By Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada certainly is always at the thick of it when it comes to blockbuster releases and once again they do not disappoint as they unveil their upcoming slate of releases at their annual Holiday Preview.

After the release of Ralph Breaks the Internet, a timeless beloved family movie gets a Sequel in Mary Poppins Returns. Emily Blunt and Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda star in this highly anticipated sequel featuring live-action and a throwback to the original animation style as well.

Coming in 2019, we have two massive Marvel movies coming up, there is Captain Marvel starring the incomparable Brie Larson, which will be the big release that fills the audience in on a major character for Avengers 4.

After Captain Marvel, we wrap-up phase three of the Avengers Saga with Avengers 4. After Thanos’ snap wiped-out half of the Avengers, the remaining Avengers have to stop Thanos and hopefully fix the damage he has done.

Take us to May 2019 and we have the hotly-anticipated Sequel to Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: We Still Don’t Know The Title Unfortunately. It is hard to hype-up a movie that made a record-breaking amount of money and has achieved all the success, but we all know that this final entry into phase three will be a game-changer.

Tim Burton is back! Those words excite me more than they should, but Dumbo looks like it is going to be in the vein of typical Burton and that sounds absolutely incredible. The Trailer that dropped earlier last week speaks volumes to how gorgeous this newest Dumbo film will be and the Cast look incredible, it is however Darker but that is stylized like Burton’s other works.

Artemis Fowl based on the best selling book series and Noelle are also coming out in 2019 from Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada.

The Sequel to Frozen will also make its debut in late 2019, and that is not even the most shocking Sequel on this list. Toy Story 4 dropped two teaser Trailers, introducing a few new characters to the mix while also bringing back all of our favourite characters. Let me tell you June 21st, I will be sitting in a theatre watching Toy Story 4 multiple times and loving every second of life. Moreover, The Lion King is getting the live-action reboot with Jon Favreau at the helm, and if that doesn’t excite you then I don’t know what will!

Disney also will be releasing the last entry into the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars Episode IX. There is literally nothing that needs to be said about this. It will shatter records, it will anger fans, people will cry, everyone is going to see it. Personally, I’m excited for a new saga, but am truly intrigued by how the Skywalker saga will conclude.

By Mr. Will Wong

And in a blink of an eye, another TIFF has passed and this one had us working right to the finish line! It’s only after the fact that we have a moment to take it all in how much we went through. We estimate double our average in Celebrity Snaps this year. That’s how star-studded TIFF ’18 was. It was that kind of a year!

We had the pleasure of previewing several of this year’s Awards Season contenders and we are waiting with baited breath to see A STAR IS BORN and GREEN BOOK, both outstanding, duke it out for Oscars glory in coming months. We loved both, are thrilled the latter was honoured with the People’s Choice Award at the Festival, but something about the former makes our heart sing. We cannot stop thinking about it or its Soundtrack. It takes a magical Film to do that.

Let’s relive some of my favourite star-studded moments of the Festival, as lensed through the Nikon D3400. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without this amazing camera which worked amazingly-well with our Blackberry Key 2 in terms of file transmission to ensure we were able to get our photos uploaded and edited within moments for you all to enjoy! The clarity of these snaps speak for themselves.

A STAR IS BORN Press Conference

We will never stop taking our signature Celebrity Selfies and TIFF ’18 was unforgettable even if we saw many returning faces. We wouldn’t have been camera-ready without the right gear and depending on each scenario, sometimes the Blackberry Key 2 worked best for those Selfies, sometimes the Nikon D3400 worked better. What matters is that more often than not, we got the snap! And many we did.

Here’s some of our faves!

Alexander Skarsgård

Amandla Stenberg

Amber Heard

Anthony Ramos

Boyd Holbrook

Cara Delevingne

Chris Pine

Claire Foy

Daniel Kaluuya

Elizabeth Debicki

Gwendoline Christie

Hari Nef

Jacob Tremblay

Jamie Dornan

Jamie Lee Curtis

John David Washington

Julianne Moore

Kelly Marie Tran

Keegan-Michael Key

Kristen Stewart

Lady Gaga

Laura Dern

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Margaret Qualley

Olivia Munn

Parker Sevak

Peter Sarsgaard

Quincy Jones

Riz Ahmed

Ryan Gosling

Steve Carell

Steven Yeun

Timothée Chalamet

Trevante Rhodes

Troye Sivan

Zhang Yimou

In case you missed our Television appearances during TIFF ’18 this is our first year hitting-up the three big media giants: Global, CITY and CP24 (Bell Media). Thrilled! Our brand continues to thrive as a Festival go-to and we are so happy for the recognition.

CP24 with George Lagogianes

Breakfast Television with Winston Sih

Until next year.  We’re already ready!

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

It’s girls’ night out at the Box Office with OCEAN’S 8 stealing the top spot at the Box Office with $42 million from  4,145 theatres for Warner Bros. This bests 2004’s OCEAN’S 12 which previously was the top opening in the Franchise with $39.1 million. Critics gave it a passable 69% on the Tomatometer while audiences gave the star-studded Heist Flick a resounding A CinemaScore.

A distant second is SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY with $14.3 million in week three, a total $176 million grossed domestically.

In third is the well-reviewed Horror HEREDITARY with $13.7 million from 2,964 theatres for A24 Films/Elevation Pictures. It gets a stellar 94% on the Tomatometer and an D+ CinemaScore.

DEADPOOL 2 takes fourth spot with $12.8 million for 20th Century Fox in its fourth week out, a total $277.4 million earned thus far in North America.

HOTEL ARTEMIS debuts in 8th spot with $3 million for Global Road Entertainment/Cineplex Pictures. The Film starring Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown and Jeff Goldblum gets a 59% on the Tomatometer.

Rounding-out the Top Ten is LIFE OF THE PARTY with $1.7 million for Warner Bros., putting it just shy of the $50 million-mark over five weeks.

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY lands on-top of the Box Office a second straight week for Disney with $28.8 million week two, from 4,381 theatres. It has made $148 million thus far.

In second this weekend is DEADPOOL 2 with $23.5 million for 20th Century Fox, a total $254 million grossed domestically over three weeks.

Debuting in third with $11 million from 3,015 theatres is ADRIFT. The STX Entertainment/VVS Films release starring Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin gets a solid 71% on the Tomatometer and a B CinemaScore.

BH Tilt’s UPGRADE opens in sixth with $4.3 million from 1,457 theatres. The Horror gets 85% on the Tomatometer. This has yet to get a Canadian release.

ACTION POINT debuts in ninth for Paramount Pictures with $2.2 million from 2,032 theatres. The Johnny Knoxville-fronted Flick gets 17% ont the Tomatometer and a C+ CinemaScore.

OVERBOARD rounds-out the Top Ten with $2 million, a total $45.5 million earned in five weeks for Lionsgate Films/MGM.

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY tells the competition, landing at the top spot this weekend at the Box Office with $92.6 million Friday to Sunday. The Disney release plays in 4,381 theatres this U.S. Memorial Day weekend. While Critics were lukewarm on it giving it 71% on the Tomatometer, it maintains its standing with Audiences getting an A- CinemaScore. This places this installment in the Franchise as the fifth-highest opening for a Star Wars Film. The top spot still belongs to 2015’s The Force Awakens with $247 million.

In second is DEADPOOL 2 with $41.2 million from 4,349 theatres for a two-week tally of $216 million for 20th Century Fox.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR finds itself in third with $15.3 million in its fifth week, a total $624 million grossed to-date for Marvel/Disney.

BOOK CLUB is in fourth with $9.6 million, by no means disgraced considering the company it is in for Paramount Pictures, a total $34.6 million in two weeks.

LIFE OF THE PARTY is in fifth for Warner Bros. with $4.9 million, a total $40.2 million.

RBG rounds-out the Top Ten with $1.2 million from 415 theatres for Mongrel Media/Magnolia Pictures, a four week total of $5.7 million.

In celebration of May the Fourth, a brand-new Clip is now available to watch from SOLO: A Star Wars Story!

Synopsis:
Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes

See the new Clip:

Don’t forget, tickets now are on sale everywhere tickets are sold to see SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY! Don’t forget to check out the LIFE VR App to witness like never before the Millennium Falcon! Here for more.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada release SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY Friday, May 25, 2018.

(Photo/video credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada)

New Character Posters have just been released to get us pumped for SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY! Check ’em out!

Synopsis:
Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.

The film stars Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo and Paul Bettany.

See the new Character Posters:

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada release SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY Friday, May 25, 2018.

(Photo/video credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada)

Hot off the news that it will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival out-of-competition, SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY has a brand-new Trailer for us to enjoy! Director Ron Howard and the Cast also are confirmed to attend the Festival!

Synopsis:
Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.

The Film stars Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, and Paul Bettany.

See the Trailer:

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada release SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY Friday, May 25, 2018.

(Photo/video credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada)

Nothing lifts the spirit like a Movie! While March Break is almost over, it’s still not too late to catch-up on Hollywood favourites like Star Wars: The Last Jedi, plus recent Oscar winners Darkest Hour and I, Tonya at Ontario Place‘s iconic Cinesphere!

You will love seeing Movies in breathtaking IMAX® on this geodesic theatre’s 60 x 80 foot curved screen in your swivel chair!

The spacious theatre offers plenty of seats for you, your friends and family and the view on the walk there is breathtaking. Have your cell phones ready!

Check their webpage for titles as they update, and prices here: http://OntarioPlace.com/EN/Cinesphere.

See more below from our spirit-lifting day at Cinesphere! Hover cursor left and right for more.

Nothing lifts the spirit like a Movie! Catch-up on Hollywood favourites like #StarWars: #TheLastJedi, #DarkestHour + #ITonya at #OntarioPlace’s iconic #Cinesphere! You will love seeing Movies in IMAX® on this geodesic theatre’s 60 x 80 ft curved screen in your swivel chair! 🍿 Check their webpage for titles as they update at OntarioPlace.com/EN/Cinesphere. Swipe left for more.

A post shared by Mr. Will Wong 🏮 (@mrwillwong) on Mar 16, 2018 at 2:28pm PDT

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Missed STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI? Catch-up by seeing it at the Cinesphere during March Break!

Ontario Place is giving you a chance to take it all in at their iconic geodesic  CINESPHERE in a moviegoing experience like never before! You can also check-out some of 2017’s top Hollywood Films in IMAX® at the newly-reopened Cinesphere including the likes of GET OUT, BLADE RUNNER 2049: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE, THE FLORIDA PROJECT and THE BIG SICK.

The selection will be changing, so be sure to check-out their website regularly for new titles.

Order tickets online here and plan out your weekend now!
http://ontarioplace.com/en/cinesphere

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI screens as follows:
March 9: 7:15pm
March 10 – 18: 3:30pm / 7:15pm

Screenings otherwise for other titles take place between Fridays through Sundays.

CityNews previewed the reopened Cinesphere recently. Check it out:

Ticket prices are as follows:
Adult (18 – 64): $15.00
Senior (65+): $12.00
Child (3 – 17): $11.00

We are giving Toronto Readers a chance to witness STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI at Ontario Place‘s Cinesphere… with popcorn! 🍿 To enter to win tickets, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK.

Re-Tweet this Tweet from @mrwillw for an extra chance!

(Photo credit: Metroland Media Group)