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‘Iron Man 3′ Begins Production; Secures Increased Budget

Sandy Schaefer — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:50:03 +0000

Even as the massive critical and financial success of The Avengers has us looking back at the history of Marvel’s shared movie universe, the studio has its gaze fixed firmly on the future – beginning with Iron Man 3.

Principal photography on the Iron Man threequel has reportedly gotten underway at the sound stages in Wilmington, North Carolina. As many reading this article are already well-aware: seasoned action filmmaker Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) is calling the shots.

This announcement comes courtesy of Latino Review, which is also the same site responsible for breaking the news about the storyline for Iron Man 3 being heavily influenced by Warren Ellis’ “Extremis” comic book mini-series. That scoop has since been all but officially confirmed.

As Screen Rant has continuously reported over the past two ...

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Marvel’s ‘Avengers’ Movie Universe: Was it Worth It?

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:53:44 +0000

The Avengers is officially a record-shattering box office success - a film revered by millions of fans that even managed to impress a lot of those ‘snobby critics’ out there. Here at Screen Rant we gave the film a 4.5 out of 5 star review, and filled over an hour and a half of our Avengers Podcast Special with glowing praise for writer/director Joss Whedon’s blockbuster Marvel superhero team-up. No doubt about it: Avengers is a monumental success on many levels.

However, it’s important to remember the road that led to The Avengers as Marvel Studios enters the next phase of its shared movie universe, in the build up to The Avengers 2. A few years ago, we posed the question of whether the road to Avengers was being ...

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Weekend Box Office Wrap Up: May 20th 2012

Niall Browne — Sun, 20 May 2012 16:57:21 +0000

The Avengers fought-off top competition to retain its strong hold at the top of the box office. The Marvel adventure should gross an estimated $55 million worth of green over the three days, a number which gives the film an amazing $457 million total.

The Avengers is now on track to become the third highest-grossing film of all time at the US box office, and it should beat fellow comic book adventure The Dark Knight in the coming weeks (that film topped out at $533 million). The $220 million Shawarma advert probably won’t beat Titanic ($658 million) or Avatar ($760 million), but it should end its run in the company of those James Cameron films. On a worldwide level, Avengers has become Disney’s highest-grossing film ever, and it will likely beat Harry Potter and ...

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‘The Avengers’ Blu-Ray & DVD Release Date; Box Art Revealed

Jason Marrero — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:04:20 +0000

Considering that tasty shawarma is still making its way through your digestive system, and the high of Marvel’s The Avengers still fresh on your mind, you might be asking yourself two questions: One – Why did I take a chance on the shawarma? And two – How long do I have to wait in order to get my hands on a copy of The Avengers blu-ray and/or DVD?

While we can’t answer the first question for you, we have huge news and fresh details regarding your second inquiry.

According to a Blu-Ray.com forum post (unofficially, of course), Joss Whedon’s The Avengers will hit stores as early as September 25th of this year.

Just when you thought you’d be overwhelmed with the return of your favorite Fall television shows, now you’ll have to find a few days to devote to checking out some, or all, of the awesome features The Avengers 4-disc 3D Blu-ray combo ...

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Robert Downey Jr. to Earn $50 Million from ‘The Avengers’

Niall Browne — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:07:05 +0000

The Avengers is smashing box office records left, right and center – making a lot of money for Marvel, Disney and Paramount Pictures. The $220 million budgeted adventure (at the time of writing) is closing in on $400 million at the domestic box office and it has already racked-up over $1 billion dollars at the global box office.

Now, stop for a minute and think about how much of that money goes to the stars of the movie. If you’re Robert Downey Jr. then you could be looking at $50 million… minimum.

The Iron Man star is set to score a proverbial king’s ransom for the movie, much more than his co-stars, who will be getting significantly less. Marvel is famously known for “low balling “ talent when they’re negotiating deals for their superhero films ...

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Weekend Box Office Wrap Up: May 13th 2012

Niall Browne — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:21:30 +0000

Last weekend Marvel’s The Avengers obliterated box office records and grossed an unbelievable $207 million during its first weekend. The film continued to have an incredibly successful run throughout the week and it looks like a 50% dip from last weekend will give it a mighty $103 million for the three days.

This figure again sets a new record for the highest grossing second weekend of all-time, beating the $75 million+ second week numbers for Avatar and The Dark Knight. That means that the Joss Whedon film will have grossed a staggering $373 million at the US box office and over $1 billion globally, a number achieved in an amazing nineteen days!

This is yet another mind-boggling gross, which shows that there is still a lot of demand to see the film. The sky is the ...

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The Avengers Breaks Second Weekend Record, Crosses $1 Billion

Rob Keyes — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:09:12 +0000

After breaking several international box office records, The Avengers opened in North America last weekend to become the biggest film opening of all time, handily beating out previous record holders The Dark Knight and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 while becoming the first ever film to cross the $200 million mark on its domestic debut.

In its second weekend, Earth’s Mightiest continue their success story, becoming the first every film to cross $100 million in its second weekend while also crossing the $1 billion worldwide total mark, just 19 days after its first opening overseas.

Last weekend’s actual haul for The Avengers was $207,438,708 and this weekend, with only a 50% drop, the estimates have Marvel Studios’ latest blockbuster earning another $103.2 million in North America. With these estimates, The Avengers is expected to cross the 10-figure ...

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The 10 Best Things about ‘The Avengers’

John Hanlon — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:43:35 +0000

The Avengers catapulted into theaters with the highest-grossing opening weekend of all time. Earning over $200 million dollars in three days, this superhero blockbuster has established itself as the movie to beat this summer.

Both critics and audiences responded well to the killer combination of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, The Hulk and Black Widow, and we at Screen Rant awarded it 4.5 stars in our official review. But now that the movie is a box office hit and Avengers 2 has been greenlit, we decided to come up with a list of the 10 best things about The Avengers. Check out our list and then let us know in the comments what your favorite things about the movie were.

WARNING! THIS POST CONTAINS AVENGERS SPOILERS!

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15 Avengers We Want to See in ‘Avengers 2′ & Beyond

Ben Moore — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:58:34 +0000

Now that The Avengers has officially destroyed (nearly) all the box office records that have ever existed, it’s time to look forward to the future of the franchise and the inevitable Avengers 2 – which could hit theaters as early as 2015.

Aside from burning questions like “Will Joss Whedon return in the role of writer/director” or “is [insert spoiler] really, truly dead,” we here at Screen Rant are most interested in which superhero characters – other than the six we’re already cinematically familiar with – might show up in the sequels.

As such, we’ve crafted a wish-list of sorts, with breakdowns of the 15 Marvel superheroes we wouldn’t mind seeing in
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The Internet Selects the 10 Greatest Movies of All Time

Ben Kendrick — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:54:56 +0000

Screen Rant owner Vic Holtreman originally founded this site with the intention of providing readers with a middle-ground/average person perspective on movie news and reviews – hence our old mantra “movie and TV news without the sugar coating.” While the site has certainly evolved – we now cover a wider range of genres and provide readers with a variety of diverse “voices” – our willingness to champion both entertaining and/or artistic movies (at least on a case by case basis) hasn’t changed.

Which is why we (Vic and myself) jumped at the chance to participate in Film School Reject‘s recent article the “10 Greatest Movies of All Time (According to the Internet).” Now the results are in.

The original idea (read the full FSR list), drummed-up by the host of their ...

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‘Avengers’ Director Joss Whedon’s Letter to Fans; Talks ‘Dark Knight Rises’

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:08:04 +0000

Joss Whedon is officially a mainstream name now, thanks to his writing and directing efforts on Marvel’s The Avengers - officially the #1 record holder for biggest opening weekend in movie history.

If you’re a geek (like us), then Whedon’s name is not a new thing; his work on shows like Firefly and Buffy, films like Serenity, and even smaller projects like the web series Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and the comic book Astonishing X-Men have made him a welcome face within the hallowed halls of Comic-Con for years now. (Remind me to tell you the story of how I stood next to him in line for a Glee panel a few years back.)

In light of all that has transpired since Avengers hit theaters, Whedon himself has written a letter ...

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‘The Avengers’ – SR Underground Ep. 37

Ben Kendrick — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:45:30 +0000

[Note: While this episode of the Screen Rant Underground (ep. 37) released on Monday, we wanted to bump the actual post to its regular Wednesday time slot - since we know some listeners have yet to subscribe in iTunes (what are you waiting for?) and come to the site looking for the cast each week. Just wanted to clear-up any confusion - in case you're seeing this article for a second time.]

The Screen Rant editorial team is back with episode thirty-seven of the Screen Rant Underground.

Join host Ben Kendrick as well as fellow SR editors Rob Keyes, Anthony Ocasio, and Kofi Outlaw as well as Screen Rant founder Vic Holtreman for this special edition of the Screen Rant Underground podcast as we review The Avengers and discuss what’s next for the Marvel movie universe – as ...

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‘The Avengers’ Lost U.S. Military Support Over S.H.I.E.L.D. Issue

Andrew Contrada — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:25:09 +0000

The Avengers may have spent the last week wowing critics and breaking box office records, but Joss Whedon and company reportedly had to accomplish both feats without the assistance of the U. S. military. Although the Defense Department usually jumps at the opportunity to contribute resources to high-profile Hollywood actioners, it took issue with several aspects of the film, especially the role of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Like any organization, the U. S. military strives to cultivate a certain public image, which may explain the Pentagon’s close involvement with a plethora of recent films, including the first Iron Man, and the upcoming Battleship. What better way to drum up support and attract new recruits than to showcase the army’s cutting-edge wares sticking it to a group of terrorists or alien invaders on ...

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Disney CEO Confirms ‘The Avengers 2′ is In Development

Rob Keyes — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:38:16 +0000

With Marvel Studios delivering Disney the biggest theatrical opening ever with The Avengers this weekend, there was nothing but smiles of the faces of those at The Walt Disney Company sharing the corporation’s second quarter earnings today.

The Avengers has banked over $700 million worldwide in less than two weeks, having been open only five days in North America. Disney Chairman and CEO Robert A. Iger announced today that The Avengers 2 is already in development.

The reality of The Avengers 2 is a given, the only question is when. The film is such a massive hit at the box office that we wonder how it’ll affect Marvel Studios’ plans going forward. Next year they have Iron Man 3 and Thor 2, and the following year, Captain America 2. Do they want The Avengers 2 so badly that they’d put it in ...

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‘The Avengers’ Post-Credits Scenes Explained

Rob Keyes — Tue, 08 May 2012 01:16:02 +0000

Fans of Marvel Studios movies generally know to stay to the end of the credits for a bonus scene, one that typically introduces a character or teases the next film in the franchise. The tradition began with Iron Man where Samuel L. Jackson infamously showed up in Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.’s) apartment and name-dropped The Avengers, a moment which laid the groundwork for the future of the franchise.

Every Marvel movie since (with the exception of The Incredible Hulk which moved its scene into the main film) has included some sort of tag/button at the end of the credits, but The Avengers (i.e. the biggest opening film of all time) included two; One during the credits and one special scene added after the credits which didn’t play until the film opened in ...

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The Ultimate 2012 Summer Movie Trailer

Ben Kendrick — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:55:21 +0000

The summer 2012 movie season kicked off in a big way this past weekend with The Avengers – racking up a record breaking $207 million domestic opening weekend box office haul. While you can read our review of The Avengers, hear us talk about the film in a special edition of the Screen Rant Underground podcast, as well as chat about the movie in our Avengers spoilers discussion – we’re already looking forward to what the rest of the summer has to offer movie-lovers.

In honor of our favorite season for film, we’re continuing the tradition of crafting one big all-encompassing sneak peek at the summer blockbuster schedule with an Ultimate 2012 Summer Movie Trailer (which you can find above).

In prior years, our intrepid friend Mike Eisenberg edited-together footage from the most anticipated films in the upcoming release ...

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‘The Avengers’ Video Interview: Clark Gregg and Cobie Smulders

Roth Cornet — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:00:30 +0000

Perhaps somewhat to his surprise Clark Gregg became a fan favorite throughout the course of his appearances in the Marvel movie franchises, beginning with Iron Man. As such, there are a good number of people who are looking forward to seeing how his character has evolved and developed in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Gregg as well as Maria Hill herself, Cobie Smulders, at the Los Angeles press event for The Avengers to talk about:

How Gregg’s character stands in for the audience in The Avengers and how his character was allowed to evolve in this film. (0:35)

Where Cobie Smulders would like to see Maria Hill go in the larger Marvel universe. (1:47)

The overarching theme in this series of Marvel movies culminating with The Avengers. (2:51)

The two directions Gregg speculates that the Marvel movies are ...

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Edgar Wright Offers Well-Timed ‘Ant-Man’ Tease

Rob Keyes — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:38:26 +0000

Marvel is the biggest thing in Hollywood right now with The Avengers breaking the record for biggest film opening ever to kick off the 2012 summer movie season. With similar success seen by Earth’s Mightiest internationally, Marvel now has the creative potential to do anything they please going forward and to take the risks they may have shied away from previously.

So, how long until Marvel goes smaller with the long-in-development Ant-Man movie from Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish? Perhaps sooner than we think.

Last year at San Diego Comic-Con, Edgar Wright took to the stage as part of the panel for Attack The Block and being in that atmosphere, he couldn’t avoid the inevitable Ant-Man inquiries from fans. At the time he said they had handed in a revised script and even had some Ant-Man concept ...

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‘The Avengers’ Is The Biggest Movie Opening Ever [Updated]

Rob Keyes — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:10:34 +0000

The box office estimates are in for the May 4th weekend and SHIELD’s Helicarrier just destroyed Hogwarts. Marvel’s The Avengers has become the world’s biggest film opening ever, dominating previous record holder Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and The Dark Knight by over $30 million domestically.

The Avengers isn’t just winning the love from moviegoers and fans however, as it’s also earning high critical praise with a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 4.5/5 score in Screen Rant’s own review of The Avengers. Let’s take a look at the numbers and comparisons.

According to the Walt Disney Studios estimates up on Box Office Mojo, The Avengers ranked in $200.3 million domestically (including a record-breaking $15.5 in Canada) over the weekend after also succeeding as the biggest midnight opening ever for a superhero film ($18.7 million ...

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Weekend Box Office Wrap Up: May 6th 2012

Niall Browne — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:01:28 +0000

The Avengers came. The Avengers saw. The Avengers conquered.

Joss Whedon’s big screen comic book mash-up broke records at the box office over the weekend and managed to score the biggest opening weekend EVER! That’s right – bigger than Harry Potter ($169 million) and bigger than The Dark Knight ($158 million). The Marvel movie should gross a mammoth $200 million by Monday morning! A fantastic number given the films $220 million production budget.

The film grossed $80.5 million on Friday, (second only to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2’s $91.1 million) kicking-off the summer season in spectacular fashion. The biggest Marvel hero opening was Spider-Man 3’s $151 million launch (it topped out at $336 million, a series domestic low) – but as he’s not part of The Avengers ...

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