Sci-Fi Storm

Disney will pass $1 billion in domestic gross receipts for it’s movies this year faster than any other studio and faster than it’s best previous year – in only 188 days.

The Avengers was a big part of that, grossing over $600 million alone so far, outpacing even The Hunger Games this year. The Avengers come out on [sfs=1249]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1250]DVD[/sfs] September 25th. We managed to catch The Avengers while on a cruise – it was an extremely fun movie to watch. Sure, there were plot holes, etc. but it was just fun!

Mark Andrews, who is currently taking about the upcoming Disney/Pixar movie Brave, spoke with The Playlist about Brave and other things, including the epic Disney box-office flop he produced, John Carter. And he’s quite defensive about the movie.

“It was a crazy experience. I had kind of gone through it with ‘Iron Giant.’ You have a great film and nobody saw it,” Andrews said. “And here it happens again on ‘Carter.’ And it’s like ‘Are you kidding me? This happens twice in a lifetime?'”

He felt that Disney was writing off the movie before it had a chance, and didn’t really give it any support. Yet it has had decent [asin=B005LAIH2W]DVD[/asin]/[asin=B005LAIH3G]Blu-ray[/asin] sales and is reportedly one of the most pirated movies. And I personally liked it. And Andrews isn’t ready to write it off yet. “We’re ready to go. As soon as somebody from Disney says, ‘We want ‘John Carter 2,” we’d be right there.”

As I get back to work after a very busy weekend, let’s start out with a clip from Disney/Pixar’s Brave, which will be released on June 22nd…
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The movie may better be known for it’s disastrous box office precipitated by poor marketing and possibly costing Rich Ross his job, but I don’t think John Carter is a bad movie…I think it was a strong movie that kept true to the story, with some added twists. You can see my review of it here.

It still has a small chance at redemption though – tomorrow it is released on [sfs=1234]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1235]DVD[/sfs]. It may not matter in the long run, but hopefully it will grow on people.

As the Superhero Steamroller called The Avengers rolls over everything, taking in another $55 million in it’s third weekend and burying Battleship, which may be on it’s way to become Universal’s John Carter (both of which starred Taylor Kitsch…hmmm…hope he isn’t invested in Facebook stock…), Marvel/Disney wants to ride the high and has infused the just-started Iron Man 3 with an additional $60 million in it’s budget…raising the total to $200 million, according to Latino-Review. That’s a lot of explosions and devastation…no idea exactly what they’ll spend it on, I just hope they do so wisely, and not on Tony Stark’s Scotch budget.

Ashley Eckstein, who voices the character of Jedi padawan Ashoka Tano in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, is not your typical SF actor…she’s a fan as well. And as a female fan, she’s trying to change the SF merchandise landscape: one that has been marketed primarily to males, even though females account for half of science fiction fans. That’s why she’s founded Her Universe, which produces products focused on female fans.

Her Universe just launched some of their Star Wars shirts online with retailer Hot Topic, and Ashley begins her job as co-host for Star Wars Weekends at Walt Disney World this Friday, and taking place every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through June 10th.

I spoke with the always friendly Ashley about Her Universe, Star Wars, and Disney.
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To absolutely no one’s surprise, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced during today’s quarterly earnings call that a sequel to mega-hit The Avengers is already in development, but skipped over any details. He also re-iterated that Iron Man 3, Thor 2 and Captain America 2 are still on schedule.

He also mentioned that Disney’s Imagineers are also stepping up plans for Marvel-themed attractions for it’s DisneyParks division. However, Universal currently holds the rights to most of the top-line Marvel characters in the US east of the Mississippi for it’s theme parks in Orlando – so don’t expect anything other than merchandise to show up at Walt Disney World any time soon.

Did you ever want to decorate a wall, like Han Solo did in Jabba the Hutt’s palace, but don’t want to deal with hibernation sickness? Well now you can…this year at Star Wars Weekends at Walt Disney World, which starts a week from Friday on May 18th and takes place for four weekends, they will be offering “Carbon-Freeze Me”.

Guests will step into a “carbon freezing chamber”, where multiple cameras will be used to scan the guest’s face in 3D. That scan will be used to create an 8-inch figurine of the famous carbon freeze pose, with the guest’s face instead of Han’s (which will be shipped to the guest in about 4 weeks). A light-up wristband is also included, and the process costs $99.95. Additional figurines can be ordered for $74.95 each.

You must book ahead by calling 407-WDW-TECH and a credit card is required to guarantee the reservation with a $25 cancellation fee if canceling within 48 hours. Theme park admission to Disney’s Hollywood Studios is also required.

Disney has long had a Star Wars-based attraction at 4 of it’s current theme park locations, with Star Tours at Disneyland in Anaheim, Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris, and recently updating the attraction at WDW with all new technology. And the recently “expansionist” moves by the company, with the new Cars Land at the California Adventure park and additions at WDW like the Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom and the announced “Avatar-land” for Animal Kingdom, a lot of Disney and Star Wars fans have felt that a larger Star Wars presence was warranted, and could easily be accommodated at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It could even be the answer to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter over at nearby Universal Studios, which is already getting an expansion.

Star Wars Weekends are already very popular at WDW.

So it was no surprise to start hearing through the Disney rumor mill that a Star Wars land is actually being considered. What was surprising is that it appears to be aimed for Disneyland Paris, leaving U.S. fans throwing up their hands and wondering, “What about us?” They are even planning a Mos Eisley Cantina – how cool would that be? Of course, hopefully it will be more safer than the real thing…

It is uncertain just how real this is – certainly nothing is official at this point, and Disney is also known for announcing things at their parks that ultimately don’t happen. But even if Paris DOES get this, I think it is actually a GOOD sign – as it is not unknown to develop something at one park and then do it again at another park, hopefully with the kinks worked out.

Remember those tracking numbers that showed Disney had not done it’s job properly in advertising John Carter, resulting in a $200+ million loss for the studio? Well, the numbers are out for Disney’s first Marvel film for which it is doing the distribution, The Avengers – and it looks like it has nothing to worry about this time.

Deadline is reporting that tracking numbers are “incredibly strong” ahead of the May 4th U.S. release – with great numbers from both men and women, both young and old, and is looking at a possible $100+ million domestic opening weekend. Plus, it will open a week earlier in several international markets, which should increase the buzz.

Speaking of early international openings – Universal’s Battleship opened in 5 locations yesterday and received previews in 11 more, more than a month ahead of its May 18th U.S. debut – and it is reported that it is doing very well in those markets so far, estimating a take of $7.4 million for yesterday alone and taking the #1 spot in many cases.

Battleship, from Peter Berg, was another risky, expensive movie – numbers place it between $200-250 million – and after the failure of John Carter, some believe this had the potential to follow it as a massive bust. From the trailers, I get the impression of it being Battle: Los Angeles on water – buy I don’t know if it suffers from similar marketing to John Carter – action scenes without context or story. I can say, however, that I’m looking forward to The Avengers much more.