The Playlist

Jeremy Renner Says In 'The Avengers' Hawkeye Is "Not The Character I Signed On To Play"

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 8, 2012 2:12 PM
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27 Comments

News

As much as we enjoyed "The Avengers," one of our disappointments in the film is how thoroughly wasted Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye is. As we wrote in our breakdown of the superhero movie earlier this year, "…as soon as we meet him properly in 'The Avengers,' he's immediately turned to the dark side, a personality-free zombie serving Loki. He's eventually turned back, but the fact that we've never been that invested in him in the first place means that his return doesn't serve as some grand victory. It's presumably been done to give Black Widow some emotional investment in the whole thing, but it's hard not to feel that sidelining him is a waste of Renner's talents." And it would appear that Renner, to a certain degree, agrees.

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First Look At Lizzy Caplan In Marvel Short Film 'Item 47'; Will Debut On 'The Avengers' DVD & Blu-ray On September 25th

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 3, 2012 10:25 AM
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1 Comment

News

As if Marvel couldn't top 2012, which has seen them release the blockbuster "The Avengers," start filming "Iron Man 3," and flip the switch on "Guardians Of The Galaxy," they've gone ahead and added Lizzy Caplan to the their cinematic universe. Well done, Marvel, well done.

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The Playlist Podcast: Warner Bros.' 'Justice League' Plans, Marvel Rumors & The Post-'Avengers' Campaign

By Erik McClanahan
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June 25, 2012 1:41 PM
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13 Comments

Features

In episode 2 of The Playlist podcast, host Erik McClanahan brings on staff writer Gabe Toro and Comptroller Rodrigo Perez for an extra geeky discussion about the planned "Justice League" movie that Warner Bros. is mounting and the future for the Marvel movie universe post-"The Avengers." We also talk a little bit about WB's DC plan as a whole, "Wonder Woman," and the Marvel chat is full of things we've been hearing over the last few months...

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The 'Spider-Man' Universe Almost Crossed Over Into 'The Avengers' This Year; Could It Happen In The Future?

By Edward Davis
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June 13, 2012 2:34 PM
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3 Comments

News

The comic-book revelation of the week: the Stark Tower and the Oscorp Tower almost shared a Manhattan skyline in Marvel's "The Avengers" earlier this summer. What does that mean for those not fluent in poindexter-ese? It means the events from Columbia's upcoming "The Amazing Spider-Man" almost crossed over into the same New York universe where "The Avengers" took place.

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Weekend Box Office: 'Snow White And The Huntsman' Bucks Poor Tracking Worries, The 'Avengers' Breaks Two More All-Time Records

By Gabe Toro
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June 3, 2012 12:07 PM
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28 Comments

Box Office

Maybe that sequel will happen after all. Very clever, Universal. First, you announce that "Snow White and the Huntsman" is tracking a bit weak, possibly in the low 30s. Then, there's a "leak" that you've backtracked on a sequel since getting David Koepp to pen a follow-up. And now, with reports that 'Huntsman' may have actually connected with the young males they were trying to entice, registering a $55 million opening, there's great rejoicing for the film, particularly in the wake of the absolutely pathetic "Battleship" returns.

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Weekend Box Office: 'Men In Black 3' Unseats 'The Avengers' From The Top Spot

By Gabe Toro
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May 27, 2012 12:36 PM
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5 Comments

Box Office

Sony said, “Lemme see ya Nod Ya Head! Cuz the black suits coming!” And if you look at this weekend’s opening numbers for “Men In Black 3,” they’re really only impressive if you were to go “Back In Time.” As is, $55 million worth of audiences domestically said, “Here come the ‘Men In Black’ ” this weekend, besting the $52 million bow for “Men In Black II” a decade ago. Granted, Sony might have been hoping for more with the inflated price of a 3D movie ticket, but with the pic opening #1 in 104 countries and taking in $202 million worldwide, they can't be too upset, especially considering the troubled production of the movie once pointed toward a potential disaster.

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Weekend Box Office: 'Battleship' & 'The Dictator' Flop Hard As 'The Avengers' Continues To Dominate

By Gabe Toro
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May 20, 2012 1:12 PM
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8 Comments

Box Office

Disney sure picked the right time to get in on that Marvel action. After the first Marvel films proved to be decent-sized hits, the studio came in like a shark, swiping the studio up for a few billion, expecting similar results. Yet, not only has “The Avengers” handily outdrawn every other superhero film thus far, but it's number one at the domestic box-office for a third weekend running, with a $55 million haul, and is actually now Disney’s highest grossing film of all time. Take that, “Flubber”!

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'The Avengers' Hits DVD/Blu-ray September 25th With Alternate Ending And More Harry Dean Stanton

By Oliver Lyttelton
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May 18, 2012 4:59 PM
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6 Comments

News

Not content with holding 25 box office records to date, Marvel and Joss Whedon's superhero team-up flick "The Avengers" looks to continue to dominate the top ten this weekend, beating competitors "Battleship," "Dark Shadows" and "The Dictator" remorselessly, as though they were CGI recreations of a RADA-trained actor playing a Norse god. How far it goes is a good question: crossing the two-billion dollar mark and overtaking "Titanic" could be a distinct possibility, but we suspect "Avatar" might be out of reach -- that film had months to play with little competition, while blockbuster season starts to kick up a gear in the next few weeks.

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Marvel-Mania: Joss Whedon Torn About Whether To Do 'Avengers' Sequel; Robert Downey Jr. Got Paid More Than Rest Of Cast Combined

By Edward Davis
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May 17, 2012 3:30 PM
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3 Comments

News

Another day, another dollop of Marvel related news. Super hero movies like "The Avengers" are a team effort, only they're not so much when it comes to the payscale. Awkward for all involved? The Hollywood Reporter recently reported that the motormouthed and scene-stealing Robert Downey Jr. (who reportedly has a lot of say when it comes to these movies; see the director having to re-convince him of some strong ideas) will get paid a cool $50 million for his involvment in Joss Whedon directed film thanks to bonuses and backend deals (and that figure may even rise as the box-office for the superhero film continues to soar). The bad news for the rest of the team that helped out in this group effort? Apparently even combined the rest of the cast didn't make that much money. The next time they all do press together and RDJ inevitably tries to steal the spotlight, that's going to smart.

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Weekend Box Office: 'The Avengers' Crosses The $1 Billion Mark In 19 Days; Registers First-Ever $100 Million Second Weekend

By Gabe Toro
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May 13, 2012 11:57 AM
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12 Comments

Box Office

When a movie scores the biggest opening weekend of all time (by nearly $40 million, in this case), the expectation is that it should continue to smash records. So, at a glance, “The Avengers” scoring the largest second weekend in film history isn’t exactly newsworthy. Though most prognosticators pegged the film, following a stupefying opening act of $207 million, to level off in the vicinity of 70% or so. As it turns out, a lot of your friends missed out on the movie the first time around, and after losing a little more than half of it’s first weekend tally, it’s the first film ever with two nine-figure weekend grosses. That shit cray.

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