Movies

There’s nothing heroic about the final box office performance of “The Marvels.” The superhero sequel is officially the lowest-grossing installment in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After four weeks on the big screen, the comic book tentpole is running out of steam with $80 million in North America and $197 million globally. There

A movie about George Santos is in the works at HBO Films, Variety has confirmed. HBO Films has optioned the rights to Mark Chiusano’s book “The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos,” which was published on Nov. 28. The film comes from Frank Rich, who executive produced the

Tunisian filmmaker Ala Eddine Slim attended this week’s Atlas Workshops at Marrakech Film Festival with the rough cut of his third feature film, “Agora.” The film revolves around three missing people who return to a remote town in Tunisia, where the local police inspector, Fathi, tries to unravel the mystery with the help of her

Queen Bey is the new box office queen. “Renaissance,” a concert film written, directed and produced by Beyoncé, topped the domestic box office with $21 million in its opening weekend, slightly ahead of expectations. These ticket sales rank as one of the best debuts for a concert film, joining the company of Taylor Swift’s “The

After recovering from a prolonged health scare, and newly based in Western Europe, Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev stepped back onto the international stage at this year’s Marrakech Film Festival. Better still, the director of Oscar nominated films “Loveless” and “Leviathan” will soon step back behind the camera, as he readies the oligarch drama “Jupiter,” his

Karim Debbagh‘s leading Tangier-based line producer Kasbah Films has secured a raft of U.S. and U.K. projects that will lense in Morocco, including “Lords of War,” the sequel to “Lord of War,” starring Nicolas Cage as the world’s most notorious arms dealer. While attending the Marrakech Film Festival, Debbagh spoke to Variety about his work

World premiering out of the Marrakech Film Festival ahead of a wider and promising festival run, Luck Razanajaona’s “Disco Afrika: A Malagasy Story” will offer the cinema of Madagascar its most prominent international showcase in nearly three decades. The feat didn’t come easy — or quickly — for the Malagasy filmmaker, who graduated from Marrakech’s

Nabil Ayouch, a leading Moroccan filmmaker whose latest movie as a producer “The Blue Caftan” became the first Moroccan film to ever make it to the Oscars shortlist, is wrapping up his next directorial effort, “Everybody Loves Touda.” Now in post-production, “Everybody Loves Touda” follows the journey of a strong-willed woman, along the lines of

In bigger picture terms, the major highlights of Ventana Sur were a masterclass by Cannes head Thierry Frémaux and an impromptu speech by San Sebastián director José Luis Rebordinos, heads of the most important film festivals in the world and Spanish-speaking world, supporting the continued existence of INCAA. There words came after Argentinian President elect

Ryan Gosling sometimes regrets coining the phrase “Kenergy.” Speaking on Saturday at Variety‘s Hitmakers event, however, he embraced the idea of “Kenergy” — a term he said he made up while on a press junket for the hit film “Barbie” — to describe musician, songwriter and producer Mark Ronson. Gosling was at Hitmakers, presented by

Ventana Sur’s coveted Paradiso WIP Award, made up of a $10,000 cash prize, went to Brazil’s “The Cuban Doctor.” Its director, Bernard Lessa, reflected on the significance of the award: “It’s a very important initiative and a partner in the cause of Brazilian cinema,” he said, as he expressed his joy at receiving the accolade.

Catatonic with a bright red swollen eye, middle-aged Rafik (Majd Mastoura) sits handcuffed inside a police station in the aftermath of a violent outburst at his soul-crushing office job. Whatever gripe eroded his sanity doesn’t matter as much now, since the incident, including a suicide attempt, unearthed a supernatural ability he possesses. An unpredictable oddity

Will Smith shared new details about “I Am Legend 2,” which he stars in and produces alongside Michael B. Jordan, on Saturday night at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The upcoming sequel is based on the alternate ending used in the 2007 post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie’s DVD release, rather than its

BUENOS AIRES — Representatives of Ibero-American film industry collectives gathered to discuss diversity, parity and equality in the audiovisual sector at a pair of panels held by Ventana Sur’s Punto Genero and industry strands in Buenos Aires on Thursday. Moderated by Lyara Oliveira, São Paulo promotion agency Spcine’s director of innovation and audiovisual policies, the

“The Thundermans Return,” the Nickelodeon film continuation of the popular TV series, has dropped its first teaser trailer. “The Thundermans Return” premieres on Paramount+ and all Nickelodeon channels in March 2024. “A super new movie brings the return of one super superhero family,” the narrator says. The teaser can be seen below. “The Thundermans” aired

Mark Shelmerdine, the BAFTA L.A. co-founder and producer who is credited with reviving Alexandra Korda’s London Films, died Oct. 26 in Santa Barbara after a long illness. He was 78. Shelmerdine was diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer in 2016. After being treated in a trial program between Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer

BUENOS AIRES  — Holding a captive audience, Laura Gouthez, president of the French video game association SO-Games, spoke about the present state of the industry and its forward trajectory in a casual discussion hosted Wednesday by Maquinitas, the games sidebar that runs in tandem with the Ventana Sur market. Located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the association of video

Noburu is 10 and living in Brazil with a budding curiosity surrounding  his Japanese heritage. With an inquisitive enthusiasm, he approaches his grandfather Hideo, reluctant to share tales of his difficult years assimilating to a new country. The two begin an arduous journey towards reconnection and learn critical lessons about one another in the process.

Asmae El Moudir’s “The Mother of All Lies” won top honors at the Marrakech Film Festival on Saturday, marking festival history as the first Moroccan film to claim the top trophy, while adding Marrakech’s Étoile d’Or to a list of accolades that also includes best director from Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and best film from

It’s a busy year for the Red Sea Souk, the market arm of the Red Sea Film Festival dedicated to discovering new Arab and African talent. The same could have been said of every year of the market’s three-year history, however, with Saudi Arabia’s lightning-fast film industry solidifying the Souk as the principal film market

Habanero Film Sales has snapped up documentary “I Trust You” (“En vos confio”) from Juan Pablo Gugliotta and Nathalia Videla Peña’s Magma Cine (“The Distinguished Citizen,” “1976”) in one of the more significant of multiple deals struck at a hectic Ventana Sur (VS) in Buenos Aires. Directed by Agustin Toscano, whose “The Owners” and “The Snatch

Kidnap thriller “Fourth Wall” and romance story “Chasing Red” are the first two titles to be shot at Saudi Arabia’s Film AlUla as part of its partnership with Hollywood indie Stampede Ventures. The film entity, which is looking to attract international productions to a spectacular swathe of northwest Saudi, recently announced its partnership with Stampede

“Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” is taking over the box office after grossing $11.5 million on its opening day from 2,539 locations, a figure that includes a strong $5.1 million in Thursday previews. Putting that next to the massive October debut of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” it’s shaping up to be the first year

Original TV series based on Arab and Muslim characters are beginning to go global, a Netflix executive said Saturday at the Red Sea Film Festival. Ahmed Sharkawi, director of Arab content, Netflix Europe, Middle East and Africa, said that a new, distinctive voice was emerging from the region. “Recently, a friend called me and her

Susan Sarandon issued an apology for controversial comments she made at a pro-Palestine rally in New York last month. At the Nov. 17 rally, the actor had said, “There are a lot of people that are afraid, that are afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels

Netflix has boarded Saudi Arabian multi-hyphenate Fatima Al-Banawi’s feature film debut “Basma” which tackles the theme of mental illness in her country. The groundbreaking film is set in Jeddah, the city on the Red Sea’s eastern shore where Saudi’s Red Sea Film Festival is currently underway. Besides writing and directing “Basma,” Al Banawi – who

Egypt’s Oscar submission “Voy! Voy! Voy!,” from director-writer-producer Omar Hilal, is a blackly comic look at migration viewed through the lens of a conman pretending to be visually impaired in order to play in the Blind Football World Cup. The fast-paced, entertaining film makes its Moroccan debut in the Special Screenings section of the Marrakech

Prolific Singaporean filmmaker Kelvin Tong‘s latest feature “A Year Of No Significance,” which has its world premiere at the 34th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), mourns the loss of a generation. Set in Singapore in 1979, the film chronicles the gradual disintegration of a middle-aged architect as changes rock the 45th year of his life.

Kidnap thriller “Fourth Wall” and romance story “Chasing Red” are the first two titles to be shot at Saudi Arabia’s Film AlUla as part of its partnership with Hollywood indie Stampede Ventures. The film entity, which is looking to attract international productions to a spectacular swathe of northwest Saudi, recently announced its partnership with Stampede Ventures

In body-swap comedies, the acting is its own kind of brazen put-on fun. Adult actors get to channel their inner innocent kid; young actors get to channel their “serious” adult. And that’s why, ever since the original “Freaky Friday” (1976) brought this genre into being, it’s been marked by instances of true Hollywood artistry, like