EXCLUSIVE: Charithra Chandran, who broke out playing Edwina Sharma in Netflix’s smash regal series Bridgerton, has spoken out against an entertainment industry mentality that she feels pits people of color against each other.
08.04.2024 - 14:25 / variety.com
Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Will pink and black loom large this week in Las Vegas? After all, this Monday kicks off CinemaCon, the annual exhibition industry trade show and weeklong opportunity for studios and theater operators to wax poetic about the magic of going to the movies. And in 2023, there was no greater manifestation of the claim that the movie business is back than the cultural craze of “Barbenheimer.” The inextricably linked “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” complete with double features of the cotton-candy-coated and ultra-dark blockbusters, dominated the zeitgeist for months on end. But just as the past can serve as a reminder of the collective joy of moviegoing, last year’s events may also plague the industry.
Another inevitable topic at CinemaCon will be the two labor strikes that shut down production for months and forced studios to delay several tentpoles to 2025. The box office was just starting to recapture its pre-pandemic stride, so 2024’s comparatively barren film calendar isn’t particularly helpful. “It’s easy to be cynical,” says Michael O’Leary, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, the trade group that organizes CinemaCon.
“We aren’t ignoring the reality of the marketplace. But those concerns can be overstated. CinemaCon will be a pep rally, but I’ll challenge our industry to step up.” As Hollywood heads to Sin City for CinemaCon, Variety spoke to theater owners about what they’re looking forward to having on their marquees, as well as the highs and lows of a business still struggling to find its footing.
EXCLUSIVE: Charithra Chandran, who broke out playing Edwina Sharma in Netflix’s smash regal series Bridgerton, has spoken out against an entertainment industry mentality that she feels pits people of color against each other.
EXCLUSIVE: No decision has been made official, but sources tell Deadline that New Line is the favorite to land the package that is based on the biography The Chris Farley Show with Paul Walter Hauser attached to play the legendary comedian. The pitch is based on the book by Farley’s brother Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby and will be adapted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber with Josh Gad directing. Lorne Michaels, who found and cast Farley in Saturday Night Live in the ’90s, is producing through his Broadway Video.
Manchester United are continuing to be linked with several potential new signings ahead of the summer transfer window.
Ben Stiller opens up about Zoolander 2‘s box office when it premiered, saying he felt “blindsided” by the results.
Manchester United and Chelsea are reportedly battling it out to sign RB Leipzig centre-back Castello Lukeba.
Naman Ramachandran Studiocanal’s Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black” stayed atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second consecutive weekend with £1.8 million ($2.3 million), according to numbers from Comscore. The film now has a running total of £6.3 million.
Manchester United are being linked with several potential new signings ahead of the summer transfer window.
Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic If we had the ability to assess who is the most beloved figure in music — not in overall numbers, but sheer adoration, per capita and per peer — it likely wouldn’t be Taylor or Beyoncé but Mavis Staples, who has been taking us there since the late ’60s. There being the smile that crosses anyone’s face when fortunate enough to be in the same room, or even in just giving a passing thought to that voice, that presence, and all the different ways in which Staples embodies righteousness.
Former Pop Idol winner, Michelle McManus impressed fans with her slim and striking transformation after deciding to quit alcohol completely.The singing sensation, who won the nation's hearts in the second series of the ITV singing show in 2002, has reinvented herself remarkably in recent years after confronting her struggles head on.The mum of two openly acknowledged her need to alter her relationship with alcohol - and the All This Time singer insists she feels happier and healthier for it. Finding her sobriety five years ago when she was pregnant with her first child, the Scottish siren confessed that her over-drinking was because of low self-esteem.
Broadway‘s spring newcomers continued pulling in the city’s tastemakers, tourists and the merely curious last week, with overall box office down about 10% from the previous week but most new shows filling at least 90% of their seats.
Naman Ramachandran Studiocanal’s Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black” debuted atop the U.K and Ireland box office with £2.77 million ($3.4 million), according to numbers from Comscore. It was neck-and-neck for the second spot. Entertainment Film Distributors’ “Civil War,” directed by Alex Garland and starring Kirsten Dunst, debuted with £1.82 million, including previews.
Alex Garland’s provocative “Civil War” didn’t only ignite the discourse.The film also inspired audiences to go to the cinemas this weekend where it surpassed expectations and earned $25.7 million in ticket sales in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday.It’s the biggest R-rated opening of the year to date and a record for A24, the studio behind films like “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and “The Iron Claw.”“Civil War” also unseated “Godzilla x Kong” from its perch atop the box office. The titan movie from Warner Bros.
Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Director Alex Garland’s provocative dystopian thriller “Civil War” lit up the box office with $25.7 million in its debut. It’s the first A24 movie to lead the charts in North America, setting an opening weekend record for the New York-based specialty studio. It also marks the biggest R-rated start of the year.
Civil War is having a huge start for A24!
according to Box Office Mojo.The impressive premiere puts it on track for a debut of around $26 million, Variety reported.The $50 million film, from director Alex Garland, follows a team of military-embedded journalists racing against time to reach Washington, D.C. before rebel factions descend upon the White House.Starring Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Nick Offerman and Jesse Plemons, the thriller has been dubbed a “a terrifying premonition of American collapse,” though critics say its political message was “muddled.”The Post’s Johnny Oleksinski went as far as to call it “a torturous, overrated movie without a point,” bashing its script as lousy and the acting as monotonous.Behind “Civil War” was “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which topped the charts when it premiered two weeks ago.
J. Kim Murphy The box office is united behind “Civil War.” A24‘s dystopian thriller earned$10.7 millionfrom 3,838 locations across its opening day and preview screenings, putting itself on track for a debut of around $26 million. The debut figure represents the highest opening day gross ever for A24, besting the $5.1 million earned by 2018’s “Hereditary” in its first screenings.
Naman Ramachandran Universal’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” topped the U.K. and Ireland box office with £2.8 million ($3.6 million), according to numbers from Comscore. The film now has a total of £12.7 million after two weekends.
Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Michael O’Leary, the new president and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners, is encouraging Hollywood to think smaller. Don’t get him wrong — he loves Marvel, “Mission: Impossible” and “Fast & Furious” as much as the next exhibitor. But O’Leary is urging the major studios to prioritize more than just the tentpole properties that prop up the box office.
Maxwell will embark on his ‘Serenade Tour’ with special guests Jazmine Sullivan and October London at arenas all over North America.That includes sensual stops at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Wednesday, Sept. 25 and Newark’s Prudential Center on Sunday, Oct.
Scottish boxing star Nathaniel Collins has promised "fireworks" when he goes to war in a fight for the European featherweight title next month.