Earth’s most lucrative heroes will reassemble in May 2020 with Marvel’s Avengers, Square Enix announced today, to kick off a story that’ll unfold over several years of updates. Unlike everything else to do with Marvel’s marvelous moneymakers, story additions with new places and characters will be free to all players. Most importantly, yes, it will let you play superheroes with your pals and duff up baddies together in co-op. Come watch the announcement trailer.

Tony Stark done goofed, apparently, causing a disaster that becomes known as “A-Day”. Probably not Arsehole Day, but you never know. So the Avengers disassemble, Cap looks like a gonner, and superheroes are banned until whoops, looks like something worse is coming so it’s time to reassemble. Square Enix say the story has both singleplayer and cooperative missions for up to four heroes. I’m game for that, as long as I get to do the smashing.

“The narrative will be delivered over multiple years, with no random loot boxes or pay-to-win scenarios,” Square Enix say. “Every new Super Hero and region will be delivered to players at no additional cost if you own the core game.”

The initial lineup looks to be Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and Black Widow, then more will follow as the adventures continue. They already teased that Hank Pym might be next. One of them. Someone. A shrinkman.

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This looks to be in that confusing netherrealm between the movies and comics, wanting to appeal familiar primarily to moviegoers but also drawing from the world of paper, which I think is a situation that technically creates a hybrid alternate universe where- oh Alice no, don’t start with this nonsense, not at this time of night.

So if story chapters are free, what isn’t? No way Ian Ix is doing the ‘games as service’ dealio without some extra post-purchase cash coming in. I’d wildly guess at alternate costumes, considering even a hero of average might can amass dozens of the devils when left unsupervised for a week or two. If it’s something like that, sure, whatever.

The game’s slated to launch on May 15th, 2020. Marvel’s Avengers is being made by Crystal Dynamics with help from Eidos Montreal, Nixxes Software, and Crystal Northwest.

The past two months have been a very exciting time for Marvel fans. Avengers: Endgame hit theaters (for the first time) in April, and brought endless plot twists and satisfying conclusions to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Spider-Man: Far From Homewill wrap up Phase Three, and moviegoers are eager for any information regarding the future and the mysterious Phase Four.

One great venue for a possible announcement would be San Diego Comic-Con, which is usually a hub for exciting news, delivered directly to the fans. When speaking with Kevin Feige about Spider-Man: Far From Home, CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell posed this very question to the Studio Head. Feige said the following:

I don’t know that we’ve officially announced either way. We usually only go to Hall H when we have a lot of stuff to talk about and reveal. Seems like we have a lot of stuff to talk about or reveal. But we’ll see what we officially announce one way or the other. There’s also D23 later this summer, and we’ve always gone to D23.

Well, that’s delightfully cryptic. While Kevin Feige admits that it might be a good year for the MCU to have a big presentation at Comic-Con’s Hall H, he admits there aren’t any concrete plans at the moment. But with D23 and the opening of Marvel land offering another opportunity just one month later to update the fans, some big announcements feel imminent.

Hall H is the biggest venue within San Diego Comic-Con, able to hold a whopping 6500 people at full capacity. It’s historically where the biggest announcements about the MCU have come, including the lineup of the original Avengers cast. As such, all eyes are on what the studios will do this year. Marvel Studios is expect to open up regarding the shared universe’s future soon, so Hall H seems like the perfect place to break the news to the public.

But for now, Marvel Studios seems wholly focused on the impending release ofSpider-Man: Far From Home. CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell got to speak with the cast and crew about the blockbuster, including Kevin Feige himself.

The studio has been very methodical about handling each latest blockbuster. Over the past few years, focus has been on each new release, rather than teasing the overarching future too soon. Ant-Man and The Wasp and Captain Marvel were both given the attention they deserved, with fans left waiting the long year between Infinity War and Endgame for any glimpse into the MCU after Thanos’ snap.

Still, Kevin Feige did mention that there’s plenty of exciting updates to give the public, whether it was at San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H, or Disney’s annual convention D23. The MCU has typically announced full phases of movies to the public, although it’s unclear if that’s the plan this time around. While the schedule was still subject to change (shout out to Inhumans), it provided a rough outline that allowed anticipation to stew for years before each blockbuster arrived.

Whether Marvel’s future will be revealed at Comic-Con or D23 remains to be seen. But CinemaBlend will keep you updated on the latest in in the MCU.

Spider-Man: Far From Home will arrive in theaters on July 2, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Is Hancock 2 happening with Will Smith? Hancock arrived in 2008, at a time when cinema, as we know it today, was just beginning to be shaped by the influence of superhero movies. Just two months before, Iron Man premiered and effectively launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But while Iron Manand the rest of the MCU flourished, Hancock‘s future was murky, despite delivering key superhero story ingredients – smarmy hero, a complicated past, big action, unique powers, etc. – and the sequel never came to be. Why didn’t Hancock 2 end up happening?

Directed by Peter Berg and starring Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman, Hancock told the story of the John Hancock (Smith), a superhero with the potential for doing real good who preferred to self-sabotage with substance abuse and a general disdain for others. PR man Ray (Bateman) sees there is potential to rehab Hancock, as well as his image, and turn him into a force for good. Hancock cautiously accepts Ray’s offer to help him get back on track but as the two start their work and things seem to be turning around for Hancock, the truth about his past and why he is the way he is come to light, thus affecting his future in the process.

Despite promising reports that Hancock 2 would be made, nothing has materialized. Let’s look at what happened after Hancock was released and see what reasons led to Hancock 2 getting permanently pushed to the backburner.

HANCOCK’S STORY COULD CONTINUE IN HANCOCK 2

Hancock was based on the millennia-old connection shared by Smith and Theron’s characters, powerful gods who couldn’t defy their attraction to one another but knew only bad things would happen to others if and when they eventually joined forces. The reveal of Theron’s character, Mary, as a superhuman, as well as Mary’s connection with Hancock, left the story at a place where it could be expanded, diving deeper into their history while also investigating if other superhumans were out there in hiding, just like Mary. Berg teased in August 2009 a key plot point for Hancock 2, telling SciFiWire, “There might be another god out there… Might be another one.”

HANCOCK DID WELL AT THE BOX OFFICE

Hancock did well enough at the box office that it would have justified a sequel happening. Hancock had a modest opening weekend of $62.6 million domestically. When it left theaters, Hancock had made back its estimated $150 million budget in spades, walking away with $624.3 million globally. Add in the fact that, individually, Smith and Theron have been able to open up films over the course of their careers, and on paper, Hancock 2 looked like a safe investment.

WILL SMITH AND CHARLIZE THERON SIGNED ON FOR HANCOCK 2

Progress on Hancock 2 was still going in a positive direction in August 2009, when it was reported the film had secured two writers, The Shield‘s Adam Fierro and Glen Mazzara. (A year later, they both went to work on The Walking Dead.) It appeared at the time like Fierro and Mazzara would be working with Berg and Smith, who themselves were working on expanding the world and bringing in new story elements. More good news arrived in September 2009 when Berg confirmed at the time both Smith and Theron has signed on for the sequel, telling MTV News that “Everybody’s going to come back for a sequel.” Although Smith and Theron remained relatively quiet about coming back, it was promising that the two stars were all in.

PETER BERG CONFIRMED HANCOCK 2 WASN’T HAPPENING

The last word spoken about Hancock 2 was in December 2009, a year-and-a-half after Hancock released. At the time, Berg offered up a vague but telling response on just how much of a priority a sequel was and at what stage of development the sequel was in. Speaking with HitFix, Berg remarked, “There are so many cooks in that particular kitchen that are so busy,” later adding that “to get us all in the same room where we can talk and then agree on anything? You’ll never meet a group of people who will have a harder time agreeing on anything.”

Salma Hayek rumored of joining the cast of the 2020’s upcoming movie The Eternals alongside Angelina Jolie.

Salma Hayek Pinault is a Mexican and American film actress, producer, and former model whom we might remember from the movie Grown Ups (2010) and Grown Ups 2(2013). She was also recently seen in films like The Hitman’s Bodyguard and How to Be a Latin Lover Now a days, recently she is being rumored to be cast in the upcoming Marvel movie “The Eternals,” starring actress Angelina Jolie. Earlier, Keanu Reeves was also lightly rumored to have joined the cast of Eternals, but nothing was confirmed, and the rumor faded.

This Marvel movie is going to based on the Marvel comics of the same name, where the “Eternals” are a group of fictional species of almost immortal humans with powers. With this movie, Marvel is going to launch a set of new superheroes and to play the character of these heroes we need a new cast

Although there are many “Eternals,” Marvel has decided to use only a few in this movie, One of which is the female character- Sersi, whose character would be played by Angelina, and for now Salma is being doubted for playing the role of either of the two female character -Elysius or Thena

Apart from Angelina Jolie the Game of Thrones actor Richard Madden (Robb Stark) was also cast as Ikaris along with comedian Kumail Nanjiani whose role has yet not been decided and although there has been no confirmation of Salma’s role. Nevertheless, the production of the film is expected to begin in the upcoming months- August or September with Chloé Zhao as the director and the movie is rumored to release in November 2020.

The team behind Marvel’s ambitious upcoming Avengers video game have revealed how the ‘games-as-a-service’ title – similar to the ongoing DLC updates made popular by games such as Destiny – will actually roll out when the game launches for consoles next year.

Speaking to Digital Spy last week at E3, the biggest gaming expo of the year which is held annually in Los Angeles, where the game was first unveiled, developers Crystal Dynamics explained that the game will receive ongoing updates and new missions for players to complete online. 

Noah Hughes, Studio Creative Director at Crystal Dynamics, explained to Digital Spyhow the Marvel team plan on rolling it out, saying: “One of the ways we think about it is, it’s not so much DLC as much as just regularly looking forward to updates within the game, and changes within the world’s stories.”

Marvel’s Avengers will see players get to live their wildest superhero dreams as they play as the Avengers themselves in the third person-action adventure game, and allow players to team up with others online to form their own Avengers teams to take down bad guys and save the world together on multiplayer co-op missions.

The game will also exist in a separate, non-canon universe to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with new designs of the iconic Marvel heroes and an original storyline which will unfold over a sustained, updating timeline.Marvel’s Avengers: A-Day – Official Trailer (Marvel Entertainment)by Digital Spy GBPlay VideoPlaylist VideosADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW

So far, Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow and Thor have been revealed in the game’s line-up, though more characters will be confirmed later on too.

On how you’ll be able to play as the iconic heroes, and assembling an online Avengers team, Hughes explained: “There are specific areas where you play a specific hero, but then there are also lots of missions that open up and you can play with any hero. You can also team up with three other players on those missions.SQUARE ENIXMarvel’s Avengersgame.co.uk£54.99PRE-ORDER NOW

“Missions have story significance, but also allow you to tell your own story, and those are also designed to be replayable,” Hughes added.

The ‘games-as-a-service’ model of video game, where the game receives ongoing content and updates after launch, is not a new one – Destiny, followed by its sequel, follows this method of continuing content, as well as Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siegeand the free-to-play Fortnite: Battle Royale.

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Usually, this model is used to monetise games after launch by charging gamers for the additions to the game. However, the Crystal Dynamics team have confirmed that the updates added to Avengers will come at no extra charge to players, confirming to Digital Spy: “Those updates are all at no additional cost.”ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW

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“We want players to be able to continue to play in this world,” revealed Hughes of the longevity of the Marvel game. “One thing that’s unique about our game is it blends the best of single player campaign experiences with some of the multiplayer and replayability aspects of some of these other games.”

You’ll also be able to customise your Avengers in-game, explains Hughes.

“You can continue to level up your heroes and gear that allows you to customise their specific abilities and cater to your own play style,” he shared.

Marvel’s Avengers will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Google Stadia on 15 May 2020.

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UPDATE, writethru: Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: Far From Home came swinging into China, Japan and Hong Kong this weekend to nab an early $111M at the international box office. The launch sets the webslinger 45% over Spider-Man: Homecoming and 21% above Captain Marvel in the like-for-likes. The opening result is slightly higher than what the industry was seeing pre-weekend, which then increased as the markets saw strong play-through.

China was robust at $98M for the No. 4 all-time superhero bow behind Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and Sony/Marvel’s Venom. Social scores are strong in the Middle Kingdom and next weekend sees little in the way of competition with local movie The Eight Hundred off the release schedule. Currently, FFH is above Homecoming by 46% and Captain Marvel by 17% in the market where the webbed wonder excels.

Japan is also a big hub for the character and welcomed the Tom Holland follow-up with the 2nd best superhero debut of the last decade (behind Endgame). In Hong Kong, European vacation Spider-Man flew in with the 5th biggest FSS opening of all time and the best ever for a standalone superhero movie as well as Sony’s top launch ever.

There’s joy on the Culver City lot today as the early dates rep a strong start for Far From Home, which picks up after the events of Endgame. The Hong Kong bow offers a taste of how South East Asia is expected to respond when Spidey gets there later this week, and the current percentage increases over Homecoming and Captain Marvel are encouraging. The fact that the movie will land in Europe when the weather has returned to regular summer temperatures after a stifling heatwave, is also a bonus.

The Jon Watts-directed Far From Home is primed for release throughout the rest of the world in the next frame. Australia goes tomorrow followed by a week-long rollout pattern that includes domestic. There is every possibility that FFH is in the $500M global neighborhood through next Sunday.

In other new play this session, Warner Bros/New Line’s Annabelle Comes Homescared up $45M from 63 markets including No. 1s in 22. The latest in the doll series is tracking ahead of Annabelle (+6%) and The Conjuring (+55%) in like-for-likes. Globally, the start is $76.2M.

Danny Boyle’s Beatles-inspired fantasy music romance Yesterday opened in 30 overseas markets this session, grossing $7.7M for a global debut of $24.7M. On a like-for-like basis, the Universal/Working Title pic is in line with Me Before You and above The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (+18%), The Intern(+31%) and About Time (+67%).

In its sophomore frame, Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 4 added $80.6M from overseas for a $259.6M cume in 45 material markets repping 76% of the offshore footprint. The global cume, after just 11 days, is closing in on $500M and with several majors still to release. While a heatwave gripped France and other parts of Europe this weekend, TS4’s regional drop was 37%.

Also from Disney, Aladdin’s surprising performance continues with a cume now of $568.3M overseas and $874.M globally. Japan ($66.6M) and Korea ($60.2M) have been major standouts on the Will Smith-starrer. This weekend it reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the latter while overall, the international drop was just 30%.

In milestones, Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum shot past $300M worldwide with a strong start in Korea that came in 251% above the lifetime of John Wick: Chapter 2.

Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame is now at $1.92B internationally for a global total of $2.76B which includes this weekend’s Bring Back event at domestic and select offshore cinemas.

The next frame will be dominated by Far From Home, with ongoing rollout throughout the week. Beyond that, Disney’s The Lion King is poised to roar into China early on July 12, one week ahead of domestic and other international markets.

In the meantime, breakdowns on the films above and more have been updated below.

NEW
SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME

Spider-Mania kicked off this weekend in three early markets with China, Japan and Hong Kong grossing $111M on 33,900+ screens. The start for the Sony/Marvel pic is above where the industry had it ahead of the weekend in what has been a challenging time at the box office, particularly in China. But first numbers out of the Middle Kingdom on Friday, along with strong social scores, propelled the webbed wonder to a promising debut that is 45% above Spider-Man: Homecoming and 21% over Captain Marvel, the standalone superhero movie that acts as the other bookend to Avengers: Endgame.

Signs point to Far From Home being in the $500M neighborhood through next Sunday when it will have the benefit of all other global markets save Italy which releases July 10.

The three-day China debut this weekend was $98M for the 7th best studio bow and the No. 4 all-time superhero launch behind Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Endgameand Avengers: Infinity War, and Sony/Marvel’s Venom. This is Sony’s 2nd best start ever in the market. Currently, FFH is above Homecoming by 46% and Captain Marvel by 17%.

Working in Far From Home’s favor, beyond the built-in Middle Kingdom love there is for the character, are the social scores and word of mouth, as well as the fact that Better Days, a local movie that was expected to have great potential, was pulled off its June 28 date at the last minute last week. That this is also the first MCU title after Endgame in the Marvel-loving market is also a clear factor. Holland, Watts and Jake Gyllenhaal also visited Beijing pre-bow and were sporting in their promotional efforts.

Homecoming debuted in China in 2017, about two months after the majority of the world, and made $67M in its first weekend at today’s rates. The Middle Kingdom final was $116.3M (unadjusted) and Far From Home will well exceed that. There was some early concern that Homecoming had less resonance with local audiences because the U.S. high school experience doesn’t fully translate, but Far From Home is bucking that.

China was nevertheless the biggest overseas market on Homecoming as well as the previous two Spider-Man movies. It is also the top MCU hub with Endgame having taken in a staggering $629M there to become the highest-grossing import ever. Far From Home picks up following the events of Endgame as Spidey must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever. Zendaya, Samuel L Jackson, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon and Cobie Smulders also star.

Along with China, Japan took in an amazing $9.4M, making it the 2nd biggest superhero movie launch in the last decade behind only Endgame. There is another week of clear play ahead in Japan. Hong Kong kicked off its run with a 3-day total of $3.8M, which represents the 5th biggest FSS opening of all time, the best-ever for a standalone superhero film, and the best-ever for Sony.

In IMAX, FFH grossed $12.3M across the three debut markets. The $10.8M from 620 China screens set a new record for the franchise and for Sony as well as being the 4th best bow in the MCU.

In Japan FFH snared $1.1M from 31 screens for the top franchise opening, Sony’s best and the all-time 5th best for the format. In Hong Kong, the film earned $300K from 5 screens, also a franchise and Sony best.

ANNABELLE COMES HOME

Gary Dauberman’s feature directorial debut sent shivers to 63 overseas markets this weekend, collecting $45M on about 15,520 screens. The Warner Bros/New Line doll landed No. 1s in 22 of the debuts while there are still 17 markets to come in the next weeks. Including the domestic debut, the global launch is $76.2M.

So far, Annabelle Comes Home is running above the original Annabelle by 6% and over the original The Conjuring by 55%. Annabelle: Creation is the highest grossing in the scary doll series overseas with $204.4M unadjusted while The Nun leads the overall Conjuring universe at $248M.

In Asia, the opening weekend is tracking on par with The Conjuring 2, 31% over Annabelle and 80% over the original Conjuring. In Latin America, it’s boasting the best opening of a horror title this year. And, in Europe/Middle East/Africa, the homecoming is about on par with Annabelle: Creation and above the other comps.

Mexico was the top launch this weekend at No. 2 with $6.9M on 2,660 screens for 6% over Annabelle. Indonesia scored a No. 1 debut of $5M on 1,095 screens to best all Conjuring titles save The Nun. India follows with $2.6M on $1,650 screens to more than double Annabelle. Russia came in at a No. 1 start of $2.5M on 1,880 to beat all Conjuring pics outside Nun. Rounding out the Top 5 is Malaysia and a No. 1 bow of $2.2M from 480 screens and on par with Creation.

Further market totals to date include Vietnam ($1.9M), Brazil ($1.8M), Thailand ($1.6M), Taiwan ($1.5M), Colombia ($1.4M) and Australia ($1.4M). Italy and Germany are next to bow in the coming frame.

YESTERDAY

Danny Boyle’s Beatles-inspired fantasy opened in 30 overseas markets this session, grossing $7.7M for a global debut of $24.7M. On a like-for-like basis, the start is in line with Me Before You and above The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (+18%), The Intern(+31%) and About Time (+67%).

Scriped by Richard Curtis and starring Himesh Patel and Lily James, the Universal/Working Title music romance was No. 2 in the UK where Toy Story 4 is dominating. The film bowed to $2.8M at 642 locations to land Boyle’s 3rd best start ever and track in line with Marigold Hotel and James-starrer Baby Driver. The actors and Boyle recently appeared on The Graham Norton Show while a London premiere was held the same week that European exhibitors got a sneak of the movie at CineEurope.

Australia was the next best bow with $2.52M at No. 2 and from 276 sites. This is the biggest opening for Boyle and tracking in line with Bridget Jones’s Baby and above La La Land.

In the Netherlands, which has been suffering from the heatwave, the film was No. 3 with $419K from 149 locations, also tracking above La La Land and Curtis’ About Time.

The film fared well versus its comps in Europe, though all play was affected this weekend by the sky-high mercury. There are many markets still on deck for the counterprogrammer to summer’s mega-tentpoles. They include France, Spain, Germany, China, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Korea, Italy and Japan. Korea, where Curtis’ movies over-index, will be one to keep an eye on in September.

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
TOY STORY 4

In its sophomore session, Disney/Pixar’s fourquel packed another $80.6M into the toy chest, bringing the offshore cume to $259.6M and global to $496.5M after just 11 days. This weekend added 7 international markets including some of those hit hardest by the heatwave. Nevertheless, Forky was top toy in each.

In France, the No. 1 start was $7M for the5th best Pixar start and the best of the TSfranchise. Overall, Europe dipped 37% from opening. Russia and Spain dipped 26% each and the UK saw a 46% drop from a record-setting debut.

Asia Pacific fell by 38% with strong holds in Philippines (-15%), Australia (-19%), Taiwan (-21%), Malaysia (-22%), Korea (-29%), Indonesia (-34%), Vietnam (-42%) and Thailand (-48%).

Latin America, which saw a huge opening last frame dropped by 46% in the current session. It maintained the No. 1 spot across the region.

Still on deck for Toy Story 4, which should continue to see good holds over the next few weeks, are Japan in July and Germany in August.

Currently, the Top 5 markets are Mexico ($49.5M), UK ($33M), China ($24.3M), Korea ($16.7M) and Brazil ($15.9M).

ALADDDIN

Through the 6th weekend of play, Disney’s Aladdin has now grossed $568.3Minternationally and $874.2M globally. The surprise of the summer so far, the Will Smith-starrer filled its lamp with another $24.5M this session in 55 material offshore markets. The overall drop was just 30%.

In Europe, there were increases and soft drops in some markets including Finland (+106%), France (-9%), Israel (-20%), Spain (-28%), Russia (-31%) and UK (-49%). Asia overall dipped by 18% with Koreaunable to get enough of the genie. Aladdin retook the No. 1 spot from stablemate Toy Story 4 there and has now grossed over $60M. Japan also saw a light slip (-14%) and is nearing $67M. Latin America’s regional gross is $86M.

The Top 5 are Japan ($66.6M), Korea ($60.2M), China ($53.3M), UK ($42.8M) and Mexico ($32.1M).

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2

As the long rollout continues on Illunimation/Universal’s sequel, 11 new markets joined the menagerie this weekend for an additional $11.8M. The overseas cume is now $91.8M for $223M worldwide. Among the new hubs Germany was tops with $2.2M for No. 1 from 720 locations and tracking in line with Coco. Brazil, where competition is fierce, bowed to No. 3 with $1.83M at 676, also in line with Coco. Poland (amid heatwave temperatures) grossed $1.29M at No. 1 from 239 sites to track above Coco and Despicable Me 2.

The top holdover hub was Australia with a 28% drop in the sophomore frame for a $5.5M cume to date. Russia continues to lead all play with $23.3M so far, followed by the UK at $22.6M.

The coming weekend adds China (the first Pets did about $58M — unadjusted — in its full run there in 2016) as well as some Euro and Latin American markets. Japan, Korea, France, Spain and Mexico are still to come in July and August.

MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL
Men In Black: International saw a 62% drop this session, adding $11.5M. The offshore cume is now $154M and the global total through three frames is $219M. Italy is still on deck July 25 and the news is much rosier for Sony in the coming weeks with Spider-Man: Far From Home.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM

Lionsgate’s super-assassin crossed the three-century mark at the global box office this weekend, now clocking $306.3M through Sunday. The current split is $161.3Mdomestic and $142.3M at the international box office. The offshore weekend in 77 markets this frame was $6.6M including a strong start in Korea that bested John Wick 2’s lifetime by 251%. The Top 5 markets to date are the UK ($13.2M), Germany ($10.9M), Australia ($10.7M), Russia ($7.5M) and Mexico ($7.3M).

UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLES

Rocketman (PAR): $2.6M intl weekend (47 markets); $81.4M intl cume ($165.6M global)
Dark Phoenix (DIS/FOX): $3.4M intl weekend (43 markets); $181.1M intl cume ($244.7M global)
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (WB): $2.4M intl weekend (73 markets); $270.4M intl cume ($376.9M global)
Avengers: Endgame (DIS): $2.3M intl weekend (40 markets); $1.92B intl cume ($2.76B global)
The Hustle (UNI): $1.8M intl weekend (24 markets); $40.6M intl cume ($50.2M including non-Uni markets/$85.4M global)
A Dog’s Journey (UNI): $1.3M intl weekend (6 markets); $10.1M intl cume ($42.9M including non-Uni markets/$66.2M global)
The Dead Don’t Die (UNI): $300K intl weekend (9 markets); $4.4M intl cume ($10.3M global)

SATURDAY UPDATE: Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: Far From Home has caught an estimated $71M in its China web through Saturday, putting it on track for an opening in the high $90Ms there. This is slightly lower than where we saw it yesterday as the increase from Friday (not including Thursday midnights) was about 8%, but $100M is still possible. Japan and Hong Kong are also launching this weekend with strong debuts that will push FFH to a $110M+ overseas launch in just three markets.

All-in this is a win for the Jon Watts-directed sequel that picks up after the events of Avengers: Endgame. And, it’s bigger than what the industry was projecting ahead of the weekend.

China has been ornery of late and even if FFH does not swing to the century mark in its launch, it still will have bragging rights to the 3rd best 3-day MCU debut in the market, behind Endgame and Infinity War. It would be the 4th best superhero launch behind the pics listed above and Sony’s own Venom. Given Venom may still be higher than FFH, the webbed wonder would notch the 2nd best start in China ever for Sony. What’s more, the estimated 3-day final would be above Captain Marvel and well higher than Spider-Man: Homecoming.

In Japan, FFH is on track to be the top superhero opening of the last decade outside of Endgame. Hong Kong is eyeing Sony’s best debut ever as well as the biggest superhero standalone and 5th best industry start of all time. In both markets, FFH is coming in higher than Homecoming and Captain Marvel.

Looking towards overseas play-through, and with an early projected $165M +/- opening through the rest of international next week, Captain Marvel will be a comp to keep an eye on. As Anthony and I reported separately, FFH could be nearing $500M worldwide through next Sunday including the new offshore bows, the holdovers in Asia and the domestic debut.

In wider release this weekend, Warner Bros/New Line’s Annabelle Comes Homeadded $8.8M on Friday to bring the offshore cume to $21.1M. With No. 1s in 25 of 63 markets now in play, the franchise entry is led by Mexico at $3M, followed by Indonesia with $2.6M, Russia at $1.2M, and Korea and India tied with $1.1M.

Full international update to come on Sunday.

PREVIOUS, FRIDAY: Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: Far From Home swooped into China today with an estimated $35.5M Friday which includes $3.2M in Thursday midnights. This well outperforms previous entry Spider-Man: Homecoming and sets FFH on track for a $100M+ opening weekend in the Middle Kingdom. That would land it above pre-debut projections which we noted yesterday were conservative based on lower than expected pre-sales. But with terrific social scores, an Avengers: Endgame halo and a lack of competition, Spidey’s off to a swinging start.

The opening day (with midnights rolled in) is Sony’s best ever in China, topping last year’s Venom. This is also the No. 1 standalone superhero debut and the 3rd best superhero launch behind Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War. While the opening weekend certainly looks poised to pass $100M, there is some caution over the three-day multiple in the wake of another standalone breakout, Captain Marvel, which did a 2.6.

However, ticketing platform Maoyan has given the Jon Watts-directed Far From Home a 9.2 while reviews aggregator Douban is at 8.3. Both are higher than CM while the latter is over Infinity War, but slightly lower than Endgame. (NB: these ratings do sometimes shift up and down in the first days.)

Working in Far From Home’s favor, beyond the built-in Middle Kingdom love there is for the character, are the social scores and word of mouth, as well as the fact that Better Days, a local movie that was expected to have great potential, was pulled off its June 28 date at the last minute this week. That this is also the first MCU title after Endgame in the Marvel-loving market is also a clear factor. Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal and Watts also visited Beijing pre-bow and were sporting in their promotional efforts.

Homecoming debuted in China in 2017, about two months after the majority of the world, and made $67M in its first weekend at today’s rates. The Middle Kingdom final was $116.3M (unadjusted) and all signs point to Far From Home well exceeding that. There was some early concern that Homecoming had less resonance with local audiences because the U.S. high school experience doesn’t fully translate, but Far From Home appears to be bucking that.

China was nevertheless the biggest overseas market on Homecoming as well as the previous two Spider-Man movies. It is also the top MCU hub with Endgame having taken in a staggering $629M there to become the highest-grossing import ever. Far From Home picks up following the events of Endgame as Spidey must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever. Zendaya, Samuel L Jackson, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon and Cobie Smulders also star.

All of the Spider-Man films have released in China, going back to 2002 with the subsequent sequels growing apace with the market. The five-year gap between Sam Raimi’s 2007 entry and Marc Webb’s 2012 The Amazing Spider-Man made for exponential increases. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 then nearly doubled its predecessor with an over $94M cume (non-restated), and Homecoming topped that.

Along with China, there are only two other overseas markets going on FFH this weekend, Japan and Hong Kong. The rest of international starts Monday in Australia and carries on throughout the week to cover 98% of the offshore footprint. Italy goes on July 10.

Elsewhere, Warner Bros has debuted Annabelle Comes Home in 50 overseas markets this week to gross $12.5M through Thursday. The latest in New Line’s horror franchise bowed to No. 1s in 30 of the 50 openings. There are 13 more markets coming online today with some majors, including Germany, Italy, UK, France and Spain getting dolled up in July. Japan goes in September.

In highlights, Mexico opened on a non-traditional Thursday, grossing an estimated $1.1M on 2,359 screens, ranking No. 2. The launch is on par with Annabelle and 55% ahead of The Conjuring. Including previews, the running cume is now $1.5M.
 
Indonesia debuted on Wednesday to an estimated $807K from 989 screens at a dominant No. 1. This is the 2nd best opening day ever for a WB horror film, only behind The Nun. The 2-day running cume is $1.7M.

Russia had a No. 1 start of $604K on 1,880 screens Thursday and bested all of the Conjuring universe titles except The Nun. In Korea, the 2-day come is $733K. In Vietnam, Annabelle coming home gave WB the studio’s 3rd best debut ever at $442K on Wednesday. The running tally through yesterday is $1M.

Further cumes through Thursday include UAE at $376K, Brazil at $327K, Malaysia at $326K and Australia with $227K.

We’ll have updates on the above titles throughout the weekend.

Hello everyone, and welcome to the week! It’s time once again for our look back at the noteworthy updates of the last seven days. Some popular favorites and lesser-seen titles fill out this week’s list of updates, along with a few games that fall in between. Like coins in the sofa! Does that still happen anymore? I feel like pockets are better these days and sofas aren’t as prone to sinking in the way they used to be. Well either way, there be updates here, friends. Of course, you can keep an eye out for updates yourself using AppShopper or by participating in the TouchArcade forums. This weekly summary is just here to fill you in on the things you might have missed. Let’s go for it!

Flappy Fighter, Free A new challenger has arrived! Birdette enters the arena, and if you’re expecting her to be a clone of Street Fighter‘s Chun Li, you’re only half-right. I mean, the inspiration is obvious and some of her moves draw from Chun Li’s signature moves, but Birdette does have a personality all her own. The fight this time is Birdette versus Flappy, with Splashy hitting the bench for the time being. As with previous updates, this match-up fully replaces the previous one, so you’ll have to go through the tutorial and unlock all the difficulty settings again. Honestly, while Birdette is cool, she isn’t quite as fun to play for me as Flappy and Splashy are. I suppose it’s at least nice to get away from the Shoto Twins, if nothing else.

SEGA Heroes: Puzzle RPG Quest, Free Guilds are slowly coming along in SEGA Heroes, and this latest update added the biggest thing to that feature so far. You can now engage in battles against massively powerful bosses with the rest of your guild, working together to whittle the enemy down for various rewards. Feel free to come and check out the TouchArcade guild if you’re playing. The guild is starting to fill up a bit, but we’ve still got some empty spaces for anyone who wants to hang out and chat.

Dan The Man, Free Dan the Man has got a plan, and that plan is to update whenever the budget says he can. Luckily, last week was one of those times. That means you can look forward to a new beach background to kick off the summer, with a new ice cream costume available to make you seasonally appropriate. Some elements of the story mode got a little extra tender-loving care, and bugs all over the place have been stomped on as needed.

ANOTHER EDEN, Free This game has been getting a bit of my attention lately. I appreciate how the story unfolds, and it’s relatively low-pressure when it comes to trying to sell you things. This new update adds Cerrine as a new chance encounter, and Cetie and Yazuki join as new characters. Aside from that, it’s a whole mess of bug fixes, UI adjustments, balance tweaks, and that sort of thing. Sure, keep unloading that truck on me, WFS. Make with the beeping sound and the off-brand Chrono Trigger as long as you want.

Jetpack Joyride, Free Halfbrick positively splurged on updates last week, with the perennial favorite Jetpack Joyride also getting a decent little spiffing up. There are some new S.A.M. skins with their own music available in the vehicles section of the shop, a new global leaderboard so that you can compare to everyone else in the world playing the game, and some improvements to the results screen to make it more readable. There have also been some changes made to how missions are presented in order to make things clearer. Yeah, not bad.

Knights Chronicle, Free Well, Knights Chronicle is now officially one year old. Hard to believe. It feels like just yesterday when it came out and I didn’t notice it all for a few months. Anyway, the anniversary has a few things going on. A daily check-in provides tons of free crystals, and a Yo-Kai Watch collaboration event is going on that brings Jibanyan, Komasan, Komajiro, Hovernyan, and Blizzaria to the game until July 3rd. There’s a new Ancient Labyrinth dungeon to test your team to their limits, and Awakenings for Electra and Edwin. New heroes, new costumes, new minigame content, and a lot of other little improvements all add up to one nice update.

MARVEL Contest of Champions, Free Last week, Susan Richards was added to the Contest of Champions. But she’s not coming alone. As you probably could have guessed from the story surrounding Sue’s arrival, Namor the Sub-Mariner will also be jumping into the Contest of Champions line-up. If you don’t know Namor, I don’t blame you. He hasn’t had a movie and he probably never will because of weird licensing nonsense. Basically, he’s Marvel’s version of Aquaman, except he came two years before Aquaman and never had a decades-long dorky period the way that character did. Nope, Namor’s been pretty awesome the whole time, and is one of Marvel’s most unpredictable characters. I feel like we need more Namor in Marvel games, so I’m happy to see him here.

PUBG MOBILE, Free PUBG Mobile has a whole new mode to dive into: Team Deathmatch. You and your friends can team up in groups of four to battle other teams in an oddly small-scale PUBG experience. That’s the biggest part of this update, but there are tons of other little things as well. You’ve got control settings for first-person play, a new MVP showcase system at the end of matches, some extra details in Vikendi and its snow, a newly-added dedicated climbing button, a new charisma ranking, and a whole lot more. I don’t think I’ve ever given PUBG Mobile a coveted UMMSotW award before. Let’s change that as of this week, alright?

Injustice 2, Free The less popular younger brother of WB’s most popular mobile game, Injustice 2 is still out there giving it the ol’ college try. This update makes some big changes to the League of Anarchy team. The Last Laugh Joker, Heartbreaker Harley Quinn, and Entangling Poison Ivy can now join up in a potent threat to teams with high defense. They deal nasty damage over time, and that spells serious trouble for the Justice League. This update also adds in new store items, and fixes some outstanding bugs on lower-end devices like the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Star Traders: Frontiers, $6.99 Mmm, yes. This is a Trese Brothers update, as you like it. The bulk of this update is wrapped up in new talents. A new Bounty Hunter talent, two new Pistoleer talents, and a new Diplomat talent, to be specific. You also get a new De Valtos ship component, the Grand Luxury Suite, which gives you a 22% bonus for each passenger. There are also a few balance adjustments, some bug fixes, and a couple of name changes for talents. Those Trese Brothers sure know how to polish the gems they put out, that’s for sure. And this is indeed quite the gem, friends.

That about wraps it up for last week’s significant updates. I’m sure I’ve missed some, though, so please feel free to comment below and let everyone know if you think something should be mentioned. As usual, major updates will likely get their own news stories throughout this week, and I’ll be back next Monday to summarize and fill in the blanks. Have a great week!

The co-creators of Fallout are teaming up to make a new first person role-player that aims to put the fun, and the funniness, back into the genre. Bleeding Edge hands-on and interview – Xbox’s ambitious new fighter The Outer Worlds is so dripping in irony they should probably get Alanis Morissette to do the theme tune. It’s a video game about the evils of capitalism by a developer that’s just been bought out by one of the biggest companies on the planet. It’s also a game which celebrates what can be done on a very modest budget, even though, suddenly, that’s not a problem at all. And then, finally, there’s the fact that it’s full of comic irony, an action role-player by the original creators of Fallout that remembers that one of the main appeals of the series used to be that it was purposefully funny. Although there’s no post-apocalyptic setting (thank goodness, we think we’ve had enough of those for now) The Outer Worlds is not ashamed of the debt it owes to Fallout. But then it’s being made by two of the original creators, Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, who, unlike Bethesda, were with the franchise from the beginning and partly responsible for creating the original setting and concept. Cain was the producer on the first Fallout and co-director on the second, while Boyarsky, who we got to interview, started as an artist on the first two games before going on to become co-director of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines and senior world designer on Diablo III. So between the two of them they’ve been involved in some of the most acclaimed Western role-playing games of all time. The idea in The Outer Worlds is that you’re on an alien world that was originally meant to be terraformed into a paradise but things went wrong and the process ended up turning the wildlife into aggressive monsters, leaving behind only the less principled corporations and a colony ship that’s only there by accident – and with most of its passengers still in hibernation. As one of those that has been woken up your goal is to make a life for yourself and, if possible, find a better planet. The basic set-up seems closer to Borderlands than Fallout but the gameplay clearly has a lot in common with Bethesda’s first person titles, as well as the original isometric entries. The graphics though are unlikely to be winning any awards, at E3 or elsewhere, and it’s a testament to The Outer Worlds’ other qualities that the low budget visuals don’t get in the way at all. ‘We never really had much choice!’ says Boyarsky, when we ask him whether he got frustrated having to working with a relatively small budget.

‘Even when we were pitching this three years ago, when we first started working on it, Private Division [2K’s new indie label] were interested but we didn’t have a lot of other people that were. So we had to pitch this as a smaller game. It’s less risk, but it also means we get more freedom in what we do.’ The hands-off demo starts with you picking up a mission in a Wild West style town, where one of the local gang/business leaders wants you to take out a rival who’s making a killing selling a bacon-esque product that is actually a disgusting-looking tumour that has to be harvested from creatures called cystypigs. That’s not the sort of mission you’d ever get in Fallout and while Boyarsky is reticent to comment on why Bethesda took the black comedy out of the series he does know why it was added back in for The Outer Worlds. ‘That’s really a result of the people who are making it’, he says. ‘You get a snapshot of our personalities in that game [the original Fallout] and that was when we were sitting around talking about the game we wanted to make. So my darkness and Tim’s silliness, and a couple of other people’s personalities, all wedged together and that’s what we came up with. There was no one around telling us we couldn’t do it and it’s kind of the same this time as well.’ The Outer Worlds – we forget what these are called but we were told they were dangerous Despite the irony provided by Obsidian’s new owners the game does have a serious side to it, in that it pokes fun at corporate logic that, while exaggerated for The Outer World’s sci-fi world, is not as far removed from reality as it first seems. We suggest to Boyarsky that that works because the more you poke fun at seemingly serious institutions the more absurd you realise they really are. ‘That’s a fantastic way to put it’, he says. ‘And I think one of rules, when we’re talking to our writers and level designers, when they were trying to make something that would fit with the humour of the game, is that if you’re going to do something that’s very dark it has to have a silly, humorous edge to it and vice versa. ‘Because, even beyond just making a point, if you want to do something that has an impact on the player… if you just have it so dark and miserable it’s not fun to play it turns people off because it’s too heavy. We knew we wanted to do this world that was kind of on the verge of collapse and it could have been very depressing if we played it straight, so we wanted to be a fun game.’ ‘And to me, the way I like to make points, is through humour. I feel like it’s more effective, I feel like people don’t think you’re lecturing at them so much. And even then I’m way more about raising questions than trying to tell you what the answer is’, adds Boyarsky. ‘Because even with the corporate side of this game we try to make it that when you go and talk to them they have logical reasons for doing what they’re doing. They think they’re in the right.’ ‘‘They’re not sitting there thinking, ‘How are we going to make people’s lives horrible?’ They think they’re creating this perfect society that works for the best of everybody. So I always try to approach things that way, where it feels like they’re characters with believable motivations even if it’s coming from an absurd situation.’ The demo mission involves a quick trip into the wastelands, where the more dangerous creatures are avoided and the smaller ones dealt with for a quick bit of loot. That’s almost the only action we see in the demo though as the guy playing opts to instead talk things out with the various guards he meets. Although rather than the po-faced dialogue of Fallout that involves bullying, charming, and even romancing other characters – from bluffing your way past lazy, dim-witted guards to whispering binary poetry into robots’ metal ears. Even with a non-player character in tow you have a special disguise which is convincing enough that you can talk to most people and have a chance of convincing them you should be there, rather than them just shooting you on sight. That even works with the robots, which you’re able to reprogram to shoot the guards, allowing you to sneak into the main office and confront the big boss. ‘Charlie and Tim looked at a lot of different shooter action games to see what kind of things they wanted but our main game was always about an in-depth story with a lot of reactivity’, says Boyarsky of the core mechanics. ‘I’m really happy that we were able to get the disguise system in there, because I think it’s a wonderful way for talking characters to be able to get through restricted areas. It’s like your sneak path for a talking person, because I can talk my way past guards.’ Once you reach your target you’re given the option to simply shoot him, as per your contract, to take more money from him to do the opposite, or convince him that he should team up with the other gang leader and find a peaceful solution. The Outer Worlds has all the role-playing depth you’d expect of a Fallout style game but it’s the ability to talk your way out of trouble that really sets it aside from the crowd. That and the fact that the dialogue is interesting, and funny, enough that you actually want to sit through it all.

The obvious parting question for Boyarsky is whether he knows what he’ll work on after The Outer Worlds and whether it will take advantage of the larger budgets offered by the Microsoft acquisition. ‘I think I know’, he says. ‘But hopefully the budget will be within reason. I don’t wanna fall into that trap.’ ‘Obviously a bigger budget is better, but only within reason. Because I feel like some of the best ideas that me and Tim have come up with, in our careers, were forced onto us by having to have creative solutions to things like not enough time or not enough money. ‘I feel like if you are not given any restrictions or things you have to overcome, I feel like people can end up spinning their wheels or trying to put too much into it. It’s a great way to focus your thinking when you have to figure out, ‘How are we going to do this with this amount of money and this amount of time? ‘I think it just gives you a lot more freedom in a lot of ways. It doesn’t give you as much freedom on the technological flashiness end, but it gives you more freedom on content.’ Formats: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC Publisher: Private Division Developer: Obsidian Entertainment Release Date: 25th October 2019 The Outer Worlds – the graphics are okay, but nothing more

Fortnite may no longer be able to claim it’s the biggest video game in the world, as interest begins to fall and Minecraft sees a resurgence. EA claim UK Parliament loot boxes are ‘surprise mechanics’ and ‘quite fair’ If there’s two video games every parent, even those that have zero interest in gaming, have heard of it’s Minecraft and Fortnite (with Grand Theft Auto probably in third, even though kids aren’t supposed to play it). Fortnite’s unparalleled success has been due to just a few obvious factors: it’s free, it’s constantly updated, and it’s actually quite good. Everyone plays it but particularly cash-strapped kids, at whom most of the marketing and gaudy costumes are aimed at. But what goes up must go down and at some point Fortnite is inevitably going to see a decline in interest, and that time looks like being round about now. The latest Google search data, as noticed by Forbes, shows that interest in Fortnite has been on a steady decline and Minecraft has seen an unexpected spike – with Minecraft creators Mojang reporting that YouTube views of Minecraft related videos were up 8% last month. Fortnite’s decline is by no means sudden or unexpected but what is surprising is the rise in interest for Minecraft.

It’s probably related to the game’s 10th anniversary celebrations, which have raised its profile, and the annoucement of mobile AR app Minecraft Earth and console-based dungeon crawler Minecraft Dungeons. Although plenty of adults play Fortnite the audience for Minecraft is more predominately children, with most tending to grow out of it in their early teens. The uptick though could show that some are no longer embarrassed by their earlier obsession and are now coming back to the game. Something which Minecraft Earth is likely to encourage even more.