Aladdin Remake Swoops Into Cinemas
In its inaugural weekend, the live-action remake of Disney’s Aladdin showed its audience a whole new world to the tune of $86,1 million at the box office, reports the Box Office Mojo. The beloved 1992 animated film featuring the late, great Robin Williams has been remade into a live-action film starring Mena Massoud (Amazon’s series Jack Ryan) as Aladdin, actress and singer Naomi Scott (Power Rangers) as Princess Jasmine, Marwan Kenzari (Murder on the Orient Express) as the villainous vizier Jafar and Will Smith (Will Smith!) as the rapping Genie. Aladdin was directed by Guy Ritchie, who’s no stranger to remaking existing properties (Sherlock Holmes, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.).
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum dropped from last week’s first place, earning $24,4 million in its second weekend. However, Parabellum has more than returned its money, with its total worldwide gross standing at $181 million compared to its $75 million production budget. Meanwhile, Marvel’s superhero extravaganza Avengers: Endgame is in the third place, but still going strong with $16,8 million in its fifth weekend in cinemas. In the fourth place is Pokémon Detective Pikachu with $13,3 million and with total worldwide earnings of over $350 million. Finally, in the fifth place at the weekend box office is Brightburn. Produced by James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) and directed by David Yarovesky (The Hive), this film retells Superman’s origin story as a horror film featuring Jackson A. Dunn (Avengers: Endgame) as the alien child and Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games) as his foster-mother on Earth. Brightburn grossed $7,5 million in its opening weekend.
Kingsman Prequel and Sequel in the Works
Liam Neeson has joined the cast of the upcoming Kingsman prequel, says The Geek Tyrant. Its director Matthew Vaughn also filmed the first two Kingsman movies as well as Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class. Neeson joins the cast that already includes Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Ralph Fiennes (Skyfall), Matthew Goode (Watchmen), Rhys Ifans (Harry Potter), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass) and Daniel Brühl (Captain America: Civil War). Titled Kingsman: The Great Game, the film takes place early in the twentieth century. It tells the story about the origins of the secret organization depicted in earlier movies. Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Rachel Weisz (The Mummy) are in talks to enter the film as well.
Matthew Vaughn revealed this news in a recent talk with Digital Spy. Vaughn also mentioned his plans for a third Kingsman film. According to the filmmaker, this will be the last movie about the adventures of Eggsy (Taron Egerton – Rocketman) and Harry (Colin Firth – The King’s Speech). Vaughn hopes to start filming it late this year or in early 2020. He expects that Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, and Channing Tatum will reprise their performances alongside Egerton and Firth.
It’s Cowboys vs. Witches in The Pale Door
Filmmaker Aaron B. Koontz (Camera Obscura) is working on a horror western called The Pale Door. Its script was co-written by the writer and journalist Keith Lansdale alongside Koontz himself and his collaborator Cameron Burns. The movie will be co-produced by Joe R. Lansdale, a writer best known for his novella Bubba Ho-Tep (turned into a cult horror comedy by the director Don Coscarelli). Landsdale also wrote Hap and Leonard novels that became a TV series featuring James Purefoy (Altered Carbon) and Michael Kenneth Williams (The Wire). Additionally, Joe R. Landsdale will serve as a creative and script consultant on the film.
According to Deadline, The Pale Door will feature an ensemble cast including Natasha Bassett (Hail, Caesar!) Devin Druid (13 Reasons Why), Pat Healy (The Innkeepers), Zachary Knighton (The Hitcher), Tina Parker (Better Call Saul) Bill Sage (American Psycho), Noah Segan (Looper) Stan Shaw (Rocky) and Melora Walters (Boogie Nights, Magnolia). Its story follows a group of cowboys and lone woman all looking for shelter after a train robbery gone wrong. In a seemingly desolate ghost town, they find a thriving brothel that’s actually a front for a coven of witches. This seemingly mismatched genre mash-up is per course for Landsdale, who never fails to entertain in his writings.
