| | | | | | What's news: Music's biggest night was really Beyoncé's biggest night. Hailey Gates' Atropia won the U.S. dramatic competition grand jury prize at Sundance. A24 has acquired Eva Victor’s Sorry, Baby. Nezha 2 has earned $434m in 5 days at the Chinese box office. Trump will sit down for an interview on Fox ahead of the Super Bowl. — Abid Rahman
Do you have THR's next big story? Confidentially share tips with us at tips@thr.com. |
Grammy Awards 2025 ►🏆 Finally! 🏆 The 2025 Grammys were handed out Sunday, with Beyoncé taking home the top award of the night for album of the year and Kendrick Lamar sweeping all the categories in which he was nominated, including song and record of the year. Beyoncé won album of the year for Cowboy Carter, Lamar took home the trophies for record and song of the year, and Chappell Roan was named best new artist during the ceremony at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The winners.
—Snubs, shutouts and surprises. While a number of pundits predicted this would finally be the year that Beyoncé scored an album of the year win at the Grammys, the triumph was still a surprise to pessimistic viewers who had gotten used to seeing her lose the top award. Two women who have dominated past editions of the Grammys surprisingly walked away without a single trophy this year. Neither Billie Eilish nor Taylor Swift won a single Grammy on Sunday night. Other notable snubs included seven-time nominees Post Malone also being shut out and Charli XCX winning three awards but all presented in the Premiere Ceremony and not the main awards ceremony. The snubs.
—Big night for Bey. On Sunday, Beyonce not only extended her lead as the Grammys most winningest artist (35 and counting) but also became the first Black woman to win best country album for Cowboy Carter. THR goes inside another spectacular night for the music icon. The story.
—All is forgiven. The Weeknd made a surprise appearance and performance at the Grammys after he had announced three years prior that he planned to boycott the show following his 2021 snub. The Canadian singer performed his song “Timeless” alongside Playboi Carti. The Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. introduced the performance as he reflected on criticism that the Recording Academy received, in particular from The Weeknd. The story.
—Most memorable moments. From Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars' beautiful tribute to Los Angeles following the devastating wildfires to The Weeknd's surprise performance, THR has gathered together some of the Grammy night's highlights (and lowlights). The moments. |
Review: Wildly Versatile Grammys Delivered Just What It Needed To ►"This was a more topically pointed telecast." In his review of the 2025 Grammys telecast, THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg writes that there was something for everyone at the Trevor Noah-hosted ceremony, from heartfelt Los Angeles fire tributes to astounding musical performances to that long-overdue album of the year prize for Beyoncé. The review.
—"The darkest of times show the best in humanity." Trevor Noah took the Grammys stage as host for the fifth time on Sunday night. (He also exec produced the show.) At the top of the telecast, the former Daily Show host was quick to note how, despite the Grammys airing live from Los Angeles, music's biggest night is coming under “unusual” circumstances. Noah judged the mood correctly, but still managed to get in some zingers. Before starting the show, Noah said he was going to "enjoy it tonight because this may be my last time I get to host anything in this country." The monologue. |
Grammys Red Carpet ►"Sleek, dark and more than a little serious." The Grammys, historically, have featured the most outrageous and over-the-top looks of any red carpet during the awards season. But with the devastating wildfires fresh in peoples minds, the night’s style felt more toned down than past years. For THR, Laurie Brookins selects the looks that had people talking at the 2025 Grammys. The looks.
—All the details. Diving more in-depth into Sunday night's looks, Laurie Brookins has all the details on who was wearing what and all the backstory on the Grammys' most stylish looks. The looks.
—"What a reveal." Kanye West and his wife, Bianca Censori, created the inappropriate moment viewers will be discussing long after the Grammys ceremony ended. When the pair first stepped onto the carpet, Censori was wrapped in a high-necked fur coat (the jury is still out on real vs. faux) that she clutched together in front. With extra security measures immediately put in place and a request for photographers to step back six inches, Censori dropped her coat to reveal that she was wearing an exceedingly sheer minidress in an open, nude-toned mesh and seemingly no underwear underneath. The story.
—Never change. Jaden Smith stunned the Grammys early on by wearing a castle on his head on the red carpet. Smith posed for photos with a large black castle on his head with a circular cut-out to make way for his face. Underneath, the “Summertime in Paris” singer wore a classic black suit, though it’s unclear why he chose to wear the architecture-inspired piece. The story.
More Grammys 2025 news...
—Tribute to Quincy Jones features Cynthia Erivo, Will Smith and medley of iconic hits
—Lady Gaga says “trans people are not invisible” as Grammys get political
—Reporter apologizes for disrespectful Babyface interview
—Jimmy Carter wins posthumous Grammy for audiobook narration, setting record
—Dave Chappelle wins third comedy album Grammy in a row
—Charli XCX goes full ‘Brat’ alongside Julia Fox, Alex Consani during debut Grammys performance
—Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars pay tribute to L.A. with "California Dreamin’" performance
—Sabrina Carpenter dazzles with jazzy debut performance
—Chappell Roan turns Grammys into the “Pink Pony Club” with electrifying debut performance |
Karla Sofía Gascón: "I Am Not a Racist" ►"I cannot renounce a nomination either because I have not committed any crime nor have I harmed anyone." Oscar nominee Karla Sofía Gascón, whose awards campaign for Emilia Pérez was thrown into disarray last week by the revelation of years-old tweets widely seen as expressing bigoted views, addressed the controversy in a tearful, hourlong interview with CNN en Español on Saturday evening. By turns defiant and penitent, the Spanish actress broke down repeatedly in defending herself against accusations of racism, antisemitism and xenophobia. While expressing regret for how her words have been interpreted, she also cast suspicion over the timing of the revelations, implying that they were part of an effort to sabotage her awards chances. The story.
—"I am a human being who also made, makes and will make mistakes from which I will learn." As well as the CNN interview, Gascón sent THR a long statement explaining why she chose to deactivate her X account after critics surfaced inflammatory old tweets of hers weighing in on, among other things, the murder of George Floyd and ensuing racial reckoning, as well as decrying Muslim immigration in her native Spain and calling for a ban of “religions that go against European values.” Gascón, the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for an acting award, has faced abuse and death threats from anti-trans online factions since sharing the best actress prize at Cannes for her role as a Mexico cartel leader who transitions to live life as a woman in Emilia Pérez. The story.
—ICYMI. Best supporting actress Oscar nominee Zoe Saldaña addressed the Gascón controversy for the first time on Friday. “I’m still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days, and I’m sad,” Saldaña said during a Q&A in London in response to a question from moderator Edith Bowman about the recent revelation of bigoted tweets by her Emilia Pérez co-star. The story.
—A very modern Oscars scandal. THR's executive editor of awards coverage Scott Feinberg dissects the origins and implications of the Gascón situation that has "completely upended the Oscar race." The analysis.
—"It’s disappointing when that resentment is being voiced by someone who I imagine knows the pains of marginalization." In a guest column for THR, Oscar winner Travon Free responds to Gascón's Twitter slam that the 2021 Oscars ceremony was an “Afro-Korean festival” and a “Black Lives Matter demonstration." Free writes, "I was a complete unknown who was not only nominated for a short film called 'Two Distant Strangers' that was thematically aligned with Black Lives Matter sentiments, I also won her alleged cousin’s award that night." The column. |
'Brave New World' Shows Disney Can't Escape the Culture Wars ►Touchy times. When Captain America: Brave New World star Anthony Mackie was promoting the upcoming Marvel sequel at a press event in Italy, he said, “To me Captain America represents a lot of different things and I don’t think the term ‘America’ should be one of those representations. It’s about a man who keeps his word, who has honor, dignity and integrity. Someone who is trustworthy and dependable.” Given the polarized, hyper sensitive world we live in, Mackie posted a clarification on Instagram faster than Cap hurling his shield. THR's James Hibberd writes that while Disney desperately tries to avoid politics, the stars of Brave New World and Spider-Man TV show are making waves by just barely slipping off message. The story.
—🤝 Music rights deal 🤝 Warner Bros. Discovery has partnered with rights firm Cutting Edge Group in a joint venture which will co-own the studio’s catalog of film and TV music from its blockbusters. As part of the joint venture, WBD will have creative and operational control of the music rights, while Cutting Edge Group will jointly manage the joint venture. The companies did not disclose the financials involved in the deal but called the creation of the joint venture “one of the largest music deals ever transacted.” The catalog includes music from the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises, DC movies, as well as TV shows such as Friends, Game of Thrones and The Big Bang Theory. The story.
—Guilty. Peter Akemann, the former president of Skydance Interactive, has pleaded guilty to flying the drone that collided with and subsequently grounded a Canadian Super Scooper firefighting plane as the Palisades Fire raged on Jan. 9. Akemann, who worked with Skydance’s video game and virtual reality arm starting in 2016 and recently left his role, agreed to a guilty plea of one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft. The charge, a misdemeanor, could result in a sentence of up to one year in federal prison. The Jan. 9 collision of a DJI Mini 3 Pro with a firefighting aircraft provided by the government of Quebec to help L.A. battle its destructive wildfires made national headlines. The story. |
Sundance: 'Atropia,' 'Seeds' Win Top Festival Jury Prizes ►🏆 Congrats! 🏆 Atropia, Seeds, Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) and Cutting Through Rocks were among the key winners at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. During a ceremony held Friday in Park City, Atropia won the Grand Jury prize for U.S. Dramatic Competition, while Seeds picked up the U.S. Documentary Competition award. Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) prevailed for the jury prize for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section, while Cutting Through Rocks nabbed the award for World Cinema Documentary Competition. Among the audience awards, Twinless won in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and André Is an Idiot topped the U.S. Documentary Competition. The winners.
—🎭 Welcome aboard 🎭 Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin and Samantha Morton round out the supporting cast of The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of the epic poem by Homer that he is making for Universal. Page is a Nolan veteran, having the memorable role of architecture grad student Ariadne in 2010’s Inception. Patel too is a Nolan alum, with a role in 2020’s Tenet, while Irwin had the memorable voice role of TARS the robot in Interstellar. The quartet of actors join a cast including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal and Benny Safdie. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 A24 has acquired Eva Victor’s Sundance hit Sorry, Baby. Victor’s film — which she wrote, directed and starred in — tells the story of a college professor recovering from sexual assault. Per the logline, “Something bad happened to Agnes. But life goes on… for everyone around her, at least.” A24 noted that bidding was an incredibly competitive situation. The final price tag is still unknown. The story.
—🎭 Whatever the cost! 🎭 Dan Stevens, who played fan favorite character Trapper in Legendary’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is in negotiations to reprise his role for the latest Monsterverse installment from the company. I Am Mother filmmaker Grant Sputore is directing the creature feature, which recently brought on its first human actor, Kaitlyn Dever, who is new to the franchise. Plot details are being kept under the Earth’s crust, but Legendary has said the story will feature “several new human characters alongside the beloved and iconic Titans Godzilla and Kong as they face off against a cataclysmic world-ending threat.” The story.
—🎭 One more 🎭 Black Panther star Danai Gurira has joined John Cena in Matchbox, Apple Original Films’ live-action take on the classic Mattel car toy line. The actress, who is also known for playing fan favorite character Michonne on AMC’s The Walking Dead, now joins a call sheet that also includes Sam Richardson, Teyonah Parris and Arturo Castro. Sam Hargrave, the helmer behind the Extraction action movies, is directing the feature that is shooting this winter in several locales around the world, including Hungary and Slovakia. The story. |
'Dog Man' Scores Near-Record January Opening for an Animated Film ►Good boy. Animated film Dog Man barked plenty loud at the domestic box office over the Jan. 31-Feb. 2 weekend, where it easily topped the chart with $35m in another resounding win for the family marketplace. Its global opening of $40.2m means it has already recouped the money it cost DreamWorks Animation and Universal to make the Captain Underpants spinoff, excluding marketing. In North America, it scored the second-biggest January start ever for an animated film behind DWA’s 2016’s Kung Fu Panda 3 ($41.28m), not adjusted for inflation.
Elsewhere, New Line and Warner Bros. also did nicely with Companion, the sci-fi horror pic about a weekend getaway to a remote cabin in the woods that goes horribly wrong. The movie placed second domestically with $9.5m. Like Dog Man, it made back its modest production budget in its opening weekend when factoring in a foreign start of $5.5m for a global launch of $15m (the film’s price tag before marketing is roughly $10m.) The box office report.
—Crazy numbers. Bouncing back from a major slowdown in 2024, China's theatrical box office is generating boffo business again. Ticket sales revenue in the country has totaled $978m since the Chinese New Year holiday kicked off on Jan. 29, a 27.3 percent compared to the first five days of last year’s holiday. Enlight Pictures’ animated sequel Nezha 2 is powering the huge numbers. The film, directed by Yu Yang, has earned $434m and is on track to overtake the war film The Battle at Lake Changjin ($913m) as China’s biggest blockbuster of all time. Wanda Pictures’ comedy-mystery franchise installment Detective Chinatown 1900, co-directed by Chen Sicheng and Dai Mo, opened in second place with $253.1m over the first five days of the CNY. The China box office report. |
Trump Set for Fox News Super Bowl Interview ►Tarrific news. Donald Trump will sit down for a TV interview ahead of this weekend’s Super Bowl LIX on Fox. The interview, to be conducted by Fox News anchor Bret Baier, will run during the 3 p.m. hour of the Fox pregame show, with additional portions to run on Baier’s evening program Special Report on Monday. Fox says the interview will be pretaped at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in West Palm Beach. The story.
—"If there’s a headline or a trending topic that’s happening in women’s sports, you can assume that we’re going to be covering it in some way, shape or form." Streaming platform Roku, Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Rich Eisen Productions are set to launch a new studio show on Roku Channel dedicated to women’s sports. Called Women’s Sports Now , the weekly series will be hosted by former WNBA star and current co-owner of the Atlanta Dream Renee Montgomery, and comedian Sarah Tiana, joined by veteran sports reporter Suzy Shuster, who will also executive produce the program. The show will take a big picture look at the world of women’s sports, including basketball, soccer, volleyball, college sports and more. The story.
—The end is nigh. Netflix will close out its comic-book series The Sandman with the forthcoming second season. The decision to end the show also comes as Neil Gaiman, who created the Sandman comic and developed and executive produces the series, has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct by several women. Gaiman has denied the allegations. Sources say the second season of The Sandman will conclude the story arc for Dream (Tom Sturridge), the show’s central character. Production on the season wrapped last summer. The story. |
THR Critics Pick the 15 Best Films of Sundance 2025 ►Standouts. With another Sundance in the books, THR's crack team of critics — David Rooney, Lovia Gyarkye, Jon Frosch, Daniel Fienberg, Leslie Felperin and Sheri Linden — pick the best of the best from Park City. A sexy gay cruising thriller, an all-too-timely drama about post-wildfire recovery and a shocking doc about U.S. prisons are among our critics’ faves from the fest. The list.
—"A brew of music, romantic melancholy and comedy that goes down easily." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews James Griffiths’ The Ballad of Wallis Island. Carey Mulligan, Tom Basden and Tim Key star in this comedy-drama about the troubled romantic past of a once-popular Brit folk-rock duo, their awkward reunion engineered by an oddball superfan. The review.
—"Not for everyone, in a good way." For THR, Jourdain Searles reviews Amanda Kramer's By Design. Melanie Griffith, Samantha Mathis and Robin Tunney co-star in Kramer's latest oddball offering, which has Juliette Lewis play a chair. The review.
—"The making of a making a murderer." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Charlie Shackleton's Zodiac Killer Project. The British critic and filmmaker of Beyond Clueless reopens the infamous case of the murderer who terrorized the Bay Area in the late 1960s. The review.
—"An authentic Bronx tale." Jordan reviews Joel Alfonso Vargas' Mad Bills to Pay. The writer-director's feature debut follows a Dominican American family struggling to make it work in one of the city’s toughest boroughs. The story.
—"Terrifyingly timely, darkly hilarious, strangely haunting." THR's Angie Han reviews Adult Swim's Common Side Effects. Mike Judge and Greg Daniels executive produce the half-hour series about a rare mushroom with near-infinite healing properties, from creators Joe Bennett (Scavengers Reign) and Steve Hely. The review.
In other news...
—Netflix’s new releases coming in February
—M3GAN 2.0 teaser debuts during Grammy Awards
—SK Global bolsters leadership, promotes Matt Aragachi to president
—Love Island USA winner Serena Page signs with CAA
—Resorts World sets "MrBeast experience" in Las Vegas
—Beyoncé reveals 2025 Cowboy Carter tour
—Allyce Ozarski, producer on Baskets, SMILF and The L Word: Generation Q, dies at 41
—John Erwin, voice actor in He-Man and Archie cartoons, dies at 88
What else we're reading...
—Resurfacing this story from THR's Canada bureau chief Etan Vlessing for obvious reasons: "One big way Trump's tariffs may upend Hollywood production" [THR]
—Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier report on the standoff at USAID where Elon Musk's cronies have incredibly gained access to sensitive information [Bloomberg]
—Santiago Pérez, Vipal Monga and Anthony Harrup report that Canada, Mexico want the U.S. to feel the pain of tariffs too with precision strikes on goods from GOP states [WSJ]
—Michael Kimmelman wonders what kind of Los Angeles will rise from the fires, something largely familiar or a bold new metropolis [NYT]
—Neil Armstrong looks into the mystery of why Jane Austen's letters were destroyed by her own sister [BBC]
Today...
...in 2012, Madonna's W.E. was released in theaters worldwide. The historical romantic drama film, depicting Wallis Simpson's controversial relationship with Edward VIII, was panned by critics and bombed at the box office. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Maura Tierney (60), Isla Fisher (49), Nathan Lane (69), Warwick Davis (55), Tim Heidecker (49), Anthony Russo (55), Amal Clooney (47), Bridget Regan (43), Aimee Lou Wood (30), Tao Tsuchiya (30), Morgan Fairchild (75), Blythe Danner (82), Stephen McHattie (78), Andrew Form (53), Fredric Lehne (66), Terry Chen (50), Keith Gordon (64), Elisa Donovan (54), Kathleen Kinmont (60), Pamela Franklin (75), Kelly Sullivan (47), John Hartman (41), Costa Ronin (46), Matt Winston (55), Kadiff Kirwan (36), Matthew Moy (41), Ferzan Özpetek (66), Jennifer Candy (45), Niko Terho (29), Tallulah Willis (31), Thomas Calabro (66), Frank Coraci (59), Shahab Hosseini (51), Brandon Micheal Hall (32) |
| | | |
