Movies

Akshay Kumar is India’s busiest actor, working through the pandemic and delivering hits across platforms. Over the years he has proved to be Bollywood’s banker with rarely a misstep at the box office. During the pandemic era, his horror-comedy “Laxmii” debuted directly on streamer Disney Plus Hotstar and racked up big numbers for the service.

Comcast-owned Sky Studios has struck a development deal with Dorothy St Pictures, the production company behind titles including Bruce Lee documentary “Be Water” and Audible Original “Killer Book Club.” Founded by Julia Nottingham, Dorothy St Pictures describes itself as the “female-led home for filmmakers, both new and established” with an aim to approach topics from

Choreographer Sherrie Silver calls Universal’s “Sing 2” a dream to work on and highlights the film’s plotline featuring Johnny (voiced by Taron Egerton), a soulful gorilla who doesn’t know how to dance but eventually finds the confidence to. Silver’s line of work often finds her collaborating with models and stars who don’t always know how

Richard Conway, a special effects supervisor who collaborated closely with director Terry Gilliam, has died, his family announced. He was 79. Conway began working in television in the 1960s, where he began his career working alongside Gerry Anderson. He worked on shows such as “Thunderbirds,” “Captain Scarlet” and “Joe 90”.  While there, Conway met fellow

Tony Leung Chiu-wai will follow up his turn as the controversial patriarch Wenwu in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” with a lead role in Bona Film Group’s next patriotic juggernaut: the World War II-era spy thriller “Anonymous,” which just wrapped shooting this week. The movie is the third installment of Bona’s “China

To what lengths would you go to save your loved ones from the pain of losing you? That’s the question Cameron Turner (played by two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali) must answer in “Swan Song,” the Apple original drama about a terminally ill man who yearns to spare his wife Poppy (Oscar nominee Naomie Harris) and

The Critics Choice Association announced Wednesday that it has postponed its in-person awards gala amid rising concerns regarding COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. The winners were set to be revealed by hosts Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer on Sunday, Jan. 9. The ceremony will still broadcast live in person on The CW and TBS at

Michael Keaton is dusting off his signature cape and cowl for “Batgirl,” the upcoming HBO Max superhero film. The actor is expected to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman, the character he originated in Tim Burton’s 1989 film. He will star alongside Leslie Grace, who’s playing the lead role. Though plot details have

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” shows that movie theaters can still be a major power at a time when streaming services have seemingly taken over the world. The instant box office smash also launches Tom Holland, the 25-year-old British actor whose peppy, quippy and youthful take on the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man gives the comic-book epic

Belgium will be shutting down theaters and concert halls starting Dec. 26 to curb a surge in COVID cases and prevent the spread of the Omicron variant. The restrictions were announced by Belgium prime minister Alexander De Croo on Wednesday, Dec. 22, at a press conference. Restaurants and bars will remain open with an 11

Joe Wright’s “Cyrano,” currently in theaters for an Oscar-qualifying run before opening wide Jan. 21, stays true to the Edmond Rostand play, beginning with a grand theatrical scene. Wright wanted to introduce all the social classes of the film in this scene, where nobles, bourgeoisie, peasants, militia and clergy mix in perfect harmony. It’s also

We’ve never been too crazy about the phrase “embarrassment of riches.” Why the embarrassment? Can you really have too much of a good thing? When it comes to documentaries, we think you can’t, so we prefer to categorize the best documentaries of 2021 as a pride of riches. We put a lot of them on

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has postponed the 12th annual Governors Awards ceremony as COVID-19 cases surge. “We have made the difficult decision to change our plans in hosting the Governors Awards in person on January 15,” an Academy spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday. “Given the uncertainties around the variants,

James Franco has addressed the sexual misconduct allegations against him for the first time, a few months after he settled a lawsuit for $2.2 million that alleged that he and his associates coerced acting students into performing sexually explicit scenes on camera. The actor broke his silence on SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle” podcast, where he

The Black Film Critics Circle has named Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard” the best film of 2021. The drama that focuses on the rise of Venus and Serena Williams picked up three additional awards, including best actor (Will Smith), supporting actress (Aunjanue Ellis) and original screenplay (Zach Baylin). Denis Villeneuve, who helmed “Dune,” walked away

Steven Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kamiński first collaborated in 1993 on “Schindler’s List,” and since then, Kamiński has been Spielberg’s go-to cinematographer. “He’s got tremendous visual flair,” Kamiński tells Variety. “He’s very good with blocking scenes. There’s a great operator, Mitch Dubin, who has been also been in the mix for over 17 films. I’ll

Disney named Horacio Gutierrez, most recently Spotify’s top lawyer, as senior executive VP, general counsel and secretary. Gutierrez’s appointment is effective Feb. 1, 2022. He reports directly to CEO Bob Chapek. Gutierrez will succeed Disney veteran Alan Braverman who, as announced in July, is retiring after nearly two decades as the Mouse House’s general counsel.

A man who made a career out of telling powerful people in Hollywood what they don’t want to hear is now telling everyone what that was like. Kevin Goetz, founder and CEO of audience research firm Screen Engine/ASI, has written a book, “Audience-ology: How Moviegoers Shape the Films We Love,” with Darlene Hayman that looks

Thanks to glamorous Paris-set shows like “Lupin” and “Emily in Paris” topping Netflix charts — and daring French female directors Julia Ducournau (“Titane”) and Audrey Diwan (“Happening”) winning top prizes at the Cannes and Venice film festivals — France drew more eyeballs worldwide in 2021 than it has in years. A groundbreaking agreement with global

Writers on Writers: Scribes Reflect on 2022 Awards Contenders – Variety Writers on Writers: Scribes Reflect on 2022 Awards Contenders – Variety Dec 22, 2021 9:05am PT Rogen: Maarten de Boer; Hwang: John Pinderhughes JavaScript is required to load the comments. Most Popular Sign Up for Variety Newsletters More From Our Brands ad To help

Scarlett Johansson’s 7-year-old daughter is excited to see her in “Sing 2,” just like the Oscar-nominated actor was when she was younger and watching her favorite animated Disney films. “When I was a kid it was those Disney movies like ‘The Little Mermaid,’ ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and for her — this is

Jack Hedley, who appeared in films including “For Your Eyes Only” opposite Roger Moore, died on Dec. 11. He was 92. His death was confirmed by a notice in The Times of London, which reads: “[Hedley] died on 11th December 2021, aged 92, after a short illness bravely borne. At his request there will be

Sally Ann Howes, who began her acting career as a child and was best known for starring in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” opposite Dick Van Dyke, died on Jan. 19. She was 91. Her death was confirmed by her nephew, Toby Howes, who tweeted: “I can also confirm the passing of my beloved Aunty Sally

DISTRIBUTION Wendy Morgan‘s animal welfare docu-drama “Mercy” has been picked up by Los Angeles-based distributor All Channel Films, Inc. All Channel Films will represent the film, which premiered at the Awareness Film Festival in October, in the U.S. and Canada across pay and basic cable, video/DVD, VOD/SVOD, PPV and other distribution platforms. With humans standing

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) will be moved online in 2022 for the second consecutive year due to growing concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant across Europe. It’s the first major European film festival to take the virtual route in 2022. The decision comes four days after the Dutch government announced that

If you could find only one other person at the end of time, Nick Nolte would be a near-optimal individual to encounter, especially if he ran Earth’s last movie theater. Alas, while “Last Words” has initial intriguing fun with that premise, it eventually sends its two protagonists on a post-apocalyptic odyssey that’s defined by stasis,

As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. But pandemic or not, it seems ambitious to have seven new movies scheduled to open nationwide in the wake of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” That’s right, seven new films — “The Matrix Resurrections” (Warner Bros.), “Sing 2” (Universal), “The King’s Man” (Disney and 20th Century), “The Tender Bar”

Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos is set to receive $40 million in compensation next year, while chairman and co-CEO Reed Hastings stands to make north of $34 million. Netflix disclosed the annual salaries and stock option allocation for 2022 for its executive officers in an SEC filing Tuesday. Hastings’ salary for next

The Walt Disney Company has extended Christine M. McCarthy’s term as senior executive vice president and chief financial officer through June 2024. Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced news of McCarthy’s contract extension on Tuesday, stating, “Christine’s leadership has been indispensable during this time of disruption and transformation, and her impact reaches well beyond our balance

The story of colonialism is the story of what’s been lost, of what’s been taken, of what’s been forgotten. Land. Languages. Entire cosmologies. The process of reclaiming these losses, of doing the work of not undoing but outright naming this kind of violence is hard, not least because the story colonialism tells of itself is