Crunchyroll’s ‘One Piece Film Red’ Sees Green Thursday Night With $1.6M+ Previews, Eyes $14M+ Opening

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival Unveils Jury

Palestinian director Firas Khoury’s debut feature Alam has triumphed at the 44th Cairo International Film Festival, winning its Golden Pyramid Award for Best Film, best actor for Mahmoud Bakri and the Audience Award.

Netflix & Paramount+ UK To Profile ‘Strip Search Caller’

Runaway film and TV productions that applied for California tax credits from 2020 to 2022 but were “ultimately denied due to lack of available funds” ended up spending nearly $1 billion in production costs outside the state. That’s according to the latest report from the California Film Commission, which makes a compelling case for greater funding of the state’s tax incentives program.

EXCLUSIVE: Searchlight’s absurdist genre comedy The Menu got off to a promising start with $1M+ in Thursday night previews, we hear. That number is up there with recent comps such as Barbarian, which did $850K on its Thursday night before a $10.5M opening, and The Northman, another Anya Taylor-Joy movie, which posted $1.35M before a $12.2M start.

“Broker,” Hirokazu Kore-eda‘s latest film, finally hits US theaters on December 26 after vying for the Palme d’Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Now, Deadline reports that the Japanese director has his next project lined up: “Monster,” based on a screenplay by TV writer Yuji Sakamoto.

Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-Eda looks set for a return to the international festival circuit in 2023 following the announcement that he has been quietly working on a new film titled Monster, which is now in post-production.

“I’ve been to the other side!,” testified Tonight host Jimmy Fallon in mock-revivalist-preacher mode on last night’s show. “I’ve seen the Pearly Gates! I’ve paid $8 for that blue check mark in the sky but I want you all to know I wouldn’t leave this earth until my job is done and tonight my job is to entertain you!”

Global anime brand Crunchyroll, alongside Wowow and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, have announced a partnership for the development and production of new anime series, starting with the fantasy adventure Bye Bye, Earth. 

EXCLUSIVE: London-based Dogwoof has locked a series of international deals for Jason Kohn’s diamond industry documentary Nothing Lasts Forever and Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing’s debut feature Midwives on the first day of the 2022 IDFA Forum.

The International Film Festival Of India (IFFI) has announced the 15 films that will screen in competition at this year’s edition of the annual event, including recent festival favourites such as Maha Haj’s Mediterranean Fever and Lav Diaz’ When The Waves Are Gone, and three Indian films, including recent Busan premiere The Storyteller. 

As a movie tie-in, it takes some beating. One Piece Film Red has been released as the manga comic strip on which it is based celebrates 25 years of existence and its 1000th published episode, every one of which has been authored by Eiichiro Oda, executive producer of the new film.  Think about that. There are people who have grown up with One Piece which has also run as a weekly television series since 1999 — and there have been 14 films in the franchise before this one.  

Netflix has landed feature rights to Seesaw Monster — a 2019 book by Kotaro Isaka, whose novel Maria Beetle was recently adapted into the David Leitch actioner Bullet Train for Sony, starring Brad Pitt. 

One Piece Film Red rocketed to the top of the box office chart in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, achieving the biggest-ever opening for a Japanese anime in the territory and dislodging Black Adam from the top slot.

Psychological thriller The Beasts, directed by Spain’s Rodrigo Sorogoyen, won three awards at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival, including the Tokyo Grand Prix, best director and best actor for Denis Menochet. 

Prime Video will collaborate with the Emmy-winning show Uninterrupted The Shop to introduce yet another Thursday Night Football (TNF) alternate stream offering.