Tag: x-men first class

X-Men: First Class Soars at Weekend Box Office

X-Men: First Class took the top spot at the weekend box office with an estimated $56 million in ticket revenue. The pre-weekend estimates predicted the film would probably bring in $50-60 million in box office takes, which puts the movie right about in the middle of expectations.

X-Men: First Class, Source: 20th Century Fox

“We are ecstatic,” says Chris Aronson of 20th Century Fox told USAToday.com of the film’s weekend box office opening. “This was a complete reboot. We completely redid the cast. And it still was a hit.”

Starring James McAvoy, January Jones and a cast of up and coming fresh young actors, X-Men: First Classis set in the 1960s during the Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis. The film focuses on the relationship of James McAvoy as Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Erik Lensherr (Magneto) and the creation of their respective mutant groups, the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants.

X-Men: First Class reportedly cost around $160 million to produce. The film easily beat out last weekend’s top movie, The Hangover: Part II, which came in second with an estimated $32.4 million. Kung Fu Panda 2 landed in third place with $24.3 million. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Bridesmaids rounded out the top five with $18 million and $12.1 million respectively.

Hugh Jackman Says Wolverine Sequel Shooting in 2011

The sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine will begin filming in 2001, Hugh Jackman announced to reporters backstage at the People’s Choice Awards. Jackman said Wolverine will be headed to Japan for the sequel.

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine

“Wolverine’s going to be back,” Hugh Jackman said during a backstage interview at the People’s Choice Awards. “He’s going to Japan. We shoot that probably in a year, year-and-a-half, something like that.”

The new Wolverine film will be based on a Frank Miller and Chris Claremont story featuring Wolverine battling a Japanese crime lord. There will also be romance involved, as Wolverine falls for the crime lord’s daughter during the tale.

Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie will pen the script for the Wolverine sequel. No director for the film has yet been named, although the first Wolverine director, Gavin Hood, is reportedly interested in directing the sequel.

Two other X-Men movies are also currently working through the pipeline: X-Men: First Class (Bryan Singer) and Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds). Hugh Jackman, meanwhile, will begin shooting on Shawn Levy‘s Real Steel this summer.

>> Previously:  Hugh Jackman Signs On to Steven Spielberg Sci-Fi Film