| | | | | | What's news: Diddy's mother has publicly defended her scandal-plagued son. Jussie Smollett claims he spent $3m on trying to clear his name. Donald Glover has canceled his tour due to health problems. Amazon has dropped plans for a Who's the Boss? sequel series and a Bosch spinoff. The Princess Diaries 3 is in the works with Anne Hathaway returning. — Abid Rahman
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'Joker 2' Bombs, Receives an Unprecedented D CinemaScore ►Not funny. Todd Phillips' sequel Joker: Folie à Deux bombed in its box office debut with an estimated domestic opening of $40m, well behind expectations after becoming the first Hollywood comic book movie in history to earn a D CinemaScore from audiences. Exit polls are equally grim as audiences express their unhappiness with the antihero-musical mashup, which did less than half of the business the first Joker did in its launch despite costing more than three times as much to make, or $190m.
THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Joker 2 was expected to open to at least $50m to $60m, but projections were continually downgraded throughout the weekend as traffic stalled. Even on Saturday, most rival studios showed it opening to at least $45m to $47m. When the Warner Bros. movie first came on tracking three weeks ago, it was pacing to earn $70m. The box office report.
—"Is anyone out there laughing?" Judging by commentary on social media and YouTube, Joker 2 has really divided the DC fandom. For THR, Richard Newby asks for a moment's grace before judging the film too harshly, writing that Joker 2 may not be the punchline we deserve, "but Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix danced through a messy delivery to land on a pretty killer joke." The analysis.
—Hang in there, Todd! Joker 2's critical mauling and travails at the box office mirror the start that Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis faced, and the legendary filmmaker sent a message of comfort and support to Todd Phillips this weekend. Posting on Instagram, Coppola said Phillips’ films have always amazed him and provided enjoyment. He also suggested that moviegoers may not be ready for a film such as Joker: Folie à Deux. "Ever since the wonderful The Hangover, he’s always been one step ahead of the audience never doing what they expect." The story. |
Kamala Harris Set for Media Blitz ►Speaking to the people. If you turn a TV or radio this week, don’t be surprised if you see or hear Kamala Harris. The Democratic presidential nominee is going on an all-out media blitz this week, booking a number of high-profile interviews that span mediums and audiences. Today, Harris is set to appear on a special primetime edition of the CBS' 60 Minutes. On Tuesday, Harris will appear on ABC’s The View, Howard Stern's SiriusXM show and CBS' The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. And on Thursday, Harris will travel to Las Vegas, where she will participate in a TelevisaUnivision town hall moderated by Enrique Acevedo. The story.
—"Etiquette is kind of beside the point." John Oliver excoriated JD Vance on Sunday's Last Week Tonight, adding that folks who are praising last week’s vice presidential debate for its “civility” are missing the point. "For all the talk this week about his civility at the debate, let's not forget: Deep down, he's the same colossal dips*** who spews right-wing hate with distressing ease and continues to defend the big lie that the last election was stolen," Oliver said. The recap.
—"I’m gonna just say the word fundamental a bunch because debating is 30 percent fun and 70 percent demental." Saturday Night Live took to the debate stage on Saturday with Bowen Yang's J.D. Vance and Jim Gaffigan's Tim Walz. The latest episode spoofed the vice presidential debate, which saw an awkward Vance and goofy Walz go head-to-head in a somewhat cordial debate. And SNL's cold open brought that same energy. The sketch kicked off with Maya Rudolph’s Kamala Harris and Andy Samberg’s Doug Emhoff sitting down to watch the debate. The recap.
—"My son is not the monster they have painted him to be." Sean Combs’ mother has come to his defense amid a series of legal troubles involving accusations of sexual assault and sex trafficking. Janice Small Combs released a statement on Sunday through her attorney and on behalf of the Combs family, saying that while her son is not perfect and has “made mistakes in the past, as we all have,” he is not guilty of the allegations against him. The statement was released five days after it was revealed that Combs will face lawsuits from 120 additional accusers in addition to the dozen he was already facing. The story.
—"I don’t want to have a felony on my record for something I didn’t do." Actor Jussie Smollett is speaking out about his ongoing legal case stemming from a 2019 racist and homophobic attack that he allegedly staged against himself. In a new interview, Smollett claimed that he had spent $3m of his own money trying to clear his name. After Smollett was arrested in 2019 and accused of staging the attack, the charges against him were dropped and then refiled a year later, and he was convicted in 2021 of five felony counts of disorderly conduct. He’s since appealed that conviction, with the case currently being reviewed by the Illinois Supreme Court. The story.
—"My path to recovery is something I need to confront seriously." Donald Glover has made the decision to cancel the rest of his Childish Gambino tour dates in North America and the U.K., after postponing them last month. The actor, filmmaker and rapper took to X to share the news that, due to health problems, he is canceling the remainder of his tour dates to heal. All tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase. While Glover noted that the shows would not go on for now, he seems determined to finish the tour at some point. The story. |
How Page Six Became the Most Feared Gossip Column in the World ►"The mainstream press badmouthed us while they were stealing our stories and ideas with very little credit." Former Page Six writers Susan Mulcahy, Frank DiGiacomo, the authors of Paper of Wreckage, a new oral history of The New York Post, spill the tea on their own madcap days as editors of the paper's must-read daily dish. The story.
—First up. Early last week, CNN launched a digital paywall in a major strategic shift to its business strategy. On Friday, the news network released a short-form documentary called The Masculinity Campaign, as an exclusive for CNN digital subscribers. The first of what is expected to be a regular cadence of exclusive video content for paying CNN users. The doc, which "looks at how masculinity has always been on the ballot – even when a woman is running," was given prominent placement on the CNN.com homepage Friday, with a tag that notes that it is "for subscribers." The story.
—So long metaverse? Meta is leaning further into video, announcing an AI-powered video generation and editing tool, and a tweak to Facebook that will make its Reels video content more “prominent” for users of the social network. The AI tool, Meta Movie Gen, can create videos of up to 16 seconds based only on a text prompt. Perhaps even more significantly, it also allows for video editing and “personalized” video generation, where it can take a specific photo and integrate it into a video. The story. |
'Rings of Power' on Verge of S3 Renewal by Amazon ►It's coming. THR's James Hibberd reports that Amazon Prime Video is on the verge of renewing fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for a third season. While showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay have been prepping the next season’s story for months, the lack of official greenlight has been a source of speculation and concern among some fans — especially since the second season was ordered years before the first season debuted. In the wake of its second season finale and strong ratings, James writes that the renewal news will likely be announced this month. The story.
—Not happening. A pair of IP-based TV projects at Amazon aren’t moving forward after several years of development. The tech giant’s Freevee streaming service has scuttled a sequel to the 1980s sitcom Who’s The Boss?, which had original series stars Tony Danza and Alyssa Milano attached to reprise their roles. Amazon MGM Studios, meanwhile, has pulled the plug on a Bosch spinoff centering on birthday boy Jamie Hector’s character, Detective Jerry Edgar. The story.
—Helmer found. THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on DC Studios and HBO’s much-ballyhooed series Lanterns finding its lead-off director. James Hawes, an established TV helmer who most recently directed a string of episodes of the Gary Oldman Apple TV+ spy series Slow Horses, has been tapped to helm the first two episodes of the sci-fi cop series. Lanterns is said to have a gritty, True Detective vibe and follows Hal Jordan, a legend amongst the space police force known as the Green Lanterns, as he reluctantly mentors a younger Green Lantern, John Stewart. The two intergalactic cops get drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland. The story.
—Big for NBC! A strong Sunday Night Football game and good showings from several of its long-running series helped NBC claim the biggest audience for week one of the 2024-25 season. The network averaged 6.2m viewers in primetime for the week of Sept. 23-29, according to same-day Nielsen figures (which don’t include streaming or other delayed viewing). NBC has topped the opening week of the season in total viewers for six straight years and for 13 in a row among adults 18-49. ABC finished second for the week with 5.4m viewers, aided by two big sports telecasts (Monday Night Football and its Saturday primetime college football game) followed by CBS (3.3m) and Fox (1.8m). The ratings. |
Katy O’Brian Joins Cast of Paramount's 'The Running Man' ►🎭 In-demand 🎭 THR's Borys Kit has the scoop on Katy O’Brian joining Glen Powell in The Running Man, Paramount’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel. O'Brian is coming off the critical success of a starring role in A24's Love Lies Bleeding and also starred in Twisters and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Edgar Wright is directing the feature and co-wrote the script with Michael Bacall. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Paramount has announced a number of release dates for forthcoming titles, including The Running Man remake, which is set for release on Nov. 21, 2025. The studio’s untitled Naked Gun reboot feature will now hit theaters Aug. 1, 2025, after having previously been scheduled for July 18, 2025. Paramount’s untitled Smurfs animated musical film from director Chris Miller will take the previous Naked Gun release date of July 18, 2025. Horror film Vicious, starring Dakota Fanning, is moving up to Feb. 28, 2025. Additionally, recent festival darling and probably awards contender September 5 hits select theaters Nov. 29, 2024, before expanding on Dec. 13. The story.
—"The fairy tale continues." Disney is embarking on a new installment of the coming-of-age movie series The Princess Diaries, hiring Adele Lim, a scribe who has worked on Crazy Rich Asians and Joy Ride, to direct the feature. Anne Hathaway, who became a star thanks to the 2001 surprise hit and its 2004 sequel, will star and produce. The studio is planning to shoot the feature next year. Debra Martin Chase, one of the producers of the original, is back to produce. Flora Greeson wrote the latest script. The story.
—🎭 Filling out 🎭 Outer Range actor Tamara Podemski, Dana Solomon and Melanie Bray will star alongside writer-director Gail Maurice in Blood Lines, an Indigenous drama that just wrapped production in northern Ontario. Maurice, wrote, directed and produced her second feature that tells the story of an estranged mother whose homecoming upends the life of a headstrong Métis storyteller and grocery store clerk. Maurice's first feature Rosie debuted at the Toronto Film Festival in 2022 and was named to TIFF’s annual year-end Canada’s Top Ten list that year, while also winning the Audience Choice Award at the ImagineNATIVE Film Festival in 2022. The story. |
'TWD' Writer Breaks Down Carol's Violent 'Daryl Dixon' Detour ►"We're not lacking for story here. We're just lacking real estate." For THR, Josh Wigler spoke to writer David Zabel about the second of six episodes in Daryl Dixon - The Book of Carol. Zabel breaks down the episode, which takes the action to Greenland. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—"The human element in this film is what made the difference." THR boulevardier Ryan Gajewski spoke to filmmaker Chris Sanders and producer Jeff Hermann about their new film The Wild Robot. Sanders and Hermann discuss assembling the top-notch stars in the film, possibilities for a sequel, and tackling themes involving encroaching technology amid an animation landscape dealing with AI. The interview.
—"More money, more problems is real." THR's Brian Davids spoke to filmmaker Damien Leone about his new film Terrifier 3. Leone reveals that after the previous installment grossed an astounding $15.7m on a $250,000 budget, the latest film has a larger budget and a proper makeup effects team, but also a new set of challenges. The interview. |
Film Review: 'Daytime Revolution' ►"User-friendly radicalism of a kind probably unthinkable today." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Erik Nelson's Daytime Revolution. This doc revisits a unique experiment in countercultural messaging, when the famed couple stepped in for a week in 1972 as co-hosts of the hugely popular The Mike Douglas Show. The review.
—"Formulaic wine in a new bottle." THR India's Anupama Chopra reviews Koratala Siva's Devara: Part 1. RRR star N.T. Rama Rao Jr. plays multiple roles in writer-director Siva's bloody Tollywood epic, set in a remote coastal region populated by four warring clans. The review.
In other news...
—Pedro Almodóvar to receive Film at Lincoln Center’s 2025 Chaplin Award
—WBD ad sales chief Jon Steinlauf to exit company
—Emilie Anthonis named MPA head for Europe, Middle East, Africa
—Christopher Ciccone, artist and Madonna’s brother, dies at 63
—Michel Blanc, French actor in Les Bronzés and Monsieur Hire, dies at 72
—Robert Rosen, former UCLA theater, film and TV dean, dies at 84
What else we're reading...
—Marc Tracy writes that Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis is in a different class of box office failure [NYT]
—With Charli XCX and The Dare reviving talk of "indie sleaze", Meaghan Garvey looks into what it was and what, if anything, it is now [GQ]
—Justin McCurry spoke to journalist and documentary filmmaker Shiori Ito who has become the reluctant face of Japan’s #MeToo movement [Guardian]
—With Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna passing on headlining Coachella in 2025, Lucas Shaw writes that the event has become a victim of its own success [Bloomberg]
—Mark Gurman reports that Apple is set to slowly move away from its annual product release strategy [Bloomberg]
Today...
...in 2011, Sony released George Clooney's The Ides of March in theaters. Featuring a stellar cast of Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti, the film was a critical and box office hit and was nominated for a best adapted screenplay Oscar. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Dylan Baker (65), Jamie Hector (49), Simon Cowell (65), Joy Behar (82), John Mellencamp (73), Thom Yorke (56), Toni Braxton (57), Kira Kosarin (27), Shawn and Aaron Ashmore (45), Nicole Ari Parker (54), Jake McLaughlin (42), Lulu Wilson (19), Judy Landers (66), Amber Stevens West (38), Holland Roden (38), Omar Benson Miller (46), Jacqueline Antaramian (62), Allison Munn (50), Hattie Morahan (46), Mary Badham (72), Nicole Maines (27), Joe Armstrong (46), Yvonne Chapman (36), Brandon Quinn (47), Aria Shahghasemi (28), Anthony Lemke (54), Andrew Dominik (57), Tang Wei (45), Tim Minchin (49), Numan Acar (50), Stephanie Styles (33), Alexander Polinsky (50), Hannah Fidell (39), Marco Beltrami (58), Mark Radcliffe (72), Flying Lotus (41) |
| Allan Blye, an Emmy-winning comedy writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and Van Dyke and Company, has died. He was 87. The obituary. |
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