Analysts predict Barbie could make $70 million-$80 million, while Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer eyes a $40M debut.

The hottest film event of the summer is fast approaching! That’s right, folks! Two film industry titans, Barbie and Oppenheimer, will soon battle it out for box office supremacy! Before you bet on who wins the top spot on the charts, see what analysts predict for the July 21-23 weekend.

Tracking for both films is interesting, to say the least. Great Gerwig‘s Barbie could open to a peppy $70 million-$80 million, with an opportunity to make more. Warner Bros, who’s licking its wounds after The Flash underperformed, is holding out for $60M, just to be cautious.

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie introduces several Barbie and Ken variants, each with a different personality, background, and status in a bizarre world of partying, shopping, beachside brawls, and feeble attempts at flirtation. The footage piles on the strange as Barbie and Ken seemingly travel to the real world, where everything becomes more unhinged than it was before.

The Barbie cast includes many of Hollywood’s heavy hitters and fresh faces, including Margot Robbie (The Suicide Squad) and Ryan Gosling (La La Land) as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera (End of Watch), Kate McKinnon (The Spy Who Dumped Me), Michael Cera (Arrested Development), Ariana Greenblatt (Borderlands), Issa Rae (Insecure), Thea Perlman (Matilda), and Will Ferrell (Elf). The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne (Little Women), Emma Mackey (Sex Education), Nari Nef (Transparent), Alexandra Shipp (the X-Men films), Kingsley Ben-Adir (Secret Invasion), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Ncuiti Gatwa (Doctor Who), Scott Evans (Grace and Frankie), Jamie Demetriou (Cruella), Connor Swindells (Emma), Sharon Rooney (Dumbo), Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton), Ritu Arya (The Umbrella Academy), Dua Lipa, and Helen Mirren (The Queen).

Greta Gerwig directs from a screenplay she wrote with Noah Baumbach, based on Mattel’s rich history with the Barbie toy brand. The film’s producers are Oscar nominee David Heyman (Marriage Story, Gravity), Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Robbie Brenner, with Michael Sharp, Josey McNamara, Ynon Kreiz, Courtenay Valenti, Toby Emmerich, and Cate Adams serving as executive producers.

As for Oppenheimer, Universal and Christopher Nolan‘s epic starring Cillian Murphy is tracking for $40M in domestic dollars. Part of the reason Oppenheimer is tracking lower than Barbie is likely because of the film’s R rating and 3-hour runtime. While Barbie plays for multiple demographics, Oppenheimer is an adult-oriented film. Additionally, there were other times one of Nolan’s films came in second place. 2014’s Interstellar opened behind Disney’s Big Hero 6 with $47.5 million, though it eventually climbed to an impressive $701.7 million global total.

Oppenheimer is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. It features an all-star cast that stars Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey, Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett, and Kenneth Branagh. The cast also includes Dane DeHaan (Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets), Dylan Arnold (Halloween franchise), David Krumholtz (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Matthew Modine (The Dark Knight Rises).

Which film do you plan to see first in theaters? Barbie or Oppenheimer? I’m Team Barbie, but I also look forward to seeing Nolan’s latest opus. Let us know which movie you’ll see first in the comments section.

MGM+ has ordered season 3 of From, a sci-fi horror series starring Harold Perrineau, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Eion Bailey

Season 2 of the MGM+ sci-fi horror series From just wrapped up last week, and now it has been officially announced that From season 3 is going to happen! MGM+ has ordered a new batch of episodes that they expect to start airing sometime next year. The network also let it be known that From is the second-most viewed series in their history, coming in behind only Godfather of Harlem.

Written and created by John Griffin, From is described as a “contemporary sci-fi horror series”. The show aims to unravel the mystery of a nightmarish town in middle America that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down.

The cast of From includes Catalina Sandino Moreno and Eion Bailey as married couple Jim and Tabitha Matthews, who are “struggling in the aftermath of a personal tragedy and suddenly find their family trapped in the town. Together they must find a way to keep their children safe, struggling to come to terms with this new reality even as they desperately search for a way back home”; Harold Perrineau as Boyd Stevens, “the sheriff whose Draconian rules have held the fragile town together, even as he searches for a way to escape this seemingly inescapable nightmare”; David Alpay as Jade, “a brash, entitled tech hot shot”; Elizabeth Saunders as Donna, “the earthy, strong leader of Colony House -the town’s separatist faction”; Corteon Moore as Ellis, “the estranged son of Sheriff Boyd and a resident of Colony House”; Hannah Cheramy as Jim and Tabitha’s adolescent daughter Julie”; Shaun Majumder as Father Khatri, “who cares for the spirits of the townsfolk”; Simon Webster as Jim and Tabitha’s son Ethan, who is gravely injured during the story; Ricky He as Sheriff Boyd’s deputy Kenny; Elizabeth Moy as Tain-Chen, Kenny’s mother and operator of the town diner and supply depot; Chloe Van Landschoot as town medic Kristi; and Pegah Ghafoori as Fatima, who considers Ellis to be the love of her life.

MGM+ head Michael Wright provided the following statement (via TVLine): “The first two seasons of From captivated critics and terrified and engaged fans, who have formed a thriving online community that is trying to put the pieces together week by week as the secrets of the nightmarish town — and possibly beyond — are slowly revealed. We can’t wait for fans to see the surprises ahead in Season 3, which promises more scares and mysteries, but also more answers.“

Executive producer Jack Bender added: “We’re so grateful for the support of our fans and Fromily this season. We have a lot more story to tell… and shocking, weird roads to take you on, with plenty of answers along the way.“

From comes to us from Midnight Radio and AGBO. Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg, Mike Larocca, and showrunner Jeff Pinkner serve as executive producers alongside Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo, plus John Griffin and Bender, who directed the first four episodes. Adrienne Erickson is co-executive producer.

Are you a fan of From, and are you glad to hear it’s coming back for season 3? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

In the mid 2000’s, comic book films were largely becoming accepted as massive box office draws  that had the potential to make or break an actor’s career. Ben Affleck was trying to distance himself  from his role as Matt Murdock in the critically panned Daredevil, Tobey Maguire was hanging up his Spidey-suit for (seemingly forever) and even Chris Evans was scarred from his role as Johnny Storm  in the disappointing Fantastic Four series. And before we saw Affleck dawn the mantle of the world’s  greatest detective, before Tobey swung his way back into the spotlight, and before Evans would  secure his role as one of the most iconic superheroes of all time- Marvel was SERIOUSLY in need of some movie maintenance.  

See, with the super-hero movie genre being the new “it trend” in Hollywood since the early  millennium- Every studio in town was looking for usable comic book IP to adapt in live action. This  includes studios like Fox producing a large gallery of X-Men flicks, and Sony to capitalize on their  goldmine of spider-man material. But what about the company that CREATED all these colorful  crusaders? What about Marvel? 

For those that don’t know- Marvel wasn’t always a multi-billion-dollar corporation with endless  resources and Mickey writing checks. In fact, Marvel was in such dire financial straits at the time that  they resorted to selling their IP film rights to various studios. This is, of course, how all of the Marvel  films we had at the time were made- Marvel would sell a popular IP to the highest bidding movie  studio and that studio would make the movie (for better or worse) and collect millions of dollars. And  for the uninitiated, movies generate much more money than comics. And Marvel wanted in on some  of that sweet sweet dough. Now, because Marvel had previously sold all their best-selling characters  to multiple different studios, they themselves were not left with the film rights to characters that were  known to non-comic book readers. At this time in the mid-2000’s, the public wasn’t hip to the world of  superhero content. This was a time when the Guardians of the Galaxy were not a household name,  and nobody knew (or cared to know) anything about characters like Vision, The Falcon, or Captain Marvel. 

It’s hard to imagine now, but Marvel was struggling to find the right path to take for their live action  entries.  

But then- one character, one decision, one giant risk- led to the most successful and widely-known  comic book franchise of all time…The MCU. 

But how did we get here? Well, true believers, it all started with a movie that nobody saw coming. A  movie that serves as the starting point of the entire MCU. A movie that (had just ONE thing gone  wrong,) would’ve been nothing more than another failed experiment in marvel movies. And that  movie is 2008’s Iron Man. And the big question today is- how does this movie hold up 15 years  later? Let’s find out in today’s episode of Marvel Revisited. 

IRON MAN was directed by Jon Favreau and stars Robert Downey Junior, Jeff Bridges,  Terrence Howard, and Gwenyth Paltrow. It’s the origin story of Tony Stark as Iron Man. Tony is an egocentric billionaire weapons dealer with a love for fast women and good times. But when Tony is  kidnapped and nearly fatally injured by a terrorist organization, he builds a suit to keep him safe,  while being a total threat to anyone else. But will this invention save Tony’s life or put a target on his  back for the greedy Obadiah Stane- Tony’s second in command who aims to kill Tony and sell the  Iron Man technology. 

Now, if you don’t know, Iron Man was created in 1963 by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Larry Lieber, Don  Deck, and Jack Kirby. He made his first appearance in the science fiction comic book series “Tales  of Suspense” but 5 years later got his own comic book series.  

The film was a wild card for Marvel, this character wasn’t necessarily a best seller and in fact, at this  time he was a mostly unknown character to anyone that wasn’t interested in comics. But John  Favreau had a vision for the character and an angle to introduce this new kind of hero to cinema. At  one point in the late 90’s, there were talks and some development on a live action Iron Man film that  was set to star Tom Cruise as Stark. And Cruise was considered for YEARS even on this  production. The role of Iron Man ended up going to a newly sober Robert Downey Junior, who had  previously been forgotten by Hollywood after a history of drug use and other legal issues. And to this  day, Iron Man serves as the movie responsible for Downey Junior’s comeback. For real, this movie  is directly responsible for Robert Downey Junior becoming the highest paid actor in Hollywood at  one point. You might say he was no longer LESS THAN ZERO- ya know? 

So, when this movie was made, nobody knew it would lead to the greater MCU as we have it today.  But, it was always the goal. While this movie stands as a kick ass and punk rock action adventure on  its own- It’s also the movie that planted the first seed for the Avengers. According to Jeff Bridges,  there was no official script for the film. This means that any easter eggs for the greater MCU were  thought up and added to the movie as they filmed. Marvel had faith in John Favreau as a filmmaker  and knew that if this movie went well, there would be other characters being introduced in their own  movies that would eventually cross-over in one revolutionary film. 

And to start off that revolution, we get Tony Stark. 

Tony is the CEO of Stark Tech which produces military grade weapons for the government. Tony  inherited this business from his late father Howard Stark, who we don’t learn much about in this  movie, but we do get the full Howard Stark treatment across later films. Tony is more than just a  spoiled young billionaire though, he’s also a literal genius. He’s a brilliant engineer with money and  resources to help fund his appetite for creating new defense tech. I like the way this movie is paced  in general, but I really love how quick we get into the good stuff in the first act. We’re quickly  introduced to Tony, and we’re flooded with context clues to tell us what kind of person he is. He’s  drinking, partying with strangers, and seemingly unconcerned with his responsibility. But he’s also  charming and quick-witted in a way that makes us like him right from the start. We also meet his BFF  James “Rhody” Rhodes played here by Terrence Howard but later replaced by Don Cheadle who  continues to play the role. Rhody is a high ranking military official, and he’s presented as the more…  mature of the two friends.  

Now, early on in the movie, Tony is captured by foreign terrorists who want Tony to build them a  nuclear weapon. While in captivity, Tony meets Yinsen, a fellow prisoner who saves Tony’s life when  a piece of shrapnel is lodged in his heart. This is where we get some good character development  for Tony- Yinsen brings out some of Tony’s humanity and helps him realize that selling these 

weapons makes Tony responsible for war. Tony has a moral awakening and it’s not even halfway  into the movie. AND IT’S BELIEVABLE. That’s some damn good character work.  

So, instead of building his captors a weapon, he builds a mark 1 version of his suit. Unfortunately, this is the end of the line for Yinsen. Tony is fully committed to his survival at this point and he’s  ready to break out. And the Iron Man is born. 

This suit design looks incredible and it’s a perfect homage to the original design of the iron man suit  in the comics. Love it! 

Tony escapes captivity but just barely. His suit gets him past the bad guys, but it can’t take him  home. But Tony is saved by the US military, and he makes it back home to Malibu. With Tony having  the experience he did, he comes home a new man. He decides that his company is no longer going  to create weapons, but resources. Tony wants to rebrand and truly do something that makes a  difference for the good and when he reveals this at a press conference- it kicks off the beginning of  Old Obediah Stane’s plan to take Tony out, so he doesn’t lose control of the company. 

This movie really is punk rock. The soundtrack has some heavy hitters on it such as  “Institutionalized” by the Suicidal Tendencies, and a ripping score by Ramin Djawadi.

Now, these days seeing Iron Man suit up is par for the course. He can just tap a button on his arc  reactor and the CGI nanotech does the rest. But seeing Tony slip into his first proper Iron Man suit in  this movie STILL gives me the chills. The filming for Tony’s first suit up and his entire testing  montage was mostly done practically with less digital effect than we end up seeing later in the MCU.  I’d say this is one of the best and most memorable montages in all of the MCU. We get to feel like  we’re part of the crew building this incredible sequence and the even more incredible payoff.  

We also see that Tony has his eye on the terrorists that kidnapped him, while also growing closer to  his assistant, Pepper Potts. Who we later know to be Iron Woman and the mother of Tony’s  Daughter. Again, these are little qualities that make the movie shine, and it still just feels fun and exciting. 

Tony’s first flight is also quite the spectacle. Jon Favreau made the genius decision to get a shot  from inside the suit with tony. I love the immersive feeling of seeing Iron Man fly. Adding a reverse  POV shot makes us feel like we’re inside of Tony’s helmet, and then the wide shots immediately put  us back on the ground looking up. It’s so much fun. I miss being this excited. 

So, Tony gets his revenge on the kidnappers (awesome scene) but meanwhile Obi is having Ralphie from A Christmas Story attempt to build a new version of Tony’s reactor.  

But eventually, Obi meets with Tony’s surviving captors and gets the information he needs. I’m not a  huge fan of the villainy we get in this movie, but I want to be clear- I love Jeff Bridges. I just don’t  love the Iron Monger idea. So, Obi nearly kills Tony by putting some frequency blaster in his ear and  it makes for a rather disturbing visual. Up until this point in the movie I’m loving what I’m getting.

I think the visual effects of this movie will prove to be absolutely timeless. After seeing Pirates of the  Caribbean: At World’s End, Favreau hired Industrial Light & Magic to work on the visual effects.  When you compare the visuals in this movie to something like Daredevil, which we recently covered,  the VFX are much sharper and more detailed in this movie. Personally, I think it even looks better  than MUCH of the CGI that Marvel is producing today. PAY YOUR EMPLOYEES MARVEL. DO IT! 

So, the final conflict (to me) is underwhelming. I respect the incredible achievement that this movie  is. I think it has amazing writing, inspired direction, and very stylish visual language. But, it’s kind of  like just watching a robot get beat up by a bigger robot on a dark rooftop. There’s some villainous  dialogue from Obi and some heroic dialogue from Tony, and just when you think Tony is toast, he  reminds Obi why he’s in charge and outsmarts him. It’s fine, like it’s not BAD. I just find this final act  to be a bit of a let down to the amazing momentum built in the first half. But I DO love this teaser for  War Machine right here. 

Iron Man is one of those movies that stands out. It’s colorful, it’s got flare, it’s visually dazzling, witty,  rugged and F***ING Intense. It was just the breakout success that Marvel needed in order to  continue building their universe. This is proved by the post credit scene that showed Nick Fury  approach Tony for a special project. A project intended to defend earth from any threats too big for  the military. A project called- The Avengers Initiative. 

If you love comics, or if you love movies, or if you love comic book movies- Iron Man is a movie for  everyone. Following the success of this movie’s $585 Million box office run, Marvel began scouting  for potential stars and unknowns to bring their other (at the time) obscure characters to life. Since  Iron Man’s release, we’ve seen some forgettable features like The Incredible Hulk starring Edward  Norton, but also some incredibly memorable movies like The Guardian’s Trilogy. It would be  impossible to praise any of Marvel’s works since 2008 without tipping your hat at this iconic starting  point.

A new poster for It Lives Inside, a supernatural horror film starring Megan Suri, reveals a September release date

Although she had a prominent role in seasons 2 and 3 of the Netflix series Never Have I Ever, Megan Suri’s character Aneesa didn’t have much of a presence in the show’s fourth and final season. But Suri does have the lead role in the upcoming supernatural horror film It Lives Inside – and today, the unveiling of a poster for the film has revealed that it has a September 22 theatrical release date! The poster can be seen at the bottom of this article.

Directed by Bishal Dutta, who crafted the screenplay with Ashish Mehta, It Lives Inside tells the following story: Sam is desperate to fit in at school, rejecting her Indian culture and family to be like everyone else. Whena mythological demonic spirit latches onto her former best friend, she must come to terms with herheritage in order to defeat it.

Suri is joined in the cast by Neeru Bajwa (Criminal), Mohana Krishnan (I Am Frankie), Vik Sahay (Chuck), Gage Marsh (Big Sky), Beatrice Kitsos (Child’s Play remake), and Betty Gabriel (Get Out).

The film was produced by Raymond Mansfield and Sean McKittrick.

Dutta provided the following statement: “It Lives Inside initially emerged as an image: a kid on a bike, riding through Rockwellian suburbs. It’s right out of an early Amblin film. But what if this kid was escaping a puja, her school outfit wrapped in an ornated upatta? For me, that image spoke to the duality I felt growing up as a first-generation immigrant in America.’Where do I belong? Which country is my home? Which world is ultimately mine?’

After I moved to North America from India at the age of four, a lot of my social education came from watching American horror films. I always wondered, what were families like mine doing while Bruce the shark tore through Amity’s waters, while Freddy Krueger slashed teenagers in the dreamscape, and while Jack Torrance chased his son through the maze-like halls of the Overlook? As it developed, It Lives Inside formed its own dual identity much like mine. On one hand, it is a love letter to the community and culture that raised me while on the other, it is a visceral experience that is designed to instill the same raw terror in its viewers that my favorite horror films instilled in me.

I was lucky enough to collaborate with the producers at QC Entertainment from an early stage of the film. Ray and Sean’s expertise in elevating socially-charged dramas to thoughtful, incisive mass entertainment in films like Get Out and BlacKKKlansman made them perfect creative partners from development to post-production. As the story developed, the ideas and emotions at its core only crystallized further and were never diluted or dulled down. My lucky streak extended when I got the opportunity to work with some of my dearest collaborators in bringing this movie to life, from my long-time director of photography, Matthew Lynn, and composer, Wesley Hughes, to Jameson Parker, our executive producer, Jack Price, our editor, and Nolan McNaughton, our sound designer.

It Lives Inside is not autobiographical but draws on real people that I have known and loved. In casting characters so close to my heart, I was awarded miracle after miracle, beginning with Megan Suri. She brings Samidha to life in a way that entirely transforms the words on the page. Betty Gabriel, Neeru Bajwa, Mohana Krishna, Vik Sahay and Gage Marsh all bring so much delicate humanity to the loved ones that fill out Samidha’s world. When I see them all on screen, they don’t feel like characters that I wrote anymore, but rather richly layered human beings that I recognize and cherish in my own life. I believe in horror cinema. It’s the greatest genre our art form has to offer, affording artists opportunities to tell challenging, emotionally rich stories within a harrowing, affective experience. In offering It Lives Inside to the canon, I hope to give you a window into the lives of people I care deeply about… and to make you wonder if someone – or something – really is hiding in the dark, waiting to pop out of your dark, empty closet when the lights are out.“

Will you be watching It Lives Inside this September? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and while you’re scrolling down, check out the new poster:

Roadside Attractions is thrilled to present its Dreamin’ Wild trailer, starring Casey Affleck as the inspiring musician Donnie Emerson.

Casey Affleck is continuing his comeback, and he’s bringing his guitar. Roadside Attractions is proud to present the studio’s Dreamin’ Wild trailer, featuring Affleck as singer/songwriter Donnie Emerson, for a story about music, hope, redemption, and keeping dreams alive. Bill Pohlad directs from a script he wrote based on actual events, with a cast of greats tapping their toes, to an inspiring tale that hits struggling musicians where they live.

Here’s the official synopsis for Dreamin’ Wild, per Roadside Attractions:

Dreamin’ Wild, the true story of love and redemption, is about what happened to singer/songwriter Donnie Emerson and his family when the album he and his brother recorded as teens was rediscovered after thirty years of obscurity and was suddenly hailed by music critics as a lost masterpiece. While the album’s rediscovery brings hopes of second chances, it also brings long-buried emotions as Donnie, his wife Nancy, brother Joe, and father Don Sr. come to terms with the past and their newly found fame.

Casey Affleck leads the emotional journey through hard times in and out of the music industry, with Zooey Deschanel, Noah Jupe, Jack Dylan Grazer, Beau Bridges, Walton Goggins, and Chris Messina making up the rest of the cast. Pohlad produces Dreamin’ Wild alongside Jim Burke, Kim Roth, Karl Spoerri, and Viviana Vezzani.

In the Dreamin’ Wild trailer, Affleck appears to deliver an emotional performance alongside his outstanding co-stars. Having your dreams dashed and then resurrected by fate is a brilliant material for a heartwarming story about never giving up your goals. Donnie Emerson’s journey is proof of that.

Roadside Attractions will release DREAMIN’ WILD exclusively in theaters on August 4th, 2023.

Kevin Bacon will play an undead bounty hunter in the Blumhouse / Prime Video horror action series The Bondsman

One of Kevin Bacon’s earliest roles came in the 1980 slasher classic Friday the 13th, and he has enjoyed returning to the horror genre now and then ever since. A few years ago, he teamed up with Blumhouse Television to try to get a television series follow-up to the creature feature Tremors going at Syfy. That didn’t work out, but now Bacon and Blumhouse Television are joining forces again for a horror action series called The Bondsman!

Deadline reports that The Bondsman is set up at Amazon’s Prime Video. Bacon will be taking on the role of Hub Halloran, a backwoods bounty hunter who comes back from the dead with an unexpected second chance at life, and love, and a nearly-forgotten musical career — only to find that his old job now has a demonic new twist. 

The first season of the series is expected to consist of eight half-hour episodes.

The series was created by Grainger David, whose short film The Chair screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Erik Oleson, who was the showrunner for the second season of the Prime Video series Carnival Row, will also serve as showrunner on this series, and is executive producing through his company CrimeThink.

Blumhouse’s Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, Jeremy Gold, and Chris Dickie are also executive producing The Bondsman, alongside CrimeThink’s Paul Shapiro.

Bacon’s other horror credits include They/Them, You Should Have Left, The Darkness, Hollow Man, Stir of Echoes, and Flatliners. He also has a role in the X and Pearl sequel MaXXXine. He told Looper that he enjoys working in the genre because “I’m a fan myself. I’m a consumer of it. If a new horror film piques my interest, I’m front and center opening weekend … I like the experience, because when I go to a movie as a … consumer, I want to feel things. Whatever it is, I want to feel things deeply. You can feel sad. You can get tears coming out of your eyes. You can laugh hysterically. You can jump. You can get scared. You can get creeped out. You can walk out of the theater with an uneasy feeling. These are feelings, and I like that. … I like to do horror because the stakes are very high, and that means that there’s good stuff to play. In life and death situations, those are good things to play.“

The Bondsman sounds interesting to me, and I’m totally on board to watch a horror action series that stars Kevin Bacon.

Does The Bondsman sound like a show you would want to watch? Let us know by leaving a comment below.