With Barbie taking No. 1 at the domestic box office for a fourth consecutive frame, the failure of Amblin/Universal’s $45M-budgeted The Last Voyage of the Demeter to make it a competitive weekend stands out.
What went wrong?
The filmmakers aimed to keep this period horror pic as cheap as possible: Exteriors were shot in Malta, while interior were shot in Germany, with those countries offering tax credits of 50% and 30%, respectively.
What makes the $6.5M opening here for Demeter more notable is the fact that it was the only major studio wide entry over the weekend, and yet it still couldn't beat Barbie. (Of course, due to tracking, it has been clear that this vampire ship pic was headed for the rocks.)
One key hurdle is the fact that the film is period horror, which is a tricky subgenre given that it tends to be too elevated to excite core 18-34 horror fans, and yet too marginal to lure sophisticated moviegoers, even if stars are involved. A prime example is Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak, which had a $13.1M opening and a $31M domestic tally on a $55M production cost).
Despite all noble efforts here by Universal, plenty of good seats remain available for a trip on the Demeter. In terms of afterlife, Amblin’s linear cable deal is with Showtime, so Demeter won’t end up on Peacock. Onward to PVOD, Ho! >>>Other Key Factors |
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Chrisley Family Matters - Todd and Julie Chrisley were sentenced to a combined total of 19 years in prison for crimes including tax evasion and wire fraud. However, that hasn’t stopped other members of the Chrisley Knows Best family from pursuing their television careers. Chase, Savannah, Chloe, Grayson, and “Nanny” Faye Chrisley are set to star in a new reality series from Queer Eye producer Scout Productions. The docuseries, which is currently in development, will see the kids and Todd Chrisley’s mother pick up their lives after their parents were locked up. >>>“We’re So Happy To Be Back”
Maui Film Commissioner Speaks - “These are the kind of times that really test you,” said Maui Film Commissioner Tracy Bennett in an interview with Deadline on Friday about the wildfires that have swept the island and, specifically, leveled historic Lahaina Town. Bennett, who has been in the job 10 years, related a number of harrowing details from the past few days. >>>Stories From Lahaina
The Film That Lit My Fuse - William Friedkin, who died last week at age 87, considered Citizen Kane to be one of his great influences. In reprinting Friedkin's dissection of Orson Welles’ debut film, Deadline celebrates an immortal classic and also the wit and intelligence of a Hollywood who followed in the footsteps of Welles. >>>Watch
Deadline’s Contenders Television: The Nominees - Deadline’s spotlight on this season’s Emmy nominees has wrapped, with our virtual presentations featuring conversations with creatives from 13 scripted and unscripted series and movies — a list of marquee titles that ranges from Succession and Ted Lasso to SNL and RuPaul’s Drag Race. >>>Full Coverage |
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With the intellectual rigor characteristic of his canon, Ken Burns' Emmy-nominated The U.S. and the Holocaust delivers a penetrating examination of the country’s tragic failure to intervene in a timely way to save millions of Jews in Europe threatened with annihilation by the Nazi regime in Germany. “There were kind of daily revelations, hundreds of them,” Burns says of the research process for the series, “a kind of blizzard that buried you at times.” >>> Read The Interview |
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More News
📽️ The Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled its Primetime program for 2023 which includes the world premieres of Bad Boy and All the Light We Cannot See. It also includes the Prime Video series Expats – Lulu Wang’s highly anticipated follow up to The Farewell, starring Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue and Ji-young Yo, a Pulitzer-Prize winning adaptation from Shawn Levy and Steven Knight, a high-octane Korean thriller, a brand new vision from the creator of Euphoria and an atypical love story between Domhnall Gleeson and Andrea Riseborough.
📺 Wendy McMahon will take on sole duties leading CBS News and stations while adding oversight of the network’s domestic syndication business. The appointment follows the announcement on Sunday that Neeraj Khemlani would step down from CBS News leadership. He and McMahon were named presidents and co-heads of CBS News and stations in 2021. Steven LoCascio, current president of syndication unit CBS Media Ventures, announced plans to retire at the end of his current contract.
✂️ The total number of those laid off at CAA is said to be about 60, in line with what Deadline reported Thursday. The departments impacted include TV Lit, music and IT. There has been a lot of chatter about layoffs in talent that remain unconfirmed. We are still vetting the slew of names that are being circulated around; a large portion of the agents laid off appear to be junior, having a couple of years of experience or less as reps.
⚽ Apple TV+ has landed a new untitled six-part documentary featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes access to football great Lionel Messi as he arrived in America to play for Major League Soccer and Inter Miami CF, chronicling his debut in Leagues Cup and beyond. The new docuseries will join the previously announced Apple Original documentary that will track the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner through his storied career.
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Trending  Damar Hamlin returned to the football field for the first time since collapsing due to cardiac arrest in an unforgettable Monday Night Football game at the end of last season. The Buffalo Bills safety made three tackles, including on a key 4th-and-1 play, helping his team beat the Indianapolis Colts in pre-season action.
🔻 Lionel Richie and Earth Wind & Fire canceled their sold-out Madison Square Garden show Saturday an hour after it was set to begin. Richie claimed he was unable to fly into New York because of poor weather conditions. The postponement left 20,000 people scratching their heads, many of them out-of-towners who had travel and hotel expenses go by the wayside. |
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OBITUARIES
🕯 Shelley Smith, who starred with Martin Short on ABC sitcom The Associates, has died. She was 70 and her death from cardiac arrest came on Aug. 8. Smith built a thriving modeling career, and debuted as an actress in 1979, going on to guest star on such shows as Fantasy Island, Hotel, The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, Hunter, Magnum. P.I., and Simon and Simon. She also appeared on TV game shows, including Super Password, Body Language and the $10,000 Pyramid. 🕯 Tom Jones, who wrote the book and lyrics for the musical The Fantasticks, a show that ran for 42 years, died on Friday at his home in Sharon, Conn. He was 95 and passed from cancer, his son said. The Fantasticks opened in 1960 in Greenwich Village and is best remembered for its opening song, “Try to Remember.” 🕯 Linda Lee Sylvander, known during her acting career as Linda Haynes , died July 17 in Summerville, SC, at age 75, with her death only recently coming to public attention. No cause was given by her family, who said she died “peacefully.” A life member of The Actor’s Studio, Haynes made her film debut in the 1969 Japanse sci-fi monster flick, Latitude Zero. From there, she appeared in such films as Coffy and The Nickel Ride, which served as a springboard to her best work, a portrayal of a world-weary barmaid in the revenge thriller Rolling Thunder. 🕯 Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries |
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On the Radar
Mon - Chicken Soup for the Soul Ent. earnings
Wed - The Wonder Years S2 finale
Sat - Stand Up to Cancer special
Sun - Women's World Cup final |
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'Heels' Turn - Actor Stephen Amell walking the SAG-AFTRA picket line Friday, after caused outrage earlier by calling the actors strike “myopic” and a “reductive negotiating tactic.” The Heels star later walked back his comments in a lengthy Instagram post, saying his support for SAG-AFTRA “is unconditional and I stand with them.” |
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