Green Book Just Passed An Impressive Box Office Milestone

Green Book Just Passed An Impressive Box Office Milestone

The Best Picture winner at this year’s Academy Awards Ceremony Green Book came out all the way back in the middle of November, but it is still playing in theaters nearly four months later. Not only that, but Green Book is enjoying a resurgence at the box office, riding a wave from its Oscar wins. Now, Green Book has another accolade to add to its list of accomplishments, passing the $200 million milestone.

The dramedy from director Peter Farrelly has crossed $200 million at the worldwide box office, and through Wednesday sits at $204.2 million according to The Hollywood Reporter. That breaks down to $77.3 million domestic and a sizable international haul of $126.9 million. That’s a heck of an accomplishment for a film that debuted in wide release in ninth place in North America and never cracked the top 3 at the box office domestically.

Green Book’s rise in success is due to two factors: a great debut in China as well as strong holds in other overseas markets and renewed interest in North America. The film opened in China on March 1 beating expectations to the tune of $17.1 and going on to $25 million by Wednesday. It now stands as the most successful Best Picture winner in China behind only Titanic.

How much is the title of Best Picture worth to a movie’s bottom line? It turns out it can be quite a lot actually, at least as far as Green Book is concerned. Over this past weekend, the first weekend since February’s Oscar ceremony and Green Book’s 16th in release, the film earned $4.7 million in North America, a number that was good enough for the 5 spot at the box office.

The Oscar bump is real and that weekend haul was over a 100% increase from the previous week. That was in part due to the renewed interest in the film, which saw it expand its theater count by 1,388 according to Box Office Mojo to 2,641.

For comparison, last year’s Best Picture winner The Shape of Water, only earned $2.3 million the weekend after the Oscars. To find a film that performed better than Green Book in the post-Oscars frame you’d have to go back to 2011 when The King’s Speech made $6.2 million following the Academy Awards.

It is an impressive run for a movie that only cost $23 million to make, and was dogged by controversy its entire awards season run. It does make you wonder if the backlash to Green Book’s Best Picture win actually did it a favor at the box office. Best Picture winners naturally receive a bump as audiences want to see the movie that earned the golden statue, but the backlash may have also made some others curious and feel like they had to see what all the fuss was about.

Whatever the case, Green Book has proven to be a worldwide hit that has had serious legs at the box office and caught its second wind after its big Best Picture win.

Green Book is now playing. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see the movies that will be vying for their own statues at next year’s awards.

Looks Like Avengers: Endgame Could Have A Massive Opening Weekend

Looks Like Avengers: Endgame Could Have A Massive Opening Weekend

It goes without saying that Avengers: Endgame is going to be a huge movie. Story-wise, it’s the final chapter of both Phase 3 and this iteration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that began with Iron Man, and commercially, given how Avengers: Infinity War performed last year, it’s been expected that Endgame do just as well, if not better. Sure enough, current estimates place Endgame as making upwards of $200 million opening weekend.

If Avengers: Endgame debuts in the $200 million-$250 million domestic range that Variety reports, it would join Avengers: Infinity War as one of only six films to ever surpass $200 million in ticket sales during its first weekend. Currently Captain Marvel holds the record of best North American debut in 2019 with $153 million, but it’s practically guaranteed that Endgame will rocket past that amount. After all, people came out in droves (figuratively speaking) to buy tickets online, breaking records for both Fandango and Atom Tickets.

One thing that might affect Avengers: Endgame’s overall box office performance is runtime. The movie will be just over three hours long, making it the longest MCU entry yet. This long runtime means that theaters can’t hold as many screenings as they could if it was the standard two-two and a half hour runtime, meaning less butts will be put in seats. But that’s a minor nuisance at best. Marvel has proven itself several times over as a powerhouse franchise, meaning that it’s a given that a lot of people will be seeing this epic story on the big screen. Plus, as we’ve seen in the past with movies like Return of the King, long runtime doesn’t always hinder the box office haul, as the final entry of the Lord of the Rings trilogy walked away with over $1.1 billion at the end of its theatrical run.

That said, Avengers: Endgame still has a long road ahead if it wants to take the record for largest opening of all time domestically. That’s currently held by Avengers: Infinity War, which crushed initial predictions and gathered a monstrous $257 million during its first days in theaters, knocking Star Wars: The Force Awakens and its $247 million to second place. Perhaps Endgame will also soar past its initial box office estimates and make $260 million or more opening weekend stateside, which would be astounding. As far as the global launch goes, Endgame is expected to surpass Infinity War’s take, helped by the fact that it’s opening in China the same day. Put simply, we can reasonably assume that Endgame will become the eighth MCU movie to cross the $1 billion mark.

With the universe reeling from The Decimation, which saw Thanos wiping out half of all life, Avengers: Endgame will see the surviving MCU heroes gathering together and try to undo The Mad Titan’s genocide, which will require them to get their hands on the Infinity Stones. Beyond that, Marvel is still keeping a lot of plot details close to the chest, though there’s been no shortage of theories that time travel will factor into the tale. However this movie unfolds, Marvel doesn’t have to worry about gathering audiences to check it out.

Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. For now, you can find out what the future of the MCU looks like in our Marvel movies guide, or you can learn what other movies are coming out this year in our 2019 release schedule.

How Much Captain Marvel Made On Opening Night

How Much Captain Marvel Made On Opening Night

This weekend, Marvel’s first female-led superhero movie and the penultimate chapter in the MCU’s Phase 3 arrives in the form of Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson. Captain Marvel is a lesser-known character that has only been referenced, not seen, on the big screen until now, so how did she fare in her cinematic debut? Well, the weekend is just beginning, but Captain Marvel has already showed what she’s made of earning $20.7 million opening night.

Captain Marvel felt the need for speed, getting off to a fast start in its debut weekend with an impressive $20.7 million in preview screenings Thursday night, according to THR. That’s an incredible performance and one that trails only Black Panther’s $25.2 million in previews for solo superhero movies starring a new character. It’s also the fifth-biggest MCU preview haul behind only the aforementioned Black Panther and the team-up movies Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.

Carol Danvers has also snagged the second-largest March preview screening gross behind only DC’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which earned $27.7 million in 2016. Speaking of DC, although that company beat Marvel to the box office with a female-led superhero film, the power of the Marvel brand (and perhaps the Infinity War tease) propelled Captain Marvel well past Wonder Woman’s $11 million in preview screenings.

Captain Marvel has just begun to take flight though and she is headed towards a massive opening weekend both domestically and around the globe. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Captain Marvel is projected to pull in over $60 million on Friday on the way towards a Marvel-ous opening weekend of $155 million to $160 million.

Even $150 million would still give Captain Marvel the second-best opening of all time for a comic book movie starring a new character, behind only Black Panther’s $200 million, and that character was already established thanks to his role in Captain America: Civil War.

A $155-$160 million opening weekend would be remarkable and especially impressive considering that the long-range tracking in January had Captain Marvel landing at around $140 million, and at the time that seemed somewhat ludicrous. Then the early tracking closer to release predicted a much more down to earth $100 million. So not only is Captain Marvel likely to beat that, it’s also looking like it will beat the number that seemed so outlandish and may do so by a wide margin.

Internationally things are looking good too. Captain Marvel opened in all major markets sans Japan this week, including a release in China at the post-Chinese New Year box office. Thus far Captain Marvel has made $44 million internationally, not including China. In the Middle Kingdom, the film had the second-biggest opening day of any MCU film there, making $34 million.

The Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck-directed film is doing better business than any MCU movie fronted by a new character in many markets and in Brazil, Captain Marvel had the biggest opening day ever behind only Avengers: Infinity War.

All told, Captain Marvel is looking like it will blast like a rocket past $300 million worldwide this weekend. It’s quite a feat for a lesser-known and cinematically unproven character. How it ever overcame the effective power of internet trolls and boycotts, we may never know.

On the reception front, Captain Marvel has received overall positive reviews, although not everyone loves it (even some women!). Still, it looks like it will be another huge win for the MCU heading in to Avengers: Endgame.

Captain Marvel is now playing. Check out what we thought of the film and make sure you know what ticket to buy before heading out to the theater. Take a look at our release schedule to see everything else headed your way this year. and for all your movie news, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.

Kevin Smith Was 'A Blubbering Mess' After Captain Marvel's Mallrats Scene

Kevin Smith Was 'A Blubbering Mess' After Captain Marvel's Mallrats Scene

Spoiler Warning: If you don't want to get spoiled on a very specific part of Captain Marvel, come back after you've seen the film!

It's a Marvel tradition to include a cameo from comics legend Stan Lee. As the first MCU film to feature a Stan Lee cameo after his passing, Captain Marvel's was bound to feel special and that turned out to be especially true for Kevin Smith. The cameo features Lee reading the script for Mallrats, Smith's film in which Lee makes an appearance. The cameo hit Smith like a ton of bricks, and he took to social media to share what a "blubbering mess" he was.

For a little extra context, Mallrats is Kevin Smith's second film. It premiered in 1995 and featured two slackers who spend all their time in a New Jersey mall and try to win back their girlfriends, who are fed up with their juvenile attitudes. One of the slackers (played by Jason Lee) is obsessed with comics and superhero genitalia. In probably the most memorable moment in the film, Stan Lee appeared as himself to give Lee's character some much needed wisdom on relationships.

In Captain Marvel, Stan Lee can be found reading the script for Mallrats on a train, rehearsing his lines under his breath. It's a super fun moment that works perfectly in the '90s set movie. The moment was bound to make some fans teary-eyed considering Lee passed away last year, but Kevin Smith might have had the most significant reaction.

The filmmaker took to Twitter to share his reaction to seeing his work referenced in a Marvel movie and by Stan Lee no less. Kevin Smith said that he was a "blubbering mess" with a photograph to prove it. The filmmaker also wrote that "after a lifetime spent referencing the movies, the movies just referenced me!" It's a pretty great way to have your work referenced and it no doubt means a lot to Smith.

Kevin Smith also asked, since he's now officially part of the MCU, did he survive Thanos' famous snap? Well, he's got a 50-50 shot at least!

Of course, this wasn't the only way that Marvel Studios paid homage to the co-creator of its iconic superheroes. The opening Marvel Studios logo replaced the Avengers with Stan Lee and all of his cameo appearances. It was the perfect way to respect Lee. The Marvel legend had filmed a few of his cameos before he passed, so we have at least one more to look forward to in Avengers: Endgame in a few short months.

You can catch Stan Lee and his wonderful cameo in Captain Marvel, which is out in theaters right now. For everything else in theaters, check out our 2019 movie release guide.

Could We See A Toy Story 5?

Could We See A Toy Story 5?

Many a fan will tell you that Toy Story 3 had a perfect ending. It wrapped up a trilogy in a perfect way, bringing the story of the characters to a wonderful close. However, while we all assumed that Toy Story 3 was the end of the franchise, the story is now moving forward once again with Toy Story 4. If Toy Story isn't a simple three act trilogy, does that mean that we could see even more movies after Toy Story 4?

I asked the director and producers of Toy Story 4, that exact question when I had an opportunity to speak with them last month. Unsurprisingly, nobody was quite ready to call Toy Story 4, the definite ending of the series, though they did all agree that if it turns out that way, they think fans will be happy with where the story ends. According to producer Jonas Rivera, who was an intern at Pixar back during the original Toy Story...

Honestly, if this were the end, it would be a satisfying ending.

Of course, what's most interesting about this statement is that people were pretty much satisfied with the ending of Toy Story 3, so much so that many seem to have real concern about the idea of making the fourth film in the franchise in the first place.

Of course, without knowing how Toy Story 4 ends, it's hard to really know what the team is referring to. I certainly have my suspicions where the story is going based on some of the footage I was able to see at Pixar Animation Studios, but I'm far from certain.

What I can say based on the footage I saw, without getting into spoilers, is that I very much do understand why Toy Story 4 was made. It's easy to be cynical about it, but the people in charge clearly found a story worth telling that would only really work within the world of Toy Story.

Of course, while Toy Story 4 could very well be the final chapter of Woody's story, producer Mark Nielsen, who has worked on the franchise as far back as the second film, knows this isn't the first time everybody thought the Toy Story franchise was over, according to him...

To be fair, let’s talk out of the other side of our mouths for a minute, we felt that [it was the end] at [Toy Story] 2.

It seems that with every Toy Story movie, even the very first, there was a feeling by many at Pixar that no sequel was necessary, but then the idea for one came along and that eventually eventually saw support grow. With the conclusion of Toy Story 3 and the end of Andy's story, it's clear that feeling was even stronger, and yet, Pixar seems that much more convinced that Toy Story 4 is a valuable addition to the franchise.

Tim Allen has previously stated that he's in favor of a fifth movie. Maybe, if the complete story of Woody and Buzz isn't over in one trilogy, maybe it needs two.

What's certainly clear is that, while Pixar is certainly looking for a satisfying ending, there's no need to make one that's definitive. The possibility that there's more story to tell will always be there, and if somebody can come up with one, Toy Story 5 is certainly something that could happen.

Of course, for that to happen, audiences will need to first embrace Toy Story 4. They'll have their chance when the new film arrives June 21.

Chris Evans Doesn’t Think Thanos Is An ‘Evil Guy’

Chris Evans Doesn’t Think Thanos Is An ‘Evil Guy’

Avengers: Endgame has officially been in theaters for one week, and moviegoers are still recovering from the blockbuster's wild events. The Russo Brothers pulled no punches with the final installment in the Infinity Saga, giving fitting endings to a variety of characters. The blockbuster also took bold narrative choices with Thanos, who was the undeniable protagonist of the last film.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been criticized for the handling of its villains before, but Josh Brolin brought a nuanced performance to the Mad Titan, which helped to elevate the overall quality of Avengers: Infinity War. But according to Captain America actor Chris Evans, he's not a villain at all, but a misguided and extreme figure. As Evans puts it:

It’s easy, when the villain is so clearly bad, to hate him. Marvel Studios have done this strange thing with Thanos where they gave him a logical point of view, in my opinion. He’s a sort of masked misanthrope or something cloaked in a binary logic about the greater good. He’s not just this evil guy. He thinks he’s doing a good thing, which makes him sympathetic to some degree. Brolin really grounds him in this kind of human way so you don’t see a monster or a villain. You see a person who thinks they’re doing something good.

Listen to Cap, everyone. While he didn't share a ton of scenes with Thanos throughout the last two Avengers movies, he sees how significant the performance and writing were toward his characterization. Josh Brolin brought humanity and heart to Thanos, while the audience watched him lose everything to accomplish his goals.

Chris Evans' comments come from Avengers: Endgame - The Official Movie Special (via ComicBook), and show how much thought the actor has put into his tenure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Aside from the transformative performance as Steve Rogers, the actor is also privy to the work of his co-stars, and the work crafted by The Russo Brothers and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

Related: The 25 Most Emotional Moments In Avengers: Endgame

Thanos was ultimately a character who had quite the tremendous arc, despite not appearing in nearly as many movies as a villain like Loki. While his goal was mass murder, he didn't do it out of malice. Instead, he believed he was saving the galaxy from overpopulation and mass famine. And he succeeded, but at great cost. He had to kill Gamora to acquire the Soul Stone, and all of The Black Order died at the hands of The Avengers.

Josh Brolin's character went more unexpected places in Avengers: Endgame, although the survivors were the true focus of the sequel. And despite losing so much, his resolve never faltered. Because without his signature terrifying world view, who is Thanos?

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now, so you can see if Chris Evans' comments were correct. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

To 3D Or Not To 3D: Buy The Right Captain Marvel Ticket

To 3D Or Not To 3D: Buy The Right Captain Marvel Ticket

Nick Fury sent out a mysterious and desperate page in the end-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War and at long last we get to meet the hero he called out to in the eleventh-hour with his retrofuturist pager. Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers is making her cinematic debut in Captain Marvel and getting us up to speed on her origin before she hopefully shows up to provide some support in Avengers: Endgame. And like all big screen superheroes, you can enjoy Captain Marvel in 3D.

If you want to know how Captain Marvel stacks up as a film, you can check out our official review. Here, we’re discussing whether you should put on a pair of 3D glasses to go along with your neon windbreaker, Nirvana t-shirt and LA Lights sneakers as you journey back to the 1990s for Captain Marvel. Can you reach out and pet Goose? Does Nick Fury’s eyeball come flying out of the screen? Read on to find out what ticket you should buy for Captain Marvel.

Superhero movies with all their special effects and action are particularly well-suited to a 3D presentation and that holds true for Marvel’s first female-led superhero movie. As you’ve seen from the trailers, Captain Marvel has all kinds of action, from hand-to-hand combat to car chases to dogfights to space battles and that all makes it a very good fit for a 3D presentation. The only reason this is not a “5” is because the film isn’t quite a brightly-colored feast as something like Thor: Ragnarok or an animated movie and it also has a fair amount that takes place on the ground that doesn’t beg for 3D.

Captain Marvel may be a great fit for 3D, but I don’t think this conversion was a huge priority for Marvel. That’s not to say that it’s bad, it’s just doesn’t take full advantage of the format. The lack of images coming off the screen in particular was noticeable and there were no real standout sequences in the film where the 3D really shined. The fact that the live-action film did so well with the brightness is admirable, but it feels like Marvel just gave Captain Marvel a light dusting of 3D magic versus really taking the time to really make it dazzle. But maybe that was the intent.

This is the element of Captain Marvel’s 3D presentation that I found the most lacking, at least from a frequency of use perspective. I don’t necessarily need objects, or in this case photon blasts, flying off the screen and into my lap, but I was expecting a bit more to take place in front of the screen than actually did. There were actually several instances where given the action that was taking place, I was anticipating a very noticeable use of this technology that would wow the senses but those moments passed without much 3D effect at all. Times when the environments and the action did stretch off the screen were done well, like during the third act and when Carol gets her powers, they just were few and far between compared to what I would expect for the material.

Many of the best uses of 3D, particularly in live-action, incorporate the technology to provide depth to the image, to make it feel as though you can walk through the screen to knuckle up a Skrull wearing an old lady suit along with Carol Danvers. Captain Marvel does this well, but it is not as pronounced as some of the very best uses of the technology. Marvel seemed to be going with a less-is-more approach. Focus is deep and crisp throughout, but the depth didn’t quite reach the levels that the best 3D films do. What the depth of the image did do though was to give a nice punch to the image, making it really pop no matter what was on screen. Simply put, it looked good.

Live-action movies often falter in this category compared to their animated counterparts but I can happily say that Captain Marvel succeeds with flying colors. The image was bright throughout and I never found myself squinting or struggling with the dimming effect of the 3D glasses. There are a few notable scenes in Captain Marvel, particularly in the beginning and the end that are definitely on the dark side but, having seen the film in both 2D and 3D, I can safely say that the dark scenes in the 3D version are no harder to distinguish. Your mileage may vary of course depending on what type of 3D screening you see and the theater and projector itself. For what it’s worth I saw this in a premium format and overall I was quite impressed with the brightness.

Here is where the light touch of the 3D in Captain Marvel was particularly apparent. When you take your glasses off and the image looks blurry, that means a lot of image manipulation is taking place. When I took my glasses off periodically throughout different scenes in Captain Marvel, the image looked relatively normal other than the color shift. That means that the 3D effect was fairly minor. Given what I saw, you could probably watch the 3D presentation without wearing the glasses and you wouldn’t have any trouble making out what is going on nor would you suffer from any eyestrain.

The score here in many ways reflects the implementation of the film’s 3D and for me personally, this was a smooth presentation. Despite Carol Danvers pulling absurd g-forces at times, no barf bag is necessary for Captain Marvel. The crispness of the image resulted in no real eyestrain. That and the subtle nature of the 3D effect, even during the fight scenes where the camera was moving everywhere, meant that I didn’t feel any disorientation from the 3D. This is a subjective measurement but the 3D effect just isn’t intense enough here to give problems and I would wager that people who usually get nauseous with 3D might be fine with Captain Marvel.

This is a tough movie to judge because the 3D wasn’t bad; the 3D that was there was solid, there just wasn’t a lot of it. It won’t satiate the biggest lovers of 3D but it isn’t diminished by the format as some conversions are. I don’t think a 3D ticket is necessary for Captain Marvel in the way it was for the must see in 3D Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse or (I would argue) Alita: Battle Angel. If you do go to a 3D screening, especially in a premium format, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed because the image quality was top notch with a bright presentation and nice depth. Captain Marvel just isn’t a 3D movie, it’s a movie that happens to be in 3D.

Be sure to check out our full To 3D Or Not To 3D Archive.