Its been buzzing non stop in Box office in the past few months with Movies like Avengers: End Game and Toy Story 4 making mega Bucks in their opening weekend.
Sunflower brings you the latest news and stories in Hollywood, Box office News as well as other entertainment updates so far.

Box Office: ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ Soars to $25.2 Million on Fourth of July.

Moviegoers’ Spidey-senses have been tingling in a good way as Sony’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” showed plenty of power at North American multiplexes, soaring to $25.2 million on the Fourth of July — the second-highest Independence Day take of all time.

“Transformers” generated the biggest Independence Day domestic gross in 2007 with $29 million, followed by “Despicable Me 2” in 2013 with $24.5 million and 2012’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” with $23.3 million.

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” has taken in more than $91 million in its first three days and could be on track to take in at least $60 million more during the Friday-Sunday weekend. That should leave the Marvel tentpole well above studio forecasts, which have remained at $125 million for the first six days.

Sony reported Friday that “Spider-Man: Far From Home” has grossed $310 million globally in its first seven days of release with $218.5 million from international markets. The tentpole opened last weekend in China with an impressive $97 million.

The 23rd Marvel movie, starring Tom Holland, topped the previous MCU Wednesday mark set two months ago by Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame” with $25.3 million. Holland broke out as Peter Parker in 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” debuted domestically with $117 million over the three-day July frame on its way to a $334 million North American total and $880 million worldwide.

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” follows the 16-year-old Peter Parker being recruited to save the world while on a school trip to Europe organized by the Midtown School of Science and Technology. Jake Gyllenhaal joins the cast as Mysterio, while Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon and Marisa Tomei reprise their roles for the sequel.

Jon Watts directed “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” which cost $160 million to produce, from a script by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Critics have been mostly impressed with the movie, which carries a 92% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. “Holland’s kid-in-over-his-head hero — awkward and ingenuous, romantic and quicksilver — is alive inside in a way that Andrew Garfield’s Peter never was,” wrote Owen Gleiberman in his review for Variety.

Disney’s “Toy Story 4” should remain a potent attraction during the holiday weekend. The animated comedy sequel has taken in $256 million domestically in 12 days through Tuesday.

Also opening this weekend is A24’s horror film “Midsommar,” which collected $4.4 million from 2,707 screens on Wednesday and Thursday. “Midsommar” is set to bring in another $8 million to $10 million over the weekend. Directed by Ari Aster, “Midsommar” stars Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor and William Jackson Harper in a nightmarish story of friends who travel to Sweden for a festival.

The North American box office stands at $5.7 billion through Tuesday, trailing 2018 by 9.3% at the same point — despite the stellar performance of “Avengers: Endgame,” which has topped $843 million after 68 days. Summer box office is also off 6.3% at $2.21 billion as “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” “Dark Phoenix” and “Men In Black: International” performed below forecasts.

Chadwick Boseman is set to play Yasuke, the first African samurai to swing a sword in Japan

I know some of you only got to know about Chadwick Boseman in Marvel’s Black Panther, where he played an African king. The movie is significant for centering a black superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe alongside an overwhelmingly black cast. Now, Boseman is about to step into another role of significance: the first African samurai to swing a sword in Japan in a movie titled Yasuke.

Yasuke isn’t all fiction. Historically, he was a native of Portuguese Mozambique who was brought to Japan as a slave to Jesuit missionaries. The first black man to set foot on Japanese soil, Yasuke’s arrival aroused the interest of Nobunaga, a ruthless warlord seeking to unite the fractured country under his banner. A complex relationship developed between the two men as Yasuke earned Nobunaga’s friendship, respect — and ultimately, the honor, swords and title of samurai.

“The legend of Yasuke is one of history’s best kept secrets, the only person of non-Asian origin to become a Samurai,” Boseman said. “That’s not just an action movie, that’s a cultural event, an exchange, and I am excited to be part of it.”

The project has been in works for the past few years, originally being set up at Lionsgate with producer Erik Feig. Now, it’s with Feig’s Picturestart, where it will be produced with Mike De Luca’s De Luca Productions, Stephen L’Heureux’s Solipsist, Logan Coles’ X●ception Content and Boseman.Paragraph

Beyond Black Panther, Boseman has most recently starred as Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013), James Brown in Get on Up (2014) , and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall (2017). He will next star in STX’s  21 Bridges (2019) , which he and Coles also produced along The Russo Brothers and Madison Wells Media.

Halle Berry Praises Halle Bailey’s Little Mermaid Casting, Following Name Mixup

Following online confusion concerning their similar names, Halle Berry congratulates Halle Bailey on being cast as Ariel in The Little Mermaid remake. In recent years, Disney has embarked on a seemingly endless quest to remake just about all of its animated classics in the live-action movie realm. The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, and the recent Aladdin have all been huge hits at the box office, with the latter now standing as the highest-grossing film of Will Smith’s storied career.

Now, to be fair, Dumbo wasn’t exactly a smash, but there’s no reason to believe it won’t be an outlier, as The Lion King looks poised to rival Avengers: Endgame for the title of 2019’s ultimate box office champion. A remake of Lady and the Tramp is also coming this year, and 2020 will see a new take on Mulan. Earlier today, Disney’s upcoming remake of The Little Mermaidadvanced one step closer to reality, with the casting of young actress and singer Halle Bailey as the new Ariel.

Nick Fury Isn’t In The Black Widow Solo Movie (Yet)

Samuel L. Jackson says Nick Fury isn’t in Black Widow, as far as he knows. As one of the original characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Fury is largely responsible for everything that came after his first appearance in the post-credits scene of Iron Man. He built S.H.I.E.L.D. up to be a top-tier intelligence agency, started the Avengers Initiative and recruited Tony Stark and Steve Rogers to his cause.

As the MCU has continued to grow, Fury’s connections with the larger universe and its characters have expanded. For instance, Captain Marvel showed how he came to learn about the intergalactic threats that could attack Earth and to the world of superheroes. Jackson has racked up multiple MCU appearances through it all and could keep popping up in movies set in the present day, but also prequels, like Black Widow.
During an interview with Comics Explained, Jackson was asked who his favorite Avenger is. He revealed that it is Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow. But, during his answer to why she is his favorite, Jackson states that, so far, Fury is not set to be in the Black Widow solo movie.

Regardless, it is difficult to say if there is a place for Fury in the Black Widow solo movie. The movie has to be a prequel based on her death in Avengers: Endgame, but we don’t know the exact setting for it. Recent set photosindicate that it could be set post-Captain America: Civil War and before Avengers: Infinity War while Natasha is on the run and in hiding. Fury’s whereabouts during this time have yet to be explored though, giving Marvel an easy path to incorporate him in Black Widow if they want.

Letitia Wright and John Boyega will star in the upcoming BBC anthology series, ”Small Axe”

Letitia Wright and John Boyega are two of Hollywood’s most sought-after young stars, who have established themselves in big-studio blockbusters like Star Wars (Boyega) and Black Panther (Wright). Now, they will be starring together in the upcoming BBC anthology series  Small Axe , which will tell five different stories about London’s West Indian community that spanned through the late 1960s to the early 1980s.

Small Axe will be helmed by 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen, and production has already begun in London with plans for the six-part series to be aired on the BBC and distributed to the U.S. via Amazon Prime Video. Wright and Boyega will join a cast that includes Malachi Kirby (Black Mirror), Jack Lowden (Dunkirk), Shaun Parkes (Lost in Space), Rochenda Sandall (Line of Duty), and Alex Jennings (The Crown). The title of the series. comes from a Jamaican proverb that says ”If you are the big tree, we are the small axe.”

This, coincidentally, happens to the title of one of Bob Marley’s song on the album Catch a Fire. Interestingly too, this isn’t the first time Wright and Boyega would be starring together in a yet-to-be-released movie. Last year, it was reported that they will both star in a sci-fi love story Hold Back the Stars, and although this is of no significance, it makes one wonder if there’s some romance simmering between them. Looking forward to more updates on Small Axe.

”Beasts of No Nation”s Abraham Attoh will star in Nigerian immigrant drama ”Tazmanian Devil”

Eighteen-year-old Ghanaian actor and newcomer Abraham Attah made a big impression when he starred alongside Idris Elba in Netflix’s Beasts of No Nation (2015), scoring an Independent Spirit Award for his role. It was a moving performance from the young actor, even though the movie was entirely snubbed by the Oscars in 2016.

Since then, Attah hasn’t been involved in any major movie work. But that’s about to change with the Tazmanian Devil a coming-of-age tale and debut feature film from Nigerian-American filmmaker Solomon Onita Jr.
Attah is joined by Adepero Oduye (When They See Us, Pariah),  Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (The Chi, Queen of Katwe), and  Kwesi Boakye (Claws, Flight)

Tazmanian Devil follows 19-year-old Nigerian immigrant (Attah) who, after moving to the US, struggles to bond with his estranged father (Mwine) who abandoned him and his mother (Oduye), in Nigeria, to chase his own calling of becoming a missionary. When he finds acceptance in his process of joining a college fraternity, its challenged by his strict and religious father, leaving him searching for his own moral ground.

Interestingly, the movie is produced by American rapper Birdman of Cash Money Films. No release date has been announced yet but the movie is currently in post-production.

Lupita Nyong’o is set to star in a sci-fi comedy from Universal.

Lupita Nyong’o is one of the biggest Hollywood stars right, having just starred in the Jordan Peele horror feature Us which was released in March. The number of upcoming projects attached to Nyong’o keeps increasing. Out from this year’s Sundance Film Festival is the zombie comedy Little Monsters from Australian writer and director Abe Forsythe, for which Nyong’o stars in. It’s a zom-com I’d really want to see, partly for the rare appeal of a black actress as one of the leads.

Incidentally, Nyong’o is reuniting with Forsythe again for an untitled science fiction comedy that has been won by Universal Pictures. According to an exclusive Deadline report, Forsythe will write the script and direct, while Nyong’o will produce the project alongside Made Up Stories’ Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson and Steve Hutensky.

The plot details for the movie has been kept close to the vest, but it’s been reported that it will be a mix of Men In Black and Miss Congeniality. Nyong’o, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the 2014 Steve McQueen 12 Years a Slave, is on board to star in a remake of John Woo’s 1989 action flick The Killer, and the international spy thriller, 355. She’s also producing and starring in an adaptation of Trevor Noah’s memoir Born A Crime, in which she will play Noah’s mother, Patricia. In addition, Nyong’o is set to star alongside Viola Davis in The Woman King and is expected to reprise her role as Nakia in Black Panther 2.

Terry Crews Says White Chicks 2 Is in the Works

Terry Crews has apparently been in touch with Shawn Wayans, and it seems that White Chicks 2 is definitely going to happen at some point. The 2004 comedy received middling reviews for its lowbrow humor and reliance on racial stereotypes at the time, but it was a financial success, grossing over $113 million against a $37 million budget. Since then, it has became something of a cult classic.

Released during the height of the Lindsay Lohan/Paris Hilton socialite era of pop culture, White Chicks followed two black FBI agents, played by Shawn and Marlon Wayans, who are forced to don whiteface makeup and wigs to pose as white socialite sisters to solve a series a high-profile kidnapping cases. The brothers had to deal with the sisters’ upper-class friends and rivals as well as their own FBI superiors all while trying to keep up appearances as rich white women. Most of the White Chicks‘ humor came from poking fun at the socialite lifestyle and certain stereotypes about wealthy white culture. Crews portrayed a professional basketball player in the film who took a liking to one of the “sisters” during a charity auction event.

On a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Crews revealed that a sequel to White Chicks is still in the works. In response to a fan question about whether or not he had heard anything about the sequel’s development, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine star said that he “actually got with Shawn [Wayans] and he was like, ‘Man, we’re doing it, we’re getting it going.’”He went on to joke that he’s “staying in shape just for that move. I’ve been working out for 15 years so I can do White Chicks 2, y’all!

The news of a sequel being in development brought immediate cheers from the Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen audience. As Andy Cohen pointed out, White Chicks has benefited from being a mainstay on cable for the last 15 years.

ZOE SALDANA WANTS GAMORA TO BREAK BAD AS ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3’ VILLAIN

With director James Gunn back on board and the main cast all set to return, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is officially moving forward as planned. Like all things Marvel, nobody involved with the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe tentpole can say anything about Gunn’s script, although star Zoe Saldana is hoping it allows her character Gamora to take a trip to the dark side.

As MCU fans know, Gamora died during the events of “Avengers: Infinity War,” but the time-traveling narrative of follow-up feature “Avengers: Endgame” allowed a previous version of the character to re-enter the MCU. The Gamora in “Endgame” has never become a member of the Guardians group and takes off alone to an unknown destination at the end of film. “Endgame” leaves Chris Hemsworth’s Thor choosing to join the Guardians as they head into space to find Gamora, which is most likely where Gunn’s next “Guardians” movie will pick up.

“It all depends on what Marvel and James Gunn desire to do with the ‘Guardians’ and with Gamora’s fate,” Saldana recently told fans at Seattle’s ACE Comic-Con (via i09) when asked about the next film. “There’s a part of me that wants her to go back. Find her way back to the Guardians. But there’s also a part of me that wants to explore a bad Gamora.”

Saldana continued, “I’ve never seen that and she’s, you know, she’s considered the most lethal assassin. The most lethal woman in the galaxy. So I would want to see what that wrath looks like, also because it would just give me layers to sort of work on. But yeah, I want her to get back to the Guardians.”

Turning Gamora into the primary antagonist of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is definitely one way to keep the dynamic of these movies fresh and exciting. Marvel has yet to announce any release dates for its upcoming films, although many MCU fans are expecting a major announcement later this month during Marvel Studios’ Comic-Con presentation in San Diego.

As for Saldana, the actress is returning to her two biggest franchises in the future with both “Guardians” and the long-awaited release of James Cameron’s “Avatar 2.”