December 27, 2018 11:13AM PT Sony Pictures has titled its new film about beloved TV personality Fred Rogers, and it fits like your favorite cardigan. Tom Hanks stars in the previously untitled movie, now named “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” It was directed by Marielle Heller and will hit theaters in fall 2019. The
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Giorgio’s is heading to the desert. Bryan Rabin and Adam Bravin will transform the iconic Mr. Lyons in Palm Springs into their legendary Giorgio’s discotheque following the opening night gala of the Palms Springs International Film Festival on Jan. 3. “We have been looking for the right opportunity to bring Giorgio’s to the desert,” Rabin
The man who accused Kevin Spacey of sexually assaulting him at a Nantucket, Mass., restaurant in 2016 apparently captured part of the alleged incident on video, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Variety. The then 18-year-old, a busboy at the restaurant, sent a Snapchat video to his girlfriend to prove the encounter occurred. The video allegedly shows
PLAYBACK is a Variety / iHeartRadio podcast bringing you conversations with the talents behind many of today’s hottest films. New episodes air every Thursday. It would be fair to call Kevin Feige one of the key figures, if not the key figure, in the modern Hollywood landscape. As president of Marvel Studios and producer of
The worldwide movie business is on track to hit an all-time benchmark. Estimates show 2018 could end up with $41.7 billion globally. That would mark a healthy 2.7% gain from last year, with most of that hike coming from North America. Year-end projections released Thursday by Comscore predict that domestic grosses will hit $11.9 billion,
“Aquaman” is set to prolong its reign over the China box office with an extra month in theaters. It has been granted an extension to its release and will be allowed to play through to Feb. 6, 2019, the second day of the Chinese New Year holiday. Foreign revenue sharing films in China are typically
Reports of the death of movies are greatly exaggerated. The exhibition business came roaring back in 2018, as blockbusters such as “Black Panther,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” powered ticket sales to record levels. The domestic box office hit a new high-water mark of $11.5 billion and global revenues also have a
Actor Jack Black just launched a YouTube channel called Jablinski Games, he revealed in an introductory clip on Friday. The channel will focus on “games, food, and life,” according to the description underneath the intro clip. “It’s gonna be bigger than Ninja. It’s gonna be bigger than PewDiePie,” Black said before attempting (and failing) to
It was a very merry Christmas for “Aquaman.” Despite a competitive frame, the DC superhero dominated the domestic box office. Warner Bros.’ latest comic book adventure generated $22 million on Tuesday for a five-day haul of $105 million. That’s one of the best Christmas Day haul’s sans “Avatar” or a “Star Wars” entry. “Star Wars:
The official Japanese box office numbers for 2018 are not yet in –the Motion Picture Producers’ Association of Japan (Eiren) will announce them in late January – but preliminary figures don’t look great for the home team. “Code Blue: The Movie,” a medical thriller based on a Fuji TV series, was the year’s highest-earning film
Judging by the conspicuous lack of fanfare awaiting “Step Brothers” co-stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s third feature pairing, the fact that critics weren’t invited, and the faint odor of horse manure emanating from the theater on Christmas morning, one doesn’t need to be a master detective to deduce that “Holmes & Watson” is
“Aquaman” has a lot to celebrate this holiday season. James Wan’s aquatic superhero adventure with Jason Momoa was the main draw for moviegoers looking to get out of the house on Christmas Eve. The latest DC entry racked up $10.9 million on Monday, taking its domestic total to $83 million for its first four days
December 25, 2018 6:27AM PT [embedded content] If you didn’t get what you wanted for Christmas, here’s your second chance: the first trailer for “Us,” Jordan Peele’s highly anticipated horror film, has dropped. Following the widespread acclaim of Peele’s 2017 film “Get Out,” Peele told EW that he wanted to create a “monster mythology.” He
Nicki Minaj has joined “The Angry Birds Movie 2,” Variety has learned exclusively. The Sony Animation sequel hits theaters on Aug. 16, 2019. Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Bill Hader, Danny McBride, and Peter Dinklage will all reprise their roles from the first film. They are joined by Leslie Jones, Rachel Bloom, Awkwafina, Sterling K. Brown, Eugenio Derbez,
Hope, Emily Dickinson told us, is the thing with feathers. Despair, according to Samanou Acheche Sahlstrøm’s savagely convincing, brilliantly performed “Until We Fall,” is a thing with fangs and fists. Dropping us into the lives of Danish couple Adam (Dar Salim) and Louise (Lisa Carlehed) as they return to the place from where their son
Korean filmmakers have a knack for turning their national crises into riveting entertainment, choice examples being last year’s “A Taxi Driver” and “1987: When the Day Comes.” Following in that tradition, domestic hit “Default” (which opened Nov. 30 in the U.S.) manages to make currency crashes and the Asian Financial Crisis a juicy subject onscreen.
December 24, 2018 1:44PM PT [embedded content] Fox is finally settling the age-old debate about whether “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie. The studio recently re-cut the classic film’s original trailer to give it a holiday spin. Declaring it “the greatest Christmas story ever told,” Twentieth Century Fox also released a new log line: Facing
Kevin Spacey is facing a felony charge of sexual assault for allegedly assaulting a former Boston TV news anchor’s teenage son in 2016, Variety has confirmed. According to the Barnstable County Superior Court clerk’s office, Spacey will be arraigned on a charge of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over at Nantucket District Court
Hollywood got the best gift of all on Christmas Eve. The domestic box office reached a new benchmark even before the busiest time of year for moviegoing commences. Blockbusters including Disney’s “Black Panther” and “Incredibles 2,” Universal’s “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” and Fox’s “Deadpool 2” drove sales past $11.383 billion, according to Comscore. That puts
Every year, the Oscars, Emmys and Grammys must choose which notable performers and creators to memorialize in their In Memoriam segments, and the three organizations will have many talented entertainers to remember at 2019’s ceremonies. The past year saw the loss of celebrated stars of the big screen, such “Smokey and the Bandit” star Burt Reynolds,
It’s shaping up to be a pretty bleak holiday season for Steve Carell and Robert Zemeckis after “Welcome to Marwen” flopped last weekend in spectacular fashion. The $40 million drama about a man’s attempts to overcome his PTSD is one of the biggest bombs of the year, debuting to a disastrous $2.4 million from 1,191
Can “Aquaman” save the DC Universe? Every time Warner Bros. releases a new Justice League adventure, it’s become de rigueur to ask what the film’s box office results mean for the studio’s on-going attempts to fashion together a Marvel alternative. It may be frustrating for the powers that be at DC, but it’s a valid
MADRID — In an emblematic move for Spain’s film industry, José Alba’s Pecado Films, producer of “Gernika” and San Sebastian breakout “Journey to A Mother’s Room,” is moving into TV production with a series type in ever-larger demand in Spain: Social issue half-hour comedies. With “Arde Madrid,” a comedy about Ava Gardner’s domestic entourage during
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” flew to the top of China’s box office this weekend, earning $26 million. That marked the fourth-largest opening of all time for an animated Hollywood film in the Middle Kingdom. It also marked the best opening of the year for a foreign animated feature. The figure beat earlier studio projections of
If you only see one Korean War tap-dance musical this year, well, you’re probably watching “Swing Kids.” A brash, busy and often bizarre genre mashup from South Korean blockbuster merchant Kang Hyeong-Cheol, this far-fetched tale of an African-American G.I. finding terpsichorean kinship with a group of Asian misfits in a POW camp brings a bit
“Aquaman” retained its reign at the international box office for the third consecutive weekend, generating another $91.3 million from 70 overseas territories. James Wan’s superhero adventure starring Jason Momoa has now amassed $482.8 million, with $410.7 million of that number coming from foreign markets. China accounted for $23.3 million of this weekend’s bounty, bringing “Aquaman’s”
Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma,” as everyone knows by now, is the most acclaimed work of art in the history of mankind. Okay, I exaggerate. From the start, though, there’s been an aura surrounding this movie — a holy aesthetic halo. From the moment I saw it before the Venice Film Festival, I knew “Roma” would be
Jason Momoa’s “Aquaman” is the King of the Seven Seas — and now the box office. The DC adventure dominated in North America with a splashy $72 million debut, including previews. That’s a hefty start during a month that, aside from “Star Wars” movies, tends to field smaller opening weekends that pick up steam as
Event cinema is coming of age as movie theaters increasingly look to live events and one-night screenings during the Sunday-Thursday corridor. BTS concert documentary, “Burn the Stage: The Movie,” pulled in a record-setting $18 million in 79 territories at 2,650 movie theaters in three nights for Trafalgar Releasing — including $3.6 million in the U.S.
It was a year of belly laughs, guffaws and giggles at the multiplex in 2018 as movies like “Incredibles 2,” “Deadpool 2” and “Crazy Rich Asians” proved that comedies are no joke at the box office, where they raked in more than $1 billion in North America. That trio also delivered three of the most