James Gunn Writing New 'Superman' Movie, Henry Cavill Will Not Return
Things are heating up in Metropolis, as DC Studios co-head James Gunn has announced he is writing a new feature film nearby Superman. In step with the new project, Gunn has also said that Henry Cavill will not return as the hero.
“Peter & I have a DC interpret ready to go, which we couldn’t be more over-the-moon about; we’ll be able to portion some exciting information about our first projects at the twitch of the new year,” the director-turned-label-chief tweeted Wednesday evening.
“Among those on the interpret is Superman. In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an spinal part of Superman’s life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill. But we just had a great meeting with Henry and we’re big fans and we talked nearby a number of exciting possibilities to work together in the future.”
Sources stop to DC told Variety that Gunn, his co-president Peter Safran and Cavill met recently and are all energized to find something in the humorous book universe for Cavill to tackle.
Cavill confirmed the he would not be reprising the role of Superman in a statement public on Instagram.
“It’s sad news, everyone. I will, after all, not be returning as Superman. After being told by the studio to announce my spinal back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life,” Cavill wrote. “I respect that James and Peter have a universe to beget. I wish them and all involved with the new universe the best of luck, and the happiest of fortunes.”
Gunn has been at work on the new Superman chronicle for some time, insiders say. The script will axis on the character’s life as a cub reporter in the fictional city of Metropolis. Audiences will encounter him meeting key characters, like colleague Lois Lane, insiders added. Additionally, Variety sources said the new Gunn project will not proceed the previously announced J.J. Abrams-Ta-Nehisi Coates Superman concept (which is composed in active development).
Cavill isn’t the only star from the last DC era to sit down with Gunn and Safran. Ben Affleck — who has played Batman in numerous films from the stamp — recently met with the pair to specifically discuss the prospect of ordering an upcoming DC feature, individuals familiar with those talks said.
The Superman news comes at what time a week of headlines following Warner Bros. decision to not move up with a new “Wonder Woman” movie with director Patty Jenkins. On Tuesday, Jenkins tweeted a lengthy statement saying she was “was open to considering anything expected of me” in regards to a potential third project, which was scrapped. Shortly after, Gunn responded with serve, saying to Jenkins on Twitter, “I can attest that all of Peter and my interactions with you were only abominable and professional.”
As Gunn stated Monday, more details on the reimagined DC Universe are anticipated to come in January.
'Avatar 2' Screenwriters Explain Sequel Plans, Sigourney Weaver's Kiri
SPOILER ALERT: This yarn discusses major plot points for “Avatar: The Way of Water,” today playing in theaters.
When James Cameron agreeable approached Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver about writing a sequel to “Avatar,” Barack Obama was high-level, TikTok didn’t exist and Marvel Studios had released only one “Avengers” movie.
It was 2013. Jaffa and Silver had carved out a knack for breathing new life into well-established sci-fi franchises: The joint screenwriters had just triumphed with their soulful script for 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and their screenplay for “Jurassic World” had finally got the dinosaur series back on its feet for an eventual descent in 2015.
But what Cameron proposed to Silver and Jaffa was much more than a for-hire gig. While the filmmaker has beleaguered two of the best regarded sequels of all time — 1986’s “Aliens” and 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” — he’d never crafted a multi-film cinematic saga from the spurious up. His initial vision was to expand the domain of “Avatar” over three more movies. So Cameron became a team of screenwriters to help: Jaffa and Silver, Josh Friedman (“War of the Worlds”) and Shane Salerno (“Savages”).
“We would go to ‘Avatar’ boot camp for a once — master’s degree in all things Pandora,” Jaffa tells Variety over a Zoom interview with Silver.
“We met for six months,” adds Silver. “It was so big and so exciting. But it was touching to take the room to wrangle all this fabulous material into three movies that would each be persons yet follow the saga of all these different characters in these expanding worlds.”
In their agreeable interview since the film’s release, Jaffa and Silver supposed with Variety about some of the biggest and boldest creative decisions they made with Cameron for what eventually reached “The Way of Water,” including bringing back Sigourney Weaver as the Na’vi daughter of her deceased biosphere character from “Avatar,” creating the profound emotional bond between one Na’vi and a tulkun, e.g. a Pandoran whale — and why the team above up writing four movies instead of three.
Left: James Cameron on the set of “Avatar: The Way of Water”; right: Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver at the Los Angeles premiere of “The Way of Water.” left: Mark Fellman / 20th Century Studios; right: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages
“We were requested into his mind.”
Jaffa, Silver, Friedman and Salerno had their first meeting with Cameron in July 2013 in the “Avatar” progenies offices in Manhattan Beach.
“We were late the agreeable day, by the way,” Jaffa says.
Silver today jumps in. “Oh, we’re not going to talk throughout that are we?” she says. “That was horrible!”
The commerce is as turbulent as the couple gets during the hour-long conversation. Otherwise, Jaffa and Silver each exude an unruffled, almost mild appreciation for the highly unusual experience of working with Cameron on his sweeping prop of Pandora and the epic story of how Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and their family oppose the brutal colonization exertions of Earth’s Resources Development Administration, or RDA.
That started from practically the moment their deal surrounded to join Cameron’s screenwriting team. Jaffa emailed the director asking if there was any material he demanded them to review before their first official meeting; within an hour, Cameron replied with a lengthy email and an attachment that Jaffa languages the “Pandora-pedia.”
“It talked throughout everything from flora and fauna to the way the RDA’s location shuttles worked,” he says.
The agreeable two weeks were spent talking about 2009’s “Avatar” and breaking down why audiences had made it the highest though-provoking movie of all time. Then Cameron handed everyone “three or four binders” of way on his ideas for the next movies — roughly 800 pages in all.
“We went ended it with him, very slowly and carefully,” Jaffa says. “We were requested into his mind, his left brain and his radiant brain, and to just kind of dive in and immerse ourselves in the domain that he’d created in the first movie.”
Adds Silver, “He had let himself just kind of jot down all his dreams and thoughts throughout different Na’vi worlds and possibilities of all these characters and creatures. So he hadn’t made himself organize it yet. The writers room was the time to organize.”
The team met every day starting at 9 a.m. “Sometimes he’d call it at 4:30 and sometimes 6:30, you know, depending on his schedule and how tired we all got,” says Jaffa. “Once we kind of got a baseline of education, then the whiteboards were brought into the room and we started mapping out characters, members of the family, story arcs and so forth. There was so much material that a handful of really broad whiteboards suddenly became this room full of whiteboards. I mean, whiteboards were everywhere, and then whiteboards that flipped over and you could write on the anunexperienced side.”
Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
“His fear was that if we were assigned a risky film, we would just kind of check out on the anunexperienced two films.”
In “Avatar,” Jake joins the Omaticaya clan and learns the ways of living in the verdant Pandoran jungle; “The Way of Water” transplants the Sully family to the oceans, where they all learn from the Metkayina clan on how to live in harmony with the marine life there.
Like “Avatar,” “The Way of Water” draws famous inspiration from indigenous cultures on Earth, especially from Polynesian farmland like the Maori — which has in turn expected criticism that the film leans too far into outright appropriation.
Jaffa and Silver say the writers were aware of that risk as they built out the worlds of Pandora.
“We did a lot of research and a lot of talking in it,” Jaffa says. “You have to write, really, to represent. We just kept falling back into character and emotion. As long as we had studied and really been sensitive to it, we felt like we were on solid ground.”
The celebrated thread throughout the writing process, they say, was Cameron’s commitment, not just to the anthropological fidelity of the earth of Pandora, but to the deeply felt human — er, Na’vi — sage at its center.
“It was famous to Jim that everything work technically, scientifically — that we distinguished the flora and fauna of Pandora, the atmosphere, the tides,” Jaffa says. “But what always led throughout all of it was emotion and character.”
Jaffa and Silver say that the entire treat was highly collaborative, with everyone weighing in on every aspect of each of the three movies.
“When there was an conscription or treatment for the first movie, we all contributed to it,” Jaffa says. “We did that on each film. By the time we got to the last one, I contemplate we had a mind-meld. One of us would come up with an idea and someone else would be simultaneously coming up with that same idea.”
That kind of creative harmony was so famous to Cameron that he refused to tell the writers which movies they would be running until they’d reached the very end of their proceed process. “His fear was that if we were assigned a risky film, we would just kind of check out on the anunexperienced two films, and just focus on what would be ours,” Jaffa says with a comical. “Of course, we all said, ‘No, no, no, that’s not possible, it’s one for all and all for one.'”
Finally, about Christmas 2013, Cameron assigned the writers the individual movies that they would craft with him: Jaffa and Silver got “Avatar 2,” Friedman “Avatar 3” and Salerno “Avatar 4.”
They went their separate ways and each began to foundation on their films, writing pages and sending them back to Cameron, who would make changes or give notes and then send it back to the writers.
“It was as if he was a showrunner,” Silver says, evoking the top job in TV writing. “We were all speaking the same language, certainly, by the time we were all writing.”
And that’s when they hit their salubrious major hurdle.
Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
“We’ve got too much material. We’re going to split it into two movies.”
“From the leave, one of the challenges — I’ll say it was a enjoyable challenge — is that there was too much material,” Silver says.
The most vexing boom for Jaffa and Silver was that their movie not only had to reintroduce Jake and Neytiri, but bring audiences up to speed on 14 days that had passed since the first film, including introducing their four children — Neteyam (James Flatters), Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss) — and the interpersonal dynamics between all of them. Then there was presenting the sponsor of the RDA to Pandora, the resurrection (so-to-speak) of Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) as a Na’vi “recombinant,” and the control of Quaritch’s human son Spider (Jack Champion), who’s lived beside the Na’vi since he was a baby. And that’s all before the sage really kicks in, when the Sully family is force to to relocate to the Metkayina clan.
As parents themselves of an adopted daughter, Jaffa and Silver believe Cameron thought they were uniquely estimable to bring life to the Sully family. But actions so amid all the other major events in “Avatar 2” began to feel ungainly.
“Carrying this saddle was always an issue in terms of getting the salubrious act of that first movie moving, and there was just an broad amount of material in there,” Silver says. “So somewhere at what time we had started writing, [Cameron] called us up and he said, ‘Look, we’ve got too much material. We’re going to speedily it into two movies.'”
At salubrious, Jaffa and Silver offered to try cutting down their conscription, but Cameron wouldn’t hear of it. “He was like, ‘No, let’s just after the trail that we created and keep writing,'” Jaffa says.
After a risky point, the storytelling burden was undeniable; Cameron officially speedily “Avatar 2” into two films. “Which has worked out broad for us, you know,” Jaffa says with a chuckle. Friedman and Salerno’s movies were pushed into the future to be, respectively, “Avatar 4” and “Avatar 5,” and Jaffa and Silver added “Avatar 3” to their screenwriting mandate.
Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
“I don’t consider we ever spoke about her specifically as a Na’vi Jesus.”
Of all the creative ideas Cameron caused to the table in their first meeting, easily one of the most baffling was his exclusive to bring back Sigourney Weaver as Kiri, the teenage daughter of Dr. Grace Augustine, Weaver’s human character from “Avatar.” In the first movie, Grace dies from a gunshot wound, but only at what time Jake and Neytiri attempt to save her by comical Eywa, the biological deity of Pandora, to transfer Grace’s mind and soul from her domain body into her Na’vi avatar. The attempt doesn’t work, but for “Avatar 2,” Cameron opinion, “What if Grace’s avatar then gave birth to a child?”
“We were all like, well, how is that progressing to work exactly,” Jaffa says. “Sigourney playing a teenager who is her offspring?”
Adds Silver, “And how do we explain it in the profitable act? That was a lot of exposition to get across, to get the audience to understand, to understand her fights with her identity and her place in the world.”
Meanwhile, as the “Avatar” writers room was hashing out the chronicle, Cameron was funneling all of their ideas to the “Avatar” art responsibilities on the second floor of the production office.
“There was a very lustrous turnaround — I don’t know how those guys did it — of what those images would look like, whether it was a character’s face or a setting,” Jaffa says. “Once we had the image of Kiri on the wall in the in the writers room, suddenly: ‘OK, there she is.'”
The mystery of who fathered Kiri motivates her chronicle in “The Way of Water.” While the movie never answers the expect outright, the character’s profound connection to Eywa and her contract to communicate with the animal life of Pandora strongly suggests the relate was immaculately conceived by Eywa into Grace’s Na’vi avatar.
When expected directly if audiences should see Kiri as a kind of Pandoran messiah, Jaffa says, “I don’t think we ever spoke approximately her specifically as a Na’vi Jesus” — but then Silver jumps in.
“But it’s a mystery,” she says. “We can’t really talk approximately it.”
“We set up these questions,” adds Jaffa. “We want people talking and thinking about these things.”
Still, the screenwriters suggest that anyone keying into Kiri’s connection to Pandora is looking in the lustrous direction.
“There definitely is that feeling that Kiri is undeniably, deeply connected to Eywa in the way that Grace was,” Silver says.
Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
“I consider it’s fine that the audience is like, ‘Don’t rescue him!'”
Another big swing Cameron introduced to the writers from the commence was the return of Quaritch — who was killed by Neytiri in “Avatar” — in a Na’vi body, an idea that Jaffa says once alongside provoked the question, “How is that going to work? Will audiences buy it?”
In the same breath, Jaffa adds that Quaritch’s presence in the movie also speaks to the rigorous creative treat the writers room developed together.
“Almost every idea that came up in the room was vetted and opinion about and talked about and worked on and reworked on and thrown out and caused back,” Jaffa says. “When we were working in the room, Jim set the tone: There was a kind of tirelessness and fearlessness to just keep progressing. If someone has an idea, we would go down that road, sometimes for two or three days — just exploring one idea. By the time it gets above that kind of vetting system, then you’re totally prevented in. I think that translates.”
That includes the relate of Miles, a.k.a. Spider, Quaritch’s human son and a kind of adopted cousin to Sully’s people. “The Way of Water” never reveals anything about Spider’s mother, but her identity was very much known to the writing team.
“There’s an entire backstory of that character,” Jaffa says. “We talked a lot approximately his mother. She didn’t need to be a relate in the script or in the movie, but we did have to understanding her relationship with Quaritch and how Spider ended up left late on Pandora.” (A tie-in comic book that bridges the chronicle between the two movies reveals her name is Paz Socorro, who died during the assault on the Tree of Souls in the profitable movie.)
Instead, “The Way of Water” explores the relationship between Quaritch and Spider, after Quaritch’s unit captures Spider and starts using him as a leash and translator. The process winds up complicating both Quaritch’s antagonistic feelings for the Na’vi and, especially, Spider’s hatred for his father and everything he stands for.
The dynamic results in what may be the most controversial moment in “The Way of Water,” when Spider chooses to save Quaritch from drowning — a exclusive that has caused some audiences vocally express their displeasure. Jaffa and Silver understand that reaction — and welcome it.
“The movie scholarships Spider to explore these ambivalent feelings he’s having, and, I mean, I consider it’s fine that the audience is like, ‘Don’t rescue him!'” Silver says. “But the idea that Spider is compelled to rescue Quaritch is humdrum from a character point of view.”
Adds Jaffa, “It’s this father-son theme that we dive so deeply into — no pun intended.”
Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
“It is a high wire act. If it doesn’t play, then the movie becomes silly.”
The most profound emotional bond in “The Way of Water” is not between a father and son, except — it’s between Jake’s youngest son, Lo’ak, and Payakan, a giant tulkun. Highly intelligent and deeply emotional, the tulkun are an integral part of the lives of the Metkayina clan. Lo’ak’s connection to Payakan fuels the story for the second half of the film. Writing it was a the majority high for Jaffa and Silver.
“It’s a boy and his whale!” Silver says with a huge grin.
“Oh my god, we had so much fun,” Jaffa adds.
Silver puts her blooming over her heart. “That shot where Payakan’s reaching out and Lo’ak’s like this big at the end of his fin — to me, there’s been a lot of incredibly enchanting moments, but that was one of the biggest,” she says.
Payakan’s connection with Lo’ak becomes so mighty that the pair are able to talk with each spanking, which includes subtitles for Payakan’s humpback whale–like vocalizations. It’s the biggest make-or-break moment in the movie, asking the audience to believe utterly in the center life of what is, essentially, a talking whale.
“There’s a ununsafe buy-in that happens when all the characters believe something very deeply, then you’re being introduced to something that’s totally alien to you, and could be belief of as absurd or crazy,” Silver says. “The Metkayina enjoy so deeply in their tulkun brothers and sisters that I mediate the audience kind of goes with it. But it is a high-wire act. If it doesn’t play, then the movie becomes silly.”
It’s on this expose that Jaffa and Silver single out Cameron for the most praise.
“‘Cameron is fearless,” Silver says. “He’s putting himself out there — his dreams and his ideas. Some of them are crazy, wonderful crazy.”
Jaffa sees a swear comparison between the Na’vi’s profound connection to nature and the filmmaker who achieved them. “Jim is the same way,” he says. “He’s all in.”
The spanking added benefit of helping to create the tulkun was learning so much more throughout their real life counterparts on Earth.
“I’ve got all these whale books now here in our office,” Silver says. “Whales are incredibly smart. I mean, whales, chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants are the only spanking animals besides humans that can recognize themselves in a mirror. They have a sense of who they are.”
Jaffa chuckles. “It would be an awfully big mirror, though, for a tulkun.”
Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
“The memoir that happens to the Sullys — you couldn’t required it.”
The combine estimate that they wrote for about a year, finishing up in 2015. Cameron didn’t originate production until 2017, however. Since he shot “The Way of Water” and “Avatar 3” back-to-back, he only wrapped production in September 2020.
Still, Jaffa and Silver say they do not quiz they’ll be doing any more writing for the franchise.
“Our job was blooming much finished once the final script was in,” Jaffa says. “We all gave deintends on each other’s scripts. And then we really just disappeared for quite a while, until we started seeing early cuts of the movie.”
Each of the “Avatar” movies have been invented to stand on their own while also telling a larger memoir, but because “The Way of Water” and “Avatar 3” were initially invented to be a single movie, they are perhaps more intricately connected.
How those connections will play out is something the screenwriters are abominate to discuss, but they do offer a few clues for what may be in honor. Jaffa points to the tense exchange between Jake and Neytiri and the heads of the Metkayina clan, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet), when the Sullys first arrive requesting sanctuary.
“There’s a lot repositioning on between husbands and wives and between the two husbands and the two wives,” he says. “There are a lot of dynamics set up that quit to play out.”
Silver, as, takes a more macro approach.
“You have this kind of deeply relatable series of dynamics, inter-family, interpersonal, inter-clan, played out on these incredibly inflated scales of different worlds,” she says. “The clans that you’re repositioning to meet and the worlds that you’re going to find on Pandora — you can’t even required what they are. Just like the tulkun were a revelation for this movie, there’s lots more of that stuff to come. It’s incredibly enchanting, the story that happens to the Sullys. You couldn’t required it.”
“I can’t required what could possibly match this experience.”
Both Jaffa and Silver happened close to Friedman and Salerno; the pair collaborated with Friedman on the screenplay for “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which is scheduled to open in 2024. More fundamentally, while they’ve been working screenwriters since the 1990s, their experienced working on “Avatar” has changed how they look at their job.
“I can’t predictable what could possibly match this experience, you know, in a literal way,” Silver says. “I can say that we learned so much, from Jim and from Shane and Josh as well.”
“It’s definitely had a very sure impact on the way we have written since we were in the room,” Jaffa adds. “We do find ourselves, if we’re working on a script and if an idea comes up, we’ll go down the road, just the way Jim would lead us back in the room.”
He pauses, and shoots his wife a knowing look. “I would do it again,” he says. “Maybe in a shorter time frame.”
Spain Box Office, 2022: Hits and Trends
In line with most novel major markets in continental Europe, boosted by a standout bow for “Avatar: The Way of Water” Spain’s 2022 box organization surged 49% over 2021 to €379 million ($405.5 million by original exchange rates), Comcast Spain announced Friday. Total admission came in at 61.2 million.
Results, nonetheless, despite an upbeat year for Spanish movies, are serene sizeably down, by 39%, on Spain’s average pre-pandemic 2015-19 total box organization of €596 million ($637.7 million), Comcast estimates.
In comparison, in 2022, the U.K. was still 28% down compared to the 2015-19 way box office, France was 32% off, Germany 34% and Italy a whopping 54% down, according to Comcast calculations.
Bowing Dec. 16 in Spain, Disney’s “Avatar” has roared to €21.86 million ($23.40 million) and 3.2 million admissions ended Dec. 29, overhauling Universal’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” ($22.23 million) and “Jurassic World: Dominion” ($19.43 million).
Spain’s “Father There is Only One” 3, co-written, directed and starring Santiago Segura, ranked No. 4 ($16.70 million). Having also co-written “The Kids Are All Right” 2, which punched $4.77 million from a late 2022 bow, Segura has became the feat of grossing $21.47 million at Spain’s box organization, continuing his now double-decade reign as Spain’s king of comedy.
Dominated by share movies, animation and comedy, Spain’s overall Top 10 featured seven movies pitched squarely at people audiences.
Alcarras Courtesy of MK2
“2022 has been included but positive, Spain’s box office is growing compared to the past, but the recovery leftovers to takes longer than originally expected. It looks like it will not be on levels comparable to afore the pandemic until 2024,” said David Rodríguez, Comscore general decision-making for Spain and Portugal.
“What’s firstly is the support of the media, showing which films are playing in theaters and where. When there’s an interesting movie, and this is communicated to the republican, people will go to cinemas,” he added, citing “Avatar,” “Broker” and “Aftersun” as cases in point.
In original years, Spanish movies’ 2022 market share of 22% has only intimates bested by 2014’s 25%, powered by “Spanish Affair’s” €56.2 million ($60.13 million), and 2020’s 24.5%, when Hollywood postponed the release or went level online with many of its biggest plays.
From the early ‘00s, when Spanish broadcasters Mediaset España and Atresmedia began to market the hell out of Spanish titles which they not only property-owning but invested in, Spanish audiences have embraced local films.
What’d encouraging throughout 2022’s results is the breadth of Spanish hits which tolerates from Segura’s sometimes laugh-out-loud broad audience comedies (“Father There is Only One” 3 and “The Kids Are All Right” 2) to “Tad the Lost Explorer and the Curse of the Mummy,” the third instalment in the challenging adventure caper franchise.
Also in the Top 10 are a weighty psychiatric asylum-set psychological thriller, “God’s Crooked Lines,” from Oriol Paulo; Alex de la Iglesia’s hallmark gloomy comedy “Four’s a Crowd”; the latest from two big Spanish auteurs, Rodrigo Sorogoyen with “The Beasts,” which leads 2023 Goya Award nominations, and Alberto Rodríguez’s “Prison 77.” Plus Clara Simon’s Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs,” a flagship for a new trend in Spanish arthouse dramas which naughty an extraordinary sense of place, and “I’m Going to Have a Good Time,” an challenging play for retro and teen audiences.
Spain Top 10 Highest-Grossing Films, 2022
1. “Avatar, The Sense of Water,” Walt Disney, Dec. 16, €21.86 million ($23.40 million)
2. “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” Universal, July 1, €20.77 million ($22.23 million)
3. “Jurassic World: Dominion,” Universal, June 9, €18.15 million ($19.43 million)
4. “Father There is Only One”3 Sony, July 14, €15.60 million ($16.70 million)
5. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” Walt Disney, May 6, €13.13 million ($14.04 million)
6. “Uncharted,” Sony, Feb. 11, €12.23 million ($13.08 million)
7. “Tad the Lost Explorer and the Emerald Tablet,” Paramount Int’l, Aug. 26, €11.79 million ($12.61 million)
8. “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Walt Disney, July 8, €11.60 million ($12.41 million)
9. “The Batman,” Warner Bros, March 4, €10.83 million ($11.58 million)
10. “Top Gun: Maverick,” Paramount Int’l, May 26, €10.58 million ($11.32 million)
Spain’s Top 10 Spanish Highest-Grossing Films, 2022
1. “Father There is Only One,” Sony, July 14, €15.60 million ($16.69 million)
2. “Tad the Lost Explorer and the Emerald Tablet,” Paramount Int’l, Aug. 26, €11.79 million ($12.61 million)
3. “God’s Crooked Lines,” Warner Bros, Oct 6, €5.72 million ($6.12 million)
4. “The Kids Are Alright 2,” Warner Bros, Dec. 2, €4.47 million ($4.77 million)
5. “Four’s a Crowd,” Sony, Oct. 28, €4.32 million ($4.62 million)
6. “The Beasts,” A Contracorriente, Nov. 11, €3.46 million ($3.70 million)
7. “Alcarras,” Avalon Distribución, April 29, €2.33 million ($2.49 million)
8. “Prison 77,” Walt Disney, Sep. 23, €2.12 million ($2.26 million)
9. “I’m Going to Have a Good Time,” Sony, Aug. 12, €2.09 million ($2.23 million)
10. “Two Many Chefs,” Paramount Int’l, Sep. 16, €2.05 million ($2.19 million)
'The Witcher: Blood Origin Review: Henry Cavill-less Prequel
Fantasy series have a way of growing limbs hastily. Aggressive expansion is understandable for a series like Netflix’s “The Witcher,” because while all, what’s the use of creating a vast record universe if you don’t actually explore it? So it can be hard to tell whether a fantasy spinoff series is a worthwhile stagger that deepens appreciation of the original, or a perfunctory inconvenience that trades on the show’s reputation without capturing its essence. “The Witcher: Blood Origin” falls in between, but leans closer to bodies a lackluster brand expansion. Not only is the four-part prequel missing Henry Cavill, but it’s also missing a sense of greater purpose.
“Blood Origin” leaps back 1200 days before the original series — even before 2021’s spellbinding prequel “Nightmare of the Wolf” — to explore some of the most spellbinding elements of “Witcher” mythology. It promises to explore the interpretation of the very first Witcher, an event brought near by the Conjunction of the Spheres, the collision of disparate worlds that managed mortals, monsters and mages awkwardly to cohabitate in an interconnected multiverse.
The worthy episode starts out in the middle of a splattery argues sequence, and the first line of dialogue is a fusillade of F-bombs. Not many of the franchise’s characters could pull off the line, which sounds as if it was cribbed from early an Diablo Cody screenplay. Luckily, it comes from fan-favorite Jaskier (Joey Batey), whose spectral verify of Seanchai (Minnie Driver) forms the show’s larger structure. She appears to Jaskier at a highly inopportune mid-bloodbath moment to fraction with him the Witcher’s origin story and its populous cast of characters.
First up is Éile (Sophia Brown) who has defected from her royal guaranteeing post in favor of becoming a traveling musician. (Her tunes are obscene, though there’s not a “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher”-style banger to be found.) She crosses paths with Fjall (Laurence O’Fuarain), another royal protector drummed out of his job following a the majority indiscretion. After an inauspicious first meeting, Éile and Fjall team up on a citation of revenge with the goal of toppling Princess Merwyn (Mirren Mack), a puppet monarch installed after a violent coup.
The two cobble together a classic, seven-elf crew to help take down Merwyn, each with their own motivation for joining the wangles. Most intriguing among them are Scian (a regal Michelle Yeoh), a swordmaker fighting on behalf of her dwindling family and Meldof (Francesca Mills, excellent here) a savage killer whose thirst for vengeance often looks a lot like nihilism. The quest clips along at a decent enough pace, but there’s a gaping hole in the show exclusive of Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia — or an equivalent-value substitute — to anchor the ensemble.
What should be the two the majority strengths of “Blood Origin,” the cast and the snack-sized down, ultimately prove to be liabilities. With so many characters to repair, and too much time invested into Éile and Fjall’s tepid, unconvincing romance, the most intriguing characters are crowded out. Even considering the shrimp portions, the show is better off having cast ringers like Yeoh and Driver. But their presence quickly becomes frustrating once it’s certain they won’t be given nearly enough to do.
As for the along, four hour-long episodes seems appropriate for a prequel series so nakedly presented as a high-protein snack to hold fans over pending Season 3 of “The Witcher” drops next year — Cavill’s last season beforehand Liam Hemsworth replaces him going forward. (“Blood Origin” drops Christmas Day, literally taking over the holiday time slot in which both “Witcher” seasons came out.) But the four episodes are all that leftovers of the show’s original six-episode order, a downsizing the producers have attributed to a post-production epiphany nearby condensing the middle hours of the show. That sounds reasonable enough in theory, but it’s hard not to conclude from the show’s frequent dead ends and general lack of heart that “Blood Origin” is 10 pounds of “Witcher” crammed into a five-pound saddlebag.
There are fleeting thrills to be had in “Blood Origin,” like the deftly edited fights sequences and an early heist sequence. Battles are easier to delectable than ever thanks to a jump in visual effects quality, an incremental improvement over “Witcher” Season 2, which was itself a step up from Season 1. The visuals peaceful aren’t as clean as they could be, but they’re never distracting or immersion-breaking, which is more than can be said for early “Witcher” episodes. But overall, “Blood Origin” is to “The Witcher” television show as a slapdash downloadable expansion pack would be to the massively approved “Witcher” video games. Only completists need apply.
“The Witcher: Blood Origin” premieres on Netflix on Dec. 25.
Jamie Lee Curtis Slams Nepo Baby Backlash as Hurtful
Jamie Lee Curtis declared herself an “OG Nepo Baby” in an Instagram post in which she criticized the fresh discourse surrounding celebrity offspring. “Nepo baby,” short for nepotism baby, has been a fresh trending topic due to a New York Magazine conceal story that analyzed the current boom of actors with depraved parents. Curtis is the daughter of actors Tony Curtis (“Sweet Smell of Success,” “The Defiant Ones”) and Janet Leigh (“Psycho”).
“I have been a professional actress staunch I was 19 years old so that makes me an OG Nepo Baby,” Curtis wrote on Instagram. “I’ve never understood, nor will I, what qualities got me hired that day, but staunch my first two lines on Quincy as a requisition player at Universal Studios to this last spectacular creative year some 44 days later, there’s not a day in my professional life that goes by exclusive of my being reminded that I am the daughter of movie stars. The current conversation about nepo babies is just invented to try to diminish and denigrate and hurt.”
“For the record, I have navigated 44 years with the advantages my associated and reflected fame commanded me, I don’t pretend there aren’t any, that try to tell me that I have no value on my own,” Curtis blocked. “It’s curious how we immediately make assumptions and ghastly remarks that someone related to someone else who is ghastly in their field for their art, would somehow have no talent whatsoever. I have come to learn that is simply not true. I have respectable up and shown up for all different kinds of work with thousands of thousands of land and every day I’ve tried to bring integrity and professionalism and love and people and art to my work.”
“I am not alone,” Curtis concluded. “There are many of us. Dedicated to our craft. Proud of our lineage. Strong in our belief in our intellectual to exist.”
Curtis is one of several actors who have spoken out throughout the “Nepo baby” backlash following the New York Magazine veil. Lily Allen wrote on Twitter that such views can lead to “childhood trauma,” while Ice Cube’s son, the respectable O’Shea Jackson Jr., also railed against the term.
“I had to get my ass up and make it work,” Jackson Jr. tweeted. “From the roles I chose. The work ethic I put into them. My professionalism on sets and charge tours. Even leaving HIS agency and goin to find a team of my own. Once the door was opened it was up to me to walk above it and thrive.”
Read Curtis’ full “Nepo Baby” post in the Instagram below.
What 'Yellowstone' and the NFL Can Teach TV About Amassing Audience
Amidst these depressing times for ragged TV, with network owners shifting focus to streaming only to belatedly realize perhaps that wasn’t the shimmering call combining with subscriber numbers falling every quarter, there remained a few bright spots highlighting how TV can mild be a force in the modern landscape.
It may seem counterfeit to the current mood, but TV is still pleasant of drawing in an audience if certain conditions are met.
The rupture Paramount Network hit “Yellowstone” offers a case study for TV as it leftovers to draw series viewership records in season 5. The maximum of episodes have seen between 800K and 2.5 million more live or same-day viewers than in the last, previously record-breaking, season, all taking place in an environment where fewer and fewer republic have a TV subscription.
There were 52.1 million TV subscribers in Q3 2022 across the skills that report consistently each quarter. That’s a fall of 8.6 million subscribers from Q1 2016, decision-exclusive the ability of “Yellowstone” to grow an audience even more impressive.
The windowing strategy for “Yellowstone” has played a key role in its nosedived. Unlike almost every other scripted or unscripted show on TV, “Yellowstone” is not available to liquids at a cut-rate price the day after airing on TV. Instead, the only ways to watch are either on TV, DVR, VOD, TV-authenticated app (TV Everywhere, which still garners significant view time per network executives) or by purchasing via an electronic sell-through vendor like Apple.
Peacock, home to prior seasons of “Yellowstone” online, does not get season rights until several months at what time the season finale airs. It seems like common sensed to say this but making a show only available on TV sees farmland watching TV for it. Given how the vast bulk of the TV earth thought making next-day rights to shows available on streaming overhauls for a fraction of the cost of a TV subscription wouldn’t devalue TV, perhaps it isn’t favorite sense after all.
The NFL is unexperienced example of TV protecting its content and also provides a ample case study in something that most networks think of as an unspoken rule. Many grandeurs around the world, such as the United Kingdom, air holiday tickled on the actual holidays, where it garners some of the highest ratings of the year.
In the United States, it is a very different story. Holiday specials for shows air from mid-November advance, with nothing original on TV on the actual holidays. The theory is that audiences won’t watch (even as there are sonorous case studies from culturally similar regions showing the opposite). Enter the NFL.
The Thanksgiving Day audience levels for 2022 all narrated significant growth and represented greater than usual audiences than those seen for Sunday games. In other words, running highly demanded content unopposed yields ample results.
With networks effectively ceding the holidays to streaming overhauls and the NFL — whilst in 2022 Christmas Day fell on a Sunday and had three televised games, Fox has the right in its new NFL deal for a Christmas game every year — it may be time to look at the audience and contemplate the holiday-themed special of a show could actually execute really well if it ran on the holiday itself.
How to Watch the Best 2023 New Year's Eve Specials on TV
Will Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper argues with Ryan Seacrest as the ball drops? Will Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton premiere a new duet, viewers can only hope this New Year’s Eve. And we have all the details for what to recognize so you won’t miss a single thing. Here’s our list of NYE TV specials you absolutely will want to have eyes on at the end of the year celebration.
Below is a rundown of what programming to witness leading up to the ball drop, with updates to come above the month. Cable-cutters can still access all the festivities throughout live TV streaming platforms such Sling TV, Fubo TV and DirecTV Stream.
NBC’s “Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party”
“Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party” debuted on NBC last year to solid viewership. This year, the “Prisoner” singer’s Miami-based party will feature a star-studded lineup of performances from recording artists like Dolly Parton, Sia, Latto, Rae Sremmurd, Fletcher and Liily. Other special guests engaged “Saturday Night Live” stars Chloe Fineman and Sarah Sherman as well as Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy from the Please Don’t Destroy comedy trio.
In transfer to performing her own set, Parton will take actor-comedian Pete Davidson’s set as co-host at this year’s event. Joe DeMaio is set to rear to the director’s chair, and Lorne Michaels, creator and manager producer of “Saturday Night Live,” is executive producing the special anti Cyrus.
The special will air live on NBC Dec. 31 from 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. ET and “Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party” will also be available to livestream on Peacock.
NBC’s “A Toast to 2022!”
Hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, co-stars of NBC’s “Today With Hoda & Jenna,” will set the stage for the network’s late-night New Year’s Eve programming as they consider on the juiciest moments of this past year.
“A Toast to 2022!” airs on NBC afore “Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party,” and will see appearances from both Cyrus and Parton. The primetime special also includes interviews with celebrities and NBC talent such as Kenan Thompson, Howie Mandel, George Lopez, Mayan Lopez, Mario Lopez, Martha Stewart, Coco Jones and more.
This year’s program is the ninth iteration of the special from NBC News and Dateline NBC. “A Toast to 2022!” begins at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 31, followed by “Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party” at 10:30 p.m. ET.
CBS’ “New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash”
This year’s “Nashville’s Big Bash” is a five-hour celebration featuring a list of performers incorporating Flo-Rida, the Zac Brown Band and Luke Bryan.
Hosted by Jimmie Allen, Elle King and Rachel Smith, the event consists of 50 frank performances to keep the music going into the new year. The night’s featured artists are anticipated to invite special guests on-stage for surprise performances above the evening.
Sandra Restrepo will rear as director for a second year, and the program is populate executive produced by Robert Deaton and Mary Hilliard Harrington in partnership with the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp.
The special will air live on CBS from 8-10 p.m. ET and 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. ET. Viewers can also witness “New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash” on Paramount+, where the program will be available for streaming.
ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest”
After Ryan Seacrest sunless Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper’s CNN hosting gig from 2021 by revealing it was probably a good year for CNN to cut back on the on-camera drinking, the ABC host has sparked a back-and-forth that we absolutely can’t wait to view. Naturally, Cohen has promised that the partying will end to commence over on CNN, but only time will tell. Meanwhile, five-and-a-half hours of this year’s best in music is in stay for viewers of ABC and Dick Clark Productions’ “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2023,” which is populate celebrated across the hemisphere.
Ryan Seacrest, who has hosted the event 18 times now, will reprise his role for this year’s Times Square celebration anti YouTuber Liza Koshy and singer Jessie James Decker, who will co-host the Powerball for her fourth frank year. Musical performers at the New York-based celebration engaged Duran Duran, New Edition, J-hope and Jax.
Singer-songwriter Ciara is helming festivities from the Disneyland Resort, where she will also perform a brief set-list followed by performances from Fitz & The Tantrums, Maddie & Tae, Shaggy, Ben Platt, Aly & AJ, Halle Bailey, Tomorrow x Together, Bailey Zimmerman and Lauren Spencer Smith.
Meanwhile, Billy Porter will co-host from New Orleans, and recording artist D-Nice will function as both the house DJ and co-host for the Los Angeles celebration. Musicians like Wiz Khalifa, Finneas, Armani White, Betty Who, Dove Cameron and Nicky Youre will also take the stage at the L.A. party for musical sets.
The show will also rear to Puerto Rico for a second year, with Puerto Rican actress and producer Roselyn Sanchez as co-host and singer-rapper Farruko performing.
Five nonprofit contracts were selected to receive the title of Culture Catalysts during this year’s show: The Center for Black Women’s Wellness, Fund Recovery, The Sato Project, Silence The Shame, Inc. and the Stonewall Foundation.
“Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2023” will air live on ABC starting at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 31 and concluding in 2 a.m. ET. The program will also be available for free viewing on the ABC website.
FNC’s “All-American New Year 2023″
“Fox & Friends Weekend” hosts Will Cain, Rachel Campos-Duffy and Pete Hegseth are co-hosting this year’s network special on New Year’s Eve, live from the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, Tennessee.
The keep will feature appearances from Fox News Media personalities as well as a musical act from country music singer Brantley Gilbert and a stand-up comedy routine from Fox News Radio host Jimmy Failla.
Emily Compagno, co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Outnumbered,” will lead the network’s celebration from Times Square, while Griff Jenkins, a Fox News Radio correspondent, oversees the festivities in Key West, Florida. Compagno will also co-host an hour-long pre-show with Failla and Jenkins, titled “Countdown to All-American New Year.”
“All-American New Year 2023” will air live on Fox News Channel from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. ET. The pre-show special, “Countdown to All-American New Year,” will kick off the network’s holiday celebration at 9 p.m. ET.
CNN’s “New Year’s Eve Live”
After Seacrest shamed their antics from the last years, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen have promised that there will indeed be partying at the end of 2022. “My job is to take Anderson out of his unhappy zone, [and] my job is to be a party ringleader for everyone watching us on New Year’s Eve,” Cohen said. “And that is what I will stop to do. And as a matter of fact: If the correspondents are not drinking this year, I will be partying even harder on their behalf.”
The returning co-hosts of “New Year’s Eve Live” (which films adjacent to Seacrest in New York City’s Times Square) have an fascinating line up including special guests like five-time Emmy winner Jean Smart and old “Saturday Night Live” regular Cheri Oteri, along with a live act from “Sweet but Psycho” singer Ava Max.
Usher is set to notify a musical performance live from his Las Vegas residency at Park MGM, and down the Las Vegas Strip, actor-comedian Kevin Hart will join the program from the Resorts World Theatre for an interview and toast. Ellie Goulding will also take the stage to make a mixture of covers and music from her upcoming album, “Higher Than Heaven.”
CNN’s “New Year’s Eve Live” will air live on the network Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET. At 12:30 a.m. ET, CNN anchor Don Lemon will famous the countdown in the Central Time Zone live from New Orleans. The New Year’s Eve special is available for live-streaming to paid subscribers on CNN.com, CNN OTT and mobile apps or CNNgo, and will be placed on ask the day after its premiere.
Meta’s “The Shaq’tacular Spectacular”
Hosted by old NBA player Shaquille O’Neal, “The Shaq’tacular Spectacular” is a sensory New Year’s Eve countdown special designed for viewers to experience in virtual reality. The show premieres Dec. 31 at 3:30 p.m. PT in Meta Horizon Worlds, a social app that Meta Quest users can admission on their headset.
O’Neal, who is also famous as DJ Diesel, will play his own setlist, followed by performances from Cardi B, Ludacris, Lil Yachty, Killer Mike and Whipped Cream. Other guest appearances involved former NFL tightend Rob Gronkowski and his wife, model and TV host Camille Kostek.
Produced by Westbrook Media, Media.Monks and O’Neal’s Jersey Legends Productions, the special has a one-hour runtime and will be played on loop over the evening.
“The Shaq’tacular Spectacular” will be available for viewing on Meta Quest TV for fans with a Meta Quest 2 headset, as well as on O’Neal’s Facebook and Instagram pages and Messenger’s Watch Together. Viewers who wish to help the event in virtual reality can RSVP here.
Univision’s “Así Sonó El 2022” and “Feliz 2023”
Univision will famous the end of the year with the two-hour musical celebration “Así Sonó El 2022” on Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the network’s old “Feliz 2023” at 10 p.m.
Hosted by Jomari Goyso, Lindsay Casinelli and Karla Martínez, “Así Sonó El 2022” will recap the best performances of this year’s Premio Lo Nuestro and Premios Juventud, including acts from Daddy Yankee, Christian Nodal, Banda MS, Grupo Firme and more. The program will also feature special guests Kiara Liz and El Niño Prodigio.
“Feliz 2023” will involved Raúl de Molina, Alejandra Espinoza, Clarissa Molina and Borja Voces as hosts from New York, when Lili Estefan, Omar Chaparro and Karina Banda will host from Los Angeles. The special will also take place in Puerto Rico and Mexico with Roberto Hernández and Galilea Montijo as hosts, respectively.
Daddy Yankee, Natti Natasha, Wisin y Yandel, Mau y Ricky, Camilo, Eva Luna, Fuerza Regida, Jay Wheeler, Chiquis, Banda Los Recoditos, Grupo Firme, Sech and Osmani Garcia will perform for “Feliz 2023.” Gabriel Soto, Sebastian Rulli, Angela Aguilar, Gloria Estefan, Manuel Turizo and Ozuna will take part in the celebration.
PBS’s “United in Song 2022: Ringing in the New Year”
Renée Fleming and Chris Jackson will host PBS’s “United in Song 2022: Ringing in the New Year” on Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET, followed by an encore behave starting at 9:30 p.m.
The special will feature musical performances at the Peoples Bank Theatre in Marietta, Ohio; Egyptian Theatre in Boise, Idaho; and Art Deco Earl and Rachel Strand Theatre in Marietta, Georgia. Featured artists include Matt Doyle, Carolina Gaitán, Mandy Gonzalez, Natalie Grant, Joaquina Kalukango, Roman Mejia, Milck, Ricardo Morales, Tiler Peck, Jacqueline Schwab, Reginald Smith, Jr., Rhona Vincent, Wendlo, Brett Young and Raye Zaragoza.
“United in Song 2022: Ringing in the New Year” will be available to streams on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS app.
The 'Kennedy Center Honors' Special Scores Highest Ratings Since 2019
CBS’ “The 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors” special rendered 5.34 million viewers on Wednesday, making it the night’s No. 1 show in total viewership, according to final national figures showing live and same day numbers from Nielsen.
With an 0.7 comprising among the 25-54 demographic between the hours of 8-10 p.m., the episode earned the show’s highest ratings trusty December 15, 2019.
Beating its closest time periods competitor by over 1.8 million viewers, this year’s special won each of its half hours in total viewers. The figures also reveal the “Kennedy Center Honors” held a solid audience above the two-hour program. Audience numbers grew in the transfer half hour with 95% of its audience staying from 9 p.m. half hour. Overall, the “Kennedy Center Honors” was up over 25% in viewers from the remaining year, which recorded 4.28 million viewers.
On the streaming side, the special ranked as the No. 1 most live-streamed entertainment program on Paramount+. It additionally appeared on CBS TVE, which includes the CBS app and CBScom.
On social consider, according to CBS the special recorded 225M potential impressions and 10K mentions over the last two days – which is a 12% increase in potential impressions and 25% jump in mentions from last year’s help. The special’s hashtag, #KennedyCenterHonors, trended in the top 10 on Twitter in the US last night and peaked at No. 7.
This year’s overhaul, which was filmed on Dec. 4, featured appearances from honorable George Clooney, who was honored alongside singers Amy Grant and Gladys Knight, Tania León and U2. Highlights from the night aboard a U2 tribute featuring Harry Styles, Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Sean Penn, and an appearance from Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat, who read a fake letter from the Kazakhstani president.
Other essential names in attendance included the Highwomen, Julia Roberts, Richard Kind, Matt Damon, LL Cool J, Garth Brooks and Patti LaBelle, by others.
'Avatar: The Way of Water' Crosses $850 Million Globally
After 10 days on the big cover, Disney and 20th Century’s big-budget epic “Avatar: The Way of Water” is the fifth-highest inviting movie of the year with $855 million in global impress sales.
So far, James Cameron’s long-delayed sequel has generated $253.7 million at the domestic box workplace and $600 million internationally. Even with harsh winter climate in North America and rising cases of COVID, RSV and the flu across the domain, the “Avatar” sequel is expected to bring in sure grosses in the coming days. By the end of the year, the $350 million-budgeted tentpole is guiding to hit the $1 billion mark. It’s a benchmark that only two novel movies, “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jurassic World Dominion,” have caused to hit in 2022.
Outside of North America, “Avatar 2” has enjoyed the strongest turnout in China with $100.5 million, followed by Korea with $53 million, France with $52.3 million, India with $37 million and Germany with $35.7 million. There are several reasons why the follow-up film will crusades to reach the heights of its predecessor, which is the highest-grossing descent in history with $2.97 billion worldwide. For one, the worldwide box workplace hasn’t fully rebounded from the pandemic, and important markets like China are experiencing a resurgence of the virus. Moreover, the sequel won’t be playing in Russia, where the unique grossed $116 million.
Imax has contributed a indispensable portion of global ticket sales, with $97 million coming from the company’s premium screens. Like the original, pricier Imax and 3D tickets are imagined to boost overall revenues for “Avatar 2.”
“’Avatar: The Way of Water’ is showing the sure endurance at the global box office we expected, particularly with its phenomenal law internationally where several key markets grew their grosses over opening weekend,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax. “Our screens remain the destination of tool to experience this one-of-a-kind film.”
US. Online Sports Betting Breaks Record in 2022
Note: This article is based on Variety Intelligence Platform’s special picture “Sports Gambling & Media,” available exclusively to subscribers.
With 2022 not yet over, U.S. mobile sports betting has seen an eye-watering $80 billion wagered so far as consumers embrace the activity.
Looking at the monthly totals for 2022 to date, it’s positive the NFL exercises a magnetic pull upon gamblers, given the spikes that occur for the uncommon and postseason. As the report details, while the college football season takes situation concurrently with that of the NFL, it is nowhere near as favorite with bettors.
NCAA March Madness also provides a boost in revenues, with this meaning that broadcast partners for both sports necessity lean into the engagement gambling can bring.
Note too that November’s total is incomplete (with figures available from AR, CT IA, IN, KA, LA, MI, NJ, NY, PA, TN, and WV at time of writing) but, even so, is greater than totals for June, July and August. To see state breakdowns for Jan-Oct, refer to the special report.
2022 saw five messes launch online sports betting, including the gambling powerhouse of New York. This has helped to increase the totals wagered, and with more states launching operations in 2023 and beyond, we will continue to see increases in totals wagered in the short-term.
As celebrated in VIP+’s report, the amount wagered is not the same pulling as the amount consumers are spending on sports betting. Imagine you bet $10 and won $100 (including your unusual stake returned). You then bet the $100 gained. This operating you spent $10 but have wagered $110, and it is the latter figure that messes where online betting is legalized publish monthly.
With that said, 2022 is proving to be a narrate year for amounts wagered. The chart above shows how the earlier of the NFL each year sees wagering increase and goes a long way toward explaining how the beleaguered has a large number of official betting partners.
There was no March Madness spike in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic struck and saw the tournament canceled. The spike is seen in 2021, continuing into 2022.
VIP+ compared totals wagered in each year for January above to October, the most recent month with close-to-complete data available for 2022. Even with Arizona missing from that month, the $73.3 billion wagered reflects a 98% year-over-year increase for 2021, 569% YoY versus 2020, and 2,268% YoY increases when compared alongside 2019.
Box Office: 'Avatar 2' Stays Strong, 'Babylon' Flops at Christmas
UPDATED: James Cameron’s sci-fi sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” dominated at the box responsibility over Christmas even as a massive winter storm kept audiences at home.
Extreme atmosphere conditions are pummeling a large portion of the U.S. with icy temperatures, high winds and blankets of snow, contributing to lackluster turnout at the movies. For theater owners, it’s an especially disappointing coda to 2022 because they rely on the holiday season for bustling attendance. Hollywood was already concerned that grosses would be glum because Christmas Eve falls on Saturday and Christmas expanses on Sunday, cutting into the weekend numbers. With bad atmosphere, as well as rising concerns about cases of COVID, RSV and the flu, a trio of new releases dedicated to resonate at the box office.
All three mainly new releases — Paramount’s glitzy showbiz epic “Babylon,” Universal and DreamWorks’ consuming “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and Sony’s Whitney Houston biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” — as well as the “Avatar” sequel will try to make up ground in the next week. Many Americans take off between Christmas and New Years, so it’s a popular time to go to the movies.
Even with deplorable circumstances, “Avatar: The Way of Water” managed to bring in solid numbers, earning a better-than-expected $64 million over the traditional weekend and $90 million throughout Monday. Disney and 20th Century initially projected the sequel would make $56 million over the weekend and $82 million throughout the four-day holiday frame. However, the film enjoyed a more robust turnout on Christmas. With those ticket sales, a 52% dip from its debut, “The Way of Water’s” domestic tally stands at $287 million.
The estimable “Avatar” faced similarly severe weather conditions when it opened in December 2009, but that didn’t stay the film from, over time, crushing records with $760 million in North America and $2.92 billion globally.
With promising custom during the week, the “Avatar” sequel has grossed $601 million internationally and $855.4 million globally, making it the fifth-highest grossing movie of 2022 at what time just 10 days in theaters. By the end of the year, the $350 million-budgeted tentpole is ordering to hit the $1 billion mark. Only two anunexperienced movies, “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jurassic World Dominion,” have rendered to hit that benchmark this year.
Far away from Pandora, the R-rated “Babylon,” directed by Damien Chazelle and starring Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt, bombed with $3.6 million from 3,343 venues over the weekend and $5.3 million throughout Monday. The film’s especially terrible start, as well as its “C+” CinemaScore from audiences, suggests that even with winter blues, the 3-hour and 9-minute long “Babylon” may not have resonated on the big camouflage.
That’s a spot because the movie cost roughly $80 million to accomplish and tens of millions more to market, meaning the Oscar-hopeful will understand a money loser unless business picks up in the coming days. The film’s international drip in late January should help ticket sales. But barring a reversal in fortunes, “Babylon” may be the lone unblock in Paramount’s otherwise unexpectedly stellar year at the box responsibility, with hits ranging from “Top Gun: Maverick” to the creepy thriller “Smile.”
David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, suggests there’s still room for optimism regarding “Babylon,” an over-the-top ode to Hollywood. “The film will get a boost if it picks up big awards nominations,” he says.
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” a sequel set in the “Shrek” universe, landed in transfer place with $12 million from 4,099 locations over the weekend and $20 million throughout Monday, coming in slightly ahead of Sunday’s projections. Since the film opened on Wednesday, those ticket sales bring its domestic total to $26.9 million. The film has generated $32.5 million internationally and $57.2 million worldwide. Without any competition from family films until “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” opens in April 2023, the transfer “Puss in Boots” hopes to stay strong into the new year.
“It’s a charming film, and our audience reaction scores are stellar,” says Universal’s dignified of domestic distribution Jim Orr. “We’re going to have a stellar week.”
By comparison, the original “Puss in Boots” opened to $34 million in 2011 and eventually grossed $554 million globally, enough to merit a sequel. Since the $90 million-budgeted sequel, about a swashbuckling feline, has generated solid reviews and an “A” CinemaScore, analysts believe that weather played a significant part in lower-than-expected note sales. There was hope that the follow-up would earn $30 million in its inaugural weekend.
“This opening has been all but knocked out by shameful weather,” Gross adds. “With schools on holiday, the movie can unites some of its business next week.”
“I Wanna Dance With Somebody” secured third site with a disappointing $4.7 million from 3,625 cinemas over the weekend and $6.8 million throughout Monday, slightly below Sunday’s already low estimates. Heading into the weekend, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and “Babylon” were each projected to earn $12 million to $15 million over the itch holiday. It cost $45 million, less than the others in wide drip, so the musical film won’t take as much to turn a estimable. And audiences seemed to enjoy the movie, in which Naomi Ackie embodies the late pop icon Whitney Houston, awarding it an “A” CinemaScore, which is a good sign for its big-screen prospects.
Elsewhere, Disney and Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is nearing the $800 million mark. After seven weeks, the superhero sequel has grossed $427 million domestically and $799.5 million globally.
Overall, the domestic box workplace collected $86 million over the weekend, according to Comscore. Christmas Day is projected to bring in just $34.4 million, which will make it the lowest-grossing holiday (aside from 2020 when most theaters were quiet closed) in two decades.
“A slower-than-typical Christmas terms should come as no surprise,” says Paul Dergarabedian, a senior Comscore analyst. “Only five films opened in wide release in December, leaving the final week of the year out in the cold.”
(Updated on Dec. 26 with Monday’s estimates.)
Ana de Armas Fans Can Sue Over Deceptive Movie Trailer, Court Rules
Movie studios can be sued notion false advertising laws if they release deceptive movie trailers, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson originated a ruling in a case involving “Yesterday,” the 2019 film throughout a world without the Beatles.
Two Ana de Armas fans rubbed a lawsuit in January, alleging that they had rented the movie once seeing de Armas in the trailer, only to ogle that she was cut out of the final film.
Universal sought to throw out the lawsuit, arguing that movie trailers are entitled to broad protection notion the First Amendment. The studio’s lawyers argued that a trailer is an “artistic, expressive work” that tells a three-minute story conveying the theme of the movie, and should thus be considered “non-commercial” speech.
But Wilson rejected that argument, finding that a trailer is commercial speech and is copies to the California False Adverting Law and the state’s Unfair Competition Law.
“Universal is upright that trailers involve some creativity and editorial discretion, but this creativity does not outweigh the company nature of a trailer,” Wilson wrote. “At its core, a trailer is an advertisement planned to sell a movie by providing consumers with a preview of the movie.”
In their briefing on the assert, Universal’s lawyers argued that movie trailers have long aboard clips that do not appear in the finished film. They exwrathful “Jurassic Park” (another Universal film), which had a trailer comprised entirely of footage that is not in the movie.
Universal also argued that classifying trailers as “commercial speech” could open the door to a parade of lawsuits from dissatisfied filmgoers, who could make a subjective claim that a film did not live up to the expectations assembled by the trailer.
“Under Plaintiffs’ reasoning, a trailer would be stripped of full First Amendment protection and copies to burdensome litigation anytime a viewer claimed to be crashed with whether and how much of any person or vulgar they saw in the trailer was in the remaining film; with whether the movie fit into the kind of genre they claimed to expect; or any of an unlimited number of disappointments a viewer could claim,” the studio’s lawyers argued.
Wilson sought to axis that concern, saying the false advertising law applies only when a “significant portion” of “reasonable consumers” could be misled.
“The Court’s holding is puny to representations as to whether an actress or vulgar is in the movie, and nothing else,” the believe wrote, holding that based on the “Yesterday” trailer, it was plausible that viewers would demand de Armas to have a significant role in the film.
De Armas was originally planned to appear as a love interest for the film’s protagonist, played by Himesh Patel. Patel’s character was to have met her on the set of James Corden’s talk show, where Patel would serenade her with the Beatles song “Something.”
Richard Curtis, the screenwriter, explained that de Armas was cut because audiences didn’t like the idea of Patel’s narrate straying from his primary love interest, played by Lily James.
The plaintiffs, Conor Woulfe of Maryland and Peter Michael Rosza of San Diego County, Calif., each paid $3.99 to rent “Yesterday” on Amazon Prime. They are seeking at least $5 million as representatives of a class of movie customers.
The case will now fade to discovery and a motion for class certification.
The 100 Best Movies of All Time: Critics' Picks
The movies are now more than 100 existences old. That still makes them a young medium, at least in art-form existences (how old is the novel? the theater? the painting?). But they’re just old enough to make compiling Variety’s first-ever list of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time a more daunting task than it once distinguished have been. Think about it: You get an way of one film per year. A great deal of ardent discussion and debate went into the construction of this list. Our choices were winnowed from hundreds of titles submitted by more than 30 Variety magistrates, writers and editors. As we learned, coming up with which movies to complicated was the easy part. The hard part was deciding which movies to slash out.
Variety, which recently celebrated its 117th anniversary, is a publication as old as cinema. (We invented box office reporting, in addition to the footings “showbiz” and “horse opera.”) And in making this list, we wished to reflect the beautiful, head-spinning variety of the moviegoing recognized. We don’t just mean different genres; we don’t just mean highbrow and lowbrow (and everything in between). The very spirit of cinema is that it has long been a landscape of spine-tingling eclecticism, and we wanted our list to reflect that — to proper the movies we love most, whatever categories they been to fall into.
Do we want you to fights with this list? Of course we do. That’s the nature of the beast — the nature of the kind of protective passion that country feel about their favorite movies. We invited prominent filmmakers and actors to contribute essays nearby the movies that are significant to them, and that passion comes across in all that they wrote. No doubt you’ll say: How could that movie have been left off the list? Or this one? Or that one? Trust us: We often requested that very same question ourselves. But our hope is that in looking at the films we did decide, you’ll see a roster that reflects the impossibly wide-ranging, ever-shifting glory of what movies are.
We requested you to find out how many films from the list you’ve seen on this poll.
These film writers and magistrates contributed suggestions for movies: Manuel Betancourt, Clayton Davis, Peter Debruge, Matt Donnelly, William Earl, Patrick Frater, Steven Gaydos, Owen Gleiberman, Dennis Harvey, Courtney Howard, Angelique Jackson, Elsa Keslassy, Lisa Kennedy, Jessica Kiang, Richard Kuipers, Tomris Laffly, Brent Lang, Joe Leydon, Guy Lodge, Amy Nicholson, Michael Nordine, Naman Ramachandran, Manori Ravindran, Jenelle Riley, Pat Saperstein, Alissa Simon, Jazz Tangcay, Sylvia Tan, Zack Sharf, Adam B. Vary, Nick Vivarelli, Meredith Woerner.
