Movies

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. “A Real Pain” will officially become available to rent/purchase on digital platforms starting Wednesday, Dec. 31, just in time to ring in the new year with two neurotic Jews. The film will also release

Stephen Schwartz will see you now. The worthier wizard of “Wicked” is the one who wrote one of Broadway’s all-time top song scores and now, a little over two decades later, has overseen the transition of that music into a film that is almost certainly on the fast track for Best Picture contention. He is

Jim O’Heir’s new book “Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation” includes a conversation with co-star Chris Pratt in which the latter recalls putting his foot down over mean jokes during their time on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation.” O’Heir and Pratt starred in all seven seasons of the popular sitcom as

When can you rightly say a film has been “overlooked”? The measure of that isn’t nearly as objective as the box office — or as clearly defined as the rushing river of opinion that’s poured into a 10 Best list. Overlooked means a movie that got out there…but not enough. A movie that wasn’t praised

President-elect Donald Trump praised Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, the former chairman of Marvel Entertainment, at an event Monday night at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla. “The guy went from stone-cold broke to owning Disney,” Trump said of Perlmutter in front of his supporters at his private south Florida estate. “Then he got out of

Germany’s film and TV industries will kick off 2025 with an overhaul to the country’s funding system for productions that, besides providing a local boost, is also good news for Hollywood. The German parliament on Friday, in its last session before being dissolved, pushed through a watered down version of the country’s long-gestating new film

After surging back from the pandemic with a 16% growth in 2023, France’s box office continued to grow in 2024 with €1.36 billion ($1.41 billion) grossed from 183.1 million admissions sold, a 0.5% year-on rise, according to Comscore and the National Film Board (CNC). While the increase may appear modest, it nevertheless solidifies France as

Indian film and television veteran Siddharth Roy Kapur points to increasingly polarized theatrical results and a period of strategic recalibration in streaming as key trends that shaped Indian entertainment in 2024, characterizing it as a “hiatus year” dominated by business-to-business developments rather than consumer-facing initiatives. “People are getting much more particular about which films they

Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” raced to the top of the U.K. and Ireland box office with a £11.7 million ($14.7 million) opening weekend, according to numbers from Comscore. In its second weekend, Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” continued to draw audiences, adding £4.2 million for a cumulative total of £12.6 million. Universal’s “Wicked” stayed

Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor has found new creative territory as antagonist Danger Lanka in Rohit Shetty’s “Singham Again,” marking a calculated departure from his traditional leading man roles. The pic marks the fifth entry in Shetty’s popular cop universe. The franchise – initially based on Hari’s 2010 Tamil-language “Singam,” starring Suriya – kicked off with

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have settled their divorce after eight years of legal disputes, People has confirmed. The pair finalized their terms and signed off on the split Dec. 30. “More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt. She and the children left all of the properties they had shared

Vyjayanthi Movies’ ambitious Indian sci-fi mythological epic “Kalki 2898 AD” made waves in 2024, grossing over $140 million globally before being overtaken by “Pushpa 2: The Rise” in December. The film, which blends Hindu mythology with dystopian future tech, represents a significant milestone for Indian cinema’s expanding global footprint. Set in a dystopian future, “Kalki

The independent production banner RASA Film Group is broadening its reach, welcoming tech and hospitality veteran Rohit Bhayana as the latest addition to its partnership ranks as the collective sets its sights on expanding its South Asian storytelling ventures. The New York-based collective, which made its debut in 2024, has already established a track record

It takes a while in “Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day” to reach Barren Island, a notorious penal colony in the former Yugoslavia where no cells were necessary and armed guards counted on the sea to keep those incarcerated in line. However, a prison without bars reveals itself early on in writer-director Ivona Juka’s stark and occasionally

Abigail Breslin posted a lengthy statement on both her Tumblr and Instagram accounts in which she remembered being called “hysterical” after speaking out about a co-star’s unprofessional behavior. The “Little Miss Sunshine” Oscar nominee implied that she was inspired to post after Blake Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against her “It Ends With Us”

Angus MacInnes, a Canadian actor who appeared in “Star Wars: A New Hope” and “Rogue One,” has died. He was 77. MacInnes died on Dec. 23 peacefully and surrounded by family, according to a statement by the MacInnes Family shared on social media. “To all Angus’ fans around the world, with breaking hearts we write

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details on the plot of “Carry-On,” now streaming on Netflix. Tonatiuh wasn’t happy sitting on the sidelines watching a stunt person perform his fight scenes with Taron Egerton in the hit Netflix thriller “Carry-On.” In one sequence, the two are going at each other while tumbling down a luggage conveyer belt.

Kate Beckinsale posted a video on Instagram in which she detailed a handful of instances where she has suffered harassment and abuse on various sets. The “Underworld” star shared her horror stories in reaction to Blake Lively‘s sexual harassment complaint against her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni. Beckinsale said she was

Paul Rust said in a recent episode of the “With Gourley and Rust” podcast that he saw James Franco “flip out” on a set a few days after he co-hosted the 2011 Oscars with Anne Hathaway. “I saw James Franco flip out once,” Rust claimed. “When ‘Your Highness’ came out, CollegeHumor was going to try

Spencer Boldman is set to star in a new biopic about blind country musical legend Ronnie Milsap. The film will be based on his autobiography “Almost Like a Song.” The film is being packaged by its executive producer, Gary Negherbon of Negherbon Media Group, and Boldman’s longtime manager, Antonia DeNardo. Boldman will also be an

Jason Momoa is returning to the DC universe — but his reign as Aquaman has ended. Instead, Momoa has signed on to play antihero Lobo in “Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow.” The superhero movie — starring “House of the Dragon” actor Milly Alcock as the eponymous hero, also known as Kara Zor-El — is set to be

One of the standout moments in Halina Reijn‘s erotic thriller “Babygirl” finds Nicole Kidman‘s Romy being sent a glass of milk from the young intern she’s having an affair with while they’re separately at the same bar. Romy accepts the challenge and finishes the entire glass in one sip. Later on, the intern leaves the

Leading Spanish production house Morena Films is teaming with A Contracorriente Films, one of Spain’s top indie distributors, and “The Beasts” French co-producer Noodle Productions to produce “Fairy Queen” (“Reina de las Hadas,” “Reina de les fades” in Catalan), a feature inspired by “Paris 70” which was shortlisted on Dec. 17 for the 97th Oscars.

Hit by last year’s Hollywood’s strikes, total box office in 2024 in Spain dipped 2% compared to 2023, breaking three consecutive years of recovery over 2021-23, Comscore Movies Spain announced Monday. At 71 million admissions, attendance edged down 5% compared to last year. At €477 million ($496.1 million), total box office in Spain was 29%

Talk about having some bite. “Nosferatu” drove a stake through box office expectations, delivering a hauntingly good $21.1 million over the traditional weekend and $40.3 million since debuting on Christmas Day. Those receipts sent box office analysts everywhere reaching for the vampire puns (apologies, apologies) in an effort to explain the bloody fantastic results for

Buddy the Elf is back…although not like anyone could imagine. Will Ferrell unexpectedly dressed up as his iconic character from Jon Favreau’s 2003 Christmas comedy “Elf” while attending the Dec. 29 hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers. Only this iteration of Buddy was looking quite disheveled with five o’clock shadow and

Michael Moore has joined the production team of “From Ground Zero” — the recently shortlisted Palestinian entry for the 97th Academy Awards’ best international film category — as executive producer. A collection of shorts made by 22 Palestinian filmmakers living through war in present day Gaza, “From Ground Zero” blends animation, documentary and fiction to “capture the

Woo Min-ho’s historical drama “Harbin” stormed to the top of the South Korean box office for the weekend of Dec. 27-29. The film, set in 1909, follows Korean independence activists plotting the assassination of Japan’s Prime Minister during their quest for independence. Starring Hyun Bin, Park Jeong-min and Jeon Yeo-been, “Harbin” earned $5.9 million over

Beta Fiction Spain, the No. 1 independent distributor in the country this year thanks to a barn-storming €8.0 million ($8.3 million) box office gross from Arantxa Echevarría’s “Undercover,” is set to produce new films from Marcel Barrena and Dani de la Orden, directors of two other big 2024 Spanish breakouts: “El 47” and “A House

There’s a stilted, soap opera quality to Hany Khalifa’s “Flight 404,” Egypt’s submission to the Academy Awards. It never quite transcends these visual and narrative trappings, but its tale of a woman escaping her past, en route to her Mecca pilgrimage, is led by a deeply layered performance from Mona Zaki. While the actress brings