While overall box office revenue won’t make any gains in 2025, the same can’t be said of Disney.
The studios sprawling film empire on Wednesday will cross the $6 billion mark in global box office revenue for the year, having earned $5.967 billion globally through Tuesday, including $2.310 billion domestically and $3.656 billion internationally.
This marks the first time Disney has hit $6 billion since 2019, just before the pandemic struck and decimated moviegoing. Even before COVID, clearing $6 billion was no easy feat. No other studio has done so since 2015, while Disney is a now a five-time multiple offender (2016-2019, 2025).
Disney’s success this year has been fueled by 16 wide releases, led by the only two titles that have crossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office: Zootopia 2, which has earned $1.311 billion to date, and Lilo & Stitch, which topped out at $1.038 billion earlier this year. Thanks to some nifty math, Disney is also reporting that three Marvel Studios’ titles have collectively grossed more than $1.3 billion worldwide, even if not one title did so on its own; The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World.
Other titles helping to propel Disney past $6 billion were Predator: Badlands, Freakier Friday and Elio, albeit at much smaller numbers.
James Cameron‘s Avatar: Fire and Ash is the icing on the cake, grossing $450.1 million at the global box office after only seven days in release, including worldwide earnings of $51 million on Tuesday. In North America, it topped Tuesday’s chart with $16.5 million for a domestic tally of $119 million. Overseas, it finished the day with a foreign tally of $331.1 million.
Avatar 3 is easily expected to dominate the long Christmas weekend (Thursday-Sunday) with a four-day gross of $70 million to $75 million, if not more. Sony’s comedic adventure Anaconda, teaming Jack Black and Paul Rudd, opens nationwide on Dec. 25 alongside Timothée Chalamet‘s Marty Supreme and Focus Features’ music-infused Song Sing Blue, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson. They join a crop of films opening last weekend that wanted to a jump on the holiday. In addition to Avatar, these include Lionsgate’s femme-skewing The Housemaid, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried; Angel Studios’ faith-based David; and Paramount’s The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, which still hopes to hunt down families after a soft debut.
Anaconda, Song Sing Blue, and Marty Supreme — which is expanding nationwide after opening in New York and L.A. last weekend to supremely impressive numbers after a massive marketing blitz by its leading man — will all hold Wednesday previews before opening everywhere on Christmas Day, which can be a busy day for moviegoing once presents are unwrapped.
Hugh Jackman plays a shepherd whose livestock are ready to take a bite out of crime in the trailer for The Sheep Detectives.
Amazon MGM Studios releases director Kyle Balda’s mystery film in theaters May 8, 2026. Emma Thompson, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon and Hong Chau round out the cast. The performers voicing the flock of sheep are Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, Brett Goldstein and Rhys Darby.
The Sheep Detectives centers on George (Jackman), who reads detective novels to his sheep as he puts them to sleep. When a shocking crime rattles the farm, the sheep must work together to lead the investigation.
“We found George on the grass, and he’s not moving,” one of the sheep says in the trailer. “Our shepherd was murdered.”
Another woolly friends adds, “The policeman is completely hopeless. We need to help him.”
Balda (Minions: The Rise of Gru) makes his live-action directorial debut from a script by Craig Mazin that is based on author Leonie Swann’s 2005 novel, Three Bags Full. Lindsay Doran, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner serve as producers.
Footage from the movie debuted earlier this year at CinemaCon, with Jackman and Thompson teasing the project in a video segment. “The movie is a bit of a whodunit, which is always fun,” Jackman said in one behind-the-scenes clip. “The movie has such heart.”
Jackman can be soon be seen opposite Kate Hudson in Craig Brewer’s Song Sung Blue, hitting theaters on Christmas from Focus Features. He also stars as the titular hero in Michael Sarnoski’s forthcoming A24 film The Death of Robin Hood.
During the COVID-19 years, many films were released that entirely flew under the radar, and as a result, ended up flopping at the box office.
One such film was Hugh Jackman’sReminiscence, in which he stars in alongside Rebecca Ferguson and Thandiwe Newton. However, the film has since found new life after being added to streaming services, including Apple TV+, and fans have been singing its praises.
A synopsis for the film read: “Nick Bannister, a private investigator of the mind, navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed as he uncovers a violent conspiracy while trying to solve the mystery behind a client who disappeared.”
However, with a confusing release schedule, the film was pushed back on several occasions to avoid competing with other major releases, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the film barely registered at the box office. It had been estimated by Variety that the film needed $110 million to break even, however, it only made $16.4 million.
Fan response
Viewers have been receptive to the 2021 film, with one writing on social media: “Reminiscence – a beautiful movie that deserved the attention of moviegoers. Too bad WB chose to experiment with their release policy for this one. A memorable portrayal from Hugh Jackman – action cum romance cum drama!”
A second added: “I genuinely thought Reminiscence was going to be a big hit with Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson especially with the trailer,” while a third commented: “Reminiscence never fails to make me sad. I need Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson to get a third movie where they both end up together and happy at the end,” and a fourth posted: “Someday, Reminiscence will have the renaissance that it deserves.“
However, film critics were less than complimentary about the movie. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film only has a 37% rating, with its consensus reading: “Although Reminiscence isn’t lacking narrative ambition, its uncertain blend of sci-fi action and noir thriller mostly provokes memories of better films.“
The Guardian’s Simran Hans only gave the film a two-star rating, calling it a “sci-fi noir you may want to forget”. Meanwhile, in a separate two-star review, Outtake Magazine’s Stanyo Zhelev said: “It has its moments and you probably won’t regret watching it – but it’s incredibly frustrating to see, it has all the ingredients of something truly special, yet never really pulls it off.”
Some critics, including in the Chicago Sun-Times, unfavourably compared the film to hits like The Maltese Falcon, Inception and Vanilla Sky.
Who stars in Reminiscence?
Reminiscence has an A-list cast, with its leads being played by Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Rebecca Ferguson (Dune) and Thandiwe Newton (Line of Duty). It marked the second time that Hugh and Rebecca had acted opposite one another, following 2017’s The Greatest Showman.
The film also stars Cliff Curtis (The Meg), Marina de Tavira (Roma), Daniel Wu (Into the Badlands), Mojean Aria (The Enforcer), Brett Cullen (The West Wing), Natalie Martinez (Ordinary Joe) and Angela Sarafyan (Westworld).
Alongside its incredible cast, the film was also the directorial debut for Lisa Joy, who had previously directed Westworld, while also writing for the likes of Pushing Daisies and Burn Notice. Since 2024, she has been the executive producer for Prime Video’s smash hit, Fallout.
Oprah Winfrey is gearing up for her long-awaited return to Australia – and she’s getting her travel advice straight from one of the nation’s most adored stars, Hugh Jackman. In a video shared to her Instagram reels, the media icon told Hugh that she hasn’t visited in a decade, prompting an excited response from the Aussie actor.
Oprah and Hugh Jackman have been friends for years
Hugh asked how long she planned to stay, and Oprah told him she’d be in Australia for “two whole weeks,” a revelation that made him light up. “I’m so thrilled,” he told her, clearly delighted she was finally returning after so many years.
Oprah will return to Australia for the first time in 10 years
Her visit comes as Oprah prepares to return to the country this December for ‘Oprah In Conversation: Presented by Lilly’, a special series of intimate, one-night-only events in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne. The tour marks 10 years since her last sold-out Australian visit. Audiences will hear her reflect on authenticity, resilience and purpose in a moderated conversation designed to inspire and uplift anyone ready to reimagine their path.
Oprah onstage during her ‘An Evening With Oprah’ tour in 2015 in Sydney, Australia
Hugh happily slipped into tour-guide mode, telling Oprah to head straight to Bondi Beach on her arrival in Sydney and start the famous coastal walk from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach.
He explained that “it’s about a 40-minute walk and there’s sculptures all the way along,” referring to the annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibition that turns the clifftops into an outdoor gallery. He even encouraged her to take a spontaneous dip, insisting, “If you get the urge to jump into the ocean, do it – it’s the best jetlag cure in the world.”
Next came the food tips, and Hugh didn’t hesitate. He urged Oprah to have breakfast at Bills – a global restaurant family established by Australian restaurateur, cook and food writer Bill Granger – and try their famous ricotta hotcakes. When she asked, “Ricotta hotcakes?” he declared, “Best in the world! Best coffee.” He also told her to chat with everyone along the way because, in true Aussie spirit, “We’re the best in the world.”
Oprah, clearly charmed, told him, “You Aussies are the best,” and Hugh responded with equal warmth as the pair hugged: “I love you – have the best time. Australia loves you, you know that.”
While Jackman and Foster have only been publicly dating for about 10 months, they’ve been acquainted with each other since the early 2000s. Both are members of the greater Broadway community; as People points out, Jackman snapped a photo with Foster during her Tony-winning, star-making run as the titular ’20s flapper in Thoroughly Modern Millie. One year later, Jackman would host the Tonys for the first time; a year after that, he’d host again and win his own leading-actor-in-a-musical trophy for playing Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. As a theater luminary herself, Foster must have been aware of Jackman’s electrifying run as Tonys emcee—he did it three years in a row—particularly the year he also performed a number from The Boy From Oz in a cheetah-print button-down and impossibly tight gold pants. In any case, it’s clear they both have greasepaint roaring through their veins.
By the time they’d met, Jackman had already been a married man for years, having wed Australian actor and producer Deborra-Lee Furness in 1996. Foster has had a more tumultuous romantic history. She was married to fellow actor Christian Borle, who would go on to win his own Tony awards, from 2006 to 2009; when she won her second Tony in 2011 for playing another grande dame of musical theater, Reno Sweeney, in a revival of Anything Goes, she famously thanked her dresser as well as her boyfriend at the time, actor Bobby Cannavale. (Like Foster, Cannavale would eventually find love with an Australian—Rose Byrne.) Jackman and Foster remained friendly through this time—even dancing together when Jackman hosted the Tonys a fourth time in 2014—but their relationship was not romantic.
Then came The Music Man, the critically acclaimed Broadway revival starring Foster and Jackman that was announced in March 2019 and originally set to open in October 2020. When rehearsals for the revival began, Jackman was still married to Furness, with whom he shares two children, Oscar and Ava. Foster, meanwhile, had married screenwriter Ted Griffin in 2014 and adopted a baby girl, Emily, with him in 2017. But due to the pandemic and subsequent Broadway shutdown, the revival was put on hold until 2022.
When rehearsals started again, Jackman praised Foster’s immense talent in a story about the show in Vanity Fair. “She can learn a new dance in three hours, and she’s the best dancer you’ve seen on Broadway,” Jackman said of his costar. Foster shared a similar sentiment about Jackman while appearing with him on Late Night With Seth Meyers. “I’m having the time of my life playing opposite this guy,” she said. “It’s a dream come true.” A mutual talent crush had been established.
On Sunday night, Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster made their red-carpet debut during the closing night of AFI Fest in Los Angeles.
The two posed on the red carpet at the premiere of his film “Song Sung Blue,” flashing smiles for the cameras.
In January, Hugh and Sutton hard launched their relationship by holding hands while on a dinner date in L.A.
They were all smiles in pics posted by People magazine as they walked to the restaurant in Santa Monica. Hugh wore a gray shirt and white jeans for the occasion, paired with a dark jacket. Sutton beamed in a long green dress, heels, and tan trench coat.
Hugh and Sutton worked together on “The Music Man” in 2022.
That same year, Sutton raved about Hugh, telling Vogue magazine, “He has an impeccable reputation of being the hardest working man, incredibly kind, and generous—and all of that is true. He’s now become one of my best friends, which was a surprise, because you usually go into these things thinking, ‘Well, I hope we get along.’”
The two have known each other since at least 2002.
Romance rumors started swirling after their marriages imploded.
Hugh was previously married to Deborra-lee Furness. They announced their split in September 2023 after 27 years of marriage. Sutton filed for divorce from her husband Ted Griffin in October, following 10 years of marriage.
Hugh and Deborra-lee finalized their divorce in June.
A sweet serve of feel-sad, feel-glad corn done right, Song Sung Blue tells the remarkable true story of a Milwaukee auto mechanic and his hairdresser wife who face hard knocks together but never let their dream die — even if it’s on life support during the toughest times. While that might sound like Hallmark treacle, Craig Brewer’s captivating retelling of the triumphs and tribulations of a Neil Diamond tribute act is grounded in real feeling and irresistibly rousing music. Most of all, it’s held aloft by winning performances from an ideally paired Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, the latter doing her best work since Almost Famous.
I’ll confess I was an easy mark for this movie. A key childhood memory is sitting on my aunt’s living room floor — she was groovy enough to have a “feature wall” of contrast wallpaper — playing the Hot August Night double album from start to finish while everyone else was outside digesting barbecue. By the time I hit high school, Diamond’s music had been deemed uncool, so naturally, I disavowed any fondness for it. But decades later, his songs became a time-travel vehicle; I was surprised to find I knew just about every word. I guess it was a given that Song Sung Blue would win me over.
Song Sung Blue
The Bottom Line
A diamond in the rough.
Venue: AFI Fest (Closing Night) Release date: Thursday, Dec. 25 Cast: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi, King Princess, Mustafa Shakir, Hudson Hensley, John Beckwith Director-screenwriter: Craig Brewer, based on the documentary by Greg Kohs
Rated PG-13,
2 hours 11 minutes
There’s no denying that this is a bona fide boomer movie, so it prompts questions as to whether that generation can still be nudged toward the multiplex and whether younger audiences will be even remotely curious. But this is the kind of robust entertainment — wholesome though not at all toothless, alternately joyful and heart-wrenching — that doesn’t get made much anymore, which should boost word of mouth for the Focus Features Christmas release. It’s a family movie in the best sense of the term, a crowd-pleaser with a ton of heart.
Jackman plays Mike Sardina, a divorced Vietnam vet marking his 20th anniversary of sobriety in the late ‘80s when he meets Claire Stengl (Hudson) at a “Legends” gig at the Wisconsin State Fair. The bill includes impersonators doing Elvis, Willie Nelson, Streisand, James Brown and Buddy Holly, the latter the specialty of Michael Imperioli’s Mark Shurilla, who is also the show’s promoter.
Mike, who performs as self-styled rock god “Lightning,” backs out after a disagreement with Mark, but not before exchanging some flirty banter with Claire. Just as she’s about to go on as Patsy Cline, she tells him he should be doing Neil Diamond.
From Hustle & Flow through the brilliant Eddie Murphy vehicle Dolemite Is My Name, writer-director Brewer has shown an affinity for underdogs seeking fulfillment as performers. It’s obvious what drew him to Greg Kohs’ 2008 documentary of the same name about the husband-and-wife duo. Brewer is working in a more conventional style here than some of his earlier films, but there’s sincerity and emotional authenticity to this movie that suggest deep personal investment, not to mention hardcore music fandom.
Composer Scott Bomar serves as executive music producer, and song after song is an uplifting knockout. Naturally, “Sweet Caroline” gets the royal treatment, but just as Mike insists there’s much more to Neil Diamond than that over-saturated, infernally catchy hit and its singalong chorus, so too does the movie cast a wide net over Diamond’s vast catalogue.
Some of the more memorable numbers are the romantic ballad “Play Me,” the spiritual “Soolaimon,” the stirring, gospel-inflected “Holly Holy” and the even more roof-raising “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show.” Unlike so many music biopics that shuffle frustrating song fragments just to get through all the greatest hits, Brewer gives the songs space to play out at length, editor Billy Fox’s many montages serving both to amplify and advance the narrative.
This approach is evident from the first time Mike visits Claire with an album of Neil Diamond sheet music to kick around ideas for his act. By the time that first session is over, he has asked her to be Thunder to his Lightning and the pair have surrendered to their mutual attraction. The chemistry between Jackman and Hudson makes you root for their characters as a couple and as a music act.
Scenes that by rights should be eye-rolling clichés somehow end up disarming. One is the first full rehearsal in Mike’s garage, with his longtime associates The Esquires on horns and keys, and Mark on guitar, after deciding he’s too old to keep impersonating Buddy Holly, who died at 22. They rip through “Crunchy Granola Suite” with such gusto, Mike and Claire sharing vocal duties, that even the crabby neighbor across the street is dancing while watering her lawn.
Claire is also a refugee from a broken marriage, prone to bouts of depression, but singing is a great mood-elevator, as is Mike. Her tween son Dayna (Hudson Hensley) is easily won over by his new stepdad, while teenage daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson) is more resistant. But she also comes around after forming a fast friendship and sharing a joint with Mike’s daughter Angelina (indie musician King Princess), visiting from Florida where she lives with her mother.
Mike’s dentist, Dr. Dave Watson (Fisher Stevens), who doubles as his manager, hooks the duo up with low-rent casino booker Tom D’Amato (an amusingly cartoonish Jim Belushi). He screws up their first important gig by promising a motorhome-convention audience and delivering a biker club, who are strictly ZZ Top. But out of that wreckage comes a marriage proposal and before long, Lightning and Thunder are a Milwaukee sensation, getting local news coverage and an enthusiastic following.
Their big break comes when Eddie Vedder (John Beckwith) calls, asking them to open for Pearl Jam. (Yes, this really happened!) But just when you might be starting to wonder if there will be any significant conflict, tragedy strikes, sidelining Claire and sending her plummeting into severe depression and anger. Mike tries to make the best of things, hosting karaoke nights at a family-run Thai restaurant where the owner (Shyaporn Theerakulstit) is a massive Neil Diamond fan. But without Claire, performing loses its magic for him.
The repeat misfortunes in these characters’ lives stir in resonant notes of pathos, even if some, like Rachel’s unplanned pregnancy, are given minimal airtime. But the movie keeps you on board through spiraling lows and resilient highs — even through three endings when one would have sufficed — in large part because the leads are just so damned charming.
Jackman is no stranger to this kind of showman dreamer. His exuberant personality and natural humor make him an ideal fit for the performance elements, whether singing “Cracklin’ Rosie” in his underwear while practicing his Neil moves or belting out hits onstage in dagger-collared satin ‘70s shirts and sequined jackets, his hair billowing in the gust of a fan. But the actor doesn’t shortchange the soulfulness of his character either.
The real surprise, however, is Hudson, giving a vanity-free performance that makes her entirely believable as a Midwestern hairdresser and loving mother whose happiness when performing is infectious and her devastation heartbreaking.
Her versions of Patsy Cline evergreens “Walkin’ After Midnight” and “Sweet Dreams” are rich and warm and full-bodied. She also matches Jackman note for note in wonderful performance interludes, in which Mike and Claire’s love radiates over the audience, and she soars in a solo on Diamond’s soft rock ballad “I’ve Been This Way Before.”
Imperioli, Anderson, Stevens and Belushi ably lead the appealing ensemble in a film that’s sugary but never sickly, even when it borders on schmaltz. Brewer’s direction is polished and fuss-free, trusting in the strength of the characters and their stranger-than-fiction story to do the work, always anchored in bittersweet real-life experience.
I’ve never been wild about the term “faith-based movie” — or, at least, the idea that it should only be applied to PG-rated calamity-meets-redemption Sunday-school soap operas micro-targeted to Evangelicals. “Song Sung Blue,” in almost every way, is a faith-based movie, though this one is rooted in the holly holy dream of devotion to the church of Neil Diamond. It’s based on the true story of Mike and Claire Sarina (played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson), who in the late ’80s and ’90s formed a Neil Diamond tribute band, performing as Lightning & Thunder (he’s Lightning, she’s Thunder). At first, the movie may strike you as a parable of more kitsch than faith.
The two meet at a performance at a scuzzy casino in their hometown of Milwaukee, where assorted semi-amateurs get up to impersonate dead legends like Elvis and Buddy Holly. She’s dressed as Patsy Cline and does a pretty good rendition of “After Midnight.” He’s supposed to go on as Don Ho and sing the 1966 novelty hit “Tiny Bubbles,” but he’s so tired of singing it that he quits on the spot. As we learn pretty quickly, Mike and Claire are both broken-down middle-aged Middle Americans toting around a private load of sorrow.
Each is divorced with kids. He’s a Vietnam veteran and 20-years-sober alcoholic who works odd jobs as a mechanic and plays in just about any band that will have him. She’s a hairdresser and struggling single mother who isn’t so much thriving as surviving. Together, they hatch an idea: What it they formed a band and sang Neil Diamond songs, not just doing the same old wax-museum versions of old rock stars but tapping into what the people really want?
“Song Sung Blue” was written and directed by Craig Brewer, who has made one amazing movie (“Hustle & Flow”), one good one (“Dolemite Is My Name”), and a few middling ones (“Footloose,” “Coming 2 America”), and the first thing you notice about the film, which Brewer based on a 2009 documentary of the same title, is how unironically it celebrates Karaoke Culture. By that, I don’t just mean what transpires in karaoke bars (though the movie has a number of scenes set in them). I’m talking about the impulse that started in karaoke and carried over to “American Idol” and to something larger: the whole religious dream about pop music that someone who was a nobody could stand up and sing a song made famous by a somebody, and if they did it with enough skill and passion they could channel what was great about that star in a way that turned the very act of channeling into its own sublime expression. Brewer navigates this terrain like a jukebox Jonathan Demme.
Mike worships Neil Diamond, to the point that when he sings, he’s no mere impersonator — he’s closer to a Neil Diamond avatar, coaxing out and dramatizing Diamond’s essence. Hugh Jackman is, of course, a marvelous singer in his own right, and while the film makes the point that Mike isn’t trying to sound exactly like his idol, in “Song Sung Blue” Jackman’s musical performances are transcendent in their ability to signify what we love about Neil Diamond: the low command of his voice, the smooth articulation, the crackling rosiness of it all.
We might look at Mike, in his overcoat of blue glitter, with his long hair cut and styled into a neatly parted Diamond pageboy, and Claire, in her spangled red dress with the gold piping, providing her cascading harmonies, and assume, for a moment, that the movie wants us to see them as some played-straight version of the Culps on “SNL.” But there’s nothing jokey or tacky about their presence, and the actors’ performances do nothing so much as bring the love.
Jackman, with his scuffed fortitude, and Hudson, radiating a stubborn wholesomeness, have an easy-listening camaraderie, to the point that when Mike and Claire fall in love and get married, it feels both casual and inevitable. With a booker (Jim Belushi) who has casino connections all over the Midwest, they start to work the circuit and develop a following. Their ascent becomes complete when they’re in their living room and Mike gets a call from Eddie Vedder, who he’s never heard of (he wonders if Pearl Jam is a fruit preserve). It’s the early ’90s, and grunge hipsters have embraced the pop legends of their youth. When Lightning & Thunder end up opening for Pearl Jam in Milwaukee, and Eddie comes out onstage to sing along with them, they’ve basically just gone to karaoke heaven.
The adversity comes out of nowhere. Literally, as in a bad dream. Claire is standing on her front lawn, and suddenly…a life upended, a body and soul severed, a reality redefined. This is where “Song Sung Blue” flirts, and not so lightly, with becoming that other kind of faith-based movie. I raise the issue because I actually think it has demographic meaning; this is the rare film that feels like it could exert a blue-state-meets-red-state appeal. Or, given how over a certain age Neil Diamond’s nostalgic fan base is, the whole thing could wind up slipping between the cracks. After the calamity occurs, the movie, for a while, loses its pace. Yet Hudson’s anguished performance holds it together. This is let-it-rip acting with the fussiness burned off. And Hudson and Jackman don’t just have chemistry; they have an emotional synergy that grows more moving as Mike and Claire bond together — and fuse, once again, with the power of Neil — to heal themselves.
Mike has physical problems of his own (he keeps having what look like mini-heart attacks, which he ignores since he’s too poor to have health insurance), and on the day of their big reunion show, which is supposed to end with them meeting Neil Diamond at an ice-cream stand, Mike tries to heal a gaping head wound with nail glue. You know he’s in for a hot August night.
As the movie recognizes, there are two kinds of Neil Diamond fans: those who, like Mike, hear the beautiful depths in dozens of his songs (“Cherry, Cherry,” “Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show,” “Cracklin’ Rosie”), and the bom bom bom people — the ones Mike can’t stand, who at a Neil Diamond concert experience an epiphany when they pump their fists in the air and sing-shout “bom! bom! bom!” in the middle of the chorus of “Sweet Caroline,” even though it’s not even a lyric. They’re singing along with the trumpet. These are the people who have to enhance the line “Good times never seemed so good!” (“So good! So good! So good!”) until it becomes an existential declaration of the miracle of life.
“Song Sung Blue” is certainly a movie for the bom bom bom crowd. Mostly, though, it’s for the Neil Diamond fans who will listen to Mike and Claire, in their solo show at the Ritz Theater in Milwaukee, in a state of slow-burn bliss. When Mike starts to sing the Arabic chant of “Soolaimon,” Diamond’s single from 1970, it sounds eerie and mysterious, but when the groove kicks in it’s so ecstatic you want to revel in its majesty, the same way Mike does: as a Diamond shining through the darkness.
Hugh Jackman’s love life isn’t something we’ve gotten to speculate much about. The actor was, after all, married to Deborra-Lee Furness for 27 years until they parted ways in September of 2023. However, reports indicate Jackman might have found love again with his former Broadway costar Sutton Foster.
Foster and Jackman appeared together on the Broadway hit The Music Man from December 2021 to January 2023. Both were married at the time. Now, however, with Foster recently filing for divorce from her husband of 10 years, Ted Griffin, rumors of a possible connection between the two have intensified.
But are Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman dating? What are the rumors swirling about their relationship after their respective divorces? And did the two start dating while they were still with other people?
Are Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman dating after divorces and cheating rumors?
According to various reports, they are. “They are 100 percent together and are in love and want to spend the rest of their lives together,” Page Six reported. The report also indicates the two have taken care to keep their romance out of the private eye for what seems to be a substantial amount of time. “They are still together,” Page Six added. “They go out of their way to hide it, but it’s common knowledge.”
For now, the facts are this: Younger star Foster filed from divorce from Ocean’s Eleven screenwriter Griffin on October 22, 2024. Rumors their marriage was on the rocks have swirled for years, ever since Foster was starring in The Music Man. Jackman, meanwhile, filed for divorce from Deborra-Lee Furness in September 2023. That means that if the two are indeed together, and have been together for a while, their relationship likely started when at least one, if not both of them, were still married to other people.
Jackman and Furness released a statement after their divorce that read, “We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage. Our journey now is shifting, and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.”
In December of 2023, In Touch reported that Jackman and Foster were in a relationship, quoting their sources as saying, “Their romance is an open secret on Broadway,” which indicates the relationship started when the two were co-starring in The Music Man. In Touch also reported Jackman “has been besotted with Sutton from the moment he met her. He followed her around like a puppy!” and quoted Foster as saying meeting Jackman was “the greatest thing that came out of the whole experience.”
At the time, though both actors stayed mum and Foster seemed to try to quash the rumors by adding a family photo to a carousel of snapshots on Instagram showing her, Griffin, and their daughter. Her recent divorce filing, however, has resurfaced the rumor and initiated speculation about whether, now that both have filed for divorce, they will finally take the romance public.
Deadpool & Wolverine‘s record-smashing box office streak hit another milestone this weekend when Marvel Studios and Disney’s R-rated film surpassed Barbie to rank No. 12 on the list of all-time top-grossing films at the domestic box office, not adjusted for inflation.
Over the weekend, Deadpool & Wolverine took in another $679,000 after Disney upped the film’s theater count from 990 locations to 1,500 theaters nationwide in a final push before the pic’s theatrical run ends. The Ryan Reynolds–Hugh Jackman crowd-pleaser finished Sunday with a domestic total of $636.3 million, compared to the $636.2 million haul of Greta Gerwig and Warner Bros.’ acclaimed meta-comedy.
Barbie, however, still out-ranks the Deadpool threequel globally with a worldwide haul of $1,446 billion. The PG-rated, family-friendly pic is No. 15 on the all-time list of top-grossing films at the global box office.
Deadpool & Wolverine is likewise a worldwide sensation, and is the top-grossing R-rated film of all time. Last weekend, Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi was knocked out of the top 20 when Deadpool & Wolverine took its place. As of this weekend, its global gross stands at $1.336 billion.
It’s just one of the many box office records the meeting of Marvel’s most misanthropic superheroes broke since its summer release, including the biggest opening weekend for an R-rated movie ($211 million). As for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Deadpool & Wolverine is the seventh-highest-grossing film out of 31 releases at the worldwide box office, and fifth-biggest domestically.
Deadpool & Wolverine is also the second-biggest film of 2024 to date behind Pixar and Disney’s Inside Out 2, which has earned $652.9 million domestically and $1.694 billion globally.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A family in South Carolina pleaded for help Wednesday in finding Broadway dancer Zelig Williams, whose disappearance nearly two weeks ago has also drawn the concern of the broader theater community, including Hugh Jackman.
Williams, who danced in New York productions of “Hamilton” and “MJ The Musical,” was last seen Oct. 3 in Columbia, when he left his home. Friends said they got an automatic emergency notification from his iPhone minutes later, Williams’ family said.
They reached out but did not hear back. Williams’ empty car was found undamaged in an isolated parking lot for the Palmetto Trail a day after deputies determined he was driving at the nearby Congaree National Park about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from downtown Columbia, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
Williams’ family said at a news conference that they think he stopped taking his medication just before he disappeared and are worried he might be behaving erratically or even could appear in a trance-like state to people looking to help him.
Tips from the community are likely going to be critical to finding Williams, Sheriff Leon Lott said at a news conference at the department’s headquarters, joined by family members of the dancer.
Deputies said nothing, including foul play, has been ruled out in the case.
“We have used every means of manpower and technology that is available,” Lott said.
They also are asking churches to pay special attention to anyone new, because Williams was visiting in an effort to find a place to worship. Williams, 28, had moved back to his hometown of Columbia a few months earlier.
Williams is the light for his family, cousin Mieoki Corbett-Jacobs said Wednesday. His two sisters died in a car crash 20 years ago and inspired him to start dancing, she said.
Williams’ mother “is having some serious pain in her heart missing her son in this moment,” Corbett-Jacobs said. “That’s why it is so special when you see him perform. He is dancing with his sisters in his heart.”
The family’s remarks ended with Williams’ mother, Kathy, who started sobbing as she spoke.
“I just want Zelig to come home. He’s all I got. He’s all I got. He’s all I got,” she said. The sheriff and Corbett-Jacobs helped her out of the room.
Williams’ colleagues on Broadway are also asking for help. Jackman, who worked with Williams in “The Greatest Showman” tour, posted Williams’ picture on his Instagram feed this month.
“Zelig we love you and are praying for your safe return,” Jackman wrote.
This cocktail has made the rounds on social media and events….and has become a raging success.
This cocktail has been a honey of a success…and a refreshing change at sporting events. The Grey Goose Honey Deuce is the official cocktail of the US Open. The drink returned this year to a roaring success. The name comes from a word play on the tennis term deuce (a tie score of 40-40) and thehoneydew melon garnish. Refreshing, intoxicating and popular – the drink has been gushing out of court side bars at $23 a pop.
The US Open is a premier tennis tournament sponsored by big hitters like American Express, Mercedes Benz, IHG Hotels and Resorts, Rolex and Emirates Airlines. The well heeled, the super rich and the famous flock to the stands. Anna Wintour was there along with celebrities at Arthur Ashe stadium. Spotted at the event was Phoebe Dynevor, Hugh Jackman, Zoey Deutch, Lindsay Lohan, Alec Baldwin, Kerry Washington, and Alicia Keyes. The crowd knows how to drink and drink well…and this cocktail has done well. This year they ordered over 550,000 Honey Deuces, over 100,000 more than last year. Roughly $12.65 million plus tips were spent over the two weeks of the tournament.
But you don’t have to fly to New York and hobnob with the crowd to have your own. You can make it at home and imbibe. Here is how to make your own Grey Goose Honey Deuce.
Ingredients
1 1.4 oz Grey Goose Vodka
Fresh Lemonade
Premium Raspberry Liqueur
Honeydew Melon Balls
Create
Fill a chilled highball glass with cubed ice and add Grey Goose Vodka
Top with fresh lemonade and raspberry liqueur
Garnish with a skewer of 1 or multiple frozen honeydew melon balls
Beer has been the staple of sporting events, but stadiums around the country have been changing their drinks menu while adding sponsorship dollars to the coffers. In 1989 Evian water wanted to reach hot and thirsty affluent customers, so they became an official sponsor of the US Open. The tennis set has had beverage-centric partnerships ever since. And this has translated to other events from the Kentucky Derby to football adding it to their menu.
Blake Lively has managed to pull off the impossible. It used to be rare for a television star to make the crossover to movie stardom. From George Clooney to Will Smith, few actors in the 90s pulled off that feat. And while it’s a bit more common now, only a select group have soared from teen drama to A-List status.
In recent years, we can point to stars like Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, and Charles Melton as proof that there’s life beyond the soapy high school drama. But let’s be honest: they’d be nothing and nowhere without the original cast of Gossip Girl.
The 2000s drama was ahead of the curve. Shows like Succession and White Lotus have taken up its mantle by commenting on the lives of the elite from the inside but those prep school kids blazed the trail. And leading the pack, forever changing what we think of Grand Central Station, is Blake Lively.
Decades later, she’s still on top. She’s a beloved A-Lister with an enviable marriage, an even more enviable friend group (Taylor, if you’re looking for more besties look no further), and a thriving career.
But how did she go from preppy headbands to Hollywood royalty? And, even more recently, why does her career feel like it’s always on an insane upward trajectory? Especially when, if we have to admit it, she’s not the greatest actress around. Likability and beauty can get you far — but Blake’s career is astounding. Is she really all that or is she just… really pretty?
Blake Lively’s Rise to Fame
Before she was Blake Lively: Hollywood Icon™, she was still the coolest girl on our screens. Her role in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was pivotal for millennials everywhere. Alongside America Ferrera (Hey Barbie!), Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Bledel, this ultimate girl gang rivaled her current Swift squad. We all wanted to be them. We all wanted to wear her pants.
She retained that mantle of being unattainably cool in her pivotal role: Gossip Girl.
As Serena van der Woodsen, Lively became the ultimate It Girl. Just like her character, she was the epitome of elite 2000s girlhood. She was like Paris and Nicole with an old-money sophistication. She was all bandage dresses and blowouts both on screen and off. Who didn’t try to recreate at least one of Serena’s outfits — and with disastrous results! — in the show’s heyday?
Post Gossip Girl, Blake faced the stingy choices available to young female stars once their adolescent drama rolled its final credits. For women, the desire to grow up in the public’s eyes leads to a string of sexualized roles. Or, the need to branch out manifests in less-than-successful career pivots — sorry to Leighton Meester’s one song.
While Blake didn’t go any of these routes, she didn’t make the splash she yearned for, either. She did a string of subpar movies that are not worth the watch. She starred as a perpetually beautiful woman who didn’t age in The Age of Adaline — kind of a reverse Benjamin Button except her biggest problem was staying hot forever. Then she starred in the clunky, Gone Girl-esque thriller A Simple Favor alongside Anna Kendrick. Though critics panned it for its nonsensical plot, confusing characters, and flat acting, it found cult fans on streaming and is even an iconic role for many fans — even recently announcing a sequel (we’ll get to that).
She also had forgettable roles as the hot love interest in films like The Town, a cult Boston crime film for which she put on an okay Boston accent, and Savages, a movie recently revived by Netflix.
As her most notable works post Gossip Girl, this isn’t the most robust resume. Yet Blake has retained A-List status. I wouldn’t call her an It-Girl, she’s not out partying or having abrat summer, but every time she steps out, she makes headlines. At this point, she’s known as much for her idyllic marriage with Ryan Reynolds and her friendship with Taylor Swift. Her daughter even has a feature in Taylor Swift’s “Gorgeous” — probably a bigger career credit than anything Blake has appeared in since Gossip Girl.
Meanwhile, many of her Gossip Girl castmates have found success beyond the series. Penn Badgley stars as the creepy serial killer Joe in Netflix’s You. As one of the streamer’s biggest shows, Penn has been catapulted back into the hearts of audiences everywhere — even if his character isn’t the typical heartthrob. Chace Crawford is subverting his pretty-boy looks in The Boys on Amazon, another smash hit series. His character, The Deep, is disturbed and dumb, and played with a brilliant blend of criticism and compassion by Crawford, who doesn’t merely rely on his looks … though he definitely could.
Not to mention her Sisterhood co-star America Ferrera starring in Barbie, the hottest movie of last summer, and being nominated for an Academy Award. Not her first award buzz, never forget Ferrera’s Emmy-nominated turn as Betty Suarez in Ugly Betty, one of the most addictive shows of the 2000s.
With everyone else in her orbit going on to transcend their roots and prove their actual talent, why hasn’t Blake done the same? And however has she managed to stay the most relevant? So the question is: Is she actually a solid actress, or are we all just distracted by how outrageously gorgeous she is? It’s like when your crush says something and you laugh even though it wasn’t funny. Are we all just crushing on Blake Lively?
Blake Lively Is The Queen of the Met Gala: Why did she skip Met 2024?
Testament to her enduring A-List status, Lively is one of the people’s favorites at The Met Gala, which she generally attends with her husband year after year. As one of the biggest and most exclusive annual events on the planet, only a handful of celebrities are invited to the Met steps each and every year. Blake is one of the lucky few.
Usually, the invite list is determined by who was most relevant that year. Whose press tour dominated culture and fashion headlines? What musicians were everywhere? Who were the industry It-Girls? Lively hasn’t fit that bill since the 2010s, yet there she is, smiling on the Met Steps each and every year.
It makes some sense when you consider how viral Lively’s looks go every year. She’s an easy muse — so designers never miss when dressing her. Therefore her absence at the 2024 Met Gala was remarkable. Many were hoping she’d revive the success of her most memorable gown from the Heavenly Bodies exhibit. But alas, nothing. Some speculated a falling out with Anna. Others, another pregnancy. Or was Blake finally just … uninvited?
Turns out, she was just busy being a mom and working on her various projects. I’ll admit, I was skeptical when I heard this. What projects? Lively’s biggest projects are The Met and Kansas Chief’s games. Sometimes I think she’s as much of a nepo bestie as Travis Kelce is a nepo boyfriend. But I recently ate my words. Blake Lively has a stacked Q2 — proving we too can finish the year strong even if we were lagging in the first half.
Blake’s Been Busy: Everything Blake Lively has been up to in 2024
So what are all these projects Lively is so busy with? Surprisingly, a slate of blockbuster films and a brand new business. She’s already embarked upon various press tours, which is why she’s everywhere right now.
Her most prominent, and controversial, venture for the year: starring in the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s blockbuster It Ends With Us. This BookTok favorite is divisive to say the least. While Colleen Hoover’s genre of easy-to-read romantic fiction went viral, the literati aren’t a fan. The main point of contention: the writing is stinko. But to each their own. And on this particular book, Hoover’s critics are accusing of profiting from abuse and trauma because the film romanticizes an abusive relationship.
Yet, the power of BookTok compelled the studios to adapt this novel into a big budget movie starring Lively alongside Justin Baldwin, known for Jane The Virgin. For a minute, thanks to last year’s succession of strikes, it looked as though the movie might be scrapped. Call it Lively’s luck, but production continued against all odds and here we are: moments away from its big premiere.
Watch the Trailer for It Ends With Us here:
But that’s not the only press tour Blake is on. She joined her husband Ryan Reynolds on the press tour for Deadpool and Wolverine, even upstaging Reynolds and his co-star Hugh Jackman with her look for the final premiere.
Alongside Gigi Hadid, she appeared on the red carpet at Lady Deadpool. Little did we know, this was a hint of things to come. In case you forgot (I definitely did) Lively had a brief role as Lady Deadpool in the canonically awful Green Lantern films. She kind of reprised the role as the voice of Lady Deadpool in this new movie — just one of many cameos and Easter eggs in Marvel’s latest bloated action flick.
When not campaigning for wife-of-the-year, bestie of the year, or promoting It Ends With Us, she’s been filming the much-awaited sequel to A Simple Favor. She and Anna Kendrick have reprised their roles: mysterious Hot Mom (Lively, obviously) and Bored Mommy Blogger (Kendrick in an abundance of floral sundresses and wedges).
This sequel comes so long after the original because, despite the initial bad reviews, it found another life on streaming platforms. So, get ready to comfort-watch or hate-watch when it comes out — I’ll be doing both.
But Blake isn’t only trying to pump some much needed life back into her acting career. She’s enetered her Business Mogul Era. She’s already founded the brands Betty Buzz and Betty Booze and now she’s branching into beauty. Known for her scorching flowing locks, why wouldn’t she make a haircare brand?
The collection is called Blake Brown Beauty after her maiden name — which Reynolds joked he only just found out. Priced at $25 and under, Blake Brown Beauty is launching exclusively in Target to corner the affordable haircare market. The line consists of shampoos, masks and styling product. If there’s one thing the world needs more of, it’s celebrity beauty brands, right?
Promising to give the world that Blake Lively shine, the brand is a departure form many DTC celebrity beauty ventures, such as Cecred by Beyonce, Rate Beauty by Selena Gomez, or Hailey Bieber’s rhode. Instead, Blake is doing what she does best: going for mass appeal. It’s worked so far, might as well bet the house (or the hair) on it. But let’s be real, unless her shampoos come with a personal stylist and a Hollywood paycheck, we might just be setting ourselves up for disappointment.
This approach is similar to another celebrity whose success Blake takes major cues from: Jennifer Aniston. Before there was Serena, there was Rachel. From inspiring trends to becoming the people’s princess, Aniston and Lively have a lot in common. Namely that they’ve built gigantic careers on an average amount of talent. Pretty privilege is really kind to some.
Now, I’m no hater. I love looking at beautiful people as much as the next person. But as we brace ourselves for a Blake resurgence, someone has to say it: she’s prettier than she is talented.
The truth is, Blake Lively, like Jennifer Aniston, has found her niche. She’s good at being likable, at being the girl next door (if the girl next door lived in a mansion and was married to Deadpool). And in Hollywood, that’s a skill in itself.
So, is Blake Lively overrated? Maybe. Is she the second coming of Meryl Streep? Probably not. But is she good at what she does? Absolutely.
At the end of the day, Blake Lively is like that really pretty, really nice girl from high school who you want to hate but simply can’t. She’s not changing the world, but she’s not trying to. She’s just out here, living her best life, making us all wish we could pull off headbands and making Ryan Reynolds Instagram posts slightly more tolerable.
So here’s to you, Blake Lively. You may not be perfect, you may not be revolutionary, but damn it, you’re doing your thing. And sometimes, that’s enough.
So while I won’t be tuning into her latest slate of films or buying her beauty brand, I’ll be enjoying her press tour simply for the opportunity to decide which of her looks hit, and which of them miss.
Hugh Jackman-led movie musical The Greatest Showman demonstrated an unexpected level of persistence following its 2017 debut, bucking lukewarm reviews to become ubiquitous through 2018, spurring plans for a sequel that were only boosted by Jackman’s Showman-song-heavy arena tour. It’s unclear if the sequel—which, like the original, would likely star the Deadpool & Wolverine frontman as an extremely soft-pedaled P.T. Barnum—is still in play, but now there’s another Showman plan afoot. The movie will be adapted into a live theater spectacle, Disney announced Friday, a staged musical that is likely Broadway-bound.
The news came at D23, a three-day event for fans of everything Disney (which includes the universes of Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and more). At a Friday panel on the entertainment monolith’s musical theater plans, after announcements of new Frozen stage show dates and a West End adaptation of the company’s animated Hercules film, “the iconic howl from the 2017 movie musical sounded across the arena,” Variety reports.
That howl, “Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for,” kicked off a surprise rendition of “The Greatest Show,” performed by singers led by Ryan Vasquez in the Hugh Jackman role. Under a sign that reads “The Greatest Showman: The New Musical,” the cast of five teased the upcoming show, a video posted to social media reveals.
The staged adaption of the film will be produced by the Disney Theatrical division, the Hollywood Reporter notes. Typically, stage shows produced by that division end up on Broadway: past productions include the currently running Aladdin and The Lion King adaptations, as well as 2018’s Frozen show.
Dates or a destination for the Showman show were not revealed on Friday, but Page Six appears to have a clue, reporting Saturday that the production will land first in the southwest England town of Bristol “in early 2026” and then will “play the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London.”
Madonna hasn’t been shy about wanting her music catalogue to be appreciated by “the next generation.” In a 2022 interview with Variety, she even stated as much explicitly: “I’m just looking for interesting, fun ways to rerelease my catalogue and introduce my music to a new generation.” And yes, that was the same interview during which she also added that she had no intention of selling her back catalogue to anyone (as a slew of other “legacy artists” have done of late) because, as she remarked, “Ownership is everything” (an aphorism that has decidedly neoliberal overtones—something Taylor Swift can obviously get on board with).
As for funneling her music into the ears of a younger generation, it goes without saying that she’s been a fairly noticeable TikTok proponent, engaging with the various trends and challenges of the moment. In 2022, Madonna even experienced a viral blip on the app with, of all things, an unreleased demo called “Back That Up to the Beat” (which was initially composed during her Hard Candy era before making it onto 2019’s Madame X as a bonus track). But her most “interesting” method of reaching a new generation, of late, has been to license “Like A Prayer” for use in Deadpool & Wolverine, the third installment in the Deadpool series of films starring Ryan Reynolds.
In terms of how that particular single came to be such “a thing” for the movie, Reynolds explained during an interview for Live with Kelly and Mark, “‘Like A Prayer’ has been stuck in my head for six years with respect to this movie, and its application—how we use ‘Like A Prayer’ in the movie is exactly what I’d been thinking about for six years. The problem [was], like, I put it in the script, I built stuff around it and I hadn’t yet asked for permission to use it.” In another interview discussing the song’s use, Reynolds added, “It was a big deal to ask for, and certainly a bigger deal to use it. We went over and met with her and showed her how it was being used and where and why.” (Somehow, one doubts that Harmony Korine did the same for a scene in 1997’s Gummo.)
But, more than anything, it was “one of her sons” (though it’s unclear if that means Rocco Ritchie or David Banda) being a fan of Deadpool that incited Madonna to take the plunge on licensing such a timeless, beautiful song for a Marvel movie. As Kayla Schaefer (Megan Stalter) on Hacks puts it in season three, “Executives love listening to their kids.” In this case, that executive is Madonna, the CEO of all things Queen of Pop-related. And yet, taking advice from others on what to do with her image and work hasn’t always gone according to plan (think: her strong affiliation with the Bored Ape Yacht Club).
In this scenario, the consequence of “lending” “Like A Prayer” to such a specific and highly commercial cause is twofold. On the one hand, Madonna has achieved her aim of infecting the minds of a younger generation as that “Like A Prayer” scene makes the rounds on TikTok. On the other, now little ignorant assholes are referring to the track as “the song from Deadpool,” not seeming to comprehend how reductive and disrespectful it is to the true majesty of the work. Maybe Madonna didn’t totally account for how “giving” the song to Reynolds would result in it being subsequently forever associated with 1) a fight scene where Deadpool and Wolverine take on a wide range of other Deadpools and 2) a scene where Hugh Jackman’s abs are prominently focused on as the duo works to prevent the Time Ripper from destroying all timelines.
Neither scene, of course, really suits the lyrics of “Like A Prayer,” apart from, one supposes, “I can feel your power.” But maybe, beyond that, Reynolds was going for a certain “tone,” and “Like A Prayer” fit the bill more than anything else he could come up with. Even though, in truth, there are many other Madonna songs that might have better embodied the vibe, including “Frozen,” “4 Minutes” and “Give It 2 Me.” Alas, Madonna’s “later” work is rarely as lauded or appreciated as the material she released before the mid-nineties. And when it comes to Marvel movies, choosing the song with the most wide-ranging appeal is the name of the game. Hence, using one of her biggest hits from, what else, the eighties.
Evidently wanting to get their mileage out of shelling out to license the track, Reynolds as Deadpool even makes a comment about it after emerging from his death brush with Wolverine to inform everyone, “You put a Deadpool and a Wolverine together, make ‘em hold hands while listening to Madonna: indestructible, motherfucker.” Sort of like Madonna herself, who has continuously “reanimated” (a.k.a. reinvented) during every decade of her career to show that her ability to adapt to each new era (whether that means embracing certain technology, apps or, now, film franchises) itself informs her own eras—which then inform pop culture itself. And the cycle goes on and on…presumably in every timeline.
The major drawback of that, however, is that, as she angles to get her back catalogue into the ears of new listeners (perhaps aware that only the true die-hards are more interested in her releasing new music), she is left with little choice but to dilute the integrity of the original product. And that’s a big digression for someone who once defiantly told her father when he asked of her Blond Ambition Tour, “Can’t you tone it down a bit?”: “No, because that would be compromising my artistic integrity.” This being precisely what Madonna has done (though not for the first time) in opting to have “Like A Prayer” so prominently featured in Deadpool & Wolverine. But maybe it’s better to have the song remembered for being in the latter than so prominently used in the recent fail that was The Idol.
And, on the note of “failure,” it’s a good thing, for Madonna’s sake, that Deadpool & Wolverine has surpassed the box office receipts of the first two movies—lest Madonna somehow get blamed for being “box office kryptonite” (though that’s technically a DC word) even when she’s not actually in the movie.
Hugh Jackman shared a sweet story about his reunion with Ke Huy Quan 24 years after the two worked together on X-Men, which introduced Jackman’s Wolverine.
The actor posted a photo of him and Quan at Kevin Feige’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony with a voiceover, recounting what it was like for the two of them to see each other again for the first time in over two decades.
“One of the things about the movie being released is so many moments are happening that are making me appreciate the 25 years that I’ve been playing Wolverine,” the Les Misérables star said about Deadpool & Wolverine. “I saw Ke Huy Quan — and of course, he won an Oscar recently, and his story is incredible, and his career is incredible — and we saw each other, and we embraced because we worked together on X-Men.”
Jackman explained the Loki actor was on the stunt team of the 2000 film, and he was incredible. “That’s really where I learned a lot, a lot about how to do action movies, and how to do stunts, and it was just really cool to see him again and to reconnect,” the Logan star said.
Quan also posted about their reunion all these years later on his social media, sharing one of his now-famous selfies with Jackman. He began the caption by saying that he saw Deadpool & Wolverine, and it was “awesome.”
“Ran into Hugh Jackman recently,” he continued. “The last time I saw him was 24 yrs ago on the set of X-men when he first trained as Wolverine. He is just as nice as I remembered. Huge congratulations to @thehughjackman @vancityreynolds and the entire Deadpool team on a record opening. Bravo.”
It wasn’t until about 10 a.m. PT on Saturday that Disney’s distribution team realized that the near-impossible was within reach: Deadpool & Wolverine was going to cross the $200 million mark in its domestic opening, an unimaginable feat for an R-rated pic. Case in point: the biggest R-rated opening until now was the $133.7 million collected by the first Deadpool in 2016.
By Sunday morning, the news was official. The Marvel Studios movie opened to an estimated $205 million, the eighth-biggest debut of all time among any film and by far the biggest launch for an R-rated film, not adjusted for inflation. The third outing in Ryan Reynolds‘ irreverent superhero franchise smashed numerous other records both domestically and overseas, where it launched to $233.3 million for a global start of $438.3, the biggest debut since Avatar: The Way of the Water in December 2022.
Reynolds has just returned home from a dizzying worldwide tour for the film with BFFs Shawn Levy, who directed Deadpool & Wolverine, and co-star Hugh Jackman. He conversed with The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday about his reaction to the opening, which exceeded all expectations. Most thought it could only get to $175 million to $180 million because of the rating, although one Disney insider says the studio was aware it had a shot at hitting $200 million — provided it got the required foot traffic.
Reynolds has his own theory about its success. “Disney probably doesn’t want me to frame it this way, but I’ve always thought of Deadpool & Wolverine as the first four-quadrant, R-rated film,” Reynolds tells THR. “Yes, it’s rated R, but we set out to make a movie with enough laughs, action and heart to appeal to everyone, whether you’re a comic book movie fan or not.”
There’s reason Disney and others may bristle at labeling it a four-quadrant film, which generally is reserved for movies that work equally for males and females over and under 25. Afterall, it is perhaps the most violent and bloody Deadpool movie yet.
Still, here’s evidence to back up Reynolds’ theory that it’s playing to a far more broad audience than the usual MCU movie, even if it’s skewing male by anywhere from 60 to 63 percent.
So far, 13.6 million people have bought tickets to see it, on par with last year’s Barbie, which was rated PG-13, according to Steve Buck’s leading research firm EntTelligence. That’s the most foot traffic ever for an R-rated movie.
More tellingly, 11 percent of the audience was under 17. R-rated films typically only have 5 percent, according to Buck’s outfit. At the same time, it should be noted that 21 percent of the audience for Marvel’s last five films, all rated PG-13, were under the age of 17, according to an unweighted analysis by EntTelligence.
Deadpool & Wolverine showed strength across all age groups — again, to Reynolds’ point — and not just the 18 to 34 crowd, which can make up as much as 60 to 70 percent of a superhero film’s opening weekend.
According to Entelligence, those between ages 18 and 25 made up 21 percent of ticket buyers; 28 percent were between 26 and 35; 33 percent were between 36 and 45; 12 percent were between 44 and 60; and 5 percent were 55 and older. PostTrack, another leading exit-polling service, had slightly different percentage breakdowns, but not by much. Other stats: 81 percent of the audience was non-family, 13 percent were family groups, and 6 percent were teenagers.
“Once thought of as a sure-fire way to limit potential box office, the R rating, when properly applied, can be the key to unlocking massive box office, and this has proven to be the secret sauce for the Deadpool franchise,” says chief Comscore box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “The creative freedom afforded by the less restrictive rating has enabled filmmakers to push the envelope and, particularly in the case of Deadpool & Wolverine, can deliver the kind of edgy, intense, profanity-filled comedy action that modern audiences are fired up to see on the big screen.”
The R rating afforded Reynolds the creative freedom needed to fulfill his vision. “When I saw rated-R movies when I was a kid, they left a huge impression on me because I didn’t feel like people were pulling punches, and it’s been a huge inspiration to so many of the things that I look to make now,” Reynolds recently told The New York Times.
“I’m not saying that other people should do this, but my 9-year-old watched the movie with me and my mom, who’s in her late 70s, and it was just one of the best moments of this whole experience for me,” Reynolds continued in the NYT piece. “Both of them were laughing their guts out, were feeling the emotion where I most desperately hoped people would be.”
If Disney is wary of declaring the new Deadpool film an all-audience film — aka, a four-quadrant film — it’s understandable considering it is the first R-rated film ever released by the studio. When Kevin Feige‘s Marvel Studios got its hands on the franchise after Disney absorbed 20th Century Fox, Disney chief Bob Iger went out of his way to assure audiences that Deadpool would retain its R-rating legacy.
For Reynolds, it’s been a long journey since Deadpool 2 was released by Fox in 2018, between the Disney-Fox merger, the pandemic and then the strikes, which shut down production for months. The movie, in fact, is replete with references to the Fox-Marvel handover, and its implications.
“I’ve been in some form of writing, producing, performing, editing and marketing of Deadpool & Wolverine for three years. I’d say it’s hard work, but it’s closer to obsession. The privilege and honor of making a movie with two of my closest friends in Shawn Levy and Hugh Jackman is never lost on me,” Reynolds tells THR. “Neither is the obscene talent and competence of a ruthlessly devoted post-production team.”
Among additional records domestically, the film is the top opening ever for Reynolds, Levy and Jackman and the fifth-biggest superhero launch. It’s also the biggest July opening of all time, the biggest opening of 2024 so far and Marvel Studios’ biggest launch since Spider-Man: No Way Home in December 2021.
Levy and Reynolds co-wrote the script with veteran Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, along with writer Zeb Wells. Reynolds, who is himself a master marketer, is also giving a tip of his hat to the team at Disney. The star tells THR: “Witnessing the prowess of Marvel/Disney’s promotional machine under Kevin Feige, Lou D’Esposito and Asad Ayaz was a learning experience I’ll never forget. I feel like I’ve waited my whole life to make this movie, and the outcome is icing on an already incredible cake.”
new video loaded: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ | Anatomy of a Scene
transcript
transcript
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ | Anatomy of a Scene
The director Shawn Levy narrates a sequence from his film starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.
I’m Shawn Levy, the director, co-writer and co-producer of “Deadpool & Wolverine.” “So what made you finally wear an honest-to-God costume?” This scene happens at the midpoint of the film where Deadpool and Wolverine, this unlikely duo, are on this quest, and they come across an incongruous diner in the middle of this void landscape. And it’s really the first meaty dialogue scene between the two. This has always been one of Ryan’s and my favorite scenes from the moment we wrote it because it puts two iconic anti-heroes in this incredibly generic trope of the Americana road movie. So the mismatch of these visuals two superheroes sitting in a booth in a ‘50s diner. That was a thrill. “Want to talk about what’s haunting you or should we wait for a third act flashback? “Uhh, Go [muted] yourself.” As the scene evolves, What we reveal here in something of a monologue … “In my world, you’re uh, [clears throat] You’re well regarded.” … is he’s a fan. He is somewhat reverential and in fact envious of the mythic status of the Wolverine. It’s a quieter scene than we’re used to. It’s a longer dramatic monologue than I think Wade Wilson has ever done. “My girlfriend left me and — “You had a girlfriend?” “Yeah. Vanessa. When we met, she was a dancer. We had a whole life.” And it was a joy for Ryan and I to write because this film is as funny, I hope, as people expect and as action packed, but we were really aspiring to make it genuinely warm hearted and meatier on a character-rooted emotional basis than maybe people expect out of a “Deadpool” movie. And I think the emotionality of the film may very well prove to be its most subversive element.
Recent episodes in Anatomy of a Scene
Film directors walk viewers through one scene of their movies, showing the magic, motives and the mistakes from behind the camera.
Film directors walk viewers through one scene of their movies, showing the magic, motives and the mistakes from behind the camera.
As Deadpool & Wolverine points out, Hugh Jackman’s Logan is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe at kind of a low point. But yet again, our Marvel Jesus is here to make us laugh and feel like we are so back. Happy to report that Deadpool & Wolverine rules, actually.
Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) needs to find a purpose, and he does so by torturing Wolverine at every turn—which isn’t that surprising; it IS a Deadpool movie. But where the third installment stands out is in its ability to bring Wade’s humanity and openness to light. He will always have a snarky one liner, but buried in that is a man who deeply cares about people and wants to protect them.
It has all the big action sequences fans want, Deadpool and Wolverine just going to town on each other because they can and neither of them will die from it, but they use that to their advantage. My favorite shot in the whole movie might just be one that, of course, turns all of this into inuendo.
As is always the case with Wade, his story centers around Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), but this time it’s different. He isn’t desperately trying to get her back, but is instead trying to better himself for once—and doing it with Logan at his side makes it an exciting journey for the audience to go on.
There are some pacing issues, and I found myself asking why we were still doing some things while barely scratching the surface of others, but it overall feels like the Deadpool movies we all know and love, and that’s what we wanted!
Oh my surprises!
The biggest thing I can say about this movie that isn’t going to spoil you is that you simply need to see it ASAP if you don’t to be spoiled by anything. There is a LOT that happens in the film’s slightly over two-hour runtime, and every moment had me laughing out loud, surprised they went there.
But what works is that Deadpool & Wolverine isn’t just about the cameos. Much like the scene when Wade sees the X-Men in Deadpool 2, it all helps to serve as Wade Wilson’s wall-breaking gaze into things, while the story is still his. While yes, there are more than ever before, they’re still rooted in Wilson’s journey.
They don’t take away from what Logan and Wade have to do, and it still feels genuine seeing these two characters coming together to try to save the world one unhinged joke at a time.
Hugh Jackman is so back
Jackman’s take on Wolverine is one that helped redefine the character. Seeing him back (and in the yellow suit) surprisingly means a lot. I didn’t really ever need him to be this version of Logan, but it works and brings a new Logan into the mix.
After Logan, I didn’t think I needed to see Jackman in an X-Men movie again. Yet, it really works to make us care about this version of Logan. And yes, it’s nice seeing his arms out ready to fight at any given moment.
It’s fun and very Deadpool
I think many people wanted this movie to solve the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s problems. I don’t think it aimed to do that, nor do I think it does. What this movie does is tie a nice bow on what the Fox movies did for superheroes. It is a love letter to the studio, faults and all.
This could have been another movie that ruined what we love about Deadpool movies to make it fit in with the MCU, but instead, we got to see what a Wade Wilson movie under the MCU umbrella would look like done right.
I don’t think it is the messiah people want it to be, and that’s a good thing. It is a movie about Deadpool and Wolverine, just as it should be.
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Deadpool & Wolverinehits theaters in a few weeks, and it’s been a bit of a longer than expected wait for Wade Wilson to come back in theaters. If you haven’t seen the previous movies in a minute, or just want to watch Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman do some cut back and forth banter, they’ve got you covered.
As part of Entertainment Weekly’s cover story on the film, the two actors sat down to recap the major events of the first two Deadpool movies, and also X-Men Origins: Wolverine. That last one briefly opens the recap, and mostly exists so the two can throw some shade at the film and how it ultimately led to Reynolds reprising his short role to begin with. (“We don’t like to talk about this one too much,” says Jackman early on, followed later by Reynolds saying the movie wasn’t either of their fault.) Throughout the Deadpool sections, there’s plenty of laughs to be had about the makeup job to play Wade’s disfigured face, the “lots of affordable” X-Men throughout the franchise, and Deadpool 2’s meta post-credit gags.
If you’ve had fun watching the two’s rapport grow since they first revealed Jackman would be a part of Deadpool’s third movie, you’re gonna get some fun out of the recap. The pair have been all over the marketing for Deadpool & Wolverine, and it’s fun to watch them get some jabs at each other, be confused by the earlier movies, and also take some shots at their own careers. (When talking about Reynolds murdering himself at the end of Deadpool 2 as “housekeeping” on Fox’s dime, Jackman acknowledges that he may need a cleaner himself.) Sadly, there’s no recap of Logan, which makes sense since this is an alternate version, but it would’ve been fun watching them try explaining movies’ wonky-ass timeline.
Deadpool & Wolverine arrives in theaters on July 26. All the X-Men movies can be watched on Disney+, and if you don’t have that, just wait two weeks for FX to marathon the first two Deadpool movies (and probably Origins and Logan too).
