On this episode of Collider Movie Talk (December 18th, 2015), Dennis Tzeng, Clarke Wolfe, and David Griffin discuss the following:

  • The Force Awakens breaks another box office record
  • Simon Pegg speaks out about Star Trek Beyond trailer
  • New Ghostbuster images
  • Katherine Waterston joins cast of Alien: Covenant 
  • New trailer for Gods of Egypt
  • Box office predictions
  • McGuffin used in films
  • Surprise nomination at the Oscars
  • And much more…
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Image via Lucasfilm

Last night, the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened and again has broken another box office record, it’s being estimated that the movie made between 50 to 55 million in its Thursday night showings beating the previous record holder Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 which took in 43.5 million back in July 2011. Industry analysts predict the movie will open to 210 million or more for the entire weekend.

Since its release on Monday, the first teaser trailer for Star Trek Beyond, the third installment of the rebooted franchise has been met with a fair share of criticism especially from Star Trek fans.  In an interview at the European premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Simon Pegg who is one of the people behind Star Trek Beyond’s script and one of its lead actors was asked about his thoughts on the first trailer.

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A new image and character posters for the upcoming Ghostbusters movie have come out. The image features all four cast members Kristin Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones in their Ghostbusters outfits and gear. There are also individual posters for each of the four characters and a few character details revealed. Ghostbusters is being directed by Paul Feig and is set for release in theaters on July 15, 2016.

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The Prometheus sequel now known as Alien: Covenant has landed its female lead.  According to The Wrap, actress Katherine Waterston has been cast to star opposite Michael Fassbender in the upcoming Ridley Scott-directed sci-fi flick. Alien: Covenant is set for an October 6th, 2017 release date.

Only a month after its first trailer, Lionsgate has a released another new trailer for Gods of Egypt. The film was directed by Alex Proyas and star Gerard Butler, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Geoffrey Rush, Brenton Thwaites, Elodie Yung, Abbey Lee, Chadwick Boseman and Courtney Eaton. Gods of Egypt opens in theaters everywhere on February 26, 2016.

Box Office predictions brought to you by our friends at AMC Theatres. This is the part of the show where the panelists make their predictions of what movies and in what order will top this weekend’s box office.

MAILBAG

Daxamundo writes:

Hi All, Love Movie Talk, Heroes, and Collider Jedi Council.  Great stuff! John has talked about the concept of "McGuffin" in the past, which is new to me, since I know almost nothing about the structure of a film.  Would you please give some examples of the "McGuffin" in films.  If you can provide examples from past Star Wars films and/or movies based on comic IPs (X-Men, Man of Steel, etc.), that would be great. Thanks!

Amogh Rao writes:

With all the major award nominations coming out and the year almost at an end, i was wondering what you guys think will be the biggest "surprise" nomination at the Oscars. I think Jake Gyllenhaal for "Southpaw" could get a best actor nod, yet highly unlikely, and any nod for "The Gift", even more unlikely. Thanks