by Emily Nagle
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films For May 21-23, 2021:
5. Godzilla vs. Kong ($1.4 million)
4. Raya and the Last Dragon ($1.6 million)
3. Those Who Wish Me Dead ($1.8 million)
2. Wrath of Man ($2.9 million)
1. Spiral ($4.5 million)
Spiral, the eighth installment in the “Saw” horror film series, places an eerie spin on the franchise, following Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks (Chris Rock) and his rookie partner, William Schenk (Max Minghella), as they investigate a Jigsaw copycat killer. Originally slated for release in May 2020, the pandemic pushed the theatrical release to May 14, 2021. So far it has mixed reviews from critics, who were unsure on how to feel about the different approach taken for the successful splatter film series, and criticized the storyline, particularly the film’s ending, describing that it felt too unoriginal and predictable.
Despite the mixed reviews, Lionsgate Television chairman Kevin Beggs stated in an interview with Deadline Hollywood last month that there is a possibility of a television series based on the new film. If this follows through, the show would be a collaboration with Twisted Television, an extension of Twisted Pictures, which is responsible for producing the “Saw” films.
by Emily Nagle
Hulu has released a first look at their upcoming comedy mystery series “Only Murders in the Building”. Slated for ten episodes, it is scheduled to premiere on August 31.
Written by John Hoffman and Steve Martin and starring the latter, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, the show follows three true crime fans: Charles, Oliver, and Mabel Mora. All of them being strangers to each other until someone dies inside their apartment building, the trio conducts their own investigation into the situation. In the process, they discover the hidden truth about the building and realize the murderer may live among them.
In addition to being available on Hulu this summer, “Only Murders in the Building” will be available worldwide on Star and Star+.
by Emily Nagle
“The Flight Attendant” star Kaley Cuoco has extended her partnership with Warner Bros. Television Group. The deal will result in Cuoco’s production company, Yes, Norman Productions, continuing to produce original content for all of WarnerMedia’s platforms and services.
“Warner Bros. has been my home away from home for as long as I can remember which makes this partnership so special on every level,” Cuoco said in a statement, having gotten her start with the company in 2007 starring as Penny in “The Big Bang Theory”. “I look forward to much continued success with my extended family!!!!!”
This deal marks Cuoco’s third partnership with Warner Bros. Television. After forming Yes, Norman Productions in 2017, she signed her first deal with them before starting to develop HBO Max drama “The Flight Attendant”. Two years later, in 2019, she signed another deal while continuing to work on the series, whose premiere date got delayed to Thanksgiving 2020 as a result of the pandemic.
by Emily Nagle
Amazon is currently in talks to acquire MGM, one of the oldest and most successful film studios in Hollywood. As the ongoing streaming wars escalate, the acquisition would give the company a competitive edge. If finalized, this deal would be worth more than $10 billion – almost as much as Amazon made in the first quarter of 2021.
Why a studio? If Amazon purchases MGM, the studio’s content will become available on Prime Video, expanding their already vast catalogue of more than 20,000 shows and movies. MGM owns 17,000 hours of content – including thousands of films – and is one of the most profitable studios in the world, raking in $1.5 billion in revenue last year. This library includes James Bond, the fifth most-profitable film franchise of all time.
A benefit to Prime Video that sets it apart from its competitors is that it is included in Amazon’s Prime plan, which offers exclusive benefits like discounts and faster delivery. With the plan already being fairly popular, the content on Prime Video is easily accessible to millions. The platform is best known for original programming that includes “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “The Boys”, and also has digital content available to purchase.
By Kurt Balingit
“Spiral”, the latest film in the Saw franchise is this weeks box office winner in a weak week for theater sales. In terms of horror films for 2021, “Spiral”‘s $8.7 million start is still the highest opening week numbers for horror film this year beating The Unholy ($2.35 million) and Separation ($1.8 million). It is also better than last week’s leader “Wrath of Man” ($8.3 million). at $8.7 million, it becomes the fifth best opening of the year.
Another premiere was “Those Who Wish Me Dead” starring Angelina Jolie who plays a smoke jumper who encounters a skittish boy who’s bloodied, traumatized and on the run in a burning remote forest from two relentless killers hunting Connor. The film made $2.8 million this weekend, despite being in 3,188 theaters, which is the widest launch for any film during the pandemic.
Wrath of Man, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train and Raya and the Last Dragon are still going strong remaining in the top 5 highest grossing films for this weekend.
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films For May 14-16, 2021
- Spiral – $8,725,000 (Premiere)
- Wrath of Man – $3,741,767 ($14,602,000 grossed)
- Those Who Wish Me Dead – $2,800,000 (Premiere)
- Demon Slayer: Mugen Train – $1,770,000 ($41,900,000 grossed)
- Raya and the Last Dragon ($46,123,814 grossed)
by Emily Nagle
AT&T is currently in talks with Discovery to merge their content into a portfolio worth more than $150 billion, as reported by Bloomberg this morning.
If finalized, the deal would combine two of the biggest content catalogues into a new media giant rivaling the most successful streaming platforms on the market, like Disney and Netflix. The conglomerate would include the most profitable media properties of all time, such as programming from Discovery (including their recently launched streaming service, Discovery+), as well as the multiple Warner Bros. studios and channels like HBO and CNN. AT&T will control the majority of the catalogue, as it has a greater market value than Discovery ($230 billion compared to $24 billion).
This deal has been in the cards since 2019, when AT&T chief executive John Stankey and Discovery chief executive David Zaslav considered consolidating the two companies’ programming – with the exception of HBO – into a single streaming service that would cost $8 per month. However, this plan fell through with the launch of Disney+, which went for $7/month. Consequently, in 2020 Stankey combined HBO’s properties with WarnerMedia to create HBO Max, which goes for $15/month for customers who don’t already have HBO on their cable plan.
As for Discovery, the company launched Discovery+ in January for $5/month. As of last month, the streaming platform already have 15 million subscribers. Like HBO Max, Discovery+ is expanding rapidly, and is rolling out to new countries and territories each month.
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