UK Film & TV Posts Record $7.6BN Production Spend In 2021; Another Challenging Year For Box Office

Singer and TV presenter Brenda Edwards has posted a family photo of her and her late son Jamal, who tragically died aged 31.

House of Gucci takes its place as the UK’s Number 1 film.

Meghan Markle has received a huge honor!

Award-worthy attire! Meghan Markle made quite the style statement when she sat down with CBS in March 2021 for a tell-all interview. Now, the 40-year-old royal’s Armani outfit is being recognized as the Fashion Museum’s official “Dress of the Year.” 

Refresh for latest…: After debuting early in 15 overseas markets last weekend, Sony’s Uncharted was game for another $55.4M at the international box office this session in a total 62 offshore hubs. With a projected $51M four-day domestic frame, the weekend maps out at $106.4M worldwide. This takes the running offshore cume to $88M and global to $139M.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterSony’s long-in-the-works video game adaptation “Uncharted” collected $44.1 million between Friday and Sunday, enough to lead domestic box office charts and solidify Tom Holland’s star power.The big-budget action adventure has been positioned as a key test of Holland’s bankability outside of his blockbuster success as Spider-Man. “Uncharted” has received mixed reviews, at best, so it’s safe to assume the 25-year-old British actor had a healthy hand in selling tickets. It also helps that “Uncharted” is rated PG-13 and based on one of the most popular video games.Directed by “Ruben Fleischer, who previously led Tom Hardy’s comic book tentpole “Venom” to box office glory, “Uncharted” is expected to earn $52 million from 4,275 North American theaters through the President’s Day holiday on Monday.

Ireland saw a record-breaking €500M ($570M) production spend across film, television drama, documentary and animation in 2021, according to new figures released by national agency Screen Ireland.

2022 Oscar nominee Will Smith (King Richard) and two-time Emmy nominee David Oyelowo (The Girl Before) have come aboard Netflix’s film adaptation of Tọlá Okogwu’s upcoming book Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun as producers, Deadline has confirmed.

Sony will release it’s first movie of 2022, and second Tom Holland title after Spider-Man: No Way Home over the 4-day Presidents Day weekend, Uncharted, in what is expected to be a $70M+ haul worldwide.

Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures’ Dune has hit a new milestone, crossing the $400M mark worldwide. Through Monday, the international box office cume is $292.3M with $107.8M from domestic for a an estimated global haul of $400.1M so far.

EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4’s Craig Charles-hosted daytime format Moneybags has become the network’s first show from its £30M ($40.6M) Global Format Fund to be recommissioned for a second season.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterMere months after Tom Holland ignited box office charts with “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the 25-year-old British actor is swinging back to movie theater marquees with “Uncharted.”Ahead of its domestic debut on Feb. 18, Sony’s big-screen adaptation of its popular video game series opened at the international box office to a solid $21.5 million from 15 overseas markets.“Uncharted” had the biggest start in the United Kingdom, landing in first place with $6.4 million.

Refresh for latest…: Hitting 15 offshore markets ahead of its domestic debut and further overseas expansion next weekend, Sony’s Uncharted mapped out an international box office launch of $21.5M. The Tom Holland/Mark Wahlberg-starrer was No. 1 in each of its openings, taking advantage of school holidays in some markets and, of course, the Spider-Man Holland halo.

Longtime Fleet Street fixture Baz Bamigboye is joining Deadline as a columnist and international editor at large. Bamigboye comes from London’s Daily Mail, where he has been the newspaper’s chief chronicler of showbusiness in the UK for three decades.

EXCLUSIVE: Bernd Schlotterer’s German outfit Palatin Media is launching world sales on Richard Armitage thriller The Man From Rome. Moonstone Entertainment’s Etchie Stroh is serving as a sales consultant.

Euro Box Office Stats For 2021

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentEuropean cinema admissions rose an estimated 38% in 2021, with over 590 million total tickets sold, generating a 42% rise in box office to €3.7 billion ($4.2 billion) compared with the all-time low year of 2020.The preliminary figures were released on Monday by the International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), the trade org representing European cinema associations. It comprises cinema exhibitors and their national trade associations across 39 European territories, some of which do not belong to the European Union.At a EU level — which covers the U.K.