The fourth installment of the John Wick franchise is coming on tracking today, and signs are strong that audiences have no diminished appetite for the property. The Keanu Reeves actioner is looking to put up a domestic debut in the range of $60M to $70M, according to early research revealed to Deadline. If it delivers on that promise, the film will extend a revival of fortunes for the North American box office after the existential trials of the pandemic. Studios are programming a full spring of back-to-back tentpoles, bringing renewed optimism to studios' parent companies and exhibitors alike. For Lionsgate, the Wick outing follows a strong debut by Jesus Revolution, which launched at $15.6 million and has already crossed $20 million. >>>Bucking the Four-quel Trend |
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Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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"I Want To Thank All Of You" - On the eve of this year's Oscars, Will Smith made his first awards speech since the incident with Chris Rock at last year's Oscars. Deadline's Pete Hammond reported on Smith's acceptance of the Beacon Award at the African American Film Critics Association Awards, in which he thanked the organization, and Apple for its unwavering financial commitment to Emancipation. >>> Spoke With Deadline Beforehand 'Phat' Deal - Reginald Hudlin and Byron Phillips have struck a first-look deal with Original Productions after teaming up on Amazon documentary series Phat Tuesdays: The Era of Hip Hop Comedy. >>>Targeting Unscripted Shows TV Turn - Amazon Studios has partnered with The Tornante Company to develop The Better Liar, a drama series based on the book by the same name by Tanen Jones. Daisy Ridley is set to star in and executive produce the adaptation, written and executive produced by Raelle Tucker (True Blood). >>>First Starring TV Role For Ridley In Brief - Neal & Ruvé McDonough’s The McDonough Company has secured the rights to former artillery gunner Kelsi Sheren’s memoir Brass & Unity |
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Michelle Yeoh never imagined a path for herself that would lead to her mind-bending performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, the film that has made her Oscar’s first Best Actress nominee openly of Southeast Asian descent and that has earned her SAG’s Best Actress prize, among other accolades. After a lifetime spent breaking down barriers, she tells Joe Utichi how it feels to have at last been invited to the ball. >>>The Interview |
| Exclusive Sigourney Weaver has joined the cast of Apple Original Films and Skydance’s The Gorge starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy. Scott Derrickson is on board to direct with Zach Dean penning the script, which he sold on spec to Skydance last year. In addition to starring, Teller will serve as executive producer. Exclusive The cast for Blumhouse Sony’s horror pic They Listen grew louder with the addition of Havana Rose Liu in the Chris Weitz-directed and written title. Liu joins John Cho, Katherine Waterstone, Greg Hill, Riki Lindhome, Lukita Maxwell, Keith Carradine, and Ben Youcef in the production. Exclusive Ving Rhames is set as the lead of Legacy, a three-episode original series for BET+. Rhames will star as Guy Simmons, a notorious mobster and patriarch of the ruling crime family in the southern underworld. In Brief - The Mean Girls movie musical at Paramount has added Busy Phillips... Bebe Neuwirth is set to reprise her Lilith role in the Paramount+ Fraser sequel series... Christine Horn & Sule Rimi will headline Kagiso Lediga’s coming-of-age Amazon Freevee drama. |
| Renewals, Pickups & Cancelations |
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Dan Harmon’s Krapopolis has been renewed for Season 3 at Fox even before its Season 1 premiere... Kristen Bell to star in an untitled Erin Foster comedy series ordered by Netflix with Steve Levitan as the EP & 20th TV as the studio...The Robert De Niro-led Zero Day got a formal series greenlight at Netflix... The Way Home , starring Andie MacDowell was picked up for a second season by Hallmark Channel TK story needs link. Live at 7 am... Barmageddon has been renewed at USA Network for Season 2... Snake In The Grass was cancelled at USA Network after one season. |
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More News ☄️ A TV series adaptation of John Wyndham’s sci-fi classic The Day Of the Triffids has been put into fast-track development by Amazon Studios. According to sources, Johan Renick, Emmy winner for HBO’s Chernobyl, is attached to direct and executive produce. ☀️ CNN will launch its new dayside lineup in April as CNN News Central, an effort to highlight its newsgathering and coverage of breaking stories and events. 📺 New YouTube CEO Neil Mohan outlined the company’s 2023 priorities. They are to grow channel subscriptions, add innovative features to its NFL Sunday Ticket package and introduce new tools for podcasting and harnessing artificial intelligence. 🤝 Fulwell 73, the company behind The Late Late Show with James Corden, Hulu’s The Kardashians as well as Apple’s Carpool Karaoke: The Series, has extended its first-look deal with CBS Studios for another four years. In Brief - The Laura Linney comedy The Miracle Club has been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics...The Inclusion List: new site demonstrates the #OscarsSoWhite movement’s impact... A Stranger Things stage play titled The First Shadow is set to hit London’s West End later this year |
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On the Radar Thu - Steven Spielberg and John Williams on Colbert Sat - Independent Spirit Awards; Chris Rock’s Selective Outrage special on Netflix Sun - WGA Awards; ASC Awards; ACE Eddies Mon - Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference begins Wed - Toontown reopens at Disneyland |
| Winter Wonderland - "Can't tell if that's real or fake snow on Matterhorn Mountain today," read a tweet from the official Disney Parks account on Wednesday. The answer was likely "both," given that in the afternoon park visitors began posting videos to social media that showed light snow flurries on Main Street — yes, real snow, not the fake kind the park uses for parades. |
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