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☆ Why 'Spider-Man' filmmakers enlisted a 14-year-old artist to help animate their movie: 'He blew us all away'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A 14-year-old artist got to live his dream when the filmmakers behind the latest "Spider-Man" movie asked him to work on the film. Preston Mutanga made waves earlier this year when he shared a video he made recreating the trailer for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" in the style of LEGO. The 2-minute clip went viral, finding its way to "Spider-Verse" writers and producers Chris Lord and Phil Miller. "It blew us all away, including some of the best animators in the world." When it was decided that the multiverse-hopping film would be adding a LEGO-themed sequence, the filmmakers reached out to Mutanga to offer him the chance to animate it.

Persons: Preston Mutanga, Chris Lord, Phil Miller, nonprofessional, Miller, Mutanga's, Miles Morales —, Mutanga, Kelly Evans Organizations: New York Times, Times, Rotten

☆ HBO's controversial 'The Idol' starring The Weeknd has divided the world, according to new data about its global popularity
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Nathan Mcalone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It's a hit in Scandinavia and Latin America, but hasn't performed as well in the US, per data from FlixPatrol. HBO's "The Idol" was divisive before it even debuted on June 4, and its popularity around the world has also been uneven, according to new data. But the controversies started for "The Idol" well before the reviews started rolling in. A bombshell story from Rolling Stone in March said the show had gone "wildly, disgustingly off the rails," according to interviews with 13 sources. Tesfaye called the Rolling Stone article "ridiculous" in an interview with Vanity Fair shortly after its publication.

Persons: hasn't, Sam Levinson, Lily, Rose Depp, Abel, Max, Variety's Peter Debruge, Gyarkye, Stone, Levinson, Tesfaye, Depp Organizations: Rotten, HBO, Netflix, Stone, Cannes Film Locations: Scandinavia, Latin America, FlixPatrol, America, Central Europe, Western Europe, Sweden, Hungary, Denmark, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia

LOS ANGELES, June 4 (Reuters) - Audiences swung into theaters for “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," giving the animated film a hefty $120.5 million in its domestic box office debut, the second-biggest opening weekend of the year. Behind only “The Super Mario Bros” film that garnered $146 million, the movie’s box office performance surpassed Sony Pictures Animation's and the BoxOffice Pro’s estimates of $75 million to $115.5 million over its first three days of release in the U.S. and Canada from Pro. The sequel, “Across the Spider-Verse," which premiered in theaters on June 2, brought in three times the revenue in its opening weekend. Producer Amy Pascal announced during the film's Los Angeles premiere that there are more Spider-Verse projects on the way. Reporting by Danielle Broadway in Los Angeles; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mario Bros, Oscar, Amy Pascal, “, ”, Morales, Mario, Danielle Broadway, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Sony Pictures, Pro, Rotten, Universal Pictures, Thomson Locations: ANGELES, U.S, Canada, Angeles, Los Angeles

[1/5] Cast members Issa Rae, Lauren Velez, Shameik Moore, Daniel Kaluuya, Jake Johnson and Hailee Steinfeld attend the premiere for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 30, 2023. For their sequel to 2018's "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," they have sought to build new worlds to immerse audiences in a web of animated adventure. The voice cast includes Issa Rae as Spider-Woman, Oscar Isaac as Spider-Man 2099, Daniel Kaluuya as Spider-Punk and Brian Tyree Henry as Miles' father, Jefferson Davis. The pre-pandemic "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" raked in over $35 million during its first three days of release and went on to win the 2019 Oscar for best animated feature film. Despite some concerns that those box-office-busting days are far from returning, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is forecast to open with $95 to $130 million in the U.S. and Canada.

Persons: Issa Rae, Lauren Velez, Shameik Moore, Daniel Kaluuya, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mario, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Miller, they've, Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, Brian Michael Bendis, Sara Pichelli, Gwen, Oscar Isaac, Spider, Brian Tyree Henry, Miles, Jefferson Davis, unapologetically, Rae, Henry, Oscar, Andy Warhol, Stephen Hawking, Owen Gleiberman, Danielle Broadway, Rollo Ross, Jorge Garcia, Mary Milliken, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Sony, Miles Morales Marvel, Reuters, Rotten, Variety, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, ANGELES, Los Angeles, Canada

☆ 'The Little Mermaid' defied backlash and review-bombing by opening at No. 1
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"The Little Mermaid" debuted this weekend and was "review-bombed" on some movie-review sites. Since Disney announced its live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid," the film has been targeted with online hate, namely racist complaints about Halle Bailey being cast as the mermaid Ariel. But that didn't stop it from taking the top spot at the weekend box office upon its release in the US. Despite backlash and review-bombing, the film had a notable opening weekend for box office earnings: The film was the fifth highest-grossing release on Memorial Day weekend in history, per IMDb. 'The Little Mermaid" ticket sales did beat out Disney's 2019 live-action remake of "Aladdin," which grossed $116.8 million when it opened on Memorial Day.

Persons: Halle Bailey, Ariel Organizations: Disney, Rotten

☆ Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ rakes in $117 million at the US box office on opening weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Disney’s live-action movie “The Little Mermaid” brought in $117.5 million at the US box office in the fifth-best opening for Memorial Day weekend in history, according to Box Office Mojo. Despite the controversy, the movie was among the most successful films ever to debut on Memorial Day, Box Office Mojo reported. Last year’s “Top Gun Maverick” tops that list with $160 million at the US box office over the long holiday weekend. That came in a hair lower than “The Little Mermaid” with an opening weekend haul of $116.8 million. Including international ticket sales, “The Little Mermaid” brought in $185.8 million over the weekend.

☆ The Star Wars timeline: All movies and shows in chronological order
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

These details are pulled from the official “Star Wars” resources “Ultimate Star Wars” and “Star Wars Character Encyclopedia,” as well as experts from outlets like USA Today and the AV Club. ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ (animated series)Ahsoka is Anakin's padawan in "The Clone Wars," and he lovingly calls her "Snips." ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’"Solo" shows how Han and Chewie became best friends. ‘Star Wars Rebels’Kanan Jarrus, Zeb Orrelios and Sabine Wren take on the Empire in "Star Wars Rebels." ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’Heroes attempt to find the plans to blow up the Death Star in "Rogue One."

☆ Amazon's $300 million new spy series 'Citadel' debuts to mediocre reviews and could be another high-profile miss for the streamer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon's ambitious new spy series, "Citadel," starring Priyanka Chopra, premiered today. Costing as much as an estimated $300 million, it stands to be one of the most expensive series ever made. It has a 56% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 41 reviews. Amazon has a lot riding on its new ambitious spy series, "Citadel," but so far critics are less than impressed. Rotten Tomatoes deems a 60% score or less to be "rotten."

“It was just so original,” she told Reuters, and her co-lead, “Umbrella Academy” actor Ritu Arya, could not agree more. When Lena drops out of art school and quickly gets engaged, Ria and her friends plan a bride-heist of epic proportions. Director Nida Manzoor's first feature film scored a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Critics have praised the quirky martial arts film for its inspiring and unconventional representation of compelling women and girls. “Strong women come from strong women,” Kansara said.

☆ 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' smashes box office records with the biggest global opening for an animated film ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" had the biggest opening for an animated film on record. The movie, based on Nintendo's video game, stars Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black. In the US the film took $31.7 million on Wednesday, $26 million on Thursday and a further $146.4 million Friday to Sunday. It's also the biggest opening of any film so far this year, beating "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter said "Super Mario" was set to be "the first all-audience blockbuster of 2023."

☆ The lucky breaks that built Nike
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Fittingly as "Air" hits theaters, Nike will release an Air Jordan in "lucky green." "Luck plays a big role," Nike cofounder Phil Knight wrote in the closing of his 2016 memoir, "Shoe Dog." Athletes get lucky, poets get lucky, businesses get lucky." Knight wrote. Next Wednesday, Nike will release the "Black and Lucky Green" Air Jordan 1.

☆ 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' is set for a big opening weekend — despite bad reviews
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In this article 7974.T-JP Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTChris Pratt and Charlie Day voice Mario and Luigi in Universal and Illumination's "The Super Mario Bros. Universal"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" isn't looking like a smash with the critics. And box office analysts don't foresee poor critical reviews deterring moviegoers, particularly families, from venturing to the cinema to see "The Super Mario Bros. Jack Black voices the villainous Bowser in Universal and Illumination's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" UniversalRadheyan Simonpillai, Globe and MailLong before critics sat down to watch "Super Mario Bros.," there was a big question about the film's top-billed voice actor — Chris Pratt. "I wonder whether the filmmakers were too timid to draw outside the lines with this copyright protected material, lest they end up with something like the disastrous live-action 1993 movie, 'Super Mario Bros.,'" he said.

"Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" is now available to watch in theaters. How to watch 'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves'"Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" is now playing exclusively in theaters. "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" is a Paramount movie, so it's expected to stream on Paramount Plus sometime after its exclusive theatrical window. If "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" follows this release strategy, it could hit Paramount Plus on May 15 at the earliest. "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" is based on the popular fantasy roleplaying game, "Dungeons & Dragons," which was first published in 1974.

☆ Paleontologists explain the most glaring errors in Adam Driver's new dinosaur film '65'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Erin Heger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Adam Driver stars in a new film "65," which takes place 65 million years ago. But like other Hollywood portrayals of dinosaurs, "65" gets several dinosaur facts wrong, according to paleontologists. The film's title is off my a million yearsThere were probably no dinosaurs around 65 million years ago. SonyLet's start with the title: "65" — named for when the film takes place 65 million years ago. It's a movie, not a science lectureThe film "65" has a 64% audience score on rotten tomatoes, so even if it got the science wrong, it managed to entertain some folks.

"Knock at the Cabin" is an apocalyptic psychological horror film by M. Night Shyamalan. You can stream the horror thriller with a Peacock subscription, or buy it to watch online through digital retailers like Amazon and Vudu. How to watch 'Knock at the Cabin'"Knock at the Cabin" is now available to watch at home with a Peacock membership. If you don't want to sign up for Peacock, you also have the option to watch "Knock at the Cabin" through a digital retailer. "Knock at the Cabin" is based on "The Cabin at the End of the World," a 2018 novel by Paul G. Tremblay.

Following the events of "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum" (2019), "Chapter 4" sees Wick take his battle against the criminal High Table organization global. Check out the trailer for 'John Wick: Chapter 4'Keanu Reeves reprises his role as legendary hitman John Wick. "John Wick: Chapter 4" also features Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Shamier Anderson, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, and Ian McShane. In addition to standard showings, "John Wick: Chapter 4" is playing in IMAX and Dolby Cinema for premium prices. Keanu Reeves in "John Wick: Chapter 4."

The latest sequel, "John Wick: Chapter 4," hits theaters on March 24. Since 2014, the first three "John Wick" movies have accumulated a collective worldwide box office gross of over $587 million. If you're looking to catch up on the franchise before seeing "John Wick: Chapter 4" in theaters, you're in luck. The first three "John Wick" movies are all available to stream, rent, or purchase online. Where to watch 'John Wick' moviesThough "John Wick: Chapter 4" will be exclusive to theaters when it premieres on March 24, you can watch the first three "John Wick" movies at home right now on Peacock.

The film is a continuation of the BBC series with Luther in pursuit of a killer he failed to catch. "Luther: The Fallen Sun" picks up with John Luther (Idris Elba) disgraced and in prison after the events of the series. Check out the trailer for 'Luther: The Fallen Sun'Idris Elba and Dermot Crowley each reprise their roles from the "Luther" series. How to watch 'Luther: The Fallen Sun'You can watch "Luther: The Fallen Sun" at home exclusively on Netflix. How to watch 'Luther: The Fallen Sun' outside the USIf you're traveling outside the US, you might be in an area that doesn't have streaming access to "Luther: The Fallen Sun."

Like the original movie, "Avatar: The Way of Water" is directed by James Cameron ("Titanic"). How to watch 'Avatar: The Way of Water'"Avatar: The Way of Water" is currently only available to watch in theaters, so you can't purchase or stream the movie at home just yet. When will 'Avatar: The Way of Water' be available to watch at home? You can watch "Avatar: The Way of Water" at home starting March 28. The sequel repeats one of the biggest draws of the first "Avatar" movie in terms of being a groundbreaking visual spectacle.

"Everything Everywhere All at Once" is now available to stream with a Showtime membership. The Oscar-nominated movie stars Michelle Yeoh as a laundromat owner who jumps across the multiverse. You can also buy film to watch at home from digital retailers like Amazon, Apple TV, and Vudu. How to watch 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'""Everything Everywhere All at Once" is now available to watch at home with a Showtime subscription. Once you've made your digital purchase, you can stream the film as many times as you like with no restrictions.

The sketch series is the sequel to Mel Brooks' classic movie, "History of the World, Part I." The first two episodes of "History of the World, Part II" debuted March 6 on Hulu. How to watch 'History of the World, Part II'"History of the World, Part II" is now available to watch exclusively on Hulu. Can I watch 'History of the World, Part II' for free? Where can I watch 'History of the World, Part I'?

You can also buy or rent "Triangle of Sadness" from digital retailers like Vudu and Prime Video. How to watch 'Triangle of Sadness'"Triangle of Sadness" is now available to watch on Hulu. If you don't want to subscribe to Hulu, you can opt to pay a one-time fee to rent or buy "Triangle of Sadness" instead. Can I watch 'Triangle of Sadness' for free? You can stream "Triangle of Sadness" for free if you sign up for a Hulu trial.

☆ 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' box office suffered steep decline in second week
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

That's the sentiment from box office analysts after the Marvel Cinematic Universe's latest film "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" saw the sharpest decline in ticket sales from opening weekend to second weekend in franchise history. To be sure, "Quantumania" is one of the worst reviewed Marvel films, with a 48% "rotten" critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes. "Thor: Love and Thunder," "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home," a co-production with Sony , all saw second week drops in excess of 67%. The film also has more counter-programming than other Marvel films released in the last few years. He pointed to "Violent Night" and "M3gan," in addition to "Cocaine Bear," as films that have outperformed expectations at the box office.

Check out the 'Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero' trailer"Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" is directed by Tetsuro Kodama with a screenplay by "Dragon Ball" creator Akira Toriyama. Where to watch 'Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero'You can watch "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" at home through digital retailers like Amazon and Vudu. "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" currently holds a "93% Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Where does 'Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero' fall in the 'Dragon Ball Super' timeline? "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" is the second feature-film in the "Dragon Ball Super" series and takes place after the 2018 movie "Dragon Ball Super: Broly."

"Magic Mike's Last Dance" is now available to watch from the comfort of your living room. You can buy "Magic Mike's Last Dance" for $25 or rent it for $20 from digital retailers like Amazon. Check out the trailer for 'Magic Mike's Last Dance'"Magic Mike's Last Dance" stars Channing Tatum, Salma Hayek Pinault, Ayub Khan Din, Jemelia George, and Juliette Motamed. Where to watch 'Magic Mike's Last Dance'"Magic Mike's Last Dance" is now available to watch at home through streaming retailers like Prime Video, Vudu, and Apple TV. If you buy "Magic Mike's Last Dance," you can stream it whenever you like with no restrictions.

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