Category: Movies

Elvis Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special to Hit Movie Theaters This Summer

Elvis Presley’s legendary television special Elvis, better known as the “’68 Comeback Special,” will be screened in movie theaters this summer to mark the 50th anniversary of its airing. The screenings will take place on Presley’s death, August 16th, and again on August 20th.

The owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Authentic Brands Group–which also owns and manages branding for Marilyn Monroe and Shaquille O’Neal, among others–is arranging the screening with Fathom Events. They have yet to announce the screening times.

“Seeing Elvis onscreen is one of the most memorable and influential brand experiences and we look forward to bringing this special and future events to audiences around the world,” ABG’s senior vice president of entertainment, Marc Rosen, said in a statement.

“ABG is recognized as a global leader in the brand space and the company’s commitment to creating immersive brand experiences aligns perfectly with Fathom’s dedication to providing our audiences with exclusive, interactive and memorable cinema events,” Fathom Events CEO Ray Nutt said. “We look forward to working together on many exciting projects for cinema audiences worldwide, beginning with this rare concert experience for Elvis fans.”

Presley’s comeback special came at a time when the King had been appearing in movies rather than recording music or performing live. It opened with footage of him dressed in a slick, black leather jumpsuit–curling his lip the way his fans remembered–and included a loose, “sit-down” set where he played his early hits with members from his backing band in the Fifties.

“Elvis was hardly ever nervous–but he was then,” drummer D.J. Fontana told Rolling Stone in a feature about the special last year. “We played a couple of songs, and it got loose after a while, and it turned out fine. He just had been out of the public eye for a long time.”

Denis Villeneuve Confirms ‘Dune’ Will Be Released In Two Parts

Esteemed Quebecois filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has quickly shot up the ranks of Hollywood’s top-shelf directors. While “Blade Runner 2049” wasn’t a box office hit, unable to earn even $100 million domestically, it was well respected, earning five Oscar nominations and two wins including the overdue statue for legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins. The movie earned the already-prized director clout, and he’s using it to make his “dream project,” an adaptation of Frank Herbert‘s classic science fiction novel ‘Dune,” which was made into a film by David Lynch back in 1984 (arguably his first and only misstep).

It’s an ambitious undertaking, one filled with scope and scale which feels rarer and rarer within today’s franchise-hungry Hollywood studio system. The fact that Villeneuve is seemingly being given creative carte-blanche for such a project is a reason for celebration.

Not too much has been known about “Dune” so far. Villeneuve had casually mentioned last March that his goal was “to make two films, maybe more.” And in speaking to the French media, the filmmaker confirmed his “Dune” adaptation would definitely split into two parts. “I wish I could direct both movies at the same time, but it would have been too expensive,” he told La Presse. “We’ll do them one at a time.” Villeneuve went on to state that he intends on beginning pre-production on Dune “soon.”

The director said the script is almost in place too. “Eric Roth [“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button“] has written the first draft and, on my side, I worked on it as well,” said Villeneuve, “I have not had such fun creatively since “Incendies.”

Herbert’s “Dune” is dense and sprawling and frankly demands one film to tell its story, so Villeneuve has the right approach. Undoubtedly, the budget will be huge and it speaks to the love of the “Blade Runner 2049” achievements that a studio like Legendary would double down and sink money into another, sure-to-be artful sci-fi epic.

Will that be the approach though? After “Blade Runner 2049,” Villeneuve said making the most expensive art-house movie wasn’t necessarily the best idea, “Let’s just say it would not be a good idea for me to make a movie like that twice,” he told the Telegraph. “It was only when I came out that I realized we had made a monster.”

Let’s hope he changes his mind, the movie connects with mainstream audiences, and he brings Roger Deakins along for the ride.

Solo stalling at the box office with $101 million four-day opening

Business isn’t exactly booming for the galaxy’s favorite space smuggler this Memorial Day weekend.

Disney and Lucasfilm’s Han Solo origin tale Solo: A Star Wars Story is on track to earn about $101 million in ticket sales from 4,381 theaters in the U.S. and Canada over the four-day holiday weekend — easily topping the box office, but coming in well below the $130 million-$150 million previously projected by Disney.

After earning $14.1 million from Thursday night previews, a pre-Memorial Day record, Solo appears to be stalling, and its estimated Friday-Sunday gross of $83.3 million falls considerably short of Rogue One ($155.1 million), let alone The Last Jedi ($220 million) and The Force Awakens ($248 million). Solo’s three-day overseas take — about $65 million, from 88 percent of its foreign markets, including China — is also underwhelming.

Marking the 10th film in the Star Wars saga and the second “anthology” movie, Solo explores the younger years of Han Solo, the interstellar scoundrel originated by Harrison Ford. Alden Ehrenreich plays the title role, joined by Emilia Clarke as first love Qi’ra, Joonas Suotamo as trusty sidekick Chewbacca, and Donald Glover as fellow rogue Lando Calrissian. Reviews have been mixed to positive, while audiences gave it an A-minus CinemaScore. It’s the only Star Wars movie of the Disney era not to receive an A.

Solo reportedly cost upward of $250 million to make, partly because original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were replaced by Ron Howard, who reshot significant portions of the film.

Solo also comes as the fourth Star Wars movie in less than three years, and its soft opening might be a sign of franchise fatigue. Nevertheless, Disney has Episode IX on the calendar for Dec. 20, 2019, and is mulling standalone movies about Boba Fett, Lando, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Taking second place this weekend is Fox’s Deadpool 2, with an estimated three-day gross of $42.7 million ($53.5 million through Monday). That figure represents a rather steep decline of 66 percent in its second frame, and brings its domestic total to $207.4 million after 10 days in theaters.

Superheroes will also claim the No. 3 spot, as Disney and Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War adds about $16.5 million to its domestic haul in its fifth week.

Rounding out the top five are Paramount’s rom-com Book Club, with about $9.5 million, and Warner Bros.’ back-to-school farce Life of the Party, with about $5.1 million. Further down the list, Magnolia Pictures’ Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary RBG will rejoin the top 10 with an estimated $1.2 million in its fourth weekend, in just 415 theaters.

According to ComScore, overall box office is up 7.7 percent year-to-date. Check out the May 25-27 figures below.

1. Solo: A Star Wars Story — $83.3 million ($101 million four-day)
2. Deadpool 2 — $42.7 million ($53.5 million four-day)
3. Avengers: Infinity War — $16.5 million ($20.1 million four-day)
4. Book Club — $9.5 million ($12 million four-day)
5. Life of the Party — $5.1 million ($6.5 million four-day)
6. Breaking In — $4.1 million
7. Show Dogs — $3.1 million
8. Overboard — $3 million
9. A Quiet Place — $2.2 million
10. RBG — $1.2 million

Box office: Deadpool 2 dethrones Infinity War with $125 million opening

This weekend, Ryan Reynolds is the Merc With the Money.

The actor’s wisecracking superhero sequel Deadpool 2 is on track to open with an estimated $125 million in ticket sales from 4,349 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, unseating three-time box office champ Avengers: Infinity War and scoring the second-highest debut ever for an R-rated movie.

Though that’s no small feat, Deadpool 2 will fall short of industry projections, which had it in the $130 million to $150 million range, and the original Deadpool, which bowed with $132.4 million in February 2016 (thus setting the R-rated opening record). Overseas, the sequel will add about $176.3 million this weekend, for a worldwide total of about $301.3 million.

Directed by David Leitch, from a script by Reynolds, Rhett Reese, and Paul Wernick, Deadpool 2 finds the titular antihero (played by Reynolds) protecting a young mutant from a time-traveling tough guy named Cable (Josh Brolin), while gleefully skewering Hollywood’s obsession with superheroes. The cast also includes Julian Dennison, Morena Baccarin, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller, and Brianna Hildebrand, plus a host of celebrity cameos.

The Fox film, which cost about $110 million to make, received generally positive reviews from critics (on par with the first film), and audiences gave it an A CinemaScore, suggesting good word-of-mouth prospects.

Disney’s rival Marvel movie Avengers: Infinity War drops down to second place this weekend, grossing a still-solid $28.7 million in its fourth frame and bringing its domestic total to $595 million. The film will add about $84.4 million overseas, pushing its worldwide total north of $1.8 billion.

The weekend’s other new wide releases are Paramount’s rom-com Book Club and Open Road’s family-friendly comedy Show Dogs. The former film will take in about $12.5 million, good for the No. 3 spot, while the latter will gross about $6 million, landing in sixth place.

Directed by Bill Holderman, Book Club stars Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen as four friends whose love lives are upended when they decide to read the guilty pleasure Fifty Shades of Grey.

Show Dogs, meanwhile, centers on a police dog (voiced by Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) who goes undercover at a dog show with his human partner (Will Arnett) to stop an animal smuggling ring. Raja Gosnell directed.

Both movies garnered lackluster reviews, though audiences gave them solid A-minus CinemaScores.

Rounding out the top five are the Melissa McCarthy comedy Life of the Party, with about $7.7 million, and the Gabrielle Union thriller Breaking In, with about $6.5 million.

According to ComScore, overall box office is up 6.3 percent year-to-date. Check out the May 18-20 figures below.

1. Deadpool 2 — $125 million
2. Avengers: Infinity War — $28.7 million
3. Book Club — $12.5 million
4. Life of the Party — $7.7 million
5. Breaking In — $6.5 million
6. Show Dogs — $6 million
7. Overboard — $4.7 million
8. A Quiet Place — $4 million
9. Rampage — $1.5 million
10. I Feel Pretty — $1.2 million

‘Zombieland 2’ in the works for 10th anniversary release

Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Emma Stone are reportedly set to reprise their Zombieland roles for a long-awaited sequel to mark the film’s 10th anniversary.

The movie’s original screenwriter, Paul Wernick, has revealed he and his production partner Rhett Reese are working on a follow-up to the 2009 cult action comedy, which he claims will feature the same main cast, and hopefully hit theatres in late 2019.

“We’re going on the 10th anniversary of Zombieland. Zombieland came out October of 2009. We don’t know what you get someone for their 10th anniversary, but it may be a Zombieland 2,” Wernick teased to Vulture.

“The hope is that we’re shooting that thing early 2019 for an October of ’19 release,” he continued, adding, “With the original cast, by the way.”

Details about the project have yet to be finalised, but Wernick is confident the planned movie will live up to fans’ dreams.

“We are sitting on information that we can’t entirely share at this moment,” he said cryptically, “but we can just say we think fans of Zombieland who have been hoping for a Zombieland 2, that we will grant their wish very, very soon.”

It’s not clear if Ruben Fleischer, who directed the first film, will also be returning to Zombieland.

The original release helped to put Reese and Wernick on the map in Hollywood, and they have since gone on to score big box office success by teaming up with Ryan Reynolds to pen 2016’s Deadpool and its new sequel, Deadpool 2.

The screenwriting duo is also busy developing scripts for Michael Bay’s upcoming project, 6 Underground, and the big screen adaptation of murder mystery board game Clue, and producing Chris Pratt’s next action adventure, Cowboy Ninja Viking.

Avengers: Infinity War squashes Life of the Party and Breaking In at box office

With all due respect to Melissa McCarthy and Gabrielle Union: It’s Thanos’ world, we just live in it.

In its third weekend, Disney and Marvel’s superhero blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War continues to dominate the box office, earning an estimated $61.8 million from 4,474 theaters in the U.S. and Canada while trouncing McCarthy’s new comedy Life of the Party and Union’s new thriller Breaking In.

On Saturday, Infinity War cracked the $500 million mark at the domestic box office, becoming the second-fastest film to do so, and through Sunday it will have grossed about $547.8 million. The movie also bowed in China this weekend, powering a massive $281.3 million international haul. Its worldwide total now stands at about $1.6 billion and ranks fifth all time, behind Avatar, Titanic, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Jurassic World.

Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and made for close to $300 million, Infinity War marks the third Avengers film and the 19th installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It features heroes from across the MCU franchise — including Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Chris Evans’ Captain America, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, and the Chris Pratt-led Guardians of the Galaxy — and pits them against Thanos (Josh Brolin), an interplanetary warlord trying to wipe out half the life in the universe.

An untitled sequel is already on the calendar for May 3, 2019.

In second place, Warner Bros’. Life of the Party will take in about $18.5 million at 3,656 domestic theaters. That figure is in line with industry projections but falls short of recent McCarthy films Tammy ($21.6 million), The Boss ($23.6 million), and Spy ($29.1 million)

Written by McCarthy and her husband, Ben Falcone, who also directed, Life of the Party centers on a middle-aged divorcée (McCarthy) who returns to college to finish her degree and winds up in class with her daughter (Molly Gordon). The film received lackluster reviews from critics, and audiences gave it a tepid B CinemaScore.

The weekend’s other new wide release, Universal’s Breaking In, is on pace to gross about $16.5 million at 2,537 theaters, good for third place. That’s a solid start for a film that cost a modest $6 million to make.

Directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta), the film stars Union as a mother forced to protect her kids when the mansion of her recently deceased dad is invaded by burglars. Reviews have been poor, and moviegoers gave it a B CinemaScore.

Rounding out the top five this weekend are Lionsgate and MGM’s rom-com remake Overboard, with about $10.1 million, and Paramount’s silently spooky horror hit A Quiet Place, with about $6.4 million.

According to ComScore, overall box office is up 4.8 percent year-to-date. Check out the May 11-13 figures below.

1. Avengers: Infinity War — $61.8 million
2. Life of the Party — $18.5 million
3. Breaking In — $16.5 million
4. Overboard — $10.1 million
5. A Quiet Place — $6.4 million
6. I Feel Pretty — $3.7 million
7. Rampage — $3.4 million
8. Tully — $2.2 million
9. Black Panther — $1.9 million
10. Blockers — $1.1 million

Robert Downey Jr. set to reprise role in ‘Sherlock Holmes 3’

LOS ANGELES — Nearly seven years after “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” hit theatres, Warner Bros. Pictures says a third installment of the “Sherlock Holmes” franchise is coming in 2020.

The studio said Monday that Robert Downey Jr. will reprise his role as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed detective alongside Jude Law as his counterpart Watson.

“Sherlock Homes” was a box office hit for the studio when it was released in 2009, just one year after Downey Jr. also made his debut as Iron Man. A sequel quickly followed in 2011. Combined, the first two films grossed north of $1 billion. Both were directed by Guy Ritchie.

A director has yet to be announced for “Sherlock Holmes 3,” however. The film is dated for a Christmas 2020 release.

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter Reteaming for ‘Bill & Ted 3’

‘Bill & Ted Face the Music,’ which is being shopped in Cannes, is actually happening, some 29 years after the duo’s first excellent adventure.
It’s official: Wyld Stallyns are reforming.

Following 1989’s Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and 1991’s Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, The Hollywood Reporter can reveal that a much-discussed third Bill & Ted installment — Bill & Ted Face the Music — is now firmly in the works some 27 years later. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are set to reprise their iconic roles as time-traveling metalheads “Ted” Theodore Logan and “Bill” S. Preston Esq.

Original creators Chris Matheson (Imagine That) and Ed Solomon (Men in Black, Mosaic, Now You See Me) have penned the script, with Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest, Red 2, Fun With Dick and Jane) confirmed to direct. Scott Kroopf (Limitless) will produce together with Alex Lebovici and Steve Ponce of Hammerstone Studios, with Steven Soderbergh serving as an executive producer alongside Scott Fischer, John Ryan Jr. and John Santilli.

MGM owns the rights to the film and will release it in the U.S. under its Orion Pictures banner. Bloom is handling international sales, which commenced in Cannes where the project is likely to be one of the buzziest films in the market. Endeavor Content negotiated the deal.

Currently in preproduction, Bill & Ted Face the Music will see the duo long past their days as time-traveling teenagers and now weighed down by middle age and the responsibilities of family. They’ve written thousands of tunes, but they have yet to write a good one, much less the greatest song ever written. With the fabric of time and space tearing around them, a visitor from the future warns our heroes that only their song can save life as we know it. Out of luck and fresh out of inspiration, Bill and Ted set out on a time travel adventure to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe. Together with the aid of their daughters, a new crop of historical figures, and some sympathetic music legends, they find much, much more than just a song.

“We couldn’t be more excited to get the whole band back together again,” said Reeves and Winter. “Chris and Ed wrote an amazing script, and with Dean at the helm we’ve got a dream team!”

Bloom’s Alex Walton said: “Fans of Bill and Ted have been waiting for Reeves and Winter to reunite since their last Bogus Journey in 1991. This is excellent!”

Solomon and Matheson reportedly began working on a script in 2010, with both Reeves and Winter indicating in various interviews over the years that they were interested in making the film happen.

In 2017, Reeves told BBC talk show host Graham Norton that the film had been written and the story would see the duo “supposed to write a song to save the world and they haven’t done that. The pressure of having to save the world, their marriages are falling apart, their kids are kind of mad at them, and then someone comes from the future and tells them if they don’t write the song it’s just not the world, it’s the universe.”

Earlier this year, Solomon described the hold-up to Entertainment Weekly, saying: “We’ve been to the altar a few times. We get rejected right about the ‘now you may kiss the bride’ part of it.”

Reeves is represented by WME and Ziffren Brittenham; Winter is represented by CAA, Forward Entertainment, Hollander Entertainment and Sloss Eckhouse LawCo; Parisot is represented by WME; and Hammerstone Studios is represented by Rosen Law Group.

What Happened to Killmonger’s Mother in ‘Black Panther’ May Make You Cry

(If you haven’t seen “Black Panther” by now, you already know spoilers are ahead.)

Erik “Killmonger” Stevens’ story in “Black Panther” just became even more tragic.

The movie’s villain, played by Michael B. Jordan, lost his father N’Jobu (Sterling K. Brown) at the hands of Wakanda’s king T’Chaka (John Kani). But it turns out that he lost his mother, too.

In the recently released Blu-Ray commentary for the movie, director Ryan Coogler shed some light on what N’Jobu and young Zuri (Denzel Whitaker) were up to in the movie’s opening scene.

“The idea was when you see those guys talking over the paperwork in the beginning of the film, they’re talking about a way to break her out of jail,” Coogler said. “The idea was they never got her out, and she passed away in prison, so Killmonger didn’t come up with a mom either.”

Not gonna cry. Nope. **sniff**

N’Jobu’s death is what leads Killmonger to seek revenge on Wakanda, and when T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) finds out that his father killed his uncle, it’s one of the most shocking reveals of the movie.

N’Jobu’s vision for using Wakandan tech to help the outside world eventually becomes realized, even though his son dies in the end, because Black Panther decides to help the outside world at the end of the movie — and we get to see exactly how in “Avengers: Infinity War.” Sorry though, Okoye (Danai Gurira): it’s not by building a Starbucks.

Avengers: Infinity War dominates box office again with $112.5M second weekend

Avengers: Infinity War rages on.

After delivering the biggest box office opening in history last week, Disney and Marvel’s superhero epic is on track to earn an estimated $112.5 million from 4,474 theaters in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, crushing its competitors while scoring the second-best second weekend ever, not adjusted for inflation. Only Star Wars: The Force Awakens has grossed more in its sophomore frame ($149.2 million), and Infinity War will bump Black Panther ($111.7 million) down to third on that list.

That said, Infinity War’s $112.5 million represents a decline of 56 percent from its opening weekend, which is notably steeper than either The Force Awakens (40 percent) or Black Panther (45 percent), and on par with Warner Bros’. ill-fated Justice League, though better than predecessor Avengers: Age of Ultron (59 percent).

After 10 days in theaters, Infinity War’s domestic tally sits at an estimated $450.8 million. This weekend the movie will add about $162.6 million overseas, for an international total of $713.3 million. Infinity War broke the $1 billion barrier at the worldwide box office Saturday, becoming the fastest film ever to do so, and along the way it has passed fellow superhero hits like Thor: Ragnarok ($854 million), 2002’s Spider-Man ($822 million), and Wonder Woman ($822 million).

Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and made for close to $300 million, Infinity War marks the third Avengers film and the 19th installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It features heroes from across the MCU franchise — including Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Chris Evans’ Captain America, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, and the Chris Pratt-led Guardians of the Galaxy — and pits them against Thanos (Josh Brolin), an interplanetary warlord trying to erase half the life in the universe.

Infinity War has received generally positive reviews from critics, and moviegoers gave it an A CinemaScore. An untitled sequel is already on the calendar for May 3, 2019.

Unlike last week, when no new major releases went up against against Infinity War, this weekend brought a trio of newcomers: Overboard, a gender-flipped remake of the 1987 rom-com; Tully, a dramedy about motherhood hailing from director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody; and Bad Samaritan, a thriller starring David Tennant.

Buoyed by Eugenio Derbez and Anna Faris, Overboard fared best of the three, grossing an estimated $14.8 million from 1,623 theaters, good for second place. Tully, which stars Charlize Theron, took in about $3.2 million from 1,353, landing in the No. 6 spot, and Bad Samaritan just cracked the top 10 with about $1.8 million from 2,007 theaters.

According to ComScore, overall box office is up 5.1 percent year-to-date. Check out the May 4-6 figures below.

1. Avengers: Infinity War — $112.5 million
2. Overboard — $14.8 million
3. A Quiet Place — $7.6 million
4. I Feel Pretty — $4.9 million
5. Rampage — $4.6 million
6. Tully — $3.2 million
7. Black Panther — $3.2 million
8. Truth or Dare — $1.9 million
9. Super Troopers 2 — $1.82 million
10. Bad Samaritan — $1.76 million