Chris Evans' time with the MCU may continue beyond Avengers: Endgame, as he could direct episodes of a Marvel Studios live-action TV series on Disney+. Evans has played Steve Rogers aka Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since debuting in Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011. He's made several appearances in the years since, but his final one may be approaching. Thanks to his role in Avengers: Endgame, Evans will have fulfilled the current requirements of his contract with Marvel Studios. He's made it clear before that as much as he loves playing Captain America and being involved with this universe, he also has other interests and roles to play. One of his points of interest over the last few years has been directing. He made his directorial debut in Before We Go, a romantic drama that he also starred in with Alice Eve. Evans hasn't directed anything since then and the MCU could allow him to do so. According to a new rumor from entertainment journalist Jim Hill, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has offered Evans the chance to direct episodes on one of their upcoming live-action TV series that will land on Disney+, Disney's streaming service. This rumor is unverified and should be taken with a grain of salt, but if true, would make a lot of sense for all parties involved. Even though Evans may be ready to hang up Captain America's shield, staying involved with the MCU in some capacity wouldn't be a bad idea. Directing an episode of any number of the limited series they are developing could be a great fit. It would give Evans the opportunity to further hone his directing skills, but do so while working with people in front of and behind the camera that he's already familiar with. While it still isn't clear if this will happen, Evans directing an MCU production could be what Joe Russo was referring to when the director mentioned Evans wasn't quite done with the MCU, despite wrapping on Avengers: Endgame. If Evans does wind up directing an episode or two of an MCU limited series, the perfect fit may be on the Falcon & Winter Soldier series. Evans has grown incredibly close to both Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, and if the series in any way deals with which one of them will become the next Captain America, it would only be all the more fitting for Evans to have a hand in bringing this to life. Since the Falcon & Winter Soldier series already has a writer onboard, talks of who could direct the episodes may very well be happening. And if Marvel Studios and Feige haven't yet considered using Evans as a director for an episode or two, maybe they will now.
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Solo: A Star Wars Story opened to a somewhat disappointing box office last weekend. This evokes a lot of questions about the future of Star Wars franchise, but perhaps the most pressing is how those early estimates got it so wrong. The opening Memorial Day weekend release of Solo: A Star Wars Story was always mired in cynicism. Many critics and industry figures predicted it would be the first of the Disney era films in the franchise to under-perform, thanks to a variety of factors as well as the film's troubled production. Ron Howard's Han Solo spin-off made $103m over four days, making it the lowest tally for a Star Wars film since the Disney acquisition.
IS THE STAR WARS MOVIES EXPERIENCING FATIGUE ?It seems inevitable for a franchise with this kind of history, fan adoration and cultural impact to eventually wear thin with the masses. Once upon a time, we had to wait years or even decades for a new Star Wars film: Now, we’re getting a new one every year, with Lucasfilm allegedly planning a multi-film annual release schedule similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What used to be an event, something you waited an agonizingly long time for, is now no longer special. We are truly spoiled, but perhaps that’s ultimately a bad thing when it comes to a franchise like Star Wars. It’s only been five months since the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Tracking something like this to show tangible results is difficult – we don’t have solid numbers to prove such fatigue has hit – but the general mood online and among movie-going audiences has been one of faint exhaustion. COMPETITION IS STILL STRONGAvengers: Infinity War has been in cinemas for five weeks now, but that hasn’t slowed down its meteoric box office profits. Even now, over a month into its domestic release, it's still grossing $17m over the most recent weekend. Alongside that release is Deadpool 2,which came out last week and, even with a 65% drop in gross, still took in $43.4m in its second weekend. For those general audiences who don't go to see every release and don't make it during the opening weekend, Solo: A Star Wars Story may not have been their top priority over two very popular established superhero properties, and estimates don't seem to have taken that into consideration. THE SUMMER BOX OFFICE IS WANING IN POWERLast year, the Summer domestic box office hit new lows for both profits and audience attendance. While there were major hits in the slate – such as Spider-Man: Homecoming– domestic ticket sales still dropped a staggering 14.6% from the previous year. Even supposedly safe bets like Transformers: The Last Knight and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales hit slumps with North American audiences. The major hits of 2017 – Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Thor: Ragnarok – were Winter releases. MEDIOCRE REVIEWSSolo didn’t get bad reviews, but the general consensus was one of the final product being mostly fine: nothing ground-breaking or radical, but decent enough. Films with middling reviews have done perfectly well with audiences before, but Solo wasn’t necessarily the kind of film that was review-proof. If general audiences were questioning the necessity of its existence and the reviews weren’t glowing enough to convince them to check it out for themselves, that may have had a bigger impact than the barrage of marketing. Industry figures naturally saw a Star Wars film as being above such notions, but that doesn’t seem to have been the case. DID AUDIENCES ANTICIPATE A HAN SOLO MOVIE?It’s still too early to write off the film, although international numbers have not been strong either. Solo: A Star Wars Story is a very expensive film with a lot of obstacles to overcome, but there is some fan love for it. Whatever the case, Disney and Lucasfilm’s strategies will probably be getting a second look this week.
“Finding Dory” shattered box office records this weekend, setting a new high-water mark for an animated film debut with its $136.2 million opening. The sequel to 2003’s “Finding Nemo” succeeded where many followups this summer have failed, nearly doubling the original film’s $70.2 million launch. Its impressive results come amidst fears that the movie business is suffering from “sequelitis,” as one by one spinoffs and fresh installments such as “Alice Through the Looking Glass” and “X-Men: Apocalypse” sputter at the box office. Here are five reasons that Disney and Pixar were able to make a big splash with “Finding Dory.” 1.) Pixar is the Movie Business’ Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval Over the course of 17 films, Pixar has established a reputation for excellence that is nearly unparalleled. Perhaps only Miramax during its ’90s heyday rivals the Pixar association with quality films, and its run of “Pulp Fiction,” “The English Patient” and “The Crying Game” was pitched to a markedly different demographic. With the exception of the “Cars” films, critics have embraced the company’s films, treating them as works of art, not craven cash grabs. And audiences have responded in kind, handing every film the studio makes an A CinemaScore rating. Consequently, moviegoers know that when Pixar’s name is attached to a film, attention must be paid. 2.) Girl Power Matters Dory, the short-term memory addled fish voiced so memorably by Ellen DeGeneres, swims into center stage in the sequel. Disney films have historically catered to young girls. After all, the Magic Kingdom’s riches come from its Disney Princess franchise. But in recent years, the studio has done an admirable job of moving beyond royal wedding wish fulfillment. Characters such as Judy Hopps (“Zootopia”), Riley Andersen (“Inside Out”), Merida (“Brave”) and, yes, Dory represent a wider range of female experiences and boast character traits beyond simply waiting around for their prince. They are archers, cops, teenage girls, even forgetful fish. That diversity has paid off at the box office. “Inside Out,” “Zootopia” and “Finding Dory” have all drawn more females than males, with comScore’s post-track service reporting that 62% of the opening weekend crowd for the “Finding Nemo” follow-up was comprised of women. After a summer where major movies such as “Captain America: Civil War” and “X-Men: Apocalypse” have largely centered on men, having a woman in the central role is a refreshing change of pace. Having one of the most powerful women in entertainment didn’t hurt matters. DeGeneres worked her passionate network of fans, debuting trailers for “Finding Dory” on her talk show and tweeting aboutthe movie to her 60.4 million followers. 3.) Where’s the Competition? With school getting out, there’s been a dearth of films geared at families. Well, at least films that people wanted to see. “Alice Through the Looking Glass” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” were rejected by audiences, and it’s been a month since “Angry Birds” debuted. The lack of compelling entertainment options had audiences primed to hit the multiplexes for Pixar’s new release, and expect healthy business on Sunday as dads and kids hit the theater in celebration of Father’s Day. Looking ahead, “Finding Dory” will continue to benefit from a lack of competition. “The BFG” do open is tracking poorly, and the next likely family fueled smash doesn’t land until July 8 when “The Secret Life of Pets” debuts. 4,) Adults Came Too Pixar films aren’t just for little kids. “Finding Dory” attracted a diverse crowd, with adults making up 26% of its audience and teenagers accounting for 9% of ticket buyers. In another sign of its all-ages appeal, “Finding Dory” continued to do well in later showtimes when younger children are typically in bed. The sequel did $4 million worth of business after 7 p.m. on Friday and roughly the same amount after that time on Saturday. That’s double what “Inside Out” did in those opening weekend slots, and a signal that adults are nearly as eager to see Dory reconnect with her long-lost parents as kids are. 5.) Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
In the 13 years since “Finding Nemo” became a blockbuster success, the film has expanded its fan base. The kids who made the first film a smash may have moved on to high school, college and young adulthood, but they still showed up to support the sequel. Plus, thanks to a steady stream of showings on television and home entertainment platforms, new generations have been turned on to the ocean creatures who populate the animated hits. More importantly, at a time when there have been sequels to films that people didn’t enjoy the first go round (see: “The Huntsman: Winter’s War”) or ill-conceived followups that felt like rush-jobs (we’re looking at you “Allegiant” and “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising”), “Finding Dory” co-writer and co-director Andrew Stanton took the time he needed to have his eureka moment. Too often these films seemed to have been jerry-rigged by committee, tossed together in the hopes of meeting some arbitrary release date, selected so a studio can hit its quarterly numbers. It’s not like “Finding Dory” was a difficult greenlight for Disney, but Pixar deserves credit for having the patience to let Stanton and company cogitate until they could find a fresh way to continue the saga of Dory, Nemo and Marlin. Melissa McCarthy‘s upcoming R-rated comedy “The Boss” has a solid shot at dethroning “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” when it opens in 3,481 theaters this weekend, according to analysts. Turnout for the Henry Cavill-Ben Affleck superhero saga is expected to drop by half after suffering a massive decline of 69.1 percent in its second weekend. It’s projected to earn less than half of its $51.3 million from last weekend. And “The Boss,” in which McCarthy plays a disgraced industry titan who tries to redeem her reputation by building a brownie empire, is looking to open in the low $20 million range. That’s on par with the actress’ recent box office hits, including last year’s “Spy,” which opened to $29 million, and “Tammy” which debuted to $21.6 million in 2014. - The weekend’s other wide opener, STX Entertainment’s “Hardcore Henry,” is projected to rake in $7 million to $9 million. However, tracking for the film shot entirely with a GoPro has been difficult as it essentially establishes a new movie-experience genre. Reviews for the film have been good, however, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 81 percent. And Fox Searchlight is opening the Jake Gyllenhaal drama “Demolition” wide this weekend. Below are five reasons why “The Boss” might tell “Batman v Superman,” “You’re fired.” - 1) McCarthy Doesn’t Need Good Reviews The actress’ recent track record indicates that McCarthy doesn’t need critics on her side to successfully open a film. “Tammy” and “Identity Thief” had bad reviews — the former scored 23 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a C+ on CinemaScore, but still grossed $21.6 million on its opening weekend and $84.5 million cumulatively. “Identity Thief” scored 19 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a B on CinemaScore, but still debuted to $34.5 million and earned a lifetime gross of $134 million. “Melissa doesn’t need critics in her back pocket like ‘Batman v Superman’ did,” Exhibitor Relations senior analyst Jeff Bock told TheWrap. Senior analyst at comScore Paul Dergarabedian added, “McCarthy is an undeniable and consistent box office draw, and it seems that her loyal fan base loves her no matter what type of role she plays and is always willing to line up and buy tickets to see her on the big screen.” 2) R-rated Comedy Options Have Been Limited Since ‘Deadpool’ Fans looking to see an R-rated comedy haven’t had many options since “Deadpool” debuted on Feb. 12. The PG-13 rom-com “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” opened a few weekends ago, and Sacha Baron Cohen‘s R-rated gross-out “The Brothers Grimsby” did as well, but for many moviegoers the Nia Vardalos sequel may not have pushed the edge hard enough while Cohen’s crude and raunchy humor may have pushed too hard. McCarthy seldom strays far from her rep as an “edgy, non-conformist who just tells it how it is,” Dergarabedian said, a path that has worked well for her. “She’s like the Amy Schumers and Will Ferrells of the world — they have no vanity, they are not scared to sound bad and look bad. ‘Spy’ is a good example: She was spouting out stuff that you could not say in a PG-13 movie.” 3) McCarthy’s Wading in Familiar WatersMcCarthy has found success with her coarse, cutting brand of physical comedy. “‘The Boss’ is definitely in her wheelhouse,” said Bock. “It’s exactly what the audience has been given in the past and it’s exactly what they expect.” And McCarthy’s costar lineup consists of well-known comedic talent. This time around, Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage and Kathy Bates join the fold. Previously, McCarthy has worked with Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman and Rose Byrne. 4) Women Have Been Under-served This Spring This year’s movies aimed at female audiences have mostly disappointed at the box office, including Tina Fey‘s “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” Shailene Woodley‘s “Divergent Series: Allegiant” and Nia Vardalos‘ “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.” And unlike those stars, McCarthy is a more proven commodity as a name-above-the-title box office draw. “She might be the biggest female comedian of our time,” Bock said. “It’s hard to remember a comedian that had a series of box office hits like she’s had — maybe Bette Midler.” 5) McCarthy’s Never Opened a Film at Less Than $20 Million
McCarthy’s wide releases have all opened in the $20 million-plus range. “The Heat,” for example, opened to $39.1 million in 2013. “McCarthy has never not opened a film in the $20 millions,” said Bock. “$23 million to $25 million [that’s projected] for ‘Batman v Superman’ — that could also be the high end range for ‘The Boss.’ My guess is ‘Batman’ still takes it, but it could be close.” If “The Boss” overperforms and “Batman v Superman” drops any more than 50 percent, we might see the crowning of a new box office champion. Over Easter weekend, Zack Snyder's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice dazzled in its box-office debut, grossing a March-best $166.1 million in North America and $422.5 million worldwide, the biggest launch ever for a comic book adaptation. But withering reviews and mixed audience reaction caught up with the Warner Bros. tentpole in its second weekend. BvS, which brought in $51.3 million, tumbled a steep 69 percent, one of the worst drops ever to impact a marquee superhero movie. It's a dubious distinction BvS shares only with 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which also fell by 69 percent. And only one other superhero movie in modern times, 2003's Hulk, has done worse, plummeting by 70 percent. BvS's second-weekend swan dive was also the worst decline for any of Warners' previous Batman or Superman movies. Snyder's earlier Superman entry, 2013's Man of Steel, dipped by 65 percent. Other comparisons don't favor BvS, either: Fox's scrappy Deadpool didn't open as big asBvS when it was released in February (opening to $132.5 million), but it earned more domestically its second weekend — $56.5 million — than BvS did, and it hung on to more of its audience, falling by just 57 percent. (Overseas, it's a different story, where Dawn of Justice has already outgrossed Deadpool.) So how should BvS fall-off be read? Generally speaking, Hollywood studios don't like it when their big tentpoles fall more than 62 percent or 63 percent. When they do, studios consider it a sign that something is amiss. The big exception is young adult film adaptations, including the final Harry Potter movie, which fell by 72 percent in 2011, and three of the Twilight movies, which saw declines of 69 percent to 70 percent. BvS faced two key obstacles: It sports a dismal 29 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And it's the only movie opening above $150 million that's received a B CinemaScore; the rest earned a B+ or some variation of an A grade. "That's where the critical backlash comes into play, and also the ho-hum word of mouth," says box-office analyst Jeff Bock. "Had this been certified fresh, or even championed by audiences,BvS: Round 2 wouldn't have seen a fall quite so fatal. That doesn't mean WB hasn't succeeded in relaunching the DC Universe. We all know money talks the loudest in the blockbuster game, but it does mean the margin for error for the upcoming DC sequels and spinoffs will be very narrow." Warner Bros. counters that BvS is doing just fine, considering it has already earned $682.9 million globally, including $260.4 million domestically. The studio also argues that the steep drop is attributable to the fact that the movie earned a massive $27.7 million in Thursday-night previews (which were then added into its first Friday gross), making three-day comparisons between its first two weekends difficult. However, other movies that have done just as much in previews, or even more, haven't been hit by such a big decline. In December, Star Wars: The Force Awakens posted $57 million in previews on its way to a $248 million domestic debut, both records. In its second weekend, which fell over Christmas, Force Awakens dipped a scant 40 percent.
At those numbers, though, Force Awakens could be considered an outlier. A fairer comparison toBvS is Disney/Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, which took in $27.6 million in previews on its way to a $191.3 million debut in May 2015. In its second weekend, that movie fell 59 percent. And three years earlier, the first Avengers movie fell even less — 50 percent, after opening to $208.8 million. Surveying 16 Hollywood tentpoles, including both Avengers movies and Force Awakens, points to an average second-weekend decline of 59 percent. That's 10 points less than BvS's drop. Focusing in on superhero films, titles that saw declines of 66 percent or more in their second weekend ultimately resulted in box-office disappointments. During summer 2015, the ill-fated Fantastic Four reboot dropped 68.2 percent, ending up with a meager $168 million worldwide. X-Men Origins: Wolverine, after dropping by 69 percent, topped out at $373.6 million globally. Closer to the dawn of the modern superhero movie, Hulk, after its 69.7 percent tumble, collected just $245 million worldwide. Among other Batman and Superman movies, 2012's The Dark Knight Rises fell 61 percent, while 2008's The Dark Knight fell 53 percent. Drops for other superhero movies that are considered success stories include 64 percent for 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past (and even at that number, Fox wasn't happy), 62 percent for 2007's Spider-Man 3, 59 percent for 2010's Iron Man 2, 58 percent for 2013's Iron Man 3 and 57 percent for 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Despite the big second-week drop, some analysts urged perspective when it came to BvS's overall numbers. "[BvS] has already earned enough money overall to make it an unqualified box office hit and with close to $700 million globally, the concept clearly overshadowed the critics," said comScore's Paul Dergarabedian. He added: "[At] the end of the day, it's the bottom dollar that counts, not percentage drops that define a movie's ultimate success or failure." |
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