A new film claimed the box office crown this weekend - Minions took in just over $18 million. No other films opened within the top 5. Other openers from places 6-10 this week include Knock Knock which opened in 7th place and Slow West which opened in 10th.

So we are about half way through 2015 so it makes sense to give you all an insight to what films have been my favourites of the year so far. I actually believe that I haven't seen too many terrible movies so far this year which makes my bottom ten list a little more competitive than my top ten! This post will focus on my 10 favourites from the year so far - please note that these are films that were released in 2015 in the UK so may have been released earlier in the US.

Jurassic World continued to defeat the UK Box Office with a relatively strong hold for a Summer blockbuster. The Take That concert was a dark horse and debuted in second place with $1.5 million. Also within the top 5 was Mr Holmes which debuted at number 4 and Entourage which underperformed by opening at number 5.

Elsewhere on the chart, The Longest Ride also bombed by debuting at number 7 with a mere $650,000.

Another week brings another bunch of exciting movie news stories. Not only did we get exciting news such as the reveal of 'Get Smurfy' and the announcements of 'Maleficent 2' & cast news of 'Pitch Perfect 3', I have another 5 stories that are worth your time!

• Passengers - There has been a lot of controversy lately surrounding this movie - in particular, the amount of money that its leading cast members are being paid. However, there have been some developments on this story over the past week. Not only has Jennifer Lawrence deservedly been given her $20 million paycheque, she will receive 30% of the film's profit (if it goes green at all). This shows how much star power Lawrence have and how much Sony believe that she will bring audiences into the cinema. Furthermore, Chris Pratt's paycheque has also increased - he was only originally being paid $10 million but thanks to Jurassic World's record breaking opening, he is now being paid $12 million. There has been no word to whether he is getting a percentage of the profit. What do you think about this? Should Pratt and Lawrence be paid equally? Who deserves more? - COMMENT BELOW

• Ghostbusters 2016 - Plot details have been revealed for the upcoming all female Ghostbusters! Here it is "[Kristen] Wiig and [Melissa] McCarthy play a pair of unheralded authors who write a book positing that ghosts are real. Flash forward a few years and Wiig lands a prestigious teaching position at Columbia U. (Like the original, the story takes place in New York City, even though it’s being shot in Boston.) Which is pretty sweet, until her book resurfaces and she is laughed out of academia. Wiig reunites with McCarthy and the other two proton pack-packing phantom wranglers, and she gets some sweet revenge when ghosts invade Manhattan and she and her team have to save the world" Source: ScreenRant

• EQ: A Film About Emotional Intelligence - I don't usually report on independent or short films but this one caught my attention. I saw it on my Facebook feed and watched the teaser trailer - it looks really intriguing. However, to make the film go ahead, the makers need to raise funds - I'll leave a link here. 

On June 19th 2015, a Q & A session was held at the Odeon in London's Leicester Square for the upcoming movie 'Paper Towns'. The tickets were free so I thought I'd hop on the train and go and join the session. The cinema was packed - full of fans of John Green's novels. We were only expecting the session to be with John Green but there were many more exciting surprises throughout the evening. The session was presented by Youtubers Dan Howell and Phil Lester.  A recording of the event will be live on June 20th on Youtube if you want to see the questions and answers that were covered.

So yesterday, I covered 5 animation trailers that have all been released this month. I explained that this was because of the major release 'Inside Out'. Well another movie has joined the competition and the trailer is from a film that we weren't expecting just yet - Kung Fu Panda 3! The film won't come out till January 2016 but I'm guessing Dreamwork's are trying to get ahead of the game and launch a massive promotional campaign! Due to Home producing iffy numbers at the box office, Kung Fu Panda 3 will need to be producing around $400-500 million Worldwide to put smiles on the guys at Dreamworks' faces.

Due to the upcoming US release of 'Inside Out' this Friday - all the animation companies are starting to release new trailers that will play in front of what is expected to be one of Pixar's greatest movies - with over 60 reviews, the movie still has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. So what movies are fighting it out? Zootopia. The Good Dinosaur, Hotel Transylvania 2, Peanuts & The Secret Life of Pets. I was originally only planning to cover Hotel T 2 today but due to this fierce competition with all of these releases, lets turn this into a brawl! Let the battle begin!

It has been reported by both 'The Wrap' and 'CinemaBlend' that Disney are moving forward with the sequel to Maleficent which went on to become one of the biggest hits of last year, grossing nearly $760 million worldwide.

All of this news came about when it was revealed that Linda Woolverton will return to write the script for the film. I loved Maleficent (my favourite film of 2014) and believe she did a fantastic job so I am excited to hear that she will be returning.

Even though it hasn't been confirmed, it is expected that Angelina Jolie will also return and reprise her role as the iconic villain. Joe Roth will also return as producer.

However, rumour has it that Robert Stromberg will not return to the picture - this isn't surprising as he didn't have much experience in the directing scene and many critics were divided so maybe a more experienced director will do a better job? Maybe Tim Burton will pick up Maleficent 2 after he originally dropped out of the original?

Maleficent 2 is only in the development stages so a release date is yet to be decided on. Expect more details to be revealed at D23 in August.

Jurassic World crushed all competition this weekend with the highest opening of the year so far - $30.2 million.

Elsewhere on the chart, London Road debuted at number 8 with around $330K. No other movies tried to open against the monstrous Jurassic World.

THEY'RE BACK (again) PITCHES!
Everyone has been speculating for the past few days about whether Kendrick & Wilson will return for the 3rd movie - Wilson was more likely to as she spoke about it in an interview earlier on in the year but we were unsure about Kendrick. However, according to 'The Hollywood Reporter' and the official Snapchat for Pitch Perfect 2 - both aca-amazing actresses will return. This is great news as both actresses basically make the Pitch Perfect movies - it wouldn't be the same without them.

Universal has also issued a release day for the film - July 21st 2017 - this is slightly later than Pitch Perfect 2's release but maybe Universal believe even more money will be made when summer is at its peak - Summer 2017 will be competitive with the new Pirates of the Caribbean, Toy Story 4, Spider-Man, Furious 8 all competing - can Pitch Perfect 3 keep up? Well, with almost a $70 million opening - most likely!

Other details to be confirmed are Paul Brooks, Max Handelman and Elizabeth Banks will all be returning to the film to produce. It still hasn't been confirmed if Banks will return to direct. Hailee Steinfield also looks set to return as she signed a more-than-one-movie contract.

The news has also been confirmed by Kendrick & Wilson on their Twitter accounts also:

I know I spilt the beans a little while ago, but at least now it's OFFICIAL!! PITCH PERFECT 3, July 21, 2017!!! Sing 'ahhhhh' on 3 pitches x

— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) June 15, 2015

Happening #3 https://t.co/stKYCSHqs9 pic.twitter.com/TRRMW3YeiG

— Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) June 15, 2015

More to Come.

Returning to cinemas in 2017 are everyone's favourite small blue creatures - The Smurfs! On Sunday (14th June), it was global Smurfs day and Sony Pictures Animation let the world know what project they have planned next - Get Smurfy! This will be the third movie in the modern day Smurfs movie franchise and it has been revamped with a whole new cast! - Disney starlet turned singer Demi Lovato will voice Smurfette, Rainn Wilson will voice the villain 'Gargamel' and Mandy Patinkin will voice Papa Smurf - the latter seems like an almost perfect casting choice as his voice sounds like it will make a great Papa Smurf! For more details - continue reading!

This week, there has been lots of movie news to get us all excited! The following stories are ones that you need to know about!

Spy took the box office crown from San Andreas this weekend. However, the comedy did adequate business, taking in just under $4 million. Also opening in the top 5 was Insidious: Chapter 3 which took in around $2.2 million which is good for a 2015 horror movie opening.

The only other movie to open within the top 10 was Dil Dhadakne Do - the limited release took in $325K.

Another chart champion was crowned this weekend - San Andreas. The disaster movie over performed and took in just over $7 million.

Also opening within the top 10 was comedy Man Up which took the number 7 spot. Danny Collins also cracked the top 10 taking 10th place.

What is the highest grossing Marvel movie? - Check here! Click 'Continue Reading' for the infographic.