Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman …
Just like the titular boogeyman that materializes whenever you say his name five times in front of a mirror, Nia DaCosta’s sequel to the 1992 cult horror classic Candyman appeared in cinemas last weekend. The film was to come out on June 12, 2020. Universal changed its release date three times due to the ongoing worldwide pandemic before us settling on August 27, 2021. Candyman grossed a bit over $22 million in its inaugural weekend – a solid return for a $25 million investment. Just as with A Quiet Place Part II, Old, Conjuring: Devil Made Me Do It, and similar movies before it, Candyman proves the horror genre remains impervious even to Covid-19.
Candyman is the sole new title among the top five highest-grossing movies of the weekend. In second place with $13,1 million is Free Guy, featuring Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) and Jodie Comer (Killing Eve). Last weekend’s earnings raised its domestic gross to $79 million. Children’s animated film PAW Patrol: The Movie is in third place with $6,7 million and a total domestic cum of $24,1 million. Disney’s Jungle Cruise continues to limp along by earning $5 million and reaching fourth place. Its total domestic gross isn’t all that impressive by itself – only around $100 million for a $200 million blockbuster. However, Disney nevertheless ordered a sequel. Finally, in fifth place at the last weekend’s box office is the horror-thriller Don’t Breathe 2, with $2,8 million and a total domestic gross of $24,6 million.
All of this data comes from Box Office Mojo.
Paramount Postpones Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible 7 and More
With Covid-19 cases increasing and movie theater audiences decreasing, studios are growing reluctant about releasing major titles in cinemas. The latest casualties are Jackass Forever, Mission: Impossible 7, and Top Gun: Maverick. AVClub reports Paramount decided to push all three movies to 2022. So now, Jackass Forever should hit the theaters on February 2, 2022, instead of October 22, 2021. Top Gun: Maverick should arrive on May 27, 2022, instead of November 19, 2021. Finally, Mission: Impossible 7 should come out on September 30, 2022, instead of May 27, 2022.
Almost as soon as Paramount announced its decision, Sony did the same for Ghostbusters: Afterlife. However, Sony pushed its blockbuster sequel for only a week – from November 11 to November 19. This decision comes a month after Sony once again postponed the release of Venom: Let There Be Carnage – from September 24, 2021, to October 15, 2021.
While the summer of 2021 wasn’t nearly as disastrous for the movie industry as the last year, it wasn’t great either. Most notably, F9: The Fast Saga earned over $70 million in its opening weekend, while Black Widow grossed over $80 million. However, as cases of the Delta variant began spiking all across the country, audiences became rightfully wary of theaters again. As a result, weekend grosses of the highest-earning movies plummeted. Just one example: less than a month after the spectacular release of F9, Space Jam: A New Legacy earned a mere $31 million in its first weekend in cinemas.
Bridget Regan to Play Poison Ivy on The CW’s Batwoman
GeekTyrant says Bridget Regan has joined the cast of The CW’s superhero TV series Batwoman. In the upcoming third season of the show, she will portray Poison Ivy in a recurring role. Regan has had a steady career over the last decade, appearing on numerous TV shows like Agent Carter, Jane the Virgin, Legend of the Seeker, The Last Ship, and White Collar.
Poison Ivy may be one of the most popular members of Batman’s rogues’ gallery, possibly up there with Joker or Harley Quinn. Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff created the character in 1966. Poison Ivy is a brilliant scientist, a seductress, and an eco-terrorist. After a former lover injects her with a mixture of poisons and toxins, she develops superpowers. Poison Ivy can control plant life, use plant-based pheromones for mind control, and is immune to natural toxins.
Poison Ivy’s first and only appearance on the big screen was in Joel Schumacher’s 1997 film Batman and Robin, where she was portrayed by Uma Thurman. The character also appeared in the Batman prequel TV series Gotham, where she was played throughout the series by Clare Foley, Maggie Geha, and Peyton List. Aside from that, the character mostly appeared in animated TV shows like Batman and Harley Quinn.
Season 3 of Batwoman will premiere on October 13th.
