Month: January 2024

Paramount’s “Mean Girls” musical earned a grool $33.2 million from 3,791 theaters over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, beating expectations. Based on the Broadway adaptation of the 2004 comedy classic, “Mean Girls” was originally commissioned with plans to skip theaters and make a streaming debut directly on Paramount+, but executives opted for a

“Succession” said farewell last year after four seasons, but we may not have seen the last of the Roy family. Brian Cox, who played patriarch Logan Roy on the hit HBO series, says he’s open to a “Succession” movie. “We’ll see,” Cox told me on Saturday at the BAFTA Tea Party at the Maybourne hotel

You’d be forgiven if you thought butter was a carb, just like it’s totally understandable if you didn’t know the new “Mean Girls” is a musical.  Paramount, which released the movie over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, chose not to explicitly market it as a song-and-dance spectacle, according to the studio’s president of global

The musical-comedy “Shucked” had its closing performance on Broadway Sunday night, but the show went out with an even louder set of whoops than expected, as the curtain call included the news that a feature film adaptation is in the works. Show reps confirm to Variety that a movie version of “Shucked” is being set

Telugu-language Indian superhero film “Hanu Man” has emerged as a hit and is adding screens in North America. The film is set in the fictional village of Anjanadri and follows Hanumanthu, who miraculously awakens Hindu god Lord Hanuman’s power after being involved in an accident near the sea. It is directed by Prasanth Varma (“Zombie

Italy’s Sveva Alviti (“Dalida”) and U.S. actor Newton Mayenge (“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”) are attached to star in Cannes-set romantic drama “The Other Side of Fame” to be directed by Erik Bernard (“Free Dead or Alive”). Alviti is a model and actor who played the iconic Egyptian-Italian singer in the 2017

Founded in 2012, Paris-based WTFilms, run by Gregory Chambet and Dimitri Stephanides, has built a strong reputation as a sales agent for break-out genre pics and has recently diversified into production, to access hit projects. As competition ramps up for more ambitious projects with strong theatrical potential, Chambet decided to move to Los Angeles in

“Love Lies Bleeding” starring Kristen Stewart and Netflix’s “Supersex” series have been added to Berlin Film Festival‘s Special lineup. A romantic thriller centered on a bodybuilder and gym manager, “Love Lies Bleeding” is directed by “Saint Maud” helmer Rose Glass and will have its world premiere at Sundance this month. “Love Lies Bleeding” also stars

Ginger & Fed, the new international film sales arm of Federation Studios headed by former TF1 Studio boss Sabine Chemaly, will launch several high profile titles at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous, including “The Future Awaits,” Niels Tavernier’s WWII-set drama based on the true story of a Holocaust survivor. Ginger & Fed will also bow sales on

Netflix has revealed a lineup of 12 titles as part of its licensed Telugu-language film slate for 2024. The films include: NTR Arts’ “Devara,” starring “RRR” star NTR Jr; Hombale Films’ “Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire,” starring Prabhas, which was released theatrically during Christmas 2023 and is one of the biggest hits of the season;

Playtime has boarded Olivier Assayas’ “Suspended Time,” a COVID-era comedy about two couples spending lockdown together. Produced by Olivier Delbosc of Curiosa Films, and by Assayas’ own Vortex Sutra, the pandemic farce is hotly tipped to compete at the Berlin Film Festival next month. Recent Assayas stalwart Vincent Macaigne leads the cast as Etienne, a

Orange Studio has boarded true-crime-tinged psychological thriller “An Ordinary Case” and will launch sales at this week’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris. Top-lined, co-written and directed by French cinema stalwart Daniel Auteuil, this pulled-from-the-headlines drama also boasts “Borgen” and “Westworld” star Sidse Babett Knudsen alongside acclaimed actor Grégory Gadebois (“An Officer and a Spy”). Auteuil adapted

Jessica Palud’s showbiz drama “Being Maria” reframes the short career and tragic life of “Last Tango in Paris” star Maria Schneider in a post-#MeToo light. “Happening” breakout Anamaria Vartolomei plays Schneider, while Matt Dillon takes on the role of her co-star Marlon Brando. Orange Studio is handling international sales. Currently in post-production and aiming for

This week’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris will kick off with the Tuesday night world premiere of Pascal Bonitzer’s “Auction” – a ripped-from-the-headlines ensemble drama set in the crosshairs of high art and high finance. Produced by SBS Productions (“Last Summer,” “Elle”) and sold by Pyramide International, the art-world saga follows – among others – a

Fish out of water comedy film “Jonny Keep Walking” kept its place at the top of the mainland China box office in its third week of release. Two newcomers broke into the top five, comedy “Follow Bear for Action” and imported action title “The Beekeeper.” “Jonny,” in which a man from the countryside struggles to

The run of show for the Critics Choice Awards got a surprise update when host Chelsea Handler decided to “go rogue” and call Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie to the stage. Gerwig and Robbie’s “Barbie” had picked up a host of awards during the evening, but many were presented during the commercial breaks, including best

Leading Korean film sales agent Finecut has picked up international distribution rights to “Noise,” a contemporary horror film by first time director Kim Soo-jin. The film will be launched next month a the European film Market in Berlin. The story follows a woman with a hearing impediment who is haunted by sounds linking to her

Sci-fi fantasy comedy “Alienoid 2” opened on top of the South Korean box office with $3.57 million on a weekend that otherwise saw five animation titles and a political documentary in the top ten. The big-budget, time-traveling “Alienoid 2” earned $3.57 million between Friday and Sunday with a market share of 39% and $4.77 million

“Baahubali” star Prabhas has set horror film “The Raja Saab” as his next project. The film is directed by Maruthi Dasari, mostly known as just Maruthi, whose credits include horror-comedy “Prema Katha Chitram” (2013), romantic comedy “Mahanubhavudu” (2017) and comedy-drama “Prati Roju Pandage” (2019). It is being produced under the People Media Factory banner with