| | | | | | What's news: Broadway icon Linda Lavin has died. Elon Musk has been slammed by German politicians. Carry-On is set to become one of Netflix's all-time film releases in viewership. James Gunn has defended The Batman II's shift to a 2027 release. — Abid Rahman
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'Mufasa' Tops Long Xmas Holiday, But 'Sonic 3' Steals Weekend ►Animal kingdom. Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King and Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 both get to claim bragging rights to winning the holiday box office crown as a topsy-turvy year at the box office comes to a close — or sort of, anyway. Mufasa topped the five-day holiday corridor (Wednesday through Sunday) with an estimated $63.8m, versus an estimated $60.4m for the Sonic threequel. There’s a caveat, though. Sonic 3 narrowly beat Mufusa to win the three-day weekend with an estimated $38m, versus $37.1m for The Lion King sequel.
THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Sonic 3 became an instant crowd-pleaser and handily beat Mufasa in its opening weekend. And on Friday, it raced past the $100m mark domestically after topping the day with an estimated $12.6m. Through Sunday, its domestic earnings were an estimated $137.6m. Overseas, it launched to a series-best $74m this weekend from 84 percent of the international marketplace for a global tally of $211.5m.
During Christmas week, Mufasa rebounded after its disappointing opening as more families became available, but it still lags behind Sonic 3 overall in North America with a domestic total of $113.5m through Sunday. Offshore is another matter, where Mufusa stayed atop the chart this weekend with $77.1m for a foreign tally of $214.5m and $328m globally. The box office report. |
Ex-Pixar Staffers Decry 'Win or Lose' Trans Storyline Being Scrapped ►"Can’t tell you how much I cried." Some of the creatives who helped shape the transgender storyline for the Pixar series Win or Lose are mourning its loss after THR broke the news that the character at its center will now be portrayed as cisgender. “It hardly surprised me, but it devastated me,” Sarah Ligatich, a former Pixar assistant editor who consulted on the episode, tells THR's Ryan Gajewski. One consultant on the episode says the company is "asking someone to play someone they're not" by changing a character voiced by trans actress Chanel Stewart to cisgender. The story.
—Saved? Donald Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to delay implementation of a law subjecting TikTok to a national ban on Jan. 19 if its parent company doesn’t sell the platform. Trump, in a friend-of-the-court brief supporting neither side filed on Friday, says he can reach a deal to balance the national security and First Amendment considerations posed by the contentious law. While underscoring that he “takes no positions on the merits of the dispute,” Trump says he “alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns expressed by the Government.” The story.
—"Elon Musk is attempting nothing different than Vladimir Putin." German political leaders across the mainstream have strongly condemned Elon Musk for his op-ed piece in German newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag in which he endorsed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of Germany’s Feb. 23 federal elections. Friedrich Merz, the chancellor candidate for the conservative CDU party, called Musk’s intervention “overreaching and presumptuous,” describing it as an unprecedented interference in Germany’s democracy. “I cannot recall a comparable case of interference in the election campaign of a friendly country in the history of Western democracies,” Merz told the Funke Media Group. The story.
—"In one moment, my family and I were faced with how fragile life can be." Gal Gadot has revealed she underwent emergency surgery for a “massive” blood clot in her brain during the eighth month of her recent pregnancy. In a post on her official Instagram, the Wonder Woman star shared details of her harrowing health emergency earlier this year. "In February, during my eighth month of pregnancy, I was diagnosed with a massive blood clot in my brain," Gadot wrote. "For weeks, I had endured excruciating headaches that confined me to bed, until I finally underwent an MRI that revealed the terrifying truth." The story.
—"It is mind-boggling to me." Tina Knowles is coming to the defense of her daughter, Beyoncé, after some online trolls came for her following her Netflix Christmas Day NFL halftime show performance. She shared a screenshot of someone defending the Grammy-winning artist by noting how regardless of how talented someone is, there will always be people who have something negative to say. Knowles echoed the sentiment, writing, “It is mind-boggling to me that you would take your precious Christmas day and watch a performance of someone you hate and you don’t think has talent so that you can go talk [shit] about it later.” The story. |
WB Shakes Up Release Calendar ►📅 Dated! 📅 Alejandro González Iñárritu and Tom Cruise are flying into the fall 2026 movie season. Their untitled feature will arrive on Oct. 2, 2026, Warner Bros. announced Friday. That slides into the date previously occupied by Matt Reeves’ The Batman sequel, which is currently untitled (it was previously called The Batman: Part II). The DC Studios film is expected to go into production in the third quarter of 2025, and is now set for Oct. 1, 2027. The Batman sequel has sported multiple release dates since it was announced in 2022, with the methodical Reeves working to perfect the script. Bong Joon Ho’s upcoming Mickey 17 is swapping release dates with director Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan’s Sinners. Mickey 17 now opens March 7, 2025, while Sinners bows on April 18, 2025. The story.
—Managing expectations. Following fan disappointment and criticism on social media, James Gunn, the co-chief of DC Studios, defended the delay of The Batman sequel to 2027. Gunn attempted to calm their worries, noting that large gaps between movies are “fairly common.” “To be fair, a 5 year gap or more is fairly common in sequels,” Gunn wrote on Threads. “7 years between Alien and Aliens. 14 years between Incredibles. 7 years between the first two Terminators. 13 years between Avatars. 36 years between Top Guns. And, of course, 6 years between Guardians Vol 2 and Vol 3.” The story.
—Top 10 bound. One of Netflix‘s last original movies releases of 2024 is shaping up to be one of its biggest — and not just for the calendar year. Carry-On, a thriller starring Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman and Sofia Carson, has rolled up big viewing numbers over its first 10 days of release, according to Netflix’s internal rankings. From its premiere date on Dec. 13 through Dec. 22, the film has recorded 97.1m views worldwide (measured by total viewing hours divided by its two-hour running time). It has ranked first on Netflix’s charts for English-language movies in both weeks of its release (figures for this week will be released Dec. 31). The 97.1m views over 10 days for Carry-On put the movie on track to break into Netflix’s all-time top 10 English-language original movies in the next couple of weeks. The story. |
You Don’t Know Jack. But You Will Soon. ►"I don't think anyone expects me to be kicking ass." As part of THR's "Person of Interest" series, Carly Thomas spoke to rising star Jack Quaid. The 32-year-old actor gets candid about growing up in the industry with his famous parents, why people shouldn’t watch the next Companion trailer, how he accomplished playing a person who doesn’t feel pain in Novocaine, the fifth and final season of The Boys and more. The interview.
—"We never say no to the director. I'm not kidding." THR's Brian Davids spoke to producer Chris Columbus and his producing partner (and daughter) Eleanor Columbus about their new film Nosferatu. Chris discusses how director Robert Eggers’ horror films are a return to his early days, before offering his thoughts on Macaulay Culkin’s recent re-embrace of Home Alone. Eleanor then addresses her own unique relationship with her father’s work. The interview.
—"We chose a tough path." Brian also spoke to filmmakers Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz about their new film, Los Frikis. The duo behind The Peanut Butter Falcon discuss the cost of turning down the major studios to make Los Frikis, a Spanish-language Cuban story about punk rockers who self-infected themselves with HIV, and also reveal they are developing a Treasure Island take with Disney. The interview.
—"What Bill does is he pays attention to what happens when his actors get the words." THR's Christy Piña spoke to Shrinking star Luke Tennie. The actor gets candid about what he thought when he first learned about Brett Goldstein's role, working with Harrison Ford more this time around and how far Sean came in the second season. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
Linda Lavin 1937 - 2024 ►Broadway icon. Linda Lavin, the Tony-winning actress who spent nine seasons serving up meals with a side order of sass as the waitress Alice Hyatt on the hit CBS sitcom Alice, died Sunday. She was 87. Lavin died unexpectedly in Los Angeles of complications from recently discovered lung cancer, her rep told THR. Hal Prince gave Lavin her first big break, pulling her out of the chorus and giving her a speaking part on Broadway in 1962, and she worked twice with Neil Simon, earning the first of her six career Tony nominations for playing the sexpot Elaine in 1970’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers and then winning in 1987 for her turn as the strong-willed Kate in Broadway Bound. She was also a tireless advocate for women's rights. The obituary.
—"A trailblazer in the television industry." Charles Dolan, the astute businessman who created HBO in the early 1970s before transforming a small cable TV business on Long Island into a multibillion-dollar entertainment, sports and telecom empire, has died. He was 98. As well as founding Cablevision, Dolan launched a movie-focused channel in 1984 called American Movie Classics. AMC and its sibling channels now operates as AMC Networks Inc. Dolan also had holdings in BBC America, Madison Square Gardens Entertainment, MSG Networks, the Sphere, the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. The obituary.
—Rom-com giant. Charles Shyer, the director and Oscar-nominated writer who teamed with then-wife Nancy Meyers on such audience-pleasing, feel-good comedies as Private Benjamin, Irreconcilable Differences, Baby Boom and Father of the Bride, has died. He was 83. Shyer died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a brief illness, his daughter Hallie Meyers-Shyer, writer and director of the 2017 Reese Witherspoon comedy Home Again, told THR. Shyer also co-wrote Smokey and the Bandit, Goin' South and House Calls. The obituary.
—"His iconic voice will never be forgotten." Greg Gumbel, the sure-handed CBS sportscaster whose 50-year-plus career included hosting the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and The NFL Today and handling play-by-play for a pair of Super Bowls, has died. He was 78. Gumbel’s death after a “courageous battle with cancer” was announced Friday in a statement from his wife, Marcy, and his daughter, Michelle. The obituary.
—"A truly special soul." Olivia Hussey, who dazzled moviegoers as the female lead in Franco Zeffirelli‘s noteworthy 1968 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, died Friday. She was 73. Hussey was just 15 when she starred opposite British actor Leonard Whiting, 16, as Romeo in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Both were unknowns. The Paramount-distributed film, co-written by Zeffirelli, was nominated for the best picture Oscar and three other Academy Awards, and she received a David di Donatello prize and a Golden Globe for her efforts. The obituary.
—Trailblazing model. Dayle Haddon, a model and actress in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, died Friday in a suspected carbon monoxide leak at a home in Pennsylvania, authorities told CBS News. She was 76. She appeared in several movies, including The World's Greatest Athlete, North Dallas Forty, Cyborg and Bullets Over Broadway. The obituary.
—Pioneering filmmaker. Kieran Turner, a documentarian best known for producing and directing 2012’s Jobriath A.D., has died after a battle with cancer. He was 56. Turner died Dec. 23 in West Hollywood. Throughout his career, Turner put a spotlight on gay artists who passed before their time. In Jobriath, he focused on the pioneering ‘70s glam-rock musician and first openly gay rock star, who died in 1983 at age 36 of AIDS complications. The film is said to have helped renew interest in Jobriath and inspire the re-release of his catalog. The obituary.
In other news...
—Glen Powell goes undercover in Hulu's Chad Powers teaser
—Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man trailer: Peter Parker finds himself teaming with surprising new mentor
—Best NYE Vegas openings and events for ringing in 2025
What else we're reading...
—Brian Phillips writes that season 2 of Netflix's Squid Game is asking even darker questions than before [Ringer]
—Ryan Gilbey looks at how Netflix's Black Doves subverts the gay best friend stereotype [Guardian]
—Michael Schulman interviews screen icon Isabella Rossellini about her buzzy appearance in Conclave and her touring one-woman show about animal behavior [New Yorker]
—Bilge Ebiri writes that films in 2024, particularly Gladiator II, really ended poorly, and points to a larger trend of movies failing to stick the landing [Slate]
—Julia Munslow and Laura Ma talk to chronic party crashers, who reveal their secrets for gaining access to swanky soirées [WSJ]
Today...
...in 1953, Stanley Kramer’s motorcycle drama The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando, held its world premiere at the Palace in New York. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Sheryl Lee Ralph (68), LeBron James (40), Tracey Ullman (65), Tyrese Gibson (46), Bennett Miller (58), Meredith Monroe (55), Russ Tamblyn (90), Andra Day (40), Lucy Punch (47), Kristin Kreuk (42), Eliza Dushku (44), Daniel Sunjata (53), C.S. Lee (53), Faye Marsay (38), Caity Lotz (38), Leila Farzad (43), Brady Noon (19), Morgan Kohan (31), Ashley Zukerman (41), Sophie Ward (60), Jason Behr (51), Jeff Ward (38), Patricia Kalember (68), Chris Vance (53), Kelli Maroney (59), Maureen Flannigan (51), Anna Wood (39), Jena Sims (36), Concetta Tomei (79), Lyliana Wray (20), Isaac Powell (30), Dominic Fike (29), James Burrows (84), Kim Hae-sook (69) |
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