Box Office: ‘Lightyear’ Launches With Solid $5.2 Million in Thursday Previews

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterBox office watchers were worried that family audiences had all but forgotten about movie theaters… until Gru and his mischievous yellow friends came along. As it turns out, parents with young kids weren’t abandoning their local cinemas.

Jordan Moreau “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” the latest animated entry in the family-friend “Despicable Me” franchise, opened to $10.75 million in Thursday previews from 3,350 theaters in North America. It will expand to 4,391 theaters on Friday.Heading into the Fourth of July holiday weekend, “Minions: The Rise of Gru” is expected to gross between $65 million and $75 million in its extra-long opening. Those current projections forecast that the fifth entry in the animated franchise is on track for the lowest opening since the original “Despicable Me” picked up $56 million back in 2010.

Fans of Mare of Easttown may not have to wait too much longer for another HBO limited series starring Kate Winslet: The two-time Emmy winner is set to star in and produce an adaptation of Hernan Diaz’s 2022 novel Trust.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterTiny yellow henchmen will attempt to spark fireworks at the box office over the July 4 weekend.“Minions: The Rise of Gru,” the fifth installment in Universal and Illumination’s popular “Despicable Me” franchise, is headed for a first-place finish, with the family film expected to bring in $65 million to $75 million from 4,400 North American theaters during the extended holiday period. Though it’s the only new nationwide release, “Minions” will have to fend off holdover titles including Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis,” “Jurassic World: Dominion,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and Pixar’s “Lightyear.”The well-reviewed “Minions: The Rise of Gru” looks to test the viability of kid-friendly animated flicks on the big screen.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFollowing BTS’ announcement that they will be focusing on solo projects in the coming months, the group’s J-Hope announced on the Weverse platform early Saturday that he will release a solo album called “Jack in the Box” on July 15. The first single single will drop next week, on July 1.According to the official announcement, “Jack in the Box” lends voice to J-Hope’s aspirations to break the mold and grow further.

J. Kim Murphy It’s a 20th century showdown at the domestic box office this weekend, with the baby boomer epic “Elvis” contending against Gen X revamp “Top Gun: Maverick” for the top spot on domestic charts.Director Baz Luhrmann’s biopic about the King of Rock and Roll is projected to draw $30 million from 3,906 theaters in its opening.

Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” made $3.5 million in its preview screenings at the box office on Thursday from over 3,400 screens (inclusive of sneak previews on Tuesday), while “The Black Phone” also made $3 million in its own Thursday preview screenings from 2,800 theaters with showings beginning at 5 p.m. “Elvis,” the biopic about The King Elvis Presley from Warner Bros., is projected to earn in the $28-30 million range.

Warner Bros’ Baz Luhrmann directed Elvis has grossed $3.5M from all previews off 3,400 locations, which includes Tuesday fan events and last night’s showtimes. Meanwhile Universal/Blumhouse’s Black Phone took in $3M from showtimes that began at 5PM yesterday at 2,800 sites.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann’s kaleidoscopic look at the “King of Rock,” grossed $3.5 million in Thursday previews, while “The Black Phone,” a child abduction chiller from Blumhouse,” scared up $3 million. The two films are hoping to make a mark at the box office this weekend, but they face stiff competition from holdovers such as “Jurassic World Dominion,” “Lightyear” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” It’s a wide open field as they elbow their way to the top of the chart.“Elvis,” a Warner Bros.

ABC channel KOCO 5 on Tuesday that they had taken down the sign and won’t be fast-forwarding. 89er Theater in Kingfisher, Oklahoma is paying someone to fast forward through the same sex kiss in Lightyear pic.twitter.com/wXYIf8o9VtOne woman who took her two sons to the movie told KOCO she didn’t mind the scene.

Addie Morfoot ContributorClose to a decade after American Zoetrope announced that the company had acquired the screen rights to Alysia Abbott’s “Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father,” the film adaptation has finally been made with the help of Safe Space Pictures Foundation.The newly-launched funding entity was founded by producer Nicole Shipley (“Trial of the Chicago 7,” “A Private War”) to champion women and underrepresented voices in the entertainment industry by providing support to issue-driven documentary and narrative projects via equity, debt, and grant funding. Safe Space is currently working on ten nonfiction and narrative projects at various stages in production.

“Lightyear,” Disney and Pixar’s animated feature that’s a spinoff and origin story of the beloved “Toy Story” character Buzz Lightyear, made $5.2 million at the box office in its preview screenings. The film opens in the U.S. and Canada on Friday in over 4,200 theaters.

animated film “Lightyear” from the country’s cinemas after refusing to cut scenes promoting homosexuality.The Film Censorship Board said it approved the movie with parental guidance for those under 13 on the condition of modifications. Scenes and dialogues that it “found to contain elements promoting the LGBT lifestyle which violate key aspects of the Guidelines on the Film Censorship” were ordered to “be cut and muted,” the board said in a statement.“However, the film distributors did not agree to comply with the instructions” and decided instead to cancel the screening, the board said, adding that it would not compromise on any LGBTQ scenes.

Buzz Lightyear origin story from Pixar Animation Studios and Disney releases in cinemas this Friday. The movie, which is a spin-off from the studio’s legendary Toy Story film series, will show Buzz as the astronaut the toy is based on, who winds up stranded many lightyears from Earth and on a desperate mission to return home.

Chris Evans is speaking out to slam the homophobic critics of his new movie Lightyear.