Another '90s pop culture reboot... this time it's Power Rangers

 

It was only a matter of time before Haim Saban's Power Rangers franchise (a huge phenomenon back in the early '90s) was revived for another big-screen outing. After re-acquiring his darling franchise from Disney four years ago, Saban, seeing the billions amassed by Paramount's Transformers and G.I. Joe feature films, has partnered with Lionsgate Films to revive the big screen franchise for a new generation.

Not surprisingly, the companies are revisiting the show that started it all... "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers." So fans shouldn't expect a big-screen spinoff of, say, "Power Rangers RPM" or "Power Rangers in Space." No news on who is involved (let alone a release date), but I wouldn't be surprised if big news breaks at the fabled Power Morphicon convention this August.

'Captain America 3' to face off against 'Batman vs. Superman'

 

When Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige asserted that the studio wasn't abandoning the May 6, 2016 release spot to WB's Batman vs. Superman only yesterday, one wondered about what their film would challenge WB's behemoth, short of Avengers 3 or Iron Man 4.

THR now reports that pic will be Captain America 3, which had only just retained the Russo brothers and writers Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely to return to direct and write. Zack Snyder's film, in comparison is deep in pre-production and begin filming in a few weeks. While some die-hard fanboys like to cry, "But Marvel staked that date FIRST!", Marvel didn't state what their film was at the time. Had they announced it right off the bat, WB would've likely stayed away. The news also smacks of Marvel letting the news out to 'encourage' WB to move off "their" date.

Production-wise, Zack Snyder's film has the advantage. The casting news and the novelty of the concept is something no studio could buy -- free publicity. Captain America 3 won't be ready to go into production until late this year, at the earliest. Time will tell which studio will blink, but my money's on Marvel moving Captain America 3 to April 2016.

Jesse Eisenberg will be Lex Luthor in 'Batman vs. Superman'

Warner Brothers announced the casting of Lex Luthor for their 2016 tentpole, Batman vs. Superman, today to fanboy outrage. Jesse Eisenberg, star of The Social Network and Now You See Me, was announced to inherit the shoes previously occupied by Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey. In a way, it makes more sense that Lex and Clark be the same age -- both Eisenberg and Henry Cavill were born in 1983 -- instead of that large age gap previously shown onscreen.

On the other hand, fanboys applauded WB's decision to cast renowned actor Jeremy Irons (you know him better as the voice of Scar from The Lion King) as Alfred, who was previously portrayed by the late Alfred Gough and Michael Caine.

You have to give it to Warner Brothers, they sure know how to make news.

Gerard Butler to stab more heads in 'London Has Fallen'

With Olympus Has Fallen easily winning the White House invasion battle against White House Down, it shouldn't be surprising to see producer Millennium Films greenlighting a sequel, per Screen Daily. The follow-up, appropriately titled London Has Fallen, concerns our favorite secret service agent, the President of the United States, and a British MI6 agent foiling a plot to strike London during the funeral of the British Prime Minister. Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, and Radha Mitchell all return, with Katrin Benedikt and Creighton Rothenberger also penning the screenplay.

Olympus director Antoine Fuqua isn't expected to return (he's deep into post-production on The Equalizer), so Millennium Films is offering the project to prospective directors. The film will begin production in London early May 2014, with a spring 2015 release date eyed. Focus Features will distribute the film domestically, with Millennium handling international sales.

'Superman vs. Batman' Ditches Toronto for Motown

With lots of states (and countries) vying for Hollywood productions through aggressive production incentives and one-time concessions to nail big productions -- it comes as no surprise that the Man of Steel sequel, aka Superman vs. Batman, has decided to follow the money trail.

Per the Michigan Film Office, the production has officially moved to Michigan -- with filming taking place throughout the state as well as metro Detroit in early 2014. The state is no longer offering up the insanely generous 40% tax rebate it once did a few years ago, but 27% isn't bad either. (The state will pay $35 million for projected in-state expenditures of $131 million.)

Zack Snyder is returning to direct, as well as screenwriter David Goyer. Ben Affleck will play Bruce Wayne/Batman, while Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Lawrence Fishburne, and Diane Lane will reprise their roles from Man of Steel. Warner Brothers Pictures, in association with Dune Entertainment, will release the film worldwide July 17, 2015.

Editorial: Off-peak months are profitable too

It's an unspoken rule in Hollywood that the summer blockbuster season (May-August) and fall holiday season (November/December) are the best and most lucrative opportunity to release a splashy big-budget tentpole due to kids being out of school and money to spend. Problem is, studios are leaping to claim the best spots 2-3 years ahead of time. More recently, studios like Disney, Fox, and Sony have jockeyed to book spots for their sequels and future animated films all the way up through December 2018 -- over five years early.

Another increasing problem is the overcrowding summer is becoming, like this season's crop of films. Five pricey films (After Earth, R.I.P.D., Pacific Rim, White House Down, The Lone Ranger), in addition to being badly received by audiences, are dropping off faster simply due to the overload of options in the marketplace. People only have so much to spend on movies nowadays… and occasionally these movies can benefit during typically slower months. 

As Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore puts it eloquently, "This […] certainly showed that the summer alone cannot sustain this number of tentpoles. The one thing that everybody has to re-evaluate is looking at the calendar and discussing when you have the best shot at being successful during non-peak times."

It's not like studios have just realized this recently, but it's been a gradual process during the past couple years. Warner Brothers first realized the potential of a big tentpole movie during the off-season when 300 made a whopping $456 million in March 2007 (before then March was mainly relegated to animated films). Disney piggybacked off that with Alice in Wonderland, which became the first $1 billion film to open in March 2010. Other studios got into the act, like Universal's The Lorax, Lionsgate's The Hunger Games, and Disney's Oz: The Great and Powerful. All three made blockbuster-sized coin during March Madness, but some were bigger than others.

Even a summer-to-spring date change shift was a benefit when Paramount moved G.I. Joe: Retaliation from its June 29, 2012 date to March 28, 2013. The lack of competition during the spring (instead of being placed between The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises), plus 3D surcharges, benefited both movie and studio. In the end, Retaliation made more than its predecessor did back in August 2009… $60 million more. 

April is also gaining steam as another potential off-peak month. After releasing the third Fast & The Furious film in summer 2006 to middling returns, Universal Pictures scheduled its fourth and fifth installments for early and late April. To date, those two are the top highest-opening films in April domestically ($70 million and $86 million) and have grossed a collective $989 million worldwide. Even Marvel Studios and Disney are getting in the act, scheduling Captain America: The Winter Soldier for April 2014 in hopes of a similar-sized payday.

For the higher-ups, they'd think it silly that the whole calendar year is up for grabs, but a decent and reasonably budgeted film can turn a nice profit during iffier months like February, September, and October. (January is a trickier beast due to winter weather and robust December holdovers.) But for February, enticing counter-programming to chick flicks, like Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Safe House and Shutter Island, all made a good profit. 

September can be a notoriously difficult time to make money, but Sony Pictures caught on when its animated Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Hotel Transylvania each made over $240 million worldwide. Followups to both hit this year and 2015 on the same weekend, and two untitled Sony Pictures Animation projects are also penciled in for September 2016 and 2017 respectively.

October is mostly known for its horror films and the start of Oscar hopefuls, but audiences dig variety as well. DreamWorks Animation made a tidy profit on Puss in Boots, which opened to the tune of over $500 million worldwide. And the sequel effect also helped Taken 2, grossing a terrific $376 million against a $45 million budget. Older audiences cottoned to the geriatric action-comedy RED when it opened, turning it into a sizable $199 million hit. 

There's no real concrete answer to this problem, but bottom line is: Studios shouldn't feel pressured to fit their biggest movies into all the popular spots, but choose what's best for each movie individually. And better control over budgets, obviously.

'Seventh Son' moves to January 2014

It's never a good sign when a studio moves around a release date twice or more -- especially if it's to a dead-end month. Seventh Son, the 3D fantasy-adventure film starring Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore, Jeff Bridges, and Kit Harington was supposed to debut February 15, 2013 before Warner Brothers pushed it to October 18, 2013. The movie was plagued with problems, like visual effects studio Rhythm & Hues going bankrupt and producer Legendary Pictures injecting an extra $5 million to get the shots completed. Then a batch of reshoots were underway last week, before Warner Brothers decided to push the movie back again to January 17, 2014.

A move like that signals that the studio feels the movie is a dud, and pushing it to the doldrums of January allows it to die a quick and painful death. Now, there have been exceptions to the January releases (Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Cloverfield and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters all did well), but only time will tell.

The movie will hit theaters in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D January 17, 2014.

Legendary, Warners Heading for Splitsville

Even though it may sound like news, the writing was on the wall for Warner Brothers Pictures and Legendary Pictures' 8 year partnership. According to Variety, Legendary has started talks with potential post-2013 suitors like Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures -- should next month's negotiation talks with WB fall through.

Thomas Tull's insistence that he be more creatively involved irked the studio heads (like release date input, script development and marketing), especially Jeff Robinov. The spat between Legendary and WB over profits made from The Dark Knight Rises (they got 25% as opposed to the 50% from The Dark Knight), as well as pulling out from films like Green Lantern and All You Need Is Kill. Not to mention the petty argument of claiming credit whenever a film hit it big.

It's not like WB will be hurting for money should Legendary leave the Burbank offices for one of its rivals, since they reupped a deal with Australia-based Village Roadshow Pictures last year after it gained a $1 billion restructure financing. Time will only tell whether WB and Legendary will kiss and make up or make a clean break.

'Jurassic Park 4' starts shooting in July

After 12 years in development hell, Jurassic Park 4 has finally made it out, and Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment are wasting no time getting it into production. Thanks to a Tweet from USA Production News, pre-production is underway with director Colin Trevorrow prepping for a July start for shooting in Baton Rouge and Ka'uai, Hawaii. With a start date and release date locked in, expect Universal to start casting the leads and announce who will return to the franchise within a month, if not weeks from now.

Universal Pictures will release the film in 2D and 3D come June 13, 2014.

Thanks to 3D, 'G.I. Joe 3' is on the way

As Paramount and MGM experienced firsthand with past January's Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, never underestimate 3D surcharges and those international markets. As Variety's Andrew Stewart Tweeted earlier, G.I. Joe Retaliation has cumed $132 million worldwide in its first four days of release (already breaking even on its $130 million budget). Not a bad amount for a movie that was pushed back at the last minute, and obviously more than good enough for Paramount to move forward with a follow-up.

No details on plot or release date, as obviously the movie is in early stages, but expect most of the returning players from Retaliation to return -- Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, D.J. Cotrona, Elodie Yung, Adrianne Padalecki -- as well as holdovers from The Rise of Cobra like Ray Park and Byung-hun Lee. And considering how packed summer is getting, expect Paramount and MGM to bow the film March 2015 instead.