Universal Pictures films to open in PH cinemas ahead of US release

 

Brace for more exciting times at the theaters this June as Universal Pictures International (PH) releases three of its most exciting films this year in local cinemas ahead of its U.S. release.

Opening in Philippine cinemas on June 8, Jurassic World Dominion, from Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, propels the more than $5 billion franchise into daring, uncharted territory, featuring never-seen dinosaurs, breakneck action and astonishing new visual effects.

The film takes the audience to a bold, timely and breathtaking new adventure that spans the globe and to the epic conclusion of the Jurassic era as two generations unite for the first time.  Starring returning cast Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, the film also stars Oscar®-winner Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill.  From Jurassic World architect and director Colin Trevorrow (who steered 2015’s Jurassic World to a record-shattering $1.7 billion global box office), Dominion takes place four years after Isla Nublar has been destroyed. Dinosaurs now live—and hunt—alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures.

The film features new cast members DeWanda Wise (She’s Gotta Have It), Emmy nominee Mamoudou Athie (Archive 81), Dichen Lachman (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Scott Haze (Minari) and Campbell Scott (The Amazing Spider-Man 2). The film’s returning cast includes BD Wong as Dr. Henry Wu, Justice Smith as Franklin Webb, Daniella Pineda as Dr. Zia Rodriguez and Omar Sy as Barry Sembenè. 

In the hair-raising horror The Black Phone that will open June 22, director Scott Derrickson (writer-director of Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Marvel’s Doctor Strange) returns to his terror roots and partners again with the foremost brand in the genre, Blumhouse, with this new horror thriller.

The movie introduces us to Finney Shaw, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy (played by Mason Thames in his first film role), is abducted by a sadistic killer (played by four-time Oscar® nominee Ethan Hawke in the most terrifying role of his career) and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.

Rise and shine and head out to the theaters on June 29 as the world’s most loved Minions are back with Gru in Minions: The Rise of Gru. From the biggest global animated franchise in history, comes the origin story of how the world’s greatest supervillain first met his iconic Minions, forged cinema’s most despicable crew and faced off against the most unstoppable criminal force ever assembled in Minions: The Rise of Gru. Long before he becomes the master of evil, Gru (Oscar® nominee Steve Carell) is just a 12-year-old boy in 1970s suburbia, plotting to take over the world from his basement. When Gru crosses paths with the Minions, including Kevin, Stuart, Bob, and Otto—a new Minion sporting braces and a desperate need to please—this unexpected family joins forces. Together, they build their first lair, design their first weapons, and strive to execute their first missions.

Featuring more spectacular action than any film in Illumination history and packed with the franchise’s signature subversive humor, Minions: The Rise of Gru stars a thrilling new cast, including Taraji P. Henson, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren and Danny Trejo. The film also stars Russell Brand, Michelle Yeoh and Oscar® winner Julie Andrews as Gru’s mother.