Beyond the Screen #20 – Thor: Love and Thunder, Lightyear, James Cameron and Minions: The Rise of Gru
We take a look back at news of note in the world of film.
Thor Summons Mighty Box Office Debut
Thor: Love and Thunder debuted to $144,165,107 in its first weekend of release at the domestic box office, the strongest debut for a Thor film despite being only the fourth Marvel film to score below an A- on first night audience polls for Cinemascore. Minions: The Rise of Gru fell a hefty 57% in its second weekend, a result of its inflated opening weekend, though this still amounted to an excellent $46,128,405.
At the worldwide box office, Thor came out on top as well, with an impressive $303,165,107 (the third highest worldwide opening weekend of the year so far), followed by Minions: The Rise of Gru in second place with $102,523,405, and Top Gun: Maverick, still outperforming expectations well into its second month of release with a $38,506,530 gross. Fourth place at the worldwide box office went to the debut weekend of Lighting Up the Stars, a Chinese drama managing $27,648,000, while Jurassic World: Dominion rounded out the top five with its $24,131,175.
#GentleMinions Meme Receives Backlash from Theatre Managers
Minions: The Rise of Gru opened to a huge July 4th opening weekend for an animated film at the box office, thanks in part to a massive boost in the 13 to 17 demographic, comprising 34 percent of ticket sales. This correlates with the #GentleMinions trend, wherein swathes of teens descend upon their local theater in fancy dress (mostly suits) to excitedly watch the Minions amongst toddlers and their frustrated parents. Most cinemas are happy for the increase in attendance, especially after Lightyear’s fumble the week before, but some have not been fond of the shenanigans the trend has encouraged (reportedly: throwing bananas, cheering every time the Minions reappear on screen, booing the villains loudly).
Certain branches in the UK have taken to posting signs refusing entry to anyone in formal attire, while others have had to stand employees at theater doors to escort any rowdy audience members out. For Universal however, the trend represents a massive success story in their efforts to achieve marketing virality, standing in sharp contrast to the failed rerelease of Morbius following its own meme-ification. A potential difference to consider: Morbius is a cold, calculated and embarrassing misstep that is as easy to ignore for teens as it is to despise for the few who did bother to see it, while on the eve of The Rise of Gru’s release, there may be some dark cloister in the hearts of the young audiences, who’ve grown up with Gru and his henchmen, with a fondness buried by excruciating Facebook-mom posts, and revived in the name of post-ironic repossession. The Official Minions TikTok account has endorsed the trend, declaring: Bobspeed!
Victor Erice To Direct After 30-Year Absence From Features
Best known as the man behind the defining classic of Spanish cinema The Spirit of the Beehive, Erice’s latest, Cerrar los Ojos (“Close Your Eyes”), will star José Coronado and María León. Little else is known about the film, though Erice’s name alone has drawn much attention to the project. The director’s previous film, The Quince Tree Sun, garnered him the Jury Prize at Cannes, 30 years ago.
Tom Hanks Bemoans Tim Allen’s Lightyear Recasting
Hanks, who famously voiced Woody to Tim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story films, shared his thoughts on Chris Evans stepping into the role of Buzz for the semi-prequel, semi-meta-film-within-a-film, Lightyear. Asked about the humorous coincidence of a Hanks-lead Elvis competing at the box office with a Toy Story property, the actor responded: “Actually, I wanted to go head-to-head with Tim Allen, and then they didn’t let Tim Allen do it. I don’t understand that.” Ever the gentleman, conceded “Just as long as people come back to the motion picture theatre. I want to go back into the theatre with a bunch of strangers and leave with something in common. That’s what I want to do.”
2 Years Before Next Bond Starts Shooting
In the wake of Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007, producer Barbara Broccoli has been hounded for any details about the next Bond outing, even as she and Michael G. Wilson recently received their BFI Fellowships. Despite bet-placement being at an all-time high, Broccoli restated that no actor is currently in the running for the role.
“We’re working out where to go with him, we’re talking that through. There isn’t a script and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond. We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away.” So we’re in for a long wait, considering that pre-production on No Time to Die began in 2016, and the film was then scheduled for release in November 2019, before cameras began rolling in April 2019 and a theatrical release followed in September 2021 (Covid-delays notwithstanding, that’s quite the gap, and there was little reinvention on the books at the time).
Julius Onah to Direct Captain America 4
Director Julius Onah’s previous Hollywood outing The Cloverfield Paradox was poorly received, though Onah’s work as writer-director has fared better, particularly 2019’s Luce. Anthony Mackie returns as Sam Wilson, for the first time in the role of Captain America in a feature installment, having taken up the moniker from Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers following his time travel assisted retirement in Avengers: Endgame. Writers Malcolm Spellman (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), and Dalan Musson (episode five of the series) reunite.
James Cameron Disregards Avatar Naysayers
Responding to critics and social media users who attest to the insubstantial cultural impact of the first Avatar film, Cameron is quoted as saying: “The trolls will have it that nobody gives a shit and they can’t remember the characters’ names or one damn thing that happened in the movie. Then they see the movie again and go, ‘Oh, okay, excuse me, let me just shut the fuck up right now.’ So I’m not worried about that.”
It seems each time the media or public have doubted James Cameron’s directorial prowess in the face of staggering budgets, they’ve eaten their words. Terminator 2: Judgement Day was the most expensive film ever made? Well, it became the highest grossing R-rated film of all time (for a time). Titanic became the new most expensive film ever made? Sure, but then it became the highest grossing film of all time (a record that sat undisturbed till Cameron’s return). Avatar cost an eye-watering $240 million dollars? That’s alright, it netted $2.847 billion dollars, still the highest grossing film of all time, with a North American rerelease on the horizon. The four Avatar sequels together comprise a budget of $4 billion dollars. It’s time to place your bets.
