Movies

DR Sales has sold Canadian distribution rights for Norwegian director Tonje Hessen Schei’s “Praying for Armageddon” to LevelFilm. The deal was revealed follows the film’s North American premiere at Hot Docs Film Festival. The film made its world premiere in CPH:DOX. The film explores the power and influence of powerful U.S. fundamentalist evangelicals as they

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” ignited to $282 million globally, including a better-than-expected $168 million at the international box office. Heading into the weekend, Disney’s superhero tentpole was projected to collect $130 million to $140 million overseas. Thanks to positive word-of-mouth, estimates were revised up by Sunday. That’s good news because summer movie season

Oscar nominated director Nicole Newnham (“Crip Camp”) was at Hot Docs with her latest film “The Disappearance of Shere Hite,” a portrait of a feminist pioneer. The helmer was also in Toronto to participate in a Hot Docs Industry storytelling masterclass. During the hour-long talk Newnham revealed how she tackles three of the trickiest aspects

Wahoo! “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” crossed $500 million at the domestic box office, becoming one of only 19 films to ever surpass that benchmark. In its fifth weekend of release, the movie collected a huge $18.5 million from 3,909 North American theaters and landed in second place behind Disney’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” the conclusion to Marvel’s trilogy about an extraterrestrial crew of misfits, kicked off with $114 million in its domestic box office debut. Those ticket sales rank as the second-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” with $146 million. Despite the towering figure, the film

On the eve of King Charles III’s coronation, Variety’s chief film critic Peter Debruge was awarded the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his long devotion to supporting French cinema. The French government bestows the honor, which means Knight of the national Order of Arts and Letters, to creative and literary figures

Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss issued some criticism for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ new diversity and inclusion standards, saying that the updated requirements for Oscar contention “make me vomit.” Dreyfuss’ comments came during a wide-ranging interview on PBS’ “Firing Line With Margaret Hoover,” in which the actor discussed civics education in the

Four months after Jeremy Renner‘s traumatic snowplow accident, the actor continues to share his path to recovery. On Jan. 1, Renner was hospitalized after breaking over 30 bones and suffering orthopedic injuries and blunt chest trauma when his 14,330-pound snowplow ran him over as he attempted to reach his nephew in the snow. After making a significant

SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot developments and the post-credits scenes in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” currently playing in theaters. By this point, it’s no secret that Marvel Studios has lost some of its luster in its post-“Avengers: Endgame” era. Between the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s rapid expansion on Disney+ and the exits

Danish filmmaker Christian Einshøj’s “The Mountains” has won Hot Docs’ Best International Feature Documentary Award and a Cnd. $10,000 cash prize, it was announced this morning in Toronto at the festival’s awards ceremony, held at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Produced by Made In Copenhagen, the film is an autobiographical family portrait using 30 years of

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” formally kicked off the summer blockbuster season Friday. While Disney’s domestic numbers have yet to come in, analysts indicate the film drew about $48 million on its opening day, a figure that includes $17.5 million in Thursday previews. “Vol. 3” is on track to land within its expectations heading

Sony Pictures International Productions (SPIP) is making its debut in Tamil-language cinema with a film starring Sivakarthikeyan. The project is currently identified as “SK21,” meaning that it is the 21st film starring Sivakarthikeyan, who headlines the film alongside Sai Pallavi. SPIP is producing alongside multihyphenate Kamal Haasan’s Raaj Kamal Films International (RKFI) and co-produced by

Marvel Studios’ “Blade” is going back into hibernation. Due to the ongoing writers strike, Marvel has shut down pre-production on the superhero reboot, which is set to star Mahershala Ali as the titular vampire hunter alongside Aaron Pierre, Delroy Lindo and Mia Goth. Production was expected to start in Atlanta within the month for an

Paramount has filed a motion to throw out a lawsuit over the 1968 version of “Romeo and Juliet,” arguing that a nude scene with underage actors does not amount to “childhood sexual assault.” Actors Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting were 16 and 17 when they starred in the movie, which was directed by Franco Zeffirelli.

SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points, including the ending and the post-credits scenes, for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” currently playing in theaters. James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is now playing in theaters nationwide, and with its release comes the end of an era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Vol.

There comes a time in many lives when a kind of matter transference takes place in the relationship between parent and child. Like a sudden change of filter or aspect ratio, we see our mothers and fathers in new ways, realizing they existed before we did, thought thoughts and felt feelings entirely separate from our

Last year, Shane Boris received two Oscar nominations for producing National Geographic’s “Fire of Love” and CNN Films’ “Navalny.” In March he garnered an Academy Award for his work on Daniel Roher’s “Navalny,” about anti-Putin freedom fighter Alexei Navalny. During a Hot Docs Industry talk, the producer spoke about a wide variety of topics, including

“Chinas,” the third feature from Spanish writer-director Arantxa Echevarria, who won the Goya for best new director in 2018 for her Debut, “Carmen & Lola,” has been acquired for international sales by Latido Films (“Cinco Lobitos,” “The Beasts”). Filmed in Madrid’s Chinatown, the narrative follows two disparate families with ties to China, navigating the weighty segregation

The summer movie season kicks off in theaters this month with huge studio tentpoles like “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Fast X” and “The Little Mermaid.” Streaming is also set to have a big summer kickoff thanks to the arrival of recent box office winners (Sony’s “A Man From Otto”), acclaimed indies (Willem Dafoe’s

A creeping black spot on a darkening globe suffers some degree of illumination — not voluntarily, of course — in “The Rise of Wagner.” Benoit Bringer’s documentary about the Russian private army of mercenaries relies on a mix of news reports, human rights experts and sometimes anonymous witnesses to expose Wagner Group’s shadowy involvement in

This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Jason Henkel came to Los Angeles in 1993 to pursue an acting career, before he pivoted to working in animation production. But his experiences as a performer

The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) has announced the lineup for this year’s Talks Series, headlined by 2023 festival ambassador Lena Waithe. The 27th edition of the festival will be held June 14-18 in Miami Beach, followed by a virtual program June 19-25 on ABFF Play. On Thursday, June 15, the Emmy-winning writer, producer and

Following the success of “Purple Hearts,” Embankment will launch global pre-sales of new romantic movie, “The Upside of Falling Down,” at the Cannes film market. The film is directed by Oran Zegman (“Honor Society”) and stars Antonia Gentry from worldwide hit “Ginny & Georgia” alongside Calam Lynch (“Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,”

Hot Docs marked the first film festival that “Silent House” director Farnaz Jurabchian has been able to attend in-person since the documentary made its world premiere at IDFA in November. For months Farnaz Jurabchian and her co-director/brother Mohammadreza Jurabchian were banned from leaving Iran, which prevented the duo from attending prestigious fests including IDFA, France’s

In keeping with tradition, the 2023 edition of Cannes Classics promises to be a feast for cineastes with tributes to global masters and restored versions of all-time classics. Cannes Classics’ Memories of Jean-Luc Godard strand pays homage to the master who died in 2022 by screening a restored version of “Contempt” (1963); “Godard by Godard,”

The Guardians of the Galaxy are blasting off at the box office one final time, earning $17.5 million in previews for director James Gunn’s “Vol. 3” finale. It will expand to 4,450 theaters nationwide on Friday. The newest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will take the box office crown after Universal and Illumination’s “The

Sebastián Lelio, the Oscar-winning auteur behind “A Fantastic Woman,” will direct Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones in “Voyagers,” the story of the romantic relationship between astronomer and “Contact” author Carl Sagan and documentary producer and director Ann Druyan. The feature is produced by Ben Browning for FilmNation Entertainment, Lynda Obst, who guided “Contact” to the

After exploring a multitude of genres, renowned filmmaker Shekhar Kapur (“Bandit Queen,” “Elizabeth”) has turned his hand to a romantic comedy with Working Title/Studiocanal production “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” The film follows documentary-maker and dating app addict Zoe (Lily James), for whom swiping right has only delivered an endless stream of Mr

Location scouting and filming on service productions were already cooling down in Canada over the past few weeks in anticipation of the WGA strike on May 1. And while those projects with completed scripts are trudging forward, one “substantial” unnamed series being shot in Toronto has already shut down, according to the city. It’s just

Milan’s Anteo Palazzo del Cinema is set to become Italy’s first moviegoing venue to program VR cinema on a year-round basis. The Anteo, a 10-screen cityplex considered a temple of quality cinema in the northern Italian city, is launching the VR space, as it celebrates its 44th year of activity. The launch is being made