Dragon Age II is a big centerpiece in conversations around video game romance. The 2011 BioWare RPG let players pursue whoever they wanted, regardless of what gender player character they chose. With Inquisition, BioWare opted to define your party’s identities, which meant not every love story was accessible to…
Paramount’s A Quiet Place: Day One could make some noise at the box office this weekend with a $40M+ debut. The three-day launch total aligns with previous chapters of the Quiet Place saga, with A Quiet Place Part II opening on Memorial Day weekend during the pandemic with $47.5M. The Quiet Place series attracts 13-34-year-old audience members, with Black, Latino, Hispanic, and Caucasian viewers making up most of the crowd.
Michael Sarnoski (Pig, Love of the Dead, That) directs A Quiet Place: Day One from a script he co-wrote with Bryan Woods and John Krasinski. Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther, Little Monsters, Us), Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things, Fantastic Four), Djimon Hounsou (Amistad, Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, Black Adam), and Alex Wolff (Hereditary, Old, Oppenheimer) lead the film, which revolves around a woman named Sam (Nyong’o) who must survive an invasion in New York City by bloodthirsty alien creatures with ultrasonic sound hearing.
John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place franchise has grossed $638M across two films, with audiences flocking to theaters to get scared sh*tless in front of a crowd of strangers. A $40M launch at the box office would be huge for A Quiet Place: Day One as genre films struggle at cinemas. Average debuts hover around $8M- $12M, which is abysmal.
Meanwhile, things aren’t looking good for Kevin Costner’s multi-part epic Horizon: An American Saga, which analysts have opening with a $9M-$12M launch. Horizon clocks in at three hours long, a lofty demand for general audiences itching to get outside and enjoy the sunny weather. Costner caused a sit when he exited the Taylor Sheridan drama Yellowstone to make Horizon, which has a $100M price tag for production.
Kevin Costner’s Horizon will “span 15 years in the settlement of America’s Western frontier, and focus on both the settlers as well as the Indigenous groups that first occupied the land.” Horizon will be Kevin Costner’s first time directing a movie since Open Range in 2003. He also directed The Postman and Dances with Wolves, the latter of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Director.
Will you see A Quiet Place: Day One in theaters this weekend? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Any chance of a new Friday the 13th movie going into production is on the distant horizon, but there are other things going on with the Friday the 13th franchise now that the copyright lawsuit between the original film’s producer / director Sean S. Cunningham and screenwriter Victor Miller has ended with Miller gaining the copyright to the first movie in the United States. Miller and his lawyer Marc Toberoff have teamed up with Horror Inc., which is headed up by Robert Barsamian and holds the rights to the overall franchise, to develop a TV series called Crystal Lake for A24 and the Peacock streaming service, and last month it was announced that they’re launching the Jason Universe, which will involve “new Friday the 13th activations spanning a wide range of platforms from entertainment, games, immersive experiences, merchandise and more to be announced throughout 2024.” @JasonUniverse13 accounts were set up on social media and the official Jason Universe website was set up so fans can keep track of what’s going on… and some Jason Universe activity on X is causing fans to speculate that these Jason Universe projects could include a revival of Friday the 13th: The Game!
Friday the 13th: The Game was first released in 2017 and was really just getting started when the copyright lawsuit caused the developers at Gun Media to call off any further updates. New maps, characters, and game modes had been planned, and they all had to be scrapped. At the end of last year, Gun’s license to the Friday the 13th property expired and the game had to be removed from storefronts… but now comes the Jason Universe project to stir up hope that the game could make a comeback with updates that would make it better than ever.
We have to reiterate that there is nothing officially going on with Friday the 13th: The Game right now. This article is fueled purely by fan speculation and hope, and that’s all due to the fact that the Jason Universe X account has started following both the official Friday the 13th Game account and the Gun Media account.
Jason Universe is only following a handful of accounts, and most of them have clear explanations, as they seem to be tied in to the franchise’s present and future. They’re following A24 because the company is working on Crystal Lake. They’re following the video game MultiVersus because Jason Voorhees is a playable character in that game. Paramount+ because several of the films were made by Paramount, IGN and DiscussingFilm because they’re news sites (the Jason Universe announcement was an IGN exclusive), Call of Duty and Fortnite because there’s speculation Jason could be added into those games. Of course, they could simply be following Friday the 13th Game and Gun Media due to their past connection… but we hope there’s something more to it.
Another mystery: why is Jason Universe following Blumhouse? They’re not involved with Crystal Lake and there’s nothing going on when it comes to Friday the 13th movies. Blumhouse is launching Blumhouse Games, so maybe that’s the connection (composer Harry Manfredini has said that a new Friday the 13th game was in the works) – but if that were the case, why wouldn’t Jason Universe be following the Blumhouse Games account?
Beyond Crystal Lake and MultiVersus, we don’t currently know what the future holds for Friday the 13th. But Friday the 13th: The Game was a great game – the perfect game to go along with the film franchise, as far as I’m concerned – and it would be joyous occasion if it were to be revived and updated. If this were a possibility, it would also explain why Horror Inc. has been cracking down on free-to-play, fan-made revivals of Friday the 13th: The Game. If there’s no chance of the game returning, it doesn’t make sense that those fan games wouldn’t be allowed to exist, the same way as fan films are allowed as long as no profit is being made. It only makes sense if they were seen as competition…
You can watch the videos from YouTuber Alekos at the bottom of this article to get an idea of how excited fans are just to see that Jason Universe is following the game’s account and Gun Media.
Would you like to see a revival of Friday the 13th: The Game? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
The post Could Friday the 13th: The Game be revived? Jason Universe X account stirs up speculation appeared first on JoBlo.
There are big questions ahead of Microsoft’s summer Xbox showcase, including which games might also come to PlayStation 5 now as part of a new multiplatform strategy, and what the Xbox Series X/S and their successors look like without as many exclusives. New reporting at The Verge offers a few more clues about the…
There are big questions ahead of Microsoft’s summer Xbox showcase, including which games might also come to PlayStation 5 now as part of a new multiplatform strategy, and what the Xbox Series X/S and their successors look like without as many exclusives. New reporting at The Verge offers a few more clues about the…
After several weeks of disappointing openings, Hollywood has its fingers crossed that the old-school star power of Will Smith returning to the Bad Boys franchise will give moviegoers a push to return to theaters. Indeed, the well-reviewed four-fuel has the benefit of opening hot on the heels of the franchise’s biggest entry to date, Bad Boys For Life, which made over $200 million domestically. It opened to a gargantuan $62 million, and while Bad Boys: Ride or Die seems unlikely to make that much money, it should still do decently.
I’m predicting an opening in the $40 million range, which would be an ok number for a franchise that, previously, was curiously light at the box office. Let’s remember that the first movie only actually made $65 million domestically, while the huge-budget sequel, Bad Boys 2, was considered something of a flop in 2003 when it made “only” $138 million, despite opening at the height of Will Smith’s fame.
So why will Bad Boys: Ride or Die open on the lower end of expectations? There are two reasons. One reason, which I think is the more serious one, is that audiences are seemingly falling out of the habit of seeing anything that’s not considered an event. Die-hard fans of the franchise will certainly turn out to see it, but will it have the same crossover appeal the others did? Maybe or maybe not, because let’s not forget that the movie is opening at a time when Will Smith’s star power has seemingly gone into the decline post-Oscar slap. That said, the box office here will be the ultimate judge over whether or not that’s actually a thing.
Ishana Night Shyamalan’s The Watchers should open in second place in the $12 million range. Usually, horror is solid counter-programming, but I think the fact that this is partly fantasy-driven might turn off some hardcore horror fans. Still, that’s not a bad opening at all. The Garfield Movie should fall to third place with about $8 million, while John Krasinski’s IF should manage to slide into 4th place with $7 million. I predict Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will do about $6 million this weekend, as it seems more or less a fait accompli that, for whatever reason, audiences aren’t turning out to see this one theatrically. Hopefully, it will make more of an impact on streaming.
Here are our predictions:
Are you going to check out Bad Boys: Ride or Die this weekend? Let us know in the comments.
The post Box Office Predictions: Will Bad Boys revitalize the summer box office? appeared first on JoBlo.
In an age when so many new games are trying to recapture the greatness of old classics, it’s hard to find the ones that actually live up to their inspirations. For RPG enjoyers it’s often about finding something as good as the 90’s era of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series. However, in that case, the best imitation of…
In an age when so many new games are trying to recapture the greatness of old classics, it’s hard to find the ones that actually live up to their inspirations. For RPG enjoyers it’s often about finding something as good as the 90’s era of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series. However, in that case, the best imitation of…
Amazon MGM Studios is doubling down on its working relationship with Jensen Ackles after bringing the Supernatural alum aboard the hit television series The Boys for a new episodic drama, Countdown. The project hails from Chicago’s own Derek Haas, the writer and producer of shows like Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and more. Haas inked an exclusive deal with Prime Video after exiting Wolf Entertainment. Countdown is the first project to come from the pact.
Haas designed Countdown for Jensen Ackles after the Batman voice actor entered a first-look deal with Amazon MGM Studios for his production company Chaos Machine Productions. Ackles established the banner with his wife, Danneel Ackles, after his show-stopping role as Soldier Boy on The Boys.
According to the show’s description, Countdown follows a mysterious murder in broad daylight, leading LAPD officer Mark Meachum (Ackles) to join a secret task force of undercover agents from all branches of law enforcement to investigate. However, when the truth unravels, a more nefarious plot is revealed, confronting the team with opposing agendas as they try to save a city of millions.
“I had an incredible experience working with the Prime Video team on The Boys and am delighted to be able to continue that relationship on Countdown,” Ackles said. “I simply cannot wait to partner with Derek and the rest of our Countdown family to bring this story to life.”
“I am thrilled to be working again with Jen Salke and Vernon Sanders and all the excellent people they’ve assembled at Prime Video,” Haas said. “I love making shows that keep you on the edge of your seat with nonstop action, drama, surprises, and suspense, and I can’t wait to work with Jensen and for everyone to see Countdown.“
Haas is as sharp as they come, with more than a decade of experience bringing intense drama to television screens. The combined efforts of Haas and Jensen Ackles could make for a glorious pairing on Countdown. It’s fantastic to see Ackles in the spotlight again after his epic run on the CW series Supernatural, and we’re excited to see what the Countdown team is cooking up.
The post Countdown: Jensen Ackles is going undercover for the LAPD as the lead of a new drama series from Chicago Fire’s Derek Haas appeared first on JoBlo.
As I sit here, on June 6, 2024 at 11:45 a.m., two days after The Final Shape launched—Destiny’s last expansion in the story arc it clumsily started more than a decade ago—I am notably not blasting aliens nor taking in sweeping sci-fi vistas. I am not playing at all.