‘Godzilla x Kong’ Weekend Champs With $25M+; ‘Monkey Man’ Sees $10M, ‘First Omen’ Does $8M+ – Box Office

Refresh for latest…: For the fourth weekend in a row, Warner Bros/Legendary Entertainment’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was the top studio movie at the global and international box office. While it’s true there have not been a whole lot of wide releases on a worldwide level since the start of the year, it’s heartening to see continued play for the big titles. 

EXCLUSIVE: Thirteen years ago, a young Sidharth Sriram promised himself that the first time he would attend Coachella would be the first time he performed.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Ed Westwick (“Gossip Girl”), John Hannah (“The Mummy”) and British newcomer Alanah Bloor are set to join Turkish lead Can Yaman in “Sandokan,” Lux Vide’s reboot of the cult Italian TV series about the adventures of its titular pirate who, with his motley crew, fights against colonial powers in Southeast Asia. Shooting is set to start April 22 outside Rome on this high-end reboot of Italian writer Emilio Salgari’s exotic epic.

A three-day festival featuring the very best food and drink Bury has to offer from across the world will be held for the first time next month. From Thursday, May 23 the town centre will be packed with pop-up food markets, artisan drinks and craft stalls, music and live entertainment.

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.

India–Taiwan co-production “Demon Hunters” will be unveiled at the upcoming Cannes Film Market. The action-horror-comedy film is directed by Chen Mei-Juin (“The Gangster’s Daughter”) and produced by Light House Productions (Taiwan) and Kleos Entertainment Group (India), with the backing of the Taiwan government. The cast is headlined by India’s Arjan Bajwa (Prime Video series “Bestseller”) and Taiwan’s J.C.

Former reality star Binky Felstead staged an impromptu Made in Chelsea reunion at the weekend, as her famous co-stars from the show came together to celebrate her son Wilder’s first birthday.The 33 year old reality star who previously shot to fame on the E4 series invited the entire gang to her house on Saturday to celebrate the milestone occasion, before documenting the party with a string of adorable snaps on social media. At the party, close pal Lucy Watson, 33 made an appearance alongside James Dunmore and brought their six-week old son Willoughby along for the party, while her sister Tiffany, 30, was joined by her son Jude, nine months.

Refresh for latest…: As it crossed the $1B international box office milestone this past weekend, Warner Bros again owned the frame with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and its third session haul of $33.7M from 71 markets. That was good for a 47% drop from the previous weekend and lifts the overseas cume to $278.6M and global to $436.6M. Meanwhile, WB and Legendary’s other major title in the marketplace, Dune: Part Two, now has a shot at getting to $700M worldwide.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent New York-based group FilmRise has dropped a gripping first trailer for “Missing From Fire Trail Road,” Sabrina Van Tassel (“The State of Texas vs. Melissa“)’s documentary film about the crimes against indigenous women.

Naman Ramachandran Indian actor Vipin Sharma is earning global acclaim for playing a trans character in Dev Patel‘s feature directorial debut “Monkey Man.” Sharma plays Alpha, the leader of a trans community known in India as hijras, who is instrumental in providing a new lease on life to Patel’s character when he’s down and out in “Monkey Man.” Aamir Khan’s “Taare Zameen Par” (2007) was Sharma’s breakthrough role, and since then he has won plaudits for “Paan Singh Tomar,” “Gangs of Wasseypur” and “Shahid” (all 2012), “Raanjhanaa” (2013), “Raman Raghav 2.0” (2016), “Paatal Lok” (2020) and “Dear Jassi” (2023). When director Anthony Maras offered Sharma a role in “Hotel Mumbai” (2018), starring Patel, the actor accepted.

Annika Pham On the heels of its successful world launch at IDFA, the critically-acclaimed anti-colonial pic “Our Land, Our Freedom,” sold by First Hand Films, has landed a deal with BBC Africa Eye. “Our Land, Our Freedom,” a Kenyan/U.S./Portuguese co-production, and the upcoming India-set “Kalari,” to be pitched in Visions du Réel docu festival’s Swiss Preview showcase, epitomize what First Hand Films stands for.

Monkey Man has hit cinema screens this week, and its soundtrack has proven popular with viewers.Produced by Get Out and Nope’s Jordan Peele, the action thriller stars Patel in the lead role, exploring a man seeking to avenge a loved one, and detailing the topics of discrimination and corruption in Indian society.Also starring in the film are Sharlto Copley, Sobhita Dhulipala and Pitobash. So far it has received generally positive reviews, with 87% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and Peter Bradshaw for The Guardian awarding it four stars out of five, describing Patel’s work as “a very exciting and stylish movie.”However, for some viewers it was the film’s soundtrack which had the most impact.

Monkey Man was originally expected to stream on Netflix — but Jordan Peele gave Dev Patel‘s feature directorial debut a different fate, and sent it to the big screen.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Dev Patel refused to let the slew of injuries he suffered while filming his elaborate fight scenes in “Monkey Man” get in the way of him completing the movie. Patel not only directed and co-wrote the action movie, but he also stars as Kid, a young man who seeks to avenge his mother’s death at the hands of India’s corrupt law enforcement officials, political figures and spiritual leaders. He earns money by competing in a brutally violent underground fight club.

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood A-list actor and musician Ayushmann Khurrana has signed a global recording deal with Warner Music India. Hit songs sung by Khurrana over the past decade include “Mitti Di Khushboo,” “Paani Da Rang” and “Mere Liye Tum Kaafi Ho.” Signing with Warner Music India will enable Khurrana to access the label’s global ecosystem, helping him connect with audiences and artists beyond India’s borders, Khurrana and the label said.

Naman Ramachandran Honors were even atop the U.K. and Ireland box office as Universal’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” and Warner Bros.’ “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” battled for top spot during the Easter holiday weekend. While “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” won the three-day weekend, “Kung Fu Panda 4” had the higher gross including previews.

BBC Studios Launches First Kids Streamer In Korea

Monkey Man.The British actor’s new film premiered to a strong reaction at SXSW last month, but he has since spoken about how difficult it was to get the film made.During a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) ahead of the film’s cinema release this week (April 5), the actor said that directing, producing and acting in the film was “the most demanding thing I’ve ever done in my life”, per Variety.He added that “everyday we faced absolute catastrophe” throughout the process.“I begged our financier not to shut us down a few weeks before principal photography,” he said. “We were meant to shoot in India then COVID hit.

IFC Films’ Late Night With The Devil topped the specialty market in its second week, as a Tollywood and a Bollywood film both made the top ten in a rare occurrence. Strong horror and Indian fare have helped buoy the box office since Covid. They continue to fill in the top ten, including this week, which boasts a monstrous hit in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire — but is a neighborhood with fewer overall wide release due to Hollywood strikes.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is huge!