Joe Russo Warns Of “Corporate Agenda” Ruining Multiverse Storytelling: “Too Much Of One Thing Is A Bad Thing”

Refresh for latest…: Cineworld Group, the world’s second-largest exhibitor and owner of Regal in the U.S., saw significant improvement in 2021 versus 2020, as revenues rose by nearly 112% to $1.805 billion, the company said this morning as it reported full-year results in London. Operating profit also rebounded, reaching $15.8 million, up from a 2020 loss of $2.258 billion. The group overall recorded a $708.3 million pre-tax loss across the Covid-impacted year in which cinemas were closed for most of the first half. This was a substantial improvement on the 2020 loss of just over $3 billion.

Batman film in the future.The Spider-Man and Doctor Strange And The Multiverse of Madness director recently opened up about his love for the caped crusader.“I’ve always loved Batman,” Raimi told Empire in a new interview. “If I ever saw the Batsignal up in the air, I’d come running.“If I heard that deep, gurgling laugh of The Shadow coming from the darkness, I would also tentatively step outside.”Reflecting on other characters that he’d like to make more films for, he added: “And Spider-Man would be ahead of Doctor Strange, but I don’t want to put him down the list!”Matt Reeves most recently put a new spin on the character with The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano and more.In a four-star review of The Batman, NME wrote: “Director Matt Reeves has mixed up gritty mob drama with film-noir detective thriller – and thanks to Dano’s ultra-creepy villain, some psychological horror too.“Most of the time it comes off brilliantly.

Ellise Shafer Two weeks after pausing the theatrical release of “Morbius” in Russia, Sony Pictures has announced that it is also halting all other business in the country following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.This includes home entertainment releases, such as that of box office hit “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” and any television distribution deals. Crunchyroll has also suspended its anime streaming service in Russia.Below, read the full memo from chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra:“As we continue to see the devastating news and images coming out of Ukraine, I wanted to reach out with an update on how SPE is reacting to these events.

Sony Pictures is the latest company to pause its business operations in Russia in the wake of the Ukraine invasion. SPE’s Tony Vinciquerra informed staff of the decision in a memo Friday that was obtained by TheWrap, and the pause of business operations includes halting planned home entertainment releases of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and other future TV distribution deals.

A day after Disney announced it was suspending their business in Russia amid the Ukraine invasion, Sony Pictures Entertainment has made it effective that they too, are doing the same. This goes beyond the standard theatrical releases which both studios earlier halted.

A week after Disney paused the Russian theatrical releases in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, Disney said Thursday that is “taking steps to pause all other businesses in Russia” as the fighting intensifies.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the Marvel Television series that were produced for Netflix, including “Daredevil,” would be coming to Disney+ later this month. Joining those series on the streaming platform is a new parental controls option, due to those series featuring adult-oriented, mature content that borders on R-rated.

Paramount is the latest Hollywood studio to pull its upcoming movies, the Sandra Bullock-Channing Tatum-Brad Pitt romantic comedy adventure The Lost City and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, from Russia as the Ukraine invasion continues.

Benedict Cumberbatch knows how to keep secrets. The actor showed off his tight-lipped tenacity on Sunday at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards while speaking with ET about the many fan theories that have popped up since the trailer dropped for his upcoming blockbuster, While speaking with ET's Nischelle Turner about the theories — which included speculation about an evil version of Doctor Strange, the involvement of the Illuminati, unannounced cameos and much more — the celebrated actor made a series of various, cryptic expressions to the camera.«I'm just trying to pull faces as clues that will then be turned over on the internet,» Cumberbatch explained, teasingly.

Disney is taking their own stand against Russia as the invasion of Ukraine continues.

J. Kim Murphy Warner Bros.

Hollywood hasn’t been the most bullish about taking an action that would dent its bottom line, but Disney today has taken the bold move of pulling its theatrical releases from Russia temporarily in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Walt Disney Company is halting the release of its upcoming films in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. “Given the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis, we are pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia, including the upcoming ‘Turning Red’ from Pixar,” a spokesperson for The Walt Disney Company said in a statement Monday. “We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation.

Benedict Cumberbatch knows how to keep secrets. The actor showed off his tight-lipped tenacity on Sunday at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards while speaking with ET about the many fan theories that have popped up since the trailer dropped for his upcoming blockbuster, While speaking with ET's Nischelle Turner about the theories — which included speculation about an evil version of Doctor Strange, the involvement of the Illuminati, unannounced cameos and much more — the celebrated actor made a series of various, cryptic expressions to the camera.«I'm just trying to pull faces as clues that will then be turned over on the internet,» Cumberbatch explained, teasingly.

Refresh for latest…: Sony’s Uncharted handily crossed the $200M mark globally this weekend, after adding $35M from 64 overseas markets and $23.3M domestically. The international box office cume is now $143M. Worldwide, the Tom Holland/Mark Wahlberg-starrer counts $226.4M.

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” lead this year’s film nominations for the Critics Choice Association’s second annual Super Awards, with five nods apiece including Best Superhero Movie.  “Evil” and “Midnight Mass” tied for the most television nominations, with each earning six nods including Best Horror Series.

Clayton Davis The Critics Choice Association announced the nominations for the 2nd annual Critics Choice Super Awards, honoring the most popular, fan-obsessed genres across film and television.Destin Daniel Cretton’s “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and Jon Watts’ “Spider-Man: No Way Home” led the film nominations with five noms each. Two of the three Peter Parkers landed acting mentions for Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland, but Tobey Maguire was omitted from the list.“Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” the four-hour cut of his superhero film with Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot, also landed in the best superhero movie category alongside “Black Widow,” “Eternals,” “Shang-Chi,” “Spider-Man” and “The Suicide Squad.” On the television side, Paramount Plus’ “Evil” and Netflix’s “Midnight Mass” led with six apiece.

Oscars were watched by the fewest amount of people on record. Ratings plunged to historic new lows when only 10. 4 million people tuned into 2021's show.

Benedict Cumberbatch is learning about the sheer power of Marvel fan demand.