Check out the new Superman, Spiderman and Catwoman!

While this summer of superheroes is finally coming to an end with a couple of successes (Thor, Captain America), a decent extension of a franchise (X Men: First Class) and a big ole bomb (The Green Lantern), Hollywood is setting its sights on next summer. Three of the biggest superheroes are heading back to the big screen with the most anticipated film being The Dark Knight Rises, the third film from Oscar winner Christopher Nolan in his trilogy which brings us a new battle between Batman (Christian Bale) and baddie Bane (Tom Hardy), but we will also see the return of Catwoman in the form of Oscar winner Anne Hathaway. And Entertainment Weekly just published the first pic of her from set. Check it out below.

Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises

EW has also been sharing pics of the other exciting superheroe’s returning next year with the reboots of the Superman series starring Henry Cavill (The Tudors, The Immortals) and Spiderman starring Andrew Garfield (The Social Network). Take a look at both new crime fighters below…. Then, let me know which one you think will live up to the title best and which film you’re most excited to see.

Henry Cavill as Superman in Man of Steel

Andrew Garfield as Spiderman in The Amazing Spider Man

Captain America knocks down Harry Potter

After breaking all kinds of box office records last week, it only took an American icon to end Harry Potter’s spell over the box office as the latest comic book movie of the summer Captain America: The First Avenger starring Chris Evans opened to a big $65 million. That was on par with Thor’s opening from earlier this summer, and the fact that the film is actually quite good (I gave massively entertaining film a “A-” grade) should help it have legs in the weeks ahead. It also towered over the opening for X Men: First Class which has been a modest hit this summer and The Green Lantern which tanked…. Now, back to Harry. Despite falling into second, the last Potter film still took in a strong $47 million for a huge $273 million easily on its way to being the highest grossing film of the series…. The other news at the movies this weekend was the opening of the Justin Timberlake/Mila Kunis comedy Friends with Benefits which took in a decent $18.6 million, just a hair behind the $19 mil that the similarly themed (and much less funny) No Strings Attached grossed in January when it opened. We’ll see how Friends holds up as the smart and hilarious romantic comedy Crazy Stupid Love hits theatres this weekend… For all your box office news, head to Box Office Mojo here and check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Captain America: The First Avenger Par. $65,058,524 – 3,715 – $17,512 $65,058,524 $140 1
2 1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 WB $47,422,212 -72.0% 4,375 – $10,839 $273,539,281 – 2
3 N Friends with Benefits SGem $18,622,150 – 2,926 – $6,364 $18,622,150 $35 1
4 2 Transformers: Dark of the Moon P/DW $12,051,735 -43.5% 3,375 -542 $3,571 $325,841,185 $195 4
5 3 Horrible Bosses WB (NL) $11,884,319 -33.1% 3,104 -30 $3,829 $82,566,703 $35 3
6 4 Zookeeper Sony $8,702,055 -29.4% 3,215 -267 $2,707 $59,206,255 $80 3
7 5 Cars 2 BV $5,655,857 -32.7% 2,668 -581 $2,120 $176,375,295 $200 5
8 6 Winnie the Pooh BV $5,162,046 -34.3% 2,405 – $2,146 $17,594,297 $30 2
9 7 Bad Teacher Sony $2,610,925 -49.3% 2,034 -625 $1,284 $94,365,688 $20 5
10 10 Midnight in Paris SPC $1,804,662 -3.8% 621 -85 $2,906 $44,783,206 $30 10

Green Lantern flickers out at the Box Office

It’s a sad thing to say a film that opens to $52 million at the box office is a disappointment, but that’s the case this weekend for Green Lantern. The ultra expensive comic book movie tumbled under expectations by at least $10 to $15 million for a lower opening than Thor and X Men: First Class which both had little starpower compared to this well-known comic entity starring the red-hot (and deserving of a better movie) Ryan Reynolds. Now, the opening was far from a disaster but due to bad reviews and word of mouth, the film has an uphill battle towards profitability in the weeks ahead…. Another film that opened under expectations this weekend was Jim Carrey’s latest Mr. Popper’s Penguins which took in a decent but not great $18.2 million and landed in third behind Super 8 which held up quite well. At least Carrey’s film could have good legs as many family films do in the summer. However, it will have to fight off Cars 2 this coming weekend…. Other films holding up well include Bridesmaids, the sleeper hit of the year, and Woody Allen’s most  in successful movie in decades, Midnight in Paris. For more on these films and the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here. And check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Green Lantern WB $52,685,000 – 3,816 – $13,806 $52,685,000 $200 1
2 1 Super 8 Par. $21,250,000 -40.1% 3,408 +29 $6,235 $72,781,000 $50 2
3 N Mr. Popper’s Penguins Fox $18,200,000 – 3,339 – $5,451 $18,200,000 $55 1
4 2 X-Men: First Class Fox $11,500,000 -52.3% 3,375 -317 $3,407 $119,925,000 $160 3
5 3 The Hangover Part II WB $9,635,000 -45.5% 3,460 -215 $2,785 $232,674,000 $80 4
6 4 Kung Fu Panda 2 P/DW $8,700,000 -47.4% 3,469 -460 $2,508 $143,343,000 $150 4
7 6 Bridesmaids Uni. $7,487,000 -25.6% 2,573 -349 $2,910 $136,840,000 $32.5 6
8 5 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides BV $6,236,000 -43.0% 2,742 -691 $2,274 $220,337,000 $250 5
9 8 Midnight in Paris SPC $5,237,000 -10.2% 1,038 +94 $5,045 $21,799,000 $30 5
10 7 Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer Rela. $2,241,000 -63.1% 2,524 – $888 $11,167,000 $20 2

Super 8 invades the Box Office

For the first time in ages, a non-sequel hit the top of the box office as J.J. Abrams sci-fi thriller Super 8 landed at # 1 with a good $37 million. While not a blockbuster number, the film remains a mystery as to how it will hold up in the weeks ahead. Audiences and critics liked it, but the upfront demand wasn’t too grand. It could prove to be a sleeper like Bridesmaids and have strong legs ahead. Stay tuned. At the other end of the spectrum was the new kiddie movie, Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer, which proved a big bummer to its studio, Relativity, by tanking in seventh place with only $6.2 million. Clearly families preferred a Panda and some Pirates as those sequels held up well (as did the aforementioned Bridesmaids and X Men: First Class which posted a decent second week hold). For all your box office numbers and needs, head to Box Office Mojo here. And check out the new top ten below.

TW	LW	Title (click to view)	Studio	Weekend Gross	% Change	Theater Count / Change		Average	Total Gross	Budget*	Week #
1	N	Super 8	Par.	$37,000,000	-	3,379	-	$10,950	$38,000,000	$50	1
2	1	X-Men: First Class	Fox	$25,000,000	-54.6%	3,692	+51	$6,771	$98,894,000	$160	2
3	2	The Hangover Part II	WB	$18,500,000	-41.0%	3,675	+60	$5,034	$216,560,000	$80	3
4	3	Kung Fu Panda 2	P/DW	$16,635,000	-30.4%	3,929	-23	$4,234	$126,905,000	$150	3
5	4	Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides	BV	$10,846,000	-39.6%	3,433	-533	$3,159	$208,774,000	$250	4
6	5	Bridesmaids	Uni.	$10,154,000	-15.7%	2,922	+3	$3,475	$123,904,000	$32.5	5
7	N	Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer	Rela.	$6,267,000	-	2,524	-	$2,483	$6,267,000	$20	1
8	8	Midnight in Paris	SPC	$6,146,000	+121.9%	944	+797	$6,511	$14,225,000	$30	4
9	6	Thor	Par.	$2,370,000	-44.2%	1,782	-998	$1,330	$173,600,000	$150	6
10	7	Fast Five	Uni.	$1,714,000	-45.9%	1,329	-908	$1,290	$205,081,000	$125	7

Thor Hammers the Competition

Thor thrust his mighty hammer down on the competition as the new comic book film opened to a big $66 million at the box office this weekend, right in line with expectations. And the audience reaction has been pretty positive, so the film could hold up in the weeks ahead til then next comic movie, X- Men First Class, comes along at the beginning of May. It looks like Thor also took a little steam out of Fast Five which tumbled down 62% to a still quite good $32 million and $139 million to date. This latest installment of the Fast series is now easily going to become the highest grossing of all five films in the franchise… Now, if you do recall it was Mother’s Day this weekend too and the ladies were served some new cinematic fare as well with the romantic comedies Jumping th Broom and Something Borrowed. The African-American targeted Broom overperformed pulling in $13.7 million while Kate Hudson’s latest Something was a little under expectations at a still decent $13.1 million. Also benefitting from the holiday was the romance Water For Elephants which held up well and took in another $5.6 million for a total of $41.6 million (and having seen it today I can say it’s actually pretty good. Solid “B” grade from me)… For all your box office needs, take a trek to Box Office Mojo here and check out the new top ten below.

TW	LW	Title (click to view)	Studio	Weekend Gross	% Change	Theater Count / Change		Average	Total Gross	Budget*	Week #
1	N	Thor	Par.	$66,000,000	-	3,955	-	$16,688	$66,000,000	$150	1
2	1	Fast Five	Uni.	$32,519,000	-62.3%	3,662	+18	$8,880	$139,853,000	$125	2
3	N	Jumping the Broom	TriS	$13,700,000	-	2,035	-	$6,732	$13,700,000	$6.6	1
4	N	Something Borrowed	WB	$13,155,000	-	2,904	-	$4,530	$13,155,000	$35	1
5	2	Rio	Fox	$8,200,000	-44.5%	3,258	-450	$2,517	$114,902,000	$90	4
6	4	Water for Elephants	Fox	$5,600,000	-40.1%	2,614	-206	$2,142	$41,614,000	$38	3
7	3	Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family	LGF	$3,900,000	-60.4%	1,881	-407	$2,073	$46,806,000	-	3
8	5	Prom	BV	$2,425,000	-48.5%	2,730	-	$888	$7,800,000	$8	2
9	7	Soul Surfer	TriS	$2,100,000	-37.6%	1,781	-229	$1,179	$36,679,000	$18	5
10	6	Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil	Wein.	$1,880,000	-54.2%	2,505	-	$750	$6,714,000	$30	2

Your Superhero Summer Movies

Every summer the studios trot out big movies full of action and superheroes hoping to start a big successful franchise. But for every Iron Man and Batman, there’s a stinker like The Punisher. This summer is no different as we have four giant superhero movies coming at you. First out of the gate on May 6th is Thor starring Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek) and Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman. Then you have the newly rebooted XMen franchise offering X Men: First Class starring James MacAvoy (Wanted), Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds), January Jones (Mad Men), Nicholas Hoult (A Single Man) and recent Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) which looks at the origins of these people with extraordinary powers. Two weeks later on 6/17) Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively hook up in The Green Lantern which unfortunately looks like it might just as bad as this winter’s Seth Rogan mess The Green Hornet. (FYI Hollywood~ perhaps you should avoid comic book characters with the word “green” in the title, just some friendly advice…). Finally on 7/22, Captain America comes to town in the guise of Chris Evans (Fantastic Four). Of these films, I’m most excited about the X Men film with Captain America a close second. Looking at the trailers for the other two, I’m left rather skeptical to say the least…. But now, I want to know which comic book superhero you want to see. Check out the trailers for all the movies below and then vote in my poll

. Enjoy

 

Thor

X Men: First Class

The Green Lantern

Captain America

Super 8~ It’s like E.T. but with a Mean Alien?

Spring is almost upon us and that means the start of the summer movie season! Yes, that doesn’t make much sense, but “summer” more or less begins as early as April 29th in Hollywood. That’s when Universal releases what will likely be its first hit of the year with the stupid but entertaining Fast Five sequel. After that, there are tons of sequels (Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers), animated toons (Cars 2) and action packed comic book pics (Thor, The Green Lantern) headed your way. Of those, I’m most excited about the final Harry Potter film and the latest in the X- Men series, X -Men: First Class. Now, there is one new original sci-fi film that has peaked my interest as well, Super 8. It’s a mysterious movie produced by Steven Spielberg and written and directed by J.J. Abrams starring Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights). Not much is known about the film, but if you look at the trailer, it seems like it could be an E.T. update except with a mean angry alien. Regardless, it looks pretty awesome. For more on the film, head to the Super 8 website here and check out the movie in theatres on June 10th.

Super 8 trailer

The First “X Men: First Class” trailer

Finally, here’s a blockbuster movie I really want to see~ X Men: First Class. The lastest film in the X Men series opens on June 6th and stars Golden Globe nominee James MacAvoy (Atonement), SAG Award winner Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds), Globe winner Oliver Platt (Huff), Globe winner January Jones (Mad Men), Emmy nominee Rose Byrne (Damages), Globe winner Kevin Bacon (Taking Chance) and current Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) along with a bunch of young hotties like Nicholas Hoult (A Single Man) and Lucas Till (Battle Los Angeles). Now, the first trailer has hit the web and I have it for you below. Enjoy!

X Men: First Class