Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • ‘Shang-Chi’ Third Film to Cross $400M Globally

    ‘Shang-Chi’ Third Film to Cross $400M Globally

    We’ve been keeping a close eye on box office numbers throughout the year, as the world slowly heals from the pandemic. The first positive developments were back in April when Godzilla vs. Kong managed to beat expectations. As everyone focused on hybrid releases, F9: The Fast Saga took the risk and proved its success. So, while Disney was hesitant with Black Widow, they were all-in with Shang-Chi. The more time passes, the more it looks like the risk paid off.

    The latest Marvel Studios release managed to garner another $9.1M throughout the weekend. While Venom: Let There Be Carnage faced a harsh drop in its second weekend, the MCU film managed to hold somewhat steady. With these numbers, it’s the third film to cross the $400M global box office mark. Officially, it has joined F9 and Godzilla vs. Kong. It’s great to see the film continue to perform well and it still has some time before it releases on Disney+.

    The film currently earned $189.1M internationally and stands at $401.6M globally. We also have to keep in mind that it joined two other films that had the advantage of releasing in China. While there were hints it might find its way there, it seems more and more unlikely as time goes by. We still have no Chinese release date for the next two entries, Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home. So, it’s no small accomplishment for Shang-Chi to garner the amount it has at the international box office.

    Source: Twitter, Twitter (BOReport)

  • ‘Black Widow’s Family Dinner Scene Almost Didn’t Happen

    ‘Black Widow’s Family Dinner Scene Almost Didn’t Happen

    Black Widow has recently been released on Disney+ for all subscribers to watch. The film finally gave Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff her own story to explore the past she believed she could leave behind. It introduced us to her extended family with Yelena Belova, Alexei Shostakov, and Melina Vostokoff. It explores this dysfunctional family and how their relationship continued to live on even after they had to flee the United States. It all culminated in one of the most memorable scenes of the entire film, but it seems it almost didn’t make it in.

    Director Cate Shortland sat down with Empire to discuss her work on the film and revealed that the famous dinner scene almost didn’t make it into the film. It seems they had a hard time nailing down the dynamic and considered taking it out. Yet, it was Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige who insisted that they keep it in. As she highlights:

    He doesn’t give you many directives, he’s very free. But that was a scene he really felt needed to be in the film, and Scarlett and I kept fighting him on it, saying, ‘How will this ever work?’ But it became a very alive thing. You’ve got this bunch of people shipwrecked together, who are still desperately trying to cling onto the roles that they had in Ohio, because that’s all they know. That’s all they have. And it’s beautiful for me

    Cate Shortland

    Considering it was one of the most emotionally resonant scenes in the film, it was great that Feige pushed for it to make it in. It’s the strange relationship that exists, as they saw each other as a family unit while living in Ohio. It was quickly ripped apart when their secret was uncovered and Alexei’s obsession with fame left a dent in their relationship. Now, they were trying to make amends before they face the Red Room together, as a family. The film might not have been the same without it.

    Source: Empire

  • The Pulse: Collecting the Biggest News of the Week of October 3rd-9th

    The Pulse: Collecting the Biggest News of the Week of October 3rd-9th

    Jake Gyllenhaal to Lead ‘Prophet’ Adaptation

    Prophet Movie to Adapt Deadpool Creator Rob Liefeld's Comic - Den of Geek

    Jake Gyllenhaal has his hands full. In addition to being the lead of the upcoming Oblivion Song film, we learned this week that he’ll be working with Extraction director Sam Hargrave to bring Rob Leifeld’s Prophet to live-action. Prophet is sort of a Captain America analogue from Image Comics and what’ll be most interesting here is to see if the character will have feet.

    Ultron Bots and the Illuminati

    A juicy rumor popped up this week that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would feature some Ultron bots from another reality. It was quickly followed up by the appearance of some leaked concept art that furthers the speculation that the film will feature a version of the Illuminati and that Charles Xavier will be a part of that group. We know Marvel Studios was, at one point, developing an Illuminati series for Disney Plus so they are eager to introduce the group so maybe this is our introduction to the secret society.

    James Gunn Back for More DC Action

    Why Krypto Matters | DC

    James Gunn’s move to DC has been fruitful for both parties. Fans and critics loved The Suicide Squad and Gunn spun a Peacemaker series, set to debut in January, out of that film. Now the director says he’s got another project in the pipeline, though he’s not tipping his hand just yet. Certainly it’s not Krypto…

    Agatha Harkness Spinoff Headed to Disney Plus

    WandaVision Secrets Behind Filming Musical Number 'Agatha All Along' Revealed

    Most fans knew it was Agatha all along way before the song hit but the reveal that Kathryn Hahn’s character was a 300+ year old power stealing witch was still done well and left a lot of gaps to be filled in. Now Marvel Studios might be able to fill in those gaps in a new Agatha-centric series in development for Disney Plus.

    Hello There!

    Hello There: The Obi-Wan Kenobi Show Is Officially Happening

    A new rumor suggests that Star Wars fans will be reuniting with an old friend next May (May 4th is a Wednesday, afterall) when the streaming series Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts. Previous rumors had it in March (?) but a release on May the Fourth Be With You Day is pretty sweet!

  • Kingsley Ben-Adir Talks Marvel Training to Keep ‘Secret Invasion’s Secrets

    Kingsley Ben-Adir Talks Marvel Training to Keep ‘Secret Invasion’s Secrets

    Marvel Studios has been infamous for trying to keep a tight-lip on all their projects. Still, sometimes things find their way online. There are bigger rumors, such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to introduce the world to Namor the Sub-Mariner, or the small tidbit here and there. We’ve wondered if they’d start tightening up security on their projects, and it seems they are very adamant about keeping Secret Invasion as much of a secret as they can.

    We learned back in March that Kingsley Ben-Adir will play a villainous role in the Disney+ series. Of course, people have been using the chance to find out who exactly he is playing. At the 2021 GQ Men of the Year awards, he was interviewed on the series but gave a rather interesting answer. It seems that Marvel Studios is training their actors to keep a tight lip on their projects.

    We’re figuring it out at the moment. They’ve been training us not to talk for like six months. As soon as you asked that, I’ve just got in my head this Marvel robot saying, ‘Don’t talk, don’t say anything, say nothing, lie.’ So I don’t know.

    Kingsley Ben-Adir

    There’s a good chance this is also reactionary by Marvel Studios due to some actors openly talking about spoilers. Alfred Molina famously outright confirmed his return to Spider-Man: No Way Home back in April, which most likely also sparked his appearance in the film’s first trailer. There was also the time Russel Crowe openly talked about playing Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder without a care in the world. A project with the title Secret Invasion might require an extra amount of secrecy to ensure it releases spoiler-free.

    Source: Twitter via The Direct

  • ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Faces Harsh Drop in Second Weekend

    ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Faces Harsh Drop in Second Weekend

    The numbers are in and Venom: Let There Be Carnage seems to be facing a harsh drop in its second weekend. The sequel pulled in around $8.85M this Friday, which is a drop of 76%. As of now, the film is eyeing around $32.49M, which puts it at a total drop of around 64%. In comparison, the first Venom was able to hold at around 9.8M in 2018. It had less competition at the time, as its sequel faces off against the final Daniel Craig-led James Bond film, No Time to Die. It’s only slightly below Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s 62% back in 2017. It may potentially have a leggier run just like the Spidey flick. Still, for now, the film is eyeing a 30M second weekend.

    Right now, it seems like the film could manage around $180M by the end of its run. It managed to pass the $100M mark in just a few days and was on par with Shang-Chi‘s developments after premiering with $90M. There’s a chance it could hit the $200M range if it has a similar multiplier like Black Widow, but the following weeks will offer a clearer picture.

    No Time To Die is eyeing the top spot with a $60M but is also far behind earlier expectations. Still, Forbes’ Scott Mendelsohn highlights that its current development is on par with pre-pandemic only suffering around a 15% loss due to COVID. Its competition, Shang-Chi and Addams Family 2 were still holding surprisingly firm over the weekend. The former even got a bit of a rebound this Friday and is eyeing a still-impressive $4.37M.

    Source: Forbes, Twitter

  • New ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Sicily Set Photos Offers First Look at Mads Mikkelsen

    New ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Sicily Set Photos Offers First Look at Mads Mikkelsen

    Lucasfilm has been quite busy developing its future Star Wars films. Yet, they are also continuing their work as a subsidiary of Disney to further explore other ventures, such as the next Indiana Jones project. We’ve had quite a few looks from the set in the past, but a set of new photos have found their way online. This time around, not only do we get a closer look at Harrison Ford wearing the iconic leather jacket, but also Mads Mikkelsen. The Daily Mail provided the brand new images from the set, as they are currently shooting in Sicily. They’ve resumed production after Ford hurt his shoulder on set.

    Back in May, we got our first bit of details on Mikkelsen‘s role in the fifth film. His look doesn’t give away anything, but the Danish actor is supposedly playing a former Nazi scientist. He ended up working on the moon landing alongside NASA. He won’t be alone, as he’ll get joined by another female villain in the film. Scarlett Johansson was offered the role, but it’s uncertain who took over the task moving forward. It’s great to see the film resume production after a three-month break and that Ford is healthy. It’s eyeing a July release next year. So, they have enough time to end principal photography as they prepare the latest entry in the Indiana Jones franchise.

    Source: Daily Mail

  • ‘No Time to Die’ Trailing Behind ‘Spectre’s Friday Domestic Opening

    ‘No Time to Die’ Trailing Behind ‘Spectre’s Friday Domestic Opening

    Here’s a surprising development. It seems that No Time to Die is slowing down faster than initially expected. While the earliest predictions believed it could be our first 2021 release to reach beyond $100M, recent numbers have gone down a bit with it resting around a potential $84M. After kicking off early previews with $6.4M ahead of Spectre, but it looks like it couldn’t keep up the momentum over the weekend. It managed to garner a total of $23.3M over Friday, which puts it behind Spectre’s opening of $27.4M. To give a comparison, the latter opened with $5.25M in previews.

    It’s not a bad opening for the film, as it’s still close to the previous James Bond film, and is also ahead of other spy-inspired projects like Jason Bourne and Mission Impossible: Fallout. The first kicked off its Friday with $22.6M and garnered $59M, while the latter was only slightly higher. As of now, the weekend is generally lower than expectations especially due to the project’s target audiences skewing older.

    Still, the film is the lowest opening for a James Bond film since Casino Royale, which made a debut with $14M. The highest earner was Skyfall in the franchise, which managed around $33M. It’s still surprising given how hard the ad campaign was pushing this as their equivalent to Avengers: Endgame. The challenge will be to see where the film ends up. Right now, it’s potentially eyeing at a lower weekend than expected, but it’s the highest non-superhero grosser since F9.

    Source: Forbes

  • Evangeline Lilly Talks How ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s Script Embraces Chaos Theory

    Evangeline Lilly Talks How ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s Script Embraces Chaos Theory

    Peyton Reed is currently filming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in London with a cast including Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jonathan Majors. With the latter confirmed as the villain Kang the Conqueror, it will seemingly continue elements of Loki’s finale where He Who Remains, a Kang variant from another universe, was murdered. His death unleashed the chaos of the multiverse upon the once Sacred Timeline. 

    Evangeline Lilly is also currently promoting her indie-thriller South of Heaven. In an interview with Collider, she naturally was asked some questions about the Ant-Man and the Wasp sequel. She spoke with particular fondness about Jeff Loveness, the writer of the third Ant-Man film, who she suggested had written the best script so far for the franchise.

    I think he is phenomenal. I think he’s one of the best writers we’ve ever had. I think he’s got an incredible mastery of voice. So, on the page, I could hear all the characters, and I knew that he’d really kind of harnessed each person’s unique personality. I just think that it’s going to be really special. I actually think it has the chance to be the best one we’ve done yet.

    Evangeline Lilly

    Lilly also spoke about watching the Marvel Studios Disney+ series. In particular, she spoke about being excited by the science behind the multiverse: 

    The science geek in me loves that element of how smart they are and how they tackle such enormous topics that most kind of fluff popcorn movies are not going to tackle. They tackled chaos theory. That’s really brave and really bold and really cool.” […] And the fact that when we explore the two sides to chaos theory, it’s two sides of the same person, is so good.

    Evangeline Lilly

    Intriguingly, Lilly spoke about chaos theory specifically while praising the Quantumania script. While we don’t have any hints about the storyline in the third entry, the fact that Jonathan Majors is reprising his role as a variant of the character we met in the finale of Loki suggests that they might crossover. The series also has a second season in the works, which may explore the fallout of these events. It will be exciting to see how the film blends its usual themes of “family” with the wider impact of the multiverse. 

    Sources: Collider. 

  • New ‘The Batman’ LEGO Teases Batcave and a New Alter-Ego

    New ‘The Batman’ LEGO Teases Batcave and a New Alter-Ego

    DC FanDome is just around the corner and will finally give us a brand new look at the upcoming The Batman film. Matt Reeve’s new take on the Caped Crusader has garnered quite a bit of attention when the first trailer dropped last year. Once the pandemic calmed down, Reeve‘s and his team returned to bring the latest incarnation of the character to life. It’s been quiet since, but luckily to tie us until FanDome, LEGO provided us with some new products.

    There are four sets revealed. Two of them are focused on chasing down Selina Kyle and the Penguin. We even get a Lego Technic version of the new Batmobile, which is going to be popular with collectors. Yet, the one piece that truly sticks out is the “Batcave: The Riddler Face-off” kit. As the name implies it highlights the Batcave as its main location. What stands out is that it confirms it’s part of a train station with Wayne’s name attached. They may have changed up their origin story and moved it away from Wayne Manor. That’s not all, as it also includes a rather curious detail of Bruce Wayne also going by a different alter-ego, Drifter.

    Image

    LEGO sets commonly don’t represent the films. Otherwise, we would’ve had a pretty cool fight between Iron Man and Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin. Still, it offers a glimpse into the upcoming film. A detail like Bruce Wayne being called the Drifter does hint that he isn’t always running around in cape and cowl. Perhaps it’s a new identity that he takes when he’s on patrol before grabbing his Batsuit to take on more dangerous foes.

    We’re in Year 2 of his career. So, it’s a curious addition. The Riddler also seems to have a unique design in this compared to the first trailer. It’s likely they made it a bit more child-friendly, but this set doesn’t confirm if he’ll actually enter the Batcave at any point in the story. It’s a great little glimpse and we hope to get the second trailer at FanDome.

    Source: ComicBook, Twitter

  • ‘No Time To Die’ Premieres With $6.8M, Now Eyeing $84M Domestic Weekend

    ‘No Time To Die’ Premieres With $6.8M, Now Eyeing $84M Domestic Weekend

    There have been some surprise numbers coming out of the box office in the last few months. There has been quite a bit of uncertainty due to the Delta Variant spreading across the world, but the domestic box office has slowly recovered through theater-only releases beating expectations. Venom: Let There Be Carnage even managed to take the top spot in the box office beating out both Black Widow and Shang-Chi. Now, it seems the last Daniel-Craig-led James Bond film is on track to outperform its previous franchise entries.

    Thursday preview numbers are in and the film that once was going to release in April 2020 has garnered around $6.3M. Yes, it’s behind the Venom sequel’s $11.6M and Shang-Chi‘s $8.8M, but it’s a new best for the franchise. This is primarily due to the target audience of the franchise skewing older. It beat out the last entry, Spectre, which opened to around $5.25M and ended up earning $70M in its domestic launch. So, there’s a good chance the film will end up at around $84M once the weekend is over.

    Now, these numbers are quite different from the previous report. CNBC predicted that the film would become 2021’s first $100M domestic opening. While it’s looking good that the film will pass $150M worldwide, it’s still an impressive start for the franchise. F9 had a strong showing in its Thursday previews but ended with $70M when it was released. So, it’ll be interesting to see where exactly this latest entry ends up.

    Source: Forbes