Movies

Taylor Swift has set a new record with the premiere of her “Eras Tour” concert film on Disney+. “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version)” had 4.6 million views on Disney+ in its first three days of release — making it the No. 1 music film ever on the platform, according to the company. Swifties

Craig Roberts’ next directorial effort will be the horror comedy “The Scurry” from Circus Studios, starring Rhys Ifans, Olivia Cooke, Paapa Essiedu, Mia McKenna-Bruce and Antonia Thomas. With a budget north of £10 million and production taking place at Dragon Studios in Sotuh Wales, the film will be one of the first to make use

Annabelle Wallis (“Peaky Blinders,” “Malignant”) is set to join Amazon MGM Studios‘ upcoming sci-fi thriller “Mercy,” starring opposite Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson. The movie, directed by Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted”) from a script penned by penned by Marco van Belle (“Arthur & Merlin”) is set in the near future “when capital crime has increased.” It

The American Cinematheque is kicking off a robust new Los Angeles nonfiction film festival dubbed This Is Not a Fiction, running from April 10-18. The festival opens with docuseries “Thank You, Good Night: The Bon Jovi Story,” with Jon Bon Jovi in-person at the Aero Theatre for the L.A. premiere screening. The event will include

Warner Bros. has released the second trailer for George Miller’s “Furiosa”, the post-apocalyptic prequel to “Mad Max: Fury Road.” The film stars Anya-Taylor Joy as wasteland warrior princess Imperator Furiosa, a role originally plated by Charlize Theron in the 2015 series reboot. The film follows a young Furiosa as she is ripped from her refuge

Sundance Film Festival 2025 is set to take place on Jan. 23-Feb. 2 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. Submissions will open later this spring. “While the next Sundance Film Festival is still 10 months away, we’re already laying the foundation for the 2025 edition, looking ahead to sharing a new group of

Paris-based film sales agency Cat&Docs has acquired “Kamay,” the debut feature documentary from filmmakers Ilyas Yourish and Shahrokh Bikaran. The film will world premiere at Visions du Réel, which runs in Nyon, Switzerland, April 12-24. Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer (below). In “Kamay,” the filmmakers pick up the story of a

While at Series Mania Festival, Larry Tanz, Netflix‘s VP of EMEA Content, unveiled ambitious new shows commissioned from France and the Netherlands, including an untitled thriller series starring Isabelle Adjani, and “Amsterdam Empire,” a Dutch crime series starring and executive produced by Famke Janssen. The untitled French thriller series revolves around a young mother on

Star Wars mastermind George Lucas has come out with a statement in support of Disney‘s board and CEO Bob Iger, urging Mouse House shareholders to reject a bid by two activist investor groups to take seats on the media company’s board. “Creating magic is not for amateurs,” Lucas said in a statement released Tuesday. “When

The U.K.’s foremost film college has launched a new intimacy coordinator certificate to help meet the rising demands of the industry. With shows such as “Normal People” and “I May Destroy You” having helped bring the work of intimacy coordinators to the forefront of conversations in recent years, The National Film and TV School has

Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel has unveiled the program for its 55th edition, which includes 10 first films out of 15 in the main international competition, cementing its reputation as a springboard for emerging talent. The official selection includes 165 films from 50 countries, with gender parity for the second-year running, and no

Grainne Brunsdon has been promoted to chief operating officer within federal funding and policy body Screen Australia. She was the organization’s director of content, where she led production investment and development, distribution support, and business initiatives for the last two years. Starting the new job from April 1, Brunsdon succeeds Michael Brealey, who departed the

“The Boy and the Heron,” the Oscar-winning animated feature film by iconic Japanese director Miyazaki Hayao, is finally to be given a release in cinemas in mainland China. The picture is scheduled to release in China on April 3, 2024, according to Alibaba Pictures. Tickets are already available on booking sites such as Maoyan and

Top Bollywood star Ajay Devgn‘s Indian visual effects studio NY VFXWaala has set a strategic partnership with Sweden’s Goodbye Kansas Studio. NY VFXWaala has secured a major stake in Goodbye Kansas, through an offshore subsidiary, while simultaneously launching a joint venture studio in India. “Shaitaan,” starring Devgn, is currently in cinemas and is one of

IATSE resumed negotiations with the major studios on Monday, with a day spent focused on items relevant to the International Cinematographers Guild, Local 600. IATSE began talks earlier this month, as it seeks to address artificial intelligence, see wage increases to make up for inflation, and close a significant shortfall in its pension and health

A tale of disability, abuse, expectations and family secrets, “She Looks Like Me” from director Torquil Jones has a headstart on most documentaries, given its subject matter’s winding twists and turns. Some key details end up obscured — there’s enough real-life material here to fill an entire miniseries — but the film has an alluring

Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman’s company T-Street has signed a two-picture producing deal with Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group. Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, who took over as the studio’s co-chairs and CEOs in 2022, orchestrated the deal. It marks the producers’ first collaboration with Warner Bros., having previously worked with Lionsgate on the box office hit “Knives Out,”

After making their first narrative feature “Nyad,” which debuted last year and earned Oscar nominations for the film’s stars Annette Bening and Jodie Foster, Academy Award winning directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (“Free Solo”) are returning to their documentary roots with “Photographer.” The six-part National Geographic docuseries features seven photographers —  Cristina Mittermeier

Thirty years after its release, the supernatural superhero thriller “The Crow” is getting the remake treatment from director Rupert Sanders and star Bill Skarsgård. But Alex Proyas, the director of the original 1994 film starring Brandon Lee, doesn’t think that’s a good idea. “I really don’t get any joy from seeing negativity about any fellow

More than 450 Jewish creatives, executives and Hollywood professionals have signed an open letter denouncing Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” Oscar speech. The list of co-signees provided to Variety Monday morning covers a broad swath of the industry including actors (Debra Messing, Tovah Feldshuh), executives (Gary Barber, Gail Berman), creators (Amy Sherman-Palladino), directors (Eli

Sydney Sweeney’s had a huge 2024 so far — and her most startling act of the year is still ahead. In the early weeks of the year, her Sony Pictures romantic comedy with Glen Powell, “Anyone But You,” showed remarkable staying power at the box office, eventually building from a tepid early result amid holiday

Attorneys for “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed asked a judge on Friday to release her from jail and to grant a new trial, citing a recent New Mexico Supreme Court ruling in another case. Gutierrez Reed faces up to 18 months in prison for negligently loading a live bullet into Alec Baldwin‘s gun and causing

Production is now underway on “A Complete Unknown,” the coming Bob Dylan feature directed by James Mangold and starring Timothée Chalamet as the iconic American musician. Set photos from the New York City shoot have emerged online, offering a first look at the 28-year-old actor in costume. “A Complete Unknown” will follow Dylan’s emergence in

Bill Hader or, at least, an animated character that he voices, will don a red-and-white striped top hat in a new adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ “The Cat in the Hat.” The “Barry” star will lead a vocal ensemble that also includes Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”), Bowen Yang (“SNL”), Xochitl Gomez (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse

GKIDS has announced the acquisition of North American rights to Mamoru Hosoda’s entire film catalog. Hosoda’s films include “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,” “Wolf Children,” “Mirai” and “Belle.” GKIDS’ President David Jesteadt said, “One of GKIDS’ earliest distribution projects was the theatrical release of ‘Summer Wars,’ when Mamoru Hosoda had already cemented his position as

The proliferation of billionaires — with trillionaires reportedly soon to come — has raised a lot of questions in world politics. But one question has been around as long as wealth itself: What can an individual actually do with that much money? A new answer arises in “The Bones,” proving that the rich will always

Filmmaker Raoul Peck‘s next documentary will delve into the 2021 assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise. The film, tentatively titled “The Hands That Held the Knives,” has been in production for over two years. The documentary will be a thriller “in the tradition of Graham Greene or John Le Carré,” according to a press release.

Opening CPH:DOX’s popular “Film:makers in Dialogue” industry section on Monday, the directors of “Balomania” and “KIX,” running in the main Dox and Next:Wave segments respectively, met to discuss the challenges and ethics involved in following protagonists on the margins of society over many years, and the impact they hope to generate. Shot over more than

Disney+ subscribers’ wish has come true, as the Mouse House’s latest animated movie will soon be available to stream. It will begin streaming April 3. “Wish” takes place in the magical kingdom of Rosas, where everyone carries their own “wish” around with them. Ariana DeBose plays 17-year-old Asha, who applies to become the apprentice of

AGC Studios chief creative officer Lourdes Diaz has signed a new multi-year employment agreement and has been elevated to partner with a seat on the board of the independent film and television studio. The promotion comes on the back of founders Stuart Ford, chairman and CEO, and Miguel Palos, chief operating office, themselves signing new