Top Robert Downey Jr. Movies

Born April 4th 1965, Robert John Downey Jr. is without a doubt one of the most popular actors right now. Very few have had comebacks as spectacular as his and even fewer were offered the chance to call themselves Charlie Chaplin, Tony Stark, a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude, or Sherlock Holmes. Actually scratch that, no other actors can claim such a feat.

With the release of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Robert Downey Jr. comes back to the big screen so I figured why not take a look at his past movies in order of their box office popularity in North America over the years. Me and myself pondered a good 2-3 minutes whether I should use unadjusted or adjusted for inflation numbers. The former won so here are the top Robert Downey Jr. movies of all time, adjusted for inflation.

10. The Shaggy Dog (2006) $74.2 million ($61.1 million unadjusted) – I really tried to get this film out of the top 10 but there was no way to do so. You know how even the best actors have that movie they try not to associate themselves with? Well Robert Downey Jr. has a few of those and this is one. As I look back The Shaggy Dog might not be as bad as some other children movies today but that’s not saying much. If you have an 8-year-old that loves dogs, they should like this movie.

9. Gothika (2003) $78.7 million ($59.7M) – A forgettable supernatural horror that stars Halle Berry and Penelope Cruz alongside Robert Downey Jr.. It’s not a bad movie but unless you’re a fan of the actors, director (Mathieu Kassovitz), or genre, I can’t recommend Gothika.

8. Natural Born Killers (1994) $95.7 million ($50.2M) – In this Oliver Stone thriller Robert Downey Jr. plays a selfish TV journalist with absolutely no morals. Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis lead as husband and wife serial killers Mickey Knox and Mallory Knox. Natural Born Killers is a brutal film that deserves your attention.

7. U.S. Marshals (1998) $97 million ($57.1M) – I don’t think I ever saw this one so I should probably add it to my queue (not Netflix). Anyway, besides Robert Downey Jr. this film also stars Tommy Lee Jones and Wesley Snipes. Ok, now I definitely have to see it.

6. Due Date (2010) $99.9 million ($100.5M) – What happens when you take The Hangover director Todd Phillips and make a road trip comedy with Robert Downey Jr. and Zack Galifianakis? Well, it was supposed to be one of the funniest movies of the year. What we got instead was an R-rated version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, a funnier and better movie with a lot more heart. So I say watch that movie and then catch Due Date sometime later when you’re really bored.

5. Tropic Thunder (2008) $122.5 million ($110.5M) – This movie is definitely not for everyone but for those that can appreciate its share stupidity, Tropic Thunder is an instant classic that makes fun of Hollywood like few flicks dare. Arguably one of the most quotable comedies of the last decade, Tropic Thunder features an impressive cast lead by director/actor Ben Stiller. Robert Downey Jr. plays Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus playing a black sergeant named Lincoln Osiris. This part actually got Downey Jr. his second Oscar nomination (first was for Chaplin). Also extremely memorable in his smaller role is an almost unrecognizable Tom Cruise.

4. Back to School (1986) $195.7 million ($91.2M) – I vaguely remember this movie mostly thanks to the late Rodney Dangerfield. Like many before, this is your typical 80′s comedy and if I’m not mistaking, Robert Downey Jr. plays a college student here. If you happen to catch this, look forward to that.

3. Sherlock Holmes (2009) $213.8 million ($209M) – Besides the accent, there’s really nothing to complain about Robert Downey Jr.’s take on the popular Arthur Conan Doyle character. British director Guy Ritchie creates a decent adaptation here with his unique style making for a fun if flawed movie. Jude Law plays an equally great Dr. Watson to Downey’s Sherlock Holmes. Actually the bromance between the two characters is the best part of this film.

2. Iron Man 2 (2010) $312.8 million ($312.4M) – The sequel to the extremely satisfying 2008 original, Iron Man 2 builds on that movie but not necessarily in better ways. A lot of the charm is lost here and what we get instead is a good sequel to a spectacular movie that follows below.

1. Iron Man (2008) $352.9 million ($318.4M) – This is the role Robert Downey Jr. was born to play and director Jon Favreau knows it, using that to the fullest extent. Iron Man is the perfect summer blockbuster and one of the best superhero movies of all time. In a year when The Dark Knight got the most accolades, Iron Man offered the most entertainment, at least that’s my opinion.

At the end I have to mention a very special movie that didn’t make this top 10, Chaplin, the 1992 biopic. Based on the troubled and controversial life of actor Charlie Chaplin, this film deserves your time if only to see Robert Downey Jr. in probably his best role yet. Before playing Iron Man or Sherlock Holmes, Robert Downey Jr. was the man that became Charlie Chaplin for a movie 19 years ago.

What is your top Robert Downey Jr. movie?

Read similar posts to Box Office Analysis: Robert Downey Jr. on Filmonic

Thanks to a more compelling villain, better pacing, and more action, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a big improvement over the first film in this series. With more serious end of the year fare taking over the box office for the remainder of the year, the latest adventure of the world’s most famous detective provides a solid mystery, great banter, and the same loveable characters that made the first film in this series so entertaining.

The relationship between Holmes and Watson is one of the most fascinating elements in this franchise. It’s not breaking new ground or anything – Holmes takes issue with Watson’s new bride-to-be, realizing it could be the end of their adventures together – but this subplot is so well-handled that it feels fresh. Much of the conflict goes unspoken between the two friends, each coming to grips with the inevitability that one day; their partnership will come to an end. This kind of communication could be interpreted as homoeroticism by some, but I choose to read it just as two friends who have worked together through countless adventures and have a detailed understanding of the other’s methods. Holmes legitimately cares for Watson far more than he lets on, as revealed in his first meeting with Moriarty in which he asks for Watson and his new bride to be excluded from their deadly game of wits. Watson cares as well, evidenced in the story he writes about his friend. It’s a Wyatt Earp/Doc Holliday dynamic, and one that is rarely explored as interestingly on screen.

Noomi Rapace, who brought an intense physicality and commitment to the role of Lisbeth Salander in the original Swedish version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, falls flat here, essentially playing the Penelope Cruz role in Pirates of the Caribbean 4. For the most part, her character Sim is an inactive observer, serving no other purpose than to lead our main characters to the MacGuffin (her brother, an anarchist who is the final piece in Moriarty’s puzzle). Rachel McAdams reprises her role from the first film, but she’s not nearly as involved this time around. It’s a shame; Irene Adler is a far more compelling character than Rapace’s Sim. As the femme fatale in the first film, Irene was just clever enough to provide problems for Holmes, and seeing him flustered and distracted by her was a welcome obstacle on the way to accomplishing his larger goals. Much of the first film hints at Irene’s relationship with Moriarty, and as an audience, we wonder how she became involved with him and what role she plays in his grand plans. I was hoping we’d get even more of this type of interaction, but…let’s just say that doesn’t quite happen in A Game of Shadows.

In the first movie, we never saw Moriarty’s face because the filmmakers weren’t sure who would play him in the sequel (Brad Pitt was rumored at one point, due to his previous working relationship with Guy Ritchie). Here, Jared Harris from “Mad Men” steps out of the shadows and plays a terrific Moriarty, the perfect antithesis of Holmes and a truly worthy adversary. While Lord Blackwood’s satanic magic was spooky in its own right, I never got the feeling that Holmes was stumped by him. The same cannot be said here, as Moriarty puts Holmes’ back against the wall at every turn. Harris as Moriarty is the best part of this film; he does a great job making the audience believe he’s actually smarter than Holmes, which gives the hero an underdog status that we haven’t seen from him yet. The filmmakers know that if it was too easy for Holmes, the audience would lose interest, so bringing on his arch nemesis this early in the game is a wise move.

The pacing is great; with Ritchie and his writers doling out action sequences or intellectual reveals every few minutes to keep us entertained along the way. There’s even a bit of subversion of expectations as Holmes goes into his patented slow motion fight mode and is interrupted by Rapace’s character hurling a knife into Holmes’ opponent. The setup without the payoff works as a comedic moment, a more involved rehashing of Spielberg’s iconic scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark in which Indiana Jones, exasperated, pulls out his gun and simply shoots a swordsman. There are big action set pieces that work well, too – a train sequence in which an attempt is made on Watson’s life, and an excellent woods escape that uses speed ramping that should make Zack Snyder stop what he’s doing and come take a look.

Prolific composer Hans Zimmer also returns, continuing his storied career with another solid score. His work here sounds like the jangly theme song for “Dexter” (especially in the gypsy-heavy sequences) blended with his score for Rob Marshall’s Pirates 4. I found it odd how much Zimmer uses those gypsy-inspired sections throughout the film even though the corresponding characters are so bland on screen. This isn’t close to Zimmer’s best work – not even his best work this year, since that honor belongs to Rango – but for a big studio sequel, it gets the job done.

With an increase in humor, a better mystery, and a more intricate villain, A Game of Shadows improves on the first film in nearly every way. It’s fun to watch Downey and Law build these characters and banter with each other, and even more fun to watch the character of Sherlock Holmes face an opponent who is his intellectual equal (or who may be even better than he is). Looking to the future, my only concern is with the ending; while the first film ended with a clear direction for a sequel, I can’t help but wonder where the series can go from here. That’s the problem with bringing in a story’s most famous villain in the second movie, an issue Christopher Nolan faces as he wraps up his Batman trilogy. We’ll see how both of those series handle that pressure in the coming months and years; we don’t have much longer to wait for The Dark Knight Rises, and it’ll probably take a couple of years before we see another Sherlock Holmes because of Downey’s commitments to Marvel (Iron Man 3, an Avengers sequel, etc). But even if we have to wait a few years, I’m still looking forward to seeing more adventures of Holmes and Watson on the big screen. Until next time…

Read similar posts to Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows on Filmonic

With $469 million at the worldwide box office, Robert Downey Jr. pulling out of Jon Favreau’s Cowboys and Aliens and Guy Ritchie deciding not to direct Lobo , we began to wonder whether a sequel to Sherlock Holmes may go into production at some point this year. While on the rounds promoting Repo Men Jude Law spoke about Sherlock Holmes 2, and hinted that he may be keeping his scedule free for a late summer start.

From CinemaBlend:

“We started throwing out ideas of where it could go and what should happen next. Mine of course involved Sherlock Holmes being locked in a box and Dr. Watson…” He then pumped up his arms into a heroic stance and got a big laugh from the assembled press.

The closest he came to admitting there was a sequel was saying, “I don’t know for sure, but I think we are probably doing another one. I think it’s sometime this year.” When discussing other projects, he said he was considering doing a play in London either this summer or early next year, and also mentioned shooting for 10 days on Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion at the end of this year.

I’d imagine Warner Bros. will be aiming for another December release for the sequel, so if they want to have the film complete by December 2011 they’ll need to begin filming around August/September/October time, considering Sherlock Holmes began filming in October 2008 for a December 2009 release.

If Holmes made nearly $470 million while competeing with the highest grossing film of all time then it’s clear there are quite a few people out there wanting more of Downey and his accent. Is there anything you’d like to see in Sherlock Holmes 2?

Read similar posts to Jude Law says Sherlock Holmes 2 may film this year on Filmonic

The worldwide market has become increasingly more important for studios over the years and 2009 has been the best year yet with markets that were considered average a few year ago, truly exploding last year. This can be seen in the fact that for the first time ever we have had 7 movies gross more then $700 million worldwide.

10. The Hangover (WarnerBros) $467.3M

The rare R-rated comedy that managed to break out and pull in a big audience all over the world but also one of the best comedies of the year if not the best (at least the Foreign Press thinks so). A sequel is already in the works.

9. Sherlock Holmes (WarnerBros) $468.8M

British director Guy Ritchie waited for 10 years to finally get his chance with a big studio movie and unlike others before him, he did not disappoint. But then again, this is the guy that brought us Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and RockNRolla, but then again, he also did Swept Away. Sherlock Holmes might not be his best movie but it was a hell of a lot of fun and showed great promise for a future franchise that is already being pushed forward by Warner Bros.

8. Angels & Demons (Sony) $485.9M

The adventures of Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) continue in this Dan Brown adaptation of the book with the same title that was written as a sequel to the author’s best seller and worldwide phenomenon The Da Vinci Code, also adapted into a movie by the same team. That one made a bit more money with $758.2 million worldwide so it seems people are starting to get tired of Robert Langdon.

7. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Summit) $706.6M

Sequel to 2008′s Twilight and based on the series of extremely popular books by author Stephenie  Meyer. New Moon managed to almost double the $384 million that the first one made showing that there’s a very big audience still out there for this series. This summer Breaking Dawn, the 3rd chapter in the Twilight Saga comes out and regardless of what me or anybody else thinks of this series, it will continue to make a lot of money for Summit Entertainment and we will see it again in the top 10 of 2010.

6. Up (BuenaVista) $723M

Pixar scored their second biggest hit ever with this strange tale about the journey of an old man, a young boy and a dog named Dug that can speak. A year ago if someone asked me what I think of the potential box office of this movie, I would have replied that this was going to be one of the lowest grossing flicks in Pixar’s catalog. Fortunately I was wrong and Up turned into a success and it deserves every last penny it made. A nomination for Best Picture at the Oscars this weekend is a testament to that.

5. 2012 (Sony) $769.7M

What can I say, people love to see this world blown to pieces on the big screen and that’s exactly what 2012 promised, nothing more, nothing less. Did it deliver on that promise, first 90 minutes, hell yes, after that, not so much. Regardless, this has become Sony’s biggest hit worldwide outside of the now defunct Spider-Man franchise. Roland Emmerich said this was going to be his last disaster movie so he went all out on 2012 and it shows. Just watch any trailer and you’ll see what this movie is all about and why it has made so much money.

4. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Paramount/DreamWorks) $835.3M

Director Michael Bay comes back with this sequel to the 2007 hit Transformers (also directed by him) and he does everything he can to make this the biggest most epic thing he’s ever done, so that means a lot of stuff is going on and even more stuff is blowing up. Giant robots are everywhere helping with the blowing stuff up and basically everything is one huge mambo-jambo. Still, for me it was an enjoyable romp, just pure fun and between you and me, I liked it better then the first one. Anyway, the third one is coming out next year so what can I say, hate them or not, giant robots are here to stay.

3. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Fox) $884.5M

Now here’s a bit of a surprise, Ice Age is huge! This has been a monster outside of the US and now worldwide it is only second to Sherk 2 with $919.8M. But if we look closely at the way this animated series has evolved, everything starts to make sense, Ice Age made $383.2 million while Ice Age 2 did $655.3 million. It is very uncommon that a series continues to increase its gross with each new sequel but it seems the animation studio Blue Sky have nailed the perfect recipe for continued success with Ice Age.

2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (WarnerBros) $934M

Yet another series that continues to keep the flag up with each new chapter. What more can I say about Harry Potter that hasn’t been said already, we all know the books, some even read them, some just like to watch the movies. Two more (made from a single book) and the most successful series ever (unadjusted for inflation) will finally come to an end. So, has Warner Bros found a replacement yet?

1. Avatar (Fox) $2,546.8M

Words can’t describe the gigantic surprise that this movie was in terms of actual box office. Just like with Titanic there were people on either side, the ones that said it will bomb and the ones that knew it will become a hit. But here’s the thing, no one, not even the most crazy fan could have predicted just how much money this was going to make. 7 consecutive weekends in first place in NA, 11 consecutive weekends in first place Internationally, this has turned into a global phenomenon unlike anything we’ve seen since, well, Titanic. And to top this, both movies were directed by James Cameron. Love it or hate it, Avatar changed the way people look at 3D movies and now more then ever this format looks like it’s here to stay.

And there you go, 365 days and billions of dollars later, 2009 is over.

But I won’t stop here, I will go on with a top 10 that this time leaves out every single dollar made in the US, a non-US top 10 if you will:

1. Avatar (Fox) $1,839M
2. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Fox) $687.9M
3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (WarnerBros) $632M
4. 2012 (Sony) $603.5M
5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Paramount/DreamWorks) $433.2M
6. Up (BuenaVista) $430M
7. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Summit) $410.6M
8. Angels & Demons (Sony) $352.6M
9. Sherlock Holmes (WarnerBros) $262.4M
10. Terminator Salvation (WarnerBros/Sony) $246.7M

For even more information and stats on international box office go to here.

Read similar posts to 2009 at the Box Office: Worldwide edition on Filmonic

2009 is long gone by now since we’re already in March but we still had a few old releases lurking around (I’m looking at you Sherlock, Alvin, Avatar and The Blind Side), making a lot of money and changing the order of things. So I said to myself, I won’t do this top 10 in January like everyone else, I’ll do it in March when everything will be said and done and all movies in there will stop swapping spots between each other.

The top 10 of 2009 in NA basically looks like this:

1. Avatar (Fox) $706.5M (Still in Theaters)
2. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Paramount/Dreamworks) $402.1M
3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (WarnerBros) $301.9M
4. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Summit) $296M (SiT)
5. Up (BuenaVista) $293M
6. The Hangover (WarnerBros) $277.3M
7. Star Trek (Paramount) $257.7M
8. The Blind Side (WarnerBros) $248.7M (SiT)
9. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (Fox) $216.5M (SiT)
10. Sherlock Holmes (WarnerBros) $206.4M (SiT)

Half of the movies on that list are still running in theaters but at this point their spots are set in stone.

By now you probably figured out that 2009 was a very good year at the box office, but here’s the thing, I’m not going to bother ranting about how this movie did that or this other movie become a huge surprise, nope, I’ll just let the facts and numbers speak for themself.

General:

• the average ticket price was $7.5 from $7.18 the year before;
• over 1.412 billion tickets were sold (5.3% up from 2008);
• over 10.595 billion were grossed (+10% from 2008), the biggest year ever for Hollywood unadjusted for inflation;
• 518 movies came out in 2009 compared to 605 in 2008;
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon had the biggest opening of the year with $142.8 million;
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon had the biggest single day of the year with $72.7 million on November 20th;
• no movie managed to stay in first place for more then 2 weekends during 2009, Avatar managed 7 weekends but 5 of those were in 2010;
• 4 of the top 10 movies are direct sequels, 2 others come from established franchises and the remaining 4 are original properties;
• the weakest weekend of the year was September 11-13 with $76.2 million;
• the strongest weekend of the year was December 25-27 with $259.9 million (record);
• 44 were first at least a weekend, two of those came from 2008;
• 8 movies were first for 2 weekends;
• 32 movies made more then $100 million (record), 18 more then $150 million (record), 10 more then $200 million (2007 had 11), 7 more then $250 million (record), 3 more then $300 million, 2 more then $400 million (record) and 1 over $700 million (record);
• 16 3D movies were released or re-released in 2009, another record;
• 7 3D movies made more then $100 million and the top 5 biggest 3D hits ever all came out last year;
• Paranormal Activity opened in 12 theaters with $77,873 and went on to make $107.9 million in 2712 theaters (widest weekend) on a budget of $15,000;
• the widest release was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in 4455 theaters on July 24-26, the biggest ever(The Dark Knight had 4366);

Studios:

• Warner Bros has 4 of the top 10 movies of the year, 5 of the top 25 and 9 in the top 50;
• 12 out of 52 weekends a Warner Bros movie was first;
• 6 WB movies made more then $100 million, 4 more then $200 million and 1 more then $300 million;
• Fox has 2 movies in the top 10 and 6 in the top 25;
• 6 out of 52 weekends a Fox movie was first;
• 6 Fox films have made more then $100 million, 2 more then $200 million and 1 more then $700 million;
• Paramount/DreamWorks has 2 movies in the top 10, 4 in the top 25 and 8 in the top 50;
• 6 out of 52 weekends a Paramount/DreamWorks movie was first;
• 5 Par/DW movies made more then $100 million, 2 more then $200 million and 1 more then $400 million
• Buena Vista (Walt Disney Pictures) has 1 movie in the top 10, 3 in the top 25 and 7 in the top 50;
• 7 weekends a Buena Vista movie was first;
• 5 BV movies made more then $100 million and 1 more then 200 million;
• Sony has no movies in the top 10 for the first time since 2005;
• what it does have is 4 movies in the top 25 and 10 in the top 50;
• 10 weekends a Sony movie was first;
• 5 Sony movies made more then $100 million;
• Summit Entertainment has 1 movie in the top 10 and 2 movies in the top 50;
• one Summit movie made more then $100 million in 2009 (guess that movie);
• Summit had 3 weekends in first place last year;
• Weinstein Company has 1 movie in the top 25, 1 weekend in first place and 1 movie that made more then $100 million;
• Lionsgate, Focus Feature and Overture each have one movie in the top 50;
• Lionsgate also has 3 weekends in first place thanks exclusively to Tyler Perry;

Read similar posts to 2009 at the Box Office: North America edition on Filmonic

Today the nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards were announced, and as expected Avatar picked up quite a few in a number of categories. Sandra Bullock, Christoph Waltz, Jeremy Renner, Morgan Freeman, Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep also recieved nominations for their acting.

You can see the full list of nominations below:

Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up in the Air

Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
George Clooney – Up in the Air
Colin Firth – A Single Man
Morgan Freeman – Invictus
Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon – Invictus
Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
Christopher Plummer – The Last Station
Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
Helen Mirren – The Last Station
Carey mulligan – An Education
Gabourey Sidibe – Precious
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

Actress in a Supporting Role
Penelope Cruz – Nine
Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
Mo’Nique – Precious

Animated Feature
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up

Art Direction
Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

Cinematography
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon

Directing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

Music (Original Score)
Avatar
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Hurt Locker
Sherlock Holmes
Up

Visual Effects
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
District 9
An Education
In The Loop
Precious
Up in the Air

Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The Messenger
A Serious Man
Up

The winners will be revealed on March 7th in a ceremony presented by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.

Read similar posts to 2010 Oscar nominations announced on Filmonic

A few days before the release of Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie said that “it’s not a matter of fact” that he will be directing the movie adaptation of Lobo, following reports in September that he had signed on to direct. Now we know why. According to Hero Complex, who spoke to producer Joel Silver, the success of Sherlock Holmes ($389 million worldwide) has made Warner Bros. interested in making a sequel, and they may want it fast-tracked.

“I don’t think he’s going to do it now,” Silver said of Ritchie directing “Lobo.” “The studio wants us and Guy to focus on making another ‘Sherlock Holmes.’ So I think we’re going to be doing that. But we’re seeing what happens with this. Everybody is analyzing everything. It’s all kind of happening right now as we talk. ‘Sherlock’ is sitting at just about $400 million in worldwide gross and showing itself to be pretty effective and pretty strong. So we’re trying to see if we can do something quickly with another ‘Sherlock Holmes’ movie. We have some ideas and some good story points.”

As for Lobo, Silver said they will probably be looking for a different director to come onboard:

Silver said “Lobo” remains a viable project. In the 1980s, the character was a wickedly funny parody of the antiheroes Wolverine and Punisher, characters that now have a combined seven film appearances to their credit.

“It was created as a rebuttal to the Marvel characters and his vest said ‘Bite me fanboy,’ ” Silver pointed out. “It was very much a response to Wolverine and Punisher and the other characters and I think now that makes it fresh [for moviegoers]. We’re working on it now and it will be nice to put it together and make it happen.”

Warner Bros. always planned to make a franchise out of Sherlock Holmes, so it’s not too surprising to hear a sequel is in the works. The film wasn’t anything special, but it was enjoyable and i’d be interested to see where they take it. I’m also interested to see who they cast as Professor Moriarty, who we saw glimpses of in the first film. Rumors swirled a few months ago that Brad Pitt was in talks for the role, however nothing has come of that. Yet.

Read similar posts to Guy Ritchie to direct Sherlock Holmes 2 instead of Lobo on Filmonic

Thunder strikes a 5th time in first place for Avatar. According to BoxOfficeMojo the James Cameron sci-fi epic managed to pull a 5th consecutive first place in the US this past weekend with $41.3  million (Sunday numbers are estimates) having the smallest drop (17.9%) in the top 10. The last movie that managed five weekends in first place was M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense in August 1999. That’s more then 10 years ago according to my limited mathematical knowledge.

So far Avatar has grossed $491.7 million in the US, passing Star Wars: A New Hope ($460.9) for 3rd place on the all time chart on Saturday. Next up is The Dark Knight ($533.3) by the end of this week. After that it’s smooth sailing for this blue iceberg to sink the unsinkable ship, Titanic ($600.7).

Worldwide things are looking even better for the Na’vi (and Fox) with a total of $1.6 billion after just one month.

In second place at the US box office we have a new entry, The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington and directed by the Hughes Brothers (From Hell) with $31.6 million, this being the closest a movie has got so far to beating Avatar. This is also the second biggest opening in Denzel’s career (American Gangster made $43.5).

In third place we have The Lovely Bones expanding from 3 to 2563 theaters for a better then expected $17 million.  After bad reviews, a mediocre limited run ($0.4) and a general lack of attention from any awards ceremony many thought this Peter Jackson directed movie will bomb, but it seems Paramount somehow managed to turn this around by marketing the movie mainly for a young female audience in the past weeks. It’s still a long way from profitability with a production budget standing at $100 million but you have to start somewhere.

Rounding up the top 5 are the Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 and Sherlock Holmes with 11.5 and 9.8 respectively. The Squeakquel now stands at $192.5 million while Sherlock is a bit slower at $180 million and still on track to just pass the $200 million mark before the end of its run.

The US Top 10 looks like this:

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In September is was announced that Guy Ritchie’s next movie would be Lobo, a movie adaptation of DC Comics’ bounty hunter. At the time the intention was to start production early next year, however Ritchie recently called his directorial role into question while on the rounds promoting Sherlock Holmes (which is getting mixed-positive reviews).

From SplashPage:

“Is it a matter of fact that I’m doing it?” Ritchie asked when told of reports framing his participation in “Lobo” as a done deal. “I don’t think it’s a matter of fact. In fact, I can tell you it’s not a matter of fact.”

Supremely evasive when asked for clarification, Ritchie seemed intent on keeping the status of “Lobo” — and his involvement with the film — under wraps for the time being. “Isn’t there a fifth amendment or something?” he laughed.

Ritchie’s comments would seem to move the film back into the realm of “potential” and deflate a little of the buzz surrounding the project

It looks like Warner Bros. and Ritchie still have some talking to do, that is if he’s still interested in directing it. In the film Lobo is a seven-foot tall, blue-skinned, indestructible and heavily muscled anti-hero who drives a pimped out motorcycle, and lands on Earth in search of four fugitives who are bent on wreaking havoc. Lobo teams up with a small town teenage girl to stop the creatures.

Read similar posts to Guy Ritchie may or may not be directing Lobo on Filmonic

The 82nd Academy Awards will be held next March and the 15 movies nominated for the Visual Effects Oscar have been revealed. Here they are:

Angels & Demons
Avatar
Coraline
Disney’s A Christmas Caro
District 9
G-Force
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Sherlock Holmes
Star Trek
Terminator Salvation
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2012
Watchmen
Where the Wild Things Are

In early January the list will be narrowed down to 7, then later in the month members of the visual effects branch will watch excerpts from the movies, and the list will be narrowed down to 3. Earlier this year it was a showdown between Iron Man, The Dark Knight and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, with Button’s ageing effects coming out on top.

Since Avatar Day when we got a glimpse at 15 minutes of footage I’ve had my money on Avatar winning, and from the early reviews it seems it will be a serious contender. I’m glad District 9 got a nod. Out of all the films nominated it had the lowest budget ($30 million) and the guys at WETA did a great job with those financial constraints.

Which visual effects wowed you in 2009? Who do you want to win the Visual Effects Oscar?

Read similar posts to 2010 Visual Effects Oscar Nominees announced on Filmonic