Roland Emmerich Purposefully Tanked His ‘Godzilla’ Pitch But The Studio Ended Up Loving It Anyway

Naman Ramachandran Amazon Prime Video and Germany’s Leonine Studios are expanding their existing partnership with a multi-year license agreement.Under the deal, Prime Video gets exclusive second window SVOD-rights for a six-month period to upcoming theatrical feature films and home entertainment titles from Leonine’s slate and also includes non-exclusive SVOD rights to titles from Leonine’s content library.Titles include Keanu Reeves’ “John Wick 4” and its spin-off “Ballerina,” starring Ana de Armas; Channing Tatum’s directorial debut “Dog”; Roland Emmerich’s “Moonfall,” starring Halle Berry; Nicolas Cage action-comedy “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”; Guillaume Canet’s “Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom,” with Gilles Lellouche, Marion Cotillard, Vincent Cassel and soccer star Zlatan Imbrahimović; Jennifer Lopez starrer “Shotgun Wedding”; and Leonine Studios co-production “The School of Magical Animals 2,” the sequel to Germany’s most successful theatrical release of 2021. Leonine Studios CEO Fred Kogel said: “It’s fantastic that we can expand our long-standing partnership with Prime Video by this agreement and achieve another important milestone for our licensing business with premium content.

Independence Day (and most recently, Moonfall) director Roland Emmerich has reiterated his disdain for IP-centric Hollywood blockbusters, saying in a new interview that franchises like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe are “ruining” the film industry.The filmmaker’s latest assertion that such properties are void of creativity comes via Den Of Geek, where he reflected on the evolution of the disaster film as a viable genre for summer blockbusters. “Naturally Marvel and DC Comics, and Star Wars, have pretty much taken over,” he told the publication.

The return of the irreverent MTV stunt series has opened well below the $50 million start earned by “Jackass 3D” in 2010, though that was to be expected given the ongoing impact of the pandemic on most box office receipts. As with pretty much every film that has found box office success this past year despite the adversity, “Jackass Forever” has relied on turnout from younger male audiences with theaters in Los Angeles accounting for 27 of the top 40 highest grossing locations. “Jackass Forever” also has something that its predecessors did not: strong word of mouth.

Not even a global pandemic or a 12-year hiatus could stop the Jackass guys at the box office. “Jackass Forever,” the fourth movie in the anarchic series earned $23.5 million in ticket sales in its first weekend in theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.It not only exceeded expectations but also easily bested its other main competitors, the big budget sci-fi spectacle “Moonfall” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which has 6 of its 8 weeks in theaters at No. 1.“ Jackass Forever ” brings back Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius and Wee Man for another round of pranks, stunts and injuries and has become the best-reviewed in the series.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAfter living through a pandemic for nearly two years, Americans, as it turns out, were in desperate need of a laugh.That may explain why Paramount’s go-for-broke action comedy “Jackass Forever” triumphed at the domestic box office while Roland Emmerich’s disaster epic “Moonfall” turned into an epic disaster.“Jackass Forever,” the fourth installment in the ongoing saga of projectiles to the groin, collected $23 million from 3,604 North American locations in its debut, landing on the higher end of expectations. The latest “Jackass,” starring Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Wee Man and other daredevils from MTV days, had been widely expected to win the weekend, but its victory is still surprising and impressive because it has been some time since a pure comedy has claimed the top spot on box office charts.

director Roland Emmerich thinks Superhero and films are ruining the industry. He is among the many actors and directors that have lambasted the state of the movie business because these types of movies exist.

John Bradley is poised to save the world in “Moonfall.” The epic sci-fi film from Roland Emmerich sees the actor portray an unlikely hero whose contributions prove that anyone can make a difference. For Bradley, its significance goes well beyond a standard popcorn flick.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaWith much of the country bracing for or digging out from a nasty winter storm, two new releases are hoping to provide so much sizzle that moviegoers will brave the ice and snow to hit up their local multiplexes.In one corner: Lionsgate’s “Moonfall,” a disaster epic from Roland Emmerich, one of the most successful purveyors of cinematic destruction. In the other: Paramount’s “Jackass Forever,” the latest entry in the long-running series in which Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and Wee Man risk life, limb and nether regions in the service of comedy. “Jackass Forever” scored a stronger Thursday previews showing, netting $1.7 million.

You’ve probably seen the endless TV spots and trailers for Roland Emmerich’s new disaster film, “Moonfall.” And while that film looks appropriately dumb and ridiculous, it’s unlikely going to be one of the best disaster films of all time, right? Thankfully, The Playlist Podcast is here to give you a few recommendations in this particular world-ending subgenre to explore if you’re content with skipping “Moonfall” this weekend.

Roland Emmerich is known for directing some of cinema’s highest-grossing action and sci-fi epics. From the natural disasters of “The Day After Tomorrow” to the otherworldly invaders of “Independence Day,” the filmmaker’s decades of work have become pop culture phenomena.

Paramount’s Jackass Forever counted $1.65M from 2,650 theaters from shows that began at 7PM.

the hallmarks of an Emmerich blockbuster — natural disasters, parents separated from children, the total annihilation of Manhattan — but with a twist so baffling, you pinch your arm to make sure you are really awake. No need to reach for your dream journal — it’s all painfully real.The lunar-cy begins during a routine space station mission in outer space with Jocinda (Halle Berry), Brian (Patrick Wilson) and another astronaut.

Some people might look up at the moon and admire its glowing and desolate beauty. Director Roland Emmerich apparently sees a constructed hollow orb that may have been built by aliens.

Over the course of his almost four-decade career, Roland Emmerich is a filmmaker who has become synonymous with big-budget, CG-infused epics whose screenplays often challenge the laws of space and time. Few moviegoers who saw “The Day After Tomorrow,” “2012” or even “White House Down” thought they were anything more than overblown extravaganza and a nice escape from the monotony of the real world.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticThe joke of Netflix’s recent “Don’t Look Up” is that scientists discover a meteor headed straight for earth, and even with six months to plan, humanity is too skeptical and disorganized to prevent it. Meanwhile, in Roland Emmerich’s latest eye-roller, “Moonfall,” the joke is pretty much flipped: Everybody’s favorite satellite is set to collide with earth in, oh, a day or so, and that’s just enough time for two space jockeys to suit up, shuttle out and set things right.I say “joke” because “Moonfall” is designed to elicit incredulous laughter as its ludicrous plot snowballs from a high-concept hypothetical question (what if the moon suddenly changed course and came crashing toward earth?) to increasingly implausible complications on the theme, all while requiring Halle Berry, as acting director of NASA Jocinda Fowl, to keep a straight face while saying things like, “Everything we thought we knew about the nature of the universe has just gone out the window!” Like gravity, logic and how we define good acting.

this — this insipid, hackneyed, laughable joke of a motion picture — is actually really cool. And the weirdest part of all is, they’re kind of right.

Director Roland Emmerich’s latest disaster film “Moonfall” returns him to the Moon yet again, after exploring it in “Independence Day: Resurgence” and in a greater capacity with his lesser-known 1990 sci-fi actioner “Moon 44.” He’s now on the press tour to promote his latest studio event movie and, of course, has been asked about the current state of cinema, blockbusters, and the movies business in general.

Zack Sharf Roland Emmerich, the blockbuster filmmaker behind “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow” and the upcoming “Moonfall,” credited “Star Wars” and superhero movies pumped out by Marvel and DC as “ruining” the film industry. Emmerich’s “Moonfall,” backed by Lionsgate and made on a reported budget in the $140 million range, is the increasingly-rare example of an original Hollywood tentpole.“Oh yes,” Emmerich told Den of Geek when asked if the disaster genre has changed in recent years.

Naman Ramachandran Producer and financier Anton (“Greenland,” “The Night House”) has hired Leslie Chen as senior VP, international distribution and sales and has elevated consultant Louis Balsan to executive VP, international distribution and acquisitions. They will be part of Anton’s German office and will report into Paris-based Cécile Gaget, president of international production and distribution.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterWill this be the weekend that “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is dethroned at the box office once and for all?Paramount’s go-for-broke action comedy “Jackass Forever” and director Roland Emmerich’s disaster epic “Moonfall” certainly hope that’s the case. After an excruciatingly slow January at the movies, one that let “Spider-Man” tower over the competition for weeks, the two nationwide releases will try their hand at getting audiences to multiplexes.“Jackass Forever,” the fourth installment in the ongoing saga of projectiles to the groin, appears to have the best shot at taking down “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which has spent six of the last seven weeks at No. 1.