Coronavirus Mortality Updates: 2020 - 2023 |
MAY 6 |
BLACK SABBATH Turns 64
Yes, this is the movie that legendary musician and Boris Karloff fan, Tony Iommi, chose to name his new band after. That's right, the band that launched the career of the late Ozzy Osbourne. The band that introduced the dearly departed Stan Lee's Marvel comics IRON MAN movie and the MCU to the world with Black Sabbath playing their hit, Iron Man.
And yes, the same Mario Bava whose movies stylistically, in both design and story, heavily influenced everything from STAR TREK (TOS) to ALIEN to FRIDAY THE 13th and who knows what else? When it comes to modern Horror and Heavily Metal, there is a falling domino line from Mario Bava to the present, making him, if not the father, then at least the Godfather of it all. And that all began about 60 years ago with BLACK SABBATH.
Plus -
PHANTASM III Turns 31
The ball was back and so was a cheer from the Phans when a grown-up A. Michael Baldwin returned to play his character Mike (PHANTASM, PHANTASM IV) in PHANTASM III: Lord Of The Dead.
Finale -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Emily Alyn Lind (ENTER THE VOID, EASTWICK [TV], THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUTT 2, MOCKINGBIRD, REVENGE [TV], HIDDEN [2015], LIGHTS OUT, THE BABYSITTER [2017], REPLICAS, DOCTOR SLEEP, SACRED LIES [TV], THE BABYSITTER: KILLER QUEEN, EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE, GHOSTBUSTERS; FROZEN EMPIRE) is 25.
Look for Emily in the 2025 Mystery Thriller, WE WERE LIARS (TV).
Actor Anne Parillaud (NIKITA, INNOCENT BLOOD, PASSAGE À L'ACTE, DEAD GIRL, SHATTERED IMAGE, DEADLINES, DANS TON SOMMEIL [In Their Sleep]) is 66.
Look for Anne in the 2024, 2025 Thriller and John Wick spin-off, BALLERINA.
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MAY 5 |
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor John Rhys-Davies (SPHINX, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, WAXWORK, THE LOST WORLD, THE UNAMEABLE II, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, CHUPACABRA TERROR, TAINTED LOVE, ANACONDA 3, ANACONDA 4, 31 NORTH 62 EAST, FEROCIOUS PLANET, MEDIUM RAW: NIGHT OF THE WOLF, FEROCIOUS PLANET, ESCAPE, 100 DEGREES BELOW ZERO, PRISONERS OF THE SUN, TIME LAPSE [2014], AUX, AQUAMAN, G-LOC, THE GATES, BONEKEEPER, over 270 movies and TV episodes in all!) is 81.
Look for John in the upcoming 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 Thriller, NAMELESS.
Actor Lance Henriksen (MANSION OF THE DOOMED, DAMIEN: Omen II, THE VISITOR, PIRANHA II, NIGHTMARES, THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS, NEAR DARK, PUMPKIN HEAD ALIEN³, SCREAM 3, MIMIC 3, ALIEN VS PREDATOR, HELLRAISER: HELLWORLD, ABOMINABLE, SASQUATCH MOUNTAIN, PUMPKINHEAD: ASHES TO ASHES, PUMPKINHEAD: BLOOD FUED, DARK REEL, DEAD WATER, DYING GOD, NECESSARY EVIL, ALONE IN THE DARK II, SCREAMERS: THE HUNTING, CYRUS [2010], THE LOST TRIBE, THE PENITENT MAN, THE GENESIS CODE, SCREAM OF THE BANSHEE, GOOD DAY FOR IT, THE ARCADIAN, MONSTER BRAWL, IT'S IN THE BLOOD, SIN REAPER 3D, TRON: UPRISING [TV], GINGERCLOWN, ALIEN RISING, BLOOD SHOT, DARK AWAKENING, HOLLOWS GROVE, PARANORMAL ISLAND, STUNG, HARBINGER, KIDS VS MONSTERS, JUSTICE SERVED, DAYLIGHT'S END, GEHENNA: WHERE DEATH LIVES, THE UNWILLING, LAKE EERIE, NEEDLESTICK, WRAITH [2017], MOM AND DAD, WHY?, A PLACE AMONG THE DEAD, THE UNHEALER, THE DEAD OF NIGHT, ALTERED REALITY, and a lot more - 263 movies and TV episodes in all!) is 86.
Look for Lance in the upcoming 2024, 2025, 2026, Horror AWAKEN THE REAPER.
Actor Vincent Kartheiser (RICKY 6, THE TIES THAT BIND, THE UNSAID, ANGEL [TV], NOW, IN TIME, DAY OUT OF DAYS, A KIND OF MURDER, MY FRIEND DAHMER, MOST LIKELY TO MURDER, AMERICAN HANGMAN, CRYPTO, PROVEN INNOCENT [TV], ULTRASOUND, TITANS [TV]) is 46.
Look for Vincent in the upcoming 2026 Horror, GULF OF AMERICA.
Writer Yvonne Navarro (DEAD RUSH, FINAL IMPACT, RED SHADOWS, SPECIES, SPECIES II, THAT'S NOT MY NAME, DEAD TIMES, AFTERAGE, MIRROR ME, ELEKTRA, ULTRAVIOLET, HELLBOY, AVP: RIFTWAR w/Weston Ochse) is 69.
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MAY 4 |
YOU DUG IT
Good 2 Know: Any weekend box office drop of less than 50% is good. Any weekend B.O. drop smaller than 30% of the previous is excellent.
General Rules:
A. Theaters get approximately 50% of the gross in North American B.O. (negotiable).
B. Distributors omitting Production budget figures believe the movie will under perform.
C. Total gross by the 3rd weekend accounts for at least half of movie's total theater ticket sales regardless of length of stay.
D. After the 3rd weekend, as screens drop, theater 50/50 B.O. split rises about 10% each weekend, favoring the theater, until it stops at 80/20 (negotiable).
4. PROJECT HAIL MARY in its 7th weekend, stepped down from last weekend's #3 with a mere 34% drop in ticket sales against a large 493 screen cut. It's world-wide box office is over $640 million dollars, 3.2 times its Production budget.
5. HOKUM debuted from NEON on 1,885 screens this week. The highest Horror opening this weekend.
7. Lee Cronin's THE MUMMY suffered an even bigger drop in ticket sales in its third weekend: 60%. This against a 1,221 screen cut, signaling that theaters are voting No Confidence in this one. Yet with that said? It's made 3.7 times its Production budget. In only its 3rd weekend, its more profitable than PROJECT HAIL MARY is in 7 weekends.
8. DEEP WATER, a shark attack movie if you didn't guess from the title, opened on 1,675 screens.
YOU BURIED IT
14. MOTHER MARY from A24, dropped 5 places, with an 82% loss in box office, falling off the Top Ten in its 3rd weekend.
15. OVER YOUR DEAD BODY from IFC dropped 7 places with astaggering 89% loss in ticket sales, falling off the Top Ten in only its 2nd weekend.
Figures calibrated from reporting by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Should there be differences between the two, I err on the side of caution and post the most positive numbers.
And -
A Quarter Century of THE MUMMY RETURNS
Aw man! It was great to see the fun cast together again! And The Rock was at his prime and he was going to be... The Scorpion King (we had no idea but it sounded cool and we were there for it!). What a great movie this was going to be! All building up to the appearance of the Scorpion King!
Then... we saw it, and that utterly changed the direction of THE MUMMY RETURNS.
Plus -
SPIDER-MAN 3 is 19
There could have been many more SPIDER-MAN movies with the Sam Raimi cast. Unfortunately the only actor who got out of it unscathed was J.K. Simmons. My first watch was pure geek giddiness. But some movies cannot withstand repeated viewings and that's what happened with most of us who saw SPIDER-MAN 3.
Finale -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Nicholas Hamilton (STRANGERLAND, THE DARK TOWER, IT [2017], IT: CHAPTER 2, ENDLESS, GEN V, DO NOT ENTER) is 25.
Look for Nicholas in the upcoming 2026 Horror Comedy, HALLOWEEN STORE.
Actor Jesse Moss (ReBOOT [TV], MUMMIES ALIVE! THE LEGEND BEGINS, GINGER SNAPS, FINAL DESTINATION 3, THE COLLECTOR [TV], WHISTLER [TV], THE UNINVITED, MERLIN AND THE BOOK OF BEASTS, TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL, DEAR MR. GACY, IRON GOLEM, SEEDS OF DESTRUCTION, 13 EERIE, EXTRATERRESTRIAL, WOLFCOP, STILL/BORN, GHOST WARS [TV], DADDY'S GIRL, MORNING SHOW MYSTERIES [TV], THE HOLLOW [TV]) is 42.
Jesse shares a birthday with GINGER SNAPS alumni...
Actor Emily Perkins (IT [1990], PAST PERFECT, GINGER SNAPS [all], INSOMINA, Da VINCI'S INQUEST, BLOOD: A BUTCHER'S TALE, REPEATERS, SUPERNATURAL [TV], EXTRATERRESTRIAL) is 48.
SUNDAY -
Director Joseph Kosinski (TRON: LEGACY, OBLIVION, SPIDERHEAD) is 51.
Actor Kristin Lehman (TOE TAGS, FOREVER KNIGHT [TV], BLEEDERS aka HEMOGLOBIN, POLTERGEIST: THE LEGACY [TV], THE OUTER LIMITS [TV], STRANGE WORLD [TV], CENTURY CITY [TV], THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, KILLER INSTINCT [TV], RAPID FIRE, THE GATHERING [TV], THE KILLING [TV], THE LOFT, MOTIVE [TV], GHOST WARS [TV], ALTERED CARBON [TV], MIDNIGHT MASS [TV]) is 53.
Actor Zoé De Grand Maison (A CHRISTMAS HORROR STORY, ORPHAN BLACK, SEA CHANGE, STICKMAN, RIVERDALE [TV], FORTUNATE SON [TV], ORGAN TRAIL) is 30.
SPIDER-MAN is 24
It was 2001! Hot Marvel movies like BLADE broke ground to Box office gold and X-MEN laid the foundation. It was no fluke! A BLADE sequel was in the works and a Horror director was signed on. An X-MEN sequel was in the works and it began with a Horror director!
Columbia Pictures was ready to release their own Marvel superhero property and it too was directed by a Horror director! One who already proved himself in the Superhero realm with DARK MAN!
Then on September 9, 2001, a day that changed the world for the worse, put the brakes on Sam Raimi and Marvel Studios' ascent.
It would be a new year before Columbia Picture's SPIDER-MAN would be released.
IRON MAN 3 is 13 Years Old
How to put this? By 2013 the MCU was off and running. CAPTAIN AMERICA was a hit. THE AVENGERS were a bigger hit. It was as if Paramount had found the secret formula (which they did) for making Superhero movies that were basically legal machines for printing money. And whatever box office the movie made in theaters, that would be doubled or more in home video.
Then came the second sequel. In hindsight, some point to Disney buying out Paramount's Marvel properties of THE AVENGERS and IRON MAN in 2012, leaving Paramount with plenty of cash and nothing to lose if they poisoned Disney's new well.
On the other hand, maybe it was to Disney's benefit if the property lost some value before all the monetary transactions were complete? When you rule out all possibilities then whatever is left, however improbable, has an ocean of its own possibilities. Sour grapes coming from unexpected corners are legendary in Hollywood, and who knows really when everybody wants credit for a hit and nobody takes credit for a miss?
For whatever reason(s) which are none too clear, somewhere in the chain they threw away everything they learned that far in making hit, fan pleasing Marvel movies, and made a parody IRON MAN 3 so mediocre that it destroyed the franchise for the next ten years and damaged the MCU brand.
SATURDAY -
Writer Angeline Hawkes (THE COMMANDMENTS, THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY, THE SWAN ROAD, BLOOD ALONE, INFERNO: TALES OF HELL AND HORROR) is 55.
Visit her at Angeline Hawkes.com.
Actor, Producer Dwayne Johnson (THE MUMMY RETURNS, THE SCORPION KING, DOOM, RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN, RAMPAGE, BLACK ADAM, RED ONE, ) is 54.
Look for Dwayne in the upcoming 2024, 2025 Horror Thriller,
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. UPDATE: This movie is currently on hold with no set completion or release date.
Actor Ari Lehman (FRIDAY THE 13th [1980], THANXGIVING, HELL-EPHONE, TERROR OVERLOAD, THE GIRL [2011], HOUSE OF FORBIDDEN SECRETS, EASTER SUNDAY, DEATHWOODS, CHEERLEADER CAMP: TO THE DEATH, BITE SCHOOL, THE BARN, PI DAY DIE DAY, CAMP KILLER, TERROR TALES, SCARRED, SILK SCREAM, LEAF BLOWER MASSACRE 2, CLOWN MOTEL: SPIRITS ARISE, THE LURKER, EASTER HOLOCAUST, CARNAL MONSTERS, SLUTTY THE CLOWN, APPETITE FOR SIN, THE DEMENTED, THE BLACK BOOK, CLOWN MOTEL 2) is 61.
Writer Stephen Mark Rainey (DARK SHADOWS, FUGUE DEVIL, THE LAST TRUMPET, BALAK, LEGENDS OF THE NIGHT, OTHER GODS, THE LEBO COVEN, THE GODS OF MOAB, BLUE DEVIL ISLAND, THE NIGHTMARE FRONTIER, THE MONARCHS, AMERI-SCARES WEST VIRGINIA: LAIR OF THE MOTHMAN) is 67.
Visit him at Stephen Mark Rainey.com.
Actor David Suchet (REILLY: ACE OF SPIES [TV], THE FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN, Agatha Christie's THIRTEEN AT DINNER [TV], Agatha Christie: POIROT [TV], DEADLY VOYAGE [TV], A PERFECT MURDER, DRACULA [2006 - TV], AMERICAN ASSASSIN, HIS DARK MATERIALS [TV]) is 78.
Actor Alicia Ziegler (LAKE PLACID 2, WOLF TOWN, RISE OF THE DINOSAURS, DEADLY REVENGE, HIDE AND GO SEEK, THE EX NEXT DOOR, ROMEO AND JULIET KILLERS, ECHO BASE) is 45.
THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS Turns 65
In 1961 it was the worst movie ever released in the U.S.A.!
But that's a highly competitive field and it lost that emblem a long time ago. Never-the-less, this movie once occupied such a lowly perch and reviewer Kelly Parks forced himself to watch THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS out of sheer masochism.
Like It Or Not, May Is Marvel Month So Let's Get To It:
X-MEN 2 is 23
Over a quarter Century ago, New Line Cinema's BLADE blew off the door for Marvel movies. When it did, Columbia Pictures stopped sitting on their hands and finally committed to their SPIDER-MAN property. To top Sony's Columbia, 20th Century Fox finally roused from their moribund business model: their decade plus of fence sitting on their X-MEN property, and tried to shove as many X-Men through that doorway as possible. Columbia has one Marvel Superhero? Well we've got a whole school of them!
The first X-MEN, in 2000, led by a cast of TV show and character actors, was a surprising smash hit. Let's make that sequel!
Holy shit! Columbia Picture's much delayed SPIDER-MAN (2002) is a smash! Sony is rushing forward on the sequel!
Will director and co-writer Bryan Singer make lightning strike twice with X-MEN 2?
IRON MAN Turns 18
By many accounts, Universal Pictures and the producers who owned Marvel's HULK franchise, didn't stand by Marvel icon Stan Lee and his Marvel Comics Universe.
They went their own, non-Stan Lee way with HULK, Stan wished them well, and the movie crashed and burned to ash.
This is how Stan actually turned Universal's loss to his gain and used it as a launch pad for his MCU, with two Marvel movies released within months of each other, starting with IRON MAN!
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MAY 1 |
HOKUM is released nationwide today
And -
Renny Harlin's DEEP WATER 2026 Opens Today
Plus -
ONE FRIGHTENED NIGHT is 91
Here is a movie that starred people who were likely younger than you when it was made, and are all long dead - seeing as they would be into their hundred plus years by now.
It it even possible that such an old movie could be as entertaining as a modern movie, what with the benefits of nearly a century of practice and lessons?
Well, have you seen a recent movie lately?
I'd say 90% of them have got nothing on ONE FRIGHTENED NIGHT.
Also -
FRIDAY THE 13th Part 2 Is 45
Critics be damned! The movie was a hit! Movie critic, Chicago's Gene Siskel tried to destroy it and was forced to face how little integrity he had among horror fans and only slightly more trust among film fans - even ones who also didn't like the original F13. You don't intentionally reveal spoilers to control a movie's box office! Period. The New Yorker's Pauline Kael chose to reassess and glow over how much she liked F13 (she's with it! She's hip!) which, horribly for her, revealed that she had slammed the movie without ever actually seeing it.
Fortunately for Pauline, then as now the The New Yorker isn't that fussy about their staff cooking stories.
No, For the next decade and then some, F13 movies were going to be a powerful Horror juggernaut where only the fans would have the final say, and they said plenty about FRIDAY THE 13th Part 2.
Wassmor -
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE is 17
To the suits at 20th Century Fox's utter surprise, the first X-MEN was a far bigger hit than they anticipated. Then X2 was a bigger hit than that. Well if there was one thing 20th Century Fox despised in the 1990s and early 2000s it was producers, writers, and directors increasing their value (and so their paycheck) in the world with Fox properties.
Fox soon made things unbearable for their hit director so he left, leaving a hole that Fox suits at that time didn't know how to fill and, from an outsider's view, didn't care. We saw this contemptable lack of care throughout the young millennium's Golden Age of Marvel movies. Everyone from Disney to Columbia Pictures figured out how to make a winning Marvel movie. Only 20th Century Fox threw themselves off of a cliff, nearly every single time they made one.
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE was no exception.
Finale -
HAPPY HORROR THRILLER BIRTHDAYS TO -
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
Actor Julie Benz (DUE OCCHI DIABOLICI aka TWO EVIL EYES, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER [TV], BAD GIRLS FROM VALLEY HIGH, SATAN'S
SCHOOL FOR GIRLS [TV], ANGEL [TV], SHRIEK IF YOU KNOW WHAT I DID LAST FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH, TAKEN [TV], HALO 2 [Game], A FATE TOTALLY WORSE THAN DEATH, 8MM2, SAW V, DEXTER [TV], PUNISHER: WAR ZONE, HELD HOSTAGE, ANSWERS TO NOTHING, A GIFTED MAN [TV], DEFIANCE [TV], CIRCLE, HAVENHURST, V.C. Andrews' HEAVEN, FOSTER BOY, NOCTURNE) is 53.
Look for Julie in the upcoming 2026 Horror Comedy, HORRIFIED.
Actor Ariel Gade (DARK WATER [2005], INVASION [TV], AVP:R, METEOR [TV], SOME GUY WHO KILLS PEOPLE, THE EX NEXT DOOR) is 28.
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