Sci-Fi Storm

Disney/Pixar’s Incredibles 2, a sequel that took 14 years to make (and even references that in a short teaser) seems to have been worth the wait…it broken the records for a weekend opening for an animated film and a PG-rated film this past weekend, with a $183 million domestic gross, which lands it 8th all-time. And it wasn’t done there – it took in an additional $28.3 million just for Monday, another animated record and the second best Monday in June ever, behind Jurassic World. The movie is an excellent, fun continuation of the story of a family of Supers, who are outlawed due to the damage often surrounding their heroics – but it may be time for Supers to be legal again.

Speaking of Jurassic World, its own sequel, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is tracking for a $135-165 million opening weekend on what is looking like a busy weekend.

Typically a shareholder meeting isn’t generally where you get exciting news, but Disney isn’t your typical company. At this afternoon’s meeting, they gave hints of many upcoming things. Top on the list on the movie front was a peek at the timeline for Star Wars Episode VII, which will take place 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, which is no accident – it’s just over 30 years since the release of Return of the Jedi, which means the actors from the original trilogy will be – wait for it – 30 years older. And given that Chairman Bob Iger said that there will be “very familiar faces returning,” I think we know what that means. He also said that there would be three new young leads, lending credence to past rumors. Principal photography is expected to start this May.

Also mentioned is that Disney/Pixar is working on two new sequels – Cars 3 and Incredibles 2, but gave no further details. In addition, a fifth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean is in development, but has not been given a green light on production.

Sony/Columbia’s reboot of the Marvel Franchise The Amazing Spider-Man appears to have been a good play, with the superhero movie taking in $21M on Friday and is looking at a $65M weekend, and since it opened strongly on Tuesday before the holiday it likely going to top $140M total through Sunday.

Meanwhile, Disney/Pixar’s Brave, in it’s third weekend of release, is looking at a $24M weekend, taking third behind Universal’s R-rated Ted ($36M). Although from my ears buzz on Brave has been light, it’s a cute fantasy mother/daughter story but with enough elements to interest the boys as well.

Disney/Pixar’s latest effort, the medieval women’s lib story Brave, will follow in the footsteps of all the previous Pixar films and open with an estimated $70M weekend, after a $25M Friday, according to Deadline, and unseat the #1 movie of that past two weekends, DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.

The odd R-rated mash-up Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Killer from Fox, despite a media blitz, didn’t fare well, looking at a possible $17.5M. But when I still hear, “That’s a real movie? I thought it was a joke!” word-of-mouth buzz just ain’t going to be there for it.

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…
(continue reading…)