Good news for all Ryan Coogler fans: The Sinners director is bringing back a beloved TV show. Hulu has officially green lit a pilot of Coogler’s X-Files reboot, a project three years in the making, Deadline reports. Coogler has a five-year exclusive television deal with Disney, Hulu’s parent company.
Coogler is directing and writing the pilot episode, with Jennifer Yale coming on as showrunner. She previously held the role on The Copenhagen Test. Actress Danielle Deadwyler, known for roles in Till and The Harder They Fall, has signed on as co-lead.
The show will follow the original storyline of two FBI agents who bond as they work on cases around paranormal and unexplained phenomena. No confirmation has come over whether former stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny will have any role in the reboot.
The news came on Sunday, the same day Coogler won the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay for Sinners. Coogler made history this year with a record 16 Oscar nominations for Sinners, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture. Coogler also wrote and directed Creed, Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Gracie Abrams and Paul Mescal. Getty Images for BAFTA
After three awards shows, all in Los Angeles, Hollywood’s A-list is heading across the pond. Yes, it’s time for the BAFTAs, the annual ceremony that honors the best in British and international cinema. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the BAFTAs are once again taking place at Royal Festival Hall in London’s Southbank Centre tonight, Feb. 22, but with a new host. This year, Alan Cumming is taking over duties from David Tennant, who hosted the ceremony for the past two years.
Arkapaw and I soon discover that we grew up in neighboring towns in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was born in Oxnard, but moved north with her mother (who is of Filipina descent) when she was two years old. While studying art history at Loyola Marymount University, she took an elective course in film, and felt drawn to it. But she couldn’t find any evidence of a successful female cinematographer—until she stumbled upon Ellen Kuras, the DP of Blow. “There was one,” Arkapaw says. “So I thought, Oh, if there’s one, there can be more.”
After studying at the American Film Institute, she worked on music videos for artists like Haim, Solange Knowles, and Janelle Monáe, and made her first major feature, Palo Alto, with Coppola. She almost met with Coogler when he was assembling his 2015 sports drama Creed, but at the time, “the studio didn’t think I had enough credits. I wasn’t as advanced as they would’ve liked,” she says.
That had changed by the time Coogler needed a cinematographer for the Black Panther sequel—and Arkapaw already had a relationship with Marvel after working on its series Loki. She and Coogler, another Northern California native, “hit it off. I think this Bay Area thing was special; it’s like I knew him already,” she says.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was an ambitious blockbuster, and the biggest film Arkapaw had ever worked on. Sinners would come with a new set of challenges. Arkapaw had to navigate the technical aspects of having one actor (Michael B. Jordan) play two characters who often interacted with each other. The opening scene of Sinners shows how she managed it without making the casting a distracting gimmick: The brothers are leaning against a car and pass a cigarette between them. It’s a simple but effective moment that allows the viewer to forget one man is playing both characters. Arkapaw says Coogler had initially envisioned the scene as showing both brothers at once. But later, “I presented an idea of moving that camera around. It made everything harder,” she says.
Arkapaw’s greatest test came when Coogler decided he wanted Sinners to be the first movie to shoot entirely on two different large formats: Ultra Panavision 70 and IMAX. She and her team had to familiarize themselves with equipment and cameras they’d never used before. “There’s a lot of technical and logistical stuff, and you want to do a good job,” she says. “But I thrive in that kind of pressurized situation.”
Michael B. Jordan admits he’s struggling to find the words right now. The 38-year-old is already considered a veteran of this industry, having broken out on beloved ’00s TV shows like The Wire and Friday Night Lights and gone on to topline franchise blockbusters like Creed. So today marks a true milestone, earning his first career Oscar nomination for his deft, layered dual performance in Sinners.
“I’ve been in this industry for a long time. I’ve admired and seen the Academy and the other actors in the movies and filmmakers that I’ve looked up to and been inspired by my whole life,” Jordan tells The Hollywood Reporter. “To be in those conversations and in that company is a solidifying feeling.”
But that’s only where the celebration can start today. Jordan’s is one of 16 nominations for Sinners — the most any movie has received in Oscars history. The filmmaker Ryan Coogler, with whom Jordan has been regularly collaborating for over a decade, is personally nominated for his directing, writing and producing (for best picture). It’s a staggering showing, which Jordan tells The Hollywood Reporter is a true affirmation. Over the phone at various points, he laughs in disbelief, cheers loudly and stops himself a few times, as the emotion catches up to him.
Sinners
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
How has the morning been?
I did not get up at 5:30. Man, I slept. I’m in the edit right now [on The Thomas Crown Affair], so I kind of wanted to just kind of wake up to whatever I was going to wake up to — and that was a lot of love and affection. To be acknowledged in this way, it is truly an honor. It is crazy.
How do you hear the fact that this is the most nominated movie of all time?
Honestly still digesting it all. It’s really a testament to the film as a whole and all the pieces involved and the people that went to go see this movie and watched this film. It meant something to them and they felt something — to see how it resonated throughout the year with people, man. For all of these pieces to be singled out and acknowledged and honored with the nomination. it’s something that’s really hard to put into words right now.
Who was your first phone call? Ryan?
My mom was my first call. It was great. A lot of tears and the reason why I’m even in this industry and why I’m acting at all — why that was even an idea. To talk to the woman who started it all first meant the world.
I’m sure Ryan is doing his phone calls right now, so we missed each other. (Laughs.) We called each other back and forth, so I’m going to connect with him pretty soon too.
This is your first personal nomination, and that’s true for your costars as well: Wunmi Mosaku and Delroy Lindo.
(Cheering) Woo! Yeah, so happy for Delroy, man. So happy for Wunmi. I’m so incredibly happy for Coog and everybody else, but Delroy, Wunmi — I couldn’t be happier for them.
This is a year where you’re in great company — I wonder how you look at the slate of nominees and, particularly at this moment for the industry, what strikes you about the group?
It’s actually a really, really great year as far as people bouncing back to theaters post-pandemic. I think these numbers and the turnout for these movies has been telling that the artists, when given the opportunity and the chance and the space and the support, can deliver on cinematic experiences that bring people back to the cinema. Just to be a part of that movement to help add to that contribution feels great.
How do you take stock of Sinners’ trajectory, getting to this point?
Listen, Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy and Warner Brothers and [David] Zaslav supported Coog’s vision and took a swing with us in a big way. Having that pay off? The journey of it has been a fierce and swift one. You focus on building that house and people will come.
Any celebration plans today?
Ah man, I’m going right to the edit. (Laughs.) I’m on my way right now. I’m getting ready. I’ll take some time tonight to just really reflect. I mean, I don’t even know. There will be signs though. There will be signs of celebration.
After the heartbreaking loss of Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverbecame more than just a film. It became a cathartic celebration of life, allowing everyone who watched it to face pain and grief in their own unique ways. But, according to writer-director Ryan Coogler, the original version of the movie with Boseman at the center would’ve been equally as powerful, just in a whole different way.
Speaking on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Coogler detailed specifically what his original script for Black Panther 2 would’ve been about, and it sounds absolutely incredible. “I loved that script, bro,” Coogler said. “I put so much into that version of the movie because I felt like I had gotten to know Chadwick as a performer.”
So what was it about exactly? “The big thing about the script was that it was this thing called the Ritual of Eight,” Coogler said. “When a prince is eight years old, he has to go spend eight days in the bush with his father. Amongst those eight days, they have to go into the bush without any tools. And the prince has to listen and do everything that’s asked of him by his father, but the rule is, for those eight days, the prince can ask the father any question. And the father has to answer.”
“So during the course of those eight days, Namor launches an attack,” Coogler continued. “So that was what the movie was. He had to deal with somebody, and it was a different version of Namor in that script, but he had to deal with someone who was, like, insanely dangerous. But, because of this ritual, his son had to be joined at his hip the whole time. So while he was engaging in negotiations and fights, his son had to be right there, or else they’d have to violate this ritual, which had never been broken.”
Coogler also revealed that when he finished that version of the script, he sent it to Boseman to read, but he was too sick to do so. He passed sometime after, and for a while some people thought the movie would never happen. That was until Coogler then took the tragic loss of Boseman and put it right at the heart of the new film, making it about how Wakanda and its people dealt with the loss of their king. It went on to be a huge hit, and Coogler is currently working on a third film, expected to be released in 2028. Oh, and he made a small film called Sinners in between.
But fans will always think about how things would’ve been different if Boseman were still with us, and now, finally, we know Coogler had a completely different, equally brilliant smash on his hands. You can watch Coogler talk about Black Panther 2 in the video below. Rewind a few minutes to hear all of the Black Panther talk, and two movies ahead for more on Black Panther 3.
(CNN) — Friends, family and fans gathered Thursday to honor the late Chadwick Boseman receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.
Thursday was declared “Chadwick Boseman Day” in Hollywood, and his “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” costar Viola Davis, his “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler and Boseman’s widow Taylor Simone Ledward Boseman spoke during the emotional ceremony.
“I have to believe that Chadwick is still alive,” Davis said. “I can’t use the word ‘gone’ or ‘death’ really when thinking about him.”
Davis noted that they worked on their Oscar-winning movie “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” just before he passed, and said Boseman “was always trying to engage me on the set” talking about the “cap of success” and having the types of conversations that she believes people have when they know they “possibly are transitioning.”
The late actor, she said in her tribute, was a “mighty mighty elixir that sort of stirred up the alchemy that we’re all in search of, which is meaning.”
“I celebrate him today. And I say to him, I hope all the angels in heaven just sang him to a beautiful rest,” Davis said. “And I thank him for what he left behind in me, which is a burning ember that always guides me to a higher meaning of my work and my purpose.”
“This star, as beautiful as it is on the Walk of Fame, shines a whole lot less brighter than Chadwick is in heaven,” she concluded her speech.
Coogler, Boseman’s friend who directed him in the “Black Panther” Marvel film, asked for attendees’ understanding as he emotionally talked about the late star.
“When I think of Chadwick Boseman I think of three things: leadership, teaching and generosity,” Coogler said. “He was an incredible leader.”
The famed “Sinners” director said Boseman was “ageless,” and joked he didn’t know his age until he went to one of his birthday parties. He also told a story about Boseman sneaking past stars like Sylvestor Stallone, Michael B. Jordan (who was present at Thursday’s ceremony) and others to get into Coogler’s hotel room during a big press tour for the 2015 film “Creed.”
Boseman, Coogler said, wanted to meet with him to talk about working together on “Black Panther” and managed to evade even the press that were were present.
“I was so impressed by that and I asked him how he got past everybody and he smiled and said, ‘That was the Panther,’” Coogler said, chuckling.
Boseman’s wife was the last to take the podium, and had a heartfelt message for her late husband.
“Chad, today we recognize a lifetime of artistry. We recognize your skill and your devotion and we cement your legacy as a hero and icon,” she said. “You lived with honor and you walked in truth. You were as brilliant as you were beautiful and as courageous as you were kind. We love you, we miss you and we thank you.”
She then invited her husband’s brothers, Derrick and Kevin Boseman, to help with the unveiling of the star.
In addition to portraying T’Challa in “Black Panther” and other Marvel movies as well as his Academy Award-nominated turn in Netflix’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Boseman had a robust film and television career, and portrayed Thurgood Marshall, James Brown and Jackie Robinson on film before his untimely passing.
We’ll be going back to the world of Wakanda soon enough, as Ryan Coogler has announced Black Panther 3 as his next project.
During a panel for Sinners at Deadline’s Contenders Film event, the writer/director confirmed the threequel is “the next movie” on his schedule. “If it was anybody but you, I would say, ‘I can neither confirm nor deny.’ But we’re working on it hard.”
It’s never been a question of if Coogler would go back to Black Panther, but when: Marvel’s got quite a few heroes waiting on their sequels and have been MIA for a minute. Even so, the two Panther movies have done pretty well at the box office, and Shuri, M’Baku, and Namor are locked in for Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. A third film was all but a given, especially after last November when Denzel Washington teased Coogler was eyeing him for a mystery role, something the director later confirmed.
Marvel previously laid some flags for unannounced MCU movies on its incoming schedule spanning the next few years, particularly four movies expected to land in 2028. We’ll see where Black Panther 3 ends up on the slate, and how it’ll be affected by whatever the Wakandans get mixed up in during Doomsday and Secret Wars. Until then, the first two films and the recent Eyes of Wakandaanimated miniseries are there to watch over on Disney+. But if you’d like some more Coogler, there’s always Sinnersand his upcoming take on The X-Files.
Directors are bringing laughs, tears — and an international lens.
For decades, awards season conversations about diversity have circled the same stage: the faces in front of the camera. Each Oscar cycle elicits scrutiny of who is — or isn’t — nominated in the acting categories. This year, the most vital shift in cinematic recognition is occurring behind the lens.
The best director race could present one of the most globally inclusive, stylistically eclectic and generationally diverse lineups in modern Academy history.
This isn’t the industry’s first attempt at inclusion. The 2010s belonged to a trio of Latino auteurs — Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo del Toro — who collectively claimed five directing statuettes between 2013 and 2018. Yet this year’s field suggests something more democratic and less concentrated in a single narrative.
Still, one figure looms large: eight-time nominee Paul Thomas Anderson brings his meticulous eye to the Civil War epic “One Battle After Another,” which may clinch him a long-elusive win.
“It’s going to take something significant to take down the narrative that’s building around PTA,” a veteran studio publicist says. “Show the voters what it’s like to finally have the first Black directing winner, like Ryan Coogler, or the first woman to win twice — who was also the first woman of color to win before. How great would that feel?”
Chloé Zhao — the first woman of color to win best director for “Nomadland” — returns with the literary adaptation “Hamnet.” And Coogler expands his genre-defying vision with the horror-inflected “Sinners.”
Several women are well positioned as contenders. Along with Zhao, Kathryn Bigelow — the first woman to win best director — reemerges with the nuclear-war thriller “A House of Dynamite.” Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania’s harrowing “The Voice of Hind Rajab” could make her the first Arab woman nominated for directing. Norwegian Mona Fastvold also enters the conversation with the Shaker musical “The Testament of Ann Lee.”
Other international auteurs could join a promising slate: Iranian dissident Jafar Panahi’s revenge tale “It Was Just an Accident,” Brazilian provocateur Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent” and South Korean master Park Chan-wook’s dramedy “No Other Choice” — all might sneak in.
Genre variety is another hallmark of the race. Beyond “Sinners,” James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” brings blockbuster spectacle, while Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked: For Good” proves musicals can be prestige contenders. Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia” and Del Toro’s “Frankenstein” represent the kind of formally daring work to which the Academy once seemed allergic.
Then there’s the generational shift. Josh Safdie aims to make a splash with the manic comedy “Marty Supreme” — and an Oscar winner out of Timothée Chalamet.
“The field is tough. It’s one of those years where I wish there were 10 director spots,” says an awards strategist.
While expanding the field isn’t an option, what distinguishes this moment is its refusal to tokenize. This isn’t one woman, one director of color, one international filmmaker filling designated slots. It’s a genuine proliferation of perspectives that underscores cinema’s global nature — and the arbitrary boundaries that have long defined an “Oscar movie.”
Director of photography Lukasz Zal, director Chloé Zhao and actors Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal on the set of their film HAMNET, a Focus Features release
Agata Grzybowska
*** = PREDICTED WINNER (All predicted nominees below are in alphabetical order)
Best Picture “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (20th Century Studios) “Frankenstein” (Netflix) “Hamnet” (Focus Features) “It Was Just an Accident” (Neon) “Jay Kelly” (Netflix) “Marty Supreme” (A24) “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) *** “Sentimental Value” (Neon) “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures)
Director Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) *** Jon M. Chu, “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) Ryan Coogler, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident” (Neon) Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet” (Focus Features)
Actor Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme” (A24) Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics) *** Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent” (Neon)
Supporting Actor Benicio Del Toro, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein” (Netflix) Paul Mescal, “Hamnet” (Focus Features) Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value” (Neon) ***
Supporting Actress Elle Fanning, “Sentimental Value” (Neon) Ariana Grande, “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) *** Regina Hall, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) Gwyneth Paltrow, “Marty Supreme” (A24) Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
Original Screenplay “Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics) — Robert Kaplow “Jay Kelly” (Netflix) — Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer “Marty Supreme” (A24) — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie “Sentimental Value” (Neon) — Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Ryan Coogler ***
Adapted Screenplay “Bugonia” (Focus Features) — Will Tracy “Hamnet” (Focus Features) — Chloé Zhao *** “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) — Paul Thomas Anderson “Train Dreams” (Netflix) — Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” (Netflix) — Rian Johnson
Casting “Bugonia” (Focus Features) — Jennifer Venditti “Hamnet” (Focus Features) — Nina Gold “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) — Cassandra Kulukundis “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Francine Maisler *** “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) — Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey
Animated Feature “Arco” (Neon) “KPop Demon Hunters” (Netflix) “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” (GKids) “Ne Zha 2” (A24) “Zootopia 2” (Walt Disney Pictures) ***
Production Design “Frankenstein” (Netflix) *** “Hamnet” (Focus Features) “Marty Supreme” (A24) “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures)
Film Editing “F1” (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.) “Hamnet” (Focus Features) “Marty Supreme” (A24) “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) *** “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
Makeup and Hairstyling “Frankenstein” (Netflix) *** “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) “The Smashing Machine” (A24) “Weapons” (Warner Bros.) “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures)
Sound “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (20th Century Studios) “F1” (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.) “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures) ***
Visual Effects “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (20th Century Studios) *** “F1” (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.) “Frankenstein” (Netflix) “Superman” (Warner Bros.) “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures)
Original Score “Frankenstein” (Netflix) — Alexandre Desplat “Hamnet” (Focus Features) — Max Richter “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) — Jonny Greenwood “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) — Ludwig Göransson *** “The Testament of Ann Lee” (Searchlight Pictures) — Daniel Blumberg
Original Song “Dream as One” from “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (20th Century Studios) “Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless” (Greenwich Entertainment) “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” (Netflix) *** “I Lied to You” from “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) “Clothed by the Sun” from “The Testament of Ann Lee” (Searchlight Pictures)
Documentary Feature “Come See Me in the Good Light” (Apple Original Films) “The Perfect Neighbor” (Netflix) *** “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk” (Kino Lorber) “The Tale of Silyan” (National Geographic Documentary Films) “2000 Meters to Andriivka” (PBS)
International Feature “It Was Just an Accident” from France (Neon) “The Secret Agent” from Brazil (Neon) “Sirāt” from Spain (Neon) “Sentimental Value” from Norway (Neon) *** “The Voice of Hind Rajab” from Tunisia (Willa)
Top 5 projected Oscar nomination leaders (films): “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” (13); “Hamnet” (11); “Wicked: For Good” (10); “Frankenstein” (8); “Marty Supreme” and “Sentimental Value” (6)
Top 5 projected Oscar nomination leaders (studios): Warner Bros. (31); Netflix (16); Focus Features (15); Neon (13); A24 (8)
After months of loud whispers about a secret Ryan Coogler-Michael B. Jordan vampire epic, Warner Bros. dropped the long-awaited trailer for SINNERS that delivered genre-elevating Horror Noire from Hollywood’s most dynamic actor-director duo (not named Denzel and Spike).
In a surprise link-up posted on social media, the prolific pair celebrated their fifth big screen collab in the bromantic video that included a sliver of SINNERS BTS footage toward the very end.
With friendship breakups seemingly at an all-time high, it’s nice to see MBLJ and Coogler continue to make history together.
Source: Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for MGM
In SINNERS, twin brothers (played by Jordan) return to their hometown to start over after leaving their troubled lives behind only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. Whew!
Check out the intriguing trailer below:
In the trailer, Jordan’s character says he’s been all over this world and never seen demons, ghosts or magic… ’til now. What’s never mentioned in the trailer, though, are vampires who we suspect are being saved for a big reveal in the official trailer closer to the film’s release next year.
Someone better call that girl who broke her braces looking at Michael B. Jordan in Black Panther because, uhhhhhh. pic.twitter.com/IZ8bBopuCE
Written and directed by Oscar-deserving Coogler, the highly anticipated film stars Jordan in a dual role, Oscar-nominee Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller and Delroy Lindo who was previously attached to Marvel’s troubled Blade movie.
Will you be seated for SINNERS slithering its way into theaters March 7, 2025? Do you think one of the MBJ twins is a vampire in the film? Tell us down below and peep the social media hysteria over the SINNERS teaser trailer on the flip.
Mavericks With Mav Carter is airing a new episode tomorrow, and BOSSIP’s got an exclusive clip.
Mav Carter, a childhood friend of LeBron James and CEO of their entertainment development company SpringHill Company, is once again sitting down one-on-one with mavericks for his YouTube series.
His 8 guests are people whose reputation for hustling precedes them. A press release reports that they’re creatively minded—in business, in art, in expression. Instead of being intimidated by evolution, they chase it. While their stories evoke inspiration and often incite imitation, their path is all their own. And perhaps the most important ingredient of all, they’re still just getting started.
Back when the show premiered in October, Carter told TODAY.com;
“At The SpringHill Company, we produce the most culturally impactful content that is deeply rooted in our mission of empowerment. Mavericks is special to me because I get to delve deep into my curiosity and ask the questions that uncover why and how Mavericks in their own right do the amazing things they do. Personally, I’ve learned so much from the guests during this first season, and I think our viewers will too,” he said.
Source: SpringHill Company / Spring Hill
In the latest episode, Maverick sits down with Academy Award and NAACP Image Award American filmmaker, Ryan Coogler. Coogler reflects on the VHS/DVD era, underscoring the deliberate movie choices required in contrast to today’s instant accessibility. He also applauds “Set it Off” for its groundbreaking LGBTQ+ representation and exploration of police brutality, being ahead of its time.
Coogler also speaks on challenging ideas, success, and comparisons to Spike Lee.
Take an exclusive look below.
The latest episode of Mavericks With Mavs Carter airs tomorrow Wednesday, June 19.
After the cinematic achievement that is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, director Ryan Coogler is heading into production on his next film—and it includes a superhero-studded cast.
Not much is known about Coogler’s next project. We know it’s a supernatural thriller recently acquired by Warner Bros., and according to The Hollywood Reporter, the film may take place in the Jim Crow-era South and involve vampires and southern folklore. Although the film begins production this month, not even the title has been released.
But the cast is gradually coming together. Coogler is reuniting with longtime collaborator Michael B. Jordan, best known for his role as Adonis Creed in the Creed series. According to THR, Jordan may be playing identical twins in Coogler’s new film. Jordan also plays Erik “Killmonger” Stevens in Marvel’s Black Panther. In Black Panther, Killmonger is King T’Challa’s long-lost cousin, who returns to Wakanda to take over the throne. Killmonger also makes an appearance in the sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Wunmi Mosaku also recently joined the cast of Coogler’s new film. Mosaku is mainly known for playing Ruby Baptiste in Lovecraft Country, but she also plays Hunter B-15 in Loki seasons 1 and 2. In season 1, Hunter B-15 is a hardened foot soldier for the Time Variance Authority, arresting variants and pruning errant timelines. In season 2, B-15 softens a bit, trying to save the timelines she previously worked to destroy.
Finally, Hailee Steinfeld is the most recent addition to the cast. Steinfeld voices Gwen Stacy, a.k.a. Spider–Woman, in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Steinfeld also plays the young archer Kate Bishop in the Disney+ series Hawkeye, with a guest appearance in The Marvels.
Delroy Lindo (Unprisoned, The Harder They Fall) and Jack O’Connell (Back to Black) have also joined the cast.
(featured image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
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So-called activist investor Nelson Peltz, who’s aiming to win two Disney board seats, has stirred up some controversy by calling out Disney’s recent era of “woke” strategy through diversifying its slate of films at Marvel Studios.
Andor Episodes 1-3 Review
The 81-year-old businessman, whose experience is with food companies including Wendy’s and H.J. Heinz as well as having once supported the DeSantis presidential campaign, had a lot to say about The Marvels and Black Pantherin an interview with the Financial Times. “Why do I have to have a Marvel [movie] that’s all women?” Peltz asked the publication. “Not that I have anything against women, but why do I have to do that? Why can’t I have Marvels that are both? Why do I need an all-Black cast?” Side note: Peltz happens to be the father of Nicola Peltz, who played Katara in 2010’s infamously very white Last Airbenderadaptation.
He continued, “People go to watch a movie or a show to be entertained. They don’t go to get a message.” Since he also claimed that he doesn’t have experience in media, it’s interesting to note that Peltz’s Trian Partners is pushing for this vote as part of Ike Perlmutter’s hopes for retaliation against Disney CEO Bob Iger, who terminated him from Marvel Entertainment last year. Variety reported that, “Trian controls roughly $3.5 billion worth of Disney stock, 79% of which is owned by Perlmutter.” This goes back to Perlmutter’s feud with Kevin Feige, who pushed for Black Panther and Captain Marvel. Perlmutter fought against diversity in Marvel’s slate until Iger stepped in to force his hand and allow the films to be made.
Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther, starring the late Chadwick Boseman, was a hit with $1.35 billion at the worldwide box office; it kicked off the Academy Award-winning franchise and brought more inclusivity to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Proving Perlmutter wrong publicly while revealing the lengths the forner Marvel exec went to in order to stop diverse superhero toys, merch, and movies being made really propelled Feige into the public’s good graces. Recent misses for the studio including The Marvels havecaused some Marvel watchers to wonder if Feige’s position should be called into question. When asked by the Financial Times if it should, Peltz responded, “I’m not ready to say that, but I question his record.”
Disney board member George Lucas recently stood up against Peltz by releasing a statement (reprinted in Variety and elsewhere) to support Bob Iger in rejecting his bid. “Creating magic is not for amateurs,” Lucas said in a shot right at Peltz, who also admitted to the Financial Times he’s been a bit of a bully. (“What sense is being a billionaire if you’re not a bully?” Peltz has been quoted as saying.) Which is such a strange stance to bring into Disney, standing directly against all it represents.
Lucas continued, “When I sold Lucasfilm just over a decade ago, I was delighted to become a Disney shareholder because of my longtime admiration for its iconic brand and Bob Iger’s leadership.” He added, “When Bob recently returned to the company during a difficult time, I was relieved. No one knows Disney better. I remain a significant shareholder because I have full faith and confidence in the power of Disney and Bob’s track record of driving long-term value. I have voted all of my shares for Disney’s 12 directors and urge other shareholders to do the same.”
Peltz aims to add more board seats for his hedge fund firm through his Disney bid and support the agenda that Ike Perlmutter, his silent third party partner, has advocated for during his Disney tenure. The Hollywood Reporter disclosed that Perlmutter had this up his sleeve as soon as he was terminated, as he immediately pledged his stakes in Disney to Peltz. Before Iger came back Peltz had attempted a proxy battle with the company as a result of its losses, but was held off by his return. With this seat bid he hopes for round two in having more direct influence on the company board.
When it comes to dynamic actor-director partnerships, Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan are at the top of the list. The brilliant duo rose to fame in Coogler’s feature film debut Fruitvale Station. They then collaborated on the 2015 Rocky spinoff Creed, before working together on Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Now, this talented duo has a new project in the works.
News broke from The Hollywood Reporterthat Coogler and Jordan are working on a “secret genre” film written by Coogler. In addition to directing, Coogler will serve as a producer on the project along with Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian. Other than that, we don’t know much about it. But Coogler and Jordan’s involvement is enough to get us excited.
Any project details are being kept strictly under wraps, but entertainment reporter Jeff Sneider alleges that the film is a period-piece vampire story. Michael B. Jordan as a vampire OR fighting vampires? Shut up and take my money.
Whatever movie they’re planning, we’re excited for it
I was a Rocky fan for most of my life and seeing the Creed franchise bring that world back (and thrive while doing it) has been a great joy for me. That was all because of what Coogler and Jordan started. To see both these talented stars reteam for another original project has me psyched.
Jordan credits Coogler with inspiring him to direct Creed III. “[The directing] interest sparks back [to] Fruitvale Station when I first kind of saw a guy, up close and personal, that looked like me, directing, commanding the set,” Jordan told Entertainment Tonight.
“I was talking to Ryan Coogler back when we were doing Creed and he was just like, ‘It’s never the right time. You just gotta jump in the deep end and go for it,”” Jordan added. “So, I just felt like it was the right time.”
Whether it is bringing to life a new story or adapting a franchise or character we know and love, these two work incredibly well together and I can’t wait to see what this new “genre” project is going to be!
Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler are working on another project together, and this time, they’re keeping as much under wraps as possible.
Source: Gilbert Flores / Getty
The beloved duo is set to reunite on the big screen for an untitled project that’s being veiled in secrecy. According to reports from The Hollywood Reporter, Coogler wrote the script and will direct, while Jordan is set to star in the film.
This marks the first speculative screenplay from the Black Panther director since launching his production company, Proximity Media. It’s said to be based on an original idea from Coogler, who will serve as lead producer alongside Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian.
The Hollywood Reporter goes on to reveal that the project is operating under such secrecy that very little is known about it. Executives and buyers were forced to go to the Beverly Hills offices of WME, the agency that represents Coogler and Jordan, in order to look at the script and get any details.
Those meetings took place last week, and this week, interested parties will meet with the filmmaker to hear him lay out his vision while asking for a production commitment.
The secret project is being described as a “genre” feature, though that is a wide-ranging term that encompasses horror and its subsets, as well as thriller, science fiction, even fantasy. While two sources have claimed there is a period element to the story, Coogler’s camp did no comment.
A “Black Panther” animated series is in the works at Marvel Studios.
Titled “Eyes of Wakanda,” the new project was teased on Monday night by Marvel executive Brad Winderbaum at an event to promote the second season of the studio’s inaugural animated series, “What If…?”.
“Throughout Wakandan history, brave warriors have been tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous vibranium artifacts. This is their story,” reads the official logline, per Marvel. The studio has been developing multiple series set in Wakanda with “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler, and a source tells Variety Coogler will also be involved in the forthcoming animated project. Coogler is currently under a multi-year overall TV deal with the Walt Disney Company through his Proximity Media banner.
Along with “Eyes of Wakanda,” the sizzle reel at the “What If…?” event highlighted two other previously announced animated series: “X-Men ’97,” expected to debut in 2024, and “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man,” previously titled “Spider-Man: Freshman Year.” There was no mention of “Marvel Zombies,” the third animation title previously announced by Marvel’s in-house animation department.
As of May, no live-action projects set in Wakanda have been ordered to series, and the studio overall has dialed back its slate amid criticism — including from Disney CEO Bob Iger — that Marvel had oversaturated the market. The “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” spin-off series “Ironheart,” starring Dominique Thorne, Anthony Ramos and Alden Ehrenreich, was pushed from its fall 2023 release date; Marvel has not yet announced when it will premiere. The studio has a single feature film — “Deadpool 3” — set for release in 2024, along with the streaming series “Echo” in January and “Agatha” in the fall.
Critics are really enjoying Creed III so far, but it also seems like maybe fans are getting into it a little too much. Fights have been breaking out at some Creed III showings across Europe.
While news sources are generally describing the whole phenomenon as a series of isolated incidents, there have definitely been more than you would expect upon hearing that description. French media has reported 12 or so separate incidents. Some theaters have even removed the film from their screening rotation entirely. At least three theaters in Germany have all reported full-on brawls breaking out during screenings of the film.
At Mégarama in St. Etienne, the fight became so widespread and aggressive that a security guard ended up with a head injury. Bottles, cans, and punches were thrown. That very same day, viral footage of a huge brawl was captured at Kinepolis in Thionville. Police showed up and forced around 500 people out of the cinema.
Two people at Metropolis in Charleville-Mézières also found themselves inspired by the film in all the wrong ways. They were picked up by police and temporarily held. CinéCentre in Dreux decided to pull the film entirely as a result of “Inappropriate behavior”.
In Bremen, Hamburg, and Essen, similar fights broke out and screenings were promptly canceled. German authorities were so confused about the whole thing that they began to wonder whether or not the entire phenomenon could be a viral marketing campaign, or something instigated by social media. At this point, though, there’s no evidence for any of those theories being true.
Creed III hit theaters on March 3rd and is still screening.
Rocky References in Creed III
Few franchises are more obsessed with their own past as the Rocky/Creed saga. Here is the proof, from Creed III.
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week.
MOVIES
— If you haven’t managed to catch “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” yet, the Marvel sequel arrives on Disney+ on Wednesday with a batch of five Oscar nominations to its name, including best supporting actress for Angela Bassett and original song (“Lift Me Up,” music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Göransson; lyrics by Tems and Ryan Coogler). In his review, AP Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote that, “‘Wakanda Forever’ is overlong, a little unwieldy and somewhat mystifyingly steers toward a climax on a barge in the middle of the Atlantic. But Coogler’s fluid command of mixing intimacy with spectacle remains gripping.”
— Pamela Anderson has been making headlines again for revelations in the documentary “Pamela, A Love Story,” coming to Netflix on Tuesday. After many people trying tell her story for her — including in the recent Hulu series “Pam & Tommy” which Anderson chose not to contribute to and called “salt on the wound” and “not necessary” — she tells her story herself through archival footage and personal journals. Ryan White (“The Keepers,” “Ask Dr. Ruth” and “Goodnight Oppy”) directs.
— For the kids, “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile” also comes to Netflix on Saturday, Feb. 4. The movie based on the popular Bernard Waber series is hybrid live action/ CGI and a musical as well, featuring Shawn Mendes as the titular Crocodile Lyle. Constance Wu, Javier Bardem and Scoot McNairy also star. The story focuses on a family who has recently relocated to New York City and their son (Winslow Fegley) is struggling to adapt until the caviar-loving crocodile enters his life.
— Shania Twain kicks off her new album with a strut — the infectious line-dance-inducing “Giddy Up!” “I want people to feel good when they hear the new album. I want to set a celebratory tone,” she explains. The five-time Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter’s sixth album “Queen of Me” is released on Friday, Feb. 3. Songs among the 12-track set include the glistening pop of “Waking Up Dreaming” and “Inhale/Exhale Air,” which she wrote after her battle with COVID-19.
— The Eurovision Song Contest will be held in May and you can get ahead by listening to one of Ireland’s shortlisted entries, the moving “Hawaii” from Public Image Ltd. It’s the band’s first music in eight years and it’s a love letter to band leader John Lydon’s wife, who is living with Alzheimer’s disease. “It is dedicated to everyone going through tough times on the journey of life, with the person they care for the most,” says the former Sex Pistols frontman. All six of Ireland’s hopefuls will compete on Ireland’s “The Late Late Show” on Friday, Feb. 3 streaming worldwide.
— Take a trip back in time to 2012 for a front-row seat to what The Rolling Stones call “one of the most memorable shows in the band’s history.” That was the night in New Jersey that featured guest appearances by The Black Keys, Gary Clark Jr., John Mayer, Lady Gaga and Bruce Springsteen. The set is being released as “GRRR Live!” and a video on demand from the band’s website will stream for $9.99. Tune in Thursday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. GMT, 8 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. PT and 8 p.m. AWST on Friday, Feb. 3. It has not been available to fans since it originally aired on pay-per-view in 2012.
— Drew Barrymore and Savannah Guthrie have teamed up to executive produce a new animated children’s series on Netflix called “Princess Power.” The show centers around Penny Pineapple, Kira Kiwi, Bea Blueberry, and Rita Raspberry, all princesses who are devoted to help others while teaching young viewers about inclusivity, diversity, teamwork and friendship. It’s based on Guthrie’s bestselling children’s book “Princesses Wear Pants.” Guest stars on “Princess Power” are voiced by Rita Moreno, Andrew Rannells, Tan France, Jenna Ushkowitz and Guthrie as well. All 14 episodes drop Monday.
— The relationship between the U.S. and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin may be strained now due to the war in Ukraine, but his clashes with American presidents goes back further than with President Biden. A new PBS “Frontline” documentary called “Putin and the Presidents,” delves into Putin’s interaction with the last five U.S. presidents as rebuilding the Russian empire seems to be his priority. It debuts Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on PBS but check station listings to confirm local broadcast info.
— The fishing industry in Iceland is a major export commodity but a controversial quota where individuals and companies are allowed to catch and sell a predetermined number of fish per year, is a politically-charged issue. A new series called “Blackport,” is based on a true story and follows a couple who take advantage of that quota in the 1980s to control a large part of the market. The success goes to their heads leading to greed, corruption, jealousy and deception. The eight-episode series has been picked up by the streaming service Topic where you can subscribe directly or add its channel on Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV or Roku. The first three episodes drop Thursday with the remaining five doled out weekly.
— Alicia Rancilio
VIDEO GAMES
— From Fallout to The Last of Us to Horizon, there are post-apocalyptic video games in every flavor. But what do people do before the apocalypse? That’s the question Scavengers Studio tries to answer in Season: A Letter to the Future. The protagonist, Estelle, knows a cataclysm is coming, so she sets out on her bicycle to record the wonders and unravel the mysteries of her strange world before all heck breaks loose. It’s a remarkably chill journey, given the stakes — Estelle is equipped with a camera and a notebook rather than a rocket launcher or a flamethrower. But if you’re in the mood for a more pensive approach to the end of the world, Season debuts Tuesday on PlayStation 5/4 and PC.
Documentaries about Brooke Shields, Judy Blume and Michael J. Fox, films from veteran directors like Nicole Holofcener, an adaptation of the viral New Yorker story “Cat Person” and the feature directorial debut of actors Alice Englert and Randall Park are among the world premieres set for the Sundance Film Festival in January.
Programmers for the world’s most prestigious showcase for independent films announced the lineup for the 2023 edition on Wednesday. After two pandemic hobbled years, plans are in motion to return to Park City in full force for the festival which runs from January 19 through January 29, with stars like Anne Hathaway, Tiffany Haddish, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Alexander Skarsgård, Gael García Bernal, Cynthia Erivo, Daisy Ridley and Jonathan Majors headlining some of the 101 feature films in the slate. Tickets are currently on sale.
The festival which helped launch the careers of filmmakers from Steven Soderbergh to Ryan Coogler, is once again celebrating a diverse slate of features from first-time filmmakers. Among the narrative features premiering, 16 are from first time directors, 7 of whom are women. In feature documentaries 16 are from first timers and 14 of those are women.
“First time filmmakers are in the DNA of the festival. We’re always looking to find fresh voices to champion,” said Kim Yutani, the festival’s director of programming. “It’s such a pleasant surprise to look back and see those numbers and our program and to know that that organically happens.”
As always, there are exciting documentaries about well-known names. Lana Wilson’s “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” charts the actor and model’s early days, when photographers and filmmakers depicted Shields in sexualized way as a very young girl, and how she found her agency. Davis Guggenheim in “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” looks at what happens when “an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease.” There are also documentaries about Little Richard, food writer Ruth Reichl, pioneering Black fashion model Bethann Hardison and the Indigo Girls.
In the U.S. Dramatic Competition, the section in which “CODA” debuted in 2021 before going on to win best picture at the Oscars, Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman make their debut with “Theater Camp,” a Will Ferrell-produced comedy about a rundown theater camp in upstate New York scrambling to get ready for summer that stars Ben Platt. Jonathan Majors plays an amateur bodybuilder in Elijah Bynum’s “Magazine Dreams,” while Daisy Ridley shows her non-Star Wars chops in Rachel Lambert’s “Sometimes I Think About Dying,” which is among the day one premieres.
“Shortcomings,” an adaptation of Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel, is the debut of “Fresh Off the Boat” star Randall Park, who directs Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola and Ally Maki in a comedic, irreverent look at Asian Americans in the Bay Area.
Also making her feature directorial debut is Alice Englert with “Bad Behaviour,” a mother-daughter film about a former child actor, played by Jennifer Connelly, and mother to a stunt-performer daughter, who is looking for some enlightenment. Englert, whose own mother is Jane Campion, plays the daughter in the dark comedy about a toxic, co-dependent relationship, co-starrinng Ben Whishaw as a new age guru. Whishaw can also be seen alongside Adèle Exarchopoulos in Ira Sachs’ “Passages” about attraction and emotional abuse.
Fans of “The Bear” may take interest in “Fremont,” about a former military translator who now works at a Chinese fortune cookie factory and features a supporting performance from Jeremy Allen White, while Ayo Edebiri co-stars in “Theater Camp.”
“Succession” watchers will also find some of the show’s stars various films throughout the slate, like Sarah Snook getting to use her native Australian accent in Daina Reid’s “Run Rabbit Run,” about a fertility doctor grappling with ghosts from her past, and Nicholas Braun who lends a supporting hand in Susanna Fogel’s adaptation of “Cat Person,” starring Emilia Jones as the college student who gets involved with a 30-something man.
Jones also anchors “Fairyland,” the Sofia Coppola-produced and Andrew Durham-directed adaptation of Alyssa Abbott’s best-selling memoir about a father-daughter relationship in San Francisco at the dawn of the AIDs crisis.
The premieres section, which has debuted the likes of “Promising Young Woman” and “The Big Sick,” has many starry options. Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway co-star in William Oldroyd’s “Eileen” about a young secretary who becomes fascinated with a glamorous new counselor at the prison where she works in Massachusetts in 1964.
Sundance veteran and documentary director Roger Ross Williams makes his narrative debut with “Cassandro,” starring Gael García Bernal as Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso who becomes an international star. And Nicole Holofcener reunites with Julia Louis-Dreyfus for “You Hurt My Feelings,” about a novelist who overhears her husband’s “honest reaction” to her new book.
Senior programmer John Nein noted that there are quite a few diaspora films represented in the various sections as well.
“They reflect the changing film cultures of some of the places from which they come,” he said.
Noora Niasari’s “Shayda” is about an Iranian woman (played by Zar Amir Ebrahimi ) with a 6-year-old daughter seeking refuge from an abusive relationship in a shelter in Australia. From the United Kingdom, there is “Girl,” from Adura Onashile about an 11-year-old and her mother who are from Africa. In the midnight section there is Nida Manzoor’s fun genre piece “Polite Society” about a wedding heist. And from the U.S., Sing J. Lee has “The Accidental Getaway Driver” about a Vietnamese cab driver taken hostage by escaped convicts in California.
There are dozens of documentaries that focus on some of the most pressing issues of the moment, too, like Razelle Benally’s “Murder in Big Horn,” about the deaths of Native women in rural Montana, Tracy Droz Tragos’ “PLAN C” about a grassroots organization in the U.S. fighting to expand access to abortion pills, and Nancy Schwartzman helps uncover a troubling pattern of women reporting sexual assault who are then charged with creating a false report in “Victim/Suspect.” “20 Days in Mariupol,” directed by AP videojournalist Mstyslav Chernov in partnership with Frontline, gives an unprecedented look at the work of Ukrainian journalists trapped in Mariupol at the beginning of the Russian invasion.
“These filmmakers reflect the world around us through bold and thrilling storytelling,” said Joana Vicente, CEO of the Sundance Institute. “It is critical for the arts to foster dialogue, especially during unprecedented times — these stories are needed to provoke discussion, share diverse viewpoints, and challenge us.”
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.
NEW YORK — “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” kept the box-office crown for the fourth straight weekend, and the comic holiday thriller “Violent Night” debuted with $13.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. But the biggest talking point on the weekend was a movie conspicuously absent from theaters.
Had Netflix kept Rian Johnson’s whodunit sequel “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” in theaters, it would have been one of the weekend’s top draws. Last weekend, the streamer — in its first such pact with North America’s top chains — released “Glass Onion” in about 600 theaters. While significantly less than the 4,000-plus theaters most big movies open in, the Netflix film reportedly grossed about $15 million — an enviable total for a medium scaled release.
Netflix declined to release ticket sales and pulled “Glass Onion” on Tuesday, preferring to keep its release limited to a one-week sneak-peak theatrical run before debuting on the streaming service Dec. 23. Netflix’s focus, its executives have said, is driving subscribers to its streaming service. On Wednesday, Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, acknowledged the company left “lots” of money on the table in the move.
So instead of feasting on “Glass Onion,” as ticket buyers did after Thanksgiving in 2019 when Lionsgate released “Knives Out,” moviegoers were fed mostly leftovers this weekend.
For four weeks, the Walt Disney Co.’s “Wakanda Forever” has ruled the box office. Ryan Coogler’s Marvel movie has totaled $733 million globally, including $339 million in overseas sales.
“Violent Night” was the only new wide release in cinemas. Starring David Harbour as a not-so-saintly Saint Nick, the Universal release got off to a good start. “Violent Night,” which earned a B+ CinemaScore from audiences, cost about $20 million to make.
Though “Avatar: The Way of Water” and other holiday releases like “Puss in Boots 2,” “Babylon” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” loom in the coming weeks, theaters continue to see fewer films in wide release than they did pre-pandemic. David A. Gross, who publishes the box-office subscription newsletter FranchiseRe, says that while there were 58 franchise films released in 2019, there have been only 32 in 2022.
There’s also been a dearth of family releases in theaters. After a muted debut last weekend, Disney’s big-budget animated fantasy adventure “Strange World” dipped to third place with a mere $4.9 million in its second week. Some of the season’s notable kid-friendly movies are streaming, instead.
The Roald Dahl adaptation “Matilda the Musical,” starring Emma Thompson, was made jointly by Netflix, Sony Pictures and Working Title Films. Netflix has worldwide distribution rights to the film except for the United Kingdom and Ireland, where Sony put the film into theaters last weekend. For two weeks, “Matilda” has been the top film at the U.K. box office, grossing $9.7 million over that stretch. In the U.S., “Matilda” begins steaming on Christmas.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Wakanda Forever,” $17.6 million.
2. “Violent Night,” $13.3 million.
3. “Strange World,” $4.9 million.
4. “The Menu,” $3.6 million.
5. “Devotion,” $2.8 million.
6. “I Heard the Bells,” $1.8 million.
7. “Black Adam,” $1.7 million.
8. “The Fabelmans,” $1.3 million.
9. “Bones and All,” $1.2 million.
10. “Ticket to Paradise,” $850,000.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
NEW YORK — On a quiet weekend in movie theaters before the upcoming release of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Warner Bros.’ “Black Adam” topped the box office for the third straight weekend with $18.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
“Black Adam,” Dwayne Johnson’s bid to launch a new DC Films superpower, has surpassed $300 million globally in three weeks of release, including a domestic tally of $137.4 million. That puts the $195 million-budgeted film — the third film this year to lead the box office three consecutive weeks — on a trajectory to likely surpass the $366 million that “Shazam!” grossed in 2019, but less certain to notch a profit in its theatrical run.
When Walt Disney Co.’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” lands in theaters Thursday, it’s expected to score one of the biggest opening weekends of the year. Ryan Coogler’s original debuted with more than $200 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters in 2018, and forecasts suggest it could open with around $175 million.
With “Wakanda Forever” looming, only one new film opened in wide release: “One Piece Film: Red,” distributed by Sony Picture’s anime division, Crunchyroll. The Japanese anime sequel, part of the “One Piece” franchise, debuted in second place with $9.5 million. While not as robust as the openings of Crunchyroll’s “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, which garnered, $21.1 million in August, or Funimation’s “Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie,” which earned $18 million in March, “Red” again showed that anime is proving an uncommonly dependable draw in North American theaters. The 15th film in the franchise but the first to be released widely in the U.S., “Red” attracted an especially young audience, with about 75% of ticket buyers between ages 18-34.
Third place went to “Ticket to Paradise,” the George Clooney and Julia Roberts romantic comedy. The Universal Pictures release collected $8.5 million in its third weekend, bringing the $60 million-budgeted rom-com’s cumulative total to $46.7 million domestically and $137.2 million worldwide. For a genre that’s struggled in theaters in recent years, “Ticket to Paradise” is showing staying power, especially as the favored choice for older audiences.
Even with Halloween coming and going, Paramount Pictures’ “Smile” also continued to hold well in theaters. In its sixth week of release, the horror flick added another $4 million to bring it to $99.1 million overall.
Some of the year’s top Oscar contenders have struggled to make much of an impact in wide release. James Gray’s “Armageddon Time,” a coming-of-age tale set in 1980s New York, expanded to 1,006 theaters in its second week, grossing $810,000 for Focus Features. Focus’ “Tár,” starring Cate Blanchett as a renowned conductor, took in $670,000 in 1,090 theaters for a five-week total of $3.7 million. MGM’s “Till,” about Mamie Till-Mobley’s pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, added $1.9 million in 2,316 theaters for a four-week gross of $6.6 million.
Best of the bunch so far has been Searchlight Pictures’ “The Banshees of Inisherin,” starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as rowing Irish friends. It took in $3 million in 895 locations in its third weekend of release, brining its global total to $10.2 million.
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
