“Fast X”, the 10th entry in the high-octane and gleefully over-the-top Fast & Furious franchise, opened to a rock-solid $319 million opening weekend. The Universal Pictures powerhouse knocked “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” out of the top spot thanks to its fiercely loyal following and a vigorous promotional campaign. It marks the second largest opening weekend globally of 2023 only behind the still-going “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”.

Directed by Louis Leterrier and featuring a massive cast of well-known names, “Fast X” didn’t exactly break records on the domestic front. It earned a decent $67.5 million in the United States which puts it seventh among the franchise’s opening weekend numbers. But it exploded globally with $251 million, making it the third best worldwide opening for a Fast & Furious movie and the top opening of 2023 so far.

The franchise’s global appeal makes sense as the movies feature a diverse cast and extends to locations all around the world. “Fast X” is set up to be the first of three movies that will bring the lucrative series to its action-packed finish. You can bet Universal will be watching its numbers closely.

Among the holdovers “Guardians 3” fell just 47% to bring in another $32.8 million. That brings its three-week total to $659 million worldwide – impressive, but a ways from matching its two predecessors. In its seventh week “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” still proves to have legs, crossing $1.248 billion and now sitting as the third biggest animated feature of all-time. “Book Club: The Next Chapter” fell off pretty dramatically in its second week and now sits at $13.1 million while “Evil Dead Rise” pushes its five-week total to $140 million globally.

Read my full review of “Fast X” HERE.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has announced the upcoming home video release of “Creed III”. This brand-new combo pack features the film in crisp 4K with HDR and includes both a Blu-ray and digital copy. “Creed III” is the third chapter in the Rocky spin-off story of Adonis Creed who’s memorably played by a returning Michael B. Jordan. The film also marks Jordan’s directorial debut. In addition it features a powerful supporting performance from Jonathan Majors. You can read my full review of the film HERE.

This new 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital edition of “Creed III” is light on bonus content, but the visual and sound quality is superb. It hits shelves on May 23rd, 2023. See below for a full synopsis and breakdown of the bonus features.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Year: 2023

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 116 Minutes

Directed by: Michael B. Jordan

Screenplay by: Keenan Coogler & Zach Baylin

Story by: Ryan Coogler and Keenan Coogler & Zach Baylin

Produced by: Irwin Winkler, p.g.a., Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Ryan Coogler, p.g.a., Michael B. Jordan, p.g.a., Elizabeth Raposo, p.g.a., Jonathan Glickman, Sylvester Stallone

Executive Producers: Sev Ohanian, Zinzi Coogler, Nicolas Stern, Adam Rosenberg

After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian – a fighter who has nothing to lose.

“Creed III” stars Michael B. Jordan (“Just Mercy”, “Black Panther”), Tessa Thompson (“Thor: Love and Thunder”, TV’s “Westworld”), Jonathan Majors (“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”, “Devotion”), Wood Harris (TV’s “Winning Time”), Mila Davis-Kent, Florian Munteanu, and Phylicia Rashad.

“Creed III” is the third installment in the successful franchise and recently set a franchise record and scored the biggest domestic box office opening for a sports film in history.

BONUS FEATURES:

Creed III 4K UHD and Blu-ray combo packs contains the following special features: 

• Michael B. Jordan: In the Ring/Behind the Camera – featurette
• There’s No Enemy Like the Past: Donnie and Dame – featurette
• Deleted Scenes

Apple Studios and Paramount Pictures have finally given us our first peak at the highly anticipated Martin Scorsese period crime drama “Killers of the Flower Moon”. A new teaser dropped today for the filmmaker’s much talked about follow-up to his acclaimed 2019 hit “The Irishman”. The film is based on David Grann’s best-selling 2017 non-fiction book “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI”. The captivating new teaser leaves a striking impression.

Scorsese directs from a script he co-wrote with Eric Roth. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Lily Gladstone, Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow, and Tantoo Cardinal. It follows the FBI’s investigation into the mysterious murder of Osage tribe members in 1920s Oklahoma. The film is set to have its world premiere this weekend at the Cannes Film Festival and will get a wide theater release before streaming on Apple TV+. That’s exciting news because this looks custom-made for the big screen.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” hits theaters October 20th. Check out the teaser below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has announced the upcoming release of “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” on home video. This feature-rich combo pack features the film in crisp, beautiful 4K with HDR, on Blu-ray, and on digital. Directed by David F. Sandberg, the film is the follow-up to the 2019 surprise superhero hit “Shazam!”. It’s a fun, exciting, and visually stunning step up from the first movie that sees Zachary Levi reprising his role as the titular DC Comics character. Read my full review of the film HERE.

This terrific new 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital edition of “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” hits shelves on May 23rd, 2023. See below for a full synopsis and breakdown of the bonus features.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Year: 2023

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 130 Minutes

“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” continues the story of teenage Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who, upon reciting the magic word “SHAZAM!,” is transformed into his adult Super Hero alter ego, Shazam. Bestowed with the powers of the gods, Billy Batson and his fellow foster kids are still learning how to juggle teenage life with having adult Super Hero alter-egos. But when the Daughters of Atlas, a vengeful trio of ancient gods, arrive on Earth in search of the magic stolen from them long ago, Billy—aka Shazam (Zachary Levi)—and his family are thrust into a battle for their superpowers, their lives, and the fate of their world.

The film is directed by David F. Sandberg, written byHenry Gayden and Chris Morgan, based on characters from DC; Shazam! created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck, produced by Peter Safran with Walter Hamada, Adam Schlagman, Richard Brener, Dave Neustadter, Victoria Palmeri, Marcus Viscidi and Geoff Johnsexecutive producing.

The ensemble stars Zachary Levi (“American Underdog”) as Shazam; Asher Angel (TV’s “Andi Mack”) as Billy Batson; Jack Dylan Grazer (“It Chapter Two”) as Freddy Freeman; Adam Brody (“Promising Young Woman”) as Super Hero Freddy; Ross Butler (“Raya and the Last Dragon”) as Super Hero Eugene; Meagan Good (“Day Shift”) as Super Hero Darla; D.J. Cotrona (“G.I. Joe: Retaliation”) as Super Hero Pedro; Grace Caroline Currey (“Annabelle: Creation”) as Mary Bromfield / Super Hero Mary; Faithe Herman (TV’s “This Is Us”) as Darla Dudley; Ian Chen (“A Dog’s Journey”) as Eugene Choi; Jovan Armand (“Second Chances”) as Pedro Pena; Marta Milans (TV’s “White Lines”) as Rosa Vasquez; Cooper Andrews (TV’s “The Walking Dead”) as Victor Vasquez; with Djimon Hounsou (“A Quiet Place Part II”) as Wizard, Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”), with Lucy Liu (“Kung Fu Panda” franchise) and Helen Mirren (“F9: The Fast Saga”).

BONUS MATERIALS

“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” 4K disc contains the following special feature: 

• Director’s Audio Commentary with David F. Sandberg

“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” Premium Digital Ownership and Blu-ray disc contains the following special feature: 

• SHAZAM! Let’s Make a Sequel – featurette
• The Rock of Eternity: Decked Out – featurette
• The Shazamily Reunion – featurette
• The Zac Effect – featurette
• The Sisterhood of the Daughters of Atlas – featurette
• Pay By Play: Scene Breakdown – featurettes
  • Ben Franklin bridge collapse
  • Rooftop battle of the gods
  • Unicorn ride in Philadelphia
  • Epic showdown at the baseball stadium
• The Mythology of Shazam! – featurette
• Director’s Audio Commentary with David F. Sandberg
• Deleted Scenes, Alternate & Extended Scenes

Today Paramount Pictures dropped a new trailer for the highly anticipated blockbuster “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”. The edge-of-your-seat franchise is apparently coming to an end with an action-packed two-movie finale set to hit theaters. The two films were shot back-to-back with part one releasing this July and part two tentatively aiming for June 28, 2024.

Of course Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt as does writer-director Christopher McQuarrie who has been a pivotal part of the franchise’s enduring success. There are many other returning faces including Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Angela Bassett, Frederick Schmidt, and Henry Czerny. And then there are the exciting new names that include Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, and Shea Whigham among others.

One thing the series has become known for are the incredible spare-no-expense action scenes that are highlighted by some incredible practical stunt-work often performed by Tom Cruise himself. In the new trailer we see the film’s star driving a motorcycle off the top of a mountain, fighting on top of a speeding steam train, and driving at breakneck speeds through the streets of Rome. And this is just a taste of what’s to come.

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” bursts into theaters on July 14th. Check out the new trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

I really liked the first “Extraction” – a movie that saw Chris Hemsworth slip away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to make a full-on old school action flick. Now we’re getting a sequel simply titled “Extraction 2”. A returning Sam Hargrave directs with Joe and Anthony Russo producing. Netflix gave us a good tease a few weeks ago. Now they have dropped the full trailer and it looks like fans of the first film are going to get even more big, brawny, blockbuster action. I can’t wait.

Hemsworth is once again playing Australian black ops mercenary Tyler Rake. This time he’s tasked with rescuing a mysterious woman and her child who are being hunted by an equally mysterious (and heavily armed) force. The trailer does a good job of keeping the details hidden while still promising us some (a lot actually) exhilarating set pieces. As mentioned, I love what Netflix did with the first film and it looks like they are giving us much of the same with this big budget summer sequel.

“Extraction 2” premieres on Netflix June 16th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.