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The Playlist
The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.Interviews
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Greta Gerwig Talks 'Frances Ha' & Working With Noah Baumbach -
Joel Edgerton On 'Wish You Were Here,' 'Jane' Drama & More -
James Gray On 'The Immigrant,' 'The Gray Man,' 'The Lost City Of Z' And More -
Brit Marling Talks 'The East' & Espionage Thrillers -
Nicolas Winding Refn Discusses 'Only God Forgives -
Justin Lin Talks 'Fast Furious 6' & The Influence Of Altman -
Interview: Noah Baumbach Talks 'Frances Ha' -
Ben Wheatley Talks 'Sightseers,' Violence & More -
Mark Romanek On 'One Hour Photo' & Leaving 'Cinderella'
The Playlist
Weekend Box Office: 'Furious 6' Leads Biggest Memorial Day In History, Doubles 'Hangover Part III' Opening
- By Gabe Toro
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- May 26, 2013 1:28 PM
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- 9 Comments
It was touted as one of the biggest box office match-ups of the year, but now that the dust has settled, it wasn’t even close. “Fast & Furious 6” more than doubled the weekend take of closest competitor “The Hangover Part III” in a showdown between two sequels we never expected to happen four years ago, when Universal reluctantly re-assembled the pieces for “Fast & Furious” and Warner Bros. gave us the first 'Hangover.' For one, success in perpetuity: an immediate sequel to “Fast & Furious 6” is already slated for next summer. But put down your bottles and cans, boys and girls – “The Hangover” ends here. With this weekend, Vin Diesel and the boys might be looking at a three-day global total close to $270 million.
Box Office: 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Opens At Number #1 But Falls Below Expectations
- By Gabe Toro
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- May 19, 2013 12:43 PM
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- 9 Comments
Has anyone stopped to think that maybe the success of 2009's "Star Trek" was a fluke? Coming off the worst-performing entry of a ten film series ("Star Trek Nemesis" grossed $43 million in 2002), Paramount produced a big-budgeted sexy version of what was once considered a "nerdy property" and broke out with a $385 million worldwide gross. With "Star Trek Into Darkness," most were expecting audience goodwill and the addition of 3D would boost this picture into a four-day opening close to $100 million. That was assuming that most of the public was aware the studio made a last-minute decision to push the release from Friday to Thursday, and either the $81 million four-day take suggests they weren't, or that maybe we've overestimated the appeal of these films in the first place.
'Iron Man 3' Crosses The $1B Mark, But What Are The Best & Worst Movies In The Billion-Dollar Club?
- By Oliver Lyttelton
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- May 17, 2013 1:45 PM
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- 22 Comments
We tend not to weigh in on box-office so much bar our weekly rundown on Sunday afternoons, but every so often a significant milestone comes up, and today is such a day; various sources report that some time yesterday, Marvel's "Iron Man 3" crossed the billion dollar mark at the box office (while also managing to cross $300 million domestically, making it the first film of 2013 to do so).
Box Office: 'Iron Man 3' Continues To Speed Towards $1 Billion Worldwide, 'Gatsby' Does 'Great'
- By Gabe Toro
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- May 12, 2013 12:00 PM
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- 4 Comments
Big business, big business: the actors behind "The Avengers" were smart to pick a week where "Iron Man 3" was making cash hand over fist to air out their salary grievances. The stats are pure gonzo for the third installment in the robot-man series, with the picture smashing expectations worldwide as it cruises towards a cool billion. By the end of this weekend, it will have eclipsed the domestic results of any non-"Iron Man" Marvel film aside from "The Avengers," though globally it's already the biggest of all Marvel superhero films behind last summer's billion dollar superhero team-up.
Scenes From The Chinese Version Of 'Iron Man 3' To Be Recut Into A Short Film
- By Diana Drumm
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- May 10, 2013 5:23 PM
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- 2 Comments
After “Iron Man 3” diehard fans apparently lost their minds when they heard that there were scenes exclusive to Chinese theaters that they might never get to see stateside, the powers that be decided to turn those “lost” scenes into a short film focusing on a character who only gets 10 seconds of onscreen time in the U.S. cut.
Kevin Feige Says Iron Man Can Live On Without Robert Downey Jr. & Continue Like James Bond Or Batman With New Actors
- By Edward Davis
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- May 8, 2013 3:06 PM
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- 42 Comments
Very interesting, in light of last night’s potential negotiations impasse at Marvel Studios, are telling comments that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and the Big Kahuna (Marvel Head Kevin Feige) made to Entertainment Weekly in this past weekend’s cover story. In case you missed the brouhaha yesterday evening, it goes like this: Marvel is notoriously cheap with their salary offers to actors. This is how the company has always operated since they jumped into the feature film game in 2008 with the first “Iron Man.” But “The Avengers” was a billion dollar hit, “Iron Man 3” will soon be a billion dollar hit and the Marvel casts are still being paid lowball figures. With deals not in place for the upcoming 2015 tentpole, “The Avengers 2,” this could prove to be problematic for Marvel. The Avengers want to get paid.
Watch: Are The 'Iron Man 3' End Credits Actually Good Or Completely Out Of Place?
- By Kevin Jagernauth
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- May 7, 2013 3:07 PM
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- 15 Comments
By now, you're likely part of the group of everyone on the planet who went to see "Iron Man 3" last weekend. And while we broke down what we liked, and what we didn't about the third installment in our "Iron Man 3" feature yesterday, the bottom line us that, for the most part, we really enjoyed the movie. But these closing credits and are a pretty good reminder of just how messy Marvel movies in general can be.
First Draft Of 'Iron Man 3' Script Had A Sex Tape Subplot With Aldrich Killian & Pepper Potts
- By Ken Guidry
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- May 7, 2013 10:16 AM
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- 1 Comment
“Iron Man 3” continues to conquer the peaks of box office mountain and if you haven’t seen it yet, well, you probably should (and then see if you agree with our choices for best and worst elements of the movie). If you have managed to catch it, then feel free to check out the latest and amusing podcast hosted by Empire Magazine. It features “Iron Man 3” director Shane Black and co-writer Drew Pearce as they discuss the ins and outs of the movie and the conversation features a few interesting gems that might prick up your ears.
The Best & Worst Moments Of 'Iron Man 3'
- By The Playlist Staff
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- May 6, 2013 1:29 PM
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- 43 Comments
If you were in prison, comatose or pinned to the ground by a fallen armoire this weekend, it's possible you didn't see "Iron Man 3." All the rest of us, it seems, ignored our mothers' protestations and spent a couple of hours of this fine sunny summer weekend indoors in the dark, watching Robert Downey Jr. suit up as Tony Stark/Iron Man for his third solo outing. In fact, judging by these numbers, so did Mom. The "Iron Man" threequel (read about some others here) is already in the history books as the second biggest domestic opening of all time, right behind sister film "The Avengers," and looks on track to be another billion-dollar movie for the unprecedentedly successful Marvel Universe project. But with Shane Black a new recruit for the director's chair (Iron Throne?) and expectations vertiginously high for the launch of Phase Two, the finished film could be expected to show at least a few stretch marks. Our early review is here and since then, many of The Playlist have managed to catch up with it, so here's what we thought worked and what did not. **Spoilers abound.**
Weekend Box Office: 'Iron Man 3' Scores Second Biggest Opening In Box Office History
- By Gabe Toro
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- May 5, 2013 11:53 AM
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- 1 Comment
Who really needs any other studios when you’ve got Marvel around? About a year after Marvel’s “The Avengers” set the record for biggest weekend in box office history, “Iron Man 3” comes along to provide the second best. There’s not much precedence for this sort of thing – spinning a successful franchise (“Iron Man”) into another, more lucrative brand (“The Avengers”) and then back out. So while some expected “Iron Man 3” to be seen by the exact same audience as “The Avengers,” that simply wasn’t a realistic proposition. Maybe some people are “Captain America” fans, and some are “Hulk” fans. And most love “Iron Man.”
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Recent Comments
I swear, nobody has passed on as many projects as Darren Aronofsky. He spends more time not doing
"Snow Whit and the Seven Dwarfs" Whit? If you don't care about your writing, why
Wow, those are a lot of forced points. I would argue that most of your "worst" things
I would say it is much much more shameful that Ejiofor has not received a nomination yet. Fassbender
Thank you for this review. It was everything that I had ever wanted to say and more, after watching
This review may be the best example of "damning with faint praise" that I've read in
Making the Justice League without lead in solo films is yet another mistake the studio is making
Mary replied I didn't even know that some people able to get paid $4253 in 1 month on the
Hell, Yeah !!!
I was excited to see this but the best and only thing that worked in this film was Kevin Costner and