Tag: Iron Man (Page 1 of 4)

“Star Trek” takes on “Iron Man 3” and “Gatsby”

Star Trek: Into Darkness

“Iron Man 3” proved that “Gatsby” wasn’t great enough to take it from the top spot, but this week he faces a very angry Vulcan.

“Star Trek: Into Darkness” takes fans once again where no fans have boldly gone before. The sequel of the reboot brings Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Spoke (Zachary Quinto) and company back as they hunt down the superman known as Khan. Can Iron Man fight off a Starship captain and a Gatsby that still managed to pull in $50 million in it’s debut?

If you’re not into Spaceships, guys in 1920s fashions or metal-clad superheroes, there are still options for you in theaters.

Black Rock – Three women hang out on a deserted island and end up fighting for their lives. Stars Katie Aselton (The League), Lake Bell (Children’s Hospital), and kate Bosworth.

Stories We Tell – A family of Storytellers are featured in this documentary.

Frances Ha – Greta Gerwig is a dancer who doesn’t really dances. That’s right, more awkward moments and awkward characters from the Queen of Mumblecore, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Box Office Recap: ‘The Avengers’ Made a Good Deal of Money

Everybody knew “The Avengers” would make money. Everybody. They’ve been building up to it for what seems like a decade, Joss Whedon was at the helm, it sat at 94 percent on the Tomatometer, it made $185 million in its overseas debut. In so many words, all the pieces were in place. That said, I don’t know if anybody expected this.

“The Avengers” made a record-breaking $200.3 million, the largest opening weekend in history. The total trounces the previous high of $169.2 million, set by “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” last summer.

Along the way, “The Avengers” toppled a number of other major records. It reached $100 million, $150 million, and $200 million faster than any other movie, set new highs for Saturday ($69.7 million) and Sunday ($50.1 million), and had the highest ever per-theater average for a nationwide release with $46,057. The only high score “The Avengers” didn’t take is largest opening day, making only $80.5 million to the “The Deathly Hallows Part 2’s” $91 million.

“The Avengers'” worldwide total of $641.8 million has already overtaken all of the team’s individual members’ totals. Coming closest are the “Iron Man” films, the first made $585 million and the second $624 million, while “Thor” made $449 million and “Captain America” took in $364 million. Oh, and for those of you counting “The Incredible Hulk” made $263 million.

The film didn’t make all that money without good reason. “The Dark Knight” may be the best ever movie about a superhero, but “The Avengers” is the best superhero movie. It played like a comic book, lighthearted and witty, but the action scenes did not disappoint. It seems there’d be a thick line between pleasing fanboys and those who have never picked up a comic in their lives, but “The Avengers” made it fine and walked that tightrope with grace. Everybody expected Robert Downey Jr. to continue to be great as Tony Stark, especially with Joss Whedon writing his lines, and he did not disappoint. But the film’s biggest question mark, Mark Ruffalo in his new role as the Hulk, stole the show.

Now, I could talk about how much all those other films made, but with these numbers it’s got to be pretty clear not many people who went to the movies this weekend saw something other than “The Avengers.” In fact, the film accounted for 82.7 percent of the roughly $242 million earned by the top 12 movies this weekend. That’s the second highest weekend market share of all time, behind only “Spider-Man 3’s” 83.3 percent.

Here are the results for this week’s top 10 at the box office:

Title/Weeks in release/Theater count, Studio/Three-day weekend total/Cume
1. The Avengers, 1/4,349, Disney/Marvel Studios, $200.3 million.
2. Think Like a Man, 3/2,011, Sony, $8 million, $73 million.
3. The Hunger Games, 7/2,794, Lionsgate, $5.7 million, $380.7 million.
4. The Lucky One, 3/3,005, Warner Bros., $5.5 million, $40 million.
5. The Pirates! Band of Misfits, 2/3,358, Sony/Aardman, $5.4 million, $18.6 million.
6. The Five-Year Engagement, Universal, 2/2,941, $5.1 million, $19.3 million.
7. The Raven, 2/2,209, Relativity/Intrepid, $2.5 million, $12 million.
8. Safe, 2/2,271, Lionsgate/IM Global, $2.5 million, $12.9 million
9. Chimpanzee, 3/1,531, Disney, $2.4 million, $23 million.
10. The Three Stooges, 4/2,174, $1.8 million, $39.6 million.

Another trailer: Close encounters of the cowboy kind

Considering the title and the involvement of director Jon Favreau, whose pre-“Iron Man” background was mostly in comedy, I had assumed it was going to be a science-fiction comedy along the lines of “Men in Black.” I was apparently wrong. Anyhow, watch as Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and a bunch of mysterious whatsits face off in the first trailer for the long-awaited, and apparently quite tense, “Cowboys and Aliens.”

Speaking of tension and Harrison Ford, I’m a little bit afraid to watch what might become Mr. Ford’s rather legendary “Conan” appearance last night, in which most viewers agreed Ford was in some way altered — perhaps by booze, perhaps something prescribed as medicinal.

All I can say is that, if true, it wouldn’t be the first time. L.A. science fiction geeks of a certain age remember a radio interview given by a young Ford and Mark Hamill before the release of the very first “Star Wars” in which the twosome, who apparently were convinced they were the stars of a movie that might, at best, become an obscure cult item, were fairly obviously under the giggly influence of some pretty good cannabis. The late host of Pacifica station KPFK’s  “Hour 25” radio show, Mike Hodel, often said it was a low-point of the program.

The Super Hero Squad Show: Volume One

After Marvel was bought out by Disney at the tail end of last year, many comic book fans were concerned about what kind of effect it would have on their favorite characters. Would Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck suddenly be popping up in the pages of “The Amazing Spider-Man”? Or worse yet, would more mature titles like “Deadpool” be watered down? The powers that be were adamant that it was going to be business as usual at the House of Ideas, and for the most part, they were right. But while most of Marvel’s entertainment empire has remained untouched by Disney’s kid-friendly ideals, their new animated series, “The Super Hero Squad Show,” feels a lot like a Disneyfied version of the Marvel Universe.

It’s the kind of cartoon you’d expect to see on Saturday mornings – from the Mighty Muggs-like character designs to the low-brow humor and moral messages built in to each story. This is a show where the heroes live in a town called Super Hero City (with a mayor voiced by Stan Lee, no less) and the villains reside next door in VillainVille, but while it may be embarrassing to watch Mole Man struggle with above-ground flatulence or Doctor Doom pop bubble gum, the show does a pretty good job of servicing older fans as well. Although the core cast only includes Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Wolverine and Falcon (with recurring appearances by Captain America, Ms. Marvel, and a stupid new character named Reptil), there are cameos from over two dozen other Marvel characters in the first seven episodes alone. And it’s not just the A-listers either, which goes to prove that while “The Super Hero Squad Show” may not be intended for adults, it has just enough fan appeal that most parents could easily enjoy it with their kids.

Click to buy “The Super Hero Squad Show: Volume One”

Superhero movie madness, explained

Let’s face it, this superhero movie thing is in danger of getting out of control. On the DC side we have Batman, Green Lantern, possibly the Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and, assuming the studio can move faster than a speeding lawsuit, Superman.

Marvel, of course, is moving faster still with movies about Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America, possibly Nick Fury, and who knows what else leading up to an “Avengers” film to be directed by geek fave Joss Whedon, we think. (In April, Whedon and Marvel were in “final negotiations.” Now one of Whedon’s brothers has apparently told MTV that he has “tentatively agreed” to do it…is that even different?)

So, what’s the big deal? A few movies have been extremely successful and Hollywood follows its historic tendency towards repeating a winning formula until such time as the audience completely revolts. Is this any different? No, actually, but also yes. You see, I haven’t read a Marvel comic in a very long time, but even now my closet fanboy heart goes faintly pitty-pat at the thought of an “Avengers” movie incorporating the same actors from the other films. Why? It’s called “continuity.” What’s that? I could just say, “It’s a fanboy thing, you wouldn’t understand.” But now, thanks to some random guy with a little musical ability and more wit, action figures, and time on his hands, I have an explanation. In song.

Big time h/t to Alison Nastasi of Cinematical.

« Older posts

© 2023 Premium Hollywood

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑