While many are claiming the latest Ghost Rider film's opening weekend makes the film a failure, might it actually be a big win for star Nicolas Cage?
The estimates are in for the weekend and it appears that Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance has debuted in third place, with $22 million. In addtion, predictions are currently running at a $26-27 mil total for the four-day weekend, and I would personally predict a seven-day total of $30-32 mil.
It is without a doubt a soft opening for any Marvel-branded film, yet seems to fall well above the true bombs like 2008's Punisher: Warzone which debuted at just 4.2 mil and 2005's Elektra, which debuted at just $12.8 mil.
As the only Marvel film to debut in the 20 million range, its closest comparable films are the first two Blade films, whose opening weekends earned them $17 mil and $32 million respectively and went on to earn $70 mil and $82 mil in domestic totals.
And yet...
While this may be the Marvel brand's worst opening in several years, this is also star Nicolas Cage's biggest opener as a headlining star since 2009's Knowing, and the 10th biggest opening of his nearly 60-film career. This is especially worth noting because only 3.5 million dollars currently seperates this from being his 5th biggest opening instead of the 10th.
If that sticks out to you, it should -- five of his biggest hits opened smack dab in the middle of the 20 to 30 million dollar range. It is perhaps ironic then, that commentators have been claiming Cage's lack of star credibility as the reason for the film's weak opening when it is in fact an average debut weekend for the actor, and an uptick from his films in recent years.
So congratulations Mr. Cage, your career might be back on the rise... if the abysmal critical reception doesn't weigh you down.
Final Assessment:
It seems unlikely, but IF it can hold on to screens and audiences as well as the Blade duo and Knowing did, the film could potentially end it's run in the $70-80 mil range. If not, it should at least be able to top 50 mil.
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If possible, I'll do follow-up on Friday regarding the weekend actuals, the 7-day total, and the film's international earnings.
A Celebration of Marvel on Film.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Friday, August 5, 2011
Marvel Studios News and Rumour Round-up:
- According to Variety, Brian Kirk is in early negotiations to direct "Thor 2". His work has largely been on cable shows like A Game of Thrones, Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, and The Tudors.
- In an interview with MTV, Edgar Wright has updated the status of his long-gestating "Ant-Man" film -- a third draft had been turned in just prior to Comic Con, and he's also seen concept art and animatics.
- Something called Twitchfilm is reporting that the Donnelly/Oppenhiemer script for "Dr. Strange" has been turned in, approved, and is now being sent out to prospective directors. While they speculated that this moving forward now would mean a 2013 release for the film, they failed to notice that the majority of Marvel Studios directors were hired 3+ years before their films (except on quickly turned out sequels and follow ups, of course. )
- Twitchfilm again chimed in this week to mention that Marvel Studios is in "active developement" on a "Guardians of the Galaxy" film. No other details were given, so you can just call this an update that the project is still in the running to be a future Marvel movie.
- Lastly, it turns out that Marvel Studios were just a little too slow in announcing their 2014 films... their traditional first weekend of May release date was just snagged by another studios' Marvel film -- the Amazing Spider-Man 2!
The newly announced sequel will hit May 2nd, 2014.
- In an interview with MTV, Edgar Wright has updated the status of his long-gestating "Ant-Man" film -- a third draft had been turned in just prior to Comic Con, and he's also seen concept art and animatics.
- Something called Twitchfilm is reporting that the Donnelly/Oppenhiemer script for "Dr. Strange" has been turned in, approved, and is now being sent out to prospective directors. While they speculated that this moving forward now would mean a 2013 release for the film, they failed to notice that the majority of Marvel Studios directors were hired 3+ years before their films (except on quickly turned out sequels and follow ups, of course. )
- Twitchfilm again chimed in this week to mention that Marvel Studios is in "active developement" on a "Guardians of the Galaxy" film. No other details were given, so you can just call this an update that the project is still in the running to be a future Marvel movie.
- Lastly, it turns out that Marvel Studios were just a little too slow in announcing their 2014 films... their traditional first weekend of May release date was just snagged by another studios' Marvel film -- the Amazing Spider-Man 2!
The newly announced sequel will hit May 2nd, 2014.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Comic Con '11: Ghost Rider, Spider-Man Banners Spotted UPDATED
The San Diego Comic Con is nearly upon us, and ComingSoon.net and SuperHeroHype! have already spotted banners for next year's "Ghost Rider: The Spirit of Vengeance" and "the Amazing Spider-Man".
UPDATED: Most posters/banners have been spotted for "Ghost Rider", including one with the film's logo. The image without a watermark comes courtesy of www.comicbookmovie.com.
The films are both being presented as part of Sony/Columbia Pictures' Hall H presentation on Friday, so expect further updates.
UPDATED: Most posters/banners have been spotted for "Ghost Rider", including one with the film's logo. The image without a watermark comes courtesy of www.comicbookmovie.com.
The films are both being presented as part of Sony/Columbia Pictures' Hall H presentation on Friday, so expect further updates.
The Amazing Spider-Man Teaser Trailer
Well, the first "Amazing Spider-Man" trailer has arrived, and boy is it interesting.
The tone is night and day from Raimi's trilogy, with the difference almost being the same as that between the Burton and Nolan Batman films.
It'll be interesting to see if that holds true for the entire film, or if they'll stay true to the comics and give us a good amount of Spidey's smart-ass humour.
The tone is night and day from Raimi's trilogy, with the difference almost being the same as that between the Burton and Nolan Batman films.
It'll be interesting to see if that holds true for the entire film, or if they'll stay true to the comics and give us a good amount of Spidey's smart-ass humour.
Friday, October 22, 2010
This Week in Marvel (10/22/10)
In case you missed it, here were this week's top stories:
- Hugh Jackman has all but confirmed Darren Aronofsky as the director of the next Wolverine film. The producer/actor proclaimed that the film would be very different from his previous X-Men entries, with Aronofsky at the helm, and with the script by the Usual Suspects screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie. He also mentioned that he had begun training and dieting to prepare for the April shoot.
- Walt Disney Studios and Marvel Studios have now bought the distribution rights to the Avengers and Iron Man 3 from Paramount Pictures. This deal seemingly nullifies the 5-picture distribution agreement between Marvel and Paramount.
- Marvel Studios has now set May 3rd, 2013 as the release date for Iron Man 3.
- According to Deadline, production on Runaways has been pushed back to an undetermined date. The film had previously been slated for a Spring 2011 shoot that would have been concurrent with the Avengers', but is apparently being delayed so that Marvel can focus on the other film.
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