How Much Money Birds Of Prey Is Expected To Make In First Weekend

DC’s next big comic book movie, Birds of Prey, comes to theatres this weekend. It’s expected to have a huge opening at the box office, where it’s projected to pull in between $110 million-$125 million globally for the three-day weekend, according to Deadline.

The movie was produced on a $97.1 million budget, which drops to $84.5 million after California’s tax credits, so Deadline estimates it won’t have trouble turning a profit.

Birds of Prey is a spin-off of Suicide Squad. That movie made $133.3 million over its opening weekend back in 2016. One important distinction between the two is that Suicide Squad released during the summer, while Birds of Prey is premiering in February.

Early social media commentary on Birds of Prey has been overwhelmingly positive. Official reviews will start to appear on Wednesday, February 5, so keep checking back for more.

Margot Robbie stars as Harley Quinn, alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, and Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya. Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor plays the bad guy, Black Mask. Birds of Prey is directed by Cathy Yan.

Now Playing: Birds Of Prey – First Look

Perfect Dark Reboot Rumors Heating Up

It may still be winter but Xbox Series X talk is heating up! We discuss the “old thing” Microsoft’s new studio, The Initiative, might be working on. Plus: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a hit, EA talks up the Xbox Series X, the mystery port on the back of the Series X might not be for diagnostics, and more!

Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, or grab an MP3 download of this week’s episode. For more awesome content, check out the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered from our new barcade set, featuring an interview with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order director Stig Asmussen. It’s an open bar; come and join us!

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It’s already an incredibly fun year of Xbox coverage, and the best is yet to come. Join us!

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Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

Update: Animal Crossing Switch Preorders Now Live at Amazon

UPDATE: the Animal Crossing Nintendo Switch is finally available for preorder at Amazon.

On March 13, Nintendo will a special edition Animal Crossing: New Horizons-themed Nintendo Switch console. It arrives exactly one week before the game (which, true to form for Nintendo, is sold separately). Preorders for the new hardware are now live at a number of retailers, including Amazon, GameStop, and Best Buy. If you want one, you might want to lock in your preorder soon, because there’s no telling whether these will sell out.

Preorder Animal Crossing: New Horizons Special Edition Nintendo Switch

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The special edition Nintendo Switch is now available to preorder at most online retailers that sell such things. Note that preorders haven’t gone live yet on Amazon, and that they’re currently sold out at Best Buy. That means if you want to make sure you get one, you’d be wise to place your preorder soon so it doesn’t sell out everywhere before you have the chance.

This Is the “V2” Nintendo Switch

This special edition of the Switch is the “V2” version of the hardware, which means it gets longer battery life than the launch Switch. It has pastel blue and green Joy-Cons. The base is cream colored and features an image of Tom, Timmy, and Tommy Nook standing on a small island in the sea. The back of the Switch is black, but it’s etched with Animal Crossing imagery.

It Does Not Include the Game

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Unfortunately, this special edition Switch does not include the game. Assuming you’ll want to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons on your Animal Crossing-themed Switch, you’ll have to buy it separately (see it at Amazon). Also available is an Animal Crossing-themed carrying case for Switch and Switch Lite, plus a pair of officially licensed Switch controllers made by PowerA, which you can see below.

Preorder Animal Crossing Carrying Case & Screen Protector

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the first game in the series since Animal Crossing: New Leaf released on the 3DS in 2012. New Horizons has a vacation theme, as you’re whisked away on the Nook Inc. Deserted Island Getaway Package. As usual, you’ll be able to customize your character and your home to your liking, shaping the landscape as you see fit. You can craft items, fish, decorate, and yuck it up with the neighbors.

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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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PS5 Price May Depend On One Key Factor, Exec Says

2020 is a big year for the PlayStation brand, as Sony is releasing the PlayStation 5 this holiday. We’ve learned a little about the next-generation console so far, like its faster loading times, but there are many questions that remained unanswered. One big one is about pricing.

What will the PS5 cost? Sony management responded to that question during an earnings call, saying those details might depend on other factors, including the competition. This is presumably a reference to the Xbox Series X, which also doesn’t have a price point yet.

“What is not very clear or visible … is because we are competing in the space,” CFO Hiroki Totoki said, though a translator. “So it is very difficult to discuss anything about the price at this time. Depending upon the price level, we may have to determine the promotion that we are going to deploy, and how much cost we are prepared to pay. So it is a question of balance.”

It is difficult to speak concretely about PS5 pricing at this stage, Totoki said, but fans and investors can be sure that Sony will “choose the optimal approach.”

For comparison, the PS4 launched in 2013 at $400 USD, while the Xbox One–which included a Kinect with every console–debuted the same year at $500 USD.

Currently, Sony is focused on nailing down the production and sales elements of the PS5 launch strategy, in addition to securing the right volume of consoles for launch, Totoki said.

The PS5 launches this year as the PlayStation 4 continues to drop off in sales. The 6.1 million PS4 consoles sold during the holiday quarter is down 25 percent year-over-year, representing the lowest holiday sales figure ever for the console. In total, the PS4 has now sold 108.9 million units, which makes it the second most successful console in history–it only trails the PS2 (150 million sales).

In other news, Sony has launched the PlayStation 5 website–but don’t expect much.

Now Playing: PS5 Will Be More Energy Efficient – GS News Update

Apex Legends Season 4 Makes Bloodhound Into A Much Scarier Hunter

Season 4: Assimilation adds Revenant as a new playable character in Apex Legends, and the synthetic nightmare even gives Caustic a run for his money when it comes to creepy one-liners (though it’s cute that Caustic is the only one who doesn’t bully him). But Revenant isn’t the only scary change to Apex Legends; Bloodhound‘s new buff has transformed them into a terrifying hunter.

In Season 4, two legends got new buffs: Crypto and Bloodhound. Crypto can no longer destroy friendly Gibraltar Dome Shields with his EMP, giving the recon legend the chance to safely use his ultimate ability while teaming up with the friendly giant. Honestly, it’s only an okay change–the buffs to Crypto in late Season 3 seem a lot better.

Bloodhound, on the other hand, got a great buff. Bloodhound’s ultimate ability, Beast of the Hunt, allows them to easily track enemies to wherever they’re hiding by marking the path someone took while moving around the map. Originally, the ability only lasted a little over half a minute. Now, Beast of the Hunt can be extended by five seconds for every target that Bloodhound downs.

Note that this effect only requires you down an enemy–you don’t actually have to kill them in order to lengthen Beast of the Hunt. So if you manage to down the two members of a squad and then defeat a third enemy from another, netting you an extra 15 seconds of Beast of the Hunt, you could possibly have enough time to track down and finish off that second team.

Beast of the Hunt is already a terrifying ability. Bloodhound elicits a monstrous roar when it activates and there’s no way to really counter the skill other than finding a way to run away without touching anything (fly through the air on an Octane Jump Pad, for instance, or disappear Into the Void with Wraith). And now the hunter can extend the duration of their hunt just by using it for its intended purpose: taking targets out. Imagine trying to run from a Bloodhound, knowing that as your teammates fall behind you, their sacrifice is only extending the chance that your foe will have enough time to ultimately hunt you down.

Now Playing: 1 Year Of Apex Legends: Highs, Lows, And Biggest Changes

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Rockstar Co-Founder Dan Houser Leaves Company

Dan Houser, the co-founder of Rockstar Games and head writer on games like Bully, Red Dead Redemption, and Grand Theft Auto, is leaving Rockstar and Take-Two Games.

According to Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, Dan Houser will be leaving the company on March 11, 2020. He previously worked on numerous GTA games as well as Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2.

In a statement published ahead of the company’s Q3 2020 financial report, Take-Two said:

“We are extremely grateful for his contributions. Rockstar Games has built some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful game worlds, a global community of passionate fans and an incredibly talented team, which remains focused on current and future projects.”

Houser already took an “extended break” that began in the spring of 2019 after the launch of Red Dead Redemption 2 in November 2018.

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Dan along with his brother Sam Houser were executives at BMG Interactive before it was acquired by Take-Two. The Houser brothers founded Rockstar Games under Take-Two in December 1998. At Rockstar, the brothers wrote and developed games like GTA and Red Dead, but also Bully, Midnight Club: Los Angeles, and Smuggler’s Run.

Houser is credited as a writer on most of the Grand Theft Auto games from Grand Theft Auto 2 to Grand Theft Auto 5, as well as head writer on Bully, Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne 3, and Red Dead Redemption 2.

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IGN has reached out to Rockstar Games for a statement.

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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

Star Wars: Mandalorian Spinoffs and Legacy Characters Are a ‘Possibility’

Disney boss Robert Iger gave an update on the future of the Star Wars Universe and where the company will be shifting its creative focus over the coming years during a quarterly earnings call.

“We’re taking a bit of a hiatus in terms of theatrical releases, we finished the nine-episode Skywalker Saga and we’re developing both television and features,” Iger explained. “The priority in the next few years is television, with The Mandalorian: Season 2 coming in October and then more coming from The Mandalorian thereafter, including the possibility of infusing it with more characters and the possibility of taking those characters in their own direction in terms of series.”

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Developing…

Disney Plus Has Seven Marvel Series In Development

The streaming service Disney+ has been pushing out plenty of original content from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and more. And there’s even more coming, including two Marvel series we didn’t know about.

Disney CEO Bob Iger briefly discussed what’s coming down the line for Marvel on Disney+. “There are seven other Marvel series in various stages of development or pre-production,” he said. Currently, we know of five series that are in production for the streaming service.

Disney+ Marvel series in development:

  • The Falcon and Winter Soldier
  • WandaVision
  • Loki
  • What If…?
  • Hawkeye

This also wouldn’t include the Disney+ Marvel-related series–Marvel’s Hero Project–as it has already been released. It is possible that Iger’s comment could include the documentary series Marvel 616, which arrives this year. The Disney CEO didn’t comment further on exactly what these series were. Additionally, Iger wasn’t also referring to Disney+ and Hulu combined though, as Hulu–on its own–has six series already in some form of production.

Hulu Marvel series in development:

  • MODOK
  • Helstrom
  • Hit Monkey
  • The Offenders

As to what the mystery shows could be at this time is unknown as they have not been revealed to the public at this time. That wasn’t the only big announcement coming from Disney+. WandaVision, The Falcon and Winter Soldier, and Mandalorian all got rough release dates for 2020.

Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company.

Now Playing: Best Things To Stream For February 2020 – Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Shudder

WandaVision Release Date Confirmed for December on Disney Plus

Disney+ will release its upcoming MCU-set series WandaVision in December 2020, Disney confirmed in its Q1 earnings presentation to investors.

WandaVision was initially slated to debut in 2021, but the release date was recently moved up to 2020, moving closer to the August release date for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Watch the new Super Bowl big game spot for all of Marvel’s Disney+ shows, including Falcon and Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki, below:

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Developing…

Disney+ Confirms August Release Date for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier

Update, 2/4: Disney has confirmed that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will premiere in August, announcing the news during their February 4 investor earnings call. 

Disney+ launched a first look at its upcoming Marvel Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki in a recent Super Bowl spot, which you can watch below.

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Disney also confirmed a December 2020 launch date for WandaVision, and an October release for Season 2 of The Mandalorian.

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Original story continues below.

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The release of Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+ has reportedly been moved up to August of this year.

According to a recent Deadline report, the highly anticipated miniseries is now expected to hit the streamer towards the end of the summer, slightly ahead of its original Fall 2020 debut, though Disney has yet to officially confirm this schedule shift.

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As it stands, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is set to be the first MCU spinoff series on the Disney+ release calendar. The Phase 4 production started filming towards the end of last year, with Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprising their roles as Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes respectively, alongside Emily VanCamp, Daniel Brühl, Desmond Chiam, Wyatt Russell, and Miki Ishikawa. The new report shares that Noah Mills has also recently signed on in an undisclosed role.

If confirmed, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s new premiere date would be the second shake-up to the Disney+ streaming schedule, as the House of Mouse previously revealed the release of Marvel’s WandaVision had been moved up to 2020, ahead of its originally planned Spring 2021 debut. It is now possible that the sitcom-style show will take the newly-opened Fall 2020 slot in order to stagger the two new shows, though exact release dates have yet to be announced.

For more on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, read our explainer on Falcon’s tenure as Captain America, check out the concept art for the new costumes, and take a closer look at Sam and Bucky’s new looks in the first poster. Alternatively, find out more about every upcoming MCU movie and TV show that has been announced so far.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.