The first official film of the summer is Paramount's Thor. The fourth chapter in the ever expanding Marvel universe. Paramount and Marvel first introduced us to Iron Man in two installments, and then The Incredible Hulk re-boot. Later this summer Captain America will join the line up. In the summer of 2012 all four super heroes will unite to form The Avengers movie. Let's hope Thor is good enough to support this lucrative franchise.
There is no doubt that the five top box office films of the summer will be sequels. 2011 turns out to have more sequels and remakes than any other year in modern history. And a few of them are highly anticipated. The biggest event of the summer is:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The final chapter in the most successful film franchise of all time promises to be a blockbuster. The film is sure to generate the same kind of media buzz we saw when Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith opened in 2005. Filmed in 3D Harry Potter 8 looks like it will rake in big bucks and should make about $350 million in US Box Office.
But Jack Sparrow is returning to challenge the young wizard for the #1spot:
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Johnny Depp, Keith Richards and Geoffrey Rush return to the land of swashbucklers and scurvy in this fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series. They will be joined by Penelope Cruz as a woman from jack's past and Ian McShane as Blackbeard the Pirate. Nobody including the folks at Disney, knew that the first film, based on a Disney theme park ride would grow into a multi-billion dollar film franchise. The last film made $309 million and did not have 3D going for it. Expect Pirates to wash up with $400 million, especially if the reviews are good
Possibly both films will be driven out of the top spot by Pixar's latest creation:
Cars 2
In 2006 the original Cars generated $244 million in ticket sales and ranked behind the Pirate's of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. It remains to be seen if Pixar can gain the top spot with another sequel. last year's Toy Story 3 went on to be the highest grossing film of 2011. Lightning McQueen and Mater will have to put the pedal to the metal to drive past this summer's other big action pics.
The one film that may transform everything is:
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The critically lambasted Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was the number one summer movie of 2009. With domestic box office of $402 million of third chapter of the alien robots amongst us could generate $500 million at the box office this time around.
Fighting for a spot in the top 5 is the sequel to the most successful R rated comedy of all time:
The Hangover: Part II
The wolfpack is back and this time they have a monkey. The boys visit Thailand for another wedding celebration and after another night of partying hilarity ensues. There is great word of mouth and the trailer is getting a lot of laughs so Hangover II may pass it's predecessor at the box office. Look for US ticket sales around $320 million.
A few other films will be fighting for a spot in the coveted top five.
Kung Fu Panda 2
Po the giant kung-fu fighting panda bear returns in this sequel to the 2008 hit. This time the bear occupies the coveted Memorial Day weekend slot and will battle it out with The Hangover II for audience members. Last round the bear generated $215 million in ticket sales. He should fight his way past $250 million this time.
Also returning, in a much younger form, are the:
X-Men: First Class
This prequel to the X-Men series shows how Professor Xavier started his school for gifted youth. It includes a young Magneto and Mystique and the X-Men get involved with the Cuban Missile Crisis. the trailer has lots of good buzz, but has the X-men franchise run out of steam after the disappointing Wolverine: Origins movie.
Three super heroes will battle it out for a place in the top 10. The first film of the summer:
Thor
Hopes to take on all comers with it's early release date. Released by Paramount Pictures, which has four other big films this summer (Kung Fu Panda, Super 8, Transformers, Captain America) should be the overall box office champ for the summer of 2011
After Thor comes:
The Green Lantern
Warner Brothers is working on their own super hero franchise hoping to culminate in a Justice League movie. Batman 3 is filming now and a reboot of Superman is pre-production. Added to the line-up this years is The Green Lantern. Like Captain America, The Green Lantern has his roots in 1940's comic books, but the character was revived for the silver age of comics in the 1960's and 70's. Ryan Reynolds stars as the human who is granted alien super powers.
While The Green Lantern takes place in modern times
Captain America: The First Avenger
will revisit the origins of the super-hero. We will meet Iron Man's father Howard Stark who invents the super serum that transforms Steve Rogers (and later creates The Hulk) into Captain America. He will battle the evil Nazi villain The Red Skull. Look for the film to end on a cliff-hanger that will connect with next years Avengers movie.
Two sets of cute and lovable characters may easily push any of these super men out of the top 10. Returning to the screen after a brief absence is:
Winnie the Pooh
The adorable bear is back with all his friends from the hundred acre wood in a new feature length animated film. released the same day as Harry Potter this film will counter program for the younger kids and Pooh lovers every where.
And landing on the big screen for their first feature length adventure:
The Smurfs
Arrive magically in New York City to bring back some magic to the August box office sales. Kids can't seem to get enough of cute creatures interacting with humans (Alvin and the Chipmunks, Hop) so The Smurfs could be a huge hit or they could suffer the fate of last winter's Yogi Bear and go into hibernation early.
Finally two non-super hero sci-fi action pics will be battling it out to make it into the top 10.
With a pedigree of producer Steven Spielberg and director J.J. Abrams
Super 8
has the potential to be the big sleeper hit of the summer. The movie has a retro feel that is enhanced by the use of the haunting score from E.T. in the trailer, Super 8 may have the same super success that E.T. and Gremlins did back in the early 80's
Fighting Super 8 for the non-sequel top spot will be the cleverly titled:
Cowboys and Aliens
The trailer has been getting a lot of good responses from audiences. Based on a graphic novel, the film stars Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford and was directed by John Favreau, so there is potential for this
sci-fi/western mash-up to have potential. Hopefully it won't go the way of last years' graphic novel adaptation Jonah Hex!
So that's it for alook at the biggest of this summer's blockbuster hits. Check back for my follow up blog featuring the release dates fro the summer film schedule and more commentary about the entire release of summer films for 2011.
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