by Emily Nagle
It’s not just a rumor anymore: Sony has acquired British production company Bad Wolf, having taken a majority stake.
With the acquisition comes the producer’s Cardiff sound stage, as well as HBO, Sky, and Access Entertainment’s minority stakes. Sony also receives 30% stake in Bad Wolf America. Variety estimates the deal to be worth $80 million.
“We are thrilled to add Bad Wolf to our already incredibly strong portfolio of drama producers in the UK,” Ravi Ahuja, Sony’s chairman of Global Television Studios and Entertainment Corporate Development announced in a press release. “The business is evolving as audiences everywhere become more attuned to content produced outside of their own cultures. This deal not only speaks to the high quality of talent we are proud to work with but also to our aim to create and deliver the most outstanding UK drama programs to the world.”
Bad Wolf’s credits include award-winning BBC and HBO series “His Dark Materials”, “I Hate Suzie”, and “The Night Of”. Founded in 2015 by former BBC executives Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter, the company has become one of the UK’s most successful producers in only six years.
Sony’s acquisition of Bad Wolf expands their slate of UK content that has only been increasing over the last couple of years. Other recent additions to Sony’s UK producer portfolio include the sports- and factual-focused Whisper Group, “Sex Education” producer Eleven, and the children’s media company Silvergate Media (best known for Annie-winning series like “Hilda” and “Octonauts”).
by Emily Nagle
The long Thanksgiving weekend was a profitable one for theaters across the United States, raking in $141,832,377 from Wednesday to Sunday.
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for November 24-28, 2021:
5. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
4. Eternals
3. House of Gucci
2. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
1. Encanto
Going with the family theme of Thanksgiving, Disney’s “Encanto” became the number-one highest-grossing film over the long weekend. Released on Thanksgiving, the movie follows Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz), a girl living in Colombia with her family who has been gifted with mystical powers…except for her. Mirabel feels disappointed at this, until suddenly the magic surrounding her family’s powers is endangered. Now, it’s up to her to protect the legacy. “Encanto” grossed $27.2 million, nearly a quarter of which came on Wednesday, its opening day. This achievement can be attributed to more than half of schools across the U.S. cancelled.
The long-awaited biographical drama starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver, “House of Gucci”, was the third highest-grossing film for the weekend, grossing $14.4 million in its first weekend of release. Driver stars as Maurizio Gucci and Gaga plays Patrizia Reggiani, and the duo portrays a romance that evolves into a fight for control of the luxury Italian fashion brand.
by Emily Nagle
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for November 19-21, 2021
5. Dune
4. King Richard
3. Clifford the Big Red Dog
2. Eternals
1. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
This weekend, two new releases were among the top 5 highest grossing films. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” takes place over 30 years after Ghostbusters II, following single mother Callie (Carrie Coon) and her two kids (Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace) when they move to a small town in Oklahoma, and discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters, as well as the legacy their grandfather left behind. Director Jason Reitman began developing a sequel to the second Ghostbusters film after the 2016 reboot flopped so hard that people were downvoting it back when the first trailer was uploaded to YouTube. While “Afterlife” has been met with mixed to average reviews so far, it already seems to be doing better financially. The film grossed $44 million in its first weekend in theaters.
Another new release that made it into the top 5 highest grossing films for this past weekend was biographical drama “King Richard”, which follows the lives of Venus and Serena Williams. The film premiered on HBO Max in addition to its theatrical release, and has grossed $5.4 million across over 3,000 theaters so far.
by Emily Nagle
It’s been 20 years since Harry, Ron, and Hermione began their magical journey at Hogwarts in the film adaptation of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”.
To celebrate, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson (in addition to director Chris Columbus and other actors from the series, including Tom Felton, Robbie Coltrane, and Gary Oldman) are reuniting for the first time in ten years for an HBO Max special titled “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts”. Slated to premiere on New Year’s Day 2022, the behind-the scenes special will take a look back at the beloved film franchise, and “tell an enchanting making-of story through all-new, in-depth interviews and cast conversations,” according to an official press release from WarnerMedia. A first look at the film will air on Cartoon Network and TBS on November 28 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) during the premiere of bracket-style quiz show “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses”.
Tom Ascheim, president of the Kids, Young Adults, and Classics division at Warner Bros., issued a statement following the announcement of “Return to Hogwarts”, acknowledging the worldwide impact of the “Harry Potter” franchise.
“It has been an incredible journey since the debut of the ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ film, and witnessing how it has evolved into this remarkable interconnected universe has been magical to say the least,” he described in the statement. “This retrospective is a tribute to everyone whose lives were touched by this cultural phenomenon — from the talented cast and crew who poured their heart and soul into this extraordinary film franchise to the passionate fans who continue to keep the Wizarding World spirit alive 20 years later.”
Despite much of the original cast returning for the special, “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling has been confirmed by NPR to not be coming back (except in archival footage).
by Emily Nagle
Tonight, the second and final trailer for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” premiered online, as well as at an exclusive event at the Regal Sherman Oaks theater in California.
The story takes place after the events of “Spider-Man: Far From Home”, when Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) reveals Peter Parker’s secret identity to the world: Parker (Tom Holland) turns to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), asking him to cast a spell to make everyone forget that he is Spider-Man. When Peter interferes with the spell, a door to the multiverse opens up, unleashing villains from previous Spider-Man films, including Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx), and Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe).
Prior to the second trailer being released, fans had theories that due to Doctor Octopus returning, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire would also reprise their roles as Spider-Man from the older films, despite Tom Holland shutting down rumors on Jimmy Fallon in February. Even after the second trailer premiered, users continue speculating Maguire’s and Garfield’s return to the franchise, with one Youtube user proposing, “Imagine Andrew saving MJ for Tom”, while another user suggested that Sony is holding back footage of the actors to surprise moviegoers when the film hits the big screen.
One thing is for sure regarding the role of Spider-Man: “No Way Home” will be the end of Holland’s time as the web-slinging teen hero. The actor confirmed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the upcoming film will be wrapping up the storyline that began in 2017 with “Spider-Man: Homecoming”.
“I think if we were lucky enough to dive into these characters again, you’d be seeing a very different version. It would no longer be the Homecoming trilogy. We would give it some time and try to build something different and tonally change the films,” Holland explained in the interview last month. “Whether that happens or not, I don’t know. But we were definitely treating [No Way Home] like it was coming to an end, and it felt like it.” He added that wrapping production was an emotional experience for him and co-stars Zendaya (who stars as MJ) and Jacob Batalon (who plays Peter’s friend Ned), who have been working on the film trilogy together for 5 years.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is releasing exclusively in theaters on December 17.
by Emily Nagle
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for November 12-14, 2021
5. Venom: Let There Be Carnage
4. No Time to Die
3. Dune
2. Clifford the Big Red Dog
1. Eternals
One of the newest arrivals to the box office, “Clifford the Big Red Dog” made $16.6 million during its first weekend in theaters, and now has a total gross of $22.2 million. An adaptation of the bestselling children’s book series by Norman Bridwell, the film follows middle-schooler Emily Elizabeth (Darby Camp), who adopts a red puppy that overnight, grows to be 10 feet tall. Paramount Pictures has given the family film a simultaneous release in theaters and for streaming on Paramount Plus. While it was the second-highest-grossing film for the weekend, it still was far behind Marvel’s “Eternals”, which grossed $26.8 million this weekend despite having mixed reviews.
Get Some Strange!
