Movies

When James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” finally opens in theaters this December, it will bring the “Avatar” franchise back to the big screen after 13 years and lead into four more “Avatar” sequels. Well, not so fast. Speaking to Total Film magazine, Cameron said he’s prepared to cut his franchise short should “The

All awards and nominations lead to the coveted Academy Awards ceremony. As the industry’s leader in awards analysis, predictions and the entertainment business, you can find the key upcoming dates for this year’s awards season. All critical dates are in bold. Check out the key dates below and bookmark the page. November 2022 Nov. 11 –

The Golden Angel Awards ceremony in San Gabriel, California, was an occasion that kept politics in the foreground, but which simultaneously managed to downplay the frosty current state of U.S.-China diplomatic relations. The awards event on Friday night also served as the opening ceremony of the 18th edition of the Chinese American Film Festival (CAFF)

U.K. independent production company Shot of Tea has revealed a charismatic cast for romantic comedy feature “Everything and the Universe.” The film stars E.J. Bonilla (“The Old Man”), Nicolette Pearse (“Kim’s Convenience”), Chelsea Gilligan (“Mid-Century) and Luke Roberts (“Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities”). It is directed by Sarah Scarlett Downing, her first feature film,

After breaking out with a debut role in the film that ushered in the Greek Weird Wave and becoming one of his country’s most accomplished theater actors and directors, Christos Passalis makes his feature directorial debut with “Silence 6-9,” a haunting, melancholic love story that plays in competition this week at the Thessaloniki Film Festival.

Indian actor Kamal Haasan and director Mani Ratnam are reuniting for a film with the working title “KH234.” The pair previously teamed on gangster epic “Nayakan” (1987). The film was a watershed in both their careers. It was a box office blockbuster, won Haasan best actor at India’s national film awards and was the country’s

Finally, a newly released film has penetrated China’s box office top five, the first time this has happened in a month. But “Serendipity Love” had so little impact that it failed to displace the incumbent “Home Coming” from first place. And the nationwide theatrical business slipped to within a whisker of its weakest weekend performance

Director Sooraj Barjatya, known for some of the Bollywood biggest hits including “Maine Pyar Kiya” (1989) and “Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!” (1994), is back with “Uunchai” (literally “Height”). The film follows three friends in the twilights of their lives whose trek to the Everest Base Camp turns out to be a personal, emotional and spiritual

It’s rare for sequels to make a big splash on the awards circuit; only two have ever won best picture – “The Godfather II” and “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.” But director Rian Johnson’s star-studded feature “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” is also proving to be an exception, with the 48-year-old

On the carpet of the 11th annual LACMA Art + Film Gala on Saturday, Sydney Sweeney revealed working with co-star Dakota Johnson on Sony’s upcoming Marvel film “Madame Web” was initially a nerve-wracking experience. “I was a little nervous,” Sweeney told Variety’s Marc Malkin at the event, reflecting on her reaction to seeing her co-star

Local crime thriller “Confession” held on to top spot at the Korean box office over the latest weekend, with “Black Adam” again taking third place. The weekend’s overall performance, however, was the weakest in months. “Confession” earned a little changed $1.27 million between Friday and Sunday, representing a 35% share of the weekend nationwide total.

James Gunn has shared some thoughts on the direction of DC Studios, less than two weeks after being selected alongside Peter Safran as the banner’s first-ever co-chairmen and chief executive officers. Taking to Twitter, the film director and newly minted exec acknowledged recent online fan movements and teased the “Biggest Story Ever Told” for DC

What a world we could live in if only we allowed the innocence of children to run it. My 11-year-old daughter Sophia is just learning about the scope of movies. You would assume the child of an entertainment writer and Oscar enthusiast might be well-versed in the styles of Akira Kurosawa and Steven Spielberg. Instead,

Spain’s J.A. Bayona, director of “Jurassic World: Fallen  Kingdom” and two episodes of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” is developing an adaptation of Manuel Chaves Nogales’ short story collection “A sangre y fuego,” now considered by some in Spain as the best portrayal by a Spaniard of its ghastly Spanish Civil War. 

Dark Star has closed North America on Spanish horror film “The Elderly” (“Los viejos”) which world premiered at Montreal’s Fantasia Festival winning lead Zorion Eguileor best actor for what Variety called his “disturbing yet strangely affecting turn.”  Directed by Raul Cerezo and Fernando González Gómez, “The Elderly” went on to screen at Austin’s Fantastic Fest and Spain’s

Bollywood star Ranveer Singh will be exclusively managed by Indian artist management firm Collective Artists Network, Variety can confirm. Singh was formerly managed by Yash Raj Films’ YRF Talent Management and has parted ways with them amicably, Variety understands. “This is the biggest and the most exciting development because this marks the coming together of

“Rhinegold,” a biopic about young Iranian-Kurdish immigrant Giwar Hajabi, also known as Xatar, who rose from being a violent drug dealer and ex-convict to one of Germany’s most successful rap stars and music producers, has become the biggest box office hit ever for director Fatih Akin. The film, which screens at the Thessaloniki Film Festival,

Paramount’s creepy thriller “Smile” hit a scary-good box office milestone, surpassing $200 million worldwide. After six weeks on the big screen, the film has generated $99.1 million domestically and $103.8 million internationally for a global tally of $202.9 million. It’s a stellar result since “Smile” cost just $17 million to produce. “The spectacular worldwide performance

Consider this weekend the calm before the storm. “Black Adam,” a comic book adventure starring Dwayne Johnson, loomed over box office charts for the third weekend in a row with $18.5 million in North American ticket sales. It was another quiet period at the movies as theater operators eagerly await Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,”

As the Thessaloniki Film Festival kicks off its 63rd edition, this year’s industry section features the pilot edition of a dedicated television strand and the launch of a Think Tank series calling on European film markets to chart a common course for industry confabs in the future. Such initiatives are part of newly appointed industry

New films from Wissam Charaf, whose sophomore feature “Dirty Difficult Dangerous” premiered at this year’s Venice Film Festival, and San Sebastian prize winner Imanol Rayo (“Two Brothers”) are among the 14 projects selected for this year’s Crossroads Co-Production Forum at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. The event, which takes places onsite and online from Nov. 7

It’s a reality of modern war films — or, at least, the good ones — that they tend to be horrifying and exciting at the same time. You could say that’s a contradiction that grows out of the kinetic, larger-than-life nature of the movie medium. Or you could say it’s a truth that expresses something fundamental

Canadian actor and filmmaker Aaron Poole shared the first details of his arthouse father-daughter road movie “Dada” with Variety this week, shortly after wrapping principal photography of the film on Manitoulin Island, located north of Toronto in Lake Huron. Working steadily in North American TV (“Most Dangerous Game”) and film (“Stardust,” “The Empty Man”) since

Lionsgate has hired Nasim Cambron as executive vice president of worldwide publicity. The decision was announced Friday by JP Richards and Keri Moore, president and co-president of marketing for the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. In her role, Cambron will report to Moore, supervising film public relations for the company. “Nasim brings vast expertise and noted

U.K. shingle 101 Films Intl. has notched up key sales at the American Film Market for the H.G.  Wells adaptation “Fear the Invisible Man,” starring David Hayman and Mhairi Calvey.  A remake of the H.G. Wells’ novel of the same name which was first published in 1897, the period action thriller has gone to Screen

France-U.K. sales-production-distribution house Alief has closed sales on a broad slate of titles whose roll-out underscores the longevity of current sales cycles, even on high-profile breakout titles.  Alief has licensed Sundance sci-fi “Strawberry Mansion” to France’s Universcine for digital, SVOD and broadcast distribution in French-speaking territories.  From U.S. scribe-helmers Kentucker Audley and Albert Birney (“Sylvio”),

“Black Adam” is still atop the hierarchy of power at the box office. The Warner Bros. release looks to claim the top spot on domestic charts again in its third weekend, staying ahead of new release “One Piece Film: Red.” The DC film earned an additional $4.7 million on Friday, down 37% from its numbers

Paul Presburger, who served as CEO of Hispanic showbiz leader Pantelion Films and Spanish-language streaming service Pantaya, is leaving after serving more than a decade at the helm. Presburger will be focusing on Globalgate Entertainment, the international production and co-financing company he co-founded six years ago, where he will be working on a slate of

German distributor Dolphin Medien has acquired the German Europe rights for the sci-fi thriller “I’ll Be Watching,” repped by Iuvit Media Sales at the AFM. The film is directed by Erik Bernard (“Free Dead or Alive”), and stars “The 100” stars Eliza Taylor and Bob Morley, along with Bryan Batt (“12 Years a Slave”), David

Two former leaders of MoviePass have been indicted on securities fraud charges for allegedly deceiving investors about the company’s business model and sustainability. Theodore Farnsworth, the former CEO of parent company Helios & Matheson, and Mitchell Lowe, the former CEO of MoviePass, were each charged with one count of securities fraud and three counts of