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I give a review here from the film "X-Men Apocalypse" below

"This is Bryan Singer's fourth X-Men film (fifth superhero film overall). This breaks the record set by Sam Raimi and Christopher Nolan, who managed to direct three superhero films (Spider-Man and Batman, respectively).

Here I don't understand the part above "This breaks the record set by Sam Raimi........."

It should be present perfect tense such as ''this has broken the record....'' or it should be in the past simple tense such as "this broke the record......"

a. Is there any rule in English that I can use "present simple tense'' instead of ''present perfect tense"?

b. If it is, then when to use them? (in which situations)

c. Do they carry the same meaning sometimes?

Please see the part no.12 in the site given below source:http://marvel-movies.wikia.com/wiki/X-Men:_Apocalypse_Trivia

Indranil Bar
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  • Present simple tense can be used for breaking news, and to me, this sounds like an instance of that. (Of course, the news is now no longer breaking ... but it looks like the webpage was written before X-Men Apocalypse was released.) – Peter Shor Jun 13 '17 at 16:15
  • Since the webpage was written before X-Men Apocolypse was released, neither present perfect nor past would be appropriate. But both will break and break are appropriate tenses. – Peter Shor Jun 13 '17 at 16:16
  • However, you will also see this phrasing used while a movie is being actively promoted, during its run. There is some hyperbole here, trying to make readers more excited about seeing the film. – Spencer Jun 13 '17 at 16:27

2 Answers2

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This webpage was written before X-Men Apocalypse was released. (It says "Bryan Singer confirmed that the film will take place in the 1980s.")

Since the sentence was written before the film was released, neither present perfect nor past would be appropriate tenses, as they both place events in the past.

Both will break and breaks would be appropriate verb forms. This use of the present tense feels to me like the one in newspaper headlines, sports commentary, etc. ... it is used to describe significant events that are happening right now.

Peter Shor
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Present tense can be used to give a description of something. For example, I can describe a painting:

Three pears are in a bowl on a table. A woman in an apron is seated behind the table. Etc.

I can describe a film:

In this film, Bobby Famous plays a cruel stepfather, and Sally Nobody upstages him as the social worker who gets him arrested.

The sentence you're asking about is simply a descriptive sentence, along the same lines.

aparente001
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