Indiewire Browse the indiewire network

The Playlist

The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.

Interviews

Actors

Directors

Archives

The Playlist

Oversaturated? New 'X-Men: First Class' Clip & Gajillion New Photos Makes Us Feel X-Hausted

  • By Edward Davis
  • |
  • May 18, 2011 8:29 AM
  • |
  • 12 Comments
Earlier this year, right as the first trailer was about to be released, and or just after, this site, and hell, this writer, spoke on behalf of this site and said the #1 comic book movie we were looking forward to this summer was Matthew Vaughn's "X-Men: First Class."
Read More »
More: Films, Film Studios, Matthew Vaughn, Super Hero Films, X-Men: First Class, 20th Century Fox

Weekend Box Office: 'Fast Five' Starts Off Summer With $83 Million Weekend

  • By Gabe Toro
  • |
  • May 1, 2011 5:21 AM
  • |
  • 27 Comments
Hooray for Hollywood, or something. The 2011 box office finally snapped out of its doldrums with more reheated crap, “Fast Five” opening to a spectacular-for-Universal $83 million. The car blockbuster’s weekend surpasses “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” as the biggest opening weekend in Universal history, and with spectacular overseas results, the film is poised to do upwards of $400-$500 million globally, topping the $353 worldwide take of “Fast And Furious,” the last film in the series.
Read More »
More: Films, Actors, Film Studios, Weekend Box-Office, Tyler Perry, Modern Horror, Animated Films, Source Code, Water For Elephants, Fast Five, Soul Surfer, Paul Walker, Robert Pattinson, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, The Cave Of Forgotten Dreams, Universal, The Weinstein Company, 20th Century Fox, Insidious, Hop, Rio, Hoodwinked Too!

Weekend Box Office: 'Rio' Defeats 'Madea' Before The Summer Onslaught Begins

  • By Gabe Toro
  • |
  • April 24, 2011 4:56 AM
  • |
  • 3 Comments
Hollywood doesn’t really recognize the seasons as clearly as you. Which is why even though you’re in school, summer begins in May, and even though you still have a full month of spring, that period usually closes in Hollywood around this time every year. In 2011, “summer” is beginning even earlier with next week’s release of “Fast Five,” sure to be the year’s biggest opener, which means that “Rio” effectively gets its licks in before the hot season begins, scoring a second straight weekend at #1 with a $26 million take.
Read More »
More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Film Studios, Weekend Box-Office, Tyler Perry, Modern Horror, Scream 4, Animated Films, Source Code, Water For Elephants, Soul Surfer, Hanna, Atlas Shrugged: Part I, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, The Weinstein Company, 20th Century Fox, Insidious, Hop, Rio

Box Office: 'Rio' First 2011 Release To Crack $40 Million Opening Weekend; 'Scream' Goes Quiet

  • By Gabe Toro
  • |
  • April 17, 2011 6:18 AM
  • |
  • 9 Comments
There’s no way to sugarcoat this: it’s been a dismal year at the box office. Studios have their fingers crossed in regards to a tepid-looking summer schedule, but many were hoping the season could be kick(punch)-started early with a strong April, as two new films were tracking well over $40 million this weekend. And it looks like those hopes are for naught, as the number one movie for this period looks to be Fox and Blue Sky’s animated “Rio,” clocking in juuuust about at $40 million for the three day weekend. Yes, Hollywood, it's taken more than four months to register year's first $40 million opening weekend.
Read More »
More: Films, Film Studios, Weekend Box-Office, Modern Horror, Scream 4, Animated Films, Source Code, Your Highness, Soul Surfer, Hanna, The Conspirator, Atlas Shrugged: Part I, Universal, The Weinstein Company, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Sony, Roadside Attractions, Insidious, Arthur, Hop, Rio, Win Win

McG's 'This Means War' With Chris Pine, Tom Hardy & Reese Witherspoon Opens Feb 17, 2012

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
  • |
  • April 12, 2011 2:20 AM
  • |
  • 9 Comments
Found-Footage Superhero Flick 'Chronicle' Lands February 3rdThe time at which big tentpole movies were limited to a few months a year -- the May-July summer season, and the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas -- is long gone. "Alice in Wonderland" made a billion dollars from a March release last year, and 2011 so far has already seen "The Green Hornet," a film that once upon a time would have been seen as summer fare, open in the reputed wilderness of January, something that would have been unheard of only a few years ago. Now, 20th Century Fox have slated a couple of their hopefuls for 2012 and, while both are films that could well have been held for the summer, they're going to hit theaters in February of next year.
Read More »
More: Films, Film Studios, This Means War, 20th Century Fox, Chronicle

Weekend Box Office: 'Hop' Defeats Four Newcomers; 'Your Highness' Flops Loudly And Rudely

  • By Gabe Toro
  • |
  • April 10, 2011 4:48 AM
  • |
  • 12 Comments
Earlier in the year, the tepid box office returns were something to be ignored, as 2011 was competing with the previous year, with both “Avatar” and then the anomaly of “Alice In Wonderland” each raking in a cool billion. Well, it’s April, and it’s time for Hollywood to panic. There have been no genuine out-of-the-box hits so far this year and lots of flops, and the two (barely) $100 million grossers considered underperformers (“Rango” and “Just Go With It”). Let’s face it, part of it is a failure of marketing, but the blame must be laid on inadequate product. Even when it comes to the early year doldrums, this has been a banner year for garbage.
Read More »
More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Film Studios, Weekend Box-Office, David Gordon Green, Joe Wright, Duncan Jones, Modern Horror, Animated Films, Source Code, Meek's Cutoff, Your Highness, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, Hanna, James Franco, Danny McBride, Russell Brand, Eric Bana, Saoirse Ronan, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Sony, Paramount, Insidious, Arthur, Hop, Win Win

'Rise Of The Apes' Becomes 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes'

  • By Gabe Toro
  • |
  • April 7, 2011 2:19 AM
  • |
  • 2 Comments
This Summer, You Will Believe A Planet Can RiseThose damn dirty apes at Fox can't stop monkeying around with the next film in the "Planet of the Apes" series. First, they went ahead and offered it to every major director only to be turned down. Then they ordered multiple rewrites despite already having a release date. Finally, they declared June 24th to be the day audiences would see "Cesar," though they had already changed the name to "Rise Of The Apes." Then, of course, they bumped the film to Thanksgiving to allow for more time to finish the special effects. Then, at some point, they must have replaced the special effects guys with wizards, because "Rise Of The Apes" returned to August 5th.
Read More »
More: Films, Actors, Film Studios, Genre Films, Andy Serkis, James Franco, Rise Of The Apes, 20th Century Fox

Weekend Box Office: Kids Come Out For 'Hop,' 'Sucker' Thoroughly 'Punch'ed

  • By Gabe Toro
  • |
  • April 3, 2011 5:00 AM
  • |
  • 1 Comment
While Universal’s animated division remains behind Disney and Dreamworks, “Hop” became their second straight surprisingly big opening this weekend, collecting $39 million. Most called the heavily-promoted film in the high 20’s, low 30’s, but like “Despicable Me” before it, the film definitely connected with family audiences in its first frame. While “Despicable Me” eventually collected $544 million globally with a much bigger opening, “Hop” isn’t expected to bust the doors down. But due to the seasonal and family appeal, expect this thing to have legs, and while they initially weren’t counting on $100 domestic, that should be easily surmountable from here, with $150 million being a solid preliminary target. Fanciful returns for the studio, who have kept the budgets for the partly-animated “Hop” and the fully animated “Despicable Me” well under the industry-standard $100 million.
Read More »
More: Films, Actors, Film Studios, Foreign Films, Weekend Box-Office, Zack Snyder, La Quattro Volte, Super Hero Films, Modern Horror, Animated Films, Sucker Punch, Source Code, Jane Eyre (2011), Battle: Los Angeles, The Lincoln Lawyer, Limitless, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, Trust, Super, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Sony, Paramount, Dreamworks, Certified Copy, Insidious, Hop, Rango, Win Win

Weekend Box Office: Zack Snyder & Warners Get 'Sucker Punch' From 'Wimpy Kid'

  • By Gabe Toro
  • |
  • March 27, 2011 5:09 AM
  • |
  • 12 Comments
Demographics matter. You want to say, well, screw the numbers, let’s just make a movie for everyone! But considering the multiple sources of entertainment in our multimedia worlds, whatever doesn’t automatically turn us on will turn us off. Because of this, Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch” turned people off. It was an action fantasia, a genre normally attractive to teenage boys, but it featured only girls, an immediate turnoff for that demographic. And it didn’t appeal to women, who noticed the marketing campaign centered around cacophonous violence and mayhem, not usually a drawing point for females. It wasn’t made for kids, but the heavily-CGI’d special effects made it look like a candy-coated kids’ entertainment to adults. Four quadrants, all disinterested.
Read More »
More: Films, Film Studios, Foreign Films, Weekend Box-Office, Super Hero Films, Sucker Punch, Paul, Battle: Los Angeles, The Lincoln Lawyer, The Adjustment Bureau, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, Man of Steel, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Sony Pictures Classics, Of Gods And Men, Win Win

Resoundingly Crap New Posters For 'X-Men: First Class' Debut

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
  • |
  • March 9, 2011 1:54 AM
  • |
  • 9 Comments
We're beginning to suspect that someone at 20th Century Fox's marketing department is deliberately fucking with Matthew Vaughn, perhaps as revenge for bailing on "X-Men: The Last Stand" all those years ago. For some time, the "Kick-Ass" director's return to the mutant franchise, in the form of prequel "X-Men: First Class" was a mystery, outside of a few spy photos of the cast filming. Then, our first look at the film's line-up of heroes and villains came in a campy, badly-Photoshopped image that mysteriously leaked onto the net back in January.
Read More »
More: Films, Actors, Film Studios, Matthew Vaughn, Super Hero Films, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, X-Men: First Class, 20th Century Fox

Follow Us

Email Updates

What's Poppin'

Recent Comments

Blog Roll

Around The Network

the network

indiewire

categories