Sakra, a big-budget martial arts fantasy directed and starring Donnie Yen, is heading for a North American theatrical and digital release. Rights to the film were acquired by WellGo USA which is a major stateside purveyor of Chinese and other Asian titles. The company has set dates in April for a theatrical outing, shortly followed
Italy’s Coccinelle Film Sales has acquired world rights to Nigerian director Babatunde Apalowo’s gay-themed drama “All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White,” ahead of the film’s Berlin Film Festival launch. “All the Colours” is the feature film debut of Apalowo, who was born in Ogbagi-Akoko, Nigeria, and is U.K.-based. Pic is
Grandave Intl. has acquired worldwide sales rights to action thriller feature “Joe Baby,” Tamara Nagahiro, Grandave Intl. head of sales, announced Tuesday. The film stars Dichen Lachman (“Jurassic World: Dominion,” Apple+’s “Severance,” Netflix’s “Altered Carbon”), Willa Fitzgerald (“Reacher,” Netflix’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Goldfinch”), Academy Award nominated actor Harvey Keitel, two-time
Indian festival favorite and box office success “Dostojee” (“Two Friends”), directed by Prasun Chatterjee will release across the U.S., U.A.E. and Australia and New Zealand on March 17. California-based film distribution company Bioskope Films LLC has acquired U.S. theatrical rights and will release the film across 75 cities in 26 states. The theatrical release is an Oscar-qualifying
SkyShowtime will complete its European roll-out this month with two remaining launches in Spain and Andorra, Variety can reveal. The two markets, which will launch on Feb. 28, take SkyShowtime’s footprint to over 20 markets and completes its European configuration, allowing the platform to now focus on building out a premium content offering that will
India’s income tax department is conducting searches of the BBC’s offices in the country’s capital New Delhi, according to the Associated Press. Three BBC staffers informed AP about the searches, the agency said. Meanwhile, a team from the tax department also surveyed the BBC’s Mumbai offices, per the Press Trust of India quoting unnamed sources.
Munich-based arthouse distribution company Prokino Filmverleih has locked German-language and Swiss rights for the unconventional Icelandic road trip film “Driving Mum” from production-distribution outfit Alief (“Matadero”). The project won the Grand Prix Prize for best film at the Tallinn Black Night Film Festival, earning additional accolades for its affecting score. It was also chosen as
Through films as varied as “The Father,” “Dick Johnson Is Dead” and “Relic,” dementia and neurodegenerative disease have been extensively portrayed on screen in recent years — a subgenre that carries a trigger warning for anyone with off-screen experience of the subject. For those who think they cannot stomach one more, Maite Alberdi’s “The Eternal
Banijay’s Endemol Shine India and Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan’s Black Knight Films will adapt hit Danish/Swedish scripted series “Bron/Broen” (“The Bridge”) for Indian audiences. ” ‘The Bridge’ is actually something that I was actively looking to produce. So I went looking for it,” Khan told Variety. The original show opens with a dead body
Nineties pop stars S Club 7 are reuniting for a 25th anniversary tour, the group announced on social media today (Feb. 13). Tina Barrett, Jon Lee, Paul Cattermole, Hannah Spearritt, Bradley McIntosh, Rachel Stevens and Jo O’Meara will hit the stage for an 11-date tour of the U.K. and Ireland. Formed in 1998, the group
Dave Hollis, a former Disney executive who served as the company’s president of worldwide distribution until resigning in 2018, died Saturday night at his home in Austin, Texas. He was 47 years old. Hollis had been recently hospitalized for heart-related health issues, though no exact cause of death has been determined. Hollis became Disney’s theatrical
Tom Cruise stole the show at the 95th Oscars luncheon, the annual gathering celebrating the nominees for the year’s Academy Awards. At the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the in-person event had opening remarks from Academy president Janet Yang. The roll call of this year’s 182 attendees was read by Devon Franklin, a member of the Board
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Time,” Season 5, Episode 11 of “All American.” Taye Diggs is saying goodbye to The CW’s “All American.” The actor has portrayed Billy Baker on the drama since its 2018 debut. During Monday’s episode, Billy tells his team that while the rumors of him leaving them to coach
Netflix has released the first look photos and an official trailer for Season 2 of “Sex/Life.” “Sex/Life” will premiere on Netflix on March 2. The second season follows the 2021 premiere with an eight-episode season. Based on the book, “44 Chapters About 4 Men” by BB Easton, “Sex/Life” was created by Stacy Rukeyser. The series
“The Penguin” continues to expand its ensemble, as the DC limited series has added Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Deirdre O’Connell to its cast. Character details for the three actors remain under wraps. Kelly is best known for his roles in Netflix’s “House of Cards” and Amazon’s “Jack Ryan.” Aghdashloo earned critical acclaim for her
“Non-Evil Twin,” a comedy written by and starring Amber Ruffin, has received a pilot order at NBC. The multi-cam follows a woman who is forced to step in to her sister’s role as the leader of a Fortune 500 company despite knowing little about business and even less about the way her sister has been
“The Penguin” series at HBO Max has added Rhenzy Feliz to its cast, Variety has learned. Feliz joins previously announced series stars Colin Farrell, who will reprise the role of Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot from “The Batman,” as well as Cristin Milioti. Details on Feliz’s character are being kept under wraps. The eight-episode series is
Carole Scotta and Barbara Letellier, the French producers of Dominik Moll’s thriller “The Night of the 12th,” won the Toscan du Plantier Award at a Paris ceremony hosted by the Cesar Academie. The pair, who produced the movie at Haut et Court (“The Class”), were voted on by 1,641 people, including artists and crew members
Showtime laid off approximately 120 staffers Monday amid a streaming-focused restructuring that saw the exits of several top execs as the pay TV channel’s team was merged into MTV Entertainment Studios, a spokesperson confirmed. No other details were available regarding which departments within Showtime were impacted, though a source close to the situation tells Variety
Three years into a pandemic, plenty of luxury houses are ready for us to get back to business. This season’s runways are no longer far removed from the classroom or the conference room. Academic prep style is back, albeit with an edge. Elevated capsule wardrobes—what some might call “real-world clothes”—are inherently chic. This New York
Rihanna made a triumphant return to the world stage wither her Super Bowl Halftime show performance on Feb. 12 — her first solo appearance in seven years. The megastar delivered a spellbinding set as she floated over the football field and zoomed through a dazzling set list that ranged from radio hits like the unapologetic
Fox’s telecast of Super Bowl LVII on Sunday night brought in an average 113 million viewers, according to Nielsen. That makes the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Philadelphia Eagles not only 1% bigger than last year’s Rams-Bengals game, but the third biggest television program of all time. The only telecasts to ever score a
Anthony Hopkins and Angela Bassett share a somewhat similar space in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Bassett stars in the “Black Panther” films as Queen Ramonda, mother of T’Challa and Shuri and ruler of Wakanda. Hopkins was a fixture of the “Thor” franchise as Odin, Thor’s father and the ruler of Asgard. Both actors play Marvel
“Argentina 1985’s” director Santiago Mitre spent over two years researching his film on the story of th public prosecutors who took on the country’s brutal dictators. He said his film was able to get the audience thinking about the real-world problems that go on in their own countries. Mitre joined fellow international film directors on
Austin Majors, a former child actor best known for his role in “NYPD Blue,” died Saturday in Los Angeles. Major’s death was confirmed by LA country Medical Examiner-Coroner. He was 27. He had been living at a downtown Los Angeles facility for homeless individuals, and appeared in the Los Angeles Daily News last week when
Michael B. Jordan earned universal acclaim for his Marvel debut as the villainous Killmonger in “Black Panther,” but it’s a role that came with great sadness. In a new interview with Rolling Stone ahead of “Creed III” opening in theaters, Jordan revealed that he avoided his entire family and didn’t interact with any children during
Awash in Y2K nostalgia and youthful vibrancy, NewJeans is rapidly becoming K-pop’s newest darling. Arriving under the auspices of Hybe Corp. subsidiary ADOR, NewJeans — comprised of members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein — dropped their first, self-titled EP in August with no warning. As the group has taken off, so has its stream
All episodes of “Arrested Development” are set to be removed from Netflix on March 15 — including Seasons 4 and 5, which Netflix produced itself. After initially running on Fox for three seasons, “Arrested Development” was canceled in 2006. In 2012, when Netflix was still relatively new to producing its own projects, the streamer elected
Janet Yang, the current president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), admitted at the start of the 2023 Oscars Nominees Luncheon that the organization did not properly handle the fallout over Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony. “I’m sure you all remember we experienced an unprecedented
SZA’s sophomore album “SOS” is back atop the albums chart at No. 1, bringing the R&B set’s total number of chart-topping weeks to eight. After dipping out of the slot for a week, the 23-song set returns to top the Billboard 200 with the equivalent of 100,000 units sold in the U.S. With another week