Seven.One Entertainment’s Henrik Pabst Joins Quintus Media Advisory Board

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “A Man Called Otto,” a heartfelt drama starring Tom Hanks as a cranky widower, has notched an important box office milestone, crossing $100 million globally. The film’s tally stands at $100.4 million, including $61.2 million in North America and $39.2 million internationally. Overseas, the top-selling markets are the United Kingdom ($6.28 million), Australia ($5.17 million), Mexico ($5.06 million), Spain ($2.6 million) and Germany ($2.5 million). In pandemic times, the $100 million benchmark is notable because only a few movies aimed at older audiences, such as Baz Luhrmann’s kaleidoscopic biopic “Elvis,” Tom Cruise’s sequel “Top Gun: Maverick,” Brad Pitt’s action-comedy “Bullet Train,” have managed to connect the box office since COVID.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Guns N’ Roses return to the road on a major 2023 world tour produced by Live Nation, headlining stadiums, festivals, and arenas throughout the summer and fall. The band launch this jaunt on June 5 in Tel Aviv, Israel at Park Hayarkon and will continue across Europe through July 22, wrapping in Athens, Greece. The band will continue onto North America, starting on Saturday, August 5 in Moncton, NB at Medavie Blue Cross Stadium, and will visit historic venues across the country such as Fenway Park in Boston, MA on August 21 and Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL on August 24. The tour concludes in Vancouver, BC at BC Place on Monday, October 16.  Check out the full confirmed itinerary below.

Christopher Vourlias First-time writer-director Malika Musaeva is set to make history at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, where her female-centered coming-of-age drama “The Cage Is Looking for a Bird” is the first Chechen-language film ever selected by the venerable German fest. Musaeva’s debut, which world premieres Feb. 22 in the festival’s competitive Encounters section and is being repped internationally by Totem Films, focuses on a group of Chechen women living in a remote rural village, where they must defend their freedom and the right to live their own lives. At the film’s heart is a friendship between two teenage girls, played by first-time actors Khadizha Bataeva and Madina Akkieva. On the precipice of adulthood, the duo seeks refuge in each other as they navigate difficult decisions about their futures.

Marta Balaga Total spend on content will “flatten and slightly decline” this year. This tendency might continue for “at least” the next couple of years, according to Ampere Analysis’ Guy Bisson, a speaker at Monday’s opening panel of the Berlinale Series Market, which runs through Feb. 22. “We are entering a phase of market maturity in streaming: Growth is difficult to come by. We see it across the globe, most drastically in the U.S.,” he observed.  That said, there is one “lockdown trend” that happened to stick around: Unscripted commissioning rose to match scripted, with streaming commissioning currently focusing ever more at documentary, entertainment and reality. 

The battle for success on the new drama series scene is the battle for talent, led by screenwriters. Following, portraits of Spanish TV scribes or creators, sometimes writing teams, who’ve made an impact, or look set to do so: 2022 was Araujo’s year. He co-wrote Berlin Competition’s “One Night, One Day” and “Rapa,” Movistar+’s biggest 2022 bow. “Offworld,” a collective series he coordinated, was a Variety’s International TV Show of the Year. An iconoclast – “if I do the same thing, I get bored,” he says –  who tears up the rule book. Best known for acting, winning at Malaga for “The Wild Ones,” but a driving force as co-creator, director and star behind “This Is Not Sweden” a €1.5 million grant recipient and groundbreaking Spain-Scandinavia-Germany co-pro, turning on a couple who think they’ve found a model lifestyle. But “there are no guarantees,” says Clotet. 

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent German powerhouse ZDF Studios and U.K.-based Factual Fiction are reteaming for “#DorianGray,” an updated social media spin on Oscar Wilde’s classic, “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” In Wilde’s original, first published as a novella in 1890 in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, the self-besotted Dorian Gray sells his soul in exchange for eternal youth, a picture painted of him recording the decay of his soul as in outward appearance he remains physically forever young.  Currently being written by Maiya John, a young London-based screenwriter, the contemporary reimagining is described by ZDF Studios as “a suspenseful ride through the life of a teenager as they construct their identity.” 

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent The latest series from Alex de la Iglesia and “Veneno” creators Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo feature at a first-look Next from Spain Showcase which marks a massive step-up in the country’s presence at the Berlinale Series Market. Running Feb. 20-22, the showcase also unveils “Rapa” Season 2, with its first season proving Movistar+’s biggest 2022 bow, and “This Is Not Sweden,” a pioneering Spanish co-production with Scandinavia and Germany.  The Showcase titles are joined by Isaki Lacuesta’s “The Chauffeur’s Son,” a Co-Pro Series project from “Elite’s” Zeta Studios, and “Selftape,” a Filmin Original from Filmax and a Series Market Screening.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Berlin Film Festival has returned to its first fully in person edition since 2020. But this year, the Berlinale has come back with a vengeance, and added something that it wasn’t especially known for in its pre-pandemic days: star power. Indeed, it’s been hard not to bump into a famous person in the German city — almost giving this previously mostly auteur driven gathering a vibe that more closely resembles the latest versions of Sundance or Toronto. Artistic director Carlo Chatrian told Variety Sunday that A-list names help raise awareness for the festival’s core mission – to celebrate movies and encourage audiences to return to theaters.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Luc Besson’s ”Dogman,” starring Caleb Landry Jones, wowed buyers at the Berlin’s European Film Market, where it was screened for select buyers. “We hosted only one private screening of the completed film and buyers were stunned, they all came out saying that it was Luc Besson’s best film to date, his most mature movie and some even called it a masterpiece,” said Gregoire Melin, founder of Kinology, which is handling sales on the film. On the heels of the screening, Kinology closed deals with some of the biggest distributors in key international territories, including Italy (Lucky Red), Germany and Austria (Capelight Pictures), Spain and Latin America (Sun Distribution Group), Scandinavia (Svensk Filmindustri), Benelux (Belga Films), Switzerland (Elite Film), Middle East (Front Row), Poland (Monolith), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais), Czech Republic and Slovakia (AQS) and former Yugoslavia (Blitz).

Friday, Feb. 17 is a significant date for the members of Foo Fighters, marking the day that drummer Taylor Hawkins would have celebrated his 51st birthday.

Foo Fighters have paid tribute to their late drummer Taylor Hawkins on what would have been his 51st birthday.Hawkins was found dead in a hotel room in Bogota, Colombia in March 2022 while Foo Fighters were on tour in the country.The band lead the tributes to Hawkins, tweeting a black-and-white photo of him accompanied by the caption: “Miss you so much.”Miss you so much. pic.twitter.com/rpyYyf93O3— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) February 17, 2023In Hawkins’obituary, NME wrote: “Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, and many others, praised Taylor’s “spirit” in their tributes, and that’s how he’ll be most remembered – as the epitome not just of Foo Fighters’ celebratory attitude to rock’n’roll but the exhilaration of musical fandom too.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Blue Fox has acquired the U.S. distribution rights for the family adventure movie “School of Magical Animals” from sales agency Global Screen, which has also sold the film’s sequel to several territories. “School of Magical Animals” will be released with 300 copies in the U.S. on March 24 nationwide. James Huntsman of Blue Fox said: “There is a strong appetite for high quality live action family movies and ‘The School of Magical Animals’ delivers on all fronts.” Global Screen has sold the sequel, “School of Magical Animals 2,” which was the most successful local film at the German box office last year with a $21 million gross, to Spain (Flins & Piniculas), Poland (Stowarzyszenie Nowe Horyzonty), Denmark (Another World Entertainment), Hungary (ADS Service), CIS and the Baltic States (Investacommerce), and has closed a worldwide airline deal. It will have its market premiere at Berlin’s European Film Market on Saturday.

The Balearic Islands in Spain could potentially ban people visiting from the UK and other European destinations from buying property there.

First-Look Image From Kiah Roache-Turner’s ‘Sting,’ Cornerstone Inks DealsProduction has wrapped in Sydney, Australia, on Kiah Roache-Turner’s Sting. Cornerstone is handling worldwide sales and distribution on the pic. Studiocanal has inked a deal to release in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Benelux. Additional deals include Lucky Red (Italy), Diamond Films (Latin America, Spain, Portugal), Nordisk (Scandinavia), Kinoswiat (Poland), Pasatiempo Pictures (Baltics, CIS), Karantanija (Ex-Yogoslavia), Italia (Middle East), Filmfinity (South Africa) and Terry Steiner International (airlines). The film synopsis reads: One cold, stormy night in New York City, a mysterious object falls from the sky and smashes through the window of a rundown apartment building. It is an egg, and from this egg emerges a strange little spider… Check out the first image from the pic above.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Saban Films has acquired the U.S., U.K. and other international rights to Jean-Claude Van Damme action-spy thriller “Darkness of Man.” Directed by James Cullen Bressack, the film sees Van Damme playing Interpol operative Russell Hatch, who witnesses the death of his last informant in a routine raid gone wrong. Years later, he takes on a father figure role to the son of the informant, and finds himself protecting the boy from a group of merciless gangs in an all-out turf war. Alongside the U.S. and U.K., Saban Films has picked up Australian/New Zealand, African, Spanish and Scandinavian territory rights to the film, which also stars Kristanna Loken (“Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”), Peter Jae (“Blackhat”), Spencer Breslin (“The Kid”), Emerson Min (“Black-ish”) and rapper Sticky Fingaz.

Emily Longeretta Some of the biggest stars from “The Challenge” universe are coming together for the franchise’s first global tournament. “The Challenge: World Championship,” set to premiere on Paramount+ with two back-to-back episodes on March 8, will pair a “Challenge” legend — described as “a notable veteran from previous seasons of the MTV series” — with a global MVP. The MVPs include winners and top competitors from “The Challenge: USA,” The Challenge: Australia,” “The Challenge: Argentina” and “The Challenge: UK.” Each pair will work together to win a $500,000 prize. The cast includes previous stars of “Survivor,” “Love Island” and Bachelor Nation.

DAZN Group has completed its acquisition of Eleven Group and social media creative agency Team Whistle.

EXCLUSIVE: OneGate Media has picked up worldwide distribution rights for German crime series Asbestos from Pantaleon Films.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Warner Bros. Discovery has extended its rights to show the U.S. Open in 45 markets across Europe, including exclusive access in 42 territories, after reaching a new five-year agreement with the United States Tennis Association (USTA). Territories excluded from the deal are Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K. and Ireland. The deal includes live and highlights rights with every match on every court available to stream on discovery+ and the Eurosport app in addition to live television coverage during the tournament on Eurosport 1 and 2. Markets including the Nordics will also have the option to showcase the best matches on Warner Bros. Discovery’s free-to-air channels.

Broadway’s Jujamcyn Theaters and International Entertainment Holdings Limited, the parent company of Ambassador Theatre Group, have agreed to combine operations, bringing together two of the major players on Broadway and London’s West End.