Guardians Of The Galaxy just enjoyed a very successful weekend at movie theaters, taking home around $94m, far in excess of expectations. The movie also stands at 92% positive reviews on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, joining all previous Marvel Studios movies in receiving predominantly favorable notices.
Marvel Studios is doing very well. In six years and ten movies, it has avoided both critical and commercial disasters, and frustrated naysayers who hailed the demise of the superhero movie at every step. Marvel's rivals at Fox, Sony Columbia, and Warner Bros, have enjoyed commercial success as well -- but not with the acclaim, consistency, or proliferation of Marvel. So how does Marvel do it, and can they keep doing it?
With the final 'Hobbit' film hitting theaters later this year, Warner Bros. is looking for their next big fantasy franchise to fill the void. And since 'Game of Thrones' has made dragons so popular (but is already taken by HBO), the studio is eyeing classic novel series 'The Dragonriders of Pern' by Anne McCaffrey. Are dragons the new wizards?
We have our 'Wreck-It Ralph,' various video game-adapted movies, and even a feature-length 'Angry Birds' film on the way, but now Hollywood is continuing the rich traditional of creating worlds around our favorite nostalgic items with the announcement of a 'Space Invaders' movie.
In a move that surprised no one (or, let us rephrase, should have surprised no one), Warner Bros. formally announced that 'Man of Steel' director Zack Snyder will be helming the long-awaited 'Justice League' movie after he's finished with 'Batman vs. Superman.' With his Superman sequel set for release on May 6, 2016, the premiere date for this DC superhero team-up is projected for around 2018, and
From being an ape, to leading them, to now directing them ...
Motion-capture master Andy Serkis, who famously portrayed intelligent ape Caesar in the prequel 'Planet of the Apes' movies and became Gollum for Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies, will step into the director's chair for Warner Bros.' rendition of 'The Jungle Book.'