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‘Minions’ Henchmen Nab $124M & No. 1; ‘Terminator’ Generates $47M; ‘Baahubali’, China See Big Bows – Intl B. O. Update

by Stone Marshall | Jul 13, 2015 | Awesome Book News | 0 comments

2ND UPDATE, 3:45 PM PT: The top two pictures internationally this session are the same as last week, only they switched places. With an expansion to 30 more markets, Minions rose to No. 1 in its 4th frame with $124.3M and a global cume approaching $400M. Last week’s champ, Terminator: Genisys, moved to 2nd place with $47.3M and in a handful of new territories. Looking at the Top 10 Hollywood movies playing internationally, this week’s frame was up almost 10% over last. When we include local language pics in the Top 10 offshore, this session was 26% higher than the previous frame — there were big plays in China with the Nos. 3 and 4 films on the international chart hailing from the Middle Kingdom. India’s Baahubali: The Beginning was also a smash this frame with an opening north of $20M, although full figures are not yet available.

When comparing it to last year, this frame across the Top 10 Hollywood movies is also up — about 18%. At the international box office in the similar 2014 period, Transformers: Age Of Extinction was still packing picturehouses with a $100M weekend, followed by How To Train Your Dragon 2 at $35M and the rise of Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes at just over $31M in its debut.

Next week, Paul Rudd will aim to charm worldwide audiences as Ant-Man. The latest from Marvel is going out day-and-date beginning July 14 in France and rolling out to Brazil, Mexico, Russia and about 50 total markets over the weekend as it also bows Stateside. The full film screened to very positive reaction at CineEurope in Barcelona last month. Also next frame, Sony’s Pixels will descend on Korea. It’s getting a jump on a major day-and-date rollout that starts July 22. Extended footage from the high-concept Adam Sandler-saves-the-world-from-alien-influenced-1980s-arcade-games pic was also shown in Barcelona to much delight.

The rest of the plays next week are largely expansions and holds. Inside Out notably opens in Japan where the love is great for all things Pixar. Locally, India is getting ready for Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan to coincide with the Eid-al-fitr holiday, although that film could now see part of its mojo stolen by this weekend’s Baahubali.

See below the original post for more on that film (including trailer) and other local titles. Actuals tomorrow.

PREVIOUS, 11:15 AM PT, WRITETHRU: This weekend at the international box office was largely a holdover/expansion session, but that didn’t take away from the action as Universal and Illumination’s Minions added 30 markets and claimed the No. 1 spot in its 4th frame of release. The weekend was worth $124.3M offshore where the Despicable Me 2 spinoff now has an estimated cume of $280.5M. The global total thus far is $395.7M. Records continue to be set by the little yellow fellows with the top animated opening ever in 25 overseas territories. The only places it has not opened No. 1 out of 56 markets thus far, are Australia (where U’s Jurassic World was the No. 1 film that particular week) and India where its debut this frame faced off with epic local actioner Baahubali: The Beginning, itself a record smasher. As for last week’s winner, Terminator: Genisys has come in No. 2 internationally with $47.3M in 60 territories. The offshore cume for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to the Paramount franchise is $156.1M. Notable openings were in Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy and Argentina (details below).

Elsewhere, Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out headed to Korea, Ted 2 hit the UK and Magic Mike XXL lap-danced to Oz, Brazil and France among others. In China, where the unofficial blackout period continues, coming of age tale Forever Young and franchise fourquel Tiny Times 4 released, landing the No. 3 and 4 slots on the international chart. (More on those and other local films including Baahubali to come.) Here’s a look thus far at how the studios fared overseas in the frame:

Minions
Among highlights for henchmen Stuart, Kevin and Bob is Mexico and its $19.7M opening this weekend — the 2nd biggest ever for all films. With 79% of the market, it’s running 30% higher than DM2. This was the 2nd biggest market for that film.

The prequel also bowed in Russia with 73% market share and $14.3M in the bank. Universal now boasts the Top 2 openers ever in Russia with Furious 7 and Minions. Notably, Minions is the biggest opening of all time in terms of admissions (the ruble being extremely soft against the dollar these days). Minions also opened twice as big as DM2.

France, where DM2 was huge and this film has extra wanna see thanks to co-helmer Pierre Coffin, local animation company Illumination Mac Guff and, in the provinces, the famous local voice cast, has overwhelmingly embraced Minions. The No. 1 opening at $12.1M is not only the year’s biggest start, it’s also the best since 2012. It’s Universal’s biggest opening day and weekend of all time here. Admissions are 70% higher than Despicable Me 2’s opening.

Also of note, Venezuela opened No. 1 with $5.6M and set the record as the biggest opening weekend ever for all films. There are 11 more territories to release over the next two months.

Terminator: Genisys
With an additional 14 markets, Terminator: Genisys booted up $47.3M for an overseas cume of $156.1M. Now playing in 60 offshore markets, the drop from last frame was 35%. Notable new plays included Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy and Argentina where it’s being comped to such pics as Pacific Rim, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Lucy. For the new group of markets, T:G was 27% above PR, 32% below MIGP and 10% under Lucy. It was the biggest opening for the franchise in three of the overall new markets and the best for Arnold in four. Among those, Argentina grossed $2.3M at 157 cinemas — 393% above MIGP and also gave Paramount its top opening ever.

Japan, which was the biggest market for the last two Terminator films, opened to $5.4M at 339 locations. Paramount isn’t using the previous movies in the franchise as comps since projections on T:G’s ultimate outcome are above those. Thus, the Japan bow is double the opening of World War Z, 121% above Pacific Rim and 9% below MIGP.

Germany was a No. 2 bow behind Minions, delivering $3.1M from 554 sites, 10% below MIGP and 6% below X-Men: Days Of Future Past. Spain opened to $1.4M at 373 locations. Also No. 2 there, it’s 27% above Pacific Rim and 39% below MIGP — and is also the biggest opening for the former governor. Italy was a No. 1 bow with $1.2M at 530 cinemas, 8% above Pacific Rim and 53% below MIGP. The Netherlands provided $605K at 90 sites for a 3rd place start that’s 28% above Pacific Rim and 19% below MIGP.

Holdovers pulled a lot of the weekend weight with Korea taking $5.1M at 775 cinemas, dropping 54% from last. The cume there is $19M. Russia grossed $3.8M in the 2nd session at 1,121 locations. The local cume is $19.1M. Elsewhere, new grosses and cumes are as follows: UK ($2.7M/$11.5M), Brazil ($2.7M/$8.1M), Australia ($2.2M/$8M), France ($1.9M/$6.9M) and Mexico ($1.6M/$9.7M).

Jurassic World
Jurassic World’s international weekend estimate is $21.7M bringing the offshore dino dollar total to $875.2M. Playing in 65 territories, it has now passed Frozen‘s overseas lifetime of $873.6M to become the 7th highest-grossing film ever internationally. Insidious Rex and the raptors still have to stomp into Japan, the next and last release, which rolls around August 5.

Inside Out
Off of a $5.1M bow in Korea, Inside Out added $19.1M this frame which had it playing in 44 territories repping 48% of its international footprint. The offshore cume after its 4th frame is $151.8M for a global total of $435.44M. In Korea, Pete Docter’s charmer is the biggest Pixar opening of all time in the territory – besting Toy Story 3 by 17% and equaling almost the entire lifetime of Monsters University.

Holds throughout the run have been strong and this weekend was no different, demonstrating the emotional connection folks are finding with the film. Australia put Inside Out into the top spot in its 4th frame (after an increase in Oz box office last session, IO dropped just 6% this time around) while New Zealand jumped 39% this weekend; Argentina rose 12% and Brazil dropped just 5%.

In Mexico, IO’s top offshore play at $27.7M, it is the highest grossing Disney/Pixar original IP animated release of all-time, ahead of Frozen. In Russia, IO has spread so much joy that it’s the first Pixar movie to exceed 1B rubles and is the No. 2 Disney/Pixar animated release of all-time, behind only Frozen. In India, a market known for its local tastes, Inside Out is now the biggest Disney/Pixar animated release of all time and in Ukraine is the highest grossing Pixar release ever.

Much as with Minions, the rollout will continue over the next months. Next weekend sees openings in Spain and Japan as well as the Netherlands. The UK, Italy and Germany are still to come – as is China which is not yet dated.

Ted 2
Seth MacFarlane’s Ted 2 grossed another $12.4M for Universal in 35 territories. The overseas cume is now $53.2M. Among the new markets, the UK bowed at No. 2 with $6M; Peru opened at No. 1 with $438K — the biggest opening day ever for an R-rated comedy; and Poland debuted at No. 2 with $573K, 16% ahead of Ted. In holds, Germany was No. 4 with $1.3M and up 4% over last week. The cume there is $7.5M. Australia’s 3rd week was down 46% to $954K for an 18-day total of $8M. Mark Wahlberg and the bear have 27 more territories to open with Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Sweden and Vietnam on deck for next weekend.

Magic Mike XXL
Warner Bros’ Magic Mike XXL shimmied down to Australia this weekend with $4M in dollar bills on 401 screens. That includes previews and Warner says the film is primed to take the No. 1 slot where it’s in contention with Inside Out and Minions for the honor. Overall, MMXXL added $10.3M this session in 30 markets and on about 3,800 screens. The offshore cume is $20.5M. Elsewhere, France opened to $563K on 295 screens. In holds, the UK added $1.6M from 551 screens for a $6.3M total to date. Holland increased 28% to add $351K on 117 screens. The cume is $1.5M. Germany and Brazil release later this month.

Insidious: Chapter 3
Sony’s Insidious: Chapter 3 numbers show $3.9M creeping into the now $47M cume. Playing on 1,890 screens in 50 territories this weekend, I:C3 notably opened in Korea to $1.5M. In France, it grossed $945K on 245 screens. Both debuts landed at No. 6. In holdovers, Germany was just 1% off from last week, adding $550K for a $1.5M cume, and Mexico now has a total of $4.5M. Australia and Brazil open later in the month.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron
As it winds down its overseas run, Avengers: Age Of Ultron picked up a further $2.9M in the frame, bringing the international cume to $933.3M for a global total of $1,388.5M. Its last market is Japan where after the 2nd session it now has a cume of $13.5M. Japan tends to do better with the ensemble Avengers pics — the 2012 first movie ultimately hammered out over $45M — as opposed to the standalones. AOU’s gross after nine days has already bested the entire runs of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World and Guardians Of The Galaxy.

Paper Towns
Fox’s Paper Towns has begun its international rollout with Brazil the first market to release. At No. 3 in box office after Minions and Terminator: Genisys, it earned $2.4M from 630 screens. The latest adaptation of a John Green book was the No. 2 film in terms of admissions in Brazil where last year’s The Fault In Our Stars had a stellar run. Paper Towns opens wide the week of July 20.

Spy
Spy uncovered another $1.68M in the frame to bring the international total to $116.4M. The Melissa McCarthy-starrer from Fox is winding down its run with Italy the final market to release next week.

The Gallows
Beginning its international hang, The Gallows opened in 13 smaller territories for Warner Bros, grossing $1.2M on 473 screens. The UK and Mexico are on deck for next weekend.

Poltergeist
Poltergeist scared up another $1M at the weekend with a new opening in Hong Kong of $275K on 65 screens. The offshore total is now $47.2M with three markets still to come — Korea is last in October.

Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F
Fox International Productions’ Japanese title Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F added $658K to take the cume past $50M at $50.4M. Uruguay was this week’s opener on six screens for $5,475.

LOCAL-LANGUAGE
CHINA
Despite pretty harsh reviews, Chinese coming-of-age title Forever Young won the weekend at the Middle Kingdom box office. It’s the directorial debut of TV personality He Jiong and fashioned somewhat out of a song he recorded several years ago, Gardenia In Blossom. The pic has grossed $38.5M since releasing July 10. These kinds of stories are popular in China so the performance is hardly a surprise, although it slightly edged out Tiny Times 4, the latest in that coming-of-age franchise which grossed $36M in the debut frame and has a cume of $54M throughout the week. Also new to the chart was Monkey King: Hero Is Back, an animated 3D take on the age-old tale. With $10M at the weekend, its total is now $11.5M. And, last week’s new entry to the unofficial Chinese blackout period, The Monk Comes Down The Mountain, added $6M for a cume to date of $58M.

INDIA
SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali released in about 4,200 theaters worldwide and crossed the coveted 100 crore mark in just two days, according to local reports, taking in 135 crore ($21.3M) on Friday and Saturday. The North American debut was $3M in 170 theaters, but exact figures are not yet available in India alone — this is a particularly wide release for a southern title, with several different versions. However, to put that 135 crore figure into perspective, Jurassic World opened in India on June 12 and passed 100 crore on July 10. With an estimated opening day of 50+ crore, Baahubali broke the previous record set by Shah Rukh Khan’s Happy New Year which released at Diwali in 2014. Baahubali stars Prabhas, a fixture of Tollywood (as the Telugu industry is known) and Anushka Shetty who also toils in the Tamil business, or Kollywood. The film is a period war saga that has been shot in two parts at a reported budget of $40M with versions in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam. Some are already calling the first installment of the film an instant classic; the second part is expected in 2016. Once we can get more exact figures on this, we’ll take a closer look — especially in light of the upcoming release this week of Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

‘Minions’ Henchmen Nab $124M & No. 1; ‘Terminator’ Generates $47M; ‘Baahubali’, China See Big Bows – Intl B. O. Update

10 Great Mutants The X-Men Franchise Got Wrong

by Stone Marshall | Jul 7, 2015 | Awesome Book News | 0 comments

Over its 15-plus year history, the X-Men films have introduced a diverse lineup of mutants, both good and evil. Many have been well-received overall, like Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. However, not everyone has gotten such positive treatment. In many cases, the heroes and villains seen on the big screen are either underutilized or barely reminiscent of their comic book counterparts. Granted, not every important character from the X-Men comics can get the opportunity to be prominently featured in these movies, but even so, it’s been disappointing to see certain characters poorly adapted.With X-Men: Apocalypse less than a year away, we’ve decided to take a look at the mutants the X-Men franchise has gotten wrong over the years. Some of these individuals are appearing in the 2016 blockbuster and will hopefully be used better, while others are unlikely to be better adapted (or even appear again) in future installments. Here are the folks who have gotten the shaft from filmmakers so far.

Cyclops

Scott Summers had an important role in the first X-Men film as the team’s leader, but the following films diminished his importance in favor of spotlighting Wolverine, and eventually he was killed off. X-Men: Days of Future Past at least somewhat remedied this by reviving him, but that doesn’t really make up for years of just making him come across as a dick. It’s unclear we’ll see the adult version of the character again, but at least fans will get to see Cyclops used more substantially next year when X-Men: Apocalypse explores his teen years studying under Professor X.

Emma Frost (X-Men: First Class)

Unfortunately, the Emma Frost seen in X-Men: First Class (as opposed to the Emma seen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine) was nowhere near the fleshed-out character her comic book counterpart is. The woman was reduced to being Sebastian Shaw’s scantily-clad underling who seduced powerful men. Aside from the white costume, she barely bore any resemblance to comic book version of the White Queen. Oh, and it doesn’t help that January Jones delivered her lines in the most monotonous tone possible, sucking any and all energy out of the performance.

Juggernaut

In the comics, Juggernaut is Charles Xavier’s stepbrother who was mystically transformed by the Gem of Cyttorak into the unstoppable Juggernaut, one of the X-Men’s greatest foes. What was he in X-Men: The Last Stand? A not-too-bright recruit of Magneto’s who was not related to Xavier at all. He was just the guy who smashed into things, and will forever be remembered for that ridiculous line “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!” Basically, just a simple grunt wearing fancy armor, and it doesn’t even come close to being a worthy adaptation.

Angel (X-Men: The Last Stand)

In the months before X-Men: The Last Stand, Angel was advertised as one of its most important characters in the movie, but that wound up being very far from the truth. Here’s what moviegoers saw him do during the main story: escape being cured by his father, make his way to Professor X’s mansion, and save his father during the Alcatraz battle. That’s it. Fortunately, it looks like X-Men: Apocalypse will attempt to make this up with their younger Angel, hopefully letting us forget about his less-than-stellar previous adaptation.

Toad

Admittedly, Ray Park’s stunts as Toad were impressive to watch, but the character bore little resemblance to the Toad from the comics. Not only did his personality completely different, but he barely got to speak during the entire film. Like nearly all of Magneto’s henchmen, he was only added as a physical obstacle for the team to deal with, and nothing more. If that wasn’t bad enough, the younger Toad in X-Men: Days of Future Past had even less to do appearing in only one scene.

Colossus

Daniel Cudmore’s Colossus appeared in three films in the X-Men series, and he’s said approximately four lines of dialogue total. In the comics, this is someone who’s been a valued member of the X-Men for four decades and one of Marvel’s more fascinating mutants, but in the movies, he’s just the tall, metal guy that punches things and doesn’t get character development. Ideally Deadpool will put him to better use next year, featuring a motion capture performance from Canadian actor Andre Tricoteux.

Pyro

Pyro in the comics is an Australian criminal who joins Mystique’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The movies turned him into an American who becomes disillusioned with Professor Xavier’s vision of peace and joins Magneto’s Brotherhood. His personal journey, not to mention his personality, was nowhere near as cool as the comic book version, and while the contrast between him and Iceman was interesting in X2: X-Men United, unfortunately the payoff wasn’t that great in X-Men: The Last Stand.

Havok

Forget that Havok’s connection with Cyclops in these movies remains untold (for now). Once again, here’s a character that’s only useful for his power. Aside from being in prison and joining the military, we don’t know anything about him! There’s been no character exploration at all thus far, and you could have taken him out of X-Men: Days of Future Past, and have the story unfold the exact same way. Will X-Men: Apocalypse give him more to do? Given what we’ve seen so far, I have my doubts.

Bishop

This one is especially disappointing. In the X-Men comics, Bishop has primarily been portrayed as a time traveler who comes to the present to prevent an apocalyptic future – similar to the role that Cable plays. Granted, he did get to travel back in time in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but like most of the other mutants in the future period, he was just manpower used to slow down the Sentinels. Visually, he was great to watch, but character-wise, he was wasted. Hopefully the future of the franchise will find some way to give actor Omar Sy something better to do in a future installment.

Kitty Pryde

Even ignoring her first two cameos in the series, Kitty has never lived up to her potential in the X-Men films. Yes, she did take down Juggernaut in X-Men: The Last Stand, but her potential romance with Iceman felt awkward and forced. Her phasing powers were better utilized in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but it didn’t help that unlike in the comic books, Wolverine traveled back to the ‘70s rather than her, taking away her opportunity to shine (and randomly giving her an ability we’ve never actually seen her have before).

10 Great Mutants The X-Men Franchise Got Wrong

‘Supergirl’ Star Says ‘SNL’s Black Widow Comparisons Are Off The Mark

by Stone Marshall | Jul 7, 2015 | Awesome Book News | 0 comments

No matter how famous a superhero may be, or how well-funded a big screen adaptation may hit theaters, it’s the actor or actress entrusted with bringing the character to life that tends to make it a success or failure. With CBS’ upcoming foray into DC Comics television, Supergirl, the producers knew that finding the right leading lady was the top priority.

They found just that in Melissa Benoist (Glee, Whiplash), now set to bring Kara Zor-El and her Kryptonian upbringing to the small screen in Fall 2015. As the show’s official debut at San Diego Comic-Con fast approaches, Benoist explains why she hopes Supergirl will become an icon for young women everywhere, and addresses the less-than-flattering comparisons to a Black Widow sketch on Saturday Night Live.

Long before any official casting news or trailers were released, it was clear the Supergirl series was aiming for a female audience – something sorely lacking in the growing blockbuster arena. So lacking, in fact, that fans had nothing else to compare the first Supergirl trailer to than an SNL skit in which Scarlett Johansson’s Avengers super-spy was given her own film: a cheesy romantic comedy where Black Widow struggled to find love (and a job in the fashion industry).

The sketch succeeded in taking shots at a genre of film that is, admittedly, an easy targets when it comes to formulaic filmmaking and marketing (although superhero adventures are gaining ground). Unfortunately, not every viewer took the skit as a parody of Hollywood, where a major studio could proudly reveal a superheroine comic book movie, but decide only a rom-com could work with a female star. Instead, many took it not as playful commentary on the Hollywood system, but an indictment of the rom-com as a whole.

Enter Supergirl‘s first trailer: a lighthearted, female-led, ‘modern’ look at a young woman’s coming of age, shaped by the likes of The Devil Wears Prada and Ugly Betty. Rather than sticking to the serious, melodramatic tones of Arrow or Gotham, CBS was clearly looking to grab the attention of the (largely female) masses… who happened to make romantic comedies a hit in the first place. Comparisons were drawn and some ruled that any comic book property following such formula was to be mocked – but star Melissa Benoist disagrees.

Speaking with EW, Benoist explains that those involved with Supergirl enjoyed the SNL sketch as much as anyone, but believes that what makes her series different simply hasn’t been seen yet:

“We don’t really take ourselves too seriously in that respect. The camp is going to be there. It’s a superhero show. But I don’t think that takes away from the female empowerment. Obviously you see Kara in her work atmosphere, it resembles the Black Widow parody, but what you don’t see is Kara kicking butt. There’s so much more in the pilot that I think people are really going to be surprised by. Also, it’s a girl. Supergirl, that whole discussion, it’s a girl figuring out how to become a woman. [The SNL spoof] came out and all of us thought it was so hilarious. I don’t think any of us expected people to compare them or put them side-by-side.”
“I want to do right. Of course this is a broad statement, but I want to do right by women. I want to portray someone they can relate to and look up to that’s not a trite or a shallow depiction. I want her to be complicated and flawed. I guess I just want all women to feel like they could be Kara and Superwoman as well. I don’t want it to be campy. I want it to be grounded and human. That goes for anybody. It doesn’t matter what sex. It doesn’t matter if it’s women or men I inspire, I just want to inspire people in general to realize their strengths and their potential, and that you can do the things that you feel like are impossible to accomplish.”

We would hope that every actor or actress entrusted with a superhero role would have Benoist’s mindset. Trailers released since the debut have showcased more of the action sequences Benoist refers to, and the budget of a network series already looks promising compared to its CW counterparts. Of course, it isn’t the special effects or large-scale action that have made Arrow a success, and turned The Flash into one of the best-received superhero TV shows in recent memory.

That lies with the creative team and talent responsible – several of which are also at work creating Supergirl. Although Benoist hasn’t had a chance to get to know her new DC TV stars (that will likely come during SDCC), she is well aware of just how large a shadow they cast:

“I’ve not met Stephen [Amell]. Grant [Gustin] I know from Glee. They’re in Vancouver, so I didn’t really get much advice, but all that I’ve gotten has been support and excitement… The bar is set so high with those shows for a reason, because it has someone like Greg Berlanti, our executive producer, and Andrew Kreisberg, who are also behind those shows with us. They are responsible for so much of the success. They’ve found a really good formula and a really good way of portraying heroes with heart. I don’t think we’re lacking any of that in our show.”
“When I learned that I got the part there was a mixture of many emotions that rushed through me — elation, relief, immense joy and then, there was also a huge sense of responsibility that came immediately. I definitely thought to myself, ‘Oh man, you’ve got your work cut out for you.’”

Even if Supergirl winds up finding its own identity in a genre that is becoming more and more crowded by the second, direct comparisons with Arrow or The Flash won’t be invited by their respective networks. Fans may dream of seeing those three Justice League members join forces – and there’s always reason to hold out hope – but as Benoist makes perfectly clear, establishing the first successful superheroine TV show comes first.

What do you think of the show’s chances? Is CBS wise to go after a different audience than The Flash, Arrow and Gotham, or would a single style be a better choice? Sound off in the comments.

Supergirl premieres on CBS at 8:30 p.m. EST on October 26th, 2015. It will air at 8 p.m. EST on Mondays thereafter.

‘Supergirl’ Star Says ‘SNL’s Black Widow Comparisons Are Off The Mark

Planned Sequels That Were Completely Abandoned

by Stone Marshall | Jul 6, 2015 | Awesome Book News | 0 comments

Sequels are a big business in Hollywood, even though they’re flaming heaps of garbage nine times out of ten. Still, sometimes a movie just can’t pass that initial bar of quality to even prompt a studio to greenlight a follow-up in the first place. Other times, filmmakers have grand plans for a franchise, only to have those plans thwarted by lousy reviews and low box office receipts. Here’s a list of presumably planned sequels…that never actually happened.

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins

Based on the Destroyer series of novels, Remo Williams martial-arted his way into theaters back in 1985. If you’re scratching your head at not only the character’s name but also the novels from which he’s adapted, don’t feel bad: Remo Williams is terrible and utterly forgettable, and audiences in 1985 seemed to agree. As it happens, there doesn’t seem to be much evidence pointing to production of a sequel ever having been started. But, really, you can tell the filmmakers had high hopes considering they gave their movie the subhead, “The Adventure Begins.” It probably should’ve ended with a card that read, “The Adventure Has Ended,” because it did.

Gremlins 3

There are rumors that this might still happen, so if you’re reading this after coming back from a showing of Gremlins 3 in the theaters, we stand corrected. But after the success of the first Gremlins, Warner Bros. brought director Joe Dante back to work his magic. After Dante declined, Warner gave him complete control over the project and a huge budget. The result was a satire that railed against the very idea of sequels and corporate America—namely, companies like Warner Bros. that only made movies like Gremlins 2 to rake in cash. The movie failed to actually do too well, and Gremlins 3 has languished in production limbo.

Green Lantern 2

The original 2011 Ryan Reynolds vehicle was supposed to kick start a whole DC superhero franchise to rival the likes of Marvel’s ever-expanding cinematic universe. DC’s corporate parent, Warner Bros., bet big on GL, spending a whopping $200 million on the movie—and it only barely turned a profit. Between the film’s cliffhangers and its efforts to build a big world for Green Lantern to play in, the movie was considered a failure, and all plans for a sequel were scrapped. Now Green Lantern’s going to be rebooted to fit in with the rest of DC’s filmic adaptations, starting with Zak Snyder’s Man of Steel and its sequel.

Super Mario Bros. 2

Considering how many various Super Mario Bros. games we’ve seen since the plucky plumber’s debut in the 1980s, it wasn’t too hard to imagine that the film adaptation might enjoy at least a sequel or two. That’s probably why the movie ends on a cliffhanger, with Princess Daisy barging into the Marios’ apartment saying she needs their help once again. Though the original film was a monumental bomb, killing any chance of a return to the Mushroom Kingdom, an unofficial sequel comic made its way onto the Internet over a decade later. That’s something, at least.

Battlefield Earth 2

This John Travolta pet project adapted the L. Ron Hubbard book of the same name to the big screen. It was a critical disaster, and may or may not have turned a profit, depending on who you ask. But the Battlefield Earth movie wasn’t even the full story: because of the source material’s lengthy page count, Travolta and the rest of the filmmakers decided they would tackle the first half of the book in this movie, and cover the rest in a sequel. Alas, we’ll never know the fate of the Psychlos (unless we read the book, which, you know, will never ever happen).

The Love Guru 2 And 3

In 2008, Mike Myers returned from a long stint away from the cameras to drop The Love Guru on filmgoers. It was the first original project Myers had taken on since wrapping up his megahit Austin Powers franchise, and it was an unmitigated disaster. But Hollywood being what it is, Myers was still in talks to map out a couple of sequels to The Love Guru even before production had begun on the first one. We imagine the second one would’ve been called something horrible like “The Love Two-Ru” or whatever. Thankfully, we’ll never have to find out.

Superman Returns Again

Bryan Singer’s Superman sequel from 2006 was kind of a bad idea from the start. It followed up the events of Superman II, ignored Superman III and IV, and two of its major plot points revolved around Superman super-stalking his former girlfriend, Lois Lane, as well as a revelation that her son was their secret love child. Worst of all, however, the movie didn’t really give Superman very much to do in terms of fighting bad guys, which is one of the things Superman does best. Warner Bros. pulled the plug on the possibility of another Singer-helmed sequel, which screenwriter Michael Dougherty says might’ve introduced Brainiac and more Kryptonians to the screen.

Golden Compass 2

The film adaptation of The Golden Compass was poised to take all the strengths of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter in one flick—but it didn’t do much business at the box office. New Line Cinema canceled plans to adapt the first book’s sequel, The Subtle Knife. The Golden Compass, it turns out, actually points to a dumpster.

Fantastic Four 3

The first movie in 20th Century Fox’s adaptation of Marvel’s first family wasn’t too good—but it did well enough to spawn a sequel, 2007’s Rise of the Silver Surfer. This one was a bit better, featuring Galactus and the Power Cosmic. But it still wasn’t good enough by a longshot. Plans for a third movie in the franchise, which would’ve expanded on the characters and plots introduced by Rise, were shelved. Just goes to show you that signing a three-picture deal doesn’t mean as much as you might hope.

Dredd 2

This is probably the most tragic entry on the list, since the first Dredd starring Karl Urban is a legitimately amazing movie. Unfortunately, it seems that the stink of the Sylvester Stalone crapfest from 1995 was too strong for moviegoers to ignore, and Dredd failed to find an audience during its theatrical run. It’s a cult hit, though, so there’s still an outside chance Dredd 2 could happen before we all get old and die.

Planned Sequels That Were Completely Abandoned

Rumor: Marvel’s ‘Iron Fist’ Netflix Series Problem

by Stone Marshall | Jul 6, 2015 | Awesome Book News | 0 comments

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has expanded into a gritty and hard-hitting corner via Netflix, where we got the acclaimed Daredevil reboot series, with three other Marvel heroes (Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist) all set to follow with their own Netflix shows.

But while Daredevil has found its rhythm (with an exciting Punisher storyline coming in season 2), and Jessica Jones and Luke Cage are establishing an intersecting mythos (the two heroes were an item and had a daughter in the comics), Iron Fist has remained off the radar, with only a few small hints that the character will eventually appear in the MCU. Now, word is that Marvel is still having trouble bringing Iron Fist to the screen, for several key reasons.

BMD is the site claiming to have sources close to this RUMOR. Here’s the breakdown of the issue that could be holding up Iron Fist’s progression:

Power Source

In the comics, Iron Fist is Danny Rand, son of an explorer who discovers the mystical city of K’un-L’un, which only appears on Earth every ten years. During an expedition to the mystical city, Danny and his parents are betrayed by his father’s business partner, resulting in Danny being orphaned at K’un-L’un. There, he is trained in the ways of a warrior, culminating in a fight with a mystical dragon that endows him with mystical powers, making his hands incredibly powerful weapons. Donning a ceremonial costume, Danny becomes the superhero Iron Fist – often partnered with Luke Cage in the group “Heroes for Hire.”

In the case of the Iron Fist Netflix series, BMD’s Devin Faraci reports that Marvel has been taking multiple pitches from different creative teams regarding how to approach the show, with the primary point of contention being the character’s mystical powers and origin.

Daredevil approached street-level Marvel heroes in a very grounded way, presenting Matt Murdock’s superhuman abilities as something akin to a blind martial arts master (i.e., extraordinary but not impossible). However, in that same show, there were also hints of Marvel mysticism (ninjas, old lady martial arts masters, a drug bearing Iron Fist’s enemy Steel Serpent’s logo on its label…), so it’s clear where Marvel wants to take things. The questions are: how fast to get there, and what’s the best way?

Let’s Get Mystical… Mystical…

IMAGE SOURCE

The biggest criticism of the Daredevil series was that the climatic superhero vs. super villain battle was the least engaging part of the show; fans had a clear preference for the more grounded exploration of a vigilante in black clothing. Meanwhile, on the movie side, 2016 presents a big challenge as Marvel tries to incorporate mysticism and magic into their universe full-on, with the release of Doctor Strange. That film will have a similar challenge as Thor in front of it: selling the idea of a “real-world” where magic (or cosmic beings) is an everyday occurrence.

Once that door is opened, how mystical abilities are filtered into the rest of the MCU remains to be seen; however, after films like Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy opened the cosmos of the MCU to fans, a “grounded” spy show like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. found a way to put that extraterrestrial mythos to interesting (and effective) use. So maybe Iron Fist is poised to do much the same, in perfect coordination with Doctor Strange’s debut. Since Doctor Strange is rumored to appear in Iron Fist at some point, the connection between the two seems pretty clear.

Grounded Still Works

Marvel would do well to remember that fans were more engaged in seeing how Matt Murdock evolved from nameless vigilante into the hero known as Daredevil more so than seeing the finished version of the hero. Danny Rand’s evolution into Iron Fist is a story that is ripe for extension into a long-form narrative, if we take time to examine key elements of the character. For example:

A good portion of the season focused on his training at K’un-L’un.
How he tries to bring his martial arts training into a modern urban setting (eg., early vigilante mistakes).
His past with his parents, and the reasoning for his dad’s obsession with K’un-L’un.
The tragic trek to K’un-L’un that got his parents killed.
The larger mystic/martial arts mythos that will tie back to Daredevil, and introduce the Iron Fist villain(s).
How he comes to befriend Luke Cage (presuming we don’t see Iron Fist introduced in the Luke Cage Netflix series, first).

The truth here is that Iron Fist is almost too close to a show like Arrow at this point, now that The CW’s flagship superhero series has explored ideas of mysticism and ancient cities where orders of ninja assassins hang out. Keeping Iron Fist’s mystical abilities seems like a no-brainer, even if the mysticism is kept to a minimum in season 1 (focus on training and practical martial arts, with the iron fist powers held back as some big reveal or turning point).

But distinguishing the show in the same way as Daredevil is going to be more about cracking the code of Danny Rand’s journey and its thematic richness, than deciding on comic book powers (or the character’s ethnicity, which is another issue referenced in BMD‘s report). The story of a man (maybe a fish-out-of-water type who looks like Ryan Phillippe) who is training in an ancient mystic city to hit harder than any other man on earth has loads of potential; here’s hoping that Marvel figures out the right approach to realize that potential.

Daredevil is currently available on Netflix. AKA Jessica Jones releases this fall followed by Luke Cage and Daredevil season 2 in 2016. Iron Fist is still currently in development.

Rumor: Marvel’s ‘Iron Fist’ Netflix Series Problem

Warner Bros. hands over the edgier DC Comics movies to New Line

by Stone Marshall | Jul 4, 2015 | Awesome Book News | 0 comments

In an attempt to protect the fragile minds of young comic book readers, in 1993 DC created a special age-restricted imprint called Vertigo that would house its more “adult” titles. Free from the constraints of capes and continuity, some of the Vertigo books—like Sandman and Hellblazer—became big hits with both readers and critics. Thanks to the Vertigo logo on the cover, though, nobody had to worry about these award-winning stories about sandmen and people who blaze hell mucking up their beloved mainstream comics like Batman and Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen.

Now, Warner Bros. has decided to do something similar with the wide-array of DC Comics movies and TV shows that it controls. According to Deadline, management of media based on Vertigo titles—including Preacher, Lucifer, the dearly departed Constantine, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Sandman—will be transferred over to New Line Cinema so Warner Bros. can focus on Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Boring Industry Nonsense and its other Justice League-related movies. Deadline doesn’t go into this, but we’d assume this will also lock the Vertigo movies and the regular movies into separate “universes,” so Superman won’t be popping up in Sandman to talk about his weird dreams about being an actor.

One interesting wrinkle in all of this, though, is that Justice League Dark/Dark Universe—the spinoff movie that would star some of DC’s Vertigo-friendly heroes like Swamp Thing, Deadman, and John Constantine—will be staying with Warner Bros. instead of heading to New Line. In other words, it could link up with the regular Justice League movies. That’s according to The Hollywood Reporter, which also adds the unfortunate note that Guillermo del Toro—who has been attached to this project since forever—has now dropped out. Hey, at least we have a million more superhero movies to look forward to!

Warner Bros. hands over the edgier DC Comics movies to New Line

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