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☆ 'Barbie' is set to win the 'Barbenheimer' box office battle with 'Oppenheimer' on their opening weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Chris Johnston | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" will both be released in theaters on July 21. Warner expects the film based on the Mattel doll to take up to $80 million in its first three days. That's about double the projected box office take for Christopher Nolan's epic over the same period. For about a year, a box office battle has been brewing between "Barbie" and Oppenheimer" — the two much-anticipated films from Oscar-nominated directors that are set to be released on exactly the same day. That's before the release of more blockbusters, including "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One" and, of course, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer."

Persons: Barbie, Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan's, Oscar, Greta Gerwig's, Robert Oppenheimer, It's, Cillian Murphy, Eamonn McCormack, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Mia, Nolan, Tenet, Ryan Gilbey, Rebecca Cohen, Chris Panella, Mario, David Gross Organizations: Warner, Mattel, Warner Bros, Hollywood, Universal Pictures, Guardian, Mario Bros, Nintendo, Variety, New York Times Locations: United States, That's

☆ From 'Super Mario' to 'The Little Mermaid': The 10 highest-grossing movies of the first half of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

At the halfway point of the year, the Hollywood box office has been dominated by familiar faces. "Pretty much every film in the top 10 is either a franchise film, part of known IP or a known brand," Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, tells CNBC Make It. It's a repeat of 2022, where nine of the 10 highest grossing films were sequels. The $4.35 billion raked in by the domestic box office so far is 20.7% higher than at the same point in 2022, according to data from Comscore, and a full 350% better than 2021's pandemic-stunted haul. However, it is still 20% shy of 2019's pre-pandemic gross over the same time frame.

Persons: Paul Dergarabedian Organizations: Guardians, CNBC Locations: Hollywood, Comscore

☆ Indiana Jones hits theaters for one last adventure, but box office prospects look shaky
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It's Harrison Ford's final bow as the boulder-dodging, whip-wielding, Nazi-punching Indiana Jones. On Friday, "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" arrives in theaters, marking the fifth and likely final chapter in the Lucasfilm movie franchise. Previous Indiana Jones installments, released in the 1980s, saw significantly lower box office openings because tickets were significantly less expensive at that time and the films were released in fewer theaters. Despite a solid opening, the fourth Indiana Jones film tallied only $317 million domestically. The lackluster audience response resulted in a pause in future films, including the potential for a spinoff featuring Shia LaBeouf as Indiana Jones' son Mutt Williams.

Persons: It's Harrison, Indiana Jones, Steven Spielberg hasn't, John Williams, James Mangold, Logan, Ford, LaBeouf, Mutt Williams, Disney, Shawn Robbins, weren't, Robbins, we're, NBCUniversal Organizations: Lucasfilm, Disney, Cannes Film, Guardians, Galaxy, Ferrari, Indiana Jones, Paramount Pictures, Star, Ford, Hollywood, Comcast, CNBC, Rotten Locations: Nazi, Kingdom, North America, NBCUniversal

☆ Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Falls Flat, Adding to Worries About the Brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Brooks Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“The Flash,” a Warner Bros. superhero spectacle that cost about $200 million, also struggled, taking in a lethargic $55.1 million, according to Comscore, which compiles ticketing data. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter on box office numbers. Questions about Pixar’s health have swirled in Hollywood and among investors since last June, when the Disney-owned studio released “Lightyear” to disastrous results. Or maybe, as some box office analysts speculated, Disney had weakened the Pixar brand by using its films to build the Disney+ streaming service. Starting in late 2020, Disney debuted three Pixar films in a row (“Soul,” “Turning Red” and “Luca”) online, bypassing theaters altogether.

Persons: ”, David A, Gross, “, Buzz Lightyear, Disney, “ Luca ” Organizations: Pixar, Warner Bros, Disney Locations: Hollywood

☆ 'The Flash,' 'Elemental' disappoint as 'Spider-Verse' continues box office domination
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The mixed results saw disappointing debuts from "The Flash" and "Elemental," while "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" continued to attract ticket buyers. It also fell short of the $67 million debut of fellow DC film "Black Adam" last October. "Audiences have shown in recent months and post-'Endgame' years that they are being more selective about which comic book films are going to earn their box office dollars," he said. Estimates peg the film's debut at $29.5 million, just higher than the $29.1 million "Toy Story," Pixar's first-ever theatrical release, which opened in 1995. Across Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Father's Day weekend, the domestic box office is expected to tally just under $175 million in receipts.

Persons: Adam, Shawn Robbins, Robbins, Ezra Miller, Mario, Paul Dergarabedian Organizations: Warner Bros, BoxOffice.com, DC, Pixar, DreamWorks, Mario Bros, Comscore, Guardians, Galaxy, Comcast, CNBC Locations: NBCUniversal

☆ Disney looks to get out of animation rut with Pixar's 'Elemental'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The stakes are high as Pixar releases its 27th feature film in theaters this Friday. "Elemental," a romantic immigrant story told through anthropomorphic elements of nature, arrives as Disney is under pressure to prove it hasn't lost its golden touch in animation. The company, which operates both Pixar and Disney Animation, has struggled to drum up ticket sales for its animated fare in recent years. Disney's Pixar studio, in particular, is looking to rebound from the box-office letdown that was "Lightyear." "Animation certainly seems to be going through some winds of change," said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.

Persons: hasn't, Mario, Shawn Robbins Organizations: Pixar, Disney, Disney Animation, DreamWorks, Mario Bros, Alpha

☆ Universal Says On-Demand Film Strategy Has Increased Audience
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Brooks Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But the willingness by Universal to experiment — to challenge the “this is how we’ve always done it” thinking — seems to have paid off. Universal has generated more than $1 billion in premium V.O.D. revenue in less than three years, while showing little-to-no decrease in ticket sales. In some cases, box-office sales even increased when films became available in homes, which Universal has decided is a side effect of premium V.O.D. Universal, for instance, made “Minions: The Rise of Gru” available for premium V.O.D.

Persons: “, ”, — Organizations: Universal Pictures, Dominion, ”, Filmmakers, Universal Locations: Belfast

Hong Kong/Seoul CNN —“The Little Mermaid” has bombed with moviegoers in China and South Korea amid racist critiques in some quarters over the casting of Black actress Halle Bailey as main character Ariel. Disney’s live-action remake has made only $3.6 million in mainland China since opening there on May 26, according to Box Office Mojo. In South Korea, “The Little Mermaid” has grossed $4.4 million since May 24. Halle Bailey in 'The Little Mermaid.' Ariel and Prince Eric in a scene from 'The Little Mermaid.'

Persons: Halle Bailey, Ariel, Disney’s, Bailey, “, ”, Rob Marshall, ‘ Let’s, ’, Fans, Prince Eric, Maleficent ’, Paul Dergarabedian Organizations: Seoul CNN —, Office, Korean Film Council, Global Times, Disney, Hollywood, Halle, United, Comscore Locations: Hong Kong, Seoul, China, South Korea, United States, Comscore, ”, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, Finland, United Arab Emirates

☆ 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' opens to $120.5 million, second-highest debut of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Spider-Man returned to the big screen this weekend, webbing up an estimated $120.5 million at the domestic box office. Sony's "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," the much anticipated sequel to the Academy Award-winning "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," had the second-biggest opening of 2023, just behind Universal's "Super Mario Bros. The film also marks the third-best opening weekend for any Spider-Man film, animated or live-action. The film has secured $186.2 million in domestic ticket sales and stands at $326.7 million globally. Additionally, Disney's "The Boogey Man" opened to $12 million in domestic ticket sales and Universal's "Fast X" added $9.24 million in ticket sales over the weekend, bringing its domestic haul to $128.4 million.

Persons: Universal's, Mario, Paul Dergarabedian, Shawn Robbins, Robbins Organizations: Academy, Mario Bros, BoxOffice.com, Disney, Guardians, Galaxy, Comcast, CNBC Locations: EntTelligence, NBCUniversal

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

☆ 'Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3' had best second weekend box office hold for MCU in 5 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In its second week in theaters, the director's "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. Most blockbuster films' ticket sales drop between 50% and 70% from the opening weekend to the second week. It is the third-best second week fall of any MCU film since 2008, just behind "Thor," which slipped 47.2% during its second week in 2011. For comparison, the first "Guardians of the Galaxy" film tallied $773.3 million globally during its run in 2014 and "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. The strong box office for "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol.

☆ News startup Messenger launches with Trump 'exclusive' while advertisers expressed skepticism ahead of debut: 'We can't have another Quibi'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Jimmy Finkelstein's startup The Messenger launched today with a Trump interview leading the site. Advertisers said it'll be tough to sell ads on a site without an established audience. The site led with an interview with former President Donald Trump and ads from the American Petroleum Institute. The Messenger said it'll roll out seven other verticals including business, entertainment, and sports later in the year. Image from The Messenger's launch ad campaign.

☆ The Messenger, Jimmy Finkelstein's digital news startup, meets advertiser skepticism ahead of May 15 launch: 'We can't have another Quibi'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Jimmy Finkelstein's startup The Messenger will roll out an ad campaign touting its mission to provide unbiased news. An ad campaign by Publicis unit Le Truc will kick off May 22 and is designed to provoke, with copy like "Agendas are for meetings. Image from The Messenger's launch ad campaign. The Messenger said it'll have three to four big advertisers at launch as well as a significant amount of programmatic advertising. The Messenger's ad campaign promotes its ambitions to provide unbiased news.

☆ Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3' kicks off summer movie season with $114 million opening
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Disney and Marvel Studio's "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. It also fell short of the $146.5 million "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2" collected in 2017. "'Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. The release of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.

☆ DC Studios' future begins with Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

And, for once, the success of a Marvel film could bode well for the future of its longtime adversary. On the theatrical side, DC Studios has announced five new projects that will roll out starting in 2025 with Gunn's own "Superman: Legacy." "And I think Marvel Studios, sooner rather than later, needs to tell us what's going on with Spider-Man." He sees this as the result of predictable plotlines within the genre that are repeated across both studios' films. Marvel Studios

☆ ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Becomes the First Billion-Dollar-Plus Film of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Rolfe Winkler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ had the biggest-ever global opening weekend for an animated title. Photo: Nintendo and Universal Studios/Associated Press“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” surpassed $1 billion in estimated global box office receipts on Sunday, the first movie to do so in 2023, according to research firm Comscore . Through Sunday the film has grossed $490 million domestically and $532 million internationally. Only five films have crossed the billion-dollar mark since the onset of the pandemic, according to Box Office Mojo: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jurassic World: Dominion.”

Giant screen options include pioneer IMAX and various premium large formats (PLF) created by theater chains. For Missouri-based B&B Theatres, about half of a multiplex's grosses now come from premium formats, compared with 30% before the pandemic, said Chief Content, Programming and Development Officer Brock Bagby. B&B operates 531 screens in 14 states and offers large format screens with heated recliners, 270-degree Screen X screens, immersive audio and MX4D seats timed to rumble with the action. "Post-COVID, our premium screens are selling better than ever," Bagby said. As a sign of its importance, Universal's Orr and other studio distribution executives said they consult Gelfond about IMAX screen availability before setting movie release dates.

☆ MoviePass has landed a deal with Walmart to sell subscriptions in stores across the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Jason Guerrasio | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

MoviePass will be available at Walmart, several sources familiar with the deal told Insider. MoviePass relaunched last year in beta form and plans to be available to all customers by the summer. MoviePass will have displays in Walmart stores across the country where its subscription cards will be available for shoppers, sources said. No details were given to Insider about what the offer on the MoviePass Walmart cards will be, or when the cards will be available in stores. "This is a huge win for MoviePass and for the theatrical movie business," Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Insider.

LONDON, April 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Film and TV adaptations of video games have a chequered history. But Nintendo’s “Super Mario”, along with HBO’s “The Last of Us”, is flipping the script. Jefferies analysts estimate that the “Super Mario” movie could add $350 million to Nintendo’s operating profit – equivalent to around 8% of its total for the year ending March 2022. The success of recent adaptations may lead media giants like Walt Disney (DIS.N), Comcast and Netflix to wonder what other goodies lie in video game companies. Follow @olivertaslic on TwitterCONTEXT NEWS“The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, an animated film co-financed by Nintendo and Universal Pictures, was released in North America on April 5.

☆ 130 Regal, Eastgate, and other movie theaters could close in the US — see the list of those already shuttering
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Travis Clark | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Cineworld has sought to exit its leases for 130 theaters in the US. A bankruptcy court in Texas has already approved its plan to walk away from 47 of those locations. Cineworld filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. So far, the Texas bankruptcy court overseeing the proceedings has approved the company's plan to exit 47 leases, according to court filings. The North American box office hit $7.4 billion in 2022, according to Comscore, down from over $11 billion in 2019 and 2018.

☆ '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."

☆ More movies, more variety, more money: The box office is catching up to pre-Covid levels
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

For nearly three years, the domestic box office has been chasing the highs of the pre-pandemic era, hoping that blockbuster franchise films would fill seats and sell popcorn. It was the second-highest box office year with $11.4 billion." Since movie theaters reopened to the public in late 2020, the domestic box office has steadily recovered, generating significantly higher ticket sales each year. Last year, the box office reached $7.5 billion, up 64% from the $4.58 billion in ticket sales seen in 2021. Industry analysts attributed the smaller box office to a more limited inventory of theatrical releases, not a general disinterest by consumers to return to cinemas.

☆ Studio A24 captures Oscar spotlight with big wins for best picture, acting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LOS ANGELES, March 13 (Reuters) - Independent studio A24 was the big winner at Sunday's Academy Awards, taking nine awards out of its 18 nominations, including best picture and all four acting prizes. The studio's "Everything Everywhere All at Once" won seven Oscars, the most of the evening, including best picture. However, Brendan Fraser took the best actor prize for A24's "The Whale," which also won for best makeup and hairstyling. Not since the heyday of Miramax in the 1990s has an independent studio garnered such attention, talent and box office success, entertainment industry insiders say. EVERYTHING EVERYWHEREThe first film A24 produced and financed, together with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, was “Moonlight,” which won the Oscar for best picture in 2017.

☆ The Oscar box office bump is shrinking
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The winner of the best picture award at Sunday's Oscars may not get a box office bump for taking home the night's biggest prize. The result has been a smaller bump in box office at the time of nominations and a significant surge in streaming demand. For 2014's "American Sniper," 99% of its box office ticket sales came after its nomination, a whopping $346 million. This year, all of the best picture nominees saw less than 13% of revenue from post-nomination box office except for one. "For decades, we've seen contenders pick up extra box office ticket sales once the picture nominations were announced.

☆ ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ studio A24 captures Oscar spotlight
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

LOS ANGELES, March 10 (Reuters) - A24, the independent studio behind such films as “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and "The Whale," is poised to dominate this year’s Academy Awards, eclipsing Hollywood’s established studios and awards-hungry streamers that are spending millions on Oscar campaigns. Not since the heyday of Miramax in the 1990s has an independent studio garnered such attention, talent and box office success, entertainment industry insiders say. EVERYTHING EVERYWHEREThe first film A24 produced and financed, together with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, was “Moonlight,” which won the Oscar for best picture in 2017. The studio has garnered 53 Oscar nominations in less than a decade, including best picture nods for “Lady Bird, “Minari” and “Room.”A24's film slate has grown at the pace of its cash flow - starting with three movies in 2016 to 15 in 2022. This year, it’s on track to produce about 15 films for theatrical release, eight documentaries and 10 television shows.

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