Leigh Whannell is one of the biggest names in modern horror cinema, Whannell alongside James Wan created both the Saw and Insidious franchises. Leigh Whannell himself directing, Insidious Chapter 3 (2015) and Upgrade (2018). With his history of making quality horror movies, it is no wonder that critics and audience are praising The Invisible Man as the low budget horror movie based on Universal’s classic monster franchise has taken the top spot on the box office earning $29.1 million.
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The movies’ success led to Leigh Whannell signing a new two year deal with James Blum and his studio Blumhouse. A two-year, first-look pact covers film and TV project written, directed, or produced by Whannell. In a statement about the new deal James Blum had this to say:
“Leigh creates movies which not only build franchises but fundamentally change the landscape of their genre,” Blumhouse’s Jason Blum said Saturday in a statement. “After he and James Wan made Saw, it launched dozens of copycats. Their work with Blumhouse on Insidious founded not just a franchise but dozens of classical proscenium PG-13 supernatural horror films. I have no doubt that will be true for The Invisible Man and for anything else he wants to create. I just want to be there with him when he does!”
While there is no evidence that his next projects will be based on another Universal classic monster. Universal is interested in rebooting Dracula next, which Whannell has shown some interest in directing. In an Interview with BloodyDisgusting, Whannell explained how he would bring the iconic bloodsucker to the modern world:
“I think I would try to get at the essence of what makes Dracula scary, which is, to me, what makes Dracula scary is his lack of mercy. The fact that he might pretend,” Whannell considers aloud. “Like, he’s not a romantic. He needs to drink blood. What parallels in life can you think of that equate to someone without mercy. It’s a psychopath, right? A psychopath.”
With the success of The Invisible Man, Universal now has newfound momentum to continue to bring to life their Dark Universe, and it would be a smart move to keep Leigh Whannell as close to the project as possible.
Despite the colossal failure of The Mummy (2017), Universal’s Dark Universe seems to found newfound success with The Invisible Man. The low budget horror film debut over the weekend with $29.1 million earning. With a budget of $9 million, Invisible Man has become the most successful film in Universal’s modern reincarnation of the classic cinema monsters. Reviews have also been very kind to the movie, with a rotten tomato rating of 90% critic response and 88% Audience score. The Invisible Man didn’t just win the top spot this week, but it proves that despite the overall cheesy vibe that these classic monsters have, there is an audience for a well-done horror movie.
Coming in second place is The Sonic The Hedgehog Movie earning $16.1 million domestically, earning a total sum of $128 million. With a budget of $113 million, The Sonic The Hedgehog Movie is the biggest surprise of the year in the way it was able to find success after an initial bad reception. The initial backlash that the movie recive came after the first trailer debut the original look for the titular character. After the initial trailer, Sonic the hedgehog was given a facelift that seemed to earn back the trust from diehard Sonic fans. Despite the mixed review Sonic the Hedgehog Movie is still making money, proving that nostalgia is a powerful tool.
Coming in third is The Call of the Wild, the movie is about a dog who is taken away from his home in California, to Alaska where he is to serve for a dog lead mail delivery service. The movie was made with a budget of $109 million, which I can assume went to into getting Harrison Ford to start in the movie. The movie made $13.1 million domestically, earning a total of $45 million. There really isn’t much I can say about this film. The Call of the Wild is a feel-good movie about a dog and Harrison Ford if that is not your cup of tea then this is not a movie for you.
Wrapping the top 5 this week is the Funimation release anime movie My Hero Academia: Hero Rising coming in at number 4, earning $5.2 million. Despite a limited release, My Hero Academia has earned a strong enough fanbase that the movie was bound to make money. Although not as much as DragonBall Movie: Broly released last year. Taking fifth place is Bad Boys for Life with $4.3 million.
Top Ten Weekend Box Office Result courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo:
Justin Timberlake and SZA just released a song that serves as the first single off the upcoming soundtrack for the Trolls World Tour movie. While that may not seem very hype, the single, “The Other Side,” is actually great.
The track is an up-beat and funky one written by Timberlake, and produced by Ludwig Göransson. Timberlake has written and performed the new music on the soundtrack with appearances from artists such as George Clinton, Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige, Anna Kendrick, Anderson .Paak, Haim and more.
The 90s Hip-Hop Hype-Williams inspired video dropped Wednesday and stars JT and SZA. The two sing into a fish-eye lens, while dressed in silver bodysuits in sci-fi industrial rooms, and JT of course performs some of his signature dance moves.
“I was so thrilled to be invited to participate in this project with Justin,” SZA said in a statement. “The Creative Process of working with him and the team was filled with such excitement. It’s an energy you can feel in both the song and music video. I can’t wait for people to check it out.”
Timberlake and Kendrick will reprise their roles, and star in Trolls World Star, which will be out in theaters April 17.
Jurassic World 3 director Colin Trevorrow announced on Twitter that shooting for Jurassic World 3 has started. To celebrate the start of filming, Trevorrow also dropped a little surprise.
Jurassic World: Dominion, is the third movie in the Jurassic World Trilogy and the sixth film in the franchise. Chris Pratt returns along with Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Neill, Laura Dem, and Jeff Goldblum. With most of the cast returning, Jurassic World: Dominion takes place after the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, where the island’s destruction resulted in the death of a large amount of the dinosaurs, while the rest escape and now live among human. Unfortunately, that is all that we have to go on when it comes to an actual plot for the movie. However, speculation raised when Chris Pratt went on twitter to post his take on the new title.
Day 1 of 100
JURASSIC WORLD do·min·ion /dəˈminyən/
1. sovereignty or control. "man's attempt to establish dominion over nature”#JurassicWorldDominion
The title could mean anything, the struggles humanity faces as dinosaurs are running around destroying their way of life. On the other hand, this could be a Planet of the Apes scenario where the dinosaurs are now riding horses, shooting guns while trying to establish a new world order. Either way, the Jurrasic World franchise has officially got all my hype
The Jurassic World franchise has proved to be very successful, despite the critical response. With the original Jurassic World becoming one of the highest-grossing films of 2015 by breaking one billion dollars in revenue. The follow-up Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was just as successful but panned as one of the worst movies of 2018. Jurassic World: Dominion is set to release on June 11, 2021.
To say that the success of Black Panther send major shockwaves withing the MCU would be an understatement. Upon release, Black Panther was praised, breaking numerous records and surpassing the one billion dollar mark. You could tell Marvel themselves weren’t sure if the movie was going to be successful, with Infinity War (releasing a few months later) reducing the role of Prince T’Challa to a small cameo, and turning Wakanda into the scene for the final battle.
Black Panther checked all the marks and blended them to make one of the best superhero movies of all time, from great directing to the amazing soundtrack. However, New York-based rock band Yeasayer seemed to suspect foul play, as the group has filed a lawsuit against Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd over their song, “Pray for Me,” from the official Black Panther soundtrack. According to the legal documents, “Pray for Me,” pulls soundbites from Yeasayer’s 2007 song, “Sunrise.” According to a statement from the group, “a distinctive choral performance … comprised of male voices singing in their highest registers, with animated, pulsing vibrato, and developed via distinctive audio post-processing.” Yeasayer continued by claiming Lamar and The Weeknd, “extracted,” their vocals, and tried changing them for “Pray for Me,” but they claimed even with changes, they’re “immediately recognizable.” Yeasayer claims that you can spot the, ‘stolen,’ soundbites around eight times throughout, “Pray for Me.”
TMZ obtained the legal documents claiming that Yeasayer is asking for the trial jury to determine whether the band should be compensated for the profit and damages from, “Pray for Me.”
The timing for this lawsuit does raise some questions since Black Panther released two years ago. However, upon release, the movie earned a best picture nomination, and broke multiple records. Black Panther 2 is set to start production with a release date of May 6, 2022. As for Yeasayer, the band broke up last December.
The original Candyman is hailed as one of the best horror movies ever made. However, if you never heard of it, that would not a surprise. The original Candyman was never given the time of day. However, now the movie is looked backed with all the respect it deserves. The original film debuted in 1992, directed by Bernard Rose, the movie is about a skeptical student who starts to investigate a legend about a serial killer called Candyman. The original Candyman, while bloody, can feel dated at times; however, the movie is remembered for the way it tackled social issues that still ring true today.
Fans of the original movie were surprised to hear that a new Candyman movie is set to premiere on June 12, 2020, directed by Nia DaCosta known for directing two episodes of Top Boy, and Little Woods. The script for the reboot is written by Jordan Peele, who has made a name for himself as one the busiest man in horror. With a short, but highly acclaimed filmography with Get Out, US, and recently The Twilight Zone, fans should be excited for the fresh take on the myth of Candyman. Ahead of the full trailer reveal on Thursday, the official Candyman Twitter account dropped a new teaser trailer.
Dare to say his name.
Click below to tweet #Candyman 5 times in one post and get your first look. See the trailer on Thursday.
The teaser while short, clocking in at 6 seconds, gives us a great look at the star power for the movie. With Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart- Jarrett, and Rebecca Spence all simple saying, “Candyman.” Fans of the original already know what saying Candyman five times mean, and it is an excellent way to get fans excited while introducing the hook hand killer to a new generation.
Candyman 2020, adds to the increasing horror lineup of the 2020 Summer movie season, with Spiral the Saw sequel starting Chris Rock and Samuel L Jackson. The full trailer is set to release Thursday 27, 20202.
