Category: News

He’s one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, both literally and figuratively, so any film Dwayne Johnson stars in is bound to clean up at the box office – much like his latest blockbuster San Andreas.

The disaster movie, set in Los Angeles, took in an incredible $114 million worldwide in its opening weekend, far out-performing all earlier predictions and blowing all its competitors out of the water.

In comparison, Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone’s new comedy Aloha could only manage to muster $10 million domestically (US), far below the $50 million secured by San Andreas domestically.

The extensive box office receipts make San Andreas the most successful film to star Johnson so far…at least as the sole star of the film – Furious 7 (2015) remains his most successful film to date, though he was part of an enemble cast including Vin Diesel and Paul Walker.

The news will come as a great relief to Johnson considering his last big-budget outing, Hercules(2014) under-performed badly – barely breaking even and incurring the wrath of film critics the world over.

San Andreas in playing in the UK now in 2D, 3D and Real D 3D.

As far as the US is concerned, Memorial Day weekend has always been a prime slot for movie studios to release their summer blockbusters – Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, X-Men: Days of Furure Past, Fast and Furious 6…all have benefitted nicely from this extended weekend.

Sadly the same cannot be said for George Clooney’s new blockbuster Tomorrowland, which seems to have flopped during its opening weekend in the US, falling desperately short of its projected target, taking just over $32 million domestically.

Internationally, the Brad Bird directed fantasy didn’t seem to fair much better, opening in 65 countries, including the UK, and taking only $26 million.

It’s seems it was a bad weekend for all involved as heavyweights Pitch Perfect 2 and Mad Max: Fury Road all struggled to entice movie growers to part with their cash – Tomorrowland did however open at #1, so can take some solace from the disappointing weekend.

The film, written and directed by Oscar-winning visionary behind The Incredibles (2004) and Up(2009), stars George Clooney, Britt Robertson and Hugh Laurie – Bound by a shared destiny, a bright, optimistic teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor jaded by disillusionment embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory as “Tomorrowland.”

Catch the film in cinemas now in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D.

He’s one of CW networks leading men, starring in the fan favourite Arrow, based on the DC Comics superhero Oliver Queen (aka Green Arrow) – now Stephen Amell is swapping one green for another as he films scenes for the sequel to last years Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot.

Taking on the role of hockey enthusiast and part-time vigilante Casey Jones, Amell is set to star alongside Megan Fox and Will Arnett in the Michael Bay produced blockbuster that hits cinemas next year.

The first film, which was the first live-action ‘Turtles’ film in more than two decades, grossed over $500 million worldwide during its release – and saw star Megan Fox return to the blockbuster world after a short hiatus – her last major release being Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen back in 2009.

Check out some of the exclusive on set pictures of Stephen Amell and Megan Fox in action, below.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 is released worldwide from June 6, 2016.

Tom Hardy’s manic new remake of Mel Gibson’s 1980’s Classic, Mad Max, has proved its weight in gold, having taken over $100 million in its opening weekend internationally.

Mad Max: Fury Road tenaciously outperformed all the competition in the international markets, including Pitch Perfect 2, which grabbed the No. 1 spot in the US during opening weekend.

The Frank Miller directed epic, is a re-invisioning of the 1980’s trilogy that helped propel Mel Gibson to worldwide stardom as a young man. It stars Brit-heavyweight Tom Hardy as Max, a man of few words who just might be able to bring order to a chaotic post-apocalyptic world consumed by barren desert.

Including its domestic (US) haul of $44.5 million over the weekend, Mad Max: Fury Road took over $68 million in 44 key international markets, including the UK, China, Russia, and the birth place of Mad Max, Australia – taking the films overall total to over $110 million worldwide.

‘Fury Road‘ is already being celebrated as one of the greatest films ever made, with audiences and critics falling over themselves to heap praise on the chaotic action-blockbuster – but only time will tell if this explosive feature has what it takes to compete with the box-office greats.

So it would come as no surprise that Matthew McConaughey would be well and truly on the radar of two of the biggest studios in Hollywood, Marvel and Warner Bros. Entertainment (owners of DC Comics).

McConaughey recently admitted in an interview with Variety, ahead of his appearance at the annual Cannes Film Festival, that he’s been in contact with Marvel and DC on several occasions and has even read various scripts.

Of course the Texan actor didn’t acknowledge which scripts he had read, or whether any of them had peaked his interest in joining the superhero universe – he did however admit that he’s open to the idea.

When asked about who he might play, McConaughey was quick to point out that he’d have to be 100% behind the character and story before committing himself to a multi-blockbuster deal that often comes with a superhero role.

Some of you will remember that Marvel had McConaughey well and truly in their sights before finally signing Chris Evans to the Captain America franchise – who knows how the Avengers franchise would have panned out were he to have accepted the part.

Matthew McConaughey has been in Cannes promoting his latest film, The Sea of Trees, directed by Oscar-nominated director Gus Van Sant (Milk, Good Will Hunting) and centered around a suicidal American who befriends a Japanese man lost in a forest near Mt. Fuji – the two then embark on a dangerous journey looking for a way out.

Acapella proves strong at the box office this weekend as the girls from Pitch Perfect 2 pull in over £70 million as the film makes it’s US debut, dethroning Avengers: Age of Ultron in the process.

The Barden Bellas proved to be too strong a competition for Mad Max: Fury Road which made $44.5 million this weekend, taking second place – the explosive new remake of the 1980’s classic starring Mel Gibson, has already listed in IMDb’s Top 50 films of all time list, yet that wasn’t enough to entice people away from the Barden Bellas.

Pitch Perfect 2, which sees Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow team up again on the world stage, also opened at No.1 around the world including the UK and Australia.

With a stellar cast including Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult, Mad Max: Fury Road could still claim a victory next weekend – especially with rave reviews flooding in.

With the Avengers: Age of Ultron recently exploding into cinemas around the world, news on Marvel’s next instalment in the hero universe was sure to closely follow – but with the recently cast list released for Captain America: Civil War, you’d forgiven for thinking it was another Avengers movie and not a solo outing for one of ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’.

Marvel Studios announced yesterday that ‘Civil War’, which will see Captain America and Iron Man go head-to-head, has just added a whole host of big names and characters, including Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, and William Hurt, who is no stranger to the Marvel world.

These seasoned Marvel actors join an already stellar-cast including Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlette Johannson, Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, to name just a few, in what’s sure to be an explosive blockbuster, setting the tone of the big ‘end game’ that is Avengers: Infinity War.

It is likely that ‘Civil War’ will continue straight on from the events witnessed in Avengers: Age of Ultron and will focus on the slow unraveling of the Avengers, as heroes Steve Rogers and Tony Stark battle of a new government bill that could see the ‘enslavement’ of any one exhibiting enhanced powers – of course that would include Captain America himself, as well as Thor, Hulk, Scarlett Witch, Bucky Barnes (aka The Winter Soldier) and the Vision.

A gripping storyline indeed, made extra special with the introduction of some new superheroes including Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man and Chadwick Boseman’s Black Pather, who are both releasing a solo movie, starting with this years Ant-Man.

Another special edition to the Captain America franchise is William Hurt’s character of General Ross, who last made an appearance in The Incredibke Hulk back in 2008, which starred Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, later to be succeeded by Mark Ruffalo. This is definitely an interesting addition to the franchise as it could mean a likely appearance by the Hulk outside of an Avengers film – though this has yet to be confirmed by Marvel Studios or Mark Ruffalo.

Captain America: Civil War is currently filming in Atlanta, Georgia and is being spear-headed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo, who have also recently confirmed they will be taking over the Avengers franchise from original visionary Joss Whedon, who has stepped down into a producing role for Avengers: Infinity War – Parts 1 & 2.

Civil War will break out in cinemas worldwide from April 29, 2016.

It’s already becoming one of the most publicised films in recent years due to the equal pay despute reverberating around Hollywood – and not surprising considering the upcoming Sci-fi drama Passengers will star arguably the two biggest movie stars on the planet, Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt.

Now it seems the hotly anticipated film has found its third, and potentially final, cast member in the form of British star Michael Sheen, who it’s understood will lend his voice to the story’s robot.

The film already boasts a gripping storyline that will surely have everyone flocking to see it. Set years in the future, the story takes place on a spaceship destined for a new world that will be colonised by the thousands of inhabitants currently in a cryogenic state aboard the ship.

For reason unknown not everything goes to plan and Chris Pratt’s character inadvertently wakes 90 years too early – unable to return to cryostatus, and starring at a life of solitude aboard the ship, Pratt decides to wake up another passenger, Jennifer Lawrence’s character.

Now much of the story remains unknown, and for good reason, but what we do know is that the story focuses on the two characters and their relationship aboard the ship, knowing that they will die before ever reaching their new world. Michael Sheen’s robot character, and how he factors into the story, is still unknown, but he will surely have a big part to play in how these characters futures play out.

The film has been in the headlines a lot over recent months due to the current equal-pay despute do the rounds in Hollywood. The film’s star Jennifer Lawrence has been an instrumental force in fighting for women’s rights to equal pay alongside their make co-stars – something that has seen the young actresses pay for the film jump from $10 million to $20 million. Lawrence, who’s pay increase rightly represents her proven ability to make billions of dollars for movie studios, will now earn $8 million more than her male co-star Pratt. However it seems slightly unfair on Pratt now, considering this is the result of an ‘equal pay’ despute, you can’t help but feel Pratt is now falling victim to ‘equal rights pay’, especially as his last film Jurassic World, became the third highest grossing film of all time.

Passengers will be directed by the visionary behind the award-winning film The Imitation Game and is slated for release next year (2016).

The casting process for the Spider-Man reboot has been a saga within itself – firstly for the amount of time hearsay surround the project, and secondly for the fact that there doesn’t need to be a reboot in the first place – as I, like many other, genuinely liked Andrew Garfield in the role.

Nether-the-less, the reboot is happening and what’s more, it’s taking a whole new direction thanks to a recent partnership agreement between Sony Pictures (who own the rights to Spider-Man) and Marvel, who wish to include the web-slinger in its hugely lucrative Avengers franchise.

So who have they decided?… Well for starters every young up-and-coming actor in Hollywood has thrown their names in the ring over the last six months, but Sony and Marvel have finally decided on their hero – and he’s a Brit.

Tom Holland, the young star of The Impossible (2012) and the West-End stage production of Billy Elliot, has reportedly been prepping for the role for the last couple of months, leading us to believe he’s been on the books for quite some time. Not surprising considering where we’ll see Holland’s Spider-Man for the first time.

IMDb recently updated it’s cast list for Captain America: Civil War to include none other than Tom Holland – the news seems to confirm earlier speculation that Spider-Man would become the new ‘unofficial’ leader of ‘Earths Mightiest Heroes’ after the events that will take place in Civil War between Captain America and Iron Man.

Though Holland has yet to be officially confirmed for ‘Infinity Wars’, we can pretty much assume he’ll feature heavily considering his first solo outing is scheduled for release in 2017, shortly before Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 is released.

Though the degree of success awaiting this reboot is anyone’s guess, let’s hope it’s the last reboot for the New York based web-slinger for some time as I don’t think any of us can handle another for a while.

A reboot of DC Comics popular Green Lantern franchise has been on the cards for quite some time – due mostly in part to the 2011 box office catastrophe that gripped Ryan Reynolds big-screen outing as the fighter-pilot-turned-galactic-hero, Hal Jordan.

For the most part superhero movies tend to fair extremely well for studios these days, so with a flop already on their hands, Warner Bros. Studios are taking their time when it comes to casting their new leading man – and one name that’s stayed well and truly in the mix over the last couple of years is Chris Pine.

The Star Trek and Into the Woods star has been heavily linked with the role of Hal Jordan and it seems his chances of taking over as the reboots lead are growing stronger by the day.

Rumours started to pick up momentum when Pine, who’s starts filming the third Star Trek film in the coming weeks, entered talks with Warner Bros. executives about a supporting role in Gal Gadot’s stand-alone Wonder Woman film – though most believe this was just a smoke-screen for talks regarding the Green Lantern reboot.

There is however no definitive answer, or in fact concrete news, regarding the upcoming project, though Warner Bros. and DC Comics have recently hinted at a possible exciting new direction for the franchise that flopped so badly back in 2011.

If the rumours are to be believed, then we could see not one, but two Green Lantern‘s feature in the next installment, with the second character being that of John Stewart, another Green Lantern who, in the comics, later joined Hal Jordan in fighting evil throughout the universe.

Speculation regarding latest development remains sketchy, but many fans would like to see Transformers and Fast & Furious star, Tyrese Gibson, take on the role.

With an estimated release date of 2020, it could still be some time before we have a definitive answer of the future of this potential money-making franchise – but all signs look promising at least.

There’s literally no stopping it now – Jurassic World, already with numerous records in its pocket, has just smashed the $billion mark worldwide in a record-breaking 13 days of release.

The fourth installment of Stephen Spielberg’s hit franchise has beaten previous record holder, and fellow 2015 release, Fast and Furious 7, to the prized milestone – Furious 7, starring the late Paul Walker, previously held the record at 17 days.

Jurassic World has fast become one of the most talked about blockbusters in recent years, with critics praising the dino-spectacle as a breath of fresh air in a blockbuster market that’s become saturated with big-budget special effects and little story.

This year is already gearing up to be one of the most profitable in decades, with big studio released including Avengers: Age of Ultron, Fast and Furious 7, and Fifty Shades of Grey all proving lucrative investments for Hollywood Studios – and with the long-awaited Star Wars: The Force Awakens hitting cinemas worldwide from December, 2015 could very well see one of the biggest box office years in history.

The seventh installment, which sees original stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamell and Carrie Fischer return to the franchise, is already being tipped to earn well over $2 billion during its release and could very well surpass James Cameron’s Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009) as the highest grossing film of all time.

The character of Wolverine has become somewhat instrumental in the big-screen success of the X-Men franchise – so picturing the mutant universe without the steel-clawed anti-hero is something people would rather not do.

So it must have come as somewhat of a relief to fans to learn that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine WILL be featuring in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse in at least some capacity.

Hugh Jackman has been more than a little coy over his involvement in Bryan Singer’s third, and final, installment of the ‘First Class’ franchise, but recent Instagram posts by a custom leather goods company in New York seem to have finally ended speculation over the characters involvement in the blockbuster.

Hugh Jackman recently stated in an interview that his time as the X-Men franchise’s leading man would finally come to an end once he’d finished filming the third installment of the spin-off Wolverine franchise.

X-Men: Apocalypse, which stars Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Sophie Turner and Nicholas Hoult, hits cinemas May 27, 2016.