Movie Top 5 for October

Movie Time

It's the October Movie Top 5

Do you like good movies?

We've put together a summary of the top five movies at the box office from the past week to help you decide what to go and see this week. Highlights include Gravity which is best seen in 3D if you can. A big lowlight is The Counselor, a disappointing mess from a very promising team.

We put this content together in only a few hours, with content sourced from IMDB and Wikipedia. We'd love to see what you could do with your stories.

© 2013 makewoopie. All rights reserved. All trademarks and copyrights in this issue are recognised, and acknowledged where possible. No part of this publication may be reproduced without consent from the publishers or authors. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff.

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

86-year-old Irving Zisman takes a trip from Nebraska to North Carolina to take his 8 year-old grandson, Billy, back to his real father.

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa is a 2013 American hidden camera comedy film directed by Jeff Tremaine and written by Tremaine, Johnny Knoxville, and Spike Jonze. It is the fourth installment in the Jackass film series. The film stars Johnny Knoxville and Jackson Nicoll. It was produced by MTV Films and Dickhouse Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was released on October 25, 2013. Bad Grandpa has a loose plot that connects the stunts and pranks together as opposed to the three original Jackass films which had no plot.

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Plot

Eighty-six-year-old Irving Zisman and Billy, his grandson, are on a road trip across the United States. Irving is tasked with taking Billy to live with Chuck, his father, after Kimmie, his mother, is jailed. Interspersed with the brief story segments are hidden camera pranks and stunts.

Cast

- Johnny Knoxville as Irving Zisman

- Jackson Nicoll as Billy

- Greg Harris as Chuck

- Georgina Cates as Kimmie

- Kamber Hejlik as Doctor

- Jill Kill as Pageant Reporter

- Madison Davis as Juggalo Girl

- George Faughnan as Juggalo Guy

- Grasie Mercedes as Hostess

- Marilynn Allain as Receptionist

- Jack Polick as Funeral Worker

- Spike Jonze as Gloria

- Catherine Keener as Ellie

Production

In March 2012, Knoxville discussed the possibility of a fourth Jackass movie, saying "we're keeping our mind open" and "I've got 50–60 ideas on top of all the stuff we didn't get to shoot." Then in June 2012, it was reported Paramount "registered several domains for a film that would be called Jackass 4: Bad Grandpa." During Margera's September 18, 2012 interview on The Howard Stern Show about Jackass he said: "There's going to be a whole movie about Knoxville's grandpa character." The film was officially announced on July 17, 2013, and was released on October 25, 2013. Knoxville revealed he and director Jeff Tremaine had been approached on making a film featuring the Irving Zisman character, but held off as they did not feel a plot consisting of pranking the public would be able to carry an entire film. Eventually, Tremaine and Knoxville came up with a story to structure the pranks around.

I was just shaking my head thinking that this kid is a piece of work. He's unbelievable. I think he was sent from heaven.

The first scene shot featured Irving enraging golfers on a Columbus, Ohio course, where he was working as a groundskeeper. "At that point all of my hesitancy just washed away," Knoxville said. "We got so much funny stuff that we knew we had something special. The Irving Zisman makeup took three hours to apply to Knoxville. Five hours were needed for scenes requiring Knoxville to remove his shirt. Jackson Nicoll was cast as Billy, Irving Zisman's grandson. Knoxville cast Nicoll after working with him on the 2012 film Fun Size. "Jackson would just follow me on the set and verbally assault me while hitting me in the zipper," Knoxville said. "I was just shaking my head thinking that this kid is a piece of work. He's unbelievable. I think he was sent from heaven."

Critical response

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa has received generally positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 61% approval rating with an average rating of 5.4/10 based on 83 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Never quite as funny as it wants to be, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa still offers viewers the timeless pleasures of seeing an old man get his privates stuck in a vending machine." Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 54 based on 29 reviews.

Box office

As of October 25, 2013, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa has grossed $32,000,000 in North America, and $8,100,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $40,100,000. In North America, the film opened to #1 in its first weekend, with $32,055,177.

Gravity

Don't Let Go

Gravity is a 2013 3D science fiction thriller and space drama film directed, co-written, co-produced and co-edited by Alfonso Cuarón. The film stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts who survive the mid-orbit destruction of a Space Shuttle and attempt to return to Earth.

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Cuarón wrote the screenplay with his son Jonás and attempted to develop the project at Universal Studios. After the rights to the project were sold, the project found traction at Warner Bros. instead. The studio approached multiple actresses before casting Bullock in the female lead role. Robert Downey Jr. was also involved as the male lead before leaving the project and being replaced by Clooney.

Sandra Bullock and Alfonso Cuarón in Gravity

Gravity opened at the 70th Venice International Film Festival in August 2013. Its North American premiere was three days later at the Telluride Film Festival. It received a wide release in the United States and Canada on October 4, 2013. Reactions from critics and audiences alike have been overwhelmingly positive, both groups giving much praise for Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography, as well as Bullock's and Clooney's performances.

Plot

Dr. Ryan Stone is a Mission Specialist on her first space shuttle mission aboard the Space Shuttle Explorer. She is accompanied by veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski, who is commanding his final expedition. During a spacewalk to service the Hubble Space Telescope, Mission Control in Houston warns the team about a Russian missile strike on a defunct satellite, which has caused a chain reaction forming a cloud of space debris. Mission control orders that the mission be aborted. Shortly after, communications with Mission Control are lost, though the astronauts continue to transmit, hoping that the ground crew can still hear them.

High-speed debris strikes the Explorer and detaches Stone from the shuttle, leaving her tumbling through space. Kowalski soon recovers Stone and they make their way back to the space shuttle. They discover the shuttle has been damaged far beyond usability and the rest of the crew is dead. They use the thruster pack to make their way to the International Space Station (ISS), which is in orbit only about 100 km (60 mi) away. Kowalski estimates they have 90 minutes before the debris field completes an orbit and threatens them again.

Cast

- Sandra Bullock as Dr. Ryan Stone

- George Clooney as Lieutenant Matt Kowalski

- Ed Harris (voice) as Mission Control in Houston, Texas.

- Orto Ignatiussen (voice) as Aningaaq

- Paul Sharma (voice) as Shariff Dasari

- Amy Warren (voice) as Explorer captain.

- Basher Savage (voice) as Russian Space Station Captain

Production

Development

The project was in development at Universal Pictures for several years. Warner Bros. acquired the project, which in February 2010, attracted the attention of Angelina Jolie, who had rejected a sequel to Wanted. Later in the month, she passed on the project, partially because the studio did not want to pay the $20 million fee she had received for her latest two movies, but also because she wanted to work on directing her Bosnian war film In the Land of Blood and Honey. In March, Robert Downey, Jr. entered talks to be cast in the male lead role.

In mid-2010, Marion Cotillard tested for the female lead role. By August 2010, Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively were in the running for the role. In September, Cuarón received approval from Warner Bros. to offer the role without a screen test to Natalie Portman, who was being praised for her then-recently released film Black Swan. Portman passed on the project due to scheduling conflicts, and Warner Bros. then approached Sandra Bullock for the role. In November 2010, Downey left the project to star in How to Talk to Girls, a project in development with Shawn Levy attached to direct. The following December, with Bullock signed for the co-lead role, George Clooney replaced Downey.

A big challenge for the team was the question of how to shoot long takes in a zero-g environment. Eventually the team decided to use computer-generated imagery for the spacewalk scenes, and automotive robots to move Bullock's character for interior space station scenes. This meant that shots and blocking had to be planned well in advance in order for the robots to be programmed.

Filming

Gravity had a production budget of $100 million and was filmed digitally on Arri Alexas. Principal photography on the film began in late May 2011. Live elements were shot at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios in the United Kingdom, The landing scene was filmed at Lake Powell, Arizona. Visual effects were supervised by Tim Webber at Framestore in London. The 3D was designed and supervised by Chris Parks. The majority of the 3D was created through stereo rendering the CG at Framestore with the rest post converted, principally at Prime Focus, London with additional conversion work by Framestore. Prime Focus's supervisor was Richard Baker. Filming began in London in May 2011. The film contains about 200 or so cutaways, which is significantly fewer than most films of this length. Although the first trailer had audible explosions and other sounds, in the final film these scenes are silent: "They put in explosions [in the trailer]. As we know, there is no sound in space. In the film, we don't do that." The sound track in the film's space scenes is populated only by the musical score and sounds astronauts would hear in their suits or the space vehicles.

Most of Bullock's shots were done with her inside of a giant mechanical rig. Getting into the rig took a significant amount of time, so Bullock opted to stay in it for up to 10 hours a day, communicating with others only through a headset. Cuarón said his biggest challenge was to make the set feel as inviting and non-claustrophobic as possible. The team attempted to do this by having a massive celebration when Bullock arrived each day. They also nicknamed the rig "Sandy's cage" and gave it a lighted sign reflecting this.

Reception

Box office

As of October 31, 2013, Gravity has grossed $204,427,244 in North America, and $164,400,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $368,827,244.

Preliminary reports had the film tracking for a debut of over $40 million in North America. The film earned $1.4 million from its Thursday night showings, and reached a $17.5 million Friday total. It went on to break Paranormal Activity 3's record as the biggest October and autumn openings ever, as the film brought in $55.8 million. Of the film's opening weekend gross, 80 percent of the total was derived from its 3D showings for a sum of $44 million—which also includes $11.2 million, or 20 percent of the total receipts, from IMAX 3D showings, the highest percentage ever for a film opening more than $50 million.

Critical reception

Gravity had its world premiere at the 70th Venice International Film Festival on August 28, where it received universal acclaim from critics and audiences, praising the acting, direction, screenplay, cinematography, visual effects, production design, the use of 3D, and Steven Price's musical score. Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 97% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 257 reviews with a "Certified Fresh" rating, with an average score of 9.1/10. The site's consensus states: "Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity is an eerie, tense sci-fi thriller that's masterfully directed and visually stunning." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 based on reviews from critics, the film has a score of 96 (citing "universal acclaim") based on 48 reviews. CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend revealed the average grade cinemagoers gave Gravity was A- on an A+ to F scale.

Captain Phillips

The true story of Captain Richard Phillips

Captain Phillips is a 2013 American action thriller directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi. The film is a biopic of merchant mariner Captain Richard Phillips, who was taken hostage by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean during the [Maersk Alabama(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maersk_Alabama_hijacking) hijacking] in 2009 led by Abduwali Muse.

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The screenplay by Billy Ray is based upon the book, A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea (2010), by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty. The film is produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca. It was released on October 11, 2013, and had its premiere when shown at the 2013 New York Film Festival.

Plot

Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) takes command of the MV Maersk Alabama at port in Oman, with orders to sail its cargo through the Gulf of Aden to Mombasa. Wary of pirate activity off the coast of Somalia, he orders security precautions on the vessel. During one training exercise, Phillips is aware they might be hijacked by Somali pirates in two skiffs but he succeeds in outrunning the pirates. Four pirates return the next day led by Abduwali Muse (Barkhad Abdi) in a faster skiff, carrying a ladder they had hastily welded. Despite Phillips and his crew's best efforts, they are able to board and take control of the Maersk Alabama, capturing the captain while most of his crew hides in the ship's engine room. Muse, under orders from a local faction leader, hopes to ransom the ship and crew in exchange for insurance money from the shipping company.

Cast

- Tom Hanks as Richard Phillips, captain of the MV Maersk Alabama

- Catherine Keener as Andrea Phillips

- Barkhad Abdi as Abduwali Muse, pirate leader

- Barkhad Abdirahman as Bilal

- Faysal Ahmed as Najee

- Mahat M. Ali as Elmi

- Michael Chernus as Shane Murphy, first officer of MV Maersk Alabama

- David Warshofsky as Mike Perry, chief engineer, MV Maersk Alabama

- Corey Johnson as Ken Quinn, helmsman, MV Maersk Alabama

- Chris Mulkey as John Cronan, senior crew member, MV Maersk Alabama

- Yul Vazquez as Commander Frank Castellano, commanding officer, USS Bainbridge

- Max Martini as U.S. Navy SEAL commander

- Omar Berdouni as Nemo, Somali-language translator working for the US Navy as part of Mission Essential

- Mohamed Ali as Asad, hijacker

- Issak Farah Samatar as Hufan, hijacker

Production

Development

Shortly after the publication of Richard Phillips's memoir A Captain's Duty in 2010, Sony Pictures optioned the film rights. In March 2011, actor Tom Hanks attached himself to the project after reading a draft of the screenplay by Billy Ray. During the following June, director Paul Greengrass was offered the helm of the then-untitled film adaptation.

The four actors were selected because they were "the chosen ones, that anointed group that stuck out."

A worldwide search subsequently began to find the film's supporting Somali cast. From this search, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, and Mahat M. Ali were handpicked out of more than 700 participants at a 2011 casting call at the Brian Coyle Community Center in Cedar-Riverside, Minneapolis. According to the search casting director, Debbie DeLisi, the four actors were selected because they were "the chosen ones, that anointed group that stuck out."

Producers visited the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum to see the bullet-scarred, five-ton fiberglass lifeboat upon which the pirates held Capt. Phillips hostage so that they could accurately re-create the boat and interiors for the set. They were also able to view an example of the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle UAV, used to monitor the crisis, as well as the Mark 11 Mod 0 (SR-25) sniper rifle, (the type used by the U.S. Navy SEALs), both on display at the museum also.

Filming

Principal photography for Captain Phillips began on March 26, 2012. Filming took place off the coast of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine weeks were spent aboard the Alexander Maersk, a container ship identical to the Maersk Alabama, that was chartered on commercial terms.

Reception

Box office

As of November 1, 2013, Captain Phillips has grossed $74,050,507 in North America, and $26,700,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $100,750,507.

Critical reception

Captain Phillips premiered on September 28, 2013, opening the 2013 New York Film Festival. The film was praised for its direction, screenplay, production values, cinematography, and the performances of Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi.

Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports a 94% approval critic response based on 208 reviews, with a "Certified Fresh" and an average score of 8.3/10. The site's consensus reads: "Smart, powerfully acted, and incredibly intense, Captain Phillips offers filmgoers a Hollywood biopic done right—and offers Tom Hanks a showcase for yet another brilliant performance." Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 83 based on 48 reviews of a "Universal Acclaim".

The Counselor

A lawyer finds himself in over his head when he gets involved in drug trafficking.

The Counselor (spelled The Counsellor in some markets) is a 2013 American thriller film directed by Ridley Scott, from the first original film screenplay by Cormac McCarthy.

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The plot revolves around the troubled Juarez, Mexico / Texas border area and deals with themes of greed, death, and the primal instincts of humans and their consequences. The film also uses strong imagery exhibiting a good versus evil, hunter versus prey, extra-moral, Nietzschean register. The Counselor has stirred controversy due to its nihilistic tone, plot structure, and an explicit sex scene involving the film's female antagonist and a Ferrari windshield.

The Counselor was chosen as the closing film at the 2013 Morelia Film Festival and also played the Cork Film Festival. The London premiere was held on October 3, 2013 in Leicester Square. The New York City premiere was held on October 9, 2013. The film was theatrically released on October 25, 2013.

Plot

The story begins with a man, known only as "The Counselor" (Fassbender) and his girlfriend Laura (Cruz), lying in bed and flirting. Somewhere in Mexico, cocaine is being packaged in barrels and concealed in a sewage truck. The truck is driven across the border and stored at a sewage treatment plant.

The Counselor goes to Amsterdam on what he claims is a business trip, but is actually a meeting with a diamond dealer in order to purchase an engagement ring for Laura. Back in the United States, the Counselor proposes to Laura, and she accepts. Later, he attends a party at the penthouse owned by Reiner (Bardem) and his girlfriend Malkina (Diaz). The Counselor and Reiner have a lengthy discussion, during which Reiner claims that the Counselor is not capitalizing on his position of power as much as he could be.

The Counselor meets with Westray (Pitt), a business associate, to express interest in a drug deal with a four thousand percent return rate. Westray warns the Counselor about becoming involved in such a deal, saying that Mexican cartels are merciless, particularly to lawyers.

Cast

- Michael Fassbender as The Counselor,

- Penélope Cruz as Laura

- Cameron Diaz as Malkina

- Javier Bardem as Reiner

- Brad Pitt as Westray

- Rosie Perez as Ruth

- Richard Cabral as The Young Man/The Green Hornet

- Natalie Dormer as The Blonde

- Édgar Ramírez as The Priest

- Bruno Ganz as The Diamond Dealer

- Rubén Blades as Jefe

- Goran Višnjić as Michael

- Toby Kebbell as Tony

- Emma Rigby as Tony's Girlfriend

- John Leguizamo as Randy

- Dean Norris as The Buyer

Production

Pre-production

On January 18, 2012, it was reported that novelist Cormac McCarthy had sold his first spec script, The Counselor, to Nick Wechsler, Paula Mae Schwartz, and Steve Schwartz, who had previously produced the film adaptation of McCarthy's novel The Road. On January 31, it was reported that Ridley Scott was currently considering several directorial projects, but that there was a strong possibility that The Counselor would be his next film and his follow-up to Prometheus. On February 9, it was confirmed that Scott would direct.

Penelope Cruz

Filming

Principal photography began on July 27, 2012 in London. The film was also shot in Spain and the United States. On August 20, 2012, Scott halted production of the film due to his brother Tony's death. He canceled that week's shoot in order to travel to Los Angeles to be with his brother's family. Scott returned to London to resume production on September 3.

The film was dedicated to the memory of Tony Scott, who had taken his own life during production, and Matthew Baker, an assistant director on the film who has since died.[11

The first teaser trailer was released June 25th, 2013.

Design

Costume designer Janty Yates collaborated with Giorgio Armani on the film as a part of a new partnership between Armani and 20th Century Fox that also extends into retail and digital initiatives. Armani was enlisted to create the wardrobes for the characters portrayed by Michael Fassbender and Penélope Cruz.

[Cameron's] character has a lot of elements of a Thomas Wylde woman. [She's] bold, edgy, modern. She’s about wanting to be seen, as opposed to blending into the background.

In addition to Armani, designer Paula Thomas also contributed to the film's wardrobe by dressing Cameron Diaz's character, Malkina, with roughly 15 different outfits. "[It wasn't until] I read the script that I realized why [Scott] called upon me," said Thomas. "[Cameron's] character has a lot of elements of a Thomas Wylde woman. [She's] bold, edgy, modern. She’s about wanting to be seen, as opposed to blending into the background."

For Javier Bardem's character, Yates applied a widely colorful wardrobe that was mostly made up of pieces of Versace. As for Bardem's hair, the idea was the actor's own and inspired by film producer Brian Grazer's hairdo.

Reception

Box office

Preliminary reports had The Counselor tracking for a $8.6–$13 million debut in North America. The film opened to $3.2 million in 3,336 locations on Friday and opened at #4 in the boxoffice with just a cumulative $7,842,930 over the weekend. Despite its modest budget, the film is considered a boxoffice flop in the United States.

Critical response

The Counselor has received negative reviews. The film currently holds a 34% approval rating on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 131 reviews, with an average score of 4.9/10. The consensus summarizes: “The Counselor raises expectations with its talented cast and creative crew—then subverts them with a wordy and clumsy suspense thriller that's mercilessly short on suspense or thrills." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 based on reviews from critics, the film has a score of 49 based on 40 reviews, considered to be "mixed or average reviews". It received an average grade of "D" from market-research firm CinemaScore.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Dill with it.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is a 2013 American computer-animated comic science fiction film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and distributed by Columbia Pictures.

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The film is the sequel to the 2009 film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which was loosely based on Judi and Ron Barrett's book of the same name. It was directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn, produced by Kirk Bodyfelt, and executive produced by the directors of the first film, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The film was released on September 27, 2013.

The screenplay was written by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, and Erica Rivinoja, and it is based on an original idea, and not on Pickles to Pittsburgh, Barrett's follow-up book. Cloudy 2 continues right after the first film, where a food-making machine gets out of control, but its creator, young inventor Flint, and his friends, eventually manage to stop it. In the sequel, Flint and his friends are forced to leave their home town, but when the food machine awakens, this time producing sentient food beasts, they must return to save the world.

Most of the main cast reprised their roles: Bill Hader as Flint Lockwood, Anna Faris as Sam Sparks, James Caan as Tim Lockwood, Andy Samberg as Brent McHale, Neil Patrick Harris as Steve, and Benjamin Bratt as Manny. New cast includes Terry Crews, who replaced Mr. T as Officer Earl; Will Forte, who voiced Joseph Towne in the first film, voices Chester V and Kristen Schaal as orangutan Barb.

Plot

After Flint Lockwood and his friends save the world from the food storm, super-inventor Chester V, the CEO of Live Corp, is tasked to clean the island. He relocates Flint, his friends, and the citizens of Swallow Falls to San Franjose, California. Unbeknownst to Flint, the FLDSMDFR survived the explosion and landed in the center of the island, and Chester is determined to find it. Chester invites Flint, his biggest fan, to work at Live Corp, where he meets Chester's assistant Barb, a talking orangutan with human intelligence. Six months later, Flint humiliates himself during a promotion ceremony when his invention "Party-In-A-Box" explodes. Meanwhile, Chester is informed that his search-parties on the island have been attacked by monstrous cheeseburgers which are learning how to swim. Fearing the world's inevitable doom, Chester tasks Flint to find the FLDSMDFR and destroy it once and for all.

Cast

- Bill Hader as Flint Lockwood, an inventor.

- Bridget Hoffman as Young Flint Lockwood. She replaces Max Neuwirth for the role.

- Anna Faris as Samantha "Sam" Sparks, a weather intern from New York City and Flint's girlfriend.

- James Caan as Tim Lockwood, Flint's widowed father.

- Will Forte as Chester V, a world-famous super-inventor and the head of the Live Corp.

- Andy Samberg as Brent McHale, an infamous/former celebrity mascot of Baby Brent's Sardines, now known as Chicken Brent.

- Neil Patrick Harris as Steve the Monkey

- Benjamin Bratt as Manny, Sam's Guatemalan cameraman and a former doctor, co-pilot, and comedian.

- Terry Crews as Officer Earl Devereaux, the town's athletic cop. Crews replaced Mr. T for the role.

- Kristen Schaal as Barb, Chester V's talking and lipstick-wearing orangutan with a human brain.

- Khamani Griffin as Cal Devereaux, Earl's son. Griffin replaced Bobb'e J. Thompson for the role.

- Al Roker as Patrick Patrickson, the anchorman of the weather station.

- Cody Cameron as Barry the Strawberry, Dill Pickles

- Melissa Sturm as Sentinel Louise, Live Corp Scientist

- Kris Pearn as Shrimpanzees, Sentinel Peter, Labcoat Jenny

- Craig Kellman as Fintly McCallahan, Idea Pants Guy

Production

The first news of the sequel came out in April 2010, when website io9 reported that the original directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, won't return for the sequel. In December 2011, it was reported that Cody Cameron, the story artist on the first film, and Kris Pearn, the head of story on the first, would direct the sequel, with Lord and Miller serving as exec-producers. John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein and Erica Rivinoja wrote the screenplay, which is based on an original idea, and not on Pickles to Pittsburgh, Barrett's follow-up book. In February 2012, it was announced that the sequel would be titled Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers, but was later retitled Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. The film was originally scheduled for release on December 20, 2013, then pushed to February 7, 2014, before moving up to September 27, 2013.

Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Neil Patrick Harris and Benjamin Bratt reprised their roles. The role of Earl, the town cop, was taken over by Terry Crews, as Mr. T declined to return. Kristen Schaal joined the cast to voice Barb, a talking and lipstick wearing orangutan with a human brain. Will Forte, who voiced Joseph Towne in the first film, voices Chester V, a world-famous super-inventor, who commands Barb, and is the head of the Live Corp Company. On January 17, 2013, concept art from the film was released.

The music was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh. Cody Simpson provided a single "La Da Dee", which was played at the film's end credits. Simpson also performed in a music video that incorporated footage from the film. Paul McCartney's single, "New", from his 2013 album, was featured in the film.

Reception

Critical response

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 received generally positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 70% approval rating with an average rating of 6.4/10 based on 106 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "While not as clever or inventive as its predecessor, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 compensates with enough dazzling visuals to keep younger viewers entertained." Another review aggregation website Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 59 out of 100 based on 25 reviews.

Box office

As of October 27, 2013, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 has grossed $100,611,000 in North America, and $49,200,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $149,811,000. In North America, the film earned $9.3 million on its opening day, and opened to #1 in its first weekend, with $34,017,930. In its second weekend, the film dropped to #2 grossing an additional $20,950,192.

1. Cover

2. Movie Time

3. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

4. Gravity

5. Captain Phillips

6. The Counselor

7. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2