar, and was the lowest-grossing film in the franchise—there were a few flashes of greatness amidst the utter trash that was the movie. An example of this was when Bumblebee fought Nemesis Prime—not only was the scene visually dazzling, it was beautifully filmed, and filled with tension. While it couldn’t save the entire film, it sure helped it considerably.

The Hanging/Opening Scene in “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”

The first installment to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was a solid, but unspectacular popcorn flick with a heck of a performance from Johnny Depp, and cutting edge visuals—scoring 75% “sweet”. The sequel, Dead Men’s Chest was a massive hit in the box office, grossing over 1 billion dollars globally—however, critics were much more skeptical, and the 220M production scored 55% “sour” on the Lemonradar. The visuals were fantastic, but the story, and the screenplay spelled problems. Here we come to the third film, At World’s End which managed to gross over 900M worldwide—but again, the quality continues on a downward spiral, scoring 47% “sour” on the Lemonradar. However, the opening scene is incredible—beginning with a hanging of convicted pirates, the camera generally centers on a boy who rings up a toon for the rest of the convicts. It’s emotional, dramatic, and stunningly filmed—too bad the rest of the film relied too much on spectacular visuals.

first attack sequence in “the great wall”

The Great Wall was one of the most anticipated films of 2017, starring Matt Damon, and directed by Yimou Zhang. However, the fantasy picture was a disappointment in the box office, and with critics—the film scored only 45% “sour” on the Lemonradar—we praised the visuals, but panned the script, and the storytelling. While the film itself was overstuffed, and chaotic—the first attack sequence was brilliant. With spectacular usage of cinematography, and CGI, along with compelling music, and sheer scope. Also the “crane corps” bit is just incredible, where five or so women would flip of the wall with spears, attacking the creatures—the scene is wild, if only the film were like that.

bedroom attack scene in “jurassic world: fallen kingdom”

When the original Jurassic Park picture came out in the year 1993, the world was terrified—Steven Spielberg has done it again with master suspense, and dazzling practical effects—it scored 85% “sweet” on the Lemonradar. Because of the terrific box office numbers, two sequels were sprouted, The Lost World (60% “sweet/sour”), and Jurassic Park III (40% “sour”). The franchise was always strong in money-making, but the quality gave us the idea that the trilogy has run it’s course. However, it was rebooted to Jurassic World in 2015; which made massive cash, and was a decent picture to the critics, scoring a solid 65% “sweet/sour” on the Lemonradar, reviving the franchise. Obviously, a sequel was made last year, dubbed Fallen Kingdom which was another hit in the box office, grossing over 1.3B worldwide—however, the increasing lack of scares smashed the second installment with critique. The film managed a 50% “sour” on the Lemonradar. However, there were a few times that we got a good old-fashioned jolt, including the slow-building suspense scene in where the “Indorapter” starts to sneak into a terrified little girl’s room. Finally, the audiences were impressed with an otherwise meh installment.

opening scene in “batman v superman: dawn of justice”

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was just what you expected it to be, an over-hyped mess that featured clumsily terrible battle scenes—and cheap performances. The film did manage to gross over 873M worldwide, making it another hit for the DC Extended Universe—however, it scored a horrible 30% “sour” on the Lemonradar. There was, however, an incredible sequence amidst the atrocity that was the film—the opening scene. The sequence was a tear-jerking, and beautifully composed five minutes—and depicted Bruce’s parents’ death scene, along with a beautifully filmed sequence of young Bruce running through the woods, then, well the rest of the film just plain sucked.

Peter Mayhew, the Man Behind Chewbacca’s Mask, Dies at 74

May 05, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU, MR. MAYHEW

Peter Mayhew with the Chewbacca mask in an interview. — **Peter Mayhew with the Chewbacca mask in an interview**.

Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew under the mask), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guiness) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in “Star Wars: A New Hope” released in 1977. — **Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew under the mask)**, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guiness) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in “**Star Wars: A New Hope”** released in 1977.

Peter Mayhew’s family announced his death on the evening of April 30th, and explained that he died with his family by his side in his North Texas home. The actor grew to over 7 feet tall, and was born in 1944, resulting in a 74-year life-span. The actor died of a heart-attack.

Mayhew, a British actor, was not given the publicity that he clearly deserved. Known the most for portraying the gentle giant Chewbacca, the character was one of the most beloved roles in the massive, money-making “Star Wars” franchise. Mayhew showed up to play the famed hero along side Harrison Ford from “Star Wars: A New Hope” released in 1977, all the way to the gargantuan, box office giant “The Force Awakens”, released in 2015—yep, almost 50 years of playing a fluffy giant with a crossbow.

Peter Mayhew, at a massive 7 foot 3 inches, climbed into the lovable costume and became Han Solo’s loyal sidekick on the famed spaceship, the Millenium Falcon. Because of his form of gigantism in his early teens, when he was still very, abnormally tall— a producer spotted him working as an orderly in a London hospital, soon after, Mayhew was cast as a massive bronze figure in “Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger”. Later, Mayhew was even recommended to George Lucas, to play the towering, cuddly giant Chewbacca in the first “Star Wars” film.

Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew, again) along with Princess Leia (Carrie Fischer) in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” released in 2015. — **Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew, again)** along with Princess Leia (Carrie Fischer) in “**Star Wars: The Force Awakens”** released in 2015.

Mayhew had no lines with Chewbacca, the voice was provided by animal sounds—but it completely changed his life forever—he did not just appear in the films, he was also in many “Star Wars” commercials, and even the guilty-pleasure spin-off “Star Wars Holiday Special” in 1978, right after “A New Hope” was released.

His family, and partner in the franchise, Harrison Ford both gave death statements—the family said “He put his heart and soul into the role of Chewbacca, and it showed in every frame of the films”—Ford commented that he was “a kind and gentle man, possessed of great dignity and noble character.” George Lucas also commented on his passing, saying that “He was the closest any human being could be to a Wookie: big heart, gentle nature.”

In most cases, such a role would be considered pretty darn small, and to most people, it would pass right by them—however, Chewbacca became legendary, and was one of the main faces of the “Star Wars” franchise. The character has been a major part of our lives this century, and really, is one of my favorite roles in the “Star Wars” saga.

Its May the 4th Be With You! All the "Star Wars" Movies Ranked

May 05, 2019 by Kipp Marcus

by: keaton marcus

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, 90% “sweet”
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, 85% “sweet”
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, 83% “sweet”
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, 80% “sweet”
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, 77% “sweet”
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, 75% “sweet”
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, 70% “sweet/sour”
Solo: A Star Wars Story, 60% “sweet/sour”
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, 55% “sour”
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, 48% “sour”
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, 30% “sour”
The Lemonradar Average Stands at a Solid 68% “sweet/sour”
Don’t forget that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives in theaters December!!

by: keaton marcus

We Predict the Winner of Each Category of the People’s Choice Awards

THE MOVIE OF 2019:

THE COMEDY MOVIE OF 2019:

THE ACTION MOVIE OF 2019:

THE DRAMA MOVIE OF 2019:

THE FAMILY MOVIE OF 2019:

by: keaton marcus

THE Major WINNERS

THE LION KING (2019)

TOY STORY 4

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME

ALADDIN (2019)

fast & furious presents: hobbs & shaw

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM

SPECIAL MENTIONS (WINNERS)

THE MAJOR LOSERS

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS

DARK PHOENIX

MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL

SPECIAL MENTIONS (LOSERS)

by: keaton marcus

We Predict Every Film’s Box Office in the Fall Movie Season

by: keaton marcus

by: keaton marcus

He started an outcast

Robert De Niro is a huge part of the story

It doesn’t quite fit in with the “Batman” films

This could be the best film in the franchise

Its a clown revolution!

by: keaton marcus

An Explosive “The Rise of Skywalker” Trailer Was Released at D23

This Could Really Be the End

Rey Has a Double-Sided Light-Saber

J.J. Abrams is Returning to Direct

Lando is Back! (Leia too?)

The New Planets and Characters

by: keaton marcus

by: keaton marcus

“The Irishman”: Will it be Good? Will it be a Hit?

by: keaton marcus

by: keaton marcus

“Hobbs & Shaw” Kicks off the Last Month of the Summer

by: keaton marcus

“Thor 4” Handed to Natalie Portman? “Blade” Reboot Casting? “Top Gun: Maverick” and “It: Chapter 2” Trailers?

THE TRAILERS: FLYING HIGH WITH TOM CRUISE, SQUARING OFF WITH PENNYWISE, AND SOME terrible “CATS” footage

“Cats”, “terminator: dark fate”, “walking dead” film etc.!!

some MARVEL PHASE 4 movie NEWS: NATALIE PORTMAN TO WIELD, “BLADE” CASTINGS, “AVENGERS” TOPS “AVATAR”, and a load of sequels

TWO-TIME ACADEMY AWARD WINNER MAHERSHALA ALI TO REPLACE WESLEY SNIPES IN “BLADE” REBOOT

“DOCTOR STRANGE” SEQUEL TO BE MARVEL’S FIRST “HORROR” FILM

“shang-chi” adaptation set for 2021

“CAPTAIN MARVEL 2”, “BLACK PANTHER 2”, AND “GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3” TO HIT THEATERS

“ETERNALS” SET FOR 2020, WITH A CONFIRMED CAST

“BLACK WIDOW” SET FOR NEXT MAY WITH MORE CASTINGS

“AVENGERS: ENDGAME” FINALLY TOPS “AVATAR” FOR GLOBAL #1

by: keaton marcus

“It: Chapter 2” Trailer Dropped at San Diego comic con

A “Shining” Reference With That Water Attack?

The Losers are Coming Back to Kick Some Clown Ass

Are Beverly and Bill falling in love Again?!

Oh S..t, Pennywise Flies

Pennywise’s Daughter (Creepy old lady) is Here

by: keaton marcus

It’s Mostly Cause of “Avengers: Endgame”, but Disney is on Record Pace

by: keaton marcus

What the Brilliant Post-Credit Scene (s) Means for Phase 4 Marvel

Will Spider-Man Be a Fugitive?

Is Mysterio Really Dead?

Are the Skrulls Here to Help?

by: keaton marcus

A VISUAL TIME LINE FROM 1906-2019

1906-The Beginning

1927-1954-DYSTOPIAS, AND CREATURE-FEATURES

1968-1977-flying High in space

THE 80’S AND THE 90’S-THE RISE OF CGI

2000-2019-THE DAZZLING SPECIAL EFFECTS OF TODAY

by: keaton marcus

by: keaton marcus

Creature-FeatureS and Their Fame in the Box Office

THE BIGGEST CREATURE-FEATURE: “JURASSIC WORLD”