After months of ambiguity, Joss Whedon has signed on to write and direct the sequel to his biggest film to date, Marvel's superhero extravaganza The Avengers. According to The Wrap, Disney chairman Bob Iger confirmed Whedon's return to the billion-and-a-half-dollar franchise during a call with analysts today, adding that in addition to Avengers 2 the Buffy/Firefly veteran will also bring a "Marvel-based" television series to ABC.
more »
![13 March 2006 - New York, NY - Natalie Portman at NY Premiere of 'V for Vendetta' at the Rose Theatre. Photo Credit Jackson Lee/Admediaadmphotos070360_amp_vvendetta_JL_015.jpg(Newscom TagID: admphotos070360) [Photo via Newscom]](http://movieline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/120806_portman-90x120.jpg?w=120&h=120&crop=1)
Also in Monday morning's round-up of news briefs, a slew of stars and moguls expected in an Obama fundraiser. Celeste and Jesse Forever triumphs at the specialty box office and a rom-com heads to Phase 4 Films.
more »
Heads up, fanboys and girls: Marvel has released a barrage of Avengers clips ahead of its September 25 Blu-ray/DVD street date, including the geek-baiting post-credits scene that had fans in a tizzy. No, not the one that boosted sales of shawarma around the nation; the other Easter Egg, which revealed a menacing glimpse of the real orchestrator behind Loki's invasion of Earth.
more »
His film The Avengers is one of the highest grossers of the year and legions of fans gave adulation to him at the recent Comic-Con and even more did so at the box office. So what do you do when you have a blockbuster that has made nearly $1.5 billion worldwide and quickly counting? Take on Shakespeare and Much Ado About Nothing!
more »
Well, it's certainly great to be cast in a hit franchise that producers are itching to see the good times roll on. Scarlett Johansson's portrayal as the Black Widow in Marvel's The Avengers was one component in a half-dozen super-heroes that has brought in over $1.45 billion since its release in late Spring. With money like that rolling in, no point in jiggering with a winning formula. And to keep the good times going, the producers have offered up a record-breaking paycheck for Johansson to reprise her super-hero role.
more »
Also in Thursday's quick round up of film news, ARC Entertainment is bringing Fat Kid to the States, Meryl Streep gives her two cents on big studio flops, and audiences just are not heading to theaters frequently like they used to.
more »
Those wild animals in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted showed their box office heft, beating out Prometheus to land atop the overall box office for the weekend. The opener for the third installment of the animated feature figured bigger than anticipated for the pic which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival last month and is clearly flexing its franchise prowess. The film had an 8% increase Saturday, bringing out families. But Prometheus is certainly not a disappointment. The feature also had better than expected numbers. Internationally, the pic stood at $91.5 million over the weekend after nearly two weeks in release in some territories and its IMAX $9.1 million total is a June record.
more »
This just in from Disney HQ: After bashing records across the globe, The Avengers will go from puny Earthbound box office domination to the final frontier, screening for six lucky multinational cosmonauts currently in orbit: "Marvel Studios announced today that they arranged with NASA to transfer their record-breaking blockbuster film Marvel’s The Avengers to NASA’s Mission Control in Houston, which will uplink the film to the International Space Station (ISS), currently orbiting 220 miles above Earth. The film will then be screened for the space station crew’s exclusive enjoyment." (Take that, Pentagon!) Keep an eye out for Loki up there fellas, eh? [Press release]
The Memorial Day frame wasn't one quite worth remembering for Will Smith, who walked away with the holiday's biggest opening almost by default as The Avengers waned — not a lot, but enough — in its fourth weekend. Meanwhile, the week's other wide release suffered a catastrophic B.O. meltdown en route to sixth place overall. Your special holiday-edition Weekend Receipts are here.
more »
Although Samuel L. Jackson has played S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, and the record-breaking Avengers, his portrayal of the cigar-chomping Marvel Comics government agent isn’t definitive to everyone. Like, say, to David Hasselhoff — Baywatch legend, Knight Rider icon, and star of the upcoming Piranha 3DD — who donned Fury’s signature eye patch and scowl in his own 1998 telefilm, earned Stan Lee’s blessing, and claims that his is the “ultimate” Nick Fury.
more »
Another Monday morning, and thus another look at what carnage The Avengers has wrought at the weekend box office. And while things aren't as bad as they may look at first for Battleship and the rest of the competition, they're not what you'd call pretty. Your Weekend Receipts are here.
more »
The Marvel Studios front office may be notoriously loaded with cheapskates who've built a multibillion-dollar empire from the ground up in less than five years thanks to thrifty dealmaking, but at least one star has done enough franchise grunt work to get paid for the record-shattering blockbuster that is The Avengers. And when I say "paid," I mean paid.
more »
Johnny Depp wanted his and Tim Burton's gothic vampire comedy Dark Shadows to be anything but Twilight. Mission accomplished, I suppose: The film fizzled into a very distant second place behind another jaw-dropping performance by The Avengers, which continued to rewrite the blockbuster history books in its second weekend. Your Weekend Receipts are here.
more »
Look, people: If you keep giving Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer money to make their cheap-o spoof flicks, they're going to keep the lowest common denominator drivel coming. Case in point: The Starving Games, the next in the duo's empire of big screen parodies, will take aim at Lionsgate's mega-hit The Hunger Games with a little something for every fanboy and girl. Variety reports: "Though The Hunger Games will be front and center for many of the jokes, other pics to be pilloried include The Avengers, Sherlock Holmes and the finale of the Harry Potter franchise." Ready, aim, spoof. [Variety]
Joss Whedon has always kept his devout cult following close, even as his projects have made it big (or not -- right, Dollhouse fans?). So with the mega-huge success of Avengers, maybe some of the Whedon faithful were right to worry that fame might alter their idol's true path -- the one that takes a step back from a big time Hollywood future to focus on Dr. Horrible 2 and homemade Shakespeare adaptations, for instance. And so Whedon took to his blog to thank the fans who'd been Whedonettes/Whedonheads/Whedonwhatevers all along, and also to link to a poop-related internet video he appeared in last week. Oh, that Joss.
more »
