Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • ‘Eternals’ Nabs $9.5 in Thursday Previews, Third Best of the Pandemic

    ‘Eternals’ Nabs $9.5 in Thursday Previews, Third Best of the Pandemic

    All eyes are on Marvel Studios’ venture into the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s history with indie darling Chloé Zhao‘s attempt at a grounded epic about eternal beings. After its initial critical reception ending up as the studio’s first rotten scored film on Rotten Tomatoes, it made many wonders what it means for the film’s box office performance. In a way, there’s the discussion if the Marvel brand can sustain its position at the box office even if hit by a mixed reception, and the star-power of the project.

    Luckily, as we’re about to enter the weekend we got a glimpse at its performance through its initial Thursday previews. Box office analyst Charlie Jatinder shared his findings that offer a better understanding of where the film is currently heading. The latest predictions had it at a strong $150M worldwide opening, but it’s looking like it might pass them if it keeps up the momentum going into the weekend. As of now, it earned $9.5M in Thursday previews through the US and Canada. So, it’s now nearing an $85M with its international release following the same trend currently.

    As Deadline points it, it currently is the third-best earner in its Thursday previews. Currently, Black Widow holds the top spot with $13.2M followed by Venom: Let There Be Carnage‘s $11.6M. The latter went on to surpass the former’s overall opening weekend. So, the big showcase will be how the film holds over going into Saturday. Shang-Chi earned $8.8M in its previews and the latest release is ahead of pre-pandemic releases of Doctor Strange and Thor: The Dark World. Overall reception is at 86% with audiences which is a far cry from its current 50% on Rotten Tomatoes.

    Source: Twitter, Deadline, Forbes

  • ‘IT’s Bill Skarsgård Voices Deviant Kro in ‘Eternals’

    ‘IT’s Bill Skarsgård Voices Deviant Kro in ‘Eternals’

    Quite a few mysteries were surrounding the main Deviant from Chloé Zhao‘s Eternals. The biggest was Marvel Studios reluctance to share the identity of who was bringing him to life. In September, a statement by Dan Stevens made it seem like he was going to tackle the character in the upcoming film. Now that the film has finally been released, the cat is out of the bag and it turns out IT‘s Bill Skarsgård was the one to bring the character to life on the silver screen.

    It’s a curious detail that Marvel Studios still hasn’t announced the voice behind Kro even though he’s quite a big name to tackle the character. There’s a chance that the role was just considered too small to promote his involvement, as they might want to reuse the actor for a different role later down the line.

    If they aren’t putting a strong focus on his inclusion in the film, it makes you wonder what other role they might have in mind for the actor. Gemma Chan returned after a previous appearance in this to take on the role of Sersi. So, it’s quite possible he’ll make a return in a future project. they simply decided to put their main focus on the main ensemble cast of ten characters.

    Source: Comic Book

  • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Poster Spotted on a Bus

    ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Poster Spotted on a Bus

    Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s marketing has been surprisingly subtle with only a trailer releasing so far. Surprisingly, we never got an official poster for the film and have been anxiously awaiting any news on the second trailer. Most of the film’s first looks focus primarily on his connection to Doctor Strange, and his confrontation with Alfred Molina‘s return as Doc Ock. While there’s still no sight on that second trailer, we did finally got a poster. Well, it’s not an official release just yet but it was found by Redditor BananaBreadGabe on the side of a bus.

    New Spider-Man NWH poster spotted on bus
    byu/BananaBreadGabe inMarvelStudiosSpoilers

    The Direct offered a closer look at the poster’s design:

    Of course, the film has quite a few eyes on it due to the return of classic Spider-Man characters. In addition to Molina, the first trailer did tease William Dafoe‘s Green Goblin, nand we know Jamie Foxx is returning as Electro in the project. Of course, the potential of the original Spideys from the previous film incarnations joining the project has added an extra layer of curiosity if they might appear in any future advertising.

    It’s strange we didn’t get this poster released earlier, as it doesn’t reveal anything we haven’t seen in the initial trailer. The design from Doc Ock’s perspective is great, as it also means they can expand upon it with every different villain taking a stab at our favorite webhead. Of course, there’s the question if the rumors surrounding Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield might also get a spotlight before the film releases, or they’ll keep it in their backpocket for afterwards. The second trailer might give us a hint at how they’re tackling the advertising.

    Source: Reddit, Twitter

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Tyler Perry’s Sistas’ Zatima Spinoff Ordered to Series

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Tyler Perry’s Sistas’ Zatima Spinoff Ordered to Series

    We have a treat for fans of Tyler Perry’s Sistas. There was a lot of pull for DeVale Ellis‘ Zac and Crystal Hayslett‘s Fatima to get together and it wasn’t until the third season’s midseason finale that Zac confessed and “Zatima” was born. Their popularity made them fan-favorites and it looks like Tyler Perry wants to explore their relationship a bit more, as we can exclusively share that a series focused on the two is currently in development.

    Perry will return as director and writer for the series that is currently eyeing a production start in December. It’s perfect timing as Sistas recently got renewed for a fourth season by BET. The new series is currently going to run for ten episodes with BET+ and Tyler Perry Studios involved with the production. Perry has worked on quite a few TV series including House of Payne, Young Dylan, The Oval, and many more. Sistas started in 2019, the same year as The Oval.

    It’s great to see how much momentum the show has built over the years. While DeVale Ellis has been playing Zac since the series began, Crystal Hayslett‘s Fatima Wilson only had a recurring role during the first season before joining as a regular in its second. Perry has worked on quite a few TV series including House of Payne, Young Dylan, The Oval, and many more. Sistas started in 2019, the same year as The Oval which was quite a busy year for the producer, actor, and director.

  • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Delayed Until January in the Philippines

    ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Delayed Until January in the Philippines

    It looks like Spider-Man: No Way Home is facing some delays after all, but this time only in a few select markets. Columbia Pictures Philippines has shared a Facebook post that includes the upcoming release dates for upcoming Sony films. Sneakily, it confirms that the upcoming Spider-Man threequel won’t release until January 8th. As the film will feature some heavy spoilers, there was an instant petition launched to make sure it releases in December, after all, to get the release on the same day as the rest of the world.

    Ist möglicherweise ein Bild von Text „WELCOME BACK TO THE CINEMAS! DON'T BREATHE2 NOVEMBER 17, 2021 VENOM ETTHEE ARNAGE DECEMBER 8, 2021 RESIDENTEVIL DECEMBER 15, 2021 STUOIOS SPIDER-MAN -MAN No Way HomE JANUARY 8, 2022 GHESTBUSTERS AFTERLIFE JANUARY 26, 2022 FEBRUARY 9,2022 天 FEBRUARY 23, 2022“

    The country is generally getting quite a few projects much later than in other markets. Venom: Let There Be Carnage won’t release until December 8th while Ghostbusters: Afterlife is eyeing a release in January. So, there’s a good chance it didn’t have a release date until recently due to the pandemic. So, it’s very likely a delay that was going to happen either way. Understandably, locals want it to release earlier to avoid any spoilers that will very likely leak online the moment it’s in theaters.

    Source: Facebook via The Direct, Twitter

  • ‘Black Adam’ Producer Teases Future Plans for New Franchise

    ‘Black Adam’ Producer Teases Future Plans for New Franchise

    Dwayne Johnson is about to change the heroic landscape with his arrival as Black Adam. The first teaser finally dropped during DC FanDome, and it included a few teases of the film’s version of the Justice Society of America. It looks like they might also have some plans, as Johnson’s partner and one of the film’s producers Hiram Garcia offered some insight into what their plan is going into the project. In an interview with Variety, he shared the following:

    When we do something like this, we’re looking at the entire DC Universe as a whole because with our movie, not only do we introduce Black Adam, but we introduce several characters. We have great ambitions and plans for what we want to do in the DC Universe, and we’re starting to work on that now as we start to roll out that plan.

    Hiram Garcia

    He also jokingly talked bout how they want to see Gal Gadot‘s Wonder Woman face off against Black Adam, as Garcia believes she’s the only superhero that can go “toe-to-toe” with the fallen warrior of Shazam. They certainly would make for an interesting match-up, especially given their long history. They’ve teased Black Adam as more of an anti-hero.

    So, while the initial teaser showed him mercilessly killing a random soldier, we might get to learn about his softer side throughout the story. Diana is not just a warrior but also has the ability to find the good in people. So, it might turn into a battle of wits as much as it will be of brawn.

    Source: Variety via ComicBook

  • ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Box Office Passes the $400M Mark Worldwide

    ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Box Office Passes the $400M Mark Worldwide

    Even after some negative reception, the first Venom film garnered quite a bit of momentum at the box office. Looks like it’s the same case for its sequel Let There Be Carnage, as it just passed the $400M mark in its global box office. Domestically it garnered $191.6M and added another $212.5M internationally. So, there’s nothing in the way of a sequel announcement in the near future, especially if you consider Sony already added a few new Marvel listings to their upcoming release slate of 2023.

    Tom Hardy’s return as Eddie Brock led to the highest opening domestically with $90.1M. On top of that, it’s the second-best for an October release even from before the pandemic hit. It also had the strongest opening in Russia since theaters locked down and were Sony’s best performer there. With $31.4M it’s in the top ten earners of that market.

    It’s been doing quite well internationally, as its the second biggest opener in markets that includes Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Central America, Ecuador, and many more. Currently, it is tracking ahead of other block buster releases of the year, which is a good indicator that the market has finally been healing. A Chinese release however is uncertain even though the last film opened there to an impressive $269M. At this rate, it may near the $500M mark by the end of its run.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Star Wars: Visions’ Episode “The Village Bride” Qualifies for 2022’s Oscars

    ‘Star Wars: Visions’ Episode “The Village Bride” Qualifies for 2022’s Oscars

    Lucasfilm explored some new venues with this year’s release of Star Wars: Visions. They worked with various famous Anime studios that each got the chance to create stories that are inspired by the famous franchise. It offered quite a diverse selection of stories, such as a rock opera featuring familiar characters from the original trilogy. Well, it seems that one of the many shorts is now qualified to get an Oscar nomination for 2022.

    CartoonBrew revealed the current list of 84 films that are up for a nomination. Disney is quite represented with their shorts Us Again, Nona, and Twenty Something. Hidden in the list at #80 is the Visions‘ episode by Hitoshi Haga titled The Village Bride. So far, it seems to be the only episode to nab a nomination in the Animated Short Films category.

    Source: CartoonBrew

  • ‘Us Again,’ ‘Nona’ and ‘Twenty Something’ Among 84 Animated Short Films Qualified for 2022’s Oscars

    ‘Us Again,’ ‘Nona’ and ‘Twenty Something’ Among 84 Animated Short Films Qualified for 2022’s Oscars

    The Oscars pull in a lot of eyes from around the world. It’s about celebrating films, no matter if it’s an animated film, drama, comedy, or musical. Among the many categories is also the famous celebrated short films. There’s still some time until the event happens, but it seems that a qualifying list has found its way online. CartoonBrew shared the qualifying list which contains 84 short films up for the nomination.

    They do name comparison to last year’s 96 nominated shorts, which, to be fair, was an all-time record. The qualification period was also shortened by two months due to the pandemic. The list contains quite a few different shorts from all over the world like Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman’s Apprentice, Barking Orders, The Boy and the Mountain, Monster Pets: A Hotel Transylvania Short, and many more. Disney+ is also represented with its shorts Us Again, as well as the Sparkshorts Nona and Twenty Something.

    There are three ways to get qualified for an Oscar nomination. It needs to be publicly exhibited in one of the U.S. cities under specific conditions. They can also take home an award at one of the designated festivals, or even a Student Academy Award. You can check the full list by clicking here.

    Source: Cartoon Brew

  • Playground Entertainment Adapting Korean Graphic Novel ‘Moms’

    Playground Entertainment Adapting Korean Graphic Novel ‘Moms’

    It looks like Playground Entertainment has set their sites on a new series, as Deadline reports they’ll bring the South Korean graphic novel Moms to life. Yeong-shin Ma‘s work is a story about three Korean women, who start to fight back against their loneliness where they risk their livelihoods for a more exciting life. It’s a story about the weight of expectation and being stuck in an unhealthy relationship.

    The book has garnered some critical acclaim as it won the Harvey Award for Best International Book. Ma wrote and illustrated the story after asking his mother about her life and thoughts. It opened up the gateways to explore what kind of things his mother faced without him realizing it. So, he explored the ups and downs of living as a middle-aged woman in South Korea.

    Playground Entertainment is currently developing a Starz drama titled Dangerous Liaisons and Peacock’s The Undeclared War. It is run by Colin Callender, who used to work at HBO Films and took his experience with him to this new production company. The book was acquired by Scott Huff and David Stern who are currently overseeing the project.

    Source: Deadline