Pre-Tony Broadway Box Office Up 7% To $32M; ‘Strange Loop’ Fills 98% Of Seats

After a two year delay due to the pandemic, Illumination/Universal’s Minions: The Rise of Gru, the fifth movie in the Despicable Me/Minions universe, arrives looking to lead the Independence Day domestic box office with $70M-$80M over 4-days, and another $70M abroad for a potential $150M global launch. There are no other major studio wide entries over July 4th weekend.

Broadway box office held steady last week, with total grosses of $30,789,627 showing a 4% increase over the previous week even with two fewer shows on the boards. Of particular note, A Strange Loop and MJ have held on to their post-Tony Award strength: Both productions were among the roster’s full houses.

It took 30 years to convince Tom Cruise to make a sequel to 1986’s “Top Gun,” hit by Tony Scott, but the decision has definitely paid off. Today, “Top Gun Maverick” crossed the $ 1 billion mark worldwide, becoming Cruise’s highest-grossing film ever worldwide.

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.

MJ and A Strange Loop saw Tony Award glory translate into box office surges in the week after the June 12 ceremony, with MJ leaping by $216,921 over the previous week’s take to a huge $1,660,978. A Strange Loop grossed $845,313 for the week ending June 19, a jump of $168,998 over the previous week.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt as a couple is long history, the two recently admitted to each other that there is still love between them. The two Hollywood stars got together for a conversation published on Paltrow’s site, Goop.

More box office milestones here as the theatrical business bounces back and the pandemic eases: Disney/Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness crossed $400M yesterday at the domestic box office during its 41st day of release.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s “Jurassic World: Dominion” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £12.1 million ($14.8 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” scored £5.5 million in its third weekend and now has a mighty total of £50 million, jetting towards being one of the highest grossers of the year in the territory. In third place and in its sixth weekend, Disney’s “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness” collected £398,401 for a total of £41.5 million.

The third installment in the "Jurassic World" franchise, "Jurassic World: Dominion," opened this past weekend with $143.3 million in box office sales in North America alone.The Universal Pictures film also grossed $398 million globally, with studio estimates optimistic as the film heads into its second week in theaters.  "Jurassic World 3" is the sixth in the entire Jurassic Parks franchise, opening in 72 international markets, according to Variety. China rounded in as the top international market, raking in $52.5 million in the film's opening weekend.  The newest Jurassic World includes several reprisal roles from the original cast, including Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum.  Despite its successful opening, "Dominion" falls behind the "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" opening weekend ($148 million) and the original 2015 "Jurassic World" opening weekend ($208.8 million).

Tony Awards returned to Radio City Music Hall, where relaxed mask mandates made it easier than ever (OK, easier than last year’s ceremony) to spot the stars mixing and mingling during Broadway’s biggest night.For some, it was an opportunity to reunite with old friends; for others, it was a rare chance to meet luminaries they’ve only admired from afar. Before the broadcast began, “Spring Awakening” co-stars Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff walked through the front door holding hands.

The third installment in the "Jurassic World" franchise, "Jurassic World: Dominion," opened this past weekend with $143.3 million in box office sales in North America alone.The Universal Pictures film also grossed $398 million globally, with studio estimates optimistic as the film heads into its second week in theaters.  "Jurassic World 3" is the sixth in the entire Jurassic Parks franchise, opening in 72 international markets, according to Variety. China rounded in as the top international market, raking in $52.5 million in the film's opening weekend.  The newest Jurassic World includes several reprisal roles from the original cast, including Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum.  Despite its successful opening, "Dominion" falls behind the "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" opening weekend ($109 million) and the original 2015 "Jurassic World" opening weekend ($62 million).

A Strange Loop, an irreverent, sexually frank work about Blackness and queerness took home the best new musical crown at the Tony Awards on Sunday, as voters celebrated Broadway’s most racially diverse season by choosing an envelope-pushing Black voice.

By Lisa Richwine(Reuters) - "A Strange Loop," the story of a Black gay man and his mental struggles as a playwright, won the Tony award on Sunday for best new musical as Broadway honored its first season since the long pandemic shutdown. "The Lehman Trilogy," about the rise and fall of investment firm Lehman Brothers, took the best new play honor at a live ceremony held at Radio City Music Hall in New York. "Strange Loop" triumphed over "MJ," a crowd-pleasing musical about Michael Jackson.

The cast of A Strange Loop is taking over the stage at the 2022 Tony Awards!

It’s official – Jennifer Hudson is now an EGOT winner!

After A Strange Loop capped the Tony Awards by taking the Best Musical prize, playwright Michael R. Jackson offered his main takeaway from the show’s unlikely path to the top: “It’s OK to be weird.”

J. Kim Murphy Jennifer Hudson has achieved the rarified status of EGOT with her Tony win for producing “A Strange Loop.”The awards gauntlet lingo of “EGOT” refers to individuals who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony over the course of their careers in entertainment.

Jennifer Hudson is now an EGOT winner. The performer completed the achievement by earning a Tony for producing the hit show,, which won Best Musical during the 75th annual Tony Awards. The latest trophy joins her previous wins, which include an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for, two GRAMMY Awards for Best R&B Album and Best Musical Theater Album as well as a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Interactive Media for a Daytime Program for . By joining the coveted list of winners, Hudson became the second Black woman to earn an EGOT after Whoopi Goldberg, who completed hers in 2002.

The stars of the hit Broadway musical A Strange Loop are at the Tonys!

Gordon Cox Theater EditorThe pool of people who vote for the Tony Awards is a small one — and this year, it’s probably even smaller.As Broadway gears up for its big night June 12, the industry’s annual prognostications factor in the knowledge that this season’s COVID spike in schedule disruptions and actor absences made it even harder than usual to catch every nominated production and performance, especially for voters who live out of town. According to the Tony regulations, if you miss a show, you can’t vote in any of the categories in which it’s nominated — which means that, of the 650 total Tony voters, fewer than ever could be checking all the boxes on the ballot.Most voters will tell you that they assiduously follow the guidelines on which categories they can and can’t vote in, and many of them are probably even telling the truth.