BBC Slashes TV Budget By More Than $120M As It Grapples With Funding Freeze

Exhibition cries for a supply of films at the box office, but a flood of titles means nothing if there isn’t any marketing money put behind it. Last weekend there were five wide releases going up against Illumination/Universal’s beast Super Mario Bros Movie. Did it even make a difference? Was a proper amount spent to get audiences in seats? Or did the studios cut their losses and only pony up so much to promote them?

Veteran British actor Murray Melvin who’s best known for his role in “The Phantom of the Opera,” “A Taste of Honey” and the “Doctor Who” spin-off “Torchwood,” died April 14 at St Thomas’ hospital in London. He was 90.London-based creative director Kerry Kyriacos Michael made the announcement on Twitter and said Melvin died after taking a bad fall in December “from which he never fully recovered.” “He was one of my closest friends and will be missed by so many of us who had the privilege to know him,” Michael wrote.He had a fall in December, from which he never fully recovered.

After passing $500M globally through Thursday, Illumination/Nintendo/Universal’s The Super Mario Bros Movie is now on its way to an estimated $659M through Sunday worldwide. Of that, the international box office is estimated to rep $318.6M. 

Elon Musk’s Twitter has wrongly labeled the BBC as being “government funded.”

EXCLUSIVE: Anna-Maria Sieklucka (365 Days) has been tapped to star opposite Charlotte Kirk (The Lair) in the psychological thriller Compulsion. The film which is set to start shooting next week in Malta hails from Neil Marshall (The Descent), who will direct from his own script.

BBC has announced details of official Eurovision events in the UK that are set to coincide with this year’s contest.The 2023 competition is due to take place at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool from May 9-13. Mae Muller is representing the United Kingdom with ‘I Wrote A Song’, which the singer recently performed live for the first time.Today (April 4), it’s been confirmed that various cities across the UK will host “large-scale official screenings” of the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final to “ensure as many people can join in the fun as possible”.The locations announced so far are as follows: Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff, Darlington, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield.

Out on the town. Angelina Jolie raised eyebrows after a recent lunch with British billionaire David Mayer de Rothschild, but the outing was strictly business.

Angelina Jolie‘s lunch with David Mayer de Rothschild was strictly business!

Angelina Jolie seemed to have a good time in Malibu with billionaire David Mayer de Rothschild. The pair were all smiles after their 3-hour date at Nobu, which is one of the most popular spots for celebrities.The Hollywood star and the businessman were spotted having a casual conversation after having lunch, matching in black ensembles and enjoying their time together as they exited the restaurant.Angelina looked chic and sophisticated in a black dress with side cutouts, pairing her outfit with black heels, big sunglasses and minimal jewelry, while David looked casually dapper walking next to the actress.Online users were quick to wonder if the pair were going on a romantic date together, however they are both known for having interests in activism.

John Mayer is continuing his successful acoustic tour!

Angelina Jolie is having a long afternoon with billionaire heir David Mayer de Rothschild.

Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown will have her first novel published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, this fall, the publishing house announced today.

EXCLUSIVE: Good Deed Entertainment has acquired North American and UK rights to the indie drama Midday Black Midnight Blue, starring 2x Emmy winner Merritt Wever (Godless), slating it for a day-and-date release in June.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International The BBC has reversed a controversial decision to disband its professional choir, the BBC Singers. The corporation confirmed on Friday that it’s “suspending” the proposal to close the group, and that the BBC Singers will also appear in this summer’s annual classical concert series, the BBC Proms. In a statement, the BBC said it has “received approaches from a number of organizations offering alternative funding models for the BBC Singers. We have agreed with the Musicians’ Union that we will suspend the proposal to close the BBC Singers, while we actively explore these options. If viable, these alternative options would secure the future of the ensemble.”

EXCLUSIVE: Production has wrapped on a Bulgarian live-action short film starring Oscar-nominated Bulgarian actor Maria Bakalova. The film, titled Това, Kоето Oстава (English title: What Stays After), is directed by Dimitris Georgiev. The short is produced by No Blink Pictures, New European Wave Entertainment and Bakalova’s production company Five Oceans, co-founded with fellow actor and filmmaker Julian Kostov (Shadow and Bone, The Toxic Avenger).

BBC Breakfast's Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt may have early starts most days, but that doesn't mean they can't let their hair down after finishing.The duo were spotted indulging in some pints in Manchester City Centre on Friday afternoon, where they looked worlds-away from their on-screen personas. Keeping warm in the rather chilly temperatures, Naga, 48, donned a black North Face jacket, which she wore over a black turtleneck jumper.

Vivienne Chow To the 12 members of Mirror, forming a boy band and becoming Hong Kong’s Canto-pop singing sensation upon winning a reality show in 2018 was a dream come true. Five years on, the boys are dreaming bigger than ever. “Some of us really want to join Marvel,” Mirror member Edan Lui tells Variety in an interview. The statement may come across as a joke. But no, it is not, as fellow member Anson Lo, Lui’s co-star in the 2021 hit ViuTV BL drama “Ossan’s Love Hong Kong,” echoes: “We want to get on some talk shows in the U.S. as well, or any Hollywood movies, TV, live performances. Yes, please invite us.” The band’s Hollywood wishlist did not emerge just out of the blue. It came after the recording of their English debut single “Rumours,” a catchy EDM-influenced tune that has just been released worldwide Friday (March 17), along with a storied music video that follows the 12 members — Frankie Chan, Alton Wong, Lokman Yeung, Stanley Yau, Anson Kong, Jer Lau, Ian Chan, Jeremy Lee, Keung To, Tiger Yau, Lui and Lo — on a secret mission after a mysterious girl, jammed with dance sequences set in the Hong Kong streetscape.

The Resolution Foundation has warned that more than half a million people on benefits are likely to see their support cut back as a result of the UK Government’s welfare reforms. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced what he described as the “biggest change to our welfare system in a decade” during Wednesday’s Spring Budget, with the scrapping of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) to assess eligibility for sickness benefits.

The Chancellor has announced a major financial change for customers on prepayment meters following fears of rising energy bills.

New research from leading online pension provider, PensionBee, reveals that increasing the Annual Allowance could be the most popular change to pension tax allowances in the upcoming Spring Statement on Wednesday.