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The number was actually a tad below expectations. Story by Matt Cummings The 2015 box office results are in, and some Hollywood studios are singing all the way to the bank. The overall domestic number hit a new record with just over $11b, beating 2013's $10.93b. That's a little lower than expected, mainly due to several high-profile disasters including Fantastic Four , Pixels , and Terminator: Genysis . This is the first time that the North American box office has surpassed $11b. For those of you who think such numbers are bloated due to the high cost of today's tickets, consider another number: attendance at NA theaters surpassed 1.33 billion moviegoers. That's 5% higher than 2014's 1.27b. But early on, things didn't look so good, even though everyone was expecting top numbers as far back as 2013. The first quarter (January through March) staggered to just $18.87b billion, which only ranked in the middle of the past 10 years. But it was Q2

With Christopher McQuarrie once more writing and directing a Mission: Impossible outing to follow his barnstorming Rogue Nation , it appears that at least one of the cast will be back to join Tom Cruise , and it’s one that a lot of people will be happy to see return: Rebecca Ferguson . The news is not quite official or confirmed by Paramount or McQuarrie as we write this, but Showbiz 411 is reporting that Ferguson is locked in for another round playing the mysterious and kick-ass Ilsa Faust. This will mark the first time a Mission leading lady has returned properly, not counting Michelle Monaghan’s tiny cameo at the end of Ghost Protocol. We’d expect to see the likes of at least Simon Pegg’s Benji Dunn and Ving Rhames’ Luther Stickell back, plus possibly Jeremy Renner’s Brandt (though he didn’t exactly get a lot to do last time) and maybe even Alec Baldwin, given the events of Rogue Nation. What will Isla be up to, given that she’s not officially a member of the M:I team and was

He'll rejoin Tom Cruise for the fourth time. Story by Matt Cummings The success behind Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is stunning: the film made over $680m worldwide, which was higher than Ghost Protocol , and nearly overtook that film in the domestic venues ($195m). With it claiming the top spy film domestically, it was all but guaranteed that a sixth film in the franchise would appear. With Actor Tom Cruise a guarantee to re-sign, the main question was who would direct That one got answered today. Via Twitter, Director Christopher McQuarrie revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he'll write, direct, and co-produce it with Actor Tom Cruise. McQuarrie released this earlier on Monday: Mission: Accepted #MI6 — ChristopherMcQuarrie (@chrismcquarrie) November 30, 2015 Cruise will reprise his role as Ethan Hunt, and will produce with J.J. Abrams. This will be the fourth time that Cruise and McQuarrie will collaborate, with the director writing the scrip

The big news about this weekend's lackluster box office isn't what you think. Story by Matt Cummings August 2015 broke all kinds of box office records, none of which to hang your hat on. September is off to just as bad a start, with a collection of new releases that just aren't bringing in the crowds. Suffering might be good for the soul, but this is ridiculous. Coming in at No. 1 was the faith-based War Room with $12.55m, which represents a slight 18% drop in its second week. The Sony film benefited from strong word of mouth and an expansion of theaters (391). Its 27.86m total haul over 11 days is guaranteed to further unleash more of the low-budget God films, but look for smart placement in the schedule to be a deciding factor of each success. Falling to No. 2 was Straight Outta Compton with an estimated four-day haul of $11.06m. Having owned the past three weekends, the F. Gary Gray N.W.A biopic fell only 16% and actually trailed War Room by a s

The worst August in 21 years is fortunately put out of its misery. Story by Matt Cummings 2015 might become the biggest box office draw ever, but August will go down as one of the all-time worst. Theater owners saw empty lines for popcorn and even more depressing receipts last month, as the industry experienced a perfect storm of unprecedented flops, poorly-timed releases, and a lackluster set of films that kept audiences away in droves. The problem actually began in July, which included the under-appreciated ( Southpaw and Self/Less ), the dull ( Paper Towns ), and the just plain awful ( Vacation ). This set the stage for three nearly-instant August duds, The Fantastic Four , Ricki and the Flash , and The Man from UNCLE , before delving into two of the worst weekends of the year. In fact, August 2015 has achieved a set of records that theater owners and Hollywood fat cats would just as soon forget. Here are just a few: August 2015 was the worst since August 1994

Team Sandwich breaks down their Summer movie faves and hates. Story by Matt Cummings, John Meneghetti, and Brandon Wolfe. With the 2015 summer movie schedule winding down, it's time for us to look back on the winners, losers, disappointments, and clear bombs. Although August has experienced a blood bath, down over 60% from the same month last year, the industry is up a mere 0.2% for the season. But that's what you get when your second highest-grossing August movie is The Fantastic Four . Yikes. Still, it was a fruitful summer, filled with lots of surprises, big performances, and incredible duds. Did your movies make any of our lists? Read on to find out! We've also included reviews for every review here, so feel free to back to them. To be clear, the Summer movie season is defined as the first Friday in May through the Labor Day Weekend. SandwichJohn Best Movies Straight Out of Compton Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Avengers: Age of Ultron

This week's episode of Inside the Bucket is online! Revel in the digital mastery! After a short vacation, Inside the Bucket returns with apocalyptic violence, as Matt and Brandon break down the best movie and television news from our website SANDWICHJOHNFILMS.COM with all the style of a bull and full of greasy attitude. The show begins with our news segment, as the boys discuss several stories from the past week, including news about Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen possibly appearing in Doctor Strange , an Amy Schumer/Jennifer Lawrence comedy, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens dominating IMAX for 4 weeks in December. After discussing a very low box office weekend, they get excited (at least Matt does) about this week's Blu-rays releasing this week. After a quick talk about a local ice cream shop, they return to their Rants and Raves, as they bitch and complain about all the things they're watching, following, and are generally pissed off about from the past w

The NWA biopic registers the fourth largest August bow while Man From U.N.C.L.E. gets taken out. Story by Matt Cummings Straight Outta Compton delivered solid box office numbers over the weekend, crushing its competition with $60.2m. Led by strong word of mouth and solid reviews, the biopic about rap group NWA including a very strong $24.12m Friday on its way to the fourth largest opening for an August film. These numbers are all the more impressive when you consider it did not play either in 3D or at any IMAX - that privilege went to The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Although its 'A' rating from CinemaScore and impressive 96% audience score from Flixster should bode well for its immediate future, the film will most likely endure for another reason: the lack of strong candidates remaining for the month. Under those conditions, we think this and at least one other film on our list should do well as the summer winds down. With a modest drop of 40%, the Tom Cruise spy

This week's episode of Inside the Bucket is online! Revel in the digital mastery! The Summer Movie Season might be ending soon, but it doesn't mean the Hellish temperatures outside will keep Inside the Bucket from the bringing the apocalypse right to your earbuds, as Matt and Brandon break down the best movie and television news from our website SANDWICHJOHNFILMS.COM with all the style of a bull and full of greasy attitude. The show kicks off with our news segment, as the boys discuss several stories from the past week, including news from the D23 conference, the release of the Hateful Eight trailer, and news on Patrick Stewart joining Hugh Jackman for The Wolverine 3 . They discuss a lopsided weekend box office, as well as lament the lack of quality Blu-rays releasing this week. After a quick break, they return to their Rants and Raves, as they bitch and complain about all the things they're watching, following, and are generally pissed off about f

We explain why this might be a good idea, and dole out some possible candidates. Story by Matt Cummings Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is well on its way to box office success, enjoying one of the highest critic reviews of the summer at 93% (via Rotten Tomatoes). The news of its second weekend at number one is perhaps a clearer indication of its staying power over newer competition: moviegoers love Mission: Impossible . Therefore, it was with a feeling of certainty that Paramount last week announced that plans for Part 6 are already underway . Under normal circumstances, it would be likely that everyone associated with a past hit be retained in order to guarantee that another hit happens. However, in the case of this franchise, it might not be necessary. Part of M:I 's continued success lies in seeing a new director each time take the reins to make their own distinction, something current director Christopher McQuarrie acknowledges in recent interviews. Nothi

Tom Cruise's long day of alien-fighting could be extended. By Brandon Wolfe Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie has forged a strong creative bond with Tom Cruise in recent years, going from Jack Reacher to Edge of Tomorrow to the current hit Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation . But while Rogue Nation is a critically lauded blockbuster and Jack Reacher is about to receive a sequel , Edge of Tomorrow is the collaboration that sort of got lost in the shuffle, underperforming last year despite near-unanimous praise. But last week, Cruise mentioned to the press that he had an idea for an Edge of Tomorrow sequel, and in an interview with Uproxx , McQuarrie has addressed the chances of it coming to fruition. It all comes down to Warner Bros. and Doug Liman and Emily Blunt saying yes. The idea is there. At worst, it's the kernel of an idea - which is, on one hand, great, but on the other hand, I know what a nightmare that is. I know that I'll be in the void trying to f

The Fantastic Four utterly fails as Ethan Hunt triumphs again. Story by Matt Cummings In a devastating blow to one of 20th Century Fox's tentpoles, The Fantastic Four drew one of the lowest opening box office tallies for a super hero film, bringing in just $26.2 million from 3,995 US theaters. That's after receiving a crushing 8% from Rotten Tomatoes critics and a tidal wave of poor audience feedback including a 'C-' from CinemaScore. Perhaps what's more surprising is that the Tom Cruise spy action/thriller Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation easily won the weekend box office with an estimated $29.4 million from 3,988 theaters. That down just 48% from its opening, bringing its 10-day total to $109.5m. We were estimating a much closer race, and perhaps even a defeat for Ethan Hunt and his IMF team. There's little doubt that Josh Trank's film was torpedoed both internally and externally, capping off with a Tweet on Thursday by the directo

This week's episode of Inside the Bucket is online! Revel in the digital mastery! In a highly-contentious superhero throwdown, Inside the Bucket brings together Matt, Brandon, and SandwichJohn as they break down the best movie and television news from our website SANDWICHJOHNFILMS.COM with all the style of a bull and full of greasy attitude. The show kicks off with our news segment, as the trio discuss several stories from the past week, including news on Josh Trank’s comments on Fantastic Four , Sony Pictures reveals film slate through 2017, Universal Pictures box office record, and the Red/Green Band Trailers for Deadpool . They discuss a very surprising weekend box office, as well as discuss three Blu-rays releasing this week. And then things turn ugly. The boys break down their Rants and Raves as they bitch and complain about all the things they're watching, following, and are generally pissed off about from the past week. Matt also gives short reviews

The embattled director claims Fox altered his film as its release approaches. Story by Matt Cummings Let the Fantastic Four blame game begin. On the eve of its release, Director Josh Trank set the Internet ablaze on Thursday when he Tweeted - and then deleted - the following about his film: And Josh Trank deleted his tweet. Good news, I still have it. The oral history lives: pic.twitter.com/AnZQ6ilM9r — Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) August 7, 2015 The Tweet was soon removed by Trank, but not before Uproxx's Mike Ryan captured it. The event is another indication that things on the FF set were exactly what we reported, as the film has endured all kinds of problems. It started when the cast was announced, featuring a black Johnny Storm, an adopted Sue Storm, and a lead in Miles Teller, who's known mostly for his comedy. Then news arose of Trank's erratic behavior on set and claims that his pets trashed the rental home he was using during the shoot. That claim was

This week's episode of Inside the Bucket is online! Revel in the digital mastery! If last week's Inside the Bucket was of epic proportions (and length), this week will feel like a gentle breeze on your neck, until you realize that hosts Matt and Brandon are actually two very heavy dudes with bad breath! If you can get past their odoriferous issues, you'll actually enjoy a much shorter show, as they deliver the best movie and television news from our website SANDWICHJOHNFILMS.COM with all the style of a bull and full of greasy attitude. But there's no news this week, so the two skip right Blu-ray releases, as well as the final box office report for the weekend, as well as discuss three Blu-rays releasing this week. Afterwards, Matt takes us through a review of Shaun the Sheep , before welcoming Brandon back for a full-blown review of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation . NOTE: The boys also engage in a ton of spoilers, so if you haven't seen it, fas

The star is back on top as Vacation 's road was bumpy. Story by Matt Cummings Paramount's Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation easily won the weekend box office with an estimated $56 million, ranking it as second all-time for a M:I movie - that honor goes to MI:II at just above $57m. The well received Tom Cruise follow up has been gaining traction among critics for weeks, although tracking numbers were actually painting it for a much softer opening of around $40m. Rogue Nation 's final numbers represent the higher end of expectations, and could actually rise once all the numbers are in. A 9:50am screening on Sunday at a local theater actually saw several people waiting in line to buy a morning ticket. With support like that, it's possible we could see it become the No. 1 M:I film ever. With a strong No.1 return, Actor Tom Cruise is definitely back as a bankable action star, perhaps the only one next to Dwayne Johnson. Rogue Nation opened with a s

We send your agent into the shadows as we break down the top spy films you need to watch (or re-watch). Story by Matt Cummings It's quite possible you've made a weekend of watching James Bond movies or the Jason Bourne quadrilogy in preparation for the newest entry or as a holiday ritual. But does that mean you've seen the best that the spy genre has to offer? Probably not. That's why we're here, to educate and amaze with our list of Best Spy Films You Might Not Have Seen. To be fair, we're foregoing Bond , Austin Powers, and Bourne from this and mentioning those which might have disappeared into the fog after their latest shadowy op. Spy Plot: A desk-bound CIA analyst volunteers to go undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent diabolical global disaster. (IMDB) Why You Should See It: Although it released this year, we'll bet that many of you skipped it, thinking the oft-maligned Melissa McCarthy was playing j