Warner Bros. Looks to Close Deal for ‘Harry Potter’ HBO Max Series

tweeted the sarcastic comment after saying that several people were already threatening to boycott the new series over her involvement. “Dreadful news, which I feel duty bound to share.

J. Kim Murphy “Evil Dead Rise” might not be able to vanquish the soon-to-three-peat box office champion “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” but the horror entry is still chainsawing off its own solid opening on domestic charts. The Warner Bros. release earned $10.3 million from 3,402 locations on Friday, a figure that includes $2.5 million in previews. It’s an auspicious start for the horror entry, which now has a strong chance of outperforming its projections, which had pegged the film with a $15 million to $20 million debut heading into the weekend. That’s not too shabby of a haul for a production originally slated to release directly on HBO Max. “Evil Dead Rise” is the fifth installment in Warner Bros. and New Line’s outlandish horror franchise, as well as the first in 10 years. “Rise” is tracking slightly behind its predecessor, which scored an $11.8 million opening day in April 2013, on its way to a $25.7 million debut.

form of a TV series is coming to Max over the next decade, setting an entirely new cast for the trio fans have come to know and love. But “The Tonight Show” Jimmy Fallon offered a first-look at that cast on Wednesday — which apparently includes Marjorie Taylor Greene.OK, obviously, Fallon didn’t get crazy early access to the actual new cast of “Harry Potter.” In the segment, he simply fan-casted a few of the roles based on lookalike photos.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Paramount Global fired back on Wednesday in the battle over “South Park” streaming rights, accusing Warner Bros. Discovery of withholding $52 million in license fees. Warner Bros. Discovery sued Paramount in February, alleging that the company had breached its $500 million licensing deal with HBO Max by diverting “South Park” specials to Paramount+. On Wednesday, Paramount filed a counterclaim, alleging that HBO Max got everything it bargained for under the agreement, but has nevertheless withheld two required payments of $26 million apiece. The countersuit, filed in New York Supreme Court, also argues that the unpaid fees cover the 300-plus episodes of “South Park” now streaming on HBO Max, which are not in dispute in the lawsuit.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Charlie Sheen and Chuck Lorre are officially back in business together, with the actor joining Lorre’s HBO Max series “How to Be a Bookie.” Variety has confirmed with sources that Sheen will recur in the upcoming HBO Max series (with the streamer set to be renamed Max in the next month). The show stars Sebastian Maniscalco and was ordered to series in October. Reps for Warner Bros. Television and HBO Max declined to comment. Sheen and Lorre previously worked together on the hit CBS sitcom “Two and a Half Men.” Lorre co-created and executive produced the show, with Sheen starring. Sheen earned four Emmy nominations during his time on the show, but infamously left in the eighth season amid a public meltdown that included his viral “tiger blood” interview with ABC News and entering drug rehab. Sheen proceeded to make a number of disparaging remarks about Lorre publicly, with Lorre killing off Sheen’s character on “Two and a Half Men.” It was revealed in the series finale that Sheen’s character was not really dead, but died in the finale when a piano fell on his head.

The last time the parent company of Warner Bros and HBO promoted the launch of a streaming service, it faced the once-a-century challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and President David Zaslav, just a day after revealing details of the new combined streaming service Max, joined industry titans Steven Spielberg and Paul Thomas Anderson to tout another area close to the heart of the studio he now heads: the importance of restoring and preserving Warner Bros.’ rich legacy of film classics, especially as it heads into its 100th anniversary year. Appearing on stage at the opening night of the 14th TCM Classic Film Festival with Spielberg and Anderson in a conversation moderated by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz, Zaslav — who previously stated his belief in the theatrical experience and a return to that after 2021’s much-derided day-and-date release model under past CEO Jason Kilar — made it clear that the studio’s commitment to the preservation and well-being of the studio’s rich library will be a priority in his administration. (Turner Classic Movies is a cable channel under the WBD umbrella.)

Despite author J.K. Rowling coming under fire during the pandemic over her comments on transgender issues, Warner Bros has boldly stood by the Harry Potter and Wizarding World architect, in particular this morning, when it was made official that Warner Bros Discovery has greenlit a Harry Potter Max streaming series.

HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery dished out lots of news, teaser trailers, and other info at their press event today about rebranding HBO Max to Max.

is coming to TV. On Wednesday, Max, formerly known as HBO Max, announced that it's ordered a scripted series based off of J.K.

Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled three tiers for its new Max service today. The pricing keeps Max in line with HBO Max, and at the top end of the entertainment streaming spectrum. A price hike several months ago by HBO Max made it the most expensive service among major streamers, and the new set of plans will keep it just ahead of Netflix’s most popular U.S. plan, which now costst $15.49 a month.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter A “Harry Potter” TV series is officially moving forward at HBO Max. The announcement was made during Warner Bros. Discovery’s presentation to press and investors on April 12, during which it was announced that HBO Max and Discovery+ are officially being combined into a new service dubbed simply Max. News of a show based on the megahit J.K. Rowling book series first leaked on April 3, but details have now been confirmed. Each season of the show will be based on one of the books in the franchise, with Warner Bros. Discovery describing the show as a “decade-long series.” It will feature an entirely new cast from the films.

HBO Max is making a ton of huge announcements!

Warner Bros Television has acquired rights to Jesse Q. Sutanto’s latest novel Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films will develop the book for television with Mindy Kaling’s production company Kaling International, which is under an overall deal at WBTV.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “The Penguin” series at HBO Max has cast Carmen Ejogo, François Chau, and David H. Holmes in recurring roles, Variety has learned exclusively. The trio join a cast that includes series lead Colin Farrell, who will reprise the role of Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot from “The Batman, as well as Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Deirdre O’Connell, and Clancy Brown. Character details for Ejogo, Chau, and Holmes are being kept under wraps. Ejogo’s recent TV credits include “Your Honor,” “I’m a Virgo,” and “True Detective” Season 3. In film, she has starred in features such as the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise, “Alien: Covenant,” and “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” She is repped by WME and Peikoff Mahan.

BreAnna Bell Warner Bros. TV has acquired the book rights to Jesse Q. Sutanto’s novel, “Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers,” the studio announced on Monday. Mindy Kaling’s Kaling International, which is currently under an overall deal with WBTV, is attached to produce alongside Harpo Films. The novel follows Vera Wong, a lonely widow living in San Francisco’s Chinatown who wakes up one morning to find a dead body on the floor of her struggling tea shop. “No one is more curious than a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands, so Vera decides to start her own investigation,” reads the description. The book was published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and HQ, a division of HarperCollins UK.

Deadline’s Most Valuable Blockbuster tournament took a hiatus during the pandemic as movie theaters closed for the majority of 2020-2021 and theatrical day-and-date titles on both the big screen and studios’ respective streaming platforms became more prevalent. Coming back from that brink, the studios have largely returned to their theatrical release models and the downstream monies they can bring. Not to mention their power in launching IPs around the world with big global marketing campaigns. When it comes to evaluating the financial performance of top movies, it isn’t about what a film grosses at the box office. The true tale is told when production budgets, P&A, talent participations and other costs collide with box office grosses, and ancillary revenues from VOD to DVD and TV. To get close to that mysterious end of the equation, Deadline is repeating our Most Valuable Blockbuster tournament for 2022, using data culled by seasoned and trusted sources.

Apparently, it’s time to “get high on science.”

reported by Bloomberg, the show would be based directly on J.K. Rowling’s best-selling novels, with each season focusing on one book in the seven-book series.The potential series would not be based on an in-universe spin-off, such as the “Fantastic Beasts” films.The concept of one season per book suggests that the franchise would be an ongoing, years-long project from Warner Bros.Rowling is in preliminary talks to join the project as a producer and would have a degree of creative involvement, though she would not be the primary creator or showrunner of the series.Once Rowling is officially on board, the project is expected to look for a writer.There have long been talks about a “Harry Potter” television series, with rumors first sparking in January 2021 — although Warner Bros.

Harry Potter is back!