TOY STORY 4 plays with the competition in its opening, earning $118 million from 4,575 theatres across North American for Disney. Reviews are outstanding for this latest installment in the Franchise, pulling-in 98% on the Tomatometer and an A CinemaScore from Audiences. This records a best for the Series, topping 2019’s TOY STORY 3 which opened with $110 million. This positions the Animated Feature for the third-best opening of all time for an Animated Film, behind last year’s INCREDIBLES 2 and its $182 million opening.

Opening in second is CHILD’S PLAY with $14 million for United Artists Releasing/Elevation Pictures from 3,007 theatres. It gets a passing 60% on the Tomatometer and a C+ CinemaScore from Audiences.

In third is last week’s champ MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL, landing with $12 million, a total $54 million over two weeks for Sony Pictures.

In fourth is THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 with $11.8 million, a three week total of $119 million domestically for Universal Pictures.

SHAFT rounds things out in its debut for Warner Bros. with $3.4 million, a two-week total of $14 million.

It’s been nine years since we’ve heard from the $1.9 billion-worldwide-grossing TOY STORY Franchise, but the gang is back and we’re ready for some new adventures in TOY STORY 4. This latest installment centers on Woody (Tom Hanks), who must take care of his new kid Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw) and her new self-made toy Forky (Tony Hale). After Woody and Forky are separated on a road trip, the former  goes on a mission with friends new and old, to bring him back to Bonnie. Together we learn how big a place this world is for a toy.

See the Trailer:

In Toronto to ring-in Toy Story 4‘s Canadian Premiere is Primetime Emmy Award winner Tony Hale (Veep, Love, Simon) who voices soon-to-be fan favourite, Forky. He tells us all about his journey with the eagerly-awaited Blockbuster.

We ask Hale about how he came to be involved with Toy Story 4.

Hale: “I feel like I had the imposter theory and that someone’s gonna figure out they made a mistake”, he jokes. “I heard they were interested in me. The cool thing – as a side bar – is the first Toy Story started in 1995 and that was the year I moved to New York to become an actor. I remember seeing the Movie and thinking, ‘Gosh, this Animation is on another level. I never thought I’d be a part of this Franchise, but they brought me up to Pixar, which is this creative wonderland, and then they just started describing Forky to me.  They were like, ‘We thought of you, he has this neurotic energy’, and I was like, ‘check!‘.”.

“The cool thing about Pixar is that they create this family community environment. They really broke down not just how simple he looks, but also how he sees the world so simple and I thought of my daughter when she was four or five and she just had so many questions. And just constantly absorbing one thing after the other.”.

Hale tells us about the importance of his character.

Hale: “I love the message. I think the whole journey from seeing himself as trash, to come along and realizing he has a bigger purpose than that, he has value and I thought, ‘What a beautiful thing to put out into the world’.”. He adds, “Everybody has a tremendous purpose and I love being a part of it.”.

We ask Hale about the very prominent featuring of  a Canadian Stuntman character, Duke Caboom and working with Keanu Reeves.

Hale: “He’s the nicest guy and he’s so hilarious in this Movie. It’s the way he brings his swagger to the character that contrasts with these very sharp movements, it is so funny. And then they bring this emotional trauma to his life. His story just really makes me laugh. It’s really great that him and Forky get to have this journey together.”.

Hale kids that his humour “comes from a lot of pain”a while his characters have had to do some outlandish things in his celebrated career, he says “Yes, I’ve had to do some colourful bits, however I actually would like to be held by Tom Hanks!”.

Greg Mason, VP of Marketing at Walt Disney Studios Canada took time to chat with us about how the idea of Duke Caboom originated and how his office was actually very much involved!

Mason: “It’s been three-and-a-half years in the making. It goes back to Zootopia where we had Peter Mansbridge do a cameo as Peter Moosebridge. We’re always trying to insert a bit of Canadian in here and there.”.

“We’ve had Jonas Rivera (Producer) in Toronto twice and I see him when I’m in San Francisco. After working on Inside Out, I asked if we could do a little something for Canada. And he replied, ‘You’re gonna love Inside Out. Riley plays hockey and her boyfriend is from Canada’.”.

Rivera came back to Mason, telling him, how for Toy Story 4, he had ideas in mind for a Canadian Dardevil character, letting them make notes on his Character Design and they even sent notes on Casting. He says, “Pixar is so detailed. Right away they said, the Actor had to be Canadian. Our team got together with suggestions and Keanu was on the list. We loved the idea of Keanu and they brought him in and did a read-through and that’s how it came to be.”.

It’s been a while since the last Toy Story film and a lot changing in how Movies are marketed since then. We ask Mason how this can be navigated.

Mason: “Very carefully. With knew we had something special with Duke Caboom and we wanted him front and centre, but it’s not a Duke Caboom film, it’s a Toy Story film. Pixar is wonderful about letting us do stuff and figure it out from here.”.

Jonas sent us the first photo of Duke and he had a box of Timbits! They think everything through and the Animators who worked on Duke, every single one was Canadian! I didn’t have to tell them that and our team is proud of this.”.

The festivities moved down the road in the evening to Scotiabank Theatre. Prizes to be won by guests at the Premiere included memorabilia from the Film including Plushies, T-Shirts and more. Fans got a chance too to see Hale on the Red Carpet and he was joined by Toronto’s Queen of Cake Decorating, Yolanda Gampp who presented a Toy Story-inspired cake. French-Canadian Voice Actor François Bellefeuille who voices Forky in the French-Canadian version also walked the Carpet as well!

Check-out Amanda Gilmore x David Baldwin‘s Interviews here:

Walt Disney Studios Canada release TOY STORY 4 on Friday, June 20, 2019.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Amanda Gilmore/Walt Disney Studios Canada)

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada x Mr. Will are giving Canadian Readers a chance to win Advance Passes to see TOY STORY 4! The Canadian Premiere takes place in Toronto on Thursday, June 13, 2019. Advance Screenings take place Wednesday, June 19, 2019 in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Edmonton.

Synopsis:
Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So, when Bonnie’s beloved new craft-project-turned-toy, Forky (voice of Tony Hale), declares himself as “trash” and not a toy, Woody takes it upon himself to show Forky why he should embrace being a toy. But when Bonnie takes the whole gang on her family’s road trip excursion, Woody ends up on an unexpected detour that includes a reunion with his long-lost friend Bo Peep (voice of Annie Potts). After years of being on her own, Bo’s adventurous spirit and life on the road belie her delicate porcelain exterior. As Woody and Bo realize they’re worlds apart when it comes to life as a toy, they soon come to find that’s the least of their worries.

See the Trailer:

Artwork:

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and indicate your City. Re-Tweet this Tweet from @mrwillw for an extra chance!

TOY STORY 4 is in theatres Friday, June 20, 2019.

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

©Disney

Canadians across the country soon will have a chance to partake in an exciting celebration in advance of TOY STORY 4′s release! Want to see a life-sized replica motorcycle of Canada’s greatest stuntman, Duke Caboom (voiced by Keanu Reeves)? Want to make your own Spork just like Bonnie?. Wanna show it off in a Photo Op?

WHERE & WHEN:

From 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm in each city at:

VANCOUVER May 18 & 19 SilverCity Riverport 14211 Entertainment Blvd, Richmond
CALGARY May 25 & 26 Cineplex Crowfoot Crossing 91 Crowfoot Terrace NW, Calgary
WINNIPEG June 1 & 2 Scotiabank Theatre 817 St James St, Winnipeg
TORONTO June 8 & 9 Cineplex Queensway 1025 The Queensway, Etobicoke
MONTREAL June 15 & 16 Cinéma Cineplex Laval 2800 Ave du Cosmodôme, Laval

Synopsis:
Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So when Bonnie’s beloved new craft-project-turned-toy, Forky (voice of Tony Hale), declares himself as “trash” and not a toy, Woody takes it upon himself to show Forky why he should embrace being a toy. But when Bonnie takes the whole gang on her family’s road trip excursion, Woody ends up on an unexpected detour that includes a reunion with his long-lost friend Bo Peep (voice of Annie Potts). After years of being on her own, Bo’s adventurous spirit and life on the road belie her delicate porcelain exterior. As Woody and Bo realize they’re worlds apart when it comes to life as a toy, they soon come to find that’s the least of their worries.

The Trailer:

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada release TOY STORY 4 Friday, June 18, 2019.

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

We’re sure many of you were enamoured by some of the amazing ads once again which aired during the SUPER BOWL! Surfacing tonight during the game where some new TV spots from Disney/Marvel/Pixar which you’ll want to see again!

Check ’em out!

CAPTAIN MARVEL

CAPTAIN MARVEL opens in theatres on March 7, 2019.

AVENGERS: END GAME

AVENGERS: ENDGAME opens in theatres on April 26, 2019.

TOY STORY 4

TOY STORY 4 opens in theatres June 21, 2019.

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

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.

Those of you seeing RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET will be thrilled to know you’ll see a Teaser Trailer for much-anticipated TOY STORY 4!

Synopsis:
Woody has always been confident about his place in the world and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. But when Bonnie adds a reluctant new toy called “Forky” to her room, a road trip adventure alongside old and new friends will show Woody how big the world can be for a toy.

TOY STORY 4 stars Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Jeff Pidgeon, Blake Clark and Tony Hale.

See the Trailer:

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada release TOY STORY 4 Friday, June 21, 2019.

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

Most of us who grew-up in the ’80s and ’90s have fond memories of watching Michael Keaton on-screen, but having been quiet much of late, could it be that his Career is experiencing a rapid resurgence?  Known best for his work as Batman, Beetlejuice and Mr. Mom, Keaton currently is in Toronto working Sony Pictures’ RoboCop Reboot, which is slated for a February 2014 release via Sony Pictures.

Keaton, unlike his Co-Stars who travel is SUVs and Production Vans,  opts to travel in a super-sleek Lexus. I caught-up with him earlier today as he head-off for a long night ahead at-work.  Despite being in a rush, he was kind to stop for Autographs and although he didn’t think he had time for a Photo, I reminded him that it’s just as quick to say “no” as it is to snap a Photo and of course, putting it into perspective, he was nice enough to make an exception.

The Actor next can be seen in Ottawa-filmed Penthouse North, due for a release in 2013 and soon he will be completing Voice Work for Animated Blockbuster, Toy Story 4 in the role of Ken.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)