Movie News Nuggets

  • Marvel.com announced today that Robert Downey, Jr. has signed on to appear in Avengers 2 (May 1, 2015) and Avengers 3  (TBD), but nothing on Iron Man 4. I cannot even imagine the amount they forked over to get him to do this, but it looks like what's now become his signature role will be continuing until at least 2018, ten years after the first Iron Man movie. He must be getting tired of this, right? Remember when he did mostly arthouse films and passion projects? Much as I like Tony Stark, I'd sure love to see a return to that RDJ someday.
  • In other superhero news, fans are reeling from the sudden "letting go" of Shailene Woodley from The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Having already filmed scenes as Mary-Jane and been the focus of some of the first set pics released, it was revealed just the other day that she's been cut from the film altogether. The latest is that Sony is reportedly now looking for a new actress to replace her for the third movie, citing Woodley's likely unavailability due to her upcoming sci-fi movie Divergent. Hmmm. Rumors are of course swirling about possible real reasons for the shake-up, and it certainly seems as if Sony is using the Divergent film as an excuse to get rid of her. Unhappiness with the performance, perhaps?
  • Finally, several highly anticipated release dates have been confirmed by Fox, including Dawn of the Planet of the Apes for July 15, 2014 (can't wait!), X-Men: Days of Future Past for May 23, 2014, and most surprisingly, Independence Day 2 on July 3, 2015. Even as somebody who considers the original a cheesy guilty pleasure, was anyone really calling for a sequel to Independence Day almost twenty years after the fact? Anyway, with that plus Avengers 2 and Star Wars: Episode VII set for 2015, that is going to be one mega summer movie season, isn't it?

BOX OFFICE 6/14-6/16: Man of Steel Takes Off

The new Superman movie got mixed reviews from the critics (56% Rotten Tomatoes, 55 Metacritic), but did some serious damage at the box office this weekend, for a total of $125.1 million since opening Thursday night. Earning an "A-" Cinemascore from crowds and playing 56% male, 44% female (a closer gender mix than usual for the genre) it's expected to cross $300 million easily by the end of its run. The other new release this weekend, This is the End, opened with $32.8 million total since Wednesday and a "B+" Cinemascore, which is fairly healthy for an R-rated comedy and is expected to stay strong and finish with $100 million or below, depending on the competition in the next few weeks.

TOP 5 3-DAY WEEKEND:

  1. Man of Steel- $113.1 million

  2. This is the End- $20.5 million

  3. Now You See Me- $10.3 million

  4. Fast & Furious 6- $9.4 million

  5. The Purge- $8.2 million