Movies

Before the world premiere of long-awaited sequel “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” at the BFI London Film Festival, the team behind the Aardman production revealed that they set out to make a “feminist classic” that is also an “homage to heist films.” “Dawn of the Nugget” comes 23 years after the original “Chicken Run”

“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is doing all too well in theaters. The concert film made a cool sum of $39 million on its opening day from 3,855 North American locations, a figure that includes $2.8 million in Thursday previews. That ranks as the second-biggest October opening day ever, behind only the 2019 prestige comic

Hansal Mehta‘s “The Buckingham Murders,” which premieres at the BFI London Film Festival, will be the first in a franchise. Written by Aseem Arrora, Raghav Raj Kakker and Kashyap Kapoor, the film follows Jasmeet Bhamra (portrayed by Kareena Kapoor Khan), a detective and mother who, after losing her own child, must investigate the murder of

One sign of a terrific actor is that he can hold you even when he’s not doing anything. Pierce Brosnan is like that. I wouldn’t call him a minimalist, though he never wastes a word or a movement; he has the precision of an expensive watch. Yet as he’s gotten older (he’s now 70, with

Jennifer Gamez and Kellie Marsalli were strangers until a chance encounter at AMC Lincoln Square 13 on Friday night. As one ascended and the other descended the escalator at one of New York City’s busiest movie theaters, they swapped friendship bracelets to commemorate being among the first to watch the “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour”

Tom Oyer, senior vice president of member relations and awards at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, is exiting his post after 16 years, Variety has learned exclusively. On Friday, Oyer shared the news of his departure in a letter sent to colleagues and industry professionals. A beloved figure by Academy members and

Darren Aronofsky‘s Sphere film, “Postcard From Earth,” is responsible for establishing all kinds of historic cinematic firsts — like the fact that it is the only movie ever to be released in 18K resolution on a screen that spans 160,000 square feet. But movie buffs will particularly enjoy one first that doesn’t fully reveal itself

Although Adam Driver portrays legendary sports-car magnate Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann‘s biographical drama, the actor didn’t get to drive one of the 1950s-era replicas for “Ferrari.” Instead, he drove an “open-wheel single seater” that was modified to connect a camera to it. Asked how it was getting behind the wheel of that particular vintage

The red carpet for Sofia Coppola‘s “Priscilla” premiere in L.A. on Monday has been canceled amid current world events, distributor A24 confirmed. Furthermore, the venue for the screening has been changed because of a dispute between IATSE and the Hollywood Legion Theater, which is a part of the veterans’ organization American Legion. A representative for the

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for “Divinity,” which releases in New York on Friday, Los Angeles on Oct. 20 and goes wide on Nov. 3. In his latest movie “Divinity,” Stephen Dorff‘s character is introduced with an extended sex scene and ends the film transformed into a monstrous, muscular creature with a “mushroom cloud”

In advance of The Walt Disney Co.’s 100th anniversary on Oct. 16, Variety connected with leaders and filmmakers from across its wide creative empire, including Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Studios. Disney’s purchase of Marvel opened the door to live-action blockbusters including 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” the second-highest-grossing film ever. And while some may bemoan superhero saturation,

Tallinn Black Nights, one of the biggest film festivals in Northern Europe, has revealed the full lineup of its Official Selection Competition, with films by Emma Dante, Călin Peter Netzer, Gust Van den Berghe and Rezo Gigineishvili in the running. There are seven international premieres and 13 world premieres. The festival’s 27th edition runs Nov.

Dana Walden sent a staff-wide memo to all of Disney Entertainment on Friday, reflecting on the past week since Hamas struck Israel in a deadly and devastating war. “Tomorrow marks one week since the world changed forever with the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Walden wrote in a memo, exclusively obtained

Acclaimed Romanian animator Anca Damian has lined up her next live-action feature. The filmmaker behind Annecy top prizewinner “Crulic: The Path to Beyond” and “Marona’s Fantastic Tale” will write and direct “First People on Earth,” a tragicomic family saga about a biracial woman re-experiencing her native Namibia after decades in Europe. Returning to her birth

It begins as a spatter of heavy rainfall — nothing out of the ordinary for acclimatized Brits, for whom an actual storm can even be cozily welcome after days of noncommittal drear and drizzle. But then it doesn’t stop, deep-set wet turns to invasive flooding, and what seemed a mere bout of inclement weather has

“Deadpool 3” and “Stranger Things” director Shawn Levy is showering praise on this weekend’s box office ruler, Taylor Swift, calling her a “generational voice and creative force” and likening her directorial vision to that of Steven Spielberg. Swift, whose cinematic rendering of the blockbuster Eras Tour is poised to rake in north of $100 million this

A romantic comedy about an Israeli-Palestinian couple based on the real life story of creators Nayef Hammoud and Gal Rosenbluth, the development series “Non-Issue” won the Paramount+ drama prize at this year’s MIA Market, which wrapped its ninth edition on an optimistic note. Of course, well before Friday’s closing award ceremony, the heartbreaking crisis in

The Hollywood unions issued a statement Friday calling on the major studios to resume bargaining with SAG-AFTRA, two days after talks with the actors union broke down. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said Wednesday that the gap between the two sides was “too great,” and that further negotiations would not be productive.

Investment in original content production continues to grow in Italy where resources across all genres reached a total of €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion) thanks to increased investments from U.S. streamers. But linear TV remains the Italian industry’s main driver. That’s the main takeaway from the annual report on local production presented on Friday by Italy’s

Mexican actor/director/writer/ producer Eugenio Derbez “can do anything.” That’s what Ben Odell, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Derbez’s production company, 3Pas, believes. “The roles he’s been offered to date are the comedy relief guy,” Odell tells Variety. “The best of Hollywood is the big spectacle movies. Anyone who comes here wants to play

Following her Oscar-nominated turn in Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” Michelle Williams will next embody the voice of Britney Spears by narrating her upcoming memoir, “The Woman in Me.” Variety has confirmed that Spears will record an introduction to the audiobook and Williams will narrate the rest. Out Oct. 24 via Gallery Books, an imprint of

Illustration: Variety; Images: Courtesy of Disney During its first 100 years, the Walt Disney Co. has brought to life many of cinema’s iconic and revered fantasy figures — from a plucky mouse with a signature chuckle to princesses, rakish pirates and even walking-and-talking skeletons — and birthed a host of stars through its small-screen programming.

It’s already been a busy week for Taylor Swift, but the box office fun is just beginning. Her concert movie, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” is opening this weekend and has made $2.8 million in Thursday previews from 2,700 theaters. Showings began last night at 6 p.m. The film was originally slated to open on

“Sidonie in Japan” will travel far and wide, as international agent Indie Sales has posted a raft of new sales out of Rome’s MIA Market. Starring Isabelle Huppert and directed by Elise Girard, the wistful romance world premiered out of Venice’s independent, auteur-oriented sidebar Venice Days last month. The Paris-based sales company has altogether secured

Alireza Khatami and Ali Asgari‘s “Terrestrial Verses,” the sole Iranian film which premiered in Cannes’ official selection, has been acquired by KimStim for North American distribution. The movie, represented in international markets by Films Boutique, will soon play at U.S. festivals, including Chicago, Mill Valley and AFI Fest. A satire of the Iranian regime, “Terrestrial Verses” follows

Imagine Documentaries, the non-fiction branch of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment, is looking to boost a new generation of documentary talent. Speaking at a panel at Rome’s MIA Market, Imagine Documentaries president Sara Bernstein revealed that her company has signed a development deal with filmmakers Isabel Bethencourt and Parker Hill, whose teenagers-in-Texas portrait

 “Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light” continues to ward off the darkness.  LevelK’s Czech stop-motion animation has sold to over 40 territories, including Germany (Eksystent Distribution), France (Eurozoom /Panoranime), Spain (MODIband Projectes Culturals), Italy (Just Wanted), Portugal (Film4you), Israel (New Cinema), Slovenia (Demiurg), MENA (Empire Networks), Switzerland (Out-side the Box), Estonia (Estin Film) Sweden (Njutafilms)

French sales powerhouse Charades Films, which is attending MIA Market in Rome this week, has acquired international rights to Emma Dante’s third feature “Misericordia.” The film will premiere in competition at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival on Nov. 11, and will hit theaters via Teodora on Nov. 16 in Italy. Charades also handled Dante’s

Iqbal H. Choudhury’s “The Wrestler” and Mori Tatsutya’s “September 1923” were announced joint winners of the New Currents competition at the Busan International Film Festival. “The Wrester” “was like a single round match, magically depicting an exciting narrative,” the jury said. “We support the bravery to face the history that had been forgotten,” the jury

Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival has unveiled the program for its 27th edition, which will take place in the Czech city of Jihlava between Oct. 24-29. The festival will showcase 357 films in both competitive and non-competitive sections, with 115 world premieres, 22 international premieres and 17 European premieres. This year’s program touches on themes