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Latest Video: FilmCrunch 067: Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, Premonition reviewed

Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review Hairspray, Chuck & Larry, and Premonition in this episode of FilmCrunch.
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Big Plans for the X-Men Franchise

X-Men Origins: WolverineWolverine won’t be the last of the side stories; there are more flicks in the works for eager comic book fans.

Producer Lauren Shuler-Donner recently revealed a few juicy details about the future of the franchise. Wolverine 2 will feature “samurai, ninja, katana blades, different forms of martial arts”—in other words, lots of “extreme fighting.”

Other planned movies include X-Men: First Class and Deadpool. First Class will be a little “darker” and potentially include several “strange villains.” will be working on Deadpool at the same time he’s shooting for the Green Lantern movie, but Shuler-Donner doesn’t anticipate a problem. In the flick, Reynolds will play Wade Wilson, described as “a bad ass, a wise-cracking mercenary who will go out and kill anyone for money.”

Read More | Perez Hilton

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Ian McKellen Too Old For X-Men

Ian McKellen as MagnetoSir Ian McKellen thinks that he’s too old to star in another X-Men film.

The Hollywood veteran, who has played mutant villain Magneto in three of the comic book movies, says it is unlikely he will reprise the role for a spin-off film about the character because of his wrinkles.

“There’s meant to be a Magneto script floating around, but I’ve not read it, so I suspect it wouldn’t involve me—I think it would be about the younger Magneto, and the most I could hope for would be to top and tail that. They can’t have someone whose face is as lined as mine any longer!”

However, the 70-year-old actor was impressed by his 69-year-old friend Patrick Stewart’s appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine earlier this year: “He was very pleased with himself that he was going in to be in Wolverine. It was only an hour’s work! We were working on Waiting For Godot at the time!”


Sequel News: X-Men, Vacation, Kill Bill and More


X-Men: Although it’s been six years since X2, Bryan Singer says he may not be done with the comic book franchise. The director recently revealed that he’s entertaining the thought of another installment. “I’m still looking to possibly returning to the X-Men franchise. I’ve been talking to Fox about it,” Singer said. “I love Hugh Jackman. I love the cast,” he admitted. Brett Ratner was at the helm for 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand while Gavin Hood directed 2009’s Wolverine.

Click to continue reading Sequel News: X-Men, Vacation, Kill Bill and More


Disney to Pay $4 Billion for Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment characters

has just added 5,000 characters to its arsenal.

In a deal announced today, The Walt Disney Company says it intends to purchase comic book giant . The acquisition is worth a whopping $4 billion.

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories,” Robert A. Iger, Walt Disney Company’s President and CEO, said in a press release.

Click to continue reading Disney to Pay $4 Billion for Marvel Entertainment

Read More | Comix 411

Box Office Breakdown: Disney/Pixar Flying High with Up

Up

The word “Pixar” always seems to generate smiles, and that’s exactly what did for Disney.

Over the weekend, the Cannes Film Festival opener generated $68.1 million, over $40 million more than its nearest competitor. The movie - which was also offered in 3D - also bested last year’s Wall-E (by $5 million) and had Pixar’s 3rd-best debut. (The Incredibles opened to $70.5 million in 2004; Finding Nemo grossed $70.3 million in 2003.)

Friday’s other new wide release, , scared up only $15.8 million for a 4th place finish. Although it originally looked as if the horror film would surpass Terminator Salvation, the final numbers were $8 million below Sunday’s projections.

Another noteworthy mention: officially crossed the $200 million mark after only four weeks in release. The Paramount feature is now the first movie of the year to reach that achievement.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Disney/Pixar Flying High with Up

Read More | Variety

Box Office Breakdown: Ben Stiller Defeats Christian Bale

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Was it a result of Christian Bale’s rant? The presence of that other science fiction movie? Or the lack of family-friendly fare?

When the dust from the weekend settled, a surprising entry emerged as the winner. Despite the country’s current love for action sequels/prequels, a much calmer feature - - was the choice for entertainment this holiday. Ben Stiller’s comedy follow-up raked in $70 million giving the actor his best live-action debut ever. Smithsonian also became the best PG-rated opener for Memorial Day.

Museum‘s victory meant a disappointing 2nd place finish for . Although the saga’s fourth installment earned more than T3‘s debut, its $51.9 million gross ($65.3 million since Thursday) put it nowhere near the estimated $200 million budget. The numbers did give director McG, though, his best premiere since 2000’s Charlie’s Angels.

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Read More | Variety

Box Office Breakdown: Narrow Victory for Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons

was never as popular as The Da Vinci Code...and its big screen numbers reflected that.

Despite huge success with the overseas box office this weekend (the movie had the 10th best international open ever), the latest Ron Howard/Tom Hanks collaboration barely struck gold domestically. Over the last three days, Angels grossed $46.2 million—just enough for first place. Unfortunately, the Dan Brown adaptation only earned $3 million more than last week’s champ and over $30 million less than the previous installment.

, in the meantime, continued on its warp speed pace. The second place finisher pulled in another $43 million and put itself within $3 million of Wolverine‘s overall total. (The Hugh Jackman film, this week’s #3, had a 7-day head start on the sci fi adventure.)

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown: Narrow Victory for Angels & Demons

Read More | Variety

Box Office Breakdown:  Star Trek Beams Its Way to #1

Zachary Quinto in Star Trek

Based on these numbers, a sequel would seem like the logical response.

After a five-month delay, the highly-anticipated J.J. Abrams feature finally unspooled to an eager crowd. And though it didn’t outearn last weekend’s office champ, the science fiction adventure appeared to be in a galaxy far, far away.

Since it’s debut late Thursday night, Trek grossed approximately $79.2 million. (That’s nearly $3 million more than was estimated a day ago, but still $6 million less than Wolverine‘s premiere.) Around $8 million of Paramount’s haul came from IMAX ticket sales alone. (That figure bests the $6.2 million raked in by The Dark Knight last year.)

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown:  Star Trek Beams Its Way to #1

Read More | Variety

Box Office Breakdown: Wolverine Claws Its Way to the Top

Wolverine

Despite a growing list of hurdles (leaked footage, swine flu, mediocre reviews), proved it was a force to be reckoned with last weekend. Although it failed to surpass X-Men: The Last Stand (that 2006 entry debuted at $122.9 million), the Fox feature trounced the competition with an $85.1 million open. In other words, Wolverine earned over $20 million more than the other Top Ten entries…combined.

Sitting far back in second place was , Matthew McConaughey’s attempt to bring a little muscle into the box office. The romantic comedy, costarring Jennifer Garner, grossed $15.4 million on the weekend before Mother’s Day. (That’s less than a million more than what Made of Honor pulled in at this same time last year.) Meanwhile, last Friday’s only other wide release, Battle for Terra, raked in a disappointing $1.1 million for a 12th place finish.

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Read More | Variety

Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Here’s the problem with - there is so much anticipation and expectation before the movie comes out that there is already a slim chance that the movie meets them.  How many times have you had high expectations for something that actually panned out?  Let’s see, The Empire Strikes Back, LeBron James coming into the NBA, and a second serving of Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream… that’s it.  So, the question then is, does X-Men Origins: Wolverine make the grade?  Umm, no.

Click to continue reading Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine


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