Last week was a difficult one in the entertainment world, with the deaths of both David Bowie and Alan Rickman, so let’s all hope this week proves a little less uneventful. Fortunately, in today’s Movie Morsels, we have nothing heavier than word on a new box-office champ replacing Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Plus, the latest on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the eighth Fast and Furious movie, and more…
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Well, it had to happen sooner or later. After ruling North America’s movie theater box office for four solid weeks, the reign of Star Wars: The Force Awakens has finally ended, and the king has been dethroned by The Revenant and… Ride Along 2? It’s admittedly not the most dignified of overthrows, but the Kevin Hart/Ice Cube vehicle took the number 1 spot this weekend, earning $34 million. While the critically acclaimed Alejandro González Iñárritu-directed western came in at number 2 with $29.5 million. The latest Star Wars chapter came in third with $25.1 million. Though since it’s already made almost two billion dollars and insured enough sequels and spinoffs to carry us into the next millennium, we can’t imagine too many fans are disappointed today.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Wanna listen to an excerpt of Hans Zimmer’s score for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? A preview of the soundtrack has just arrived online, and you can hear it below. Admittedly, this latest entry in the DC Movie Universe doesn’t sound all that different from Hans Zimmer’s last dozen film scores, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t generated too many memorable soundtracks either (with the exception of Patrick Doyle’s excellent Thor theme). Here’s hoping the melodies return to movies soon. We here at Movie Morsels miss ’em!
Fast 8
Vin Diesel promises that the upcoming Fast and Furious 8 will take us down “new roads” in a new tease the actor’s released on Instagram, which announces the film’s official title as Fast 8, and confirms at least a portion of the movie will be set in New York City. F. Gary Gray directs the April 14, 2017 release…
Diesel also teases his upcoming xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, directed by D.J. Caruso…
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Following her release of the first set photo from the film, model/actress Cara Delevingne is offering our first video tease of Luc Besson’s French sci-fi comic adaptation Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, co-starring Dane DeHaan, Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke, Herbie Hancock, Rihanna, Kris Wu, and… is that Rutger Hauer I see in this video? By gum it is! Shut up and take my money, Monsieur Besson! Valerian arrives on July 21, 2017.
Kung Fu Panda 3
The latest commercial for Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda 3 features — in addition to Po and his friends — two of the animation studio’s other top stars: Shrek and his buddy Donkey. Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni, the third entry in the hit series opens on January 29th, and features the voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie Pitt, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, David Cross, James Hong, Bryan Cranston, Kate Hudson, and J. K. Simmons.
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Images: Disney
