Netflix Inks $350 Million-Plus Renewal With VFX Firm DNEG

Yes! Another show renewed by Netflix! The streamer announced another renewal on June 2, 2022, and we’ve added it to the list of renewals and cancellations by the streamer.

The head of Netflix is still behind two of the company’s most popular comedians.

Industry estimates currently project a $142.5 million 4-day opening weekend from 4,735 theaters for “Top Gun: Maverick,” while Paramount is estimating $150 million. If it can push past $153 million, “Maverick” will break a Memorial Day opening record that has been held for 15 years by Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” Paramount is also projecting a 3-day opening of $123 million, which would pass Marvel’s “Iron Man 2” as Paramount’s biggest opening weekend of all time.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has boarded “Darlings,” headlined by top Bollywood star Alia Bhatt and directed by feature debutant Jasmeet K. Reen.Written by Reen, Parveez Sheikh (“Queen”) and Vijay Maurya (Disney+ Hotstar series “The Great Indian Murder”), “Darlings” is billed as a dark comedy which explores the lives of a mother-daughter duo trying to find their place in Mumbai, seeking courage and love in exceptional circumstances while fighting against all odds.The film is produced by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and Bhatt’s Eternal Sunshine Productions.

Netflix has made a lot of decisions about their TV shows so far this year.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAt the first UJA-New York ceremony in three years, LL Cool J, Gayle King and Andy Cohen paid tribute and Maneskin played an acoustic set for Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM’s influential president and chief content officer, before an audience packed with music-industry brass on Wednesday.Greenstein’s impact and influence was amply demonstrated not only by Maneskin — who flew in specifically for the event from Europe, where they performed on the Eurovision Song Contest over the weekend — but by a tribute video that featured personal messages from Bruce Springsteen, Drake, Jimmy Buffett, Howard Stern, Megyn Kelly, Kevin Hart, Sway, Little Steven and others.Most importantly, the event raised a record $2 million-plus for the United Jewish Appeal, which provides assistance to people in need everywhere from Ukraine and the Middle East to New York and more than 70 countries around the world. Every year, UJA allocates approximately $150 million in grants — and to date has allocated more than $13 million in emergency funds for Ukraine.

While Netflix is canceling a bunch of projects to curb overspending, there are some originals that keep chugging along thanks to their massive popularity. One of those shows is “Squid Game” which became the most talked-about genre series of 2021 and helped cement that foreign-made originals can compete with western genre stories like “Stranger Things.” The massive hit that hails from South Korea is indeed getting a second season but don’t expect them to rush it.

“Squid Game” director Hwang Dong-hyuk says there might have been a different ending to season 1 had the characters just learned to work together.

Ava DuVernay’s Wings of Fire, an animated series adaptation of the family fantasy books which had been in development at Netflix since 2021, is the latest victim of animation cuts at the streamer, sources close to the project confirm to Deadline. We hear several other projects are not moving forward as well.

Visual effects and animation firm DNEG has extended its deal with Netflix through 2025.

A Rhode Island dog whose inspiring story of going from shelter dog to lifesaving police K-9 which became the subject of a recent Netflix movie has been euthanized.

That would be a somewhat larger second weekend drop from its $187 million opening weekend than MCU films like “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” which had similar opening weekends and topped $70 million in their second frame. Still, Sam Raimi’s MCU film is close to joining “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “The Batman” as only the third film of the COVID era to earn over $300 million at the global box office, and will also pass $600 million in global grosses this weekend.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorDNEG, the visual effects house behind “Dune” and “First Man” has opened the doors of its VFX and animation studio in Toronto.The studio is located in the King West district of the city with over 150 artists on board as it pushes forward in its expansion. In January, DNEG revealed plans to go public via a $1.7 billion SPAC deal.“I am thrilled with the progress DNEG has made over the past six months in establishing a strong presence in Ontario, with exciting career opportunities in visual effects work for film and episodic projects, feature animation, and technology,” said general manager, Gavin Graham.

There are two things the Real Housewives franchise reliably delivers on – binge-worthy drama and documenting the lavish lifestyles of the show’s stars.

Today, Wednesday, May 11, as a one-time global event, filmmaker Andrew Dominik’s new documentary on musicians Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, “This Much I Know To Be True,” premieres in select theaters (check the “This Much I Know To Be True” website to see where it’s playing today near you). If Dominik’s last documentary with Cave, “One More Time With Feeling,” was a dark elegy about grief, this new one (read our review here), is much more like a spiritual, nearly gospel-like reverie about healing and the process of acceptance.

Canadian unscripted producer Sean Connolly has set up his own production business and tied up a multi-year strategic deal with compatriot firm Great Pacific Media.

Robbie Praw, VP of Stand-up and Comedy Formats at Netflix, announced on Monday that the streamer will be showcasing highlights from the 11-day “Netflix Is a Joke: The Festival” stand-up comedy event held in Los Angeles, including Pete Davidson riffing on Kanye West’s bizarre social media onslaught, Amy Schumer telling a joke she wasn’t allowed to do at the Oscars, and David Letterman commenting on the recent attack on Dave Chappelle.The month-long comedy rollout begins with “The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up,” on May 19, which has John Mulaney paying tribute to Robin Williams, Dave Chappelle on Richard Pryor, Chelsea Handler on Joan Rivers and Jon Stewart to George Carlin. The remaining programs are as follows:Also coming up is a Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias special filmed in front of Netflix’s largest-ever audience at a sold-out Dodger Stadium.“These shows represent some of the best work we’ve done at Netflix, with the best comedic talent on the planet. We’re so grateful to everyone who performed, helping to create the biggest comedy festival in U.S.

Netflix has announced a June 10 premiere date for A Tribute To Bob Saget, a celebration of the comedian and actor’s life in comedy with his friends and family. The date was unveiled as part of the Netflix Is A Joke festival.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is now within reach of a benchmark that box office analysts were only whispering about before its release: a $200 million-plus opening. After earning a jaw-dropping $90 million on opening day, including $36 million from Thursday previews, the 28th Marvel Cinematic Universe film is now projected by industry estimates to earn a $202 million weekend launch.