Three mainstream films were released last year under the Marvel Studios banner. Totally, they grossed a little above $1 billion. At the individual level, they did not generate massive revenues. An exception is Thor, that grossed approximately $4.50m worldwide. It's success was also surprising as it had an unknown lead actor (Chris Hemsworth) compared to the other examples.
In the early 60s, the late Jack Kirby and Stan Lee (pictured below) came up with an idea of a superhero team that comprised of the title The Avengers. After so many years, this idea has sprung up into a number of comic-book based films leading up to the ultimatum this year. Now we are lucky that this film wasn't made earlier than the year 2000 - no CGI then! Luckily, it was made this year and ended up not only as a critical, but also commercial success.
Lee is credited as the greatest mastermind of comic-books alive (he's 89 and still writing). He's created such internationally renown characters like The Amazing Spider-man (an adaption releasing in July), The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk as well as many others of the Marvel database. Who would've known that the ideas of one man alone could generate such revenue in every currency available.
In 2008, The Dark Knight became the first film based on a comic franchise to accumulate $1b. And like hell, it deserved it. It even garnered a Best Supporting Actor win of the Oscars for Heath Ledger. Christopher Nolan's direction was incredible. It shook all dimensions of the superhero action genre combining such features of thrill, satire, drama and overall heart-pounding scenes. His previous release Batman Begins was also brilliant and I'm surprised it wasn't a big commercial plus critical success as the 2nd part.
Now to the critical analysis of BO101: Marvel's The Avengers has a predictable plot. The story development is non-creative, and the film becomes semi-predictable after the first hour. Joss Whedon's directing is not up to Nolan's standards that pushed boundaries. Here, we see a cliched adaption of heroes with superhuman abilities.
Whedon's first feature that he both wrote and directed was Serenity (2005). Many pundits forecast that it would land straight onto no.1 at the US charts. It missed by a short shot at no.2 and barely managed to cover its budget at the end of its theatrical run. Although, critics loved the film I despised it. Boring plot and it's perfect for letting you sleep at night. Apart from a few funny scenes and dialogues, and half-entertaining action sequences, the film is a shamble. Not only is it a bad sci-fi action flick, it's probably the worst I've ever seen. If I had seen this film before The Avengers. I might've never of gone to watch the latter in the cinema hall.
The Avengers, however, is on a far greater level than Serenity. Whedon's theatrical antics are still reminiscent on this film. The dialogue delivery of the thespians is quite similar and where the flurry scenes were above average and less, here there are plenty and upgraded as well. So no wonder they chose Whedon. He's a Avengers fan and plus he's famous in the States for creating TV series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, etc. Serenity itself is based on his short-lived series Firefly. So I'm guessing his films will do good in the future if not based on a background structure of his own making.
There were many pros for The Avengers. Firstly, it has the best beat-em'-up scenes of any summer blockbuster. Overall, it's the best hot-weather entertainer of all time. The end-fighting scenes leave you craving for more. Another important factor is that the dialogues, dialogue delivery and acting mainly by Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki). Ruffalo is far off the best actor to represent the Jekyll and Hyde character. Unlike Eric Bana and Edward Norton, Ruffalo's representation is life-like (which is uncanny for an anti-hero). He truly looked like and talked like a doctor. Norton is one of my fav. actors and although he suited the muscled scientist well in The Incredible Hulk, Ruffalo was original. He earned Best Supporting Actor at the 83rd Academy Awards for The Kids Are All Right.
Loki's representation was also terrifying. He is the best live-action villain along with Heath Ledger's The Joker and Ian Mckellen (Magneto). Robert Downey Jr. is also in the list of honourable mentions. But let's face it he's already in the league of super-actors and he's such a veteran that even if everybody's acting sucked he would still shine in the limelight. And only by him, Tony Stark was depicted as an individual everybody loved to hate.
Apart from all these advantages, the film is a must-watch. It has a little bit of everything for everyone. It's also a movie that the whole family could watch together - a rarity in today's H-wood. The characterisation is top-notch and what else could you ask for from such an ensemble cast. Every actor suited his role perfectly. Conversations, especially the ones between the charlatans, are fun and amusing.
The film is directed by J. Whedon and the screenplay is by him, with a story by screenwriter Zak Penn (X-men: The Last Stand) and Whedon. Penn really upgraded his craft with this one, The Last Stand ruined The X-men but luckily this wrecking was surpassed by X-men: First Class. Marvel's The Avengers had its world premiere on April 11 and as of June 13 it has earned approximately $1.4b off a megabudget of $200 million. It is officially the highest-grossing superhero film of all time, and has set the record for fastest opening weekend cumulative (it earned $207.4m!). So in 2 months and 2 days that is very shocking. It release in the US on May 4, and grossed a round-off of $580m. A few more days on the chart and it'll become the 3rd film to reach $600m in the States.
So catch the trailer. It may look cliched but it certainly isn't. It provides not only old and new fans with what they deserve, but also to the whole mainstream audience. The movie isn't up to Nolan's standards but what the heck! Who wants to be a perfectionist viewer?
Disney's biggest flop of all time is none other than the much-hyped John Carter. An adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' hero from the 11-volume Barsoom novels. Burroughs is also credited for having created the character Tarzan that sprung multiple media adaptions, and led him to international fame. Fortunately, he didn't have to live through this.
Taylor Kitsch stars as the antagonist. The actor is renown for starring in the TV series Friday Night Lights. He also had a minor role as the legendary X-men character Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And he played the part well. His next release after J. Carter was Battleship that also badly underperformed. Hugh Jackman's just lucky Wolverine managed to become a box office hit. The likes of Liam Neeson and Rihanna couldn't hinder Battleship from sinking. He's going to star in legendary filmmaker Olive Stone's next crime-thriller Savages featuring an ensemble cast. Only if there's as much luck present as with Wolverine, then this film would gross above it's budget.
I haven't seen Battleship yet but I plan to. Carter was superhit-material. The hero was good looking enough to draw crowds and having the Disney emblem on the poster, along with being an adaptation of Burroughs' famed character, but without further ado, it flopped. I wonder if Walt Disney Pictures would've just made a sequel to Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. It was adrenaline-rushed and even eligible for a 2-time cinematic watch. Sure, fans weren't happy that the movie was an unfaithful adaption of the video game series. But I owe it to the director and writers for charming the audience with such fun and fast-paced action scenes and a durable story. In contrast, Carter had predictable and super-dull action, along with a plot that thins after the first 40 minutes of its torturous 132 mins duration.
Sure, it had its good effects. The start-up to the film was above average, especially the scenes displayed on earth were mysterious and urged the viewer to hold his/her breath for the upcoming scenario. But it's not long before Carter lands on the planet Mars and the movie becomes as dried up as its landscape.
The first few post-landing-on-Mars scenes were energetic and well-written. But after that the entire feature is in ruins. The plot becomes too twisted that younger audiences would flee away. There is not much to keep people in their seats as they are confused and ultra-bored. Even the work on Mars and the Aliens seemed low-valued compared to other Disney releases (Pirates of Caribbean foursome, Prince of Persia). I mean if you were to keep the main character null and void, at least provide some spark to the other, in this case, beings from outer space. Mark Strong may have found his first dull role in a movie. And the heroin Lynn Collins was OK, considering she was a warrior princess who had 0% chemistry with the lead.
Today's over $800m grossing films are made up of many CGI effects. But they are coupled with witty dialogues, awesome fighting sequences and an above average cast. Take the example of Marvel's The Avengers that has grossed over $1b worldwide. J. Carter is not only far from hit, but also far from superhit. Although, the fighting scene with the giant white beast (as shown in the trailer) was the only entertaining adrenaline scene in the whole flick. It co-stars Ciaran Hinds, Willem Dafoe (voice only) and Daryl Sabara (Spy Kids 1-3).
Disney's John Carter is directed by Andrew Stanton - who has directed the hit animated feature Finding Nemo. This is first live-action film and that is clearly seen. The screenplay is written by Stanton along with Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon (both who have co-written their first live-action film). Best of luck for them in their next ventures.
Carter has made just above $280m worldwide off a megabudget of $250m. It set new BO records in Russia, flopped badly in North America, and it's surprising that it still managed to gain these financial defects with a global opening of $100.8m. All plans for a trilogy have been put on hold.
BoxOffice101's prediction of Prometheus landing at the top spot fails. I actually thought it would reach no.1 even though Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted was scheduled to release.
Prometheus is directed by the sci-fi cult classic director Sir Ridley Scott. He is also known for making the films Blade Runner and the much Oscar-hyped Gladiator. So, technically yes, his latest feature was bound to be a big opener. Well, it hasn't failed by a large amount as it has grabbed top spots in most Euro countries. The film is co-written by Jon Spaihts who wrote the above average grosser The Darkest Hour in 2011. It's a Russian-American sci-fi thriller. He also provided the story which Scott readily lurched upon. The other screenwriter is Damon Lidelof. He had written for famed TV series such as Crossing Jordan and Nash Bridges. So with lack of experience on one hand, and experience on the other, this will be a screenplay to look out for.
Actress Charlize Theron (pictured above at the UK Prometheus premiere) has become the 2nd H-wood actress this year to have her films appear at the top 10. The other is British diva Kate Beckinsale (Underworld: Evolution, Contraband). A major difference being that the former is an Oscar winner for Best Actress. So this year marks a great success for both of them. I had predicted last week that Prometheus would have a US opening of $65m-$70m - I should've spared it for Madagascar.
Madagascar features top H-town comedians namely Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Sacha Baron Cohen to name a few. And plus it's an animated feature in 3-D that is bound to be an above average grosser. The previous two parts were super-hits, and this one's on the trail to box office glory.
The Avengers just needs a few more weeks to gross $600m in the States. It is the 3rd highest-grossing film of all time behind Titanic and Avatar. I'm surprised this hero flick didn't gross up to $2b. It had such a high opening but may be people didn't catch it another time probably waiting for the blu-ray release. But still, it's way better than the first 2 films.
It's comic-book competitor The Dark Knight rises is scheduled to release in late July. But I can say the film won't have an iconic opening (or ending) as The Avengers has. MiB3 will probably end up with $150m in the US. It will gross approximately $500m worldwide next week off a production value of $225m.
Another new entry to the chart is Moonrise Kingdom. It's not a commercial film and stars Bruce Willis and Edward Norton in lead roles - 2 of my fav. actors. The movie's directed by Wes Anderson an Academy Award Winner. Moonrise Kingdom has a high rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and may be worth a watch to take our tires eyes off the CGI effects of modern cinema.
The only horror film in months Chernobyl Diaries from the producers of Paranormal Activity leaves the top 10 chart in its 3rd week. It made a disappointing $16m off $1m worldwide compared to PA's grosses. Hopefully, PA's creator Oren Peli has produced The Lords of Salem due to be released this summer. This horror flick is generating a lot of Internet glamour and I can't wait to see it.
As of June 12, Prometheus has made $145m off a budget of $120m-$130m. It'll probably finish with $300m-$350m at the end of its theatrical run. But given the grosses of blockbusters nowadays, Prometheus might probably end up as a commercial disappointment, although critics have cheered it on relentlessly. Sir Ridley Scott's reputation perhaps? The IMAX tickets sold very bad as well compared to it's 3-D and 2-D versions. Still, I'll catch this in 2-D or the 3rd dimension next week for sure. I've been eagerly awaiting Theron's comeback. My next cinematic anticipations are Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter releasing worldwide on June 22. Catch the trailer it's intriguing:
So catch me next Tues. for more actual and forecast BO grosses. Cheers.
(Chart from Box Office Mojo)
June 05, 2012
TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week # 1 N Snow White and t...
Snow White and the Huntsman unexpectedly opened at the top spot this weekend. MiB3 shows an approximately 50% decrease just in its 2nd week. Last weekend it had an opening of an opening of about $55m. The film has grossed less than its predecessors in the opening week. The movie has 68% on Rotten Tomatoes and my fav. critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars (which is a big deal). Will Smith garners his 10th flick to gross over $100m in a row at the international circuit.
Snow White and the Huntsman stars Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron (her first starring live-action role after 2 years), and Chris Hemsworth. The directors is Rupert Sanders (on debut) with one out of the 3 screenwriters being the famous Oscar-winner Hossein Amini (only Iranian screenwriter to win Oscar for Adapted Screenplay). 3.5/4 from Ebert (too impressive). The trailer is entertaining - I know I'm talking about a film based on Snow White but I still think it beats every part of Twilight - sorry Stewart. Check it out:
As predicted, The Hunger Games and Think Like a Man finally leave the top 10 chart. Another new entry at no.1 is the English-language Mexican epic For Greater Glory. It stars well-known veteran Andy Garcia along with Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria. Director Dean Wright is in with his debut - he was the visual effects supervisor on the last two parts of Lord of the Rings.
The Avengers is still grossing at $20m in its 5th on the US chart. It is the highest grossing film of 2012 and The Dark Knight Rises is very unlikely to beat it.
Overseas, MiB 3 has the top rank. Charlize Theron's 2nd big-budget film Prometheus grosses $35m. Next weekend I expect it to go straight on to number one and that means two films of her will be at the most above spots. Prometheus has a strong opening as the production budget is $120-130m. It is likely to gross $65-$70m in its US opening on June 8. It is releasing in 2-D, 3-D and IMAX respectively. SW and the Huntsman has started with above $55m off $170m domestically and above $90m globally. It is likely to end up with $250-$280m worldwide at the end of its theatrical run.
Battleship fails to score in the US with only $55m on a mega-budget of $200m. Taylor Kitsch's both high production-valued action flicks John Carter and the former have grossed well below expectations. He will star next in a main role in the crime thriller Savages that has an ensemble cast of H-wood superstars. Hope they save it for him. But if Liam Neeson and Rihanna couldn't stop Battleship from sinking, this is gonna be a long shot.
The only horror film on the high 10 box is Chernobyl Diaries which falls drastically to the 9th spot in its latter week. It's been a long time since a mainstream scary feature released, and this one is unlikely to be remembered.
Next Tuesday, BoxOffice101 will meet you with more actual figures and forecasts. Au revoir.
(Chart by Box Office Mojo)
May 30, 2012
TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week # 1 N MIB 3 Sony $69,2...
The Hunger Games reaches higher than TLaM in its 10th on the US charts and both movies are bound to exit in their respective next weekend. Both have still grossed above $1,000,000 and that is impressive. So TLaM will most definitely finish with just above $90m domestically off $12m and that is super impressive in an era of big-budget releases.
Not all mega-produced films did so well this year in America: Wrath of the Titans only made about $90m off $150m. Disney's John Carter miserably made just about $72m off $250m. The Hunger Games and The Avengers are doing pretty well and for the latter, rightfully so.
The new entry Chernobyl Diaries opens at no.5 and has outgrossed its $1m with an approximated $8m. It stars well-known pop singer and Leonardo DiCaprio look-alike Jesse McCartney (whom I also used to be a big fan). He stars as and along with a group of 5 other tourists who visit the abandoned city Pipyat, the former home of the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. During their exploration, they discover they are not alone.
Sure the plot seems original when you mention them visiting an abandoned nuclear disaster site instead of a haunted house. But the trailer doesn't show an ounce of horror durability. Though I'll catch this one when it releases on Blu-ray as I haven't seen a theatrically-released scary flick in a long time.
Sasha Baron Cohen's The Dictator drops to no.4 in its 2nd week. This might as well be the comedy of the year. So far, 21 Jump Street has been the most brilliant. Dark Shadows has chosen a really bad date to be released in the States. The Johnny Depp headliner has made only $64m in its 3rd week at the BO off a budget of $150m. And has just made $20m in profit universally.
Pre-pregnant rom-com What to Expect When You're Expecting grossed only $10.55m last week on its debut off a budget of $40m (this week $7.2m) and this is nothing compared to TLaM's opening of $30m. WtEWYE might end up with $55m at the end of its theatrical run.
This LionsGate production has an ensemble cast of Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Dennis Quiad and Chris Rock. But event that doesn't save it from less budgeted and non star-powered TLaM's competitive gross. Relatively, both are based on bestselling books.
Now for the BoxOffice101 correct prediction of the week: MIB3 lands directly on no.1 I mentioned in my last week's post that it would open at 1 or 2 and I am correct. It has successfully kicked Marvel's The Avengers off the top spot in their 4th week.
MIB3 is also based on a comic series created by Lowell Cunningham. It is directed by Barry Sonnenfield (director of the first 2 installments) and written by Etan Cohen (co-written Tropic Thunder/Madagascar 2). So making this is first solo venture the result is bound to be unpredictable.
The third part follows Agent J (Will Smith reprising his role) going back in time - the 60s to be exact - to stop an alien from assassinating Agent K (Josh Brolin) and changing history. Tommy Lee Jones also reprises his role as the older Agent K and he is a fine actor. Catch his film The Missing which is a treat.
Men in Black 3 has made an estimated $70m entru in the States and Canada over Memorial Day (a 3-day weekend opening). Sad to say this is nothing compared to The Hunger Games and The Avengers. MIB3 has a megabudget of $215m. But the film almost manages to outgross its cost of production as when adding the worldwide figures it accumulates to $203.2m and that is impressive.
Pundits have already announced that this feature will outgross its predecessors and I agree. It will have no problem beating the first's foreign total of about $340m and MIB 2's $251m. It also has the star power of Will Smith whose last 9 films have grossed above $100m worldwide. MIB 3 has been released in 3D and 2D globally. Catch this more extensive trailer to get a kick start of the plot:
Just above $1.3b is Marvel's The Avengers total as of 29th May 2012. Will it reach $2b? I hope so but may not reach Titan's humongous cumulative of $2.2b and definitely not come close to Avatar's $2.8b...
The latter 2 films are both directed by James Cameron whose name has been cemented in box office ink. I'm just afraid of the sequel to Avatar. Will it be the first to reach $3b? Looks like it.
(Chart by Box Office Mojo)
May 22, 2012
TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week # 1 1 Marvel's The...
Finally, I get the chance to show off my forecasting skills. As predicted 2 weeks before Battleship sinks at no.2 with a gross the half of The Avengers.
Both Battleship and The Avengers had a world premiere on April 11, 2012. The difference is that of May 22 Bship has grossed just above $240m worldwide compared to our Marvel superheroes' over $1,800,000.000!
So is it must be rightly said that Taylor Kitsch who has a main role in both Bship and John Carter will garner a name for himself in being 'the actor whose films always badly underperform'. I also think that Battleship should've been released at the start of the year where the New Year gross could've saved it. Maybe it could've made a very quick $800m in January. So bad marketing people.
Due to The Avengers buzz I forgot that The Dictator starring famed comedian Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G Indiahouse, Borat, Bruno). The best comedy film of this year so far, in my opinion, is 21 Jump Street. But it has a big chance of being overwhelmed by the mastery of Cohen's acting skills
The plot follows Cohen play a Dictator of a fictional North African county visiting America. And we all know what happens to foreign leaders (with giant hairy beards) when they visit the US. The trailer proves it could be a must-watch:
It lands at no.3 surprisingly outgrossing Johnny Depp's Dark Shadows which was at no.2 last week. The Dictator is directed by Larry Charles who also directed the hit mockumentaries Borat and Bruno starring the same actor in the lead role. Written by Cohen along with 3 other screenwriters.
The Hunger Games is still at the US chart in its 9th week. It'll probably leave on the 11th. I also predict that Men in Black 3 would land at no.1 or most probably 2 next week due to The Avenger's uproar. Also Think Like a Man has made just above $85m off a $12m budget domestically which is a big breakthrough for Indie films compared to the pressure faced by mega budget action features recently released.
That's all for now. Catch the US box office next Tuesday to see Men in Black 3's exciting opening.
(Chart from Box Office Mojo)
May 15, 2012
Bruce Willis (Die Hard 1-4, Surrogates, Hostage, Red) Sylvester Stallone (Rambo 4, Cobra, The Expendables, D-Tox) Jean-Claude Van Damme ...
Bruce Willis (Die Hard 1-4, Surrogates, Hostage, Red)
Sylvester Stallone (Rambo 4, Cobra, The Expendables, D-Tox)
Jean-Claude Van Damme (Timecop, Sudden Death, Wake of Death, Replicant, Until Death, Assassination Games, In Hell)
Liam Neeson (Taken, The Grey, Unknown, Star Wars - The Phantom Menace)
Dwayne Johnson AKA The Rock (Walking Tall, The Rundown, Faster, Fast Five)
Jackie Chan (Rumble in the Bronx, Rush Hour 1-2, The Tuxedo, The Medallion, The Myth, The Forbidden Kingdom)
Nicolas Cage, also my all-genre fav actor (Con Air, Face Off, National Treasure 1-2, 8mm, The Rock, Gone in 60 seconds)
Hugh Jackman (Swordfish, X-men 1-3, Real Steel, The Prestige)
Jason Statham (The Transporter 1-3, Death Race, The Expendables)
Jet Li (The One, The Expendables, Romeo Must Die, Kiss of the Dragon, The Forbidden Kingdom, Cradle 2 The Grave)
Keanu Reeves (The Matrix Trilogy, Point Break)
Wesley Snipes (Blade 1-3, The Art of War, Undisputed)
Scott Adkins (Undisputed 2-3)
Luke Goss (Death Race 2)
Danny Trejo (Machete, Con Air)
Note: These only concern H-town actors as if it was a global film industry list the first would be Thai martial artist Tony Jaa (The Protector, Ong Bak 1-2) and 2nd Donnie Yen of Chinese films (Ip Man 1-2, 14 Blades, Flash point). And worst would be Rajinikanth.
Catch The Rock and Bruce Willis along with Channing Tatum in GI Joe 2 releasing this year in late June globally.
An ensemble cast of Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Sylvester Stallone, Van Damme, Norris, Chris Hemsworth, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Lundgren, Scott Adkins, and Jason Statham star in The Expendables 2 releasing in August 2012 worldwide.
