Dont Tell NetflixDont Tell Netflix

by Emily Nagle

Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for Weekend of August 12-14, 2022
5. Nope ($5.4 million)
4. Thor: Love and Thunder ($5.4 million)
3. DC League of Super-Pets ($7 million)
2. Top Gun: Maverick ($7.05 million)
1. Bullet Train ($13.4 million)

This weekend was a quiet one at the box office, with no wide releases; as a result, the top five consisted entirely of films that have already been released. The newest film, “Bullet Train,” made it to number one, grossing just under half its premiere box office from last weekend.

The only film this weekend that experienced an uptick in ticket sales was “Top Gun: Maverick”, which made 2% more than last weekend. After dropping out of the top 5 last weekend due to “Minions: The Rise of Gru” grossing slightly more, this film soared back to the top, taking on the number-two spot. To date, it has made $673.8 million across the United States, as well as a combined worldwide total of $1.4 billion. It remains the highest-grossing film of 2022, dominating “Jurassic World: Dominion” by more than $400 million!

by Emily Nagle

Emmy-winning actress Anne Heche has died at the age of 53 a week after the fiery car crash that left her intubated and in a coma. Heche’s family made the difficult decision to take her off life support after doctors declared her brain dead. The news was confirmed earlier today in an Instagram post from her friend Nancy Davis.

“Heaven has a new Angel. My loving, kind, fun, endearing and beautiful friend @anneheche went to heaven,” Davis captioned the post that featured multiple photos of the actress. “Anne was always the kindest, most thoughtful person who always brought out the best in me…My heart is broken 💔💔💔”

Born in Aurora, Ohio on May 25, 1969, Heche’s acting career began just after her high school graduation in 1987, when she got casted as twins Marley Love and Vicky Hudson in soap opera “Another World”. This role won her a Daytime Emmy and two Soap Opera Digest Awards.

Heche’s success would only increase in the late 1990s as she went on to star in even more successful films, including crime drama “Donnie Brasco,” disaster film “Volcano”, and slasher film “I Know What You Did Last Summer”. Her big break, however, came in 1998, when she earned a Saturn Award nomination for her role as Marion Crane in Gus Van Sant’s remake of “Psycho.” From here, she was casted in many successful independent films, including “Birth”, “Spread,” and “Cedar Rapids”.

More recent roles include being series lead in “The Brave” as Deputy Director Patricia Campbell, in addition to a supporting role in “Chicago P.D.” as Dep. Superintendent Katherine Brennan. She was also a contestant on season 29 of “Dancing with the Stars” in 2020.

Heche is survived by her two sons Homer and Atlas.

by Emily Nagle

After sustaining a severe brain injury in a fiery car crash last Friday, Emmy-winning actress Anne Heche is in critical condition. Thursday night, Heche’s representative told Deadline that she is “not expected to survive”.

Last Friday, the “Another World” star was transported to West Hills Hospital in Los Angeles after crashing her blue Mini Cooper into a Mar Vista home, which then burst into flames. Blood work revealed narcotics in Heche’s body, but according to a statement from LAPD yesterday afternoon, investigations are still ongoing, and .

Heche has been intubated and in a coma following the accident in which she sustained a severe burns and severe anoxic brain injury. In other words, Heche is experiencing a lack of oxygen to her brain; this is a common occurrence with drug overdoses and traumatic brain injuries, according to NBC News senior medical correspondent Dr. John Torres.

However, anoxic brain injuries often have a poor prognosis, resulting in permanent brain damage, severe disability, or even death. Heche has been pronounced brain dead, and her loved ones are keeping her on life support while doctors determine if any of Heche’s organs are eligible for donation.

“We want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers for Anne’s recovery and thank the dedicated staff and wonderful nurses that cared for Anne at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills Hospital in Los Angeles,” Heche’s representative announced.

Prior to the crash, Heche had just wrapped shooting “Girl in Room 13” for Lifetime, which explores the dark underworld of the $150 billion human trafficking industry. She starred as the mother of a girl who was abducted. Amy Winter, EVP and head of programming for Lifetime Networks, confirmed that the film is still scheduled to premiere next month.

In addition to “Another World” and her upcoming Lifetime movie, Heche’s most notable roles include films like “Donnie Brasco,” “Volcano,” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” She has two sons, Atlas Heche Tupper, 11, and Homer Laffoon, 20.

by Emily Nagle

According to a press release on their website yesterday, Disney will be raising the rates for their various streaming services this fall, including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.

“With our new ad-supported Disney+ offering and an expanded lineup of plans across our entire streaming portfolio, we will be providing greater consumer choice at a variety of price points to cater to the diverse needs of our viewers and appeal to an even broader audience,” Kareem Daniel, Chairman of Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution announced. “Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ feature unparalleled content and viewing experiences and offer the best value in streaming today, with over 100,000 movie titles, TV episodes, original shows, sports and live events collectively.”

Disney unveiled a chart revealing the new prices for the plans. The monthly, ad-free price for Disney+ will increase to $10.99/month, up from its current price of $7.99/month. A new ad-supported plan will become available for $7.99/month. Hulu’s ad-supported plan will go from $6.99/month to $7.99/month, while its ad-free plan will raise from $12.99/month to $14.99/month.

A cheaper, ad-supported option for Disney+ has been in talks since this past spring, but after Q3 financial reports revealed a loss of over $1 billion across all Disney’s streaming platforms – as well as a slowing in subscriber growth – the company is looking to grow their viewership by letting customers choose the best payment plan for their needs.

As for the ad frequency and length, Disney CEO Bob Chapek described yesterday that it would have a “lower ad load and frequency to ensure a great experience for viewers,” at only four minutes of ads per hour. This cheaper tier will only be able to be purchased on a monthly basis; unlike the premium plan, there is no yearly version of the ad-supported tier.

by Emily Nagle

Australian actress and singer Olivia Newton-John died yesterday, August 8, after battling breast cancer for three decades. She was 73.

Born in England in 1948, Newton-John emigrated to Melbourne, Australia with her family at age six when her father secured a job at her music career began at the age of fourteen when she won the televised talent show “Sing, Sing, Sing” and formed a girl group with her classmates. Newton-John’s discography consisted of mostly country and soft-rock.

Her acting career took off when she was casted as Australian transfer student Sandy Olsson in the musical rom-com film “Grease“, which she landed with minimal acting experience. The film became the biggest box office hit of 1978, was the highest-grossing musical film at the time it debuted, and eventually got selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2020 for being culturally significant. She would later go on to star in musical film “Xanadu”, and then reunite with “Grease” co-star John Travolta for “Two of a Kind”.

Travolta paid tribute to his co-star in a heartfelt Instagram post, in which he wrote, “My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!” He played the role of Sandy’s love interest, bad boy Danny Zuko, in “Grease”.

Newton-John’s death was confirmed by her husband John Easterling, who posted a statement on his wife’s verified Instagram account. She is survived by Easterling in addition to her daughter Chloe, sister Sarah, brother Toby, and fifteen nieces and nephews.

by Emily Nagle

Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for Weekend of August 5-7, 2022
5. Minions: The Rise of Gru ($7.1 million)
4. Thor: Love and Thunder ($7.7 million)
3. Nope ($8.5 million)
2. DC League of Super-Pets ($11 million)
1. Bullet Train ($30.1 million)

The first weekend of August kicked off at the box office, with American movie theaters raking in a total of $87.8 million. Nearly a third of that came from “Bullet Train”, which grossed over $30 million in its first weekend. It has received mixed reviews from critics, but audiences have given it positive reviews for its performances, high-speed action sequences, and writing. It’s also been met with criticism for its casting; despite the film being based on a Japanese novel, many of the characters are played by white actors.

Second place this weekend goes to “DC League of Super-Pets”, which released last week and has already grossed more than $80 million. Recently, Dwayne Johnson (who voices Krypto the Superdog) posted the film’s full post-credits scene on his Instagram, which features Krypto and Superman playing fetch and running into Black Adam and his own superdog Anubis. In the caption, Johnson revealed that in addition to voicing Krypto, he lends his voice to the antihero and his dog. He will also portray a live-action Black Adam in the upcoming film of the same name, which is slated to release on October 21, 2022.