| | | | What's news: Emancipation producer Joey McFarland apologized for taking a photo of a man who escaped slavery to the film's premiere. NBC ordered more episodes of Lopez vs. Lopez. Malcolm X screened in Saudi Arabia for the first time. Black Panther 2 nears $400m at the domestic box office. — Abid Rahman |
Box Office: 'Black Panther 2,' 'Violent Night' Lead Icy Weekend ►Finding safe Harbour. Tommy Wirkola’s holiday-themed action-thriller Violent Night scared up a solid $13.3m from 3,682 theaters in its box debut, while holdover Black Panther: Wakanda Forever continued to be a crowd-pleaser in topping the chart with $17.6m from 3,855 locations.
Violent Night was the only new wide studio release over the Dec. 2-4 weekend. The Universal/87North genre pic, that stars David Harbour, placed No. 2 domestically after earning a respectable B+ CinemaScore. Overseas, Wirkola’s film opened to $7m from 72 markets for a global start of $20.4m.
THR's Pamela McClintock writes that in the pandemic era, superhero pics and genre fare have generally fared the best, since they draw younger adults and teenagers.
Wakanda Forever has now earned an impressive $394m domestically to pass up fellow 2022 superhero pics The Batman ($369m) and Thor: Love and Thunder ($343m). It is also the first film since Spider-Man: No Way Home to stay No. 1 for four consecutive weekends. Overseas, Wakanda Forever added $20.2m to its coffers for a foreign tally of $339m and $733m globally. The box office report.
—Avatar looms. Japanese anime blockbuster One Piece Film Red won a slow weekend at China’s box office. Film Red, the 15th film in Eiichiro Oda’s iconic One Piece manga and film franchise, released in China on Thursday and earned $10.5m over its first four days. THR's Patrick Brzeski writes that with China still wrestling with COVID restrictions, the upcoming release of Avatar: The Way of Water will provide a clear test of the market’s recovery. The China box office report. |
'Batgirl' Directors Say They’d Still Work With WB ►"We’ve kind of become part of movie history without even trying." At the Red Sea International Film Festival, THR's Alex Ritman managed to track down and speak to Batgirl filmmakers Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi. The duo opened up about the fallout from the controversial and unprecendented scrapping of their $90m superhero feature and the huge outpouring of support they've received from across the industry. The interview.
—A first. Spike Lee's Malcolm X may have famously been the first feature to shoot in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca, but it’s taken 30 years for the film to actually screen publicly in the country. That historic occasion took place on Dec. 3 at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, where Lee touched down to introduce his landmark 1992 feature. The story.
—"My intent was to honor this remarkable man." Emancipation producer Joey McFarland has apologized after sparking controversy for walking the red carpet at the film's premiere with the original photo of an escaped slave known as Peter who inspired the film. McFarland took to Instagram on Sunday to explain why he brought the photo to the event. The story.
—Back for more. NBC has ordered an additional nine episodes of Lopez vs. Lopez, the first-year comedy starring George Lopez and his daughter, Mayan Lopez. The back-nine brings the show's total for the season to 22, the longtime standard for broadcast series. Airing on Fridays, the comedy has drawn a predictably modest initial audience on one of the lowest TV usage nights of the week. However, it has found a greater foothold on Peacock and NBC’s other digital platforms. The story.
—"So, I guess I’m not Superman." Nick Cannon was hospitalized with pneumonia after performing at a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. Cannon, who was also diagnosed with Lupus kidney disease in January 2012, told his fans that he didn’t want prayers or well wishes, he just needed “some solid rest” to get back on his feet “stronger than ever.” The story. |
'SNL' Vets on Cast Overhaul ►"You just keep going." Ahead of the premiere of Saturday Night Live season 48, the iconic comedy show lost eight of its castmembers, the biggest cast overhaul in a generation. THR's Christy Piña spoke to Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang and Mikey Day about the huge changes and what it has been like working with newcomers Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker. The story.
—"I’m feeling very confident about this erection." SNL dove right into the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff race between Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock. The Dec. 3 cold open featured Kenan Thompson’s Herschel Walker, Mikey Day’s John Cornyn, Cecily Strong’s Marsha Blackburn and James Austin Johnson’s Mitch McConnell. The recap.
—"It was a real cusp period." For THR, Fawnia Soo Hoo spoke to the costume designers on Armageddon Time, Bones and All, Empire of Light and I Wanna Dance With Somebody about bringing ‘80s style back to the big screen. The costume pros behind weigh in on depicting an era of cultural upheaval, forward-thinking and creative expression. The story.
—"Any theaters we can get it into at any point, I’m pushing for." Rian Johnson has weighed in on the debate surrounding the release strategy for his latest film, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. In a new interview, the director said that he is pushing for his well-received film to go back into theaters once the film begins streaming on Netflix on Dec. 23. The story.
—"Thank you for showing us the power of the arts." A heartfelt Patti LaBelle praised her lifelong friend Gladys Knight. Matt Damon playfully teased his friend George Clooney — a lot — while Sheryl Crow gave thanks and a heartfelt rendition of “Baby Baby” to her fellow singer Amy Grant during Sunday’s Kennedy Center Honors. Knight, Clooney and Grant, along with composer and conductor Tania León and the rock group U2, were all part of this year’s class. The story. |
NAEJ Awards: THR Named Best Entertainment Publication ►🏆 Yay! 🏆 THR was named best entertainment publication at the 15th annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, which were handed out at a gala Sunday night at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City. THR landed several other big wins during the night, including best columnist for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, best anchor/host for Lesley Goldberg and Daniel Fienberg , and best multimedia package for its Sustainability Issue. The story.
—🏆 Hat trick 🏆 For the third year running, MrBeast was crowned the top creator at the 2022 YouTube Streamy Awards. Other notable winners included show of the year Good Mythical Morning, streamer of the year Kai Cenat and international creator of the year winner Khaby Lame. The evening was hosted by YouTube creator Eric Decker, best known as Airrack, and featured a performance from the rapper Yung Gravy. The winners.
—🏆 BIFA bonanza 🏆 Charlotte Wells’ debut feature Aftersun, starring Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio, was the big winner at this year’s British Independent Film Awards in London, earning seven honors from 16 nominations. The winners.
—🏆 Location, location, location 🏆 Don’t Worry Darling, 9-1-1 and the upcoming film 80 for Brady all received multiple wins at the 27th annual California on Location Awards. The honors, which were revealed Sunday, recognize location managers, public employees and other professionals who helped with on-location filming across the state. The winners. |
Bob McGrath 1932 - 2022 ►Legend. Bob McGrath, the Sing Along With Mitch tenor who portrayed the friendly music teacher Bob Johnson for more than four decades as an original castmember on Sesame Street, died Sunday at home with his family in New Jersey. He was 90. The obituary.
—"So loved all over the world." Holly Robinson Peete, Yvette Nicole Brown and Vanessa Williams were among those in Hollywood and the music industry who shared their condolences and tributes on social media following the death of Bob McGrath. The reaction. |
Film Review: 'Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power' ►"A compelling reminder of collective organizing's power." THR critic Lovia Gyarkye reviews Geeta Gandbhir and Sam Pollard's Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power. A new documentary weaves together archival footage and contemporary interviews to chronicle how residents of a Georgia county secured their right to vote in the 1960s. The review.
In other news...
—Tyler Posey and Crystal Reed reunite in new Teen Wolf: The Movie trailer
—Gen V trailer reveals bloody first look at The Boys college spinoff
—Netflix sets release date for Harry & Meghan doc series
—Critics Choice Awards: Jeff Bridges to receive lifetime achievement award
—Elvis, Mystery Road: Origin dominate Australia’s AACTA Craft Awards
—Keke Palmer announces pregnancy in SNL opening monologue
—Dolly Parton joins TikTok: “I have arrived!”
What else we're reading...
—Vittoria Benzine reports that archaeologists have asked Netflix to reclassify Graham Hancock’s Ancient Apocalypse as fiction [Artnet]
—Dana Stevens opines that Brendan Fraser deserves an Oscar for The Whale, but the movie is pretty bad and problematic [Slate]
—Michael Tedder writes that the late Christine McVie made Fleetwood Mac fun [Ringer]
—Aaron Zitner reports that some of Trump's Jewish allies are at breaking point after Kanye West, Nick Fuentes meeting [WSJ]
—Mark Landler writes that The Crown could have damaged Charles, but becoming king has helped solidify the royal's position [NYT]
Today...
...in 1997, Miramax unveiled Good Will Hunting, a heartfelt drama starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Robin Williams that went on to win two Oscars at the 70th Academy Awards, including for Williams’ performance. The review.
Today's birthdays: Paula Patton (47), Lynne Ramsay (53), Frankie Muniz (37), Nick Stahl (43), Amy Acker (46), Catherine Tate (53), Dolly Wells (51), Jessica Paré (42), Adan Canto (41), Lydia Leonard (41), Ross Bagley (34), Gabriel Luna (40), Morgan David Jones (40), Johan Renck (56), Lauren London (38), Amara Zaragoza (42), Jeroen Krabbé (78), Margaret Cho (54), Keri Hilson (40), Brad Carter (49), Linus Sandgren (50) |
| Broadway actor Quentin Oliver Lee has died following a battle with colon cancer. He was 34. The obituary. |
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