Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • ‘Shang-Chi’ Passes $200 Million Domestically

    ‘Shang-Chi’ Passes $200 Million Domestically

    Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has achieved a pandemic first.

    After topping the box office for four weeks, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has crossed $200 million at the domestic box office in its fifth week. The film officially crossed the mark on Thursday night, becoming the first film to achieve the milestone during the pandemic.

    Since being in theaters exclusively, Shang-Chi has secured countless box office records, with the most recent being surpassing Black Widow ($183.4 million) as the biggest movie of the year stateside. Black Widow, of course, was released simultaneously in theaters and through Disney+ Premier Access; it would finish its theatrical run at $183.4 million domestically and $379 million worldwide.

    As of right now, Shang-Chi is nearing $370 million at the global box office and may finally have some competition this weekend with the release of Venom: Let There be Carnage.

    Source: THR

  • ‘Venom: Let There be Carnage’ Earns $11.6 Million from Thursday Previews

    ‘Venom: Let There be Carnage’ Earns $11.6 Million from Thursday Previews

    Venom: Let There be Carnage is off to a an impressive start at the box office. Officially opening today, the film pulled in $11.6 million from Thursday previews. That is enough to best the first film, which took in $10 million during Thursday previews back in 2018. At the time, 2018’s Venom managed to break an October record with its opening numbers.

    Reports originally had the sequel on track for $60 million, however, with the preview numbers, it would seem Let There be Carnage is set to devour its competition.

    With strong word of mouth, Let There be Carnage could very well exceed the $60 million estimate and reach above $70 million in its opening weekend. Not only would that put it in line with the first film’s box office performance, pre-pandemic, it would also give it a shot at besting the openings of F9 ($70 million) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($75.4 million).

    Venom: Let There be Carnage is in theaters now.

  • ‘Shang-Chi’ Digital and Physical Release Dates Revealed

    ‘Shang-Chi’ Digital and Physical Release Dates Revealed

    Marvel Studios Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings has done better at the domestic box office than any film during the COVID-19 pandemic era; however, it’s yet to be released in many countries where theaters aren’t open, leaving fans waiting on a digital or home release. Shang-Chi was one of Disney’s first films to have a 45-day theatrical window, about half the time of the usual window, meaning fans wouldn’t have as long to wait and now we know exactly when the film will come available.

    Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings will make its digital debut on November 12th. This will include the film streaming for no additional charge on Disney Plus. It’s interesting timing as it’ll hit Disney Plus one week after their next big release, Eternals, bows exclusively in theaters, meaning the studio will generate some heavy buzz in November leading up to the November 24th streaming debut of their next Disney Plus series, Hawkeye. The month will end on November 30th with physical 4K, Blu-Ray and DVD copies hitting store shelves.

    Both the physical and digital copies will come with a heavy load of extras including a gag reel, director’s commentary, 11 deleted scenes and a couple of features centering on Shang-Chi and Wenwu.

  • Sam Raimi Opens Up on Why He Decided to Direct the ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel Even After ‘Spider-Man 3’s Heavy Backlash

    Sam Raimi Opens Up on Why He Decided to Direct the ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel Even After ‘Spider-Man 3’s Heavy Backlash

    Director Sam Raimi is well-known for directing the generally beloved and well-received original Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire as the titular hero. While the first two installments of the trilogy were standouts in the early days of comic book superhero movies, Spider-Man 3 received overall poor reviews from both fans and critics. The negative reception and backlash to the threequel halted plans for Raimi to direct the fourth film in the franchise. However, he is back to tackle Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In a recent interview, the director opened up about the stress of returning to helm another Marvel film:

    I didn’t know that I could face it again because it was so awful, having been the director of Spider-Man 3. The Internet was getting revved up and people disliked that movie and they sure let me know about it. So, it was difficult to take back on.

    Sam Raimi

    The Doctor Strange director, Scott Derrickson, ultimately backed out of the sequel due to creative differences. While the sting of Spider-Man 3 has certainly not gone away, Raimi ultimately decided to tackle Multiverse of Madness after learning that it had an opening:

    My agent called me and said, ‘They’re looking for a director at Marvel for this movie and your name came up. Would you be interested?’ And I thought, ‘I wonder if I could still do it.’ They’re really demanding, those types of pictures. And I felt, ‘Well, that’s reason enough.’ I’ve always really liked the character of Doctor Strange. He was not my favorite, but he was right up there with the favorites. I loved the first movie, I thought [director] Scott Derrickson did a wonderful job, an incredible job. So, I said, ‘Yeah.’ They left the character in a great place. I didn’t think I would be doing another superhero movie. it just happened.

    Sam Raimi

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is certainly a massive and highly-anticipated film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Raimi’s work on Spider-Man 3 may always remain infamous, taking on the challenge to direct the Doctor Strange sequel could serve as the director’s redemption story for superhero films. The second entry in the franchise is currently eyeing a March release.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Predictions Eyeing $40M to $60M+ Domestic Opening

    ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Predictions Eyeing $40M to $60M+ Domestic Opening

    The signs are getting better and better for the box office’s revival. After Shang-Chi dominated and James Bond‘s next film No Time to Die eyeing a great $90M international start, things are looking up for the industry. Now, early predictions are also hinting at some good numbers for Venom: Let There Be Carnage. It’s currently eyeing between $40M to $60M+ over the course of three days at 4,200 locations. These are great numbers

    Deadline also shared that the fan screenings were filmed to the brim this Monday, which adds some hope that it’ll surpass the higher end of its predictions. Shang-Chi originally was hovering around a $50M+ prediction before it managed to beat expectations. Let There Be Carnage is a theater-only release and that has proven quite successful. Even if the lowest predictions are closer to A Quiet Place 2‘s box office, it’s still showing a positive development within the market.

    The original Venom opened to the best domestic opening in October with $80.2M. While it was trumped by Joker a year later, it still was an impressive feat by the Spider-Man spinoff without the wallcrawler involved. It’s going up against The Addams Family 2 and The Many Saints of Newark, which will both have digital alternatives. The only question remains if Sony will be happy, even considering the current pandemic, with the sequel performing less than its first entry, especially with its initial Rotten Tomatoes rating by critics. Though, fans did quite enjoy it as it stands at 81% audience score. So, it might all depend on critic reactions and word-of-mouth to push the sequel.

    Source: Deadline, Rotten Tomatoes

  • Lee Majdoub to Return as Dr. Stone in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Sequel

    Lee Majdoub to Return as Dr. Stone in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Sequel

    Ever since the Sonic the Hedgehog sequel announced that Idris Elba would voice Knuckles, we haven’t heard much about the project. It’ll return to the little town of Green Hills, as Sonic tries to live a normal life with the Wachowskis. Yet, as the post-credit sequence of the first film teased, he’ll get wrapped up in more chaos from his former life. Of course, there’s also the disappearance of Dr. Robotnik into a mushroom dimension and his potential return. Luckily, it seems someone will be keeping his seat warm until his eventual return, as Lee Majdoub will officially return as Dr. Stone.

    His return does signal the potential appearance of Robotnik in the sequel. Jim Carrey‘s performance was a highlight of the first film, especially his dynamic with his assistant. The touch of using National Coffee Day to reference Robotnik’s love for his latte with steamed Austrian goatmilk. They made a great duo and there’s a lot of potentials to explore the vacuum left behind by the manic genius.

    They did work with the government in the first film. Perhaps his involvement could lead to the creation of GUN, which has also been teased some time ago. Robotnik’s drones might be useful in the right hands, and with the existence of little creatures running fast enough to create a sonic boom, they’d prepare for anything. It’s also a great way to integrate elements from Sonic Adventures 2 to expand the film’s adaptation of the character.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Eternals’ Actor Haaz Steiman Celebrates the Film’s LGBTQ+ Representation

    ‘Eternals’ Actor Haaz Steiman Celebrates the Film’s LGBTQ+ Representation

    When it comes to Marvel Studios’ Eternals, there are many reasons to be excited.

    Not only is the film directed by Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao, but it will also feature the studio’s first LGBTQ+ couple on the big screen. For LGBTQ+ fans who have sought representation in the MCU, this is a big deal. After the studio received pushback following its “first” gay character in Avengers: Endgame, Eternals will include a gay couple raising a family together. For actor Haaz Steiman it’s all incredibly exciting.

    Haaz will play the husband to Brian Tyree Henry‘s Phastos, something worth celebrating in its own right. However, the duo will also be seen raising a child together on screen and kissing – something not seen often in big Hollywood films, especially superhero ones. In a new interview for Out magazine, Haaz teased his excitement over the film.

    I feel lucky, and I’m grateful. And…I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I feel like Marvel, they were very smart to cast me in it. Because I got to humanize the hell out of it. I got to humanize an LGBTQ+ family and show how beautiful they are.

    Haaz Steiman

    Eternals is about a race of immortal beings with superhuman powers who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years, reunite to battle the evil Deviants. The film is written by Chloé Zhao, Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo. It will hit theaters exclusively on November 5th.

  • Alan Taylor Would Love a Director’s Cut of ‘Thor: The Dark World’

    Alan Taylor Would Love a Director’s Cut of ‘Thor: The Dark World’

    Veteran director Alan Taylor is currently riding high from the promotional tour of his new film The Many Saints of Newark, but that doesn’t mean he’s unwilling to revisit moments from his past. In a recent interview with Inverse, the filmmaker once again discussed his history working with Marvel Studios, a collaboration that resulted in the sequel, Thor: The Dark World. Taylor, who was selected to helm the second Thor feature after impressing the studio with his work on shows like Game of Thrones, shared his original cut of the story. The director has hinted at a plot that involved more “wonder”, and now, he thinks he’s like to see it come to fruition.

    I was cheering for Zack Snyder when he was doing that and thinking, Will he pull this off? This is amazing. I think every director was kind of rooting for that. I would love to, I mean to. Can you imagine that? They give me however many millions of dollars they gave him to go back in. Yeah, I don’t think I’m going to get that phone call.

    Alan Taylor

    It would seem the experimental “Snyder Cut”, a full-length re-release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, has given Taylor the spark he needed to find interest in going back to revisit his work with Marvel. In the same interview, he acknowledged his massive respect for Marvel boss Kevin Feige and the success of the MCU since his days with the company. While The Dark World doesn’t quite have the same widespread fanbase as Justice League, it would still be interesting to see what the original version of that story looked like. Unfortunately, with the MCU’s tightly woven web of interconnectivity already moving well beyond the year 2013, it seems unlikely Feige and crew would be willing to go back and change anything. Still, one never knows what the future may hold.

    Source: Inverse

  • Ravencraft Could Offer Enough Villains for Future ‘Venom’ Sequels

    Ravencraft Could Offer Enough Villains for Future ‘Venom’ Sequels

    The upcoming Venom sequel will introduce the world to his most iconic offspring, Carnage. Even as the franchise has not connected to Spider-Man, it is trying to build up its universe and rules. Of course, throwing out one of the biggest characters from the symbiote family in the second film seems like Sony is already showing their hand too early. Yet, director Andy Serkis believes that there’s enough to play around with for sequels. In an interview with ScreenRant, he teases that we might have just scratched the surface for potential villains.

    But I think there’s real mileage in some of the other supervillains that reside in Ravencroft. There’s such fertile ground to be uncovered there. That would be the sandbox I’d be really interested in playing. Who’s lurking in there that could break out?

    Andy Serkis

    It’s certainly curious and might be a good sign that the film’s hiding some Easter eggs once we enter Ravencroft. Trailers did show Carnage’s escape, which might be how some of these bad guys find their way onto the streets. So, Let There Be Carnage may also kickstart the franchise and introduce a variety of thugs for our favorite symbiote to take on. If they start connecting the universes, it would be interesting to see if they would also introduce a new host for Venom. Imagine Tom Hardy‘s Eddie Brock losing him to a character like Mac Gargan. They have built up their relationship quite a bit and seeing a fallout between them, only for Venom to realize how good he had it would make for some fun drama. Plus, they’d not rely too much on a symbiote vs. symbiote format for these films.

    Source: ScreenRant

  • Will Smith Explains Deadshot’s Absence in ‘The Suicide Squad’

    Will Smith Explains Deadshot’s Absence in ‘The Suicide Squad’

    Perhaps one of the brightest spots in the original Suicide Squad film was Will Smith, who played Floyd Lawton, AKA Deadshot. Smith however did not return for the follow-up, and initially was almost recast. Early reports indicated that Idris Elba would take over the role of Deadshot, but that ultimately didn’t pan out so that the door may be left often for Smith’s return. Elba would go on to play Robert Dubois, aka Bloodsport, with no mention of Deadshot in the film.

    Recently Smith participated in a special interview with GQ in which he’d gone incognito on social media to answer some of his fan’s questions. One of the many questions that came up was “Why is Will Smith’s Deadshot not in the Suicide Squad, Maybe bc he didn’t want to reprise the role??”. Smith responded to the question with the following quote.

    Yeah, I was working and they were ready to shoot. It was a timing issue, I can come back.

    It seems he was aware of the initial reports that the studio was eyeing Elba as his replacement, as he ask those around him about the status of Deadshot in the DCEU.

    They didn’t cast anybody in Deadshot? they left Deadshot out, right?…So Idris playing a different character he’s not playing, or is he playing Deadshot? Different character? Alright cool so I can come back!

    It’s great to see Smith so excited that the door is still open for him to return as Floyd Lawton, maybe in another Suicide Squad film or a potential Secret Six project. While there’s no current plan to bring Will Smith back in any upcoming project we sure hope he pops up again somewhere in the DCEU.

    SOURCE: GQ