Eric the Clown

It's not awful. A lot of the dialogue works and all the actors, especially Strong and Rylance, do fantastic work here. If anything, the cast saves a lot of it, because man this screenplay is very jumbled. Feels like characters and stories keep getting thrown at the screen one after the other and it makes it hard to stay invested in the piece. The ending is also cringy as hell.

https://deadline.com/2020/10/the-honest-thief-2-hearts-jacob-elordi-weekend-box-office-1234598767/

https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/star-wars-mandalorian-movie-pedro-pascal-jon-favreau-1234805417/

Discuss

guys...guys....GUYS

I can’t wait for the scene where Joaquin talks about how Zack Snyder saved cinema and that Shazam was a megaflop.

https://deadline.com/2020/10/sandra-bullock-ryan-reynolds-reteam-lost-city-of-d-paramount-pictures-adam-nee-aaron-nee-1234595696/

Yeah these kinds of photos are fine. Also, holy FUCK this is shaping up to be a movie for the bis and nobody else because god damn are these two sexy here 😍😍😍😍

Moderation This Fanboy Wars wanking isn’t funny anymore. Reminder that you aren’t obligated to do Marvel vs. DC nonsense. So...don’t do it. Ever! Cool. It’s still annoying

It's certainly well-made and well-acted, but I can't say I'm a fan of this so far. Even ignoring comparisons to the 1983 film (which granted it could never live up to), everything feels very sterile and basic that it's hard to stay invested. I do really like the actors playing John and Al though. I don't think I've seen them in anything else, but they both have a lot of talent and charisma here.

T_T

@baumer @Brainbug @excel1 @YourMother the Edgelord @Webslinger @charlie Jatinder @Noctis @Plain Old Tele 2010 was another fun one to look to. This decade served as a real turning point for the future of the box office, in terms of new animated franchises, new directors, and the first steps towards Disney's future dominance in the field. Hope you all are still enjoying all the work I'm putting into these and I can't wait to continue on doing what I love doing here.

In eighteenth place, we have The King’s Speech. This is the story of King George VI, played by Colin Firth, a royal infamous for his awful stammer. Meeting an Australian speech therapist named Lionel Logue, played by Geoffrey Rush, the two become great friends, and upon the abdication of the throne, the duo try to help each other to the best of their ability before George has to make his first wartime broadcast to the public. This feature film was a passion project for screenwriter David Seidler. Seidler grew up with a stammer as a child, possibly due to the trauma of World War II and losing his grandparents in the Holocaust. So the idea that a royal like George VI managed to overcome his stammer inspired Seidler as a child and gave him the drive to write a screenplay about George VI’s life story. He worked on it throughout the 80s, putting in as much research as possible, but was forced to stop, as the Queen Mother asked him to postpone work on the project. After the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, Seider found inspiration to continue working, albeit rewritten as a stage play with an emphasis on the relationship between George and Logue. There were further rewrites nine weeks before filming started when Seidler discovered Logue’s original journals during his time as George’s therapist. They even used excerpts from his journal in the screenplay itself. Anyways, when the original play’s script ended up in the hands of Joan Lane, an employee at the London production company Wilde Thyme, she, alongside some executives at Bedlam Productions, saw potential in Seidler’s work, offering a chance for a big-screen interpretation of the work. They also hosted a table reading with a group of Australian expatriates, one of whom being the mother of the film’s director Tom Hooper. For the casting, Joan Lane knew she wanted Geoffrey Rush for the role of Lionel Logue. But rather than send the script to his agent, Lane asked an Australian staff member to hand-deliver the script to Rush’s house. While Rush’s manager did reprimand the staff member for breaking etiquette, Rush still liked the screenplay and signed on for the project. For King George, Paul Bettany was the favorite for Seider, while Tom Hooper was gunning for Hugh Grant. Both men declined, but after the duo met Colin Firth, Seider and Hooper felt he had the chops to pull the role off. Tom Hooper created a unique visual style that made it distinct from other British period pieces and evoke the King’s feelings of constriction and insecurity. Hooper and cinematographer Danny Cohen used wider than usual lenses during shooting, helping to create a unique sense of discomfort over the King’s struggles. The cinematography also utilized wide shots that showcased the distinct body language of Firth and Rush, as well as extreme close-ups that captured the emotions of the characters’ faces. This avant-garde direction on a basic period piece caught many by surprise, but was welcomed for its unique style and direction. This kind of directing would also define Tom Hooper’s work going forward, for better or for worse. One of the biggest controversies going into The King’s Speech was its age rating: 15 in the UK, R in the US. This basically blocked out teenagers from seeing a movie that would have likely appealed to them. Hooper argued against this unfair rating, especially as action movies like Casion Royale had a 12A or PG-13 despite having graphic violence and torture sequences. In fact, the only reason the movie is rated so high is one scene where Rush asks Firth to shout a bunch of profanities. Everything else was fine. Horrible person Harvey Weinstein, the US distributor for the movie, asked Hooper to edit out these words to get a PG-13, but Hooper resisted, resulting in the film sticking with an adults only rating. A PG-13 edit was released in theaters, but made very little money. The King’s Speech debuted at Telluride and Toronto. The latter is where the movie won the People’s Choice Award, a clear indication this had strong box office potential. And sure enough, The King’s Speech released in the US on November 26 in 4 theaters. And in that initial weekend, King’s Speech saw the best PTA of the year, $88.9 thousand per theater for $355.4 thousand. The following weeks were slow and steady, though there was a solid boost on Christmas weekend and New Year’s weekend ($4.5 million and $7.8 million respectively), helped by seven Golden Globe nominations and an expansion to 700 theaters. And as the weeks continued, more and more awards and strategies helped drum up hype for the movie. A 1,500+ theater expansion on MLK weekend. A PGA win and Golden Globe win for Best Actor. A dozen Oscar nominations, the highest for any film and a DGA win for Tom Hooper. Seven BAFTA wins including Best Film. And to cap it all off, four Oscar wins, including Best Picture and Best Director at a time when David Fincher’s The Social Network was considered the film to beat. All of this amounted to a tremendous $135.4 million in the States and Canada, the biggest Weinstein title ever. Elsewhere, The King’s Speech was a juggernaut in the UK, staying #1 three weeks in a row and earning at least £3 million for four consecutive weeks, the first film to do since Toy Story 3. This made it the most successful British independent production ever and helped the film earn $424 million worldwide. Some are more dismissive of The King’s Speech nowadays as the film that “stole” Social Network’s Oscar and for beginning Tom Hooper’s more...spotty film career. But the reason the film found its success, simply put, is because it worked. It told an interesting story with little media representation, did so in a compelling format, and featured two actors at the top of their game. And that’s all you need to create a crowd-pleasing, engaging, and successful feature. Queen Elizabeth II was reported to have even cried at seeing such a moving portrayal of her father. Honestly, that’s the highest mark Seider and Hooper could have hoped for. As said before, The King’s Speech's immense success caused Hooper to become a big name in the world of British film, from the polarizing but financially successful Les Miserables adaptation to the critically derided The Danish Girl to the absolute joke that was Cats. But hey, I can appreciate a film that gave us Mr. Mistofelees. Colin Firth also saw more recognition and love in the industry. Which is something I am a-okay with because Colin Firth is the GOAT. One step below The King’s Speech was a film that saw similar box office results, at least domestically, but nowhere near the same critical adoration. Yes, at nineteenth place we have The Last Airbender, based on the first season of the famed Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. In a world where people have the ability to control one of the four major elements, four nations, all of which in control of one element, lived together in harmony. But after the Fire Nation declares war upon the other three nations, the world is in peril. The only one who can save the planet is a young boy named Aang, the Avatar. The Avatar is only person who can control all four elements of water, earth, fire, and air. This journey follows Aang as he attempts to master waterbending and face off against some Fire Nation baddies along the way. The original animated series, first airing in 2005, was a critical and commercial darling. It was praised for its tackling of mature and complicated subject matter, its engaging mythology, and innovative storytelling, especially for something on Nickelodeon. With such acclaim and a strong fanbase, a trilogy based on each of its three seasons was announced by Paramount and Nickelodeon Movies in 2007. The planned writer and director for this trilogy was M. Night Shyamalan, in what was a bit of an off-kilter move. Shyamalan was known for his small-scale thrillers and horror titles, and was on a critical losing streak. Him making a big-budget action-adventure film that was set to kick off a franchise was an odd one. However, Shyamalan had love for the original series after being introduced to it by his kids and felt the world had potential on the big screen. And Brad Grey believed, despite his inconsistent track record, that Shyamalan had the vision to pull it off...it was at that moment Brad Grey made the biggest mistake of his life. For the role of Aang, the part was given to newcomer Noah Ringer. Ringer practiced taekwondo at the time, and began shaving his head during his martial arts training to help cool off. This not only gave him the nickname “Avatar” by his classmates, but when Ringer heard about the movie, he decided to film an audition tape with his instructor and somehow ended up as the lead of a $150 million production despite never acting before. Ringer’s casting, among many other actors in the movie, led to immense controversy. The show took place in an Asiatic world and featured characters of East Asian and Inuit descent. It also showed Hindu, Taoist, and Buddhist philosophy throughout the series. it was disconcerting to see that the leads were all played by white actors. Fans and organizations called out the film for not giving Asian actors a chance to be in a major Hollywood production, considering it immensely disrespectful to what the original show stood for. Even worse, the role of the villain Prince Zuko was set to be played by teen pop star Jesse McCartney of all people, before being recast as Dev Patel at the last minute. So it’s a movie about a bunch of white kids taking down an empire featuring Indian, Iranian, and Persian figures...huh. But despite Shyamalan’s shaky track record and justified backlash, Paramount put on a brave face and pushed this film hard. A teaser trailer released a year before release during screenings of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, a TV spot debuted at the Super Bowl, and Nickelodeon put out a whole line of merchandise and several graphic novels to hype up the piece. But behind it all, two people were left out in the cold: Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the men who actually created the original television series. In a 2014 interview, the men admitted, while they had respect for Shyamalan’s work, the project was given a go-ahead without their approval and any input they put into the project was completely ignored. And while it’s debatable that their input would have saved this project, their lack of contribution certainly didn’t help. When it released on July 1, The Last Airbender was absolutely savaged by critics and the general public. Considered one of the worst movies of all time in fact. Fans hated the liberties the adaptation took, as well as sucking away a lot of its charm. Newcomers were bored and confused over what was going on. Combine it with bad acting, bad writing, and laughable fight scenes, nobody really cared for it. But with all the hype, it still did okay-ish business at the box office. It earned $69.3 million over the long Independence Day weekend, but failed to achieve further momentum, seeing only just $131.8 million domestically and $319.7 million worldwide. It may have doubled from its $150 million production budget, but it still didn’t help everything else surrounding it. People were not happy about this movie, and it killed any future for the rest of the planned trilogy. Shyamalan and Dev Patel also expressed regret over the film. The former felt he had little control on the project, resulting in him later deciding to finance his own films. The latter made him want to avoid big-budget productions forever. But despite the awful reactions, it was far from the end for the Avatar franchise. In 2012, Nickelodeon and both DiMartino and Konietzko created the sequel series The Legend of Korra, which also saw critical acclaim. And just a few months ago, Avatar: The Last Airbender was added to Netflix and saw a major resurgence in popularity. There’s even plans from Netflix to create a new live-action series based on Avatar...and it was just announced that DiMartino and Konietzko left the series due to creative differences...good luck I guess. And finally, we end off 2010 with a look at the audacious Darren Aronofsky piece Black Swan. A ballet company in New York City is preparing for a production of Swan Lake. This production has a dancer played by Natalie Portman as the innocent and fragile White Swan, as well as Portman’s rival, played by Mila Kunis, as the villainous and twisted Black Swan. Overwhelmed by the pressure over competing for the part, Portman finds her sense of reality distorted as she slowly loses her sanity and descends into madness. The basic idea for this film came from Aronofsky reworking a screenplay called The Understudy, initially written by Andres Heinz. The script, detailing off-Broadway actors the idea of being haunted by a double, was a fascinating one to the famed director, taking elements from All About Eve and Roman Polanski’s The Tenant. Aronofsky then reworked the screenplay and combined this idea with ballet, a subject Aronofsky also had strong interest in. Black Swan was also conceived as a companion piece to his previous film The Wrestler, as he believed both the stories and subject matters had oddly distinct parallels with one another. Aronofsky then approached Natalie Portman with the idea of doing a ballet movie in 2000, and was something Portman was interested in. Sure enough, Aronofsky had his idea and his star. Aronofsky sent his outline to Universal Pictures in 2007, who then fast-tracked development of the project. Unfortunately, the director’s commitment to The Wrestler put Black Swan on the back burner and Universal put the film in turnaround in 2009. This resulted in the project gaining a lot of attention from other studios, especially because Portman was attached to it. Sure enough, Fox Searchlight earned the distribution rights and gave the project a budget of $10-12 million. Filming began in the end of 2009. Black Swan opened the 2010 Venice Film Festival and saw instant success, with one of the strongest standing ovations for the fest in recent memory. The success of Black Swan in the festival circuit, with particular emphasis on Natalie Portman’s performance, led to tremendous results at the box office. Opening in eighteen theaters on December 3, Black Swan’s debut was spectacular, earning $1.4 million, an average of $80.2 thousand per theater. This was the second biggest theater average of 2010, only behind The King’s Speech. Appearing in the top 15 in such limited theaters was an impressive result and showed there was intrigue in Portman’s performance and Aronofsky’s bizarre vision. But more impressive were the weeks that immediately followed. Expanding to 90 theaters, Black Swan earned $3.3 million, seeing $5.6 million after 10 days of release. It seems fine enough on paper, but its placement on the charts was even more interesting. With admittedly little else playing, Black Swan landed in sixth place on its second weekend. It’s incredibly rare for a movie to land in the top 10 with less than 100 theaters, let alone make it to #6, and it certainly turned a few heads who were unaware about this film’s existence. Its third weekend saw Black Swan play in 959 theaters, with a seventh place entry and $8.4 million that weekend, bolstered by four Golden Globe nominations. And as you can guess, Black Swan saw plenty of benefits from the awards season that helped keep it in the conversation and made people excited to check the film out. A Best Actress Globe for Natalie Portman. Five Oscar nominations. A Best Actress Oscar for Portman yet again. Constant theater expansions timed just right. This would all lead to one of Fox Searchlight’s biggest titles ever, earning a grand total of $106.9 million domestic and $329.4 million worldwide. During this time, there were a lot of other Oscar contenders making money here, but Black Swan was by far the most surprising. While not completely inaccessible, Black Swan was by far the most experimental, avant-garde and uncommercial of the lot. But this psycho horror title managed to take the world by storm, found a passionate audience, and got people interested in a subject matter and tone that wasn’t really an easy avenue for success before. Just goes to show what strong awards buzz and an interesting premise can do I suppose. Aronofsky’s future projects, Noah and mother! both saw less success, but certainly have their champions and defenders. And now, the rundown of all the other movies that came out I didn’t have time to mention. The Karate Kid was rebooted to great success. Tron: Legacy brought back the Disney cult property to solid success. The Coens remade True Grit to great success. Clash of the Titans gave us craptastic 3D. Grown Ups was The Avengers of Sandler comedies. The Fockers returned even though nobody asked. Dreamworks had another solid hit with Megamind. Shutter Island became the biggest Leo-Marty combo for a time. Will Ferrell and Marky Mark collabed on The Other Guys. Jolie did what Tom Cruise couldn’t do with Salt. The Jackass series was brought back in 3D to record numbers. Everybody got forced into doing Valentine’s Day. Russel Crowe tried to bring back Robin Hood to no avail. Narnia failed to recapture the box office magic with Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The Expendables became a solid franchise for Sylvester Stallone. Due Date was the epic return of Todd Phillips. Yogi Bear was made into a movie for some reason. Date Night brought two NBC funnymen together. David Fincher lost an Oscar with The Social Network. Sex and the City 2 was a disastrous follow-up. The Fighter and The Town showed the horrors of Boston. Prince of Persia failed to find film success. Red took a funny premise to solid returns. Percy Jackson was an adaptation despised by fans. Unstoppable was sadly the swan song of Tony Scott. Dear John dethroned Avatar. Sony bribed the Golden Globes over The Tourist. Diary of a Wimpy Kid went to the big screen. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was the far less successful live-action remake. Platinum Dunes brought back Freddy Krueger. The Last Song continued Nicolas Sparks’ powah. The Wolfman was a costly Universal Monsters remake nobody saw. Takers had a poster for the ages. Legend of the Guardians was that one weird time Zack Snyder made a kids movie. Wall Street got a sequel. Predator came back but nobody cared. Hot Tub Time Machine was a fun 80s throwback. Death at a Funeral was remade for some reason. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was ignored in theaters but found a major cult following. How Do You Know cost $120 million. Danny Trejo brought his Machete character in a lead role. Remember Me had one of the most infamous endings in film history. 127 Hours was a test of strength for James Franco. Furry Vengeance is a title that deserved a better movie. And lastly, Marmaduke...came out I guess. This was 2010

Papa Nolan earned his name in sixth place with the release of the sci-fi epic Inception. Leonardo DiCaprio is Dom Cobb, a professional thief who steals corporate information by going into the subconscious of his targets and extracting their information. Cobb finds himself in his biggest case yet that will allow him to have his criminal history erased. The task? Inception, aka implanting another person’s idea into a target’s subconscious. When he first started out as a filmmaker, Nolan began working on an 80-page treatment for a heist film about dream-stealers. The script was worked on for nine to ten years, with influences coming from films like The Matrix and Dark City and even his own film Memento. Nolan would pitch his idea to Warner Bros. to 2001, but it’s here where the studio got cold feet. The project seemed too ambitious and cost way too much for a guy who really only had one major film under his belt. Instead, WB offered the director a chance to work on Batman Begins and The Dark Knight to help him become more familiar with blockbuster big-budget filmmaking. And after The Dark Knight happened...yeah I think WB had faith in Nolan’s crazy idea by then. They purchased the spec script in February 2009 and got Leonardo DiCaprio, who always wanted to work with Nolan on a film, on board as star. And with a $160 million budget, Nolan’s ambitious idea was going to be executed with spectacle and style for days. Filming took place across the globe, with shots in Tokyo, the United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Los Angeles, and Alberta. And with Nolan wanting to use as little CGI effects as possible, the production also called for distinct practical effects that made the film stand out. Perhaps the most ambitious special effect is the hotel corridor sequence, which actually rotated 360 degrees, creating a new sense of gravity when entering the second level of dreaming. This 100 foot long corridor was suspended on eight concentric rings and powered by two massive motors. The star of this scene was Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who spent weeks learning how to fight in this giant hamster wheel of an effect. Levitt was thrashed around this corridor for weeks and was forced to find a certain rhythm in order to pull this scene off. But despite the battery taken on him, the effect paid off tremendously, creating something otherworldly and unlike anything ever seen before. And that idea of Inception being something never seen before was the big selling point for the movie. WB’s worldwide marketing president Sue Kroll, among others, knew the potential they had for this movie. They knew that Nolan was starting to become an exciting director to people, arguably a brand of some sort, and that the idea had enough potential for some quality trailer money shots. Sure enough, Inception earned itself a massive $100 million marketing campaign, with too many “braam” sound effects in the trailers to count. Opening in both regular and IMAX theaters on July 16, the patience Nolan took with taking this to the silver screen wonderfully paid off. Opening to $62.8 million on its opening weekend, this was an incredible first start, becoming the biggest debut ever for a DiCaprio production and the second-biggest original sci-fi film opening, only behind Avatar. A low 60s opening is usually something given to films with brands and IP attached to them. And yet, here was Nolan’s weird film about dreams making all this kind of money. But for Inception, the film’s success was more than just its opening weekend. As a film, Inception is a meaty one. Its themes focus on dreams, reality, the subconscious, and more. And as a film that tackles so many complex subjects and ideas, it was necessary to see the film multiple times in order to fully understand it. In a way, that idea seems backwards. Wouldn’t you want people to enjoy the film for the first time to encourage people to see it out of the gate? But because Inception was so good and so fascinating to watch, people were more than eager to catch the movie again and again just so they could fully understand what the damn thing was all about. Weekend two saw Inception stay at #1 with a slim 32% drop, earning $42.7 million for a $142.9 million 10-day haul. It was a sign right then and there people were loving it, coming back for more, and eager to discuss their theories and understanding of the film. And that continued in weekend three where Inception was #1 yet again, dropping only 36% and earning $27.5 million, totaling up to about $193.3 million in 17 days. It was pretty clear this was going to be a sensation, and the film continued to hold well through the summer and into the fall, with the film not even dropping more than 40% until Columbus weekend. Inception stayed in the top 10 for 11 straight weeks, finishing in the States with $292.6 million, 4.66 times its opening. Worldwide was $826.1 million. It was an incredible feat, even for 2010. This was a movie that sold itself on its star, its director, and its concept, and people ate it up. If anything, the film excited them so much they watched it over and over again just so they can truly enjoy it, interpret it with friends, and so on. It’s the kind of film that is almost an anomaly, and is where I truly believe Christopher Nolan got the “Papa” moniker. I give this moniker to people on the idea they can sell a movie just by their very presence. And while Batman Begins and The Dark Knight still had the Batman name to them, Inception was all on Nolan. It was all on his unique idea executed beautifully in a way that took the world by storm and excited a mass group of people that appreciated everything that came with it. It’s the kind of skill and understanding of a general audience that most filmmakers wish they could achieve, but makes Papa Nolan’s work all the more special Inception has lived on as one of the most iconic films of the 2010s, being referenced and parodied to death, as well as hailed by some as one of Papa Nolan’s best ever. Illumination saw its humble beginnings in seventh place (ninth worldwide) with Despicable Me. Steve Carell voices the supervillain Gru, who plans to do the heist of a lifetime and try to steal the Moon. And his way to get his heist is complete is by adopting three sisters from the local orphanage. But despite Gru treating them like dirt at first and only using them for his villainous intentions, Gru grows a soft spot over these girls and discovers that being bad isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. This project first began under Spanish animator Sergio Pablos, best known for his work in Disney productions like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Tarzan, and Treasure Planet. Pablos’ idea, initially titled Evil Me, was then brought over to Universal Pictures. The company was fond of the idea and Pablos began working on the screenplay and became an executive producer. Sadly, the one drawback was that Universal didn’t have an animation arm to call their own. But lo and behold, Universal found luck with famed producer Chris Meledandri. Meledandri was president of Fox Animation and Blue Sky and oversaw hit films like Ice Age, Robots, and Horton Hears a Who!. But in late 2007, Meledandri left his post at Fox in favor of creating his own production company known as Illumination Entertainment. And by 2008, Illumination struck a deal with Universal Pictures by becoming the family arm of that company, producing one or two movies a year. Illumination saw complete creative control while Universal saw exclusive distribution. And sure enough, Meledandri bought Sergio Pablos’ pitch and hired Horton’s Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio as screenwriters. Meledandri also got Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud as directors, and hired the French-based company Mac Guff as the animation studio. Illumination would later acquire Mac Guff in 2011. And thus, the project was formally announced in 2008, becoming Ilumination’s first ever project. The most defining aspect of this film and the series as a whole has been the side characters known as the Minions. These yellow pill capsule-designed creatures had a very distinct energy and character to them, with their defining traits including childlike behavior, gibberish language, silly voices and slapstick, and goofy incompetence at their jobs. They may be oversaturated and obnoxious today, but back in 2010, their comedy was pretty fresh. Their manic energy and goofy personalities made them identifiable and fun to both kids and adults, and were the main centerpiece for the film’s marketing. And thanks to Universal also owning NBC, the Minions and the film itself were marketed everywhere, with synergistic ads on The Biggest Loser and Last Comic Standing and cross promotions with IHOP and Best Buy among many others. This type of massive in-your-face marketing would be a staple for Illumination productions for years to come. Opening on July 9, Despicable Me was opening just after Shrek Forever After and Toy Story 3, both of which were highly-anticipated and had incredible brand recognition behind them. So this movie really needed to prove itself if it wanted a piece of the animation pie. And it very much did, with a very strong $56.4 million opening weekend. Below Shrek and Toy Story, but still an amazing feat for an animation studio with no brand recognition. In fact, it was the third biggest opening for a non-sequel non-Disney animated film, only behind Kung Fu Panda and Monsters vs. Aliens, both of which had the Dreamworks name. This was a hail mary for Universal Pictures. It might seem surreal to say this now, in a day and age where Universal has the likes of Jurassic World and Blumhouse, but back in 2010, NBC’s film division was struggling to get any headway in the box office for about three years, with their only other strong hit at the time being 2009’s Fast & Furious. But after years of struggling to find their footing when it comes to franchise fare, they just managed to land themselves a potential animated powerhouse here. And any potential fears of the film’s longevity and appeal would later be squashed when the next few weeks arrived. With solid reviews and zero family competition, Despicable Me would go on to play like gangbusters in the weeks to come. Its second weekend saw about a 42% drop, but still managed to reach $118.4 million in just 10 days, ensuring Universal would get to at least $200 million with this. To let people know how important that was to Universal, between 2005 and 2010, only King Kong and The Bourne Ultimatum hit $200 million. Weekend three was especially great, dropping 27% for $23.7 million and a current total of $161.3 million, becoming the biggest Universal movie since Ultimatum in 2007. And sure enough, not only did Despicable Me cross $200 million, but it managed to actually outgross Shrek Forever After, a film with far more anticipation and excitement going in. With a hefty total of $251.5 million, Despicable Me served as the biggest non-Dreamworks/non-Disney animated movie ever. Worldwide was also great, with about $543.1 million. This was yet another feather in Meledandri’s cap after the success of Ice Age. His new studio managed to hit it right out of the park on their first try and finally made Universal competitive in the animation landscape for the first time since the mid 80s. And this would lead to a pretty big embarrassment of riches for both Universal and Illumination in the years to come, all of which we’ll talk about in the future. And for this franchise in particular, Despicable Me would go on to become one of the biggest animated franchises in film history, earning hit after hit. Two hit sequels, with another one in the works, a hit prequel with a sequel to said prequel currently set for 2021, several short films, an active presence at Universal Studios, and so much more since 2010. Not so despicable, eh? Eighth domestic, fifth worldwide saw the epic conclusion of Shrek (at least for now) with Shrek Forever After. Shrek has become a family man and massive celebrity to his name. But that comes at a price: a lack of privacy and feeling as if he is living the same day over and over again. With a yearning to live the glory days of being a scary ogre again, he makes a deal with Rumpelstilskin. But like with the original tale, Shrek’s deal with Rumpel causes disastrous consequences for him and his loved ones. Stuck in a Wonderful Life scenario, Shrek has to find a way to reverse the curse and save Far Far Away before it’s too late. The massive success of Shrek 2 encouraged Dreamworks Animation head Jeffrey Katzenberg to have not one, not two, but three more Shrek movies. October 2007 saw Katzenberg announce the next title Shrek Goes Fourth, where as Katzenberg beautifully explains, “Shrek goes out into the world, forth!” Tim Sullivan was hired to write in March 2005, but would later be replaced by Darren Lamke and Josh Klausner. As the two men began developing the project, Katzenberg realized he had something special here. The story’s emphasis on Shrek’s family life and coming to grips with who he is was the perfect fit for a conclusion to Shrek’s long-gestating character arc and a solid conclusion to the franchise itself. Therefore, Shrek 4, now titled Shrek Forever After, would serve as the final chapter to the Shrek saga, thereby scrapping Shrek 5 altogether. And boy would Katzenberg let you know this was the final chapter. Every poster, trailer and ad tried to push that in your face as a way to get audiences hooked to come back one last time. And it did work, albeit not as well as Dreamworks likely hoped. Opening in 4,359 theaters, the widest release ever for an animated film, Forever After only generated $70.8 million in its opening weekend. A strong amount for sure, but it was a pretty big drop from what Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third generated a couple years ago without 3D and IMAX surcharges. It would finish its run in the States with $238.7 million, the lowest gross in the franchise. It was an obvious hit here, and Dreamworks executives did mention they were pleased with these results, considering much of the Shrek fanbase had outgrown the franchise once 2010 rolled around. But it was a clear sign that interest in the franchise was diminishing in America. On the other end of the spectrum, overseas did very well here, earning $513.9 million, the highest of the franchise, with a record animated opening in Russia of all places. Its worldwide total was $752.6 million, the third-best of the franchise. At the very least, there was still money to be made here with Shrek, even if this is the final chapter. And sure enough, a Puss in Boots spin-off was released in 2011, earning positive reviews and $554.9 million at the box office, as well as the biggest Halloween opening of all time. A television show based on Puss also released on Netflix, and a Puss in Boots sequel has been in an on-again off-again status for years. And despite Shrek Forever After being the “Final Chapter”, a fifth Shrek movie has been lingering in development hell for years. Its last reports were in November 2018, with Chris Meledandri in charge of reviving the Shrek series with plans to bring back the original cast. Guess it's not ogre after all! Ninth place (tenth worldwide) was yet another Dreamworks hit with How To Train Your Dragon. The Viking village of Berk deals with dragon attacks on a daily basis, teaching their younglings how to kill these beasts. But one boy named Hiccup manages to capture a dragon, the rare and uncatchable Night Fury. It’s here where Hiccup learns not how to slay a dragon, but how to train a dragon and create a friendship between them. And it’s through his actions he may just be able to convince anyone that their fighting is a misunderstanding and there is something beautiful about these dangerous creatures. The original book series written by Cressida Crowell was being shopped for film rights around Hollywood, with Dreamworks Animation being no exception. And after producer Bonnie Arnold saw success with the 2006 comedy Over the Hedge, she decided this would be her next project over at the studio. Originally the movie was going to lean heavily towards the book’s story and tone, offering a sweet, whimsical tone that leaned towards a younger audience. But when Lilo & Stitch directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois joined the project, they felt the film wouldn’t work being so close to the original book, resulting in heavy alterations in the story, characters, and especially tone, offering a more serious and mature take. The director team also hired Roger Deakins as a technical consultant to help make the lighting and overall look of the film feel like a live-action movie. They also did extensive research on both flight and fire. For the latter, because animation could far exceed what was possible in live-action films and the former because they knew the flying scenes would be the most dynamic for 3D screenings. There was even a bit of a controversy when the film was set to release. Back when 3D was the hip new thing, every studio was cashing in on the trend, with an infamous example being WB’s Clash of the Titans remake. Not only was the film hastily converted into 3D at the last minute, it actually moved down a week from its original release date March 26, the same as Dragon. Katzenberg considered this sabotage, because at that time theaters would typically host only one 3D auditorium. Theater owners then accused Paramount and Dreamworks of using high-pressure tactics to convince theaters to play Dragon in 3D rather than Clash of the Titans or Alice in Wonderland, creating an awful logjam for theaters who were trying to capitalize on the 3D hype for all these anticipated movies. 2010 was a wild time to be alive. Anyways, How to Train Your Dragon was released on March 26 and was advertised as being nothing like the typical Dreamworks production. There was no all-star celebrity voice cast, no hip pop culture references, no in-your-face attitude. It was kind of a risk in fact, considering it didn’t have the hallmarks typically found in Dreamworks productions, which could have alienated their core fanbase. But that wasn’t the case. The movie opened to a solid $43.7 million, the eighth biggest March opening ever, albeit just average for the usual Dreamworks opening. But at the very least, it did show people were interested in the final product. However, things started to get crazy in the weeks ahead. How to Train Your Dragon was by far the biggest critical hit Dreamworks ever saw, earning praise for its story, characters and especially its animation. And audiences couldn’t get enough of the thing, as the following weekend, Easter weekend in fact, Dragon saw the smallest drop in the top 10, 34%, and earned $29 million for the weekend. This was a better hold than previous spring animated titles and was a clear sign word of mouth was working its magic here. Weekend three was when things really got crazy, with only a 14% drop for $24.9 million, despite it being the weekend after a holiday. With $133.4 million in the tank by then, it was a certainty it would cross $200 million. Weekend four saw it just barely miss the #1 spot, falling 21% for $19.6 million. And on weekend five, the Dreamworks film actually went back to #1 after languishing below the mark in previous weekends. The last time a film opened to #1 and regained the crown a couple weeks later was the first Narnia movie in 2005. Basically, HTTYD was a sensation and a WOM behemoth. People couldn’t get enough of this movie, and the toon finally ended with $217.6 million domestically, almost five times its opening. This surpassed Kung Fu Panda as the biggest non-Shrek title for Dreamworks and gave the studio a new potential franchise to call their own. Worldwide was $494.9 million. And with this immense success, we saw one strong animated franchise. Two sequels were released in 2014 and 2019 which diminished in the States but still surpassed the first movie globally. This movie also spawned two television series, several TV specials and short films, and even an arena show. It continues to be a favorite amongst Dreamworks and animation fans. Our animation section finally concludes with Disney’s Tangled, which earned tenth domestic and eighth worldwide. A retelling of the Rapunzel story, this is the story of a young princess with magical blonde hair who is locked away in a tower by her adoptive mother, using her hair to stay eternally young. Yearning to leave her tower, she forces a reluctant thief to rescue her from her home and get a chance to see a world she never experienced before. This Disney animated film was the passion project of famed Disney animator Glen Keane, who began developing a story based on Rapunzel in 1996. When he pitched the idea to Michael Eisner in 2001, Eisner would sign off, so long as the film was CGI. Keane was hesitant on telling the story in this medium, but Keane trusted Eisner, and thus Rapunzel Unbraided began development in 2003 for a 2007 release date. This was a Shrek-style spoof of Rapunzel, focusing on witty dialogue and mocking the conventional Disney fairy tale. Eisner even suggested the film take place initially in San Francisco with Rapunzel being transported into a magical fairy tale world because...reasons. However, while Rapunzel Unbraided probably would have been a fun movie, Glen Keane knew that the film deserved a sincere and genuine interpretation in line with the classic fairy tale and many of Disney’s most successful feature films. So when Ed Catmull and John Lasseter became in charge of Walt Disney Animation Studios, the entire project was reworked from the ground up and retitled Rapunzel. Keane and Disney animator Dean Wellins were set to direct, but after Keane suffered a heart attack in 2008, he stepped down from the role, giving it to Bolt director Byron Howard and Meet the Robinsons writer Nathan Greno. Despite being a CGI film, Glen Keane envisioned Rapunzel as an extension of the 2D Disney aesthetic. Traditional oil paintings were used as a reference for the art direction, with Disney creating new computer programs that allowed greater expression from the artist and a distinct blend of both CGI and 2D animation, all to suit Keane’s vision. But even with the new tech, there were still a lot of problems the animators had to deal with, the biggest being the one thing they could not screw up: hair. Hair is one of the hardest things to animate in CGI, and Keane was adamant it had to look lush and lively. Senior software engineer Kelly Ward spent six years developing programs to make Rapunzel’s hair move the way they wanted it to. With six years of production, countless changes and rewrites, and creating brand new tech that allowed the film to have a unique and memorable art style, the cost for Rapunzel was getting high. Very high. With a production budget of $260 million, this was by far the most expensive animated movie ever made, a record it still holds to this very day. For a while, it was only behind At World’s End for the most expensive movie of all time. And after the last Disney Princess title, The Princess and the Frog, did lukewarm business, Disney knew this movie had to make its money somehow. This resulted in a very controversial title change. Ed Catmull and John Lasseter felt that the title The Princess and the Frog caused an idea that the film would only appeal to little girls and limited its box office appeal across demographics. So as to avoid the same mistake again and show audiences that this had something for everyone, Rapunzel was changed to Tangled, while the marketing put just as much, if not more emphasis on the male lead Flynn Rider compared to Rapunzel. This title change saw heavy criticism, though its directors did defend the change, arguing both Flynn and Rapunzel have their own compelling story arcs. But while it may not have been the main factor, this title change might have worked. Opening on November 24 (my birthday btw), Tangled’s opening day amounted to $11.9 million, the biggest pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday opening ever, beating out Toy Story 2. And while it couldn’t totally beat out the Pixar sequel’s opening, it still managed to see $48.8 million for the three-day and $68.7 million for the five-day, becoming the second-biggest Thanksgiving debut. And Tangled’s three day became the biggest opening ever for Walt Disney Animation Studios, beating out The Lion King. And with critical praise behind it, Tangled continued to bring in the crowds through the holidays, finishing its run with $200.8 million domestically, becoming the fourth-biggest film from WDAS, only behind Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. Worldwide was $592.5 million, second only to The Lion King. Whether changing the title helped or not, this movie was just as important to Disney as Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland were. It signaled to audiences that Walt Disney Animation Studios was a division that had something special and distinct about them. It showed that Disney can evolve from what they did in the 90s. It showed to Disney that fairy tale adaptations can still work, so long as you give them enough of a modern spin to make new audiences invested in the story. And sure enough, Tangled would go on to be one of Disney’s biggest franchises ever. While a sequel was discussed, we would instead see a short film titled Tangled Ever After in 2012. And a few years later, Disney Channel aired Tangled: The Series, which lasted three seasons, ending this past March. In fact, Tangled saw a bit of a resurgence in popularity this year when people realized the setting of the movie was the kingdom of Corona and it was about a girl isolating herself away from Corona. Weird. And of course, Tangled has sold way too much merchandise and dolls to count.

Disney’s other heavy hitter was the silver medal winner Alice in Wonderland, loosely inspired by both the Lewis Carroll novels and the 1951 Disney animated classic. Alice is now nineteen years old and is set for marriage. But before she can say yes, she is distracted by a white rabbit, who takes her back to the world of Wonderland, which is now in shambles thanks to the destruction of the villainous and temperamental Red Queen. Alice is prophesied to defeat the Red Queen and restore the White Queen her power of the throne. And with the help of the Mad Hatter, played by Johnny Depp, Alice must fight the Red Queen to protect Wonderland and the world. This was one of two films, the other being the stop-motion remake of his short film Frankenweenie, that director Tim Burton signed on for with Walt Disney Pictures. Burton wanted to adapt Alice in Wonderland because he had no real emotional connection to the story. He disliked how previous iterations were just a girl meeting crazy and weird characters and events and wanted to craft his own narrative that felt like a story rather than a series of events...even though a series of events is what people like about Alice in Wonderland but...whatever. Filming began in 2008, becoming Burton’s most ambitious project yet. While Burton is known for his distinct designs and visuals, this was the first film of his that excessively used green screen technology, making up 90% of the film. The cast and crew felt nauseated over seeing so much green every day, to the point where Burton put lavender lenses in his glasses to help counteract the effect. In fact, the visuals here, when you include CG characters like the White Rabbit and March Hare, Alice and the Mad Hatter’s different heights throughout the picture, and the Red Queen’s giant head, this was an exhausting piece for the visual effects team. VFX supervisor Ken Ralston flat-out said Alice was the biggest and most creatively involved project he ever participated in. One of the key features of the film was its use of 3D technology, like every other filmmaker was doing at the time. Burton felt 3D fit naturally with the environment of Wonderland. However, instead of utilizing 3D cameras, which were expensive and clunky to maintain, Burton and producer Richard Zanuck converted the film into 3D instead, believing there was no difference between the two. James Cameron blasted them over taking the lazy way out and there was no reason to shoot in 2D and convert to 3D. And I mean...he kind of knows what he’s talking about here. Either way, Alice in Wonderland was expected to be a solid hit when it was released on March 5. The marketing campaign was huge, Johnny Depp and Tim Burton were at their peak in popularity, and the connection to the iconic Disney film helped create interest in this new interpretation of the story. Expectations for the film put it in the $70 million range, which would have already ensured the movie would be a hit and one of the biggest March titles. But when it came out, nobody, not even Disney, expected a hit like this. On its debut, Alice in Wonderland earned $116.1 million in its first three days. And that opening weekend saw all the records broken. All of them. First, it toppled 300 for the biggest March debut ever, as well as earning the biggest opening for a 3D movie, already beating one of Avatar’s many records. IMAX was also a huge contributor its box office, stealing another record from Avatar with $11.9 million. But perhaps its biggest headlines were the fact it saw the biggest opening ever for a non-sequel and the sixth biggest opening of all time. That last number was a shocker to me while researching. I knew it was a hit for certain, but landing just shy of the top 5 and earning more than Spider-Man? That was an incredible feat that really showed how much people were looking forward to Burton's vision. Of course, it was helped by a perfect storm of factors. Not only were Burton and Depp still extremely popular, but it came out just after the big 3D boom from Avatar. People loved the 3D technology in that film for enriching and expanding the world of Pandora, so another fantasy feature in IMAX 3D coming out a couple months later was just what audiences were hungry for. And while it did garner mixed reception and competition from other 3D spectacles in the coming weeks, Alice in Wonderland still managed to earn $334.2 million domestically and $1.025 billion worldwide, becoming the fifth-biggest movie ever at the time. It was a monster and continued to play well after its release, generating about $1.6 billion in retail sales from home video and merchandise sales. But this film’s release gave Disney executives inspiration. While not a direct remake of the Disney film, this was sold as Disney’s live-action reinterpretation of their iconic feature. The Disney branding is a strong one. When their animation studio adapts a story, nine times out of ten, their film is the most iconic depiction everybody remembers. And it seemed like there was an audience that liked the idea of seeing Disney’s animated classics given a live-action spin. Sure enough, thanks to good ol’ Alice hitting a billion dollars, Disney would go on an endless spree of remaking multiple features from their animated canon. Many of them would go on to perform as well, if not better than what Alice achieved in 2010, despite mixed reception from Disney fans and general audiences. Needless to say, we have tons to discuss with these future remakes. As for Burton’s franchise, a Broadway musical adaptation was in the works, but failed to get off the ground. And in 2016, a sequel titled Alice Through the Looking Glass was released, becoming the complete opposite of its successful counterpart. It saw even worse reviews, signaled the downturn of Johnny Depp, and only grossed $77 million domestically, less than the first movie’s first two days, and $299.5 million worldwide, a nearly 70% drop from its predecessor. With a $170 million production budget behind it, it’s estimated the film lost $70 million for Disney and killed any future franchise plans for Burton’s Alice interpretation. Third place in the domestic charts, though only seventh worldwide, was home to a movie Disney would own in a few years: Iron Man 2. Six months after the events of the first movie, Tony Stark, after revealing his secret identity, finds himself at odds with the United States government asking him to hand over the Iron Man technology, to the point where his own health is at risk. All the while, Russian scientist Ivan Vanko uses his own version of the Iron Man tech as a means towards vengeance against the Stark family. Immediately after the success of the first Iron Man film, Marvel Studios began developing a sequel and intended for a 2010 release. Jon Favreau returned to the director’s chair and Justin Theroux served as writer. Theroux was in charge of the script for Tropic Thunder, and Downey had such a good time working for him, he recommended Theroux to Marvel for this next project. Favreau envisioned working on an Iron Man trilogy, with this film focusing on Tony’s alcoholism and emphasizing Nick Fury’s organization named SHIELD. He was also hesitant on putting The Mandarin, the most famous Iron Man baddie, because his fantastical nature clashed with the realistic science technology of the first movie. With a new movie comes new characters and new actors. Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke played the villains and Samuel L. Jackson’s role was expanded upon. But the big casting choices here, at least for this big universe Marvel was planning, came from two different actors. The first was Scarlett Johannson as Natasha Romanoff. Originally Emily Blunt was considered for the role, but because she had filming commitments with the Jack Black comedy Gulliver’s Travels, she was unable to join the film...I’m sure Blunt is still angry over that Gulliver’s Travels movie to this very day. However, the most controversial casting was Don Cheadle as Rhodey/War Machine. Terrence Howard originated the role in the first Iron Man, but was replaced with many conflicting reasons as to why. Some say it was because Favreau and Howard didn’t get along. Others say it was because Howard left due to an awful salary. Others say Favreau and Theroux purposely cut down Rhodey’s involvement in the story. Whatever the reason, Howard was out and Cheadle was in. Reportedly, Marvel executive Ike Perlmutter believed people wouldn’t notice the casting change, because he apparently stated that Black people all look the same...think now’s a good time to say fuck Ike’s bitch-ass. With a massive marketing campaign dating back to Comic-Con 2009, Iron Man 2 had everything going for it. Ads were everywhere, Downey was fresh off several hit films, and the goodwill from the last film ensured there was an excited and captive audience ready for more Tony Stark action. Sure enough, Iron Man 2 started up the summer on May 7 to instant success, earning $128.1 million upon its opening weekend, including $9.8 million, a record for an IMAX 2D title. This was the fifth-biggest opening of all time, the second biggest May debut, only behind Spider-Man 3, and Paramount’s biggest debut ever. This definitely made Paramount executives happy because of circumstances relating to the Disney acquisition. After Disney bought Marvel in late 2009, a deal was struck between the Mouse House and the Mountain. Paramount would be in charge of marketing and distribution, but they would only get an 8% cut of the box office with the majority given to Disney. Basically, Paramount did all the heavy lifting while Disney got most of the profits. You find your own metaphor with this. This opening was also 26% better than the first Iron Man, showing strong growth and fervent excitement over a direct follow-up to the original hit movie. However, Iron Man 2 failed to capture the legs and WOM magic of the first film. Reviews were good, but nowhere near as strong as what Iron Man 1 achieved in 2008, which was somewhat reflected in its legs. Weekend 2 saw the film fall 59% for a $52 million haul. And with more frontloaded business, Iron Man 2 actually finished below the first movie domestically with about $312.4 million. It may sound bad, especially considering the boost MCU sequels usually get, but it’s important to contextualize some things. This was back when the MCU was just starting out and Iron Man was a breakout nobody saw coming. The fact the sequel managed to just barely miss what the first movie achieved was miraculous stuff at the time and showed people still had interest in at least this particular Marvel property. And of course, thanks to a massive boost from international audiences, Iron Man 2 far surpassed the first film worldwide with a final total of $623.9 million. It was clear people still loved Tony Stark and were excited to see him in more movies. And boy did we see him in a lot more movies. Fourth domestic, sixth worldwide saw The Twilight Saga yet again with Eclipse. This yet again focuses on Bella’s conflicting emotions between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob, the decision of which could ignite the struggle between both vampire and werewolf. All the while, mysterious killings take place in Seattle. Even before New Moon, Summit knew Eclipse was inevitable. Twilight was already a huge hit growing bigger every year and these movies were still on the cheap side compared to the likes of Harry Potter. So on February 2009, months before New Moon’s record-breaking debut, Eclipse was announced for a 2010 release date, with filming set for August 2009. Because New Moon director Chris Weitz was busy with the post-production for said film, a new director joined the foray. Enter Hard Candy director David Slade, who dedicated himself into making sure the project was just right, interviewing cast members individually to discuss the characters and plot for this installment. The massive success of New Moon put high expectations on this release. Thankfully, Summit was prepared, with a massive marketing campaign that tied itself into very specific events. The first poster released just when New Moon was revving up its release. The first trailer dropped in time for Robert Pattinson’s Remember Me. Seven minutes of the film were a special feature on the New Moon DVD. The second trailer dropped on Oprah. A sneak peek arrived at the MTV Movie Awards. Special screenings occurred during a late June lunar eclipse. And with a record theater count of 4,416, Summit put everything in their power to make Eclipse just as successful as the last movie. And it paid off. More than paid off actually. Opening on June 30, Eclipse immediately broke records by earning $30 million in midnight showings, beating New Moon’s midnight numbers just a few months prior. This led to an epic opening day of $68.5 million, the largest opening day for a Wednesday release, surpassing Revenge of the Fallen, as well as the second biggest opening day of all time, only behind New Moon. And with the entire Fourth of July holiday frame to call its own, Eclipse earned $176.4 million from Wednesday to Monday, just behind what New Moon totaled in its first six days. The fact that this sequel managed to match its predecessor like this was mindboggling and really showed the powerhouse Twilight was. People were obsessed with these movies, the romance, the characters, and the lore, which paid off handsomely for all parties. And thanks to summer weekdays, Eclipse managed to outpace New Moon and pass $300.5 million in the States, becoming the biggest movie of the franchise here. Overseas was also strong, earning $398 million for a grand total of $698.5 million. Below New Moon? Sure. But still incredible numbers for the series that showed Twilight fever was not slowing down. If anything, it was just beginning. However, Summit found themselves in a sticky situation. Stephanie Meyer only wrote four books, so they were just about near their end when it came to milking this property. Thankfully, with the tremendous success of another YA franchise, Summit Entertainment found a way to keep the Twilight gravy train going for one more movie. Fifth place in the States but third worldwide was the true penultimate Potter film with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1. It’s Harry Potter’s final year, but he’s not heading back to school. Instead he’s on a race against Lord Voldemort as Harry tries to destroy the Horcruxes, a series of items that if obtained by Voldemort could give the Dark Wizard pure immortality. When developing this adaptation of the final Harry Potter novel the plan was for this to be one single movie. However, right as development started, the crew realized one film wasn’t enough. In order to have both a cohesive adaptation that hit all the marks for fans, as well as deliver something that was truly worthy of an epic finale, they had to make something bigger than anything done before. So executive producer Lionel Wigram suggested to David Heyman that this movie should be split into two parts out of “creative imperitance”. Heyman was against the idea, but after rereading the novel and discussing things with writer Steve Kloves, he agreed with the decision. And so, a two-part finale was greenlit, shot back-to-back and set for a fall 2010 and summer 2011 release respectively. For David Yates’ part, both films have a very distinct tone and style that allowed a sense of closure for the series. Part 1 was the more character-driven piece. Playing out more like a road movie, this follows Harry, Ron, and Hermione with an emphasis on their character dynamics. How they have evolved, their relationships with one another, their friends, and their family, and much more. And while obviously full of special effects, the film is a bit more low-key in terms of locations, with the characters spending a good chunk of the runtime in the woods. This film was a strenuous one for set designer Stuart Craig, who mainly shot on location, but also had to design forest sets that seamlessly integrated with the real forest location. Craig would see an Oscar nomination for this work. With a giant marketing campaign and the immense finale hype, Deathly Hallows - Part 1 was yet another highly anticipated release in the Potter canon, seeing an estimated 1,000 sold out theaters before its release. And on November 19, the beginning to the finale began its run with $125 million on its domestic opening weekend. This was not only the biggest Potter opening by far, but it was also the second-biggest November opening ever, and the sixth-biggest opening for any movie ever. Fans were clearly pumped to see how it all would end and they all came out in droves hungry for Potter action. Of course, with this being about as “fans only” of a film as you can get, Deathly Hallows - Part 1 was a frontloaded beast, finishing with 2.37 times its opening for a grand total of $296 million. But that was obviously far from a bad thing. If anything, it showed just how strong the fanbase for Harry Potter was at the time and how much excitement people had for this penultimate iteration. This was even further shown overseas, with the UK seeing a record debut of $29.4 million. Overseas saw a colossal $205 million opening for a grand $330 million worldwide opening. This of course translated to just as, if not more impressive results than the domestic haul, earning $680.5 million overseas and $976.1 million worldwide, the biggest Potter film ever at that time. But of course, this wasn’t what fans were really excited for. They loved this character-driven piece, but they were hungry for the meat and potatoes. The epic Battle of Hogwarts. The clash between Harry and Voldemort. All of this was building up to July 2011. And what a glorious send-off that was. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

2010 A massive BP explosion causes a huge oil spill on the ocean, the financial crisis still wrecks the world economy, and several earthquakes hit nations like Haiti, Chile, New Zealand and Indonesia. So yeah, not the best year. The Burj Khalifa is officially open, the iPad hits shelves, and the Affordable Care Act goes through the United States, changing the very face of healthcare in the country. Music’s biggest headliner was Justin Bieber. Found on YouTube by producer Scooter Braun, Bieber’s music and haircut earned him a massive fandom of teenage girls and a very weird hatedom from everybody else. Television also saw the beginning of the epic Leno-Conan feud that forced O’Brien off his role of The Tonight Show and leaving with a $45 million exit deal. NBC suffered with one of the biggest PR disasters in their entire history. Another notable host change was Steve Harvey becoming the new host of Family Feud, where he still resides to this very day. All My Children and The Simpsons earned their 40th and 20th anniversaries respectively that year, while South Park aired its 200th episode, one of the most controversial of the series. That’s saying a lot. This year’s Super Bowl becomes the most-viewed American broadcast in history, Katy Perry is criticized for her clothing in an episode of Sesame Street, and Matt Smith becomes the next incarnation of Doctor Who. Finales this year include Scrubs, Heroes, Ugly Betty, King of the Hill, Lost, 24, and Law and Order, which tied with Gunsmoke for the longest primetime television series ever with 20 seasons. The big premieres came from Cartoon Network with Adventure Time and Regular Show, which both became just as popular, if not more with adults than kids and signaled a new creator-driven era for the channel. Other kids premieres were Victorious, Good Luck Charlie, Shake It Up, Young Justice, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, the latter of which surprisingly found a significant male fandom. We also saw the premieres of Parenthood, Undercover Boss, Pretty Little Liars, Boardwalk Empire, Blue Bloods, Sherlock, and The Walking Dead, the latter of which became one of, if not the biggest cable hit in history. Gaming’s biggest headline was the launch of Kinect, an Xbox 360 peripheral that allowed full motion detection of your entire body to play video games. Shelves and digital stores featured Limbo, Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect 2, God of War III, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Heavy Rain, Fallout: New Vegas, Super Meat Boy and Civilization V, just to name a few. And in terms of loss, we had Robert Culp, Dennis Hopper, Lynn Redgrave, Patricia Neal, Tony Curtis, and Leslie Nielsen. For the box office, this was an important one. Not only was this an attempt from all studios to make their mark over a new decade of numbers, but in terms of the billion-dollar milestone, it was monumental. Not only was 2010 the first year ever two films landed into the billion-dollar club, both of them came from the exact same studio, Disney. With this coming shortly after the acquisition of Marvel Comics, 2010 served as the first major indication that Disney was going to be big this decade. And their biggest hit this year came from the highly anticipated sequel, Toy Story 3. Taking place more than a decade after the last movie, Andy has grown up and is set to leave for college, leaving the fate of Woody, Buzz, and the other toys in limbo. And through a series of mishaps, the toys end up donated to a local daycare center. And it’s up to Woody and the gang to get back home before Andy leaves for school and perhaps stop the ringleader of the daycare toys from his nefarious actions. With Toy Story 1 and 2 being some of the biggest hits in Disney history, a third movie was almost inevitable. And during the brief time when Pixar was set to split with Disney, Michael Eisner created a new animation studio, Circle 7, who would do nothing but make direct-to-DVD sequels of the Pixar properties Disney had ownership of. Their version of Toy Story 3 focused on a massive recall of Buzz Lightyear toys after going through malfunctions, with Woody and the gang traveling to Taiwan to rescue Buzz out of a fear he may be destroyed. The screenplay, written by Meet the Parents scribe Jim Herzfeld, was scrapped once Disney acquired Pixar, with the production being completely transferred over to Pixar. In February 2007, John Lasseter announced that Lee Unkrich, who co-directed Toy Story 2, would be in charge of this third chapter entirely. Little Miss Sunshine scribe Michael Arndt wrote the screenplay. With it being such a long time since the last movie, Unkrich and his team discovered things would be tricky when it came to the characters and their models. While they could open 3D files of the characters from the first movie, they could do nothing when it comes to editing the files themselves. This resulted in all the models being reworked from scratch. When it came to getting the original cast back on board, the crew did not send them scripts. Instead, they sat Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and John Ratzenberger down, showed them a complete story reel in a movie theater, and it’s only after the reel ended that the cast signed on. For Lee Unkrich, the pressure was heavy for him. Pixar had yet to have a critical and commercial dud, yet here he was directing a sequel to the very film that put the studio on the map and was one of their biggest money makers ever. If this bombed, it would tarnish his career and Pixar itself. But thankfully, Disney had his back. The Mouse House put out a massive marketing campaign, beginning with a teaser trailer debuting in theaters with Pixar’s Up. Constant advertisements in theaters and TV, a highly-anticipated video game release, an appearance at an Apple event, more merchandise than you could count. This was set up to do amazing things. And the hype went into overdrive once reviews hit. Critics hailed the piece, hailing it was just as good, if not better than the last two. It featured great comedy, incredible animation, stirring emotional moments, and served as a magnificent emotional climax, resulting in many citing Toy Story as one of, if not the best movie trilogy of all time. Even Quentin Tarantino stated TS3 was his favorite movie of the year. And when the film finally opened on June 18, it was legendary. With $110.3 million, Toy Story 3 saw several records. It saw the second-biggest opening for a 3D film, the biggest Pixar and June opening, and the second-biggest opening ever for an animated movie. And with this being basically the critical darling of the summer, Toy Story 3 continued to bring in the crowds. Its second weekend saw a 46% drop for a $59.3 million haul and its first 10 days amounting to $226.9 million, the best 10 days for any Pixar title. The Fourth of July frame also saw it pass the $300 million mark in only 18 days. Its fourth weekend saw it only drop 31% despite the competition from Despicable Me, and just one day later, on its 25th day of release, Toy Story 3 surpassed Finding Nemo at the domestic box office, becoming the biggest movie in the Pixar canon. And once it wrapped up its run, Toy Story 3 became the eleventh movie ever to hit $400 million, finishing with $415 million in the United States and Canada, the second-largest cume for an animated movie, only behind Shrek 2. Overseas was just as impressive. Japan saw the film earn $126.7 million, putting it only behind Nemo in terms of US animated features there. Other places where the film hit it big were the UK, Mexico, and other Latin American and Asian territories. All of this resulted in $652 million overseas. Put it all together and Toy Story 3 managed to earn $1.067 billion worldwide. This served as not just the biggest Pixar movie ever, but the biggest animated film of all time worldwide and the first animated film ever to cross $1 billion at the box office. This was a monumental feat helped by a perfect storm. It had amazing reviews. It had Pixar at the top of their game. It came out just at the right time, when many of the kids who saw the first two Toy Story movies were Andy’s age in Toy Story 3, so nostalgia was potent. And as a film itself, it was an emotional story that struck a chord with the people who grew up with it while also standing on its own as a fun prison break adventure for the kids being introduced to the series. And that showering love continued long after the film’s release. Disney pushed the film hard during the awards circuit not just for Best Animated Feature, but for Best Picture, where it became the third animated film to see a nomination in the field. Coupled with a brilliant “Not since...” campaign that emphasized its uniqueness in terms of contenders, it really showcased what made the film so special to so many people. And while it didn’t win Best Picture, it’s still considered one of the best of the quadrilogy and kept Toy Story fresh, alive and exciting to a whole new generation of kids. The series would continue with several short films and TV specials, but the franchise returned to the big screen in a big way in 2019. But that’s a story for another day.

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