On this episode of Collider Movie Talk (May 23rd, 2016) Mark Ellis, Perri Nemiroff, David Griffin, Ashley Mova discuss the following:

  • Box Office Report (Brought to you by AMC Theatres)
  • Paramount drops lawsuit against Star Trek fan film
  • Mail Bag
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Image via Sony Pictures

It’s Monday which means its time for the weekend box office report brought to you by our friends at AMC theatres. Some angry birds should now be very happy as Sony’s animated movie, Angry Birds, took the No 1 spot at the box office on its first weekend in theatres pulling in $39 million dollars. Down 56% in its third weekend in release, Captain America Civil War took in $33.1 million dollars for the No 2 spot, crossing 1 billion dollars worldwide in the process and becoming the 25th film all time to hit the milestone. Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising took the No 3 spot with $21.8 million dollars, less than half of the $49 million launch of the original Neighbors two years ago. The other new release, The Nice Guys, pulled in $11.3 million for the No 4 spot. And at No 5, The Jungle Book with $11 million.

Paramount Pictures has released the newest trailer for Star Trek Beyond, the Justin Lin directed third movie in the rebooted Star Trek franchise starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin and Sofia Boutella. The sequel, from a script by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, finds the crew in the midst of their five-year mission when they run across a villainous alien played by Elba. The trailer premiered during a fan event in Los Angeles where it was announced that Star Trek Beyond will also have its world premiere at San Diego Comic-Con on July 20th during the world’s very first outdoor IMAX screening, with a live orchestra accompanying. Star Trek Beyond opens in theatres on July 22nd.

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Image via Disney

Disney has released the first sneak peek at their upcoming live-action re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, giving audiences a tiny glimpse at the highly anticipated film based on the animated classic. The film stars Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast. Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson also star. Beauty and the Beast is directed by Dreamgirls director Bill Condon and opens in U.S. theaters on March 17, 2017.

BUY OR SELL

After Marvel officially confirmed Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson and Karl Urban would be joining Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Hopkins in Thor Ragnarok, a new piece of concept art was released, featuring a look at what appears to be the character of Hela, played by Blanchett, a powerful villainess who was appointed goddess and ruler of the realms of the dead. Thor: Ragnarok is rumored be taking place mostly in space, and with the addition of Hela, likely delving heavily into mythological territory, with Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster character potentially serving as a bridge to Avengers: Infinity War. Production begins this summer with the film slated for a November 3rd, 2017 release date.

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Image via Warner Bros.

Since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice proved to be a disappointment for Warner Bros. Pictures by not pulling in as much box office as they hoped, the studio is really banking on the success of Suicide Squad to help turn things around. And It looks as though Warner Bros is on the right track with some early reactions hitting the web following a test screening. Some of the more positive tweets say that this is the movie that should have launched the DCEU.

In advance of the July release of Star Trek Beyond, it looks as though Paramount is going to try to get itself beyond a serious problem it’s having with the passionate fanbase of Trekkies. During the Star Trek fan event this past weekend, producer JJ Abrams announced that the studio will be dropping the contentious lawsuit against a fan film production known as Star Trek: Axanar, with Abrams quoted as saying the litigation was not the appropriate way to deal with the fans. The planned feature length fan film funded on Kickstarter picked up $638,000, which the studio thought was too high a level of funding for a fan film and crossed a threshold into infringement. That didn’t sit well with Trek fans or long time fan, director Justin Lin. When asked about the status, Abrams said Lin was sort of outraged by the lawsuit and with his help, was able to convince Paramount to drop the lawsuit.

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Image via Warner Bros./Paramount

There has been a lot of back and forth when it comes to a new entry in the Friday the 13th franchise. From new writers to new directors to “back to the drawing board” and everything in between. However, Platinum Dunes co-founder Brad Fuller has just opened up in an interview about the current status of the film and it looks promising for the die hard fans. Fuller discussed first the current writer taking a stab at the project, Aaron Guzikowski, who wrote the 2013 crime mystery film Prisoners. Fuller said that Guzikowski is a better writer than they deserve and that the movie is not a "found footage" film as rumors suggested. The script is now back with Guzikowski addressing notes with the hope of starting filming later this year.

MAIL BAG

Brandon P writes:

Hey Collider Crew!

My question is regarding the concentration of Sci-Fi/Fantasy films being released in December.  Star Wars: Rogue One is scheduled to come out Dec 16, followed 5 days later by Assassin’s Creed & Passengers (Dec 21). So that is 3 Sci-Fi/Fantasy-type films being released in less than a week, all with production budgets in excess of $100 million. So my question is… do you think that there will be enough box office to go around for Assassin’s Creed and Passengers, who will be competing with each other and with Rogue One, or will at least one of them suffer?

My guess would be that Assassin’s Creed would be most likely to suffer, losing out to the box office draws of Darth Vader in Rogue One, and a Jennifer Lawrence/Chris Pratt sci-fi romance in Passengers. Thanks!

Mikayel writes:

Hey Collider Crew,

My question is different than usual. You guys have discussed how Edge of Tomorrow might have been more successful at the box office if it was called Live Die Repeat or had a better title. Do you think movie titles attract audiences in this internet age where anyone can look up reviews and watch trailers? Who decides the movie title and does it usually take a long time to find it? and also What is your favorite movie title of all time. For me it’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, it’s so catchy and fits the story very well.

Thanks and keep up the great work

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Image via Paramount Pictures