The Summer Movie Season Kicks Off With A Bang!

Key Words

Domestic - America and Canada.

Foreign- The rest of the world.

Opening Weekend- The film's 3 days of release ranging from Friday to Sunday.

The summer movie season had officially commenced about three weeks ago. The movie season kicked off with the film Fast Five, which is the fifth installment in the Fast and the Furious Franchise. Fast Five marks the 10th Anniversary of the popular franchise. Fast Five has been extreamly successful worldwide and domestically, as it has made a total of $531 million so far. Its the most successful film in the 10-year franchise critically and financially.

Thor commenced a week later and was just as successful globally and domestically with a current total of $411 million. Thor's current total is still set to increase.

   

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opened 2 weeks after Thor to a roaring success, so far making $470 million in the foreign market and $163 million in the domestic market, with a worldwide intake of $634 million in just 11 days. This total is set to increase drastically in the weeks to come, but the question is: Will Captain Jack Sparrow's 4th outing make over a billion dollars? seeing that it's doing extreamly well especially in the foreign market.

 

Opening a week after pirates, were The Hangover Part 2 and Kung Fu Panda 2. These two big blockbuster sequels had been pitted against one another by opening on the same day. Many box office analysts wondered which film would open at number 1. The answer eventually came as the Hangover Part 2 opened at number 1 making $86 million in it's opening weekend at the domestic box office. It has so far made $137 million domestically and $59 million in the foreign market, bringing it's worldwide total to $196 million in just 5 days of release. It's foreign total is a little bit low because it hasn't opened in many foreign countries yet.

The 2nd Hangover film has made double of what the 1st film made in it's opening weekend.

Po the panda has lost some weight, as Kung Fu Panda 2 opened 2nd place, with an opening weekend of $47 million domestically. This was a significant drop from the first film's $60 million domestic opening weekend 3 years ago. Panda 2's average opening could've occurred because of it's unconvincing yet boring marketing. The film hasn't opened in many foreign countries yet, but it has already made $57 million in the foreign market in just 5 days.

It's 5 day domestic total stands at $68 million, bringing it's worldwide total to $125 million, which is actually not bad. I'm sure the film will hold off well in the days to come (just like the 3rd the Narnia film did last year domestically) and it's foreign intake should be sky high when it opens in most of the foreign market countries next week. This sequel is set to beat it's predecessor, and it's foreign intake will allow it to, as the first film was amazingly popular in this market 3 years back, so why not it's sequel.

 

 

 

Opening this Friday worldwide is the X-men prequel titled X-Men: First Class. The film is poised to be successful due to it's convincing marketing and it being part of a popular franchise. The film has so far received positive reviews from critics, so positive word of mouth may also result in this film's success. The film tells the origin story of how the very first x men formed and how Professor X and Magneto meet, become friends then enemies. The villains in the film are Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost and Azazel. This film should be an interesting origin tale. The question is: How well will this film do in it's opening weekend and overall? Let's just wait and see starting this Friday. 

 

 

   

Don't forget to comment and give your own opinions! 

The Dark Knight Rises: The Villains Revealed

After a long time of speculating who the villain or villains of the new upcoming Batman sequel would be, Warner Bros. finally revealed who the villains are, and who they will be played by.

Warner Bros. revealed that there will be two villains in the film. One villain will be played by Tom Hardy (who was cast in the film back in October), and the other villain will be played by Anne Hathaway.

When it was announced that the director, Christopher Nolan was busy holding auditions for a female lead in the film, 6 actresses were on the short for the role which included: Keira Knightly, Rachel Weisz, Blake Lively, (who plays Serena on the hit TV series Gossip Girl), Natalie Portman (who had to drop out due to falling pregnant), Jessica Biel and of course Anne Hathaway, who eventually nabbed the part.
Many rumours were floating around, suggesting that this female lead role was either Talia Al Ghul, who is Ra's Al Ghul's (the villain from the first film played by Liam Neeson) daughter.
Other rumours included: Catwomen, Sarah Essen (who is some detective that falls for Commissioner Gorden), Julie Madison (Bruce Wayne's love interest) and finally Vikki Vale. 

Well, one of the rumours appears to be true, because Warner Bros. announced that Anne Hathaway will be playing none other than Selina Kyle, who's alter ego is Catwomen. 

Catwomen has appeared on the Big Screen before, she first appeared in the marvelous film, Batman Returns played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who gave one of the most stunning performances ever in this role.
Catwomen then appeared in her own film titled Catwomen which was a complete disaster, played poorly by Halle Berry.

Catwomen in Batman Returns played by Michelle Pfeiffer

   

Halle Berry as Catwomen in the title film.

Catwomen and her pet cat Isis in Batman The Animated Series.

When Tom Hardy was cast back in October, many rumours were floating around that he would play the Riddler, but Chris Nolan dismissed these rumours by saying that the Riddler won't even be in the film.
Rumours then went around saying that Hardy will be playing Dr. Hugo Strange, Black Mask or Deadshot.
None of those rumours were ever true, because Warner Bros. announced that Tom Hardy will be playing none other than the villain, Bane.
In the comics, Bane is a physically strong and muscular being, as well as highly intelligent.
Bane has appeared on the big screen before, but it wasn't a good and well remembered performance.
Bane appeared in the film, Batman and Robin played by the now deceased whestler, Jeep Swenson.
In the film, Bane is Poison Ivy's henchman and fellow protector. Many fans and critics were dissappointed by his portrayal, because he couldn't speak, all he did was growl, roar or snarl. The only word he was able to utter was his name, Bane. His role in the film was quite minor.
Bane also appeared in Baman: The Animated Series, only this time, was he true to his comic book counterpart. In Batman: The Animated Series, Bane is physically strong and muscular, as well as highly intelligent. He is an assassin hired by Rupert Thorne to take down Batman.

Bane (Played by Jeep Swenson) in Batman and Robin

  
Bane in Batman: The Animated Series

Animation Films that will be released in 2011

2011 also sees many great animation films coming to the big screen, as the release schedule includes a mix of highly anticipated sequels as well as original films.

Let's hope that these glorious films lives up to it's hype and that they are just as good as the animation films that were released in 2010.

First on the list is Gnomeo and Juliet, the film is based on Shakespeare's play: Romeo and Juliet, it has the same storyline as the play, but the only difference is that the characters are Garden Gnomes.

This film will released by Walt Disney Pictures in 3-D under their Touchstone banner.

Other animation films to be released by Disney this year includes the Robert Zemeckis produced Mars Needs Moms, which uses the motion capture technology just like the films A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express.  

Mars Needs Moms centres around a boy whose mom is kidnapped by martians. It's then up to this boy to rescue his mom from the clutches of the martians. 

Disney also plans to release a remake of Winnie the Pooh which will be in 2-D animation and not CGI 3-D animation like the rest of the animation films that will be released this year.

This film will be Disney's 51st Animated film.

I wonder what Disney and Pixar are planning this year?

Well, Pixar has gone sequel crazy because they've released or are planning to release many sequel films, such as the hugely successful Toy Story 3 which debuted last year, and pixar also plans to release a sequel to Monsters Inc. in 2012.

This year, pixar plans to release Cars 2, which is a sequel to their 2006 film Cars.

Cars 2 centres around Lightning McQueen and his friends who travels overseas in order to take part in the first ever World Grand Prix. While there, Lightning McQueen's friend Mater gets tangled up in an adventure of his own: International Spying.

Disney also plans to release a remake of The Muppets (which will be released on the 23 November 2011) as well as a sequel to Enchanted, but the release date is unknown.

Going over to Dreamworks Animation, they plan on releasing two animated films this year:

• Kung Fu Panda 2, which is the sequel to the 2008 Smash Hit, Kung Fu Panda. this film follows Po, Master Shifu, The Furious Five as well as other Kung Fu Masters who joins forces in order to defeat the villinous Lord Shen, a Peacock.

Puss In Boots, which is a spin off to the Shrek Films. This film centres around the character of Puss in Boots from the Shrek Films and his adventures before his appearance in Shrek 2.                  

          

  

Fox Animation Studios plans on releasing a film called Rio which centres around a rare bird, who travels to Rio de Janeiro after finding out that another of his kind lives there.

The plot of the film is as follows: 

"Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) is a rare species of blue macaw resident at a bookstore in Minnesota, who is the last of his kind. When scientists learn that another macaw was spotted in South America, and that the macaw, Jewel (Anne Hathaway), is female, they take him out of Minnesota and send him to Rio de Janeiro to meet her. While there, he learns to confront his fear of flying in order to win her heart. Along the way, they get kidnapped by poachers to sell them to get a fortune. After they escape, they try to avoid the thieves with help from Rafael, a wise Toucan (George Lopez), Luiz, a chainsaw "professional" bulldog (Tracy Morgan), Linda, Blu's owner (Leslie Mann), Hoagie, a silly marmoset (Wanda Sykes), Marco, a redhead bird (will.i.am) and Bobby, a small yellow canary (Jamie Foxx), and also avoid the theives' pet cockatoo, Nigel (Jemaine Clement)."

Pirates of the Caribbean Director, Gore Verbinski makes his animation debut with a film called Rango, starring Johnny Depp as the title character. In the film, Rango is a pet chameleon who lives in a terrarium. He has long thought himself a hero, but then finds himself removed from his contemporary American southwest surroundings and ending up in an Old West town called Dirt, which is populated by various desert critters garbed like characters out of a spaghetti western. As he's always thought himself a hero, Rango establishes himself as the lawman, strolling the streets as a sheriff-like character. Unknown to him, the "good guy" role doesn't do very well in Dirt -- with a whole cemetery filled with good guy tombstones. But that doesn't stop Rango from trying, constantly seeking to fit in with his surroundings, no matter how challenging. At a certain point in the narrative, Rango will come to question everything about himself.

The success of the 2006 film Happy Feet has led Warner Bros. Animation to make a sequel titled: Happy Feet 2. The plot details of the films remains unknown, but the cast from the first film are all back including new cast members as well.

Steven Spielberg is back this year, but this time, he is directing an animated film called The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn. This film is based on the comic strip series: The Adventures of Tintin and the film uses the Motion Capture Technology and it's being produced by The Lord of the Rings director, Peter Jackson.  

The Plot is as follows:

Tintin ( Played by Jamie Bell) and his loyal dog Snowy as they attempt to help their friend, Captain Haddock (Played by Andy Serkis), retrieve a family treasure.

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn is the first animated film to be directed by Steven Spielberg. 

Lastly, a film called Arthur Christmas which revolves around Santa's son, Arthur Christmas, who must complete a mission before the Christmas morning.        

All of these animated films that I've mentioned, will all be released in 3-D except Winnie the Pooh and Rango.

The release dates of these films are as follows:

• Gnomeo and Juliet - 11 February 2011
• Rango - 4 March 2011
• Mars Needs Moms -  11 March 2011
• Kunf Fu Panda 2 - 27 May 2011 
• Cars 2 - 24 June 2011 
• Rio - 15 April 2011 
• Puss in Boots - 4 November 2011 
• Winnie the Pooh -  15 July 2011 
• The Muppets - 23 November 2011
• Happy Feet 2 - 18 November 2011 
•   The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn - 23 December 2011 
• Arthur Christmas - 23 November 2011 

Films in 2011

In this year, 2011 many new films will be released worldwide ranging from: Sequels, Prequels, Remakes, Reboots, Films based on novels or on some other form of material , and of course, Films based on an original idea.  
With so many great films being released this year, we can't help but wonder what the silver screen has in store for us this year.
Therefore, we will be discussing the most anticipated films that many are dying to see this year.
This year also sees many Comic Book Films such as: X-Men: First Class, Thor, Green Lantern, and  Captain America: The First Avenger 
The most anticipated sequels for this year are: Pirates of the Carribbean 4 (which is actually titled: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), The Hangover 2,  Kung Fu Panda 2, The Fast and the Furious 5 (Actually titled: Fast Five),  Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (AKA: Big Momma's House 3), Scream 4, Cars 2, Transformers 3 (titled: Transformers: Dark of the Moon), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World, Johnny English Reborn, Final Destination 5, Piranha 3DD (AKA: Piranha 2), Paranormal Activity 3, Happy Feet 2, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, Valentine's Day 2 (which will be called New Year's Eve), Mission Impossible 4 (titled:  Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol), Sherlock Holmes 2 and of course, Alvin and Chipmunks 3.

The most anticipated Prequels for this year are: Rise of the Apes, which is a prequel as well as a reboot or a remake of the Planet of the Apes franchise. This film will be the first entry in a new Planet of the Apes Franchise. Another anticipated prequel to be released this year is a film called The Thing.

The most anticipated remakes for this year are: Footloose and The Three Musketeers.

The most anticipated films based on original ideas are: Drive Angry, Sucker Punch, Cowboys & Aliens, and of course Super 8.

The most anticpated films based on novels or on some other form of material are:  The Green Hornet, Sanctum, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, Battle: Los Angeles,  Mars Needs Moms, The Smurfs, Puss in Boots, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, War Horse and of course, Beastly.

There are many other great films that will be released this year, but I couldn't list all of them because then it would've taken me even longer.
I will, however, be listing them in future posts and I will also be analysing and discussing most of the films that I've listed on this post in future posts.

To new Beginnings

Welcome to the Film Fever blog which discusses topics relating to films.
This blog reviews and disscusses films on circuit, upcoming films, forthcoming films and anything else relating to film.
I will be reviewing and discussing all kinds of films such as: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Sci Fi, Horror, Drama, Thriller, Suspence, Musical, and of course, Animation.
Other topics relating to film will also be disscused.
So get your Popcorn and Soda ready. :)