| | | | What's news: Tár named best picture by the National Society of Film Critics. Avatar 2 is projected to top out at $222m in China. France's Canal Plus to acquire Orange’s pay channels and production unit. Lizzo believes that "cancel culture is appropriation." — Abid Rahman |
Harry Excoriates Royal Family ►"It never needed to be this way." Following a week of revelations from his memoir Spare, Prince Harry turned the royal melodrama up to 11 with a pair of TV interviews over the weekend. “I don’t know how staying silent is ever going to make things better,” Harry told Tom Bradby for the U.K.'s ITV, the first of the interviews to be shown. Speaking to Anderson Cooper for CBS’ 60 Minutes, the prince explained that he was now speaking publicly because "every single time I’ve tried to do it privately there have been briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife." The story.
—"You’ve made my spirits sing." Jeremy Renner expressed appreciation for the support he has received as he celebrated his birthday during his continued stay in a Reno hospital following his New Year’s Day snowplow accident. The Oscar-nominated actor, who turned 52 on Saturday, posted video to his Instagram stories of students from The Base, a Chicago-based organization dancing along to 50 Cent’s “In da Club” while holding cards that spelled out Renner’s name. The story.
—"This may be a random time to say this but it’s on my heart." Lizzo took to social media on Sunday to share her concerns that "cancel culture is appropriation." The Grammy-winner posted on Twitter that she felt the concept of cancel culture previously "was real outrage from truly marginalized people and now it’s become trendy, misused and misdirected." The singer added that she hoped the term would be phased out. The story. |
'Avatar 2' Crosses $1.7B Globally ►Horrifically good numbers. Avatar: The Way of Water earned a sensational $45m in its fourth weekend to pass the $500m mark at the domestic box office, a feat accomplished by only two other films since the pandemic began, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Top-Gun: Maverick. Overseas, the Avatar 2 earned a huge $132.6m over the weekend for an international total of $1.19b and global cume of $1.7b, including $526.8m in domestic ticket sales.
Placing No. 2 was Universal, Blumhouse and Atomic Monster's M3GAN, which scared up a stellar $30.2m opening in North America, ahead of expectations and the top opening for a PG-13 horror film since A Quiet Place Part II in 2021. And it’s the best start for a horror film opening in January since Devil Inside in 2012. Overseas, the film launched to $14.8m for an early global tally of $45m.
THR's Pamela McClintock writes that thanks to Avatar 2 and M3GAN, box office revenue was up nearly 70 percent from the same weekend in 2022 — historically, the first frame of January is notably quiet. The box office report.
—Challenging environment. Avatar 2 continued to make solid gains at China’s box office, even in the face of a catastrophic wave of COVID-19. The Disney tentpole added $16.5m in its fourth weekend, nudging its total to $189.4m. After some wild swings in early forecasting, leading Chinese ticketing app Maoyan now projects Avatar 2 to top out at $222m —the most of any Hollywood film of the pandemic era and an improvement upon the $202m that the first Avatar film earned in China. The China box office report. |
Globes Reveals Additional Presenters ►Filling out the ranks. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has revealed additional presenters for tomorrow night's Golden Globes. The presenter list now also includes Jennifer Coolidge, Claire Danes, Jay Ellis, Henry Golding, Harvey Guillén, Regina Hall, Cole Hauser, Salma Hayek Pinault, Jennifer Hudson, Jenna Ortega, Mo Brings Plenty, Glen Powell, Hilary Swank and Letitia Wright. The story.
—🏆 High Tár content 🏆 Tár was named best picture by the National Society of Film Critics in the group’s 57th annual vote Saturday. The film notched a number of key wins from the critics group, as Cate Blanchett was awarded best actress for her titular role, while writer-director Todd Field prevailed for best screenplay. Also faring well was The Banshees of Inisherin. The winners.
—🏆 When looks matter 🏆 The Art Directors Guild have revealed the nominations for the 27th annual ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards. Avatar: The Way of Water, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Elvis are among the feature film nominees. Nominees in the TV categories include Wednesday, House of the Dragon, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and The White Lotus. Winners will be announced at the ADG Awards on Feb. 18. The nominees. |
'M3GAN' Is Horror for the TikTok Generation ►"She’s an internet sensation and trend-setter." With M3GAN causing a stir at the box office, THR's Richard Newby writes that even though some older horror fans may balk at the Blumhouse movie's PG-13 rating or its meme-able moments, but it's time for younger generations to have a turn in crafting their nightmares. The analysis.
—"We make movies that reflect our lives." The Three Amigos — the nickname given to the trio of Mexican Oscar-winning directors Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón — sat down for a rare 90-minute chat at the Academy Museum on Friday night, where the longtime friends bantered and dove into each other’s recent films. Iñárritu (Bardo) and del Toro (Pinocchio) are both in the awards race this year while Cuarón served as moderator for the conversation following an introduction by Ted Sarandos. The conversation.
—"I’m on the Star Trek Enterprise. That’s where I roll." Nicolas Cage has shot down any notions that he might one day appear in a Star Wars project. In a new interview, the Oscar winner revealed that he is a “Trekkie, man." Previously, Pedro Pascal, Cage's The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent co-star and star of The Mandalorian, had talked about bringing Cage into the Stars Wars universe. The story.
—🤝 Accord en vue de la cession 🤝 French media and entertainment conglomerate Vivendi’s Canal Plus Group has agreed to acquire production arm Orange Studio and full ownership of TV channels unit OCS from French telecom company Orange. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. The content division Orange Studio co-produces films and distributes them in France, while selling them abroad. The story. |
Film Review: '80 for Brady' ►"Football fandom not required." THR film critic Sheri Linden reviews Kyle Marvin's 80 for Brady. In a feature inspired by a true story, four silver-haired Massachusetts friends — Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field — head to Houston for Super Bowl LI to see their hero Tom Brady in action. The review.
—"You're better off missing this one." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews Fox's Alert: Missing Persons Unit. Jamie Foxx is among creators of a new series in which an estranged husband and wife (Scott Caan and Dania Ramirez) team up to solve cases of the week while searching for their missing son. The review.
In other news...
—Joe Goldberg goes from stalker to stalked in You season 4 trailer
—Taste Awards rename comedy honor as tribute to Bob Saget
—Turkish TV to remake Israeli drama Shtisel
—Atlanta home prices jump 10 percent in one year amid production boom
—Bernard Kalb, veteran journalist and TV host, dies at 100
—Adam Rich, Eight Is Enough actor, dies at 54
What else we're reading...
—Pamela Paul looks at the reasons why America has fallen so hard for Harry and Meghan [NYT]
—Ashley Carman and Lucas Shaw write that the great podcasting market correction is here [Bloomberg]
—Ann Lee talks to Kathleen Turner about booze, health and falling in love with Michael Douglas [Guardian]
—Biman Mukherji writes that Indian cinema-goers’ pivot to streaming films has been a disaster for Bollywood [SCMP]
—Mike Wendling looks at how the Brazilian riot was stoked by Trump's election-denying allies [BBC]
Today...
Today's birthdays: Omari Hardwick (49), J.K. Simmons (68), Amber Ruffin (44), Nina Dobrev (34), Imelda Staunton (67), Joely Richardson (58), Jade Eshete (38), Nicola Coughlan (36), Dave Matthews (56), Deon Cole (51), Joey Lauren Adams (55), Nicola Peltz Beckham (28), David Johansen (73), David Costabile (56), Sope Dirisu (32), Kerris Dorsey (25), John Doman (78), Megan West (32), James Acaster (38) |
| Owen Roizman, the five-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer who partnered with director William Friedkin on the gripping movie classics The French Connection and The Exorcist, has died. He was 86. The obituary. |
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