We were expecting it and we’re still speechless.

Joss Whedon‘s blockbuster features several comic book heroes from Marvel franchises, who team up against a deadly enemy. From Black Widow to Iron Man, Thor to Captain America. Clearly the combination of Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Scarlett Johansson is just too much for fans to wait patiently for.

The film also took £15.8 million at the UK weekend box office, which places it securely as the biggest UK opening for a superhero movie ever. If you want to put this into perspective, the entire box office runs of The Hulk, Captain America and Thor were £8.29 million, £9.5 million and £14.05 million respectively.

To take more than all of these in a few days is astounding.

Avengers Assemble is also the second highest four-day weekend ever, only behind Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Potter number five made £16.5 million in the opening four-day weekend back in 2007.

Worldwide the story has been much the same. Avengers Assemble has début in the top spot of 39 countries, including Brazil, Argentina, New Zealand, and Hong Kong totalling almost $180 million.

The head of distribution at Disney, Dave Hollis is certainly pleased. He puts the success down to the film being universally appealing for everyone.

“You can’t put up these kinds of numbers if it’s just for guys or just for the fans. These numbers say that it is for everyone, eight to 80.”

One thing is for sure: a sequel is inevitable.

See our review here.

TFR reported some time ago that Daniel had been cast as beat generation poet, Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings. Now we have a batch of on-set images of him in full costume.

We must say, Dan is looking rather convincing in Ginsberg’s trademark attire: suit, sweater and scarf. Even the specs don’t give us Harry Potter flashbacks , being much larger and squarer than the round ones that he’s worn for the last decade or so. What’s more, he’s changed his eye colour to match Ginsberg’s own (brown), especially for the role.

We have also been given a glimpse of Dane DeHaan, who is starring alongside him. The Chronicle star plays Lucien Carr, a key figure in the beat movement.

Directed by John Krokidas, Kill Your Darlings will follow Ginsberg and his relationship with his friends and fellow beat generation writers, Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster), after David Kammerer (who was reportedly infatuated with Carr) was unexpectedly murdered. The film will chart their relationships and how they are tested in the aftermath.

Kill Your Darlings also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kyra Sedgwick and recent breakout star, Elizabeth Olsen. The official release date is yet to be set, but the film is expected to reach cinemas some time during 2013.

Radcliffe certainly looks the part, but how will his portrayal be received? Click on the images below to see the full-sized picture, and let us know what you think!

The biopic will star Ralph Fiennes, who is set to take on the role of Dickens, whose 200th birthday was this month. Fiennes, who is internationally known for playing Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter, will also be directing the film. In addition, it has recently been revealed that Tom Hollander (Pirates of the Caribbean, Pride and Prejudice) will be playing Dickens’ friend and frequent co-writer, Wilkie Collins.

The film – which is an adaptation of Claire Tomalin’s book of the same name – has been penned by hard-working British screenwriter, Abi Morgan, who was responsible for  the writing of The Iron Lady and Shame and Birdsong last year.

It will be a BBC Films co-production movie, headed by Director of BBC Films, Christine Langan, who is thrilled to have Fiennes on board. The Guardian reported her saying, “It is a natural and extremely exciting step for Ralph Fiennes to take on The Invisible Woman following Coriolanus“. She added. ‘BBC Films is very proud to be supporting the project’.

Tomalin’s book recounts the affair Dickens had with actress Ellen ‘Nelly’ Terman. The theatre performer was airbrushed from Dicken’s official history, as it would have ruined both their reputations. Playing the young actress is Felicity Jones (Brideshead Revisited , Cemetery Junction) with Kristin Scott Thomas (The Woman in the Fifth) as Dickens’ long-suffering wife Catherine.

Dickens and Nelly met in 1857 during the making of a Wilkie Collins and Dickens co-production, The Frozen Deep; the author was 45 and Nelly was just 18 (which was just one year older than Dickens’ youngest daughter) when they got together.

One year on, Dickens separated from his wife, yet he kept his relationship with Nelly a secret. It would have been a disgrace on her image as an actress, as well as Dickens’ valued reputation. Nelly was loyal to Dickens and stayed with him until he died. After his death in 1870, she married a man 12 years her junior, after disguised her age as 23, rather than 37.

There have been other adaptations of his affair, including the 2007 play, Little Nell, which was directed by Peter Hall. It is hoped that The Invisible Woman will be released later this year to coincide with the Dickens’ 200th birthday. We will keep you posted on the latest news.

Even Miss Piggy has joined the debate. Her film The Muppets is nominated in the Best Song category. However the glamorous star might boycott the ceremony in protest against the ban.

“It’s wonderful to be nominated in the Best Song category, even if it wasn’t a song I sang,” she has told reporters recently. However she doesn’t think she will feel very comfortable at a ceremony that only allows human attendees:

“It’s hard to feel right about going to an event like that where you’re not really welcome … For some reason, the Academy has refused to recognise pigs as actors,” Miss Piggy muses.

It is a sentiment shared by the pint-sized pooch, Uggie. But even an online campaign named “Consider Uggie” hasn’t swayed the decision of the cold Academy.

The issue has certainly grabbed the world’s attention. Do the animals in films deserve more recognition than they get for their performances?

Let’s imagine for a moment that the Academy isn’t as backwards as it appears to be at the moment. In our imaginary Oscar’s there is a category named Best Performance by an Animal(s) in a Motion Picture.

Which past performances have deserved the honour of Best Performance?

See our top ten below:

The star of Harry Potter has been extremely busy since he left the franchise behind last year. He’s just finished his leading role in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on Broadway, and has been promoting his new film, The Woman in Black ever since.

The film which is released in the UK on Friday 10th February, will be shown at a special screening the day after in Leicester Square, with the lead actor dropping by to introduce it.

Based on The Woman In Black by Susan Hill, the book that spawned a chilling and successful stage production, Daniel plays Arthur Kipps, a recently widowed lawyer who leaves his son behind to deal with the affairs of the deceased owner of Eel Marsh House. While there he can feel a presence of a woman in the house with him.

If it is anything like the stage show, it is bound to be a suspense-filled ordeal for audiences. Jon Nutton, the Marketing Director of Empire Cinemas is pleased to welcome the actor:

“We’re very excited to have the star of such a hotly anticipated film coming to the cinema to talk to our audience about his latest success. Daniel Radcliffe is a big star on the UK Cinema scene so we are very proud to be playing host to him at our Leicester Square Cinema.”

What better way to kick off a special screening than to have the star introduce it?

The screening starts at 3pm Saturday 11th February. Members of the public can apply for tickets at: empirecinemas.co.uk or call 0871 4714 714

David Yates has been busy for the past few years, making the last four Harry Potter movies a roaring success, but it would seem he is still attached to the stars of the series.

Slated to be released some time in 2013, Your Voice In My Head is based on the memoir of journalist Emma Forrest. If Yates gets his way, Watson will play the central character Emma, who attempts suicide before she is saved by an optimistic and wise psychiatrist. Except he harbours troubles of his own.

The memoir has been adapted for the screen by Forrest herself.

If she signs, it will be Miss Watson’s third project since her ten year stint as Hermione Granger in the Potter films ended. Her first post Potter project was My Week With Marilyn, followed by this year’s flick The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

As of yet no one else is on board, although the studio behind the new film, Warner Brothers are hoping a big name star like Tom Hanks will be interested in the role of the psychiatrist.

In the meantime, David Yates has quite a few projects on the go. He’s still set to bring the Doctor Who film (whenever that ball starts rolling) onto the big screen, and is set to work on Sony Pictures A Reliable Wife after Your Voice In My Head is done.

You can buy the Harry Potter – The Complete 8-Film Collection DVD on Amazon now.

Thoroughly deserved and a long time coming! British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) made the announcement on the 27th January ahead of their awards ceremony next month.

And John himself seems overwhelmed by the honour. “I know that film means a great deal to me but I had no idea that I meant so much to film. I feel very honoured,” he said after the announcement.

The Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award was introduced in 1978 to honour the great producer (and grandfather to Daniel Day-Lewis) Sir Michael Balcon. Now Hurt, whose most recent film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is an awards contender, will join fellow recipients: Mike Leigh, Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jarman and Mary Selway.

Universally acclaimed for his acting talent, Hurt’s vast range of distinguished performances have shaped an impressive career spanning six decades.

He might be well known to younger audiences as the wand maker Mr Ollivander in the Harry Potter franchise, the series which coincidentally won the same prize last year. Hurt had a supporting role in three of the films.

Away from Harry Potter however, he is no stranger to the British Academy, having won three BAFTAs and gained a further four nominations. A notable example is his Best Actor award for his stellar performance in The Elephant Man in 1981.

And that is just the BAFTAs. Aside from his two Academy Award nominations, he has worked alongside industry icons like Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier and Steven Spielberg, and played intriguing characters like Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four and Sir Richard Rich in A Man of All Seasons.

Speaking about John Hurt, the Chairman of BAFTA, Tim Corrie said: “John Hurt is an actor who is both exciting and fascinating to watch. He is one-of-a-kind, an iconic figure, and BAFTA is delighted to take this opportunity to honour his outstanding contribution to cinema.”

The actor will receive the accolade on Sunday 12 February at the Orange British Academy Film Awards in the Royal Opera House in London.

This coming of age film follows the story of high school student, Charlie, who struggles to fit in. He’ll be played by Logan Lerman, who you might recognise from his performances in the title role of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, back in 2010.

However, it is more than likely that all eyes will be on ex-Harry Potter actress Emma Watson, a school senior who becomes the object of Charlie’s affection and who introduces him to a world of sex and drugs. Although Watson had a supporting role in the recent British drama, My Week with Marilyn, her Wallflower performance could prove key if she wants to shake off the Hermione Granger character who she is best known for playing.

They’ll also be joined by Ezra Miller, who we last saw in the role of sinister teen, Kevin Katchadourian, in last year’s film adaptation of We Need To Talk About Kevin. This time around he’ll be playing Patrick, Watson’s gay step-brother. Other familiar faces include Paul Rudd (I Love You, Man and Dinner for Schmucks) and Mae Whitman (Arrested Development, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World).

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is based on a epistolary novel of the same name by Stephen Chbosky, who has also penned the screenplay adaptation and taken on the role of director for this upcoming film. Expect The Catcher in the Rye comparisons, along with a nostalgic soundtrack.

The film is set to have its US release later this year, but no word on a UK release date yet. Take a look at more of the newly released stills below!

Yates might be best known for directing the last four Harry Potter films, but since the franchise has come to an end, he’s quickly become attached to a number of other film projects. For some time he was rumoured to be directing a trilogy based on Stephen King’s post-apocalyptic horror novel, The Stand, as well as a biopic Al Capone, starring Tom Hardy. He was also reported to have turned down directing an adaptation of Vertigo Comics’ graphic novel series, Fables, whilst also being linked to the much anticipated possibility of a feature-length Doctor Who film.

However, now it appears that his next project could be directing the memoirs of journalist and screenwriter, Emma Forrest, titled Your Voice in My Head. The book follows Forrest’s struggles as a young British writer living in New York, suffering from episodes of mania and broken-hearted after the breakdown of a high-profile relationship – she famously dated actor Colin Farrell back in 2008.

The film will be a Ruby Films production, and funded by the BFI and Warner Bros. Forrest has penned the screenplay adaptation herself, while Alison Owen, who has previously worked on films such as Elizabeth, The Other Boleyn Girl and Brick Lane (as well as being Lily Allen’s mum!), is also on board to produce.

While the film is currently some way from being given an official release date, the paperback version of Your Voice In My Head is being published on 19th January 2012. We’ll keep you posted!

The actor who plays the most multi-layered and unpredictable character in the entire franchise,  Professor Severus Snape, has been there since the series began in 2001.

He was tricky to figure out from the off, what with his unexplained hatred for Harry and contradictory actions. Therefore any member of the audience who hadn’t read the books would have been surprised by the character’s final revelation in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two, one that was performed beautifully by Alan Rickman who helped create an emotional and pivotal scene.

Daniel Radcliffe is complimentary of his co-star:

“I don’t think there is going to be another performance from an actor in a supporting role that is so powerful,” Radcliffe said, “where the actor had the challenge of realising a scene that’s been realised millions of times the world over in the imaginations of readers.”

Ten years and eight films built up to this moment. It must have been a tough challenge for him, and Radcliffe is keen to give credit where credit is due.

“That scene – those revelations about Snape’s past – represented maybe the most anticipated part … [of a] movie in the last 10 years,” Daniel added. “I think Alan does amazing, amazing work.”

We have to agree. And not just in the Harry Potter films. Few can forget his scene-stealing turn as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves or his performance in the original Die Hard, not to mention Truly, Madly, Deeply or Galaxy Quest. In terms of Potter, he (and of course JK Rowling) kept us guessing the whole time who’s side he was on until the very end.

Fans are wholeheartedly in agreement with Daniel’s sentiment. After its release during the summer, the words ‘All of the awards!’ were repeated and reblogged all over the Harry Potter Tumblr and Twitter fandoms.

He’s become something of a national treasure. It’s shame that he will no doubt be snubbed come January.

Do you agree that Alan deserves an Oscar for his role as Severus Snape? Let us know.