The Avengers

Friday Box Office – MEN IN BLACK 3 Unseats THE AVENGERS with $18 Million Debut

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: May 26th, 2012 at 8:52 am

Four weeks ago, the summer movie season started off with a super-powered bang in the form of Marvel’s The Avengers. Since then?  It’s been difficult to prove that any other film was in theatres. That changed on Friday when Sony’s Men in Black 3 became the first post-Avengers release to take first place. From its very wide release in 4,248 locations (including 3D & IMAX), MIB3 took in an estimated $18 million. Despite becoming the first new number one title in 21 days, however, MIB3 is not looking like an automatic blockbuster. After a less-than enthusiastic midnight debut, projections for the film went from $90 million over the four-day Memorial Day frame down to a more modest $74 million.  That’s about what the much-maligned Men in Black II made in its first four days (not adjusted for inflation) back in 2002. On a more positive note, Sony is expecting big numbers from MIB3’s international markets. As for The Avengers, Disney projects another $45 million for its superheroes through Memorial Day. Finally, Chernobyl Diaries – the latest from producer Oren Peli – earned an estimated $3.5 million on Friday from 2,433 locations towards what should be a $12 million four-day total. Ouch.

	Title	Friday	Total
1	Men in Black 3	$18,000,000	$18
2	The Avengers	$9,700,000	$486.4
3	Chernobyl Diaries	$3,500,000	$3.5
4	Battleship	$3,000,000	$36.5
5	The Dictator	$2,600,000	$34.4

Chris Hemsworth Talks SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN, a Spinoff for His Character, Being Punched by Kristen Stewart & More

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 20th, 2012 at 7:31 pm

Though many were beleaguered by the fact that two Snow White movies were slated to open in 2012, the first trailer for Snow White and the Huntsman clued us in that director Rupert Sanders had crafted a very different take on the Snow White story than most were expecting.  The dark and epic iteration of the famous fairy tale landed on our list of the most anticipated films of the year, and the impressive cast of Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, and Kristen Stewart only adds to the film’s appeal.

I recently got the chance to speak with Hemsworth about the film alongside a small group of journalists via a Google+ Hangout video interview while the actor was in London doing press.  Hemsworth talked about pulling from Harrison Ford’s performances as Indiana Jones and Han Solo for the Huntsman character, what drew him to the project, being punched by co-star Stewart, the success of The Avengers and much more.  He also talked a bit about a rumored sequel/prequel/spinoff for his Huntsman character that may or may not come to fruition.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Weekend Box Office – THE AVENGERS Claims Third Week On Top; $25.3 Million Debut Sinks BATTLESHIP

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: May 20th, 2012 at 8:59 am

For the third week in a row, The Avengers dominated the box office. Marvel’s superheroes added another $55 million to their domestic total – putting the film over $450 million in a record-breaking seventeen days. Meanwhile, the three new releases that lined up to challenge The Avengers all struggled in the blockbuster’s wake.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	The Avengers	$55,050,000	$457
2	Battleship	$25,350,000	$25.3
3	The Dictator	$17,415,000	$24.4
4	Dark Shadows	$12,770,000	$50.9
5	What to Expect When You’re Expecting	$10,500,000	$10.5
6	Best Exotic Marigold Hotel	$3,250,000	$8.2
7	The Hunger Games	$3,000,000	$391.6
8	Think Like A Man	$2,700,000	$85.8
9	The Lucky One	$1,765,000	$56.9
10	Pirates! Band of Misfits	$1,450,000	$25.3

Friday Box Office – THE AVENGERS Continue to Soar as BATTLESHIP Founders

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: May 19th, 2012 at 9:10 am

For the first time this month audiences had more than one new release to tempt them into theatres. Trouble is, no one seemed particularly tempted by the three titles that lined up to take down The Avengers. With an estimated $15.3 million on Friday, the Marvel superheroes are now assured their third weekend title with a projected $55 million. That won’t be a record, but who cares? At $1.048 billion worldwide, the film is already Disney’s highest-grossing release of all time. In second place, Universal’s Battleship took in an estimated $9 million from its 3,690 locations for a projected $26 million first weekend. Not only is that well below expectations for the pricey live-action boardgame, it’s also less than John Carter earned for its debut back in March. Draw your own conclusions. After opening to $4.1 million on Wednesday, Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator took in an estimated $5.7 million on Friday towards what should be a $16 million first weekend. Finally, What to Expect When You’re Expecting saw an estimated $3.9 million from 3,021 locations on Friday. Not exactly what Lionsgate was, um, expecting from their ensemble comedy.  Full details tomorrow.

	Title	Friday	Total
1	The Avengers	$15,300,000	$417.3
2	Battleship	$9,000,000	$9
3	The Dictator	$5,700,000	$12.7
4	What to Expect When You’re Expecting	$3,900,000	$3.9
5	Dark Shadows	$3,800,000	$41.9

Geek Gifts: Hot Toys’ Loki Figure from THE AVENGERS

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: May 18th, 2012 at 10:00 pm

While it’s been awhile since we’ve posted a “Geek Gifts” article, I’m going to try and post more of them in the future.  While I know a lot of you aren’t exactly willing to spend $200 dollars on a limited edition figure of Loki from The Avengers, I’m hoping many of you still find it fun to take a gander.  Based on the hits, I’ll know if we should post more or less of these types of articles.

Anyway, Hot Toys (which makes some awesome stuff) has just released images and info on their awesome looking Movie Masterpiece Series Loki Sixth Scale Figure from The Avengers.  As you’ll see in the images, “the movie-accurate collectible is specially crafted based on the image of Tom Hiddleston as Loki in the movie, highlighting the newly developed head sculpt, highly detailed costume, weapons and accessories.”  Hit the jump for more.

THE AVENGERS Blu-ray/DVD Hits Stores September 25; Includes Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Alternate Ending and More

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 18th, 2012 at 2:48 pm

Marvel’s The Avengers continues to Hulk Smash records at the box office, but we now have a release date and details regarding the film’s home media release.  Joss Whedon’s excellent superhero pic will hit Blu-ray and DVD on September 25th, and as expected the combo set is loaded with special features.  The 4-disc Blu-ray/DVD pack includes an audio commentary by Whedon, loads of deleted scenes (including an alternate ending), featurettes and much more.  Additionally, a 10-disc Blu-ray super set is also apparently being planned.  Hit the jump for details regarding the release.

Marvel Releases THE AVENGERS Movie Timeline

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 17th, 2012 at 4:38 pm

On the seventh day, Joss Whedon created The Avengers.  Marvel has released a new infographic movie timeline that highlights specific super-heroic instances in time and places them in the context of The Avengers and the individual movies that built up to it.  While The Avengers franchise no doubt revolves around Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, the new infographic has made him into a pseudo-Christ figure by demarcating the timeline with BIM (“Before Iron Man”) and AIM (“After Iron Man”).  While it’s true that Iron Man had more movies than the rest of The Avengers (excluding 2003′s Hulk, which the timeline wisely forgets), I’d much rather see the scenes relative to one Special Agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) or even the beloved Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg).  Hit the jump to check it out.

Jon Favreau Talks THE AVENGERS Success and IRON MAN 3; Says He’ll Be “Very Involved” in the Production of IM3

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 14th, 2012 at 1:49 pm

After launching a series of Marvel Studios films that would eventually culminate in the biggest opening weekend of all time with The Avengers, director Jon Favreau decided not to return to helm Iron Man 3.  Favreau deserves a lot of credit for Marvel’s success, as he launched Iron Man as a superhero film that could be both grounded and fun, and planted the seed for the serialization and cross-pollinating of the future Marvel movies to come.  In an inspired choice, Shane Black (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) was pegged to take the helm of Iron Man 3, and production is gearing up to begin in a few weeks with Ben Kingsley onboard as the villain and newcomers Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall added to the cast alongside Robert Downey Jr. and co.

Favreau recently spoke a bit about the success of The Avengers and the third Iron Man film, revealing that he’ll be producing Iron Man 3 and will actually have a very involved role in the production.  In addition, he teased what we can expect story and character-wise when Tony Stark graces our screens once again.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Weekend Box Office – THE AVENGERS Break Second Weekend Record with $103.1 Million; DARK SHADOWS in Second with $28.8 Million

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: May 13th, 2012 at 9:20 am

It’s another one for the record books. Along with the prize for highest first weekend in domestic history, The Avengers has now earned the highest second weekend with an estimated $103.1 million from 4,349 locations. That crushes Avatar’s former sophomore record of $75.6 million and represents a decline of just 50% – a better hold than The Dark Knight managed in its second frame. Even more exciting for Disney and Marvel, the worldwide estimate for The Avengers has now topped One Billion. Unfortunately, good news for The Avengers means not-so-good news for Dark Shadows. The latest collaboration of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp earned an estimated $28.8 million from 3,755 locations, or a bit less than The Avengers made on Friday alone.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	The Avengers	$103,160,000	$373.1
2	Dark Shadows	$28,800,000	$28.8
3	Think Like A Man	$6,300,000	$81.9
4	The Hunger Games	$4,300,000	$387
5	The Lucky One	$4,055,000	$53.7
6	Pirates! Band of Misfits	$3,200,000	$21.1
7	The Five-Year Engagement	$3,095,000	$24.4
8	Best Exotic Marigold Hotel	$2,650,000	$3.7
9	Chimpanzee	$1,624,000	$25.5
10	Girl in Progress	$1,350,000	$1.35

TOP 5: James Cameron Only Making AVATAR Movies, GANGSTER SQUAD Trailer, PROMETHEUS Is Rated R, Joss Whedon Editorial, DARK SHADOWS

by Jason Barr    Posted: May 12th, 2012 at 2:29 pm

In last week’s opening paragraph I welcomed the summer movie season into the fold by way of The Avengers. Earlier this week it dawned on me that another season is upon us as well. One that is nearly as costly as a summer blockbuster, albeit far less anticipated by yours truly: wedding season. Over the course of the next few months, I’ll attend no fewer than four ceremonies/receptions (not including my own) and, while I’ll be honored to have been invited to share a special moment with friends new and old, I’ll likely fall behind on my summer movie checklist. So, if you start noticing Top 5 opening paragraphs having less to do with film than what type of dessert was served at the reception, you have my most sincere advance apology.

Wedding disclaimers aside, awaiting you on the other side of this week’s Top 5 is James Cameron saying he only wants to make Avatar movies from now on, the first trailer for director Ruben Fleischer‘s Gangster Squad, Prometheus‘ R-rating, Matt’s letter of recommendation for Joss Whedon, and Dark Shadows coverage including interviews with Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, and Seth Grahame-Smith. A brief recap and link to each ensues after the jump.

Friday Box Office – No Light for DARK SHADOWS as THE AVENGERS Target Highest Second Weekend Record

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: May 12th, 2012 at 8:51 am

For the second week in a row, we have just one movie to talk about. Too bad for Warner Brothers’ that it isn’t Dark Shadows. The eighth collaboration of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton opened to an estimated $9.7 million on Friday at 3,755 locations. That suggests a three-day total of around $28 million – well below the $35 million projected and not even close to good enough while The Avengers are around. After shattering the domestic record with its $207.4 million debut last weekend, the Disney/Marvel super-movie saw its domestic estimate climb to nearly $300 million in an unprecedented eight days. The Avengers’ sophomore frame is now expected to hit $100 million, a number that would demolish the previous record of $75.6 million set by Avatar. Worldwide, The Avengers has already earned over $850 million and is currently on pace to hit One Billion by Sunday.  Full details and analysis tomorrow.

	Title	Friday	Total
1	The Avengers	$29,120,000	$299.1
2	Dark Shadows	$9,700,000	$9.7
3	Think Like A Man	$1,575,000	$77.1
4	The Lucky One	$1,300,000	$50.9
5	The Hunger Games	$1,200,000	$383.7

THE AVENGERS Ending Explained [SPOILERS]

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 12th, 2012 at 7:50 am

[This is a re-post of our article from last week.  However, since there will be plenty of people who are seeing The Avengers for the first time this weekend, we wanted to re-post it for those who didn't understand the brief scene from the middle of the end credits.  Also, make sure you stay till the very end of the credits.]

If you stayed seated during the credits of The Avengers (and by this point, you know you should for a Marvel movie), you may have had some questions about what you saw. It’s a scene, or rather, a moment that plays strictly to the comic geeks in the audience. But what about everyone else? If you were left confused by what you saw, hit the jump for an explanation. [WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD (Obviously)]

Editorial: Marvel Needs to Re-Hire Joss Whedon for THE AVENGERS 2

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 11th, 2012 at 9:21 am

“Marvel needs to re-hire Joss Whedon for The Avengers 2.”  How does this require an editorial?  It’s such an obvious statement.  Not only did the movie have the most successful opening-weekend gross of all-time, but it was also successful among critics.  Why would you risk losing a single piece?  Why jeopardize a formula that delivered such a resounding commercial and critical success?  What studio would do such a thing?

Marvel would.  Their hit-it-and-quit-it relationship with directors has served them well in terms of keeping costs down and making the productions run smoothly.  No one rocks the boat, no one gets a pay bump for the sequel, and no director becomes bigger than the property he is directing.  From a business standpoint, it’s a sensible trend.  But it’s a trend that shouldn’t continue when it comes to The Avengers franchise.  Hit the jump for my explanation of what Marvel stands to gain from hanging on to Joss Whedon.

After Scoring Big with THE AVENGERS, Joss Whedon Thanks His Fans

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 9th, 2012 at 9:26 am

Before The Avengers, Joss Whedon had created three canceled TV series, but still found ways to wrap up Angel and Dollhouse despite the lack of a series renewal, and Firefly got a big screen ending with Serenity (Buffy the Vampire Slayer wasn’t canceled and continues to live on in comics).  Despite never landing a big, mainstream hit, his fans have always stuck by Whedon and revered him with a fervent devotion.  Now that The Avengers has set the record for highest-grossing opening weekend ($207 million was the final tally), his career is about to change dramatically.  However, he hasn’t forgotten his loyal following, and he took to his official fan site to thank his beloved Whedonites.

Hit the jump for Whedon’s Thank-You letter for his fans, and look for my editorial tomorrow about why Marvel needs to lock down Whedon for The Avengers 2.

Shocking News: Disney Confirms THE AVENGERS 2 Is in Development [UPDATED]

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 8th, 2012 at 3:05 pm

In case anyone was worried that Disney and Marvel wouldn’t make a sequel to the film with the highest opening weekend gross of all-time (by far, I might add), Disney CEO Bob Iger is here to alleviate your concerns.  Per Deadline, Iger announced that the studio is developing a sequel to The Avengers, adding that the film’s success “is a great illustration of why we like Marvel so much.”  Anyone who sat through the film’s credits should have a good idea of where The Avengers 2 could go villain-wise, but I think the key to a follow-up will be the return of Joss Whedon as writer/director.  He is the reason The Avengers is a good film as opposed to simply an expensive film, and his recipe of humor, character development, and pure entertainment made for one of the most enjoyable moviegoing experiences in a long time.  Hit the jump for more.

[Update: It appears Iger's quote was taken out of context, and he actually said that there will "hopefully" be another Avengers.  Nevertheless, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point.  More after the jump.]

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