| | | | | | What's news: Zootopia 2 scored a whopping $272m opening in China. Pillion and Warfare were the big winners at the BIFAs. And Melania Trump has launched a production company. — Abid Rahman
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'Zootopia 2' Rules With Massive $556M Global Opening ►We are so back! Thanks to an optimistic rabbit and a wily red fox — and don’t forget about the Witches of Oz — the Thanksgiving box office was a needed win for both theater owners and animated family films. Disney’s critical and audience darling Zootopia 2 led the parade with a near-best five-day North American start of $156m and an astonishing $400m overseas for a record-smashing global start of $556m — the biggest worldwide start of all time for an animated film and the fourth best of any Hollywood movie, among numerous other records.
THR's Pamela McClintock writes that it's safe to assume that Walt Disney Animation Studios has another billion-dollar hit on its hands, considering the first Zootopia opened to just $75m on its way to topping $1.025b globally, not adjusted for inflation. Other major records broken globally by Zootopia 2, not adjusted for inflation: highest global sequel opening since 2021; highest global debut of 2025 to date; highest global opening for an animated sequel ever; highest global opening for any animated film in Disney history.
Fellow Thanksgiving tentpole Wicked: For Good, which opened a week ago, cooked up an estimated $93m for the five days, putting its 10-day domestic cume at $270.4m as it approaches the $400m mark globally in another key milestone. The box office report.
—哇! Party like it's 2019. Zootopia 2 got off to a stunning start in China over the holiday weekend, opening with an enormous $272m five-day box office haul. THR's Patrick Brzeski writes that it was the kind of powerful performance that once had Hollywood executives wildly bullish on the market potential of the world’s most populous nation, but which grew scarce over the past half-decade as Chinese filmgoers began to favor local fare over imported Western storytelling. The film’s staggering launch ranks as the second-best opening ever for a U.S. film in China, behind only 2019's Avengers: Endgame with $330.5m, the high watermark of the Marvel franchise. The China box office report.
—ICYMI. Eagle-eyed (or eagle-eared?) watchers of Zootopia 2 this holiday weekend may have noticed a familiar voice in the film. Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Co., delivers the weather forecast in a scene as “Bob Tiger.” For theatergoers who stay for the credits of the film, they confirm that Bob Tiger was voiced by Robert A. Iger, in what is credited as the veteran Disney executive’s first-ever acting role on IMDB. The story. |
'Stranger Things' Creators Break Down Final Season's Biggest Twists ►"The way we approached every season but I think ultimately was the right way to do this — and occasionally it’s gotten us into trouble — but it’s as if there’s a movie every season." For THR, Josh Wigler spoke to Stranger Things creators and showrunners the Duffer Brothers about the first four episodes of the final season. The pair discuss the biggest moments from season 5, break down some of their boldest swings of the final season thus far, and share insight into the work done to bring this last stretch to a satisfying close. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"That was quite a meaty bite to have because as an actor." Josh also spoke to Stranger Things star Jamie Campbell Bower. The English actor reveals how he tapped into playing Vecna, the big bad for the Netflix hit's endgame era, and what he learned from watching the Vecna-centric Stranger Things: The First Shadow stage production. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"She’s in a rough, feral state." Josh also spoke to Stranger Things star Sadie Sink. The actress, who plays Max Mayfield in the series, offers her take on the latest episodes and unpacks one of the final season's best comeback moments thus far. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"It’s cool when they tie everything back to the beginning. It was perfectly done." THR's Carly Thomas spoke to Stranger Things pair Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schapp. The actors who play Eleven and Will Byers, respectively, reveal how that wild twist sets up Volume 2, and open up about bringing the Upside Down to a close. Warning: Spoilers! The review.
—"Hope saw something in us we didn’t see in ourselves." The decision to cast their high school drama teacher in Stranger Things season five was notably special for the Duffer Brothers. Co-creator Ross Duffer shared on Instagram Friday, following the release of the final season’s Volume 1 on Wednesday, that they cast Hope Hynes Love as Ms. Harris, as she was a formative part of their adolescence. Warning: Spoilers! The story. |
Melania Sets Up Production Company ►Be Best Pictures was right there. Melania Trump has launched her own production company. The news was revealed on Trump’s official social media channels on Friday, the First Lady shared that she has launched Muse Films. The announcement comes ahead of the release of the Amazon MGM Studios feature documentary about her, Melania. Muse was reportedly the Secret Service code name for Melania during Donald Trump’s first term in office. The Melania doc from director Brett Ratner — his first film since he was accused of sexual misconduct and harassment — has been produced with Trump’s participation. The film will later be accompanied by a three-part docuseries. The story.
—Woof! A record number of viewers tuned in for NBC’s coverage of the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday. The network said Friday that 34.3m viewers tuned in to coverage of the 99th annual parade across NBC and Peacock, according to preliminary Nielsen data. That marks its biggest combined audience on record, outperforming last year’s parade by 2.5m viewers, an increase of 8 percent. (It’s worth noting that Peacock has about 5m more subscribers than it did a year ago at this time.) The original 8:30 a.m. ET broadcast on NBC averaged 25.4m viewers, making it the most-watched entertainment telecast in nearly seven years, since the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 24, 2019, which aired on ABC. The ratings.
—Gooners rejoice! In what the partners described as a “landmark” deal, Paramount+ has become an official partner of English soccer club Arsenal. The partnership will see Arsenal players, club legends and supporters come together to celebrate some of the streamer’s big series, including Landman, and Guy Ritchie’s MobLand starring Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan. The Premier League leaders will also work with Paramount+ on a series of social media campaigns. The story.
—Lineup filling out. The Super Bowl pregame show will open with a trio of standout performers in Northern California: Charlie Puth will hit the stage to sing the national anthem, Brandi Carlile will take on “America the Beautiful” and Coco Jones will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The performances will take place Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, before the NFL’s championship matchup and halftime show featuring Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, the league said Sunday. The pregame performances will air on NBC, Telemundo and Peacock. The national anthem and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” will be performed by deaf performing artist Fred Beam in American Sign Language. Julian Ortiz will sign “America the Beautiful.” The story.
—🏆 Pillion dominates... honk! 🏆 Writer-director Harry Lighton‘s feature debut Pillion, a sub/dom romance starring Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling, won four British Independent Film Awards prizes, including two for best independent British film and best debut screenwriter in London on Sunday. Alex Garland’s Iraq war movie Warfare also won four awards, and Myrid Carten’s doc A Want in Her won three. Akinola Davies Jr. was named best director for My Father's Shadow, while the top acting honor goes to I Swear star Robert Aramayo. The winners. |
'Pluribus' Boss On Story Behind That Sneaky 'Saul' Cameo ►"Being a hero doesn’t necessarily mean always doing something nice." THR's resident gabber Brian Davids spoke to Gordon Smith, writer-director/executive producer of Apple TV's buzzy show Pluribus. Smith breaks down episode five, and also discusses how Carol’s morally questionable behavior challenges the traditional definition of a hero, before addressing episode five’s ghastly cliffhanger. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"I don't really feel like I know how to capture pop culture of this moment, because I'm so distant from it." Brian also spoke to Elizabeth Olsen about her new film Eternity. The actress explains her aversion to making modern-day rom-coms and, despite being a part of the pop cultural phenomenon that is the MCU, opens up about feeling disconnected from current trends. The interview.
—"I’ve done a wide range of work in my career, but I can count on one hand the number of projects that my kids can actually watch." And it's a hat trick from Brian, as he also spoke to Michelle Monaghan about her latest project, the Apple TV feature The Family Plan 2. The globe-trotting actress reveals her hopes for more Family Plan films, and also dished details on recently catching up with Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams, twenty years after they filmed her first Mission: Impossible movie. The interview.
—"At this point in my career where, unlike with social media, I’ve truly loved how humbling this industry is." THR's Carly Thomas spoke to rising social media and acting star Noah Beck. With his new movie, Sidelined 2: Intercepted, the 24-year-old TikTok heartthrob is thrilled to show his millions of fans another side of himself, beyond the cellphone screen. The interview. |
Winslet & Son on Making of 'Goodbye June' ►"Joe definitely did feel like, ‘But will people just think that this only happened because you are my mother?'" THR's David Canfield spoke to Kate Winslet and Joe Anders, the mother-son team behind the Netflix feature Goodbye June, that also happens to be Winslet's directorial debut. The duo discuss the making of the film, that is inspired by Anders' vivid emotional experience of watching his grandmother — that is, Winslet’s mother — slowly passing away in the hospital after a long battle with cancer. The interview.
—"Three seasons in feels about right to explain what one of the main characters does." THR water nymph Ryan Gajewski spoke to Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel, the creators of Adult Swim's cult show Smiling Friends. The pair discuss season 3, open up on balancing plot with absurdity, hinting at real-world politics, and offering their thoughts on why fans misinterpret certain scenes. The interview.
—"A lot of film scoring is done in front of a picture. Often with scores you see for big movies like a Marvel film or something, there’s a lot of advanced technology. This was the opposite." THR's Ethan Millman spoke to composer Bryce Dessner about his work on Clint Bentley’s awards contender Train Dreams. Dessner, brother of Aaron and the guitarist in the National, discusses working with hero Nick Cave on the Netflix film's theme song. The interview.
—"Showing him rock bottom then gives you the capacity to really let him grow." THR's Lexy Perez spoke to actor Damian Hardung about his Amazon Prime Video show, Maxton Hall. Hardung discusses season 2, reflects on his character James’ journey to redemption after hitting "rock bottom" and also offers his thoughts on the show’s global success. Warning: Spoilers! The interview. |
Film Review: 'Palestine 36' ►"Vivid and stirring." THR's Sheri Linden reviews Annemarie Jacir's Palestine 36. With an ensemble that includes Hiam Abbas, Jeremy Irons, Saleh Bakri and Liam Cunningham, Jacir’s fourth feature is set during the Arab revolt against British colonial rule, and is Palestine's best international feature Oscar submission. Also starring Kamel El Basha, Yasmine Al Massri, Jalal Altawil, Robert Aramayo, Yafa Bakri, Karim Daoud Anaya, Wardi Eilabouni, Ward Helou, Billy Howle and Dhafer L’Abidine. Written by Annemarie Jacir. The review.
In other news...
—Netflix’s new releases coming in December
—Cyber Monday: Top 50 post-Black Friday deals
—Lise Bourdin, actress in Billy Wilder’s Love in the Afternoon, dies at 99
—Danny Seagren, Electric Company star and first live-action Spider-Man, dies at 81
What else we're reading...
—Julianna Ress considers Wicked: For Good's Oscar chances, and there's lots of good things, and some glaring bad things [Ringer]
—Jennifer Schuessler on the Oxford English Dictionary picking 'rage bait' as its 2025 Word of the Year [NYT]
—Michael Gold reports that U.S. lawmakers are suggesting the shocking follow-up boat strike in the Caribbean could be a war crime [NYT]
—Stuart Heritage wryly wonders what other 80s and 90s action franchises Trump could revive after successfully resurrecting Rush Hour [Guardian]
—Lovely essay from Caitlin Flanagan, who reminisces about going to the cinema as a child with her father, when the movies felt big [Atlantic]
Today...
...in 2003, Warner Bros. premiered Edward Zwick's The Last Samurai in Los Angeles. The drama went on to be nominated for four Oscars at the 76th Academy Awards, including in the supporting actor category for Ken Watanabe. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Bette Midler (80), Riz Ahmed (43), Sarah Snook (38), Zoë Kravitz (37), Janelle Monáe (40), Katherine LaNasa (59), Robert Irwin (22), Akiva Schaffer (48), Jeremy Northam (64), Andrew Adamson (59), Nestor Carbonell (58), Nate Torrence (48), Danielle Galligan (33), Charles Michael Davis (41), Sarah Silverman (55), Ilfenesh Hadera (40), Natasha O'Keeffe (39), Taj Atwal (38), David Hornsby (50), Camille Cottin (47), Maggie Steed (79), Stephen Blackehart (58), Dean O'Gorman (49), Nadia Hilker (37), Kathryn Drysdale (44), Ron Cook (77), Reign Edwards (29), Olivia Grace Applegate (34), Zack L. Smith (46), Mark Ghanimé (48), Charlene Tilton (67), Yim Si-wan (37), Jessica Ransom (44), Rhiannon Clements (31), Michael Maize (51), Michael Esper (49), Karissa Lee Staples (38), Golden Brooks (55), Destry Allyn Spielberg (29), Jung Chae-yeon (28), Julie Condra (55) |
| Tom Stoppard, the ingenious Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter whose gift for wordplay led him to a record five Tonys for best play, the first for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and the last for Leopoldstadt, and an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, has died. He was 88. The obituary. |
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