Movies

“Godzilla vs. Kong” continues to rake in monster ticket sales, pulling in $11.6 million on Friday for a three-day haul of $27.9 million. Through Sunday, the Warner Bros. tentpole is tracking to generate more than $42 million in ticket sales. Rivals, however, project the film could make as much as $48 million to $50 million

Those who typically scope the Academy Award-nominated shorts programs hoping to win the Oscar pool will have a particularly tough time of it with this year’s animated roster, as the options are wide-ranging but lack a clear front-runner. A few of the talents have ties to Pixar, though only one short was actually developed at

Indoor concerts, theaters and other private gatherings may start up again in California beginning on April 15, the state’s Department of Public Heath announced on Friday. However, to attend the reopened events indoors, people will need to prove they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested for the virus. The number of guests

Variety’s Artisans Awards celebrate below-the-line talent at the heart of filmmaking, and this year, the seventh edition of the honors once again unspools at the Santa Barbara Intl. Film Festival but this time, virtually, on April 5. “What I’ve always loved about the Variety Artisans Awards is that it reminds us of the film’s integral

Opening weekend is upon us, which means baseball is back! While the MLB gears up for the 2021 season, Variety reflects on America’s pastime, which began in the mid-1800s and that showbiz was quick to monetize. In “Plie Ball! Baseball Meets Dance on Stage and Screen,” Jeffrey M. Katz links the growing popularity of baseball

Ashley Judd is set to star in the upcoming YA drama “#FBF,” a movie that takes place almost entirely on smartphones and computer screens. The format, initially seen in films like “Searching” with John Cho, allowed the actors to be filmed in their homes in Los Angeles, Nashville, Anaheim, New York and other remote locations

After the installation of restrictive new voting laws in Georgia, Hollywood seems fractured in response to new measures that affect marginalized voters in a state where dozens of film and TV projects are shot. Tyler Perry, who just spent $250 million on an Atlanta-based production facility, called for a Department of Justice investigation into the

When the pandemic took away Thurman White Academy of the Performing Arts Middle School’s ability to perform on stage, Nexus Studios used technology to give them the opportunity to shine again. Thanks to facial capture technology, these drama students were able to voice and puppeteer their own characters from the safety of their homes for

The kern babies in Sony Pictures’ “The Unholy” might very well join the realm of creepiest movie dolls when the movie is released in theaters on Good Friday, April 2. It was production designer Felicity Abbott’s job to fashion them, part of a Scottish tradition among Celtic farmers who would bury the totems at the

“Godzilla vs. King” is stomping to a massive opening weekend at the box office (by pandemic standards). The Warner Bros. film added another $6.7 million on Thursday, bringing its two-day domestic total to $16.3 million. Through Sunday, the movie could make between $30 million to $40 million in ticket sales. That would easily rank as

Eddie Murphy turns 60 years old on April 3 and he’s been a superstar for more than two-thirds of his life. Joining the cast of “Saturday Night Live” when he was only 19 years old, he quickly established himself as a raucously funny and inventive comic genius. His stand-up specials “Delirious” and “Raw” are constantly

Discovery Plus has acquired “Citizen Penn,” a look at the humanitarian efforts of Sean Penn and a team of volunteers to help Haitians in the wake of the devastating 2010 earthquake. The documentary will premiere on the subscription streaming service on May 6. “Citizen Penn” was written and directed by Don Hardy and produced by

Indian actor Taapsee Pannu is on a roll. She has just won best actress at India’s prestigious Filmfare awards for her role in Anubhav Sinha’s “Thappad” and wrapped shooting Anurag Kashyap’s “Dobaaraa.” Pannu also has a raft of films coming up, including Sony Pictures’ official remake of “Run Lola Run”  (“Looop Lapeta”), cricket biopic “Shabaash

China’s Huace Pictures this week unveiled its upcoming film lineup, which includes a new project from young arthouse filmmaker Bi Gan (“Kaili Blues”) and sequels to its Chinese New Year hit “A Writer’s Odyssey.” Founded in 2014, Huace Pictures is the newer outgrowth of Shenzhen-listed, Hangzhou-headquartered Zhejiang Huace Film and TV, founded in 2005. The

The U.K. government is disbursing £400 million ($553 million) to 2,700 organizations affected by the Coronavirus crisis. The distribution is part of the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund that was announced last year to support the country’s beleaguered arts sector. With this disbursement, the Culture Recovery Fund has so far allocated more than £1.2 billion

As Godzilla and King Kong battle it out on the big screen in “Godzilla vs. Kong,” Variety asked the movie’s cast which monster they want to have their back in a fight. Rebecca Hall said, “Definitely Kong! Kong gets moody and angry, he would have his buttons pushed.” Demián Bichir also picked the giant gorilla. “Have

Mamoru Hosoda, the Oscar-nominated director of “Mirai,” has attracted a prestigious international creative team for his anticipated music-filled film, “Belle,” whose first trailer is being unveiled by Studio Chizu. On top of revealing exclusive new images, the trailer also features the very first track of the film. Mixing reality and fantasy, “Belle” follows Suzu, a

The DC movie-verse is getting a little bit smaller. Long gestating DC Comics adaptations “New Gods” with director Ava DuVernay and screenwriter Tom King, and “The Trench” with director James Wan and producer Peter Safran are not moving forward at Warner Bros., the studio announced on Thursday. “As part of our DC slate, some legacy

Vimeo announced the expected 11 members of its board of directors ahead of the video-hosting platform’s spinoff from IAC — a group that includes noted filmmakers Spike Lee and George C. Wolfe. The Vimeo spinoff is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2021, at which time Vimeo is expected to become an

Law and order, and the lack thereof, were impossible to ignore amid last year’s “defund the police” protests, and the same tensions are reflected in the Oscar-nominated live-action shorts lineup. Some of the entries predate the George Floyd killing, while another was shot in direct reaction to that tragedy last summer; two more were made

Fresh off an Oscar nomination for his critically acclaimed role in A24’s family drama “Minari,” Steven Yeun is being eyed to star in Jordan Peele’s next film. Though the premise — even the genre — is being kept under wraps, the cast is also set to include Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya. Peele is writing

The release date for “Uncharted,” Sony’s film adaptation of the popular video game series starring Tom Holland, has been delayed yet again. This time, the movie is being pushed back one week to Feb. 18, 2022, after being previously set for Feb. 11, 2022. The road to “Uncharted” hitting the big screen has been long

Rachael Leigh Cook will star in the Netflix original film “A Tourist’s Guide to Love,” Variety has learned exclusively. The film is based on an original idea of Cook’s with Eirene Donohue set to write the screenplay. In the film, after an unexpected break up, a travel executive (Cook) accepts an assignment to go undercover

Introducing a musical performance at the Academy Awards isn’t normally the biggest of deals, but for Chilean newcomer Daniela Vega, it was a landmark opportunity: At the 2018 ceremony, she became the first transgender person ever to present at the Oscars. The film that got her there, meanwhile, had already made history that same night.

Italy’s Paolo Sorrentino and Denmark’s Thomas Vinterberg first met years ago when the directors’ respective films “The Great Beauty” and “The Hunt” were both nominated for the 2014 Foreign Language Film Oscar, which Sorrentino’s pic won. Vinterberg was the only colleague on the awards circuit whom Sorrentino was really fond of, he recalls in an

Hemisphere Media Group said it is acquiring the remaining 75% stake of Pantaya, the U.S. Hispanic subscription video streaming service, from Lionsgate for about $124 million in cash. Pantaya was launched in August 2017 through a joint venture between Hemisphere and Lionsgate; previously, Hemisphere owned 25% of Pantaya. Currently, Pantaya has about 900,000 paying subscribers

The Museum of Modern Art and Film at Lincoln Center have announced the 50th anniversary edition of New Directors/ New Films. The annual program will be held virtually on April 28 through May 8, with in-person screening extending through May 14 at Film at Lincoln Center. This year’s festival is introducing 27 features and 11

For the past two years, the Academy Award for international feature has been a foregone conclusion. With both “Parasite,” and “Roma,” the overriding question was which other categories they might take, and in a history-making achievement now wistfully recalled by many as “the last good thing to happen before lockdown,” “Parasite” took both the international

“Godzilla vs. Kong” debuted in the U.S. on Wednesday and nabbed a sizable $9.6 million, marking the best opening day total of the coronavirus era. It has the added benefit of playing in more theaters than any other movie that has been released during the pandemic. “Godzilla vs. Kong” screened in 2,409 venues on Wednesday

The  Oscar-nominated live action shorts come from filmmakers based in the U.S., U.K, and the Mideast. They all center on the human desire to be seen as people. Feeling Through Doug Roland and Susan RuzenskiRoland’s entry into the deaf-blind community came through a chance meeting about 10 years ago with a man holding up a