Resume: Karen Gillan

Karen Gillan has been appearing in films for LRF since Season 2. She has appeared in two separate franchises and a total of nine films heading into the release of her 10th film for the studio, Red Sonja, which could very well lead to a third franchise. For the latest edition of Resume, we will take a look at the filmography of the latest female action star....

















Season 2

Splinter Cell
Director: Doug Liman
Writer: D.R. Cobb


Budget: $170,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $323,799,037
Foreign Box Office: $569,968,400
Total Profit: $559,810,149



While the film was a Tom Cruise vehicle, Gillan held her own against the legendary star in a major supporting role in the first Splinter Cell film. The film was a huge box office hit and critics were generally favorable toward it.

Dino Crisis
Director: Matt Reeves
Writer: Billy Cruder



Budget: $99,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $76,139,537
Foreign Box Office: $238,727,392
Total Profit: $56,796,380


Later in Season 2, Gillan starred in another video game film, this time in the lead role. Critics were not fans of the film, and it did not do well domestically at the box office, but international audiences were big fans of the property.


Season 3

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
Director: Joe Carnahan
Writer: D.R. Cobb





Budget: $200,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $388,928,087
Foreign Box Office: $599,581,182
Total Profit: $577,546,211


Gillan's role in the second Splinter Cell film was smaller than the first time around, but the film was still a giant box office hit. Critics, however, were not as found of this entry.


Season 4

Synthetic
Director: Francis Lawrence
Writer: Mark Newton



Budget: $68,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $97,686,046
Foreign Box Office: $120,132,807
Total Profit: $19,043,757

Gillan finally appeared in a film not based on a video game series, with the original sci-fi film Synthetic from writer Mark Newton and director Francis Lawrence. She starred as a female android trying to protect humanity. The film was a solid success and the box office and most of the critics liked it. It was a surprise come awards season, racking up five GRA nominations, including one for Gillan and co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt for Best Starring Couple.

Dino Crisis 2
Director: Frank Darabont
Writer: Billy Cruder




Budget: $80,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $65,753,931
Foreign Box Office: $171,277,293
Total Profit: $35,803,667



Gillan once again took center stage later in Season 4 with the sequel to Dino Crisis. The film was once again savaged by critics, but it was also once again a box office hit overseas.


Season 5

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writer: D.R. Cobb



Budget: $202,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $370,799,122
Foreign Box Office: $555,600,883
Total Profit: $488,795,575




Gillan had a little more to do in the third Splinter Cell film, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Like the previous two films, it was a huge box office hit, but critics were once again only lukewarm on this entry.


Season 10

Splinter Cell: Conviction
Director: Jose Padilha
Writer: D.R. Cobb



Budget: $240,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $439,782,199
Foreign Box Office: $542,668,483
Total Profit: $228,990,221


After sitting out the fourth Splinter Cell film, Gillan returned for Splinter Cell: Conviction in Season 10 with her biggest role in the franchise to date. Critics responded well to the film, and to her return.


Season 13

Before and After
Director: David O. Russell
Writer: Jack Slipter



Budget: $29,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $47,309,483
Foreign Box Office: $30,900,551
Total Profit: $7,040,189


For the first time in her LRF career, Karen Gillan finally starred in something smaller. She played the female lead in the lower budgeted drama-fantasy-romance Before and After. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but did manage a slight profit at the box office.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Director: Tom Cruise
Writer: D.R. Cobb



Budget: $265,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $450,478,223
Foreign Box Office: $545,565,328
Total Profit: $188,445,934


Gillan once again returned as Anna Grimsdottir for what appears to be the final Splinter Cell film. Her long-time co-star Tom Cruise took over the directorial reins for this entry, and gave her plenty to do. The film grossed just under a billion dollars at the box office, and critics were favorable to the film.


Up Next: Karen Gillan has a few projects lined up after her upcoming starring role in Red Sonja. She has a Ridley Scott-directed big budget period piece set for Season 16, and if Red Sonja is a success it could lead to sequels.

Review:

• Highest Grossing Film: Splinter Cell: Blacklist ($996,043,551)
• Most Profitable Film: Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow ($577,546,211)
• Most Awarded Film: Synthetic (5 nominations)
• Best Reviewed Film: Splinter Cell: Blacklist (Metascore: 76)

Premiere Magazine #132

The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 14 Round 2)

Round 2 is in the books, but the season is still young. Here's The Roundup....

3. Soundtracks

I talked about it last round, but unbeknownst to me, Round 2 then had two soundtracks. We're up to three soundtracks already, which is a very good sign for the competitiveness of the category. Plus, The Temptations is clearly now the early favorite for Best Soundtrack.

2. Captain Atom 2

In some ways, Captain Atom 2 is a vast improvement on the first film. The story feels quicker and more to the point, plus the action scenes felt more exciting. There were some problems with a bland supporting cast, but that wasn't enough to ruin what worked.

1. The Temptations

I really enjoyed The Temptations. I didn't really know much about the group going in, so not only did I find the film informative, but it was also pretty entertaining.

3. Soundtracks

While I really like that this season doesn't look like there will be a soundtrack shortage, sometimes the soundtracks don't seem to add to a film or even really fit the film. The soundtrack to Scream 5 falls into that camp of not really fitting the film.

2. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

A pretty face can clearly get you pretty far, but I'm still surprised how much they gave her to do in Captain Atom 2 given her limited acting range.

1. Scream 5

I did not like Scream 5. There I said it. It didn't really add anything to the series, and retreaded a lot of ground that the previous couple films did, but didn't do it nearly as well. Jay Pharoah being the villain seemed like an after thought. I honestly wonder if Alex Conn knew who the villain was when he was writing it, because it seemed like he just flipped a coin or something at the end of the day.

On Location (Season 14 Round 2)

Captain Atom 2
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada

- Melbourne, Australia

The Temptations
- Detroit, Michigan, USA

- Los Angeles, California, USA

Scream 5
- Riverside, California, USA

Box Office Breakdown (Season 14 Round 2)

Captain Atom 2
Budget: $150,000,000
Total Box Office: $359,703,502
Total Profit: $71,008,259

The Temptations
Budget: $50,000,000
Total Box Office: $138,681,418
Total Profit: $32,905,503

Scream 5
Budget: $48,000,000
Total Box Office: $79,445,884
Total Profit: -$28,399,582

Box Office Facts:
Captain Atom 2
Captain Atom 2 is the highest grossing film on Jon Hamm's LRF resume, beating out the first Captain Atom film by just over $35 million.

The Temptations
The Temptations is Clint Eastwood's third consecutive profitable film for LRF (following Missing Men and Buried Child).

Scream 5
Not only is Scream 5 the lowest grossing film in the Scream franchise, but it is the second lowest grossing sequel ever produced by LRF. The only sequel that grossed less is Life of a Champion Part 2, also written by Alex Conn.


Genre Rankings:
Captain Atom 2
Action: #61
Superhero: #22

The Temptations
Biography: #7
Musical: #1

Scream 5
Horror: #28
Mystery: #9



Season 14 Round 2
Total Box Office: $577,830,804
Total Profit: $75,514,180

Season 14 Totals
Total Box Office: $1,040,460,853
Total Profit: $80,259,629



Season 14 Total Box Office Summary
1.  Captain Atom 2 - $359,703,502
2. Tales of Skyrim: Stormcloak - $303,967,771
3. The Temptations -  $138,681,418
4. The Devil's Passage - $96,266,756
5. Scream 5 -  $79,445,884
6. The Young Pretender - $62,395,522

Release: Scream 5

Scream 5
Genre: Horror/Mystery
Director: The Soska Sisters
Writer: Alex Conn
Based on characters created by Kevin Williamson
Cast: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Kaitlyn Dever, Alex Wolff, Jay Pharoah, Lisa Kudrow, Thomas Mann, Justice Smith, Katherine Langford



Budget: $48,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $37,412,009
Foreign Box Office: $42,033,875
Total Profit: -$28,399,582

Reaction: Certainly not the numbers we were hoping for with our continuation of the Scream franchise. The film became the lowest grossing film in the entire series by a fairly drastic margin.

"Scream 5 covers A LOT of the same ground as Scream 4, but doesn't do any of it as well as its predecessor. There was no growth from the franchise's returning trio of stars, and the new characters didn't pick up any of the slack." - Justin Rodriguez, Detroit Free Press

"The plot was almost identical to the last installment in the franchise, Scream 4, but this time around the film didn't seem to have a villain and just randomly unmasked a supporting character for the finale." - Samuel O'Brien, Sight and Sound Magazine

"As much as I would like a great series like Scream to continue into the future, this film may very well prove that the franchise has run out of steam following the death of original director Wes Craven." - Dave Vrosky, Den of Geek

 

Rated R for strong bloody violence and language

Last Resort Films Jukebox: Scream 5

1. "About A Girl" - Nirvana

2. "Screws" - Dreamers

3. "Money" - Leikeli47

4. "Girlfriend in a Coma" - The Smiths

5. "Thank U Next" - Ariana Grande

6. "I Don't Love You" - My Chemical Romance