Movie News

The latest news from the film industry


‘IT’s’ Box Office Numbers Continue to Float Towards $500 Million

While New Line Cinema’s Annabelle: Creation quietly surpassed $300M worldwide this weekend, their adaptation of Stephen King’s IT continues to decimate the box office. Last weekend saw only a 51% drop from the record-breaking opening weekend, with the same happening once again based on early estimates. Even though the Kingsman sequel has dethroned the King, IT only dropped 50% and is estimated to have pulled in another $30M for a domestic total of $266M. IT‘s international numbers jumped another $38M, which means IT is floating towards a $500M worldwide box office take relatively soon. Right now it sits at $478M. With these numbers, IT is officially the fifth highest grossing film of 2017. That’s insane. As exciting … [Read More...]

Every Character in ‘Leatherface’ Who Connects to a Previous ‘Chainsaw’ Film

The saw is most definitely family in brand new prequel Leatherface. Now available exclusively through DirecTV, with a traditional VOD release to follow on October 20, Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo’s Leatherface returns to the continuity of the original franchise, taking place before both the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre and 2013’s Texas Chainsaw 3D. The events of Leatherface are set in two different time periods, kicking off 18 years before Tobe Hooper’s classic (1955) and then jumping ahead to just 8 years before Sally Hardesty and friends crossed paths with the twisted family (1965). One of the coolest things about the film, penned by Seth M. Sherwood, is that it’s loaded with fun ties to the franchise’s past, most of which go … [Read More...]

Everything We Know About David Gordon Green’s ‘Halloween’

“It’s not a reboot. It’s not gonna be a rehash. It’s a continuation of Michael Myers.” – Danny McBride Let’s attempt to paint a clear picture of what we should expect next year, shall we? On May 23, 2016, the bombshell announcement dropped that Blumhouse, Miramax and Trancas International Films were partnering to bring the Halloween franchise back from the dead in the wake of Dimension losing the rights, with John Carpenter on board as executive producer, creative consultant and potential composer. “38 years after the original Halloween. I’m going to help to try to make the 10th sequel the scariest of them all,” Carpenter said at the time. “Halloween needs to return to its traditions. I feel like the movies have gotten away … [Read More...]

‘Princesses Wear Pants’ Empowers Young Girls with Fairy Tale Ode to Functional Fashion

“Princesses Wear Pants” authors Savannah Guthrie and Allison Oppenheim (Photo: Abrams Books) From Cinderella and Snow White to Rapunzel and Aurora, the world’s most famous princesses have at least one thing in common—lavish dresses and gowns. But even a princess has occasion for practical, comfortable, yet fashionable attire. That’s part of the idea behind the new children’s book “Princesses Wear Pants,” written by “TODAY” co-host Savannah Guthrie and educator Allison Oppenheim. The story follows a young girl called Princess Penelope Pineapple, who lives in a grand castle with her mom, dad, brother and quirky cat, Miss Fussywiggles. Penelope is envied for her collection of sparkling gowns and tiaras, but the pigtailed princess prefers to choose from her closet full of colorful pants when tending … [Read More...]

First Look: David Harbour is Incredibly Badass as ‘Hellboy’

Wow. We couldn’t possibly be happier about how this is turning out. When we learned that Ron Perlman would not be playing the character he made famous on the big screen for Neil Marshall’s rated-R take on Hellboy, we couldn’t help but be a little bit bummed out. After all, Perlman was perfectly cast in the role. But our worries have been curbed now that we’ve been provided with our first look at “Stranger Things” standout David Harbour as the brand new iteration of the character. Holy. Shit. Take our money right now. All of it. Meet your new Hellboy below! The cast also includes Milla Jovovich as Nimue, the film’s villain; Ian McShane as Professor Broom; Daniel Dae Kim as … [Read More...]

‘IT’s’ $117 Million is the Best Horror Box Office Opening EVER!

Horror floats down here. While Hollywood has suffered one of the worst summers in years, the horror genre is laughing all the way to the bank. Universal kicked the year off with massive successes, including Jordan Peele’s Get Out and M. Night Shyamalan’s Split, both topping $250 million worldwide. In fact, David F. Sandberg’s Annabelle: Creation could topple $300m. While we’re all celebrating these successes none are as important as Warner Bros./New Line Cinema’s IT, which has shattered September records by topping $100 million during its opening weekend. In fact, early estimates are reporting that IT has exploded to a whopping $117 million opening weekend, making it the best horror opening ever. That $117 million is just here in the … [Read More...]

Why ‘Amityville II: The Possession’ is Superior to ‘The Amityville Horror’

Of all the horror franchises in existence, The Amityville Horror series might be the strangest, with very loose connections between them. Spanning 18 films, most direct-to-video, that spawned from the bizarre case of the DeFeo family in Amityville, New York in 1974, and subsequent book based on the site of the murders. Released in July of 1979, The Amityville Horror became a huge hit for the indie studio that produced it, becoming the second-highest grossing film of the year. Naturally, the critics hated it, but it didn’t matter. The commercial success meant an inevitable sequel.  Unsurprisingly, that sequel shifted into prequel territory by exploring the DeFeo murders prior to the arrival of the Lutz family. Despite its predecessor’s massive success, Amityville II: The Possession fared a much-… [Read More...]

5 Films I’d Love to See Rob Zombie Remake

I want to go ahead and get it out of the way now that I am a Rob Zombie fan. Always have been all the way from the days of White Zombie to some of his newest stuff like Lords of Salem. I can’t say, however, that I’ve loved everything that he’s done. In reality, there are very few artists in music, film, or any other mass media for that matter that I or anybody else could say that they have never made a misstep. If I wanted to get even more subjective, I could say that today’s misstep is tomorrow’s cult classic. Sometimes, the key ingredients are equal measures of time and nostalgia. It’s just too random to call. I can give it a go and … [Read More...]

As the United States Battles Record-Breaking Hurricanes, Al Roker Explores ‘Extreme Weather’ in New Book

Al Roker and his new book “Al Roker’s Extreme Weather” (Photos: NBC/Harper Collins) Al Roker is up to his neck in extreme weather. The “TODAY” co-host and weatherman is currently promoting his new book “Al Roker’s Extreme Weather” while leading the NBC daytime series’ coverage of last week’s catastrophic hurricane Harvey and the newly developed hurricane Irma, which is now barreling down on the Caribbean. “The idea that we could have two category four or higher storms hitting in the same season has never happened before,” Roker told me during an interview this morning. “This is really kind of unprecedented. We’ve gone 12 years since having a major hurricane strike the United States. To have two major storms just gives you an idea, … [Read More...]

Did You Know There Was an Indian TV Series Based on 1990’s “IT”?

Turns out the kids in Derry, Maine weren’t the only ones who needed to fear Pennywise’s grease paint and fangs, as his scaly claws apparently had the ability to reach out from deep in the gutter to far across the sea… Stephen King is no stranger to having his work adapted. In fact, almost every single one of his novels and short stories have found their way to the big and small screen in some form or another. A handful of these adaptations could be considered what you might call “unique”: Carrie, King’s debut novel and in some ways his most popular release, has been brought to both theaters and television no less than three times, not including unrelated sequels. Other interesting adaptations include … [Read More...]

[In Need of Some Love] Robert Rodriguez’s ‘The Faculty’

As summer vacation comes to an end and classes begin again here in the U.S., there’s no better time to discuss underrated high school movies of the 90’s. Let’s talk about the one where your teachers/staff are constantly dehydrated and are actually aliens trying to take over your town. The Faculty is in need of some love. This is the one movie I always bring up in horror discussions. People either remember it as a lame 90’s flick or not at all, but rarely are people raving about it with me. Before you roll your eyes, let me make my case. The film is a blend of sci-fi, horror, and a who’s-behind-it scenario that deserves way more recognition than it … [Read More...]

Top Six Cthulhu Mythos Adaptations!

H.P. Lovecraft was without a doubt one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. His creation of the Cthulhu Mythos, a shared universe of scary stories featuring insanity-inducing elder beings and unfortunate protagonists, revolutionized fiction, and the author’s formula for cosmic horror can still be seen in media to this very day. Despite this, the list of satisfying adaptations of Lovecraft’s work is remarkably small, with most talented fans of the author preferring to borrow elements from his tales instead of adapting them entirely. Some noteworthy directors have attempted to bring the Mythos to the big screen, but the nihilistic nature of the author’s particular brand of cosmic horror doesn’t sit very well with studio executives. While it’s … [Read More...]

Remembering Tobe Hooper: The Cannon Years

It’s difficult to deal with the loss of our Masters. The passing of Romero was a massive gut punch, and now here we are again. Only a little over a month later, Tobe Hooper has passed away at the age of 74. It’s safe to say without his first feature, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the shape of American horror would not appear the same it does today. That original low budget slice of sun drenched terror has been massively influential to a number of directors working today. Despite this great loss, Hooper has a legacy in TCM that will live on forever, always provoking and inspiring those brave souls willing to venture into its abyss. I’m not here to talk about TCM, however. As much … [Read More...]

How to Make the Perfect ‘Venom’ Movie – Hint, Make it Horror

The sharp, salivating teeth. The serpentine, Gene Simmons-esque tongue. The dark, hulking mass and perpetually angry, milky-white eyes. He might as well be H.R. Giger crossed with Jack Kirby. He is Venom. And now, Sony has announced a standalone film for one of the most beloved villains in Marvel Comics history. But after what we can collectively call a massively disappointing big screen debut in 2007’s Spider-Man 3, will Sony get Venom right this time? There are a million ways it can go; but as a lifelong fan of the character, I think there’s one route above all others. Horror and comics–specifically Marvel comics–have had a long and successful affair. There’s the bonkers Marvel Zombies comic book run and the big screen … [Read More...]

When “The Extreme Ghostbusters” Met Pinhead and His Cenobites

Unlike so many sports drinks and snack foods in the late-90s, Extreme Ghostbusters earned its extremity. The younger, decidedly hipper team never went after the troubled spirit of a BMX biker or unnecessarily wore sunglasses. Extreme Ghostbusters wasn’t completely blameless – the grunge-caked cover of the theme song does it no favors and the advertising just had to call it XGB – but its oh-so-edgy adjective really referred to the show’s hellbent dedication to scaring the bejesus out of its core demographic. As it stood, Extreme was already a sequel to The Real Ghostbusters, a series that mixed in more than a little nightmare fuel with Saturday Morning fun until the Family-Friendly Police of 1980s cartoons forced the creative team to cut … [Read More...]

R.I.P. Tobe Hooper Has Died at 74

Horror was forever changed with the release of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1974, a low-budget masterpiece that brought a new (and still unmatched) realism to the genre. The film was of course directed by Tobe Hooper, who proved himself to be a true master of horror right out of the gate. Today we’re incredibly sad to report that our beloved icon died Saturday in Sherman Oaks, Calif., according to the Los Angeles County Coroner. He was 74. The circumstances of his death were not known While he hasn’t directed as of late, with Djinn (2013) being his final horror entry, Hooper’s 1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of the most influential horror films to both this writer and the community. A … [Read More...]

[FrightFest Review] ‘Leatherface’ is a Graceful Gut Punch

It’s hard to know where we stand with the twisted timelines of the three incarnations of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre franchise. Technically, Leatherface shares a universe with 2013’s mostly unloved, but I thought rather fun, Texas Chainsaw 3D. But, when held against the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the only film in the franchise that’s well regarded across the board, Leatherface plays out as an origin story for the titular chainsaw-wielding killer. The film, which is helmed by French directing duo Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury (the original Inside), has been collecting dust on Lionsgate’s shelf for a while now, which did little to instill any confidence amongst fans. But, fear not, because Bustillo and Maury have made the best TCM film in quite some … [Read More...]

Surprise! ‘Hatchet’ Reboot ‘Victor Crowley’ is Coming This Year!

One of the coolest PR moves in recent memory was when Lionsgate screened The Woods for Comic-Con horror fans and it turned out to be Blair Witch. Now, Dark Sky Films and Hatchet director Adam Green have similarly pulled a fast one on lucky fans celebrating the film’s 10 year anniversary tonight at Hollywood’s ArcLight Cinema. EW has confirmed that Green just screened the secretly filmed Hatchet reboot/sequel Victor Crowley and that it will begin a Nationwide road show this coming October. Developed and shot in secret for over two years, the slasher reboot made a surprising debut tonight at the “Hatchet 10th Anniversary Celebration.” Set a decade after the events of the series’ first three films, Victor Crowley reunites Hatchet regulars Kane Hodder … [Read More...]