President Donald Trump’s European travel ban will be extended to the U.K. and Ireland at midnight on Monday — a move that will pose further challenges for the local film and TV industry, which is scrambling to draw up contingency plans across production and broadcasting. Trump extended the ban Saturday following an emergency coronavirus meeting,
Movies
Overall North American box office revenues are projected to fall 40% from last weekend as the coronavirus pandemic hits hard and health officials urge social distancing. Disney-Pixar’s family friendly “Onward” should repeat as the top film with $12.5 million at 4,310 locations, representing a steep 68% decline from its opening weekend. Friday’s take for “Onward”
Finding a little inner peace might seem all but impossible amidst the current state of quarantines, cancellations and an overwhelming sense of anxiety spurred by coronavirus pandemic. But even on the darkest of days a little bit of art can shine like a beacon of connection, lifting spirits and bringing joy. If you’ve heard the
Showcase Cinemas, owned by U.S. company National Amusements, has become the first major exhibition chain in Britain to enforce “social distancing” in its movie theaters, in line with the measures taken by its sister chain in the U.S. to combat the spread of coronavirus. The move comes ahead of an expected ban by the British
After Netflix and Disney shuttered all live-action productions, Universal has decided to do the same with “Jurassic World: Dominion,” “Flint Strong” and the untitled Billy Eichner project all going on hiatus effective Friday. The studio continues to monitor the situation closely and will make a determination on when to restart production in the coming weeks.
“Mulan” fans in mainland China on Friday welcomed the news that Disney will postpone the global release of the new live-action blockbuster, happy that they’ll likely now get the chance to see the film in theaters in sync with the rest of the world. The new “Mulan” was scheduled to release worldwide outside of China,
The Walt Disney Company is taking the edge off of “social distancing” from the coronavirus this weekend, by streaming the animated blockbuster “Frozen 2” three months ahead of schedule. Disney Plus aims to surprise families this Sunday with “some fun and joy during this challenging period,” referring to the global pandemic of COVID-19, which on
In today’s film news roundup, film festivals in San Franciso and Toronto are being canceled or postponed, the American Cinematheque stops screenings and veteran executive Jon Berg lands a new gig. FESTIVALS Two prominent mid-size film festivals in San Francisco and Toronto have joined the avalanche of cancellations and postponements due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Alamo Drafthouse chain has abruptly closed its theaters in Brooklyn and Yonkers amid the coronavirus epidemic. The chain made the announcement Friday night without disclosing any reasons. It said all tickets, including convenience fees and ticket add-ons, will be automatically refunded. “Until further notice, we are deeply sad to say that Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn
The AMC, Regal, Cineplex, Arclight and Alamo Drafthouse chains have imposed limits on sales as a safety precaution in response to the coronavirus pandemic. AMC Theatres, which has 661 locations in North America, and Regal Entertainment Group, which has 564, both announced Friday that will be reducing their maximum capacity by at least 50% due
As the coronavirus pandemic brings moviegoing to a halt in multiple countries, it’s slowing down attendance at North American multiplexes. The openings for “I Still Believe,” “Bloodshot” and “The Hunt” are all coming in below expectations. Disney-Pixar’s “Onward” is heading for a repeat victory at the box office with about $16 million at 4,310 locations,
Just as things in Europe were getting really bad, they’ve gotten a lot worse. Cinema shutdowns across Europe on Friday, in addition to travel bans and multiple film and TV shoot postponements, have left Europe’s film industry facing a perfect storm — and sent shockwaves across the whole of its movie industry. They also saw
The canceled SXSW Film Festival will still hand out awards by allowing jurors to see the festival’s competition films. SXSW director of film Janet Pierson made the announcement on Friday, which would have been the opening day of the festival. The event was canceled on March 6 due to the coronavirus pandemic. “This was going
The Premios Platino, Iberoamerica’s most prominent annual film and TV awards event, has canceled its 7th edition, citing concerns about the Coronavirus pandemic. Set to take place for a third time at the Xcaret resort in the Riviera Maya, Mexico, this edition was going to include an inaugural industry event to run May 1-3, culminating in
AMC Theatres is not ready to roll credits on American moviegoing amid the coronavirus pandemic. The theatrical exhibition giant will enforce a new attendance guideline, only filling its theaters to 50% capacity so customers can engage in “social distancing” and potentially stave off the transmission of COVID-19. In addition to the audience restrictions, AMC said
March 13, 2020 11:18AM PT Belgium’s biggest multiplex chain Kinepolis has closed its theaters as part of new measures to contain the outbreak of coronavirus in the country. Other theater chains and arthouse cinemas in Belgium are also set to close, according to the local TV channel RTBF. Kinepolis said it would close its multiplex
Mexico’s preeminent Guadalajara Int’l Film Festival (FICG) has decided to postpone its 35th edition, citing concerns from the global pandemic sparked by the COVID-19 outbreak. Fest was due to run March 20-27. At a press conference, Jalisco governor Enrique Alfaro Ramirez announced the indefinite postponement of all mass events, with soccer matches to continue without spectators.
Disney has announced that production and pre-production on “The Last Duel,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Home Alone,” “Nightmare Alley,” “Peter Pan & Wendy” and “Shrunk” have shut down “for a short time.” A statement from the studio said, “While there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on
The Cannes Film Festival has released a statement following the new measures taken by the French government to restrict gatherings of more than 100 people. Although the ban has not been dated and it is not yet known if it will expire ahead of the festival, Cannes organizers said they were still hopeful. “The latest
Due to the coronavirus pandemic the Venice Biennale, which is the Venice Film Festival’s parent organization, has moved the opening date of its Architecture Biennale – which was originally set to open May 23 – to August 29, two days before the planned start of the Venice Film Festival set to run Sept. 2-12. It’s
Vin Diesel’s superhero movie “Bloodshot” launched respectably for Sony Pictures, earning $1.2 million at 2,631 North American locations during Thursday night previews. Lionsgate’s faith-based drama “I Still Believe” took in $780,000 at 2,800 sites from previews (the figure includes Wednesday night showings at 283 Imax locations). Universal-Blumhouse’s opening of its delayed controversial thriller “The Hunt”
LevelK has sold Icelandic vampire splatter comedy “Thirst” to several territories including North America following its market premiere at the European Film Market. Directed by Gaukur Úlfarsson and Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson, the movie was jointly acquired by Uncork’d Entertainment and Dark Star Pictures for North American distribution, as well as Njutafilms for Sweden, Denmark, Norway
Unlike in Italy and Belgium, French theaters will remain open in spite of a ban on gatherings for more than 100 people, according to a spokesperson for the FNCF, France’s national exhibitors org. French prime minister Edouard Philippe has banned gatherings for more than 100 people to contain the outbreak of coronavirus in the country.
March 13, 2020 3:31AM PT France’s second biggest commercial network M6 is set to sell 50% of the capital of its technology company Bedrock to RTL Group with the aim of creating a leading streaming service in Europe. Bedrock, which is spearheaded by Jonas Engwall, is responsible for developing a platform used by 6Play, RTL
March 12, 2020 11:00PM PT Jeffrey Dean Morgan is an NYPD detective tracking a European serial killer in this grisly yet uninspired thriller. There have been a lot of adaptations (primarily for TV) of megaselling author James Patterson’s pulpy fictions, none particularly memorable, with the possible exception of hit 1997 thriller “Kiss the Girls.” But
Maybe it’s the fault of “The Fault in Our Stars” that we assume, in the flourishing modern era of the young-adult genre, that one of the story’s romantic leads has to die in order to advance the dramatic stakes. Fortunately, that’s not the case with director Julia Hart’s “Stargirl.” Adapted by Hart, Kristin Hahn and
When asked to diagnose himself early in “Inside the Rain,” Benjamin Glass, a college film student played by Aaron Fisher, cheerfully runs down a checklist: “I’m bipolar, ADHD, OCD, borderline personality disorder… You name it, I’ve got it.” It’s a moment that is at once both amusing and unsettling — even more so if you’re
Following a number of release dates moving and premieres being cancelled, Marvel and Disney have decided to temporarly shutter production on “Shang-Chi.” The delay comes due to director Destin Daniel Cretton being asked by a doctor to self-isolate. Cretton was not feeling symptoms of COVID-19, but chose be tested as a precaution since he is
March 12, 2020 8:14PM PT Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have shared an update from Australia, where they both remain in isolated care after testing positive for coronavirus. “Rita Wilson and I would like to thank everyone Down Under for taking such good care of us,” Hanks wrote on social media. “We have COVID-19 and
In today’s film news roundup, film festivals in New Jersey and Idaho are being postponed, Oscar-nominated Jason Hall will direct wrestling drama “Unstoppable” and the StoryPlace Studios database of story content is unveiled. FILM FESTIVALS Amid cancellations of major film festivals such as Tribeca, events in New Jersey, Idaho and Beverly Hills have opted to postpone