Franchise Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

EXCLUSIVE: A holiday movie franchise that got its start at Hallmark is moving to Great American Family.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Spidey’s still got it. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” a sequel to Sony’s 2018 Oscar-winning “Into the Spider-Verse,” collected $120 million in its box office debut — a towering figure that’s more than triple the original’s opening weekend. The first film, one of the intial cinematic introductions to the multiverse, started with a softer $34.4 million but turned into a word-of-mouth sensation during its theatrical run, which ended with $190 million in North America and $384 million globally. Now, thanks to the goodwill from “Into the Spider-Verse” and quality to match the hype, the follow-up film has managed to become a blockbuster from the jump. Already, “Across the Spider-Verse” has generated $208 million worldwide, including $88.1 million at the international box office. It cost $100 million.

A cold open introducing how a Transformer ends up on earth. An extended introduction to a nifty, somewhat nerdy girl into gizmos and gadgets.

Jon Burlingame “Star Trek” fans are still buzzing about the music of the final season of “Picard.” That’s because the lavish symphonic score by Stephen Barton and Frederik Wiedmann references multiple themes from throughout the 57-year history of “Trek” movies and TV shows. Barton, who scored seven of the 10 episodes and collaborated with Wiedmann on the finale, says that the idea belonged to showrunner Terry Matalas. “From the very beginning, we chatted a lot about the ‘Star Trek’ we grew up with. This was a moment in the franchise to take a step back, look at the whole picture, and say, how can we honor this?” Matalas has “an amazing, vast knowledge” of “Trek” music, Wiedmann says. “He’s as enthusiastic about film scores as we are – which, in the end, was extremely helpful for us because Terry had such a clear idea on where to go with the music.”

, Sean Bailey, President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production confirmed that is in the works. While the Disney executive didn't confirm any further details, he made the reveal during the interview while discussing the success of the live-action,, and while confirming the live-action versions of,, and .  found success last year after it was released on Disney+.

The return of Jack Sparrow isn’t out of the question.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is returning to the 'Fast and Furious' franchise. The 51-year-old actor has confirmed that he'll reprise the role of Luke Hobbs after ending his long-running feud with Vin Diesel. The wrestler-turned-actor said on Twitter: "So I am 100 percent confirming to you guys around the world that yes, it is true.

Dwayne Johnson is gearing up for a Fast & Furious comeback!

Sex and the City franchise. The actress will appear as her iconic character, Samantha Jones, for the season two finale of Max’s revival of HBO’s Sex and the City, And Just Like That…Sources confirmed the news to Variety, revealing she will only appear in one scene, and did not see or speak to the stars of the series, including Sarah Jessica Parker, or showrunner Michael Patrick King. The scene will be a phone conversation between Samantha, who had moved to London, and Sarah's Carrie Bradshaw, although it is reported that Kim will be seen on screen.

Ever since 1990, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” have had a footprint on the big screen. While a new live-action film is years away, producer/co-writer Seth Rogen (“The Boys“) is behind a brand new take on the ‘Ninja Turtles’ franchise with the upcoming animated movie, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.” As the quirky new animated pic releases this summer, Paramount has released a brand new trailer.

One last ride. The Fast Saga is supposed to end after the 11th and final movie debuts in 2025 — or is it?

The next chapter in the Russo Brothers’ global spy thriller Citadel now has an official title and a first-look photo of its lead, Matilda de Angelis.

Universal’s Fast & Furious franchise has reached a new milestone, spinning past $7B at the global box office. Getting there, it becomes the fifth series of films to the mark, doing so with 11 titles. It’s currently the No. 5 franchise of all time, and is tied with Warner Bros’ Wizarding World for the fewest number of movies to get to $7B in the Top 5.

Keanu Reeves has been a part of so many successful movies over the years, but by the sounds of it he just missed out on joining a new blockbuster.

So far in 2023 we’ve had the sixth installment of the Scream franchise and a fifth Evil Dead movie in Evil Dead Rise. Both did surprisingly well at the box office, given that the failure of the 13th iteration of Halloween suggested that horror fatigue might be setting in. But for genre crowds, the real story this year was a Canadian film, shot entirely in the director’s family home, that cost just $15,000 and freaked out audiences with close-ups of a creepy Fischer-Price toy telephone. Given a speciality theatrical release in January, Kyle Edward Ball’s Skinamarink brought in a worldwide gross of $2 million, even though it was set to appear on streaming service Shudder less than three weeks later.

Vin Diesel isn’t ready to call it quits officially just yet!

Vin Diesel isn't ready to call it quits officially just yet!Diesel spoke with ET's Matt Cohen on Saturday at the block party for Charlize Theron's Africa Outreach project in Los Angeles, and he played coy when asked exactly how much more fuel the franchise has in the tank.While fans already know that the newisn't the end of the road — as Diesel announced at this year's CinemaCon that an 11th film is slated for release in 2025 — many are wondering just how many more installments could be expected.For Diesel, this is a delicate subject — specifically because of how much love there is for the franchise as a whole.«The last time I told my daughter [it] was the last one, all I saw was tears,» Diesel said with a small laugh. «So I gotta be really careful [about] who and what I say.»One thing he's not worried about is praising the franchise's incredible and unexpectedly large ensemble cast, who came together to create a thrilling 10th installment in the series, which has been ongoing for more than 22 years.«We have such a great cast,» Diesel marveled.

Naman Ramachandran Korea’s Anthology Studios and India’s Panorama Studios have partnered for the remake of the Drishyam franchise in Korea. Panorama Studios is backed by producer Kumar Mangat Pathak, while Anthology Studios is founded by former Warner Bros. local Korean production head, Choi Jae-won (aka Jay Choi), “Parasite” actor Song Kang-ho and acclaimed director Kim Jee-woon. The trio previously worked together on 2016 film “The Age of Shadows.” Anthology’s “Cobweb,” directed by Kim, produced by Choi and starring Song, is premiering out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival on May 25. The two studios will join hands for the Korean remake of the Drishyam franchise. The announcement was made at the India Pavilion in Cannes on Sunday by the two studios with Pathak and Choi present.

Kumar Mangat Pathak’s Mumbai-based Panorama Studios is teaming with South Korea’s Anthology Studios, co-founded by former Warner Bros exec Jay Choi, Cobweb director Kim Jee-woon and Parasite star Song Kang-ho, on a Korean-language remake of India’s Drishyam franchise. 

Naman Ramachandran Korea’s Anthology Studios and India’s Panorama Studios have partnered for the remake of the Drishyam franchise in Korea. Panorama Studios is backed by producer Kumar Mangat Pathak, while Anthology Studios is founded by former Warner Bros. local Korean production head, Choi Jae-won AKA Jay Choi, “Parasite” actor Song Kang-ho and acclaimed director Kim Jee-woon. The trio worked together on “The Age of Shadows” (2016). Anthology’s “Cobweb,” directed by Kim, produced by Choi and starring Song, is premiering in an out of competition slot at the Cannes Film Festival on May 25. The two studios will join hands for the Korean remake of the Drishyam franchise. The announcement was made at the India Pavilion in Cannes on Sunday by the two studios with Pathak and Choi present.

The John Wick movie franchise has officially reached the billion mark!

Natalie Portman revisited her time playing Padme Amidala in the Star Wars movies.

It’s here, folks. We are finally able to see the finale of the “Fast & Furious” franchise with the new film, “Fast X.” Well, okay, not the true finale.

“Fast X,” the tenth movie in the franchise, is “the beginning of the end of the road.” And that an eleventh film, once again directed by French filmmaker Louis Leterrier (who joined the series after creative differences led to Justin Lin leaving “Fast X” mid-production), is soon on the horizon.Everybody is back for “Fast X,” from series regulars like Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster and Sung Kang to more recent additions like John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel and Jason Statham, to car-loving characters completely new to the franchise like Brie Larson, Alan Ritchson, Jason Momoa (stealing every scene he’s in), Daniela Melchior and, for some reason, Rita Moreno. Because when you think about the fuel-injected “Fast and Furious” franchise, you think about the 91-year-old actress who appeared in “Singin’ in the Rain” and both versions of “West Side Story.”And this cumulative, everybody’s back attitude brings to mind, of course, the Marvel Studios canon – specifically “Avengers: Infinity War,” which set the stage for the grand finale of the first era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Paula Abdul was offered a chance to join the Real Housewives franchise at Bravo, but she turned it down.

Fueled by the strong performance of John Wick: Chapter 4, Lionsgate’s John Wick franchise has crossed the $1B mark at the worldwide box office. The Keanu Reeves-led series’ total take to date now stands at $1,011,319,297 global.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “John Wick” is officially a billion-dollar franchise. Ticket sales for Lionsgate’s Keanu Reeves-led action series have surpassed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, with its tally standing at $1.011 billion across four films. It was carried across the coveted milestone by “John Wick: Chapter 4,” which is now the highest grossing with $425 million to date. The latest entry, which is the most expensive with its $100 million price tag, opened in March to $73.5 million, notching a new domestic franchise record. “John Wick” is one of the rare franchises that has gotten more successful with each installment. The first movie tapped out with $86.1 million in 2014 but it became a sleeper hit on home entertainment, while the 2017 sequel ended its run with $174.3 million. 2019’s “Parabellum,” which is the highest grossing entry prior to “Chapter 4,” left the big screen with $328.3 million globally.

In “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” the sturdy lark, positioned precariously in the liminal space between commerce and taste, there are the familiar callbacks, the big set pieces, the cracking bullwhip, dashing fedoras, nefarious Nazis, exotic locales, old friends and new faces. Something, however, is missing.

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is mostly encouraging. The fifth Harrison Ford-starring Indy flick doesn’t open theatrically until the week of June 30, but Cannes audiences got the first look. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” debuted at the 2008 Cannes Festival, however, that was days away from its Memorial Day weekend launch.

Nicholas Cage’s latest role isn’t in a film, or even a TV series.

Fast X” pulls you back in. Louis Leterrier’s installment does an impressive job of making all the old nonsense make a little bit of sense again.

The Love & Marriage franchise is heading to the Midwest with Love & Marriage: Detroit. The newest series in the franchise, from reality producer and Detroit native Carlos King, is set to premiere June 24 at 9 PM on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network following a new episode of Love & Marriage: Huntsville. The new installment was announced Wednesday during Warner Bros. Discovery’s 2023 Upfront at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“9-1-1” — as the ongoing WGA strike impacts productions industrywide.Reruns of “Abbott Elementary” airing back-to-back at 9 p.m. ET/PT Wednesdays are the only scripted show on the fall schedule.A source with knowledge of the decision making told TheWrap the goal was to present a strike-proof fall schedule ahead of the Disney/ABC upfronts presentation Tuesday.

Diminishing returns is a term used in business quite a bit. It’s the idea that eventually, over time, a product just doesn’t perform as it did previously.

“Masters of the Universe” alum Meg Foster will return to the franchise for Netflix’s upcoming animated series “Masters of the Universe: Revolution.”After voice acting as Evil-Lyn in the 1987 live-action film, Foster will assume a new role as Motherboard, an ancient sorceress of technology in the fight for the soul of Eternia, who stands as a formidable force against the Masters. Motherboard is a sentient AI force that serves as Hordak’s liasion on Eternia while she conspires against Skeletor and the people of Eternia.Foster joins the voice cast alongside Chris Wood as He-Man, Melissa Benoist as Teela, Mark Hamill as Skeletor and William Shatner, whose role has yet to be announced.

Dwayne Johnson will appear in a post-credits sequence in the new “Fast and Furious” film, as per The Wrap.