The Playmaker Munich has signed with producer Ulysses Films to handle international sales for its upcoming family animation project “Pirate Mo & the Legend of the Red Ruby,” which has a planned release of early 2026. Ulysses produced animation box-office hits such as “The Amazing Maurice,” “Niko & the Way to the Stars,” “Rabbit Academy
Joe Piscatella’s 2017 “Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower” offered a fairly exhilarating view of youth activism, as it charted one Hong Kong student’s spearheading public opposition to mainland China’s increasingly heavy-handed takeover. The can-do optimism that documentary left viewers with is on life support in the director’s follow-up, which shifts nominal focus to one of Joshua
Indian studio Excel Entertainment has promoted business head Vishal Ramchandani to the newly created position of CEO. An MBA by qualification, Ramchandani joined Excel in 2008, in the marketing division. In 2013, he was entrusted with the duties of heading the division, where he spearheaded award-winning marketing campaigns for films such as “Fukrey,” “Baar Baar
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” made $28 million of gross box office on its opening weekend in mainland China. That was a solid result in present circumstances, rather than an overwhelming one. The film easily displaced two of the weaker Chinese titles that had been released a week earlier to take advantage of the
The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards ran a lot like a COVID-era awards show, as the non-live event padded out two hours of runtime with throwback clips, a result of a quick pivot due to the writers strike. (And actually, this was a repeat of the very same thing the MTV Movie & TV
SPOILER ALERT: This recap contains spoilers for Season 4, Episode 7 of “Succession,” now streaming on HBO Max. The election looms over “Succession,” which means not only will there be a new president of the United States but, more importantly? Nate is back. The charming — or sleazy, depending on how you view him — political
SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for Season 4, Episode 5 of “Barry,” now streaming on HBO Max. Last week’s episode of “Barry” ended on one of the show’s most bizarre cliffhangers: Barry (Bill Hader) and Sally (Sarah Goldberg) appeared to be several years older and living in a house in the desert with a young
It’s beyond obvious that women deserve a movie that portrays and celebrates them in their sixties and seventies reveling in the joys of romantic adventure and uninhibited sex. It’s not so obvious that they deserved “Book Club,” the 2018 comedy about four hale, hearty, and prosperous senior friends who read “Fifty Shades of Grey” in
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” gave the South Korean box office its biggest weekend of the year, with a $10.3 million start. The film played on more than 1,800 screens and enjoyed a 46% share of the overall market between Friday and Sunday, according to data supplied by Kobis, the tracking service operated by
Lionel Richie and Katy Perry weren’t able to perform their normal tasks as judges on Sunday night’s “American Idol,” as they were across the pond performing for the coronation of King Charles III. So they brought back a souvenir for the show: The actual just-crowned King and Queen. King Charles III and Queen Camilla were
Ahead of the “Coronation Concert” – aired on the BBC on Sunday as the climax of the weekend’s royal celebrations – all the talk was of who wasn’t going to perform. Multiple A-listers (Adele, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles et al.) were reported to have declined official invitations, and their wariness around hitching their brands to
Richard Dreyfuss doesn’t get it, but most grouchy, self-proclaimed keepers of the old Hollywood guard never do when it comes to creating an industry that gives a chance for everyone to thrive. It was Sept. 8, 2020, and I was one week into my job as the awards editor for Variety when the Academy dropped its bombshell news that
The MTV Movie & TV Awards faced a series of roadblocks this year due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. While the awards show was set to broadcast live on Sunday, it was announced that due to the strike, the network would air a pre-taped special as several attendees announced they were pulling
Katy Perry had the young British royals dancing in their seats with a dazzling rendition of her hit song “Roar” at a concert in honor of King Charles III’s coronation. Taking to the stage at Windsor Castle in a Disney Princess-inspired gold ballgown, the singer performed two songs from her repertoire: “Roar” and “Firework.” During
This past awards season, Joy Oladokun was nominated for the Grammys’ first Song for Social Change award, for a song off her previous album called “I See America.” If all you ever heard — or heard about — was that tune (opening lines: “I saw God out on the block today / He was darker
Tom Cruise invited King Charles III to be his wingman during a concert thrown in honor of the new monarch at Windsor Castle. In a pre-recorded segment titled “Did you know?” – which played just before Lionel Richie took the stage at the Windsor Castle concert – former 007 Pierce Brosnan revealed that the King
Play video content Chris Brown was caught on camera in yet another confrontation — this, apparently, just a day after his dust-up with Usher … part of which was also captured on video. New footage circulating online appears to show Chris aggressively trying to reach somebody across from him in what looks to be the
Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan was honored with the Gold House Leading Man award at the second annual Gold House Gold Gala on Saturday in Los Angeles. “When I think of a leading man, I think of someone who is six feet tall with big muscles, good-looking, and a ladies’ man,” the “Everything Everywhere All
The coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla drew over 14 million viewers to the BBC on Saturday, the network has announced. “The BBC brought people across the UK together to share a once in a generation event with over 14 million watching the King being crowned live,” Charlotte Moore, chief content officer for
Judd Apatow thinks the studios and streamers already have an idea of when the writers strike may end. “I think they probably already know what they’re going to bend on,” Apatow told Variety Saturday at the Rock4EB benefit in Malibu. “I would assume they already know what date this is going to end. They’ve probably
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” ignited to $282 million globally, including a better-than-expected $168 million at the international box office. Heading into the weekend, Disney’s superhero tentpole was projected to collect $130 million to $140 million overseas. Thanks to positive word-of-mouth, estimates were revised up by Sunday. That’s good news because summer movie season
DR Sales has sold Canadian distribution rights for Norwegian director Tonje Hessen Schei’s “Praying for Armageddon” to LevelFilm. The deal was revealed follows the film’s North American premiere at Hot Docs Film Festival. The film made its world premiere in CPH:DOX. The film explores the power and influence of powerful U.S. fundamentalist evangelicals as they
On the eve of King Charles III’s coronation, Variety’s chief film critic Peter Debruge was awarded the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his long devotion to supporting French cinema. The French government bestows the honor, which means Knight of the national Order of Arts and Letters, to creative and literary figures
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” the conclusion to Marvel’s trilogy about an extraterrestrial crew of misfits, kicked off with $114 million in its domestic box office debut. Those ticket sales rank as the second-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” with $146 million. Despite the towering figure, the film
Wahoo! “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” crossed $500 million at the domestic box office, becoming one of only 19 films to ever surpass that benchmark. In its fifth weekend of release, the movie collected a huge $18.5 million from 3,909 North American theaters and landed in second place behind Disney’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.
Oscar nominated director Nicole Newnham (“Crip Camp”) was at Hot Docs with her latest film “The Disappearance of Shere Hite,” a portrait of a feminist pioneer. The helmer was also in Toronto to participate in a Hot Docs Industry storytelling masterclass. During the hour-long talk Newnham revealed how she tackles three of the trickiest aspects
Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss issued some criticism for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ new diversity and inclusion standards, saying that the updated requirements for Oscar contention “make me vomit.” Dreyfuss’ comments came during a wide-ranging interview on PBS’ “Firing Line With Margaret Hoover,” in which the actor discussed civics education in the
Following the Friday announcement that the CBS series “S.W.A.T.” would be canceled after six seasons, lead Shemar Moore took to Instagram to express his disappointment and frustration over the network’s decision. Moore stars on the CBS drama as LAPD Sgt. Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson. The current (and now final) season is averaging 6.8 million total viewers
“Evil” is wrapping up filming on Season 4 earlier than anticipated. After the set faced disruptions by picketing Writers Guild members on Friday, the Paramount+ series is now seeing a cast member take a leave of absence due to a personal family matter. As a result, production has wrapped early on the next season. A
“Stranger Things” has halted work on its final season, as series co-creators and co-showrunners Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, known as the Duffer brothers, shared a statement announcing that starting production “is not possible” during the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. The Duffers issued a statement from the Stranger Writers Twitter account, which has