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Jared Harris Joins Cast of ‘Morbius’

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Just in from Deadline, Sony’s latest feature to be based on a Spider-Man villain titled Morbius has added Jared Harris to its expanding cast.

Known for his performances in AMC’s Madmen and The Crown on Netflix, Harris has signed on to play a role that currently is under wraps.

Set to star Jared Leto and be directed by Daniel Espinosa, Morbius tells the story of Dr. Michael Morbius, a character that first debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man issue #101. After attempting to cure a fatal blood disease by injecting himself with a treatment serum derived from bats, he is transformed into a vampire. He acquires all the strengths of a creature of the night, especially the taste for human blood. read more

Sony Sets Summer 2020 Release Dates for ‘Morbius’ and ‘Ghostbusters’

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Two of Sony’s most talked about properties received release dates this week (according to deadline), as Spider-Man’s Living Vampire Morbius and a classic Ghostbusters sequel will be released during the summer season of 2020.

Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters will open on July 10, 2020 and Morbius (starring Jared Leto as the “not-quiet-dead” vampire) will come out three weeks later on July 31.  As of now, both films will have their respective opening weekends to themselves, with no current competition slated to open on either date. read more

Kelly Marcel to Write ‘Venom’ Sequel

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Deadline is reporting that Kelly Marcel, one of the screenwriters on last years Venom has been hired to write the Venom sequel. While details of the film remain under wraps, rumors have it that we may see a symbiote clash between Venom and Carnage.

Directed by Ruben Fleischer and released on October 5, 2018, Venom brought in $855.6 million on an estimated budget of $100-116 million. Tom Hardy starred as Eddie Brock, an investigative journalist who becomes bonded with an alien symbiote. During the film credits we are introduced to Cletus Kasady (played by Woody Harrelson) who promises carnage when he escapes prison. Film critics and audiences were split on their feelings when it came to the film. A prime example of this can be seen on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes which shows a Tomatometer (critics) rating of 28% with an audience score of 84%. read more

What to Expect in the World of Horror in 2019

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On the first day of this glorious new year, I thought I’d do my best impression of The Legendary Criswell and make some horror predictions for 2019. These aren’t necessarily wild ideas I’ve pulled out of thin air… they’re simply my expectations based on the trends I’ve observed developing over the course of 2018. I’ll document my thoughts now, and then revisit my premonitions in December to see how I did! So, without further ado, let’s peer into the wonderful world of tomorrow!

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‘Overlord’ Finishes Third at Box Office; ‘Venom’ and ‘Halloween’ Continue to Add to Totals

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Bad Robot’s long-delayed and rumored about World War Two zombie tale Overlord finished third at the weekend box office while the break-out hits of October, Venom and Halloween (2018), continued to pad their already impressive totals.

Overlord, once rumored to be the fourth installment in the Cloverfield franchise, finished third with a modest $10.1 million dollar debut.  The hard-R tale of mad zombie science run amok may have been too much for the average movie-goer (who gave the film a mediocre B Cinemascore rating), but Overlord did score high with critics (the film currently has an aggregate rating of 81% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes).  The film will certainly earn back all of its production costs ($38 million) once international sales are included, but don’t expect Overlord to perform much better over the coming weeks with continued competition from tent-pole pictures from all of the major studios. read more

‘Halloween’ Crosses the $150 Million Mark at Weekend Box Office

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Although Halloween (2018) fell from the number one spot at the box office, the film did manage to cross the $150 million dollar mark with another strong weekend.

Halloween finished fifth overall with just over $11 million at this weekend’s box office due to some strong competition from three new films, including the ghost of Freddie Mercury in the Queen bio-pic Bohemian Rhapsody (an estimated $50 million dollar), Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms ($20 million),the R-rated comedy Nobody’s Fool ($14 million), and A Star is Born (which as of now, narrowly defeated Halloween with $11.1 million). Halloween also pulled in some very strong mid-week numbers, performing especially well (naturally) on Halloween with $5.5 million in receipts. read more

‘Halloween’ Slashes Through the Competition Again at the Box Office

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For the second week in a row, Halloween (2018) dominated the box office, earning a estimated $32 million dollars in its second week of release.  The latest in a long line of Michael Myers’ films currently sits at over $126 million in sales, and with a few more weeks of slim competition on the horizon, Halloween has a chance to cross the $200 million mark domestically.

Halloween only dropped 58% from last week’s debut, which was less than anticipated, as most horror films see a steeper decline in the 60-65% range.  The success of Halloween has sent many rival studios scrambling to fast track their own slasher properties, with rumors (unsubstantiated at best) running rampant about the return of Jason Voorhees.  Don’t be surprised if “news” of the return of Freddy or Leatherface is far behind, as Hollywood chases the latest trend at the box office. read more

‘Halloween’ Chops the Box Office to Pieces With a $77.5 Million Dollar Debut

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Expectations were high for the long-awaited reboot of John Carpenter’s Halloween, and it is safe to say that the film didn’t disappoint at the box office with a $77.5 million three-day debut.  The total was the second largest October opening weekend of all-time, coming less than $3 million shy of the record set by Sony’s Venom (early reports had the film beating Venom, but that slippery symbiote held on to his title, at least for now).

With a $10 million dollar production budget, Halloween (2018) was a major success for Universal and Blumhouse, and the film is sure to add to its total over the next few weeks with little horror competition on the horizon. Halloween (2018) fared well with critics (currently 80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a good, but not great B+ Cinemascore with fans.  The horror community has been less than impressed with the film, which could add up to a larger drop-off than expected next week (look no further than HNN’s John Evans, whose 2000 word plus review gives you every reason to wait to see Halloween at home at best, and perhaps skip it at worst). read more

‘Venom’ Wins Box Office for the Second Weekend

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Fortune has a report that Venom has stood tall at the box office for the second week in a row. While reviews of the film have been mixed, fans still are coming out in droves to support the beloved character. Venom earned an estimated $35.7 million this weekend and topped First Man, Bad Times at the El Royale, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, and A Star is Born.

Based in the Sony Universe, Venom is unlike most of its fellow Marvel titles adding more of a gritty feel with more chaos and carnage. While that could be a recipe for disaster as most comic book fans love anything with a cape, Sony announced that the movie raked in $378.1 million globally. read more

‘Venom’ Sets a New October Record at the Weekend Box Office

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Despite primarily negative reviews and the lack of other spider-characters to rely on, Sony’s Venom set box office records this weekend, earning over $80 million in receipts.  Venom now holds the record for the highest grossing 3-day opening in October, defeating the previous record holder (Gravity) by almost $25 million dollars.

This total is even more impressive considering that Venom’s current aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes is only 32%.  The film has performed better with fans however, who gave the nasty symbiote a B+ on Cinema Score and a 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.  Venom should see a steep decline next weekend, but with few superhero-related properties on the horizon, the film will certainly improve on its already healthy take at the box office. read more