News

Friendship is out at 6 locations to a stellar debut weekend of $451k, and per theater average of $75.43k. That’s the highest limited opening this year and a boost the indie market’s been waiting for even as the broader box office picks up.

Only Watermelon Pictures’ documentary The Encampments, which debuted on one screen in late March to $77k, had a higher per theater opening of $77k.

R-rated comedy Friendship stars Tim Robinson as suburban dad Craig, whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of a new neighbor (Paul Rudd). As Craig’s attempts to make an adult male friend, things spiral out of control, and their blossoming relationship threatens to ruin both of their lives. The TIFF-premiering film saw dozens of sellouts in both New York and Los Angeles with raucous crowds and great word-of-mouth. Fans of Tim Robinson and his Netflix series I Think You...

What do you get when you cross the childlike wonder of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial with the ambition of Close Encounters of the Third Kind? You get Watch the Skies, the world's first theatrical full-length feature to use AI for immersive dubbing. Directed by Crazy Pictures, the new sci-fiadventure comes courtesy of XYZ Films and Flawless, and is exclusively in AMC theaters this Friday, May 9, 2025. To coincide with the release of the film, MovieWeb has an special clip that showcases all the fun that's to come in this first-of-its-kind movie.

Featuring an ensemble cast that includes the likes of Inez Dahl Torhaug, Jesper Barkselius, Sara Shirpey, and Eva Melander, Watch the Skies tells the tale of a rebellious teenager who believes her missing father was abducted by aliens. She joins forces with a funky UFO club made up of a lovable group of weirdos and rejects, and together they embark...

“Watch the Skies” (aka “UFO Sweden”) is a live-action Swedish-produced science fiction thriller, directed by Victor Danell, starring Inez Dahl Torhaug, Eva Melander, Jesper Barkselius, Sara Shirpey, Håkan Ehn, Isabelle Kyed, Niklas Kvarnbo Jönsson and Mathias Lithner, opening May 9, 2025 in theaters:

“…a rebellious teenage woman's father went missing years ago and she believes that he didn't run away, but was abducted by aliens.

“She joins forces with a ‘UFO’ club made up of a lovable group of weirdos and rejects.

“Together, they embark on an adventure that takes them far beyond the boundaries of the law and, ultimately, our entire world…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

XYZ Films and Flawless have sent us the trailer for the sci-fi adventure film Watch the Skies, a Swedish production that has been dubbed in English for its May 9th theatrical release in North America – and the accompanying press release mainly focuses on the fact that this is “the world’s first theatrical full-length feature to use AI for immersive dubbing.” Describing the process as “AI done right,” the press release gives information on “how Flawless is enhancing voice over dubs without replacing human creativity: Filmmaker-Friendly – Collaborated with original filmmakers and cast for the English dub. Immersive Visual Translation – Vubbing tech adds perfectly synced lip movements to traditional dubs—no synthetic audio used. SAG-Aligned & Vo-Artist Friendly – Supporting union talent and protecting voiceover jobs. Global Accessibility – Breaking language barriers to bring great films to wider audiences.” You can get a sample of their work in the trailer embedded above.

There...

"We're onto something big here." XYZ Films and Flawless have unveiled an official trailer for Watch the Skies, a Swedish sci-fi thriller from filmmaker Victor Danell. This originally opened in Sweden in 2022 and premiered at genre festivals in 2023 - playing at Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, Sitges Film Festival, and Toronto After Dark. A rebellious teenager who believes her missing father was abducted by aliens joining forces with a quirky UFO club of endearing misfits. They embark on a high-stakes adventure that defies the law and challenges the very fabric of reality. Will they actually find aliens? Or is it something else going on? The film's original title is UFO Sweden, a reference to the UFO club she befriends in the story. Starring Inez Dahl Torhaug as Denise, with Eva Melander, Jesper Barkselius, Sara Shirpey, Håkan Ehn, Isabelle Kyed, Niklas Kvarnbo Jönsson, & Mathias Lithner. The film used AI (unfortunately) to dub...

REinvent International Sales can feel the love tonight, having sold Berlinale Series Market Selects offering “Out of Touch” to Holland (Npb) and “Sleep Around” to Germany (Rtl Passion).

“We are thrilled to see our two series find such great homes and look very much forward to introducing buyers to ‘Out of Touch’ here at EFM,” said sales & marketing director Helene Aurø.

Produced by Stockholm-based Breakable Films and Art & Bob, with Discovery+ attached, LGBTQ+ series “Sleep Around” was created by Mikael Ljung and Lina Åström.

In the show, when Line gets dumped by her girlfriend, she turns to her best friend for advice. But Elin offers a somewhat unconventional remedy: Maintaining a Tinder account in Line’s name and encouraging her to sleep around. “Skam’s” Ulrikke Falch and Clara Henry star.

Another Breakable Films production, “Out of Touch,” was created by Ljung, with Åström and Marja Nyberg listed as showrunners.

Other winners include Emily, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed; Swedish Film Institute unveils new talent Wild Card prizes.

Ali Abbasi’s Iran-set serial killer drama Holy Spider won the Bronze Horse for best film at the 2022 Stockholm International Film Festival.

The film’s lead actor Mehdi Bajestani won best actor for playing Saeed Hanaei, the real serial killer who killed sex workers in Mashhad in 2000 and 2001.

The jury said Holy Spider is “a punch in the gut for systematic belief systems that oppress rather than support. An eye opener and a most emotional cinematic experience that awakens internal revolutions in us.

The big winner at the Stockholm International Film Festival 2022 was Holy Spider, directed by Swedish-Danish-Iranian Ali Abbasi.

Complete list of winners below

The film won the Bronze Horse for Best Film, while lead actor Mehdi Bajestani was named Best Male Actor for his role as serial killer Saeed Hanaei. The film was based on the true story of the so-called ‘Spider-Killer’ who targeted sex workers and killed 16 women from 2000 to 2001 in Mashhad, Iran. The film depicts a fictional female journalist investigating the crimes.

In presenting Abbasi with his award, the jury said of Holy Spider:

“A groundbreaking film that is done not only with enormous courage but with mastery that leaves us breathless; our insides both speechless and wanting to cream. A punch in the gut for systematic belief systems that oppress rather than support. An eye opener and a most emotional cinematic experience that awakens internal revolutions in us.

Cannes – REinvent International Sales has sold the refugee drama ‘Lost’ to AMC Networks for Spain and Portugal.

The Scandi production-distribtion shingle is presenting the title to buyers at this week’s Mipcom TV market in Cannes.

Created by Ulf Ryberg, the drama thriller tells the story of a truck driver smuggling a group of Syrian refugees into Sweden in his truck. An upsetting phone call from his soon to be ex-wife, leaves the refugees struggling for air, when his mind wanders off them.

The series is directed by Tova Magnusson (“The Most Prohibited”) and produced by Patrick Ryborn (“Backstabbing for Beginners”).

This Swedish-language film is produced by Unlimited Stories where Ryborn is a co-founder and producer. Peter Viitanen, Ville Virtanen, Sandra Stojiljkovic, Vilhelm Blomgren, Shaniaz Hama Ali star.

The six one-hour series will be released on Nov. 7. on the Swedish pubcaster Svt.

Helene Aurø, REinvent’s sales and marketing director,...