‘Avatar’ Re-Release Proves There’s Still Interest in Pandora. Will ‘The Way of Water’ Be Another Box Office Smash?

The tenth “Apes” film — also the fourth in 20th Century’s reboot saga — will compete against Warner Bros.’ “Mad Max: Fury Road” spinoff “Furiosa” and will debut three weeks after the Marvel blockbuster “Captain America: New World Order.” Production began this past week in Sydney, Australia. Set years after the events of the 2017 film “War for the Planet of the Apes,” “Kingdom” will explore the legacy of the reboot saga’s hero Caesar, played by Andy Serkis, who gave his life to free his tribe.

James Bye appears to have a new Hollywood fan – hit movie maker and director James Gunn. For Strictly Come Dancing’s Movie Week, James and dancer partner Amy Dowden paid homage to Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy. Dressed as frontman Peter Quill, James had an uncanny resemblance to the character’s actor Chris Pratt.

“Amsterdam,” the new David O. Russell historical mystery, has enough mega-watt stars to power a midsized American city.The cast includes (but is not limited to) Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rami Malek, Chris Rock, Mike Myers, Zoe Saldaña, Timothy Olyphant and Matthias Schoenaerts. If there’s a lead in the movie, it’s Christian Bale, who developed the project with Russell and who stars as an injured veteran of World War I who is now looking to help his fellow wounded soldiers start their new lives in New York.

Jordan Moreau “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” is slowly getting ready to take a bite out of the weekend box office. It earned $575,000 from 3,453 theaters in Thursday previews, while David O. Russell’s “Amsterdam” picked up $550,000 million from 3,005 theaters. Sony’s live-action/CGI hybrid, co-financed by TSG, is a family-friendly movie about a singing crocodile, starring Grammy-nominated artist Shawn Mendes as the titular reptile. The studio projects an opening haul of $11 million to $12 million, with some projections belting out upwards of $15 million. With a budget of $50 million, it will need plenty of support from kids and families over the fall to snap up a profit. The cast includes Javier Bardem as Hector P. Valenti, Lyle’s flamboyant owner, Brett Gelman as Mr. Grumps and Constance Wu, Scoot McNairy and Winslow Fegley as the Primm family. The Primms move to a new house in New York City, where they discover Lyle, a saltwater crocodile with the voice of a high-end recording artist, living in their attic.

It was a varied offering at the international box office this weekend with newcomers from Hollywood and offshore markets, as well as notable holds, as we inch closer to full-on action later in October. 

Elizabeth Taylor “Avatar” star Sigourney Weaver revealed some insight about James Cameron’s highly anticipated “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which premieres Dec. 16. “The story is about family, about our families trying to stay together [and] the lengths to which we all go to protect each other and protect the place where we live,” Weaver told Variety at a special screening for her new film “The Good House” in New York City. “It’s very much based on Jim’s family and his joy in the family; and also, how vulnerable you are when you have children.” A hit for over a decade since its original release, “Avatar” once again dominated the box office with an impressive re-release in theaters. Ahead of the upcoming sequel, the 2009 sci-fi epic wowed with $30 million worldwide in ticket sales, as reported on Sept. 25.

Fans will be waiting longer than expected for the fourth “Star Trek” movie.

The upcoming “Star Trek” sequel originally scheduled for December, 2023 has been undated and removed from Paramount’s upcoming release slate, TheWrap as confirmed. No further information about the decision has been disclosed, but the move comes almost exactly a month after director Matt Shakman exited the project.

There’s a big update about the anticipated fourth movie to Star Trek.

No surprise here as Paramount has temporarily removed Star Trek from its release schedule. The news comes a month after director Matt Shakman exited the project. A search for a new director is underway.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter CCH Pounder has joined the cast of the upcoming HBO Max limited series “Full Circle,” Variety has learned. Pounder is the latest addition to the ensemble cast, joining previously announced stars Zazie Beetz, Dennis Quaid, Claire Danes, Timothy Olyphant, Jharrel Jerome, and Sheyi Cole. Per the official description of the six-episode series, “An investigation into a botched kidnapping uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present day New York City.” Pounder is best known for playing Claudette Wyms in the groundbreaking FX cop drama “The Shield.” She earned an Emmy nomination for her work in the show in 2005. Pounder has also received Emmy nominations for roles in the shows “The X-Files,” “ER,” and “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.” She also recently starred in the CBS series “NCIS: New Orleans” for seven seasons. On the film side, she played Mo’at in the James Cameron blockbuster “Avatar,” a role she will reprise in the sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

Refresh for latest…: There was extra oomph at the international box office this weekend as Disney’s rerelease of 20th Century Studios’ Avatar grossed $20.5M from 50 offshore markets for a $30.5M global launch. The remastered 4K HDR version of the biggest movie ever was catnip to fans with No. 1s in several markets and, as designed, sets the table for James Cameron’s upcoming sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Despite 13 years passing since “Avatar” first hit theaters, moviegoers are apparently still dazzled by the striking world of Pandora. In anticipation of the sequel “The Way of Water,” which opens in December, Disney re-released James Cameron’s original science-fiction epic to promising returns. The film generated $10 million in North America and $20.5 million internationally over the weekend, a huge result for movie that opened more than a decade ago, even if that movie happens to be the highest-grossing global release in history. With this weekend’s returns, “Avatar” widens its lead as the biggest movie of all time with $2.85 billion worldwide.

Netflix has announced The Witcher season three will be released in summer 2023.The release date was revealed during the streaming service’s TUDUM event on Saturday (September 24), in a segment presented by Geralt of Rivia actor Henry Cavill.The Witcher spin-off series, Blood Origin, also received a release date of December 25, 2022. The four-episode prequel series, set 1200 years before the events of the main show, will explore how “the first Witcher came to be”.Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting) was also announced to be joining the cast as a narrator character, who plays a pivotal part “in connecting Blood Origin’s past with The Witcher’s future”.Worlds will collide.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo. The flick, which The Post called “too obvious,” is predicted to enjoy a $75.4 million domestic run, according to Forbes.Long before its debut, it had already generated buzz because of rumors that Wilde, 38, is dating the film’s leading man, 28-year-old British megastar Harry Styles.Flying into second place was the 4K re-release of 2009 Oscar-winner “Avatar,” with an over $3.3 million take.

Jordan Moreau Netflix is making 2023 the year of “The Witcher.” Announced at the streamer’s fan event Tudum on Saturday, the “Witcher” spinoff series “The Witcher: Blood Origin” will debut on Dec. 25, and Season 3 of the main “Witcher” show will follow in the summer of 2023. Fans last visited “The Witcher” universe nearly one year ago, when Season 2 of the Henry Cavill fantasy series dropped in December 2021. Since then, it’s spawned even more spinoffs. In addition to the “Blood Origin” limited series, an anime feature is on the way and a family-friendly “Witcher” series is in the works.

The thriller directed by Olivia Wilde and starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles was produced on a budget reported to be at around $35 million, so this opening puts the film on track to earn a modest theatrical profit if it gets some help from overseas theaters. The Venice premiere of “Don’t Worry Darling” was beset with constant rumors about animosity between Wilde and Pugh during the film’s production, and reviews from critics during and after the festival didn’t help matters with a 38% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Following the groundbreaking release of “Avatar” in 2009, James Cameron’s epic sci-fi franchise about a humanoid species called the Na’vi is finally back with the first of several sequels. After a 13-year gap, the saga will pick up with “Avatar: The Way of Water” in December before continuing on with what are currently being dubbed “Avatar 3”, “Avatar 4” and “Avatar 5” in 2024, 2026 and 2028, respectively.

Disney yesterday began overseas rollout on the remastered rerelease of James Cameron’s Avatar in five early markets with the Na’vi seeing a collective $877K gross. The 4K high dynamic range version was No. 1 in France at $513K, coming in 8% ahead of the comparable 3D rerelease of Titanic in 2012.