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Toronto Sun
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
‘Thunderbolts' and ‘Sinners' top box office charts once more
Published May 11, 2025 • 2 minute read This image released by Marvel Studios shows, from left, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh and Wyatt Russell in a scene from "Thunderbolts." Photo by Marvel Studios / AP Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Marvel's 'Thunderbolts' and Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners' dominated the North American box office charts again this weekend. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Now in their second and fourth weekends respectively, the two films had some new competition, including a horror movie, a Kerry Washington action pic, a Josh Hartnett airplane thriller, and a Shakespeare-inspired musical. None of the additions made a significant impact. 'Thunderbolts' took first place, with $33.1 million from theatres in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. Internationally, it added $34 million, bringing its global total to $272.2 million. In just two weekends, the Walt Disney Co. release is already the fourth biggest of the year, globally and domestically. The movie is also faring better than the previous Marvel movie, 'Captain America: Brave New World,' which took a big dive in its second weekend. The key difference was reviews, which don't always dictate the fate of superhero movies, but good word of mouth has helped 'Thunderbolts.' The studio also has another big movie coming later this summer in 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Sinners,' meanwhile, crossed the $200 million mark in North American ticket sales this weekend, which is especially notable for an original R-rated movie. It added $21.1 million domestically, and $6.6 million internationally, bringing its global total to $283.3 million. Next weekend, it's also returning to 70mm IMAX screens 'by popular demand,' IMAX said. Warner Bros.' other juggernaut, 'A Minecraft Movie,' has made $409 million domestically and $909.6 million globally in its six weekends in theaters. Several new movies also opened in wide release this weekend, but none seemed to break through the noise. 'Shadow Force,' a Lionsgate action pic with Washington and Omar Sy from 'The Grey' filmmaker Joe Carnahan, made $2 million from 2,170 screens. Vertical's 'Flight or Fight,' starring Hartnett as a mercenary on a plane full of assassins, also debuted with an estimated $2 million from 2,153 screens. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In limited release, the Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd movie 'Friendship' launched on six screens in New York and Los Angeles and scored the best per-screen average of the year ($75,317) with many sellouts reported. A24 plans to expand the release nationwide over Memorial Day. Overall, it was a relatively quiet weekend, but thanks to 'A Minecraft Movie,' 'Sinners' and 'Thunderbolts,' the year-to-date box office is up around 16% from last year, according to Comscore data. Compared with 2019, however, it's down over 32%. Next week, 'Final Destination: Bloodlines' should give the marketplace another jolt before two giants debut over the holiday weekend: 'Lilo & Stitch' and 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.' Sports Toronto Maple Leafs Sunshine Girls Relationships Editorial Cartoons
Toronto Sun
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
BOX OFFICE: 'Thunderbolts' kicks off summer movie season with $76 million opening
Published May 04, 2025 • 3 minute read From left, Sebastian Stan, Hannah John-Kamen, Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell and David Harbour in "Thunderbolts*." Photo by Marvel Studios / Courtesy of Marvel Studios Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. NEW YORK — Marvel Studios' 'Thunderbolts' opened with $76 million in domestic ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, kicking off the summer box office with a solid No. 1 debut that fell shy of Marvel's more spectacular launches. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account All eyes had been on whether 'Thunderbolts' — a team-up of antihero rejects similar to 'Avengers' — could restore the Walt Disney Co. superhero factory to the kind of box office performance the studio once enjoyed so regularly. The results — similar to the debuts of 'The Eternals' ($71 million) and 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' ($75 million) — suggested Marvel's malaise won't be so easy to snap out of. Some had expected a bigger opening for 'Thunderbolts' because of the film's good word-of-mouth. Unlike most recent MCU entries, reviews (88% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) have been excellent for 'Thunderbolts,' directed by Jake Schreier and starring Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Sebastian Stan. Audiences gave it an 'A-' CinemaScore. That kind of response should power the movie to strong business in the coming weeks. Though bigger MCU films — including 2024's 'Deadpool vs. Wolverine' (with a $211 million opening on the way to $1.34 billion worldwide) — have monopolized movie screens immediately, 'Thunderbolts' could gather steam more steadily. Or, it could go down as another example of Marvel struggling to rekindle its golden touch. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Marvel spent about $180 million to produced the movie, which added $86.1 million in overseas sales. The film also teases the next MCU chapter, 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps,' due out July 25. 'Marvel set the bar so high for so many years that a $76 million opening may seem to some like it should have done $100 million or something like that,' said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. 'This is a great reset. They're hitting the reset with 'Thunderbolts.' The great reviews and the word-of-mouth should hold it (in) good stead.' The Walt Disney Co. also might not have expected such stout competition from Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners.' The Warner Bros. release, which had led the box office the last two weeks, continued to hold remarkably well. In its third week, it grossed $33 million, a dip of only 28%. 'Sinners,' a 1932-set vampire movie about bootlegging brothers (both played by Michael B. Jordan) who open a juke joint in their Mississippi hometown, has proven a spring sensation in theaters. It has collected $179.7 million domestically and $236.7 million globally thus far. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Warner Bros. also nabbed third place with 'A Minecraft Movie,' the smash-hit video game adaptation. In its fifth weekend, it rung up another $13.7 million to bring its North American gross to nearly $400 million. Worldwide, it has totaled $873.4 million. Warner Bros. added 'Block Party Edition' screenings over the weekend for a sing-along and 'meme-along' experience. The film has seen some rowdy screenings from TikTok-inspired moviegoers. More than three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on set, the Alec Baldwin western 'Rust' arrived in theaters. Its release brought some closure to one of Hollywood's greatest tragedies. Distributor Falling Forward Films didn't report box office, but estimates suggested 'Rust' grossed approximately $25,000 in 115 theaters. Following Hutchins' death, the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was sentenced to prison for involuntary manslaughter. First assistant director David Halls was sentenced to probation after pleading no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon. Involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin, a co-producer on the film, were twice dismissed, in 2023 and again in 2024. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. As part of a wrongful death settlement, Matt Hutchins, Hutchins' husband, was made an executive producer on the film. Also opening over the weekend was 'The Surfer,' starring Nicolas Cage as a man trying to surf a 'locals-only' Australian beach. The Madman Films release collected a modest $674,560 from 884 theaters. Top 10 movies by domestic box office With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore: 1. 'Thunderbolts,' $76 million. 2. 'Sinners,' $33 million. 3. 'A Minecraft Movie,' $13.7 million. 4. 'The Accountant 2,' $9.5 million. 5. 'Until Dawn,' $3.8 million. 6. 'The Amateur,' $1.8 million. 7. 'The King of Kings,' $1.7 million. 8. 'Warfare,' $1.3 million. 9. 'Hit: The Third Case,' $869,667. 10. 'The Surfer,' $674,560. Sports Toronto Maple Leafs Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Sports
Forbes
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Thunderbolts' Strike Box Office Gold To Fire Up 1st Weekend Of Summer
Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* is striking box office gold to fire up the first weekend of summer movie season, with $75-80 million domestic and at least $90 million internationally, for what increasingly looks like a $170 million global bow that could wind up closer to $180 million depending on Sunday's attendance figures. This image released by Marvel Studios shows, from left, Sebastian Stan, Hannah John-Kamen, Florence ... More Pugh, Wyatt Russell and David Harbour in a scene from "Thunderbolts." (Disney-Marvel Studios via AP) Director Jake Schreier's Thunderbolts* is penned by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo. The film is led by super-teammates Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, David Harbour, and Hannah John-Kamen, the film also stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Wendell Pierce, Geraldine Viswanathan, and Chris Bauer. The film enjoys a great A- Cinemascore from fans – which means positive word-of-mouth and repeat business – coupled with an 88% Fresh critics' score at Rotten Tomatoes and 95% positive rating from the site's verified ticket-holders. That data immediately tells us this film should easily have at least a 3x final multiplier (final box office total divided by opening weekend) – so at 3x, even at $165 million Thunderbolts* could expect a final $495 million tally. But nudge that to $170 million, and tweak that final multiplier to 3.15x, and you get to $535 million. The smaller the weekly declines and the higher that final multiplier, the higher up those box office charts Thunderbolts* climbs. This solid showing by Thunderbolts* and Marvel's return as summer power-launcher is part of a rising-tides trend at the box office that's seen most of the prominent box office releases enjoying good holds and sales as theatrical attendance rises. The Minecraft Movie looks headed north of $870 million this weekend, and continues to strengthen its position as a major contender in year-end box office rankings. Sinners meanwhile will top $230 million thanks to another amazing domestic hold, and this film will actual expand again into IMAX 70mm two weekends from now so expect it to keep beating even bullish expectations into summer. Elsewhere, The Accountant 2 adds $10-12 million stateside, to finish with probably around $60 million or so worldwide by close of business Sunday. Of course, this summer sees even bigger likely box office blockbusters from the recently (mostly) revived superhero genre – at least, for Marvel anyway. The main event for comic book adaptations will almost certainly be director Matt Shakman's Fantastic Four: First Steps, the MCU's lead-in to their universe-resetting two-parter Avengers: Doomsday on May 1st, 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7th, 2027, both from the studios most successful directorial collaborators to date – the Russo Brothers. Making Thunderbolts* is the opening act that looks destined to give everyone a much bigger and better show than expected. Flying into the fray is DC Studio's reboot hopeful Superman, which I think will be as terrific as the trailers look and confirm writer-director-co-CEO of DC Studios James Gunn's plans for the rest of the newly minted DCU. While I don't believe Superman will top Marvel's fabulous foursome at the box office, I think it'll perform more than well enough for DC and WBD to break out the champagne. If Thunderbolts* overperforms this weekend toward $180 million, then expect it to have a much stronger run than anticipated and potentially deliver at the highest end of outcomes to challenge for top-5 status at the year's box office. Be sure to read my full assessment of the box office potential of the summer's slate of tentpoles, and how Thunderbolts* factors into the summer and year-end math.
Forbes
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Thunderbolts*' Eyes Low To Mid-$70 Million Opening At Weekend Box Office
Sebastian Stan, Hannah John-Kamen, Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell and David Harbour in ... More "Thunderbolts*." Disney-Marvel's Thunderbolts* appears to be heading to a $70 million to $75 million opening weekend at the domestic box office to kick off the 2025 summer movie season. The estimated weekend tally for the film projected by Deadline on Friday falls lock-step with the trade publication and Variety's forecasts for the film from earlier this week. The good news is — so long as the estimate holds — those figures advert the low end of the tracking numbers released by The Hollywood Reporter on April 10, which pegged a $63 million to $77 million opening weekend take in North American theaters. The not-so-good news is that Deadline's $70 million to $75 million weekend projection falls short of Box Office Pro's lofty projection on Wednesday of an $80 million to $90 million opening for *Thunderbolts. The latest chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is opening in 4,330 North American theaters. By contrast, Disney's MCU movie — Captain America: Brave New World — had a three-day opening tally of $88.5 million at the domestic box office from 4,105 theaters in mid-February. Since the film's release fell on Presidents' Day weekend, a healthy Monday tally of $11.5 million helped propel the film to a $100 million four-day bow. Back to the projected take of Thunderbolts*, most studios would be celebrating a $70 million opening. However, Disney, per Variety, also had a $180 million production budget for Thunderbolts* and $100 million marketing spend, so the film still has a way to go before reaching profitability. As this for this weekend, Thunderbolts* can claim bragging rights for being the new No. 1 film in North America, knocking the vampire thriller Sinners from the box office belfry after two weeks. Another big positive Disney can hang onto is that not one, but two films — Warner Bros. A Minecraft Movie and Sinners — both defied opening weekend projections in April as well as their second-weekend estimates. Given the positive buzz that the film has going into the weekend — including an 88% 'fresh' rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics and a 95% 'fresh' Popcornmeter rating from RT users — it is certainly in the realm of possibility that Thunderbolts* can defy box office projections as well. Thunderbolts* marks a departure for the MCU since it concentrates on the adventures of a group of antiheroes — Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) and John Walker (Wyatt Russell) — instead of superheroes. Michael B Jordan plays twins in director Ryan Coogler's vampire thriller "Sinners." Director Ryan Coogler's Sinners, which opened with $48 million two weeks ago at the domestic box office and had a stunning second weekend hold with $45.7 million, is projected by Deadline to earn anywhere from $30 million to $35 million from 3,347 North American venues this weekend to take the No. 2 spot. If Deadline's estimate holds, it will boost Sinners' running domestic take to anywhere from $176.6 million to 181.6 million. A Minecraft Movie, meanwhile, is projected by Deadline to earn $13 million from Friday to Sunday from 3,571 theaters to up its domestic tally to $397.5 million. Also, the trade publication projects Amazon MGM Studios' The Accountant 2 will earn $11.2 million from 3,610 theaters through Sunday to boost its 10-day take to $41.6 million; while it pegs a $3 million weekend for Sony Pictures Entertainment's Until Dawn from 3,055 venues. If the estimate holds, it will boost the horror thriller's running tally to $13.8 million. Note: This box office report will be updated throughout the weekend with the most current numbers as they become available. The final numbers for this weekend's box office will be released on Monday.
Forbes
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Thunderbolts*' Star On Thrill of Reprising Ghost In New Marvel Movie
Hannah John-Kamen in "Thunderbolts*." Disney/Marvel Studios With the new Marvel movie Thunderbolts*, Hannah John-Kamen is getting a rare opportunity for any actor in any type of movie. Starting out as the main villain, Ava Starr/Ghost, in 2018's Marvel Cinematic Universe hit Ant-Man and the Wasp, John-Kamen's character has turned away from being an out-and-out villiain into an antihero in Thunderbolts*. As such, Ghost is part of a group of bad guys taking on the worse guys, where she, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Red Guardian (David Harbour) and John Walker (Wyatt Russell) have the propensity to do good things despite their checkered pasts. While Thunderbolts* has all the action, intensity and suspense that fans of the MCU have come to know and love since Iron Man kicked off the sprawling movie series in 2008, it fully embraces an antihero ideology, which to date has largely been about superheroes. But being a hero who does good things isn't fully out of the depth of the members of the group in Thunderbolts*. 'What this movie does is it forces us not to just to be a team, but gives the ability look at ourselves and ask for forgiveness so we can actually dream bigger than what we thought we could … that the idea of being a hero isn't so ridiculous,' John-Kamen said in a Zoom conversation Friday. 'We've been trained into a routine to think that we don't deserve it otherwise. I think this movie gives us so more depth for our characters and so much more of a journey to go on.' Opening in theaters worldwide on Friday, Thunderbolts* is set not long after the events of the previous MCU chapter Captain America: Brave New World. At the beginning of the film, Yelena is sent by CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to eliminate a target at a secret O.X.E. facility where superhuman experiments are being conducted. When Yelena arrives at the facility, she encounters Ghost, John Walker and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), who have also been sent to the facility with similar orders from Valentina to essentially eliminate one another. To survive politically, Valentina needs to wash her hands of any illegal covert government activities. If her dirty secrets are exposed, Valentina faces orders of impeachment from U.S. Congress. However, when the group of would-be assassins survives Valentina's attempt at their across-the-board elimination, they make like the old Avengers and assemble a team — along with Bucky and the Red Guardian — to apprehend the CIA director and thwart her plans to introduce a new and very dangerous superhuman to the world dubbed 'The Sentry.' Since Ava/Ghost's story in Thunderbolts* is dictated by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo's script — as well as filmmaker Jake Schreier's direction — Hannah John-Kamen said she didn't necessarily try to enhance who Ava/Ghost was in 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp. Effectively, Thunderbolts* signals a new day for Ava/Ghost, which means she was happy to leave who her character was in Ant-Man and the Wasp in the rear-view mirror. 'Jake and I really discussed this because it's a different Ava. I've really wanted to leave the other Ava behind in a way because in [Ant-Man and the Wasp], I played a girl who was completely riddled with pain and death,' John-Kamen explained. 'That was the driving force behind her bad decision-making. Her uncontrollable, naive and immature ways of trying to deal with her survival was to kill other people, so she lost her way and lost her control completely.' Now, John-Kamen said, Ava/Ghost — who has an unstable molecular composition that allows her to move through objects like a specter — 'has matured and is all grown up and in control of her powers.' 'She's got a very hard exterior … and she doesn't depend on anyone," John-Kamen said. "She doesn't need anyone, and she's in a different rhythm completely, not the rhythm in the original movie.' Another big change for Ava/Ghost is a whole new outfit, which has is jet black and has a commando feel — the polar opposite of her white, ghostlike attire in Ant-Man and the Wasp. "The new costume is insanely detailed and beautiful,' John-Kamen enthused. 'It's really a big part of your day in Marvel Universe when we're filming because when we block the scenes, we're all in our undergarments and leggings with Ugg boots on set. As soon as we all get suited up — which is a good 25-minute process — and we return to set, it feels like we have different powers. Your posture changes. Everything you do feels elevated.' On top of that, John-Kamen's costumes in Ant-Man and the Wasp and Thunderbolts* define who Ava/Ghost is in dramatically different ways. 'The original Ghost costume was interesting because it was so badass before, but it was also functional,' John-Kamen explained. 'The idea was that Ava and Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne) had created this costume for her to not flicker away to death. It was more of a practical thing because it was a chamber that she was in. 'In Thunderbolts*, Ava is in a costume that was made for Ghost's abilities,' John-Kamen added. 'It's elevated and has a different power and energy and a different control. It's scarier and it's more warrior.' Rated PG-13, Thunderbolts* also stars Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer and Wendell Pierce. Thunderbolts* opens in theaters worldwide on Friday. Note: Some quotes in this interview feature for 'Thunderbolts*' were condensed and edited for clarity.
