Film

The UK’s high-end TV (HETV) and film industries have defied the Covid odds and are back, pulling off a record year in 2021 as they delivered a massive £5.6B ($7.6BN) of production spend. Today’s annual statistics from the BFI showed a hefty turnaround after last year’s spend fell by 20%, in a year that included

Paramount Pictures EVP of International Marketing & Distribution, Cameron Saunders, is leaving the studio to pursue other opportunities. This news was first announced when Paramount reorganized its global distribution and marketing departments, however, the EVP’s last day is today. Saunders arrived to Paramount in 2018. He oversaw the studio’s theatrical regional office for Europe, the

Broadway’s ongoing, twice-annual 2-for-1 ticket special seems to have help stave off what might otherwise have been a more precipitous drop in attendance last week as box office receipts dropped about 9 percent to $15,038,225. Paid attendance of 139,584 for the week ending Jan. 30 was off by about 8% from the previous week, roughly

The Battle At Lake Changjin II (aka Water Gate Bridge) led the Chinese New Year box office on day one today, coming in at an estimated RMB 657.6M ($103.4M). While that’s certainly an enviable single-market one-day score — and is the second-biggest CNY opening day ever — it’s about 35% below the record-breaking debut day

Giant theater chain AMC Entertainment said it’s selling $500 million in bonds to pay down maturing debt and related fees, costs premiums and expenses. The senior secured notes, which carry an interest rate of 10.5%, will be used pay down debt maturing in 2025. AMC’s refinancing was expected. In early Jan., CEO Adam Aron said

After two weekends without any major-studio wide releases amid Omicron fears, Paramount and Lionsgate will try to lure moviegoers back with Jackass Forever and AGC Studios’ Moonfall, respectively Exhibition hopefully will see more traffic after the Northeast experienced cabin fever from winter storm Kenan last weekend. Rolling winter-into-spring breaks don’t go into effect until February 18,

Broadway’s pre-Omicron autumn might best be described using a song lyric sung on stage every night by American Utopia‘s David Byrne: “Same as it ever was.” As disappointing but hardly surprising private box office data obtained by The New York Times indicates, Broadway audiences returned from the 18-month pandemic shutdown last fall with old habits

Lionsgate’s feature take of Judy Blume’s classic Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret has been scheduled for Sept. 16 this year. As Deadline first reported in early March 2020, the studio won the film rights to Blume’s 1970 novel in an auction, green lighting the feature with a $30M production cost and Kelly Fremon Craig directing

Refresh for latest…: Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home scaled fresh heights this session as it reached an amazing new milestone by crossing the $1B mark at the international box office. The offshore cume through Sunday is an estimated $1.003B for a global total of $1.74B. With the new milestone, No Way Home becomes only the 10th movie ever

Cinemas from Philly to New York State and Boston (Coolidge Corner Theatre, you were missed) shuttered all or part of Sat., rattling but not routing the specialty box office. And a shout-out to theaters in NYC proper where all stayed open – sparse by day but picking up in the evening thanks to “younger people

Refresh for chart and more analysis No one can complain that nobody went to the movies this weekend, because the major studios didn’t really give them a reason to come out. That’s because there aren’t any new wide releases as the majors became fearful about Omicron’s impact coupled with a historically lackluster domestic box office

Winter Storm Kenan, which meteorologists are describing as a “bomb cyclone,” is dominating the Northeast from as far south as Delaware into New Jersey, up the Eastern seaboard to the top of Maine. The box office was already horrible, with studios holding back new wide releases this weekend, and now there will be further impact

GameStop: Rise of the Players, Adrien Brody passion project Clean, Cannes winner Compartment No. 9, Danish upscale restaurant drama A Taste of Hunger, Michel Franco’s Sundown and Woody Allen’s latest Rifkin’s Festival hit theatres crowded by Oscar contenders in a specialty market consumed by awards season (and as a major storm looks set to pummel the

Broadway continued its winter freeze last week, with box office dropping 11% to a slim $16,494,289 for its meager 21-show roster. Attendance for the week ending Jan. 23 was 152,135, a slip of 6% from the previous week. The reduced roster – the previous week had 25 productions on the boards – did seem to

Paramount/Nickelodeon/Spin Master’s Paw Patrol: The Movie has sauntered across the $100M threshold at the international box office. The Cal Brunker-directed animated action adventure now counts $100.3M to date overseas, and over $140M global. The film has been on a staggered overseas rollout, beginning in just six markets in mid-August last year, and continuing to add new hubs throughout September and

Downton Abbey: A New Era is a movie that could truly bring older adults back to cinemas, and Focus Features, Universal International and Carnival Films are going to put the title in the best place possible in hopes that Covid eases. The companies have moved the sequel from its original March 18 release date to

More bragging rights for Sony, the studio dedicated to the theatrical window and distributor of the highest grossing movie of the pandemic, Spider-Man: No Way Home; their Marvel sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage now counts $213.517M at the domestic box office, clicking past the 2018 first title’s $213.515M. Venom: Let There Be Carnage made $18,5K at

Sony Pictures has acquired global rights to Rosalind Ross’ feature directorial debut Father Stu, starring and produced by Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg. Written by Ross, the film follows the true-life story of boxer-turned-priest, Father Stuart Long, whose journey from self-destruction to redemption inspired countless people along the way. Sony has set a theatrical release of Father

EXCLUSIVE: 2020 was a year of utter bewilderment as movie theaters went largely dark from Covid, and studios grappled with a complete stoppage of distribution. But with great chaos, came great opportunity as Lionsgate vets Mike Polydoros and Will Preuss decided to open the doors to PaperAirplane, a first-of-its kind marketing agency which is liaison