Despite our glowing review for the film, “Brightburn” has been a polarizing topic of debate among those at this site, as well as the general public at large. The film, with such an easy to explain premise (“What if Superman broke bad as a kid?”), gained quite a bit of buzz coming into its release earlier this year, but ultimately, didn’t leave much of a box office footprint, despite its low budget and mild expectations.

Continue reading James Gunn Teases Discussions Of A ‘Brightburn’ Sequel at The Playlist.

As expected, Legendary’s latest film in its Monsterverse, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” trampled the weekend box office competition. Unfortunately, for the studio, the skyscraper-sized lizard didn’t have quite the roar as was expected.

In its opening weekend at the box office, ‘King of the Monsters’ earned an estimated $49 million domestically, which earned the film the top spot (narrowly beating last weekend’s champ – “Aladdin,” which earned $44.5 million in its second weekend).

Continue reading ‘Godzilla 2’ Tramples Box Office Competition But Isn’t Nearly As King-Sized As Expected at The Playlist.

It was a packed Memorial Day weekend for film— both theatrically and streaming—and we attempt to cover most of it on this week’s iteration of The Playlist Podcast.

READ MORE: Summer Movie Preview: 35 Films You Shouldn’t Miss

On this episode, Jenny Nulf (Director of Programming, Austin Asian American Film Festival) returns to the show to help navigate through the minefield of titles that came out over the holiday weekend.

Continue reading The ‘Booksmart’ Box Office Controversy, ‘The Perfection,’ ‘Brightburn’ & Much More [Podcast] at The Playlist.

Disney may rule the film industry and control most major franchises that you know and love, but that doesn’t mean the studio is perfect. Every now and then, the Mouse House releases a stinker at the box office, proving that even with all the money in the world and the most recognizable IP, Disney is flawed, just like any other studio. We saw that earlier this year, when the studio released the live-action “Dumbo,” which in just about two months of release, has only grossed $113 million domestically.

Continue reading ‘Aladdin’ Grants Disney’s Box Office Wishes As ‘Brightburn’ & ‘Booksmart’ Disappoint During Holiday Weekend at The Playlist.

Thanks to streaming services, such as Netflix, that give shows an extended life after their natural life-spans come to an end, David Denman is, perhaps, most well-known for playing Roy Anderson on the American adaption of “The Office“. However, Denman, a character actor with an impressive range, has had a vast filmography beyond the hit NBC series. A Juilliard graduate, Denman has worked with such acclaimed directors as Steven Soderbergh, Michael Bay, Joel Edgerton, M.

Continue reading David Denman Reflects On ‘The Office’ Resurgence & How James Gunn’s Firing Might Have Helped ‘Brightburn’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

Originally announced as an “untitled James Gunn horror project,” shrouded in mystery, and then finding itself caught in the crosshairs of the filmmaker’s controversial firing from the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” by Disney (since re-hired), the dark, deconstructive superhero film, “Brightburn” has been through the wringer on its way to the screen. Actually directed by frequent Gunn family collaborator David Yarovesky (“The Hive”), it’s a shame all this baggage hangs over “Brightburn” because the film is a gem, especially for anyone yearning for a superhero film that gleefully torches the familiar “good versus evil” formula and introduces far more sinister sensibilities.

Continue reading ‘Brightburn’ Terrorizes With Gleeful Gore As An Allegory For The Hypocrisy Of The American Way [Review] at The Playlist.

The best type of horror films feature the easiest descriptions. A homicidal maniac stalks a babysitter on Halloween. An evil force with knife fingers haunts kids in their sleep. A masked killer hunts teens at a summer camp. And “Brightburn” follows suit, as the film is about what would happen if Clark Kent turned out to be evil.

As seen in the final trailer for “Brightburn,” the story is about a childless couple, who live on a farm in a small town.

Continue reading ‘Brightburn’ Final Trailer: Evil Has Found Its Superhero In James Gunn-Produced Horror Film at The Playlist.

Thanks to Marvel and the ‘Avengers’ films, summer blockbuster season starts in April now, so technically, our summer movie preview is late. That’s ok. This summer is stacked, as usual, and that does not even account for the upcoming Cannes Film Festival which will have plenty of arthouse blockbusters premieres and mainstream movies like the new Quentin Tarantino film. Yes, summer 2019 is jam-packed. There are all kinds of blockbusters, indies, arthouse films, horror movies—many of which we’ve already covered here— and more.

Continue reading Summer Movie Preview: 35 Films You Shouldn’t Miss at The Playlist.

We may still have five months until Halloween, but who says that you can’t celebrate a little earlier? Summer has proven to be a great time to release a horror film. Or, in this case, 15 of them. The kids are out of school, with the late middle schoolers and high schoolers think they are “too cool” to take their younger sibling to see “The Secret Life of Pets 2,” and want to break away with their friends to see something that warrants engagement.

Continue reading Summer Horror Movie Preview: 15 Films To Watch at The Playlist.

“Brightburn” is definitely not your typical superhero film. In fact, it’s not much of a “heroic” film at all. The upcoming horror film, directed by David Yarovesky and produced by superhero movie alum James Gunn, does feature a superpowered kid that dons a costume and uses his abilities. Except in this film, the young boy (with an origin story that’s eerily similar to a hero known for the big ‘S’ on his chest) uses his powers for evil, murdering townsfolk and generally causing chaos.

Continue reading ‘Brightburn’: James Gunn Says He Wanted To Create A “Truly Iconic Horror Movie Character” at The Playlist.

Everyone can probably admit that the number of trailers before a theatrical screening of a film has gotten out of hand. Regularly, there can be 20 minutes or so worth of previews before the feature presentation that by the time you get to the film, you might actually be exhausted by all the other dozen or so films that have been forced into your eyeballs. But the parents and children that attended a recent screening in the UK of “Peppa Pig: Festival of Fun” would have gladly traded in their trailer experience for 10 more previews if they could have avoided the psychological damage done.

Continue reading Kids Burst Into Tears When Horror Trailers Screened Before ‘Peppa Pig’ Film In A UK Cinema at The Playlist.

There are rip-off movies that copy other films due to their popularity, in an attempt to cash out and make a quick buck. And then there are films that are inspired by other works and take a story that has been done before but tweak it slightly into something new. The upcoming “Brightburn” is most definitely not a rip-off of the Superman mythology. Instead, it’s a tweak on the origin that leads to something very different.

Continue reading ‘Brightburn’ Extended Trailer: We See What Would Make A Superhero Kill In James Gunn’s Horrific Take On Superman at The Playlist.

The Superman origin story has been interpreted in a million different ways throughout fiction. But in “Brightburn,” the classic origin for the Big Blue Boyscout is remixed and, frankly, terrifying.

In the new trailer, we see just what would happen if an alien is sent to Earth, raised by a loving farming couple in a small town, and begins to display superhuman powers. However, where Clark Kent began a life of saving people and becoming the ultimate superhero, Brandon Breyer takes the bullying received by his peers and begins a reign of terror, utilizing his incredible powers for evil.

Continue reading ‘Brightburn’ Trailer: James Gunn Presents A Horrific Spin On The Superman Origin Story at The Playlist.

Well, this is rather fascinating. It had been untitled for months, but we’ve known about a James Gunn-produced genre movie that was supposed to come out in 2018 for a long time. Kept mostly under wraps, the film was supposed to hit this fall. But it became delayed when bad-faith-acting Alt-Right trolls targeted Gunn earlier this year, and exploited some of his awful, poor taste jokes, which forced Marvel to fire him from “Guardians Of The Galaxy.” The controversy led the studio to hold a beat on his new movie.

Continue reading ‘Brightburn’ Trailer: James Gunn Does A “What If?” Horror Version Of The Superman Story at The Playlist.