Movies

The Academy Awards have staged some iconic showdowns. Think of the tension around “La La Land” versus “Moonlight,” “12 Years a Slave” versus “Gravity” or “The Godfather” versus “Cabaret.” Each was a nail-biter that kept viewers on the edge of their seats. But what happens when six films — “Anora,” “The Brutalist,” “A Complete Unknown,”

Scott Belsky, Adobe’s chief strategy officer and executive VP of design and emerging products, is leaving the company to join A24 full-time as a partner leading tech and innovation projects at the studio. Belsky is an entrepreneur, author and creator who in 2006 founded Behance, an online platform that is used by more than 50

“Twin Peaks” and “The Addams Family” actor Carel Struycken and his wife, Tracey, lived in their Altadena, Calif. home for more than 12 years without ever having to evacuate, despite a few close calls. Usually when there’s a fire in the nearby brush-covered hills, they see it coming toward them, giving them ample time to

Six documentaries that have premiered in competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival are among the 46 recipients of The Ford Foundation‘s $4.2 million donation as part of the organization’s commitment to social justice stories, Variety has exclusively learned. The Sundance documentaries chosen include “Free Leonard Peltier,” “Heightened Scrutiny,” “How to Build a Library,” “Seeds,”

Lionsgate, Tucker Tooley Entertainment and G-BASE are moving a third film in the “Den of Thieves” franchise into active development. “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” opened in the No. 1 spot at the North American box office and has grossed more than $32 million at the domestic box office to date. The film launched on

Eagerly-awaited as one of the star projects of the new Nordic Gateway strand of the Göteborg Film Festival, a new section connecting international features to Nordic partners, “Honor of Persia,” the solo directing debut of French-Iranian actor Zar Amir Ebrahimi, was handed Jan. 30 the inaugural Tint Post-Production Award worth SEK 400,000 ($36,600). Inspired by

Mikey Madison is still processing her Oscar nomination. The 24-year-old actress, known for her roles in the FX series “Better Things,” as well as the films “Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood” and “Scream 5,” has been a working actor for over a decade, navigating the highs and heartbreaks of the industry. But this year,

“Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón is under fire for a series of social media posts to her account on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which the actor appears to express controversial views on Muslims, George Floyd and diversity at the Oscars. The posts, many of which were deleted on Thursday after they were

“Train Dreams,” a lyrical drama about a logger whose work developing America’s railroad keeps him laboring in isolation, has sold to Netflix. The film earned rave reviews after debuting at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, with Variety’s Peter Debruge calling it a “modest monument” and praising it for “creating a record that history somehow missed.”

In a major digital restoration initiative, Shout! Studios is bringing five seminal Jet Li martial arts classics to 4K resolution, marking a significant moment for fans of Hong Kong action cinema. The legendary martial artist’s collaborations with directors Gordon Chan, Woo-Ping Yuen and Corey Yuen will debut on digital platforms Feb. 18. The collection includes

Sunrise Films has secured North American distribution rights to British film “In Camera,” the feature debut from writer-director Naqqash Khalid, following lead actor Nabhaan Rizwan‘s nomination for the BAFTA Rising Star Award. The deal, inked with Together Films, sets the film for an April 15 release. The film stars Rizwan as Aden, a young thespian

Anthony Mackie and Chris Evans spent five years making Marvel movies together as Sam Wilson/Falcon and Steve Rogers/Captain America. Their characters were close friends, with Steve bestowing the Captain America shield to Sam at the end of 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.” That decision reaches its full potential in Marvel’s upcoming “Captain America: Brave New World,” in

Daniel Craig and Josh O’Connor are featured in a cathedral in a first look image for the third “Knives Out” whodunit from writer/director Rian Johnson, which the streamer revealed will debut on its platform this Fall. “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” features the return of Southern detective Benoit Blanc, played by Craig

During its Next on Netflix event, the streamer unveiled plenty of news for its Latin American markets, including a new Anitta documentary and the premiere date for “El Eternauta,” its ambitious adaptation of the Argentinian sci-fi graphic novel of the same name. In Brazil, it was revealed that an intimate new documentary on Anitta, the

Miramax will go back to school with a new version of “The Faculty,” the 1998 sci-fi thriller that became a box office hit and cult favorite. Robert Rodriguez, who directed the original, will produce the film. Breakout talent Drew Hancock is writing the remake’s script. Hancock’s debut feature, “Companion,” which he wrote and directed, hits

The Marriage Project, the production company behind Latvian auteur Signe Baumane‘s Annecy Jury Distinction winner “My Love Affair with Marriage,” has unveiled key casting details for the award-winning filmmaker’s next feature, “Karmic Knot.” Written and directed by Baumane, whose previous works “Rocks In My Pockets” and “My Love Affair With Marriage” have garnered critical acclaim,

Matchbox Films has acquired all rights in the U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand to the Brazilian LGBTQ+ romantic thriller “Streets of Gloria,” the latest feature by Felipe Sholl. Berlin-based sales agent M-Appeal brokered the deal. “Streets of Gloria” was sold to Dark Star Pictures for North America, as previously announced. The fast-paced and emotionally-charged

A24‘s provocative drama “Babygirl” has surpassed $50 million at the global box office, with international markets delivering $22.6 million and domestic earnings reaching $27.4 million, per numbers provided by the studio. Directed by Halina Reijn, the film, starring Kidman alongside Harris Dickinson, Sophie Wilde and Antonio Banderas, follows a powerful CEO whose life unravels after

Sara Beate Eira (Screaming Fox Productions) and Eva Åkergren (Nordisk Film Sweden) have boarded Finnish project “Máttáráhká,” aka “When Johan Johanaš Disappeared to the Mountains.”  Directed by Suvi West, and Anssi Kömi, it’s produced by Julia Elomäki for Tekele Productions. Cinematographer Kerttu Hakkarainen, behind “Heartbeast” and “Natatorium,” will lens the film.   In “Máttáráhká” – presented

Prolific Turkish-Italian director Ferzan Ozpetek’s female-centric ensemble drama “Diamonds” is fast becoming Italy’s first standout title of 2025. The film has scored sales in some 40 territories while becoming the country’s No. 1 local box office draw so far this year. “Diamonds,” which is set both in the present day and in the 1970s, revolves

Unlike other showcases with a strong market component, the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival does not require selected films to arrive as world premieres. That choice stems as much from allegiance to a devoted local audience that expects the best as from an understanding of wider industry dynamics.  “Our market also needs high standards,” says programmer

Picture Tree Intl. has secured the international sales rights for “The Badgers,” a family adventure film helmed by director Paul M. Lundø (“The Veil of Twilight”). The Norwegian film, which is in post-production, is anticipated for a theatrical release in Scandinavia during summer/autumn 2025. The trailer debuts here. [embedded content] The heartwarming and comedic coming-of-age

Midway between Paris and the Mediterranean coast, France’s Clermont-Ferrand has become the world’s preeminent hub for short-form cinema, hosting both a festival and a market with unparalleled international reach. Now celebrating its 46th edition – which runs Jan. 31 – Feb. 8 – the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival has long been a springboard for emerging

French-U.K. outfit Alief has acquired international sales rights to Indian filmmaker Bhargav Saikia’s supernatural folk horror “Bokshi,” ahead of its world premiere in International Film Festival Rotterdam‘s Harbour section. The film follows Anahita, a troubled teen who finds solace in Shalini, a mysterious history teacher leading a trek to an ancient site called ‘The Navel.’

Oscar winner Russell Crowe is set to return to Queensland, Australia, for the action thriller “Bear Country,” with cameras rolling this February, Screen Queensland revealed Thursday. The project reunites Crowe with “Unhinged” helmer Derrick Borte, who will direct from a script he penned with Daniel Forte, based on Thomas Perry’s novel “Strip.” The duo previously

In its latest bet on bold Scandi features, Copenhagen-based sales and aggregation house LevelK has picked up world rights to the Swedish feature “Live a Little” (“Leva lite”) which received a rapturous response at its world premiere in Göteborg last weekend, where it scooped the SEK 50,000 ($4,500) Angelo award from the Church of Sweden

The American Film Market will return to Los Angeles for its 46th edition, which is set to take place Nov. 11-16 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City. “Our return to LA holds special significance in the aftermath of the recent devastating fires,” said Jean M. Prewitt and Clay Epstein, who serve as CEO

Sony has given the Aug. 29 release date originally set for “Insidious 6″ to Darren Aronofsky‘s crime thriller “Caught Stealing,” starring Austin Butler. The next “Insidious” entry has been pushed nearly a year, to Aug. 21, 2026. Based on the book series by Charlie Huston, who also wrote the film, the official logline for “Caught

“The Alabama Solution” is one of the most powerful exposés of the inhumanity of the American prison system I’ve ever seen. Directed by Andrew Jarecki (“Capturing the Friedmans,” “The Jinx”) and Charlotte Kaufman, the movie is a scalding portrait of life on the inside that exerts a grip worthy of a thriller. It’s an investigative

Karla Sofía Gascón, star of the Oscar-nominated film “Emilia Pérez,” has accused the social media team of fellow best actress nominee Fernanda Torres of attempting to undermine her work. In a Jan. 21 video interview with Folha de S. Paulo, a Brazilian daily newspaper, published Tuesday, Gascón praised Torres, the star of the Brazilian drama