(Culver City, California, and Burbank, California February 09, 2015) – Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Studios announced today that Sony is bringing Marvel into the amazing world of Spider-Man.

Under the deal, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sony Pictures will thereafter release the next installment of its $4 billion Spider-Man franchise, on July 28, 2017, in a film that will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web slinger. Sony Pictures will continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.

Marvel and Sony Pictures are also exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the MCU into future Spider-Man films.

The new relationship follows a decade of speculation among fans about whether Spider-Man – who has always been an integral and important part of the larger Marvel Universe in the comic books – could become part of the Marvel Universe on the big screen. Spider-Man has more than 50 years of history in Marvel’s world, and with this deal, fans will be able to experience Spider-Man taking his rightful place among other Super Heroes in the MCU.

Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company said: “Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s great characters, beloved around the world. We’re thrilled to work with Sony Pictures to bring the iconic web-slinger into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which opens up fantastic new opportunities for storytelling and franchise building.”

“We always want to collaborate with the best and most successful filmmakers to grow our franchises and develop our characters. Marvel, Kevin Feige and Amy, who helped orchestrate this deal, are the perfect team to help produce the next chapter of Spider-Man,” said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. “This is the right decision for the franchise, for our business, for Marvel, and for the fans.”

“Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios share a love for the characters in the Spider-Man universe and have a long, successful history of working together. This new level of collaboration is the perfect way to take Peter Parker’s story into the future,” added Doug Belgrad, president, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.

“I am thrilled to team with my friends at Sony Pictures along with Amy Pascal to produce the next Spider-Man movie,” said Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. “Amy has been deeply involved in the realization on film of one of the world’s most beloved characters. Marvel’s involvement will hopefully deliver the creative continuity and authenticity that fans demand from the MCU. I am equally excited for the opportunity to have Spider-Man appear in the MCU, something which both we at Marvel, and fans alike, have been looking forward to for years.”

More on Marvel.com: http://marvel.com/news/movies/24062/sony_pictures_entertainment_brings_marvel_studios_into_the_amazing_world_of_spider-man#ixzz3RRxHercf

Cinderella

A live-action feature inspired by the classic fairy tale, Cinderella promises to bring the animated version to life, complete with amazing British actors, beautiful clothes, and possibly the most charming prince on record. It will be in theaters March 13.

The Jungle Book

Inspired by Disney’s animated film of the same name, this live-action adventure features one of our favorite casts in recent memory, including but not limited to Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Walken, Lupita Nyong’o, Idris Elba, and Scarlett Johansson. The Jungle Book will be in theaters October 9.

Two Disney-Pixar Films

We’ve been waiting so long for another Disney-Pixar movie, and we’re finally being rewarded with two in 2015! On June 19, we’ll get Inside Out (trailer here), the story of 12-year-old Riley and her emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). Inside Out comes to theaters June 19, 2015.

A mere five months after that, Disney-Pixar is releasing The Good Dinosaur, a film to answer the age-old question: What if dinosaurs never went extinct?

Double the Marvel Action!

The much-anticipated Avengers: Age of Ultron will be in theaters May 1 and we’ll get to see Paul Rudd as Ant-Man on July 17. Check out the Age of Ulton trailer .

Tomorrowland

George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, and Britt Robertson star in this mystery-adventure about a jaded scientist and an optimistic teen who embark on a dangerous mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place in quote, somewhere in time and space. The trailer looks very cool !

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The excitement for this film is off the charts! Episode VII in the Star Wars Saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, opens in theaters December 18, 2015.

Just in case you missed the trailer or want to watch it for the 100th time, you can watch it here

 

Is Disney’s Big Hero 6 the next superhero franchise for the Mouse House?

The indisputable star of Big Hero 6, the new film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, based very loosely on a defunct Marvel Comics series, is a 10ft-tall inflatable robot who’s impeccably well-mannered at all times, even though he and the world at large are not quite mutually compatible.

Judging from the early reviews, it appears that this is a Disney Animation film from the creators of  “Frozen” is a must see!

“This kind of physical comedy – unfussily staged, meticulously timed, and, crucially, uproariously funny – that underpins probably the most visually extravagant animation Disney has produced to date.” ~ The Telegraph

“Following on the heels of “Frozen,” this loose adaptation of a Marvel comic should easily extend Walt Disney Animation Studios’ hot streak” ~ The Hollywood Reporter

With “Big Hero 6,” an obscure Marvel Comics title gives the Mouse House’s toon division just enough raw material to assemble its own superhero franchise, starring millions of robots — including one, a balloon-bellied virtual nurse named Baymax, that you’ll never forget. Co-directors Don Hall and Chris Williams borrow the character names and a few key details from their pulp source, but otherwise succeed in putting a thoroughly Disney spin on things, delivering appealing personalities, bright, peppy animation, positive life lessons and what looks like a world record for the sheer amount of hugging featured in a superhero movie. More male-skewing than “Frozen,” the relatively hip result should do big business for Disney, especially in Asian territories, with easy expansion possibilities via additional movies, comics or a TV series. ~ Variety

Disney’s Big Hero 6 opens in theatres in 3D November 7, 2014.

 

A few months ago, if you were told that Marvel was coming out with a film that featured five unlikely and unique super heroes which included a talking raccoon  and a talking tree with a limited thee word vocabulary,  you may have said this film will be Marvel’s 2014 box office disaster joining the ranks of Disney’s 2013 Lone Ranger disappointment..

Think again people, we are talking about Marvel Studios here!

The James Gunn directed, “Guardians of the Galaxy” set an all time record for an U.S. August debut earning $94M and a global opening of $160.4M.

The Marvel and Disney film did far more business than expected,  receiving glowing reviews for its originality and an A CinemaScore from audiences. The movie, launching only the second in-house Marvel franchise after the Avengers series, received the widest release ever for an August title (4,080 theaters), and easily surpassed the debut of previous August record-holder, The Bourne Ultimatum ($69.3 million).

Guardians secured the best showing of the year so far for an original property, as well as coming in ahead of high-profile summer franchise installments Godzilla ($93.2 million), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($91.6 million) and X-Men: Days of Future Past ($90.8 million). And it’s the third best debut of the year so far after Age of Extinction ($100 million) and fellow Marvel movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($95 million).

Heading into the weekend, Guardians was projected to gross only  $65 million to $70 million in its domestic debut. Males made up the majority of the audience (56 percent), and especially older teens and young adult men, a coveted demo that is getting harder and harder for Hollywood to please (46 percent of the audience was between the ages of 17 and 34). Fittingly, Imax theaters delivered $17 million globally, an August best.

Guardians wasn’t a cheap proposition and cost $170 million to produce. That doesn’t include Disney and Marvel’s pricey and well-waged marketing campaign.

source: Hollywood Reporter

 

Disney Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” opens in theaters on August 1st and the early reviews are in!

Guardians is right up there with the very best Marvel has made – bold, brash, fast-paced and action-packed, not to mention the funniest blockbuster in ages. ~IGN

Guardians of the Galaxy is a terrific swashbuckler. It’s among Marvel Studios’s best films thus far and their most visually dazzling motion picture to date. ~ Forbes

Guardians of the Galaxy, review: ‘a pop-culture gem’ ~ The telegraph
A well-matched ensemble rises to the challenge of launching a heroic origin film with distinctive style, abundant thrills and no shortage of humor.  ~ The Hollywood Reporter

…and there’s more!