EXCLUSIVE: Blue Fox Entertainment has taken the US rights to Paul A. Kaufman’s YA dramedy Butter. An autumn theatrical release is currently planned. The movie tells the story of Butter (Alex Kersting), a smart, funny high school junior who happens to be obese. Butter manages to befriend the prettiest girl at school, Anna (McKaley Miller), via
Film
Warning: The following interview contains some spoilers about Black Widow, opening July 9 in theaters and on Disney+ Premier. After being delayed for more than a year due to Covid, Black Widow, the second feature movie in the MCU post the franchise’s pinnacle, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, will finally see the light of day. Industry estimates project
Refresh for latest…: Universal’s F9 is gearing up to hit the $500M mark globally, a milestone it will cross on Monday as it becomes the first Hollywood movie to do so during the pandemic era, and the first since any studio film originally released during 2019. The Justin Lin-helmed title will also join China’s Hi,
Summer of Soul (Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) will report a three-day cum of $650K in 752 theaters in North America for a per screen average of $865, distributor Searchlight said of the Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson doc about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. The film, with an A+ CinemaScore, performed best in
Questlove’s Summer of Soul is up to 753 theaters as the doc about the 1969 ‘Black Woodstock’ concert in Harlem that debuted in two locations last weekend crossed into arthouse, commercial and urban venues. Not that it was easy, said Frank Rodriguez, SVP General Sales Manager, Searchlight Pictures. “Exhibitors are eager to get back on
Focus Features is shifting Downton Abbey 2 from Dec. 22 to Friday, March 18, 2022. Universal Pictures International will release internationally on the same date. The pic’s original principal cast have returned for the second film, which wraps production in August. New additions are Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West. The screenplay is by
In the wake of his departure from Studio Movie Grill, that circuit’s founder Brian Schultz has launched Look Dine-In Cinemas, another luxury dine-in exhibition concept. Look is taking over three Studio Movie Grill California leases and reopening the venues in the near future: Monrovia (July 15th), Downey (July 22nd) and Glendale (July 29). Look Dine-In
Friday AM Update: Universal had not one, but two wide release previews last night as they head into the four-day Independence Day weekend, with both DreamWorks Animation’s The Boss Baby: Family Business, and Blumhouse’s The Forever Purge grossing $1.3M apiece. Those looking for more technicality: Boss Baby 2 took in $1.31M at 2,700 theaters from shows which began
As Broadway gets ready to rock with you once again, there’s a new man in the mirror for the Michael Jackson musical. The producers said today that Myles Frost will play the King of Pop in MJ, replacing Ephraim Sykes, who has exited to film a movie. He’ll take over the coveted role for the
A24 got ahead of the Independence Day wide release competition yesterday with the opening of their Sundance Janicza Bravo directed thriller Zola which took in $505K at 1,468 theaters for a 6th place rank. The movie, based on the zany Twitter thread, boasts 88% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and is expected to bring in $2M-$4M
UPDATED: Netflix said Wednesday that My Little Pony: A New Generation will debut on the streamer on September 24, 2021, the same date it had been planned to premiere when the eOne animated pic was set up at Paramount. Netflix acquired global rights in February when the pandemic was wrecking havoc with movie theaters. The
Lionsgate’s Nicolas Cage self parody feature The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent will open on April 22, 2022. The title was previously unset. In the action comedy, Nicolas Cage stars as… Nicolas Cage. Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous
After raising the bar on what a movie can open to during the pandemic with F9‘s $70M weekend, Universal is adding a one-two wide release punch to the weekend with the debut of two titles geared at two different demos: DreamWorks Animation’s The Boss Baby: Family Business which is set to do $15M+ and Blumhouse’s The Forever
STXfilms has dated four movies for theatrical release: the Kristen Bell-Vince Vaughn coupon comedy Queenpins for Sept. 10, the sports drama National Champions for Nov. 24, the Chris Pine-Ben Foster reteam Violence of Action for Dec. 10 and Guy Ritchie’s untitled film for Jan. 21, 2022. “We have been busy building a strong and diverse slate with a number of
Refresh for latest…: As it vroomed into domestic theaters, turbocharging North America with a pandemic record $70M start, Universal’s F9 also opened in 22 new overseas markets, lifting the international box office cume to $335M and putting $405M in the tank globally. F9 has surpassed the lifetime of last summer’s Tenet both internationally and worldwide,
EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures International Productions has acquired worldwide distribution rights to The Calm Beyond, a survivalist thriller that premiered in competition at the 2020 Adelaide Film Festival. This is the feature directorial debut of the late Joshua Wong, the award-winning commercials and shorts director, who tragically lost his battle with cancer in December 2020. From a
IFC Film’s Werewolves Within saw the biggest debut in a weekend without many new limited releases. Directed by Josh Ruben and written by Mishna Wolff, the comedy-horror flick stars Sam Richardson (Veep) and Milana Vayntrub. In the Ubisoft game-based film, a proposed pipeline creates divisions within the small town of Beaverfield and a snowstorm traps
Even with close to 40% of the Canadian box office offline as Ontario remains closed until late July, and the Arclight/Pacific Theatres closed in L.A., the total weekend domestic box office came in at $98.08M per Comscore’s early Sunday AM estimate. Some distributors even have the weekend higher at $99.1M. It’s a great indication that
Bruce Springsteen woke Broadway from a 15-month sleep Saturday, returning to live performance to deliver an emotional, updated rendition of his 2017 smash Springsteen on Broadway to an audience so wildly enthusiastic the star himself cautioned against “cheering every dumb f*cking thing” he said lest the show last all night. As it was, the re-opening
EXCLUSIVE: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has hired industry veteran Kevin Holloway as Head Film Buyer. The news comes in the wake of the cineaste chain arising out of bankruptcy and opening a new location in El Paso, TX. Plans for new theaters in Manhattan, Staten Island, St. Louis, and Washington D.C. are scheduled for this year.