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For some sad reason, Netflix has chosen to delete more shows than normal in the third week of the month. While 18 series or movies leaving the streaming isn't nearly as bad as the end of any given month, it's still a lot.

Perhaps the biggest loss of the week is that the first eight seasons of Dexter are leaving. There have been two sequels to the series, Dexter: New Blood and Dexter: Original Sin, but neither of those is available on Netflix either.

The first three seasons of The Equalizer are going away, too. The Queen Latifah-led series has five seasons total, but there will be no more. The show was canceled after its fifth season, and the finale aired on May 4, 2025.

18 movies and series are leaving Netflix in the third week of June 2025

The well-received documentary on Fred Rogers, Won't You Be My Neighbor? is also saying goodbye. It...

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Peacock is ready with an entertainment-packed June this year. The upcoming month will see the release of the much-anticipated Season 4 of the sci-fi comedy-drama series Resident Alien, as well as the streaming release of the new Syfy series Revival. Just like every month, Peacock is ready to overload you with great content. So, we’re here to tell you about the seven new movies and TV shows coming to Peacock in June 2025.

Night Swim (June 5) Credit – Universal Pictures

Night Swim is a 2024 supernatural horror film written and directed by Bryce McGuire. Based on McGuire and Rob Blackhurst’s 2014 short film of the same name, it revolves around the Warren family as they move into a suburban house and discover a swimming pool in their backyard. However, they soon realize that the pool is haunted by a sinister entity.

Here’s another look at what’s leaving Netflix in the United States soon. This is your full guide to all the movies and shows set to leave the platform. That includes Netflix Originals, Sony and Universal movies, and other popular titles.

If you’re wondering why these shows and movies are leaving, the reason is simple. Netflix doesn’t own most of them. It rents them from big studios like Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros. When those rental deals end, the titles leave, sometimes after a month, sometimes after a few years. Even some Netflix Originals leave when their licenses run out. So if you’re wondering whether your favorite movie or show is leaving Netflix next month, here’s a full list:

June 1

100 Days with Tata (2021)

Attarintiki Daredi (2013)

Batman Begins (2005)

Black Holes | The Edge of All We Know (2021)

Burlesque (2010)

Brahms: The Boy II (2020)

Closer (2004)

Cult of Chucky (2017)

Daddy Day Care...

Things were seemingly all quiet on the Greenland front. But the sequel to the Gerard Butler disaster film is back on the radar with a little blip. The original Ric Roman Waugh thriller, Greenland, starred Butler and Morena Baccarin and follows a family’s struggle to get to emergency proceedings as they’re selected for shelter from the impending doom of a comet hurling toward our planet. Unlike most disaster films, this story was told from the perspective of everyday citizens simply trying to evade the crazy panic of the population and government proceedings in order to seek refuge.

The sequel — Greenland: Migration — filmed last year, and now, it has received a rating from the MPA. Greenland: Migration will be rated PG-13 for some strong violence, bloody images, and action. Screenwriter Chris Sparling returned to co-write this entry with Mitchell Lafortune. The plot reads, “The Garrity family must leave the...

Runway Studios, the production and entertainment arm of AI company Runway, has released a six-minute pilot for “Mars & Siv: No Vacancy,” an animated series produced by the studio and created by Jeremy Higgins and Britton Korbel. Co-directors Higgins and Korbel will now be shopping the series to animation studios and streamers.

The comedic crime series will follow a detective and his partner, who is alien. Higgins describes it as a “satirical take on classic noir film set in a more futuristic setting.” Episodes are expects to be in the 11-20 minute range.

The Runway relationship began last fall, when the studio produced Higgins’ “Migration,” a two-minute short about an explorer who finds a new universe, through its Hundred Film Fund initiative. For “Mars & Siv,” Higgins and Korbel will retain the IP of the project, while Runway assisted with financing, producing and marketing the first episode.

Higgins and Korbel related that...

The West Coast headquarters of Comcast and NBC Universal at 10 Universal City Plaza in Universal City, California. (Photo by Matthew Keys for The Desk)

Comcast delivered a steady financial performance in the first quarter of 2025, with strength in its content-driven segments helping to balance continued softness in broadband. For broadcast executives evaluating market positioning, the results underscore the increasing importance of premium IP and platform diversification.

Total revenue for the quarter reached $30.06 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 1.2 percent. Net income rose modestly by 0.9 percent to $3.86 billion, or 97 cents per share. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 92 cents, surpassing analyst expectations of 87 cents.

While adjusted Ebitda declined slightly by 0.3 percent to $9.37 billion, Comcast improved its free cash flow by 5.7 percent, totaling $3.26 billion — an important metric for strategic reinvestment in content and distribution infrastructure.

The company’s Media segment, which includes NBC Universal and streaming platform Peacock, emerged as a bright spot.

Gerard Butler has movies scattered across every streaming service, but one of them is due to depart its home soon. Butler stars alongside Dune: Prophecy veteran Travis Fimmel in Kandahar, the 2023 conspiracy thriller following a CIA operative and his translator who flee from special forces in Afghanistan after exposing a covert mission. Kandahar has been streaming on Hulu for months now, but the streamer has announced that it will depart the platform on May 31, which still leaves more than a month for Butler’s fans to check out the film. Kandahar finished its run in theaters after grossing only $9 million, and the film earned a 45% rating from critics but a solid 82% rating from general audiences on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.

Mitchell Lafortune wrote the screenplay for Kandahar, and Ric Roman Waugh was tapped to direct the film. Lafortune’s only other writing credit in his career has come from Last Breath,...

Kumail Nanjiani is joining Hulu’s “Hularious” line-up with his own special.

It will mark Nanjiani’s second special in more than a decade. It’s produced by ITV America, Winter Coat (Nanjiani’s production company) and TheYearOfElan. Nanjiani will serve as an executive producer alongside Elan Gale and Bernie Schaeffer.

The special will premiere domestically on Hulu and internationally on Disney+, with the release date and additional details to be announced at a later date.

In 2024, Nanjiani launched his stand-up comedy tour, Kumail Nanjiani: Doing This Again across North America and Europe.

Nanjiani’s upcoming acting gigs Peacock’s Poker Face and in Ella McCay from 20th Century. His past work include Marvel’s The Eternals, Fox’s The X-Files, NBC’s Community, Disney’s Obi-Wan, Men In Black: International, Stuber, The Lovebirds, Migration, and Fist Fight.

His first comedy special was “Beta Male” that aired in 2013 on Comedy Central.

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is enjoying bigger advance sales a week ahead of release in UK and Ireland than was the case in summer 2023 with Barbie, according to two cinema chains that shared data with Screen.

At Odeon, by yesterday morning – one week ahead of the film’s February 13 UK and Ireland release – the multiplex chain said it had sold around 70,000 tickets, outselling Barbie in the comparative pre-sale period. Around 20% of tickets had been sold for the Thursday preview day, and around a third for Valentine’s Day (February 14).

At boutique chain Curzon, advance sales of the Universal...

A splash of auteurish openings on Christmas Day, with Focus Features’ Nosferatu, Searchlight’s A Complete Unknown, A24’s naughty Babygirl and Rachel Morrison’s The Fire Inside, is poised to send the holiday week’s box office to a potential $280 million tally. That puts it on par with last year’s holiday week that was boosted by Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Wonka, Migration and The Color Purple.

Christmas week 2021 holds the post-Covid record for the most made by movies with $292.4M during that time, a majority of that from Sony/Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Still, it’s interesting. Even though there isn’t a massive, oxygen-sucking tentpole in the marketplace, the heavy supply of family titles in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Mufasa, Wicked and Moana 2. plus the new offerings, are making for a lucrative season. Comscore projects we’ll end 2024 at $8.75 billion, just 3% shy of 2023’s $9 billion tally.

Moana 2 Box Office (China): First Day Pre-Sales Update (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Moana 2 is getting ready to hit the theatres this week around Thanksgiving and is setting all sorts of records with its pre-sales. Now, in China, it has set a post-covid record for Disney animations, surpassing the pre-sales collections of multiple movies, including Despicable Me 4 and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Scroll below for the deets.

Last month, it set a similar record with its advance booking and even surpassed Inside Out 2. It is currently the highest-grossing film of the year. For the unversed, Moana was released in 2016 and was a massive success at the box office. The animated feature was a critical success, securing two nominations at the 89th Academy Awards. The sequel was directed by David Derrick Jr, Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller. It will be released around Thanksgiving and is a perfect watch for the occasion.

The new adaptation of the global musical sensation may take a while to hit on-demand streaming.

How did the Wicked Witch of the West turn into the person she became? Her tragic tale is told in full in “Wicked,” the movie adaptation of the wildly popular stage musical that is ready to bow in theaters. “Wicked: Part 1” officially premieres on Thursday, Nov. 21, and we’ll give our best prediction as to when you’ll be able to stream it at home — and which service will have it!

Key Details: Critics and audiences alike are going wild for “Wicked.” As a Universal-distributed film, “Wicked” will stream on Peacock first. It may be more than 200 days before “Wicked” premieres on the streamer. Sign Up $7.99+ / month peacocktv.com Watch the trailer for ‘Wicked: Part 1’:

“Wicked” tells the story of Elphaba, a girl born in the land of Oz whose green skin makes her a target for ostracization.

The Wild Robot Box Office (Worldwide): Beats Migration’s Global Haul (Photo Credit – Instagram)

The Wild Robot keeps impressing the audience with its fantastic content and, therefore, keeps surpassing significant milestones. The cinemas are sprawling with multiple movies, and the animated feature is also available on digital platforms, yet it shows no sign of stopping. Keep scrolling for more.

The animated feature saw an insane hike at the US box office on Monday, Veteran’s Day. It has a stronghold at the North American box office and is also performing decently overseas. The voice cast includes Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Catherine O’Hara, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames.

According to Luiz Fernando’s report, the Dreamworks animation grossed a solid $930K on its 8th Friday, registering the biggest 8th Friday ever for animations released in September. It experienced a dip of 37.4% from last Friday.

Exclusive: Universal/DreamWorks Animation’sThe Wild Robot has crossed the three-century mark globally, with $300.5M through Friday. The Chris Sanders-directed critical darling is now at $134.4M domestic and $166.1M from the international box office.

The Wild Robot is the No. 2 non-sequel studio film of 2024, behind It Ends with Us; the No. 1 non-sequel Hollywood animated title of the year; and the No. 4 biggest animated studio movie of 2024 globally, internationally and domestically.

After premiering at the Toronto Film Festival in September, The Wild Robot began staggered overseas release, and has seen terrific holds while playing through school holidays in many markets. Last weekend, the Lupita Nyong’o-starrer overtook the lifetime offshore box office of The Bad Guys. Japan is still to release, on February 7, 2025.

Notably in Mexico, the emotional original animation has surpassed the lifetimes of Elemental, Frozen,...

The Wild Robot has been one of the biggest success stories of the year at the box office, recently earning $6.6 million during its seventh full weekend in theaters to claim the #4 spot, behind only Heretic, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and Venom: The Last Dance. This strong recent weekend helped The Wild Robot reach $130 million domestically, which makes it one of the top 100 highest-grossing animated movies of all time. The film began the weekend in the #103 spot, sitting behind Cloud with a Chance of Meatballs, but it has since jumped up to #97, also moving past Bee Movie, Migration, Robots, and The Peanut Movie. The Wild Robot has also collected $161 million internationally to bring its worldwide box office total to $292 million.

The Wild Robot has passed a major domestic milestone on its way up the all-time chart. The new DreamWorks animated movie is based on the children's book of the same name and follows Roz (Lupita Nyong'o), a robot who becomes stranded on a desert island and slowly reprograms herself as she forges a maternal bond with orphaned gosling Brightbill (Kit Connor). The Wild Robot release opened with a middling $35.8 million against its $78 million budget, but slowly and steadily rose to become one of the biggest animated hits of the year and of all time.

Per Deadline, as of Saturday morning, The Wild Robot is projected to close out its seventh weekend in theaters with a 3-day domestic box office total of $6 million. This will push its cumulative domestic total to $130.2 million. In addition to becoming the 13th movie of the year to pass the $130 million milestone, it has climbed up...

The Wild Robot continues its impressive box office reign as it passes yet another box office milestone. Based on the book by Peter Brown, the DreamWorks animated movie follows the story of a robot named Roz who has to survive on a seemingly uninhabited island. The film's talented voice cast includes Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o as the leading robot alongside a supporting cast that includes Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, and Stephanie Hsu. The Wild Robot received rave reviews upon its release, currently holding a near-perfect 98% on Rotten Tomatoes.

As per Collider, The Wild Robot has now crossed a major box office milestone. Recently, the film joined the coveted group of the 100 highest-grossing animated films of all time. This record came after the film grossed $7.4 million this past weekend. In order to get on the top 100 highest grossing animated films of all time, The Wild Robot had to pass...

The Wild Robot Box Office (North America): Set To Beat Migration( Photo Credit – YouTube )

The Wild Robot is one of the most appreciated animated movies of this year, and it is on its way to beating the Migration’s US run. It recently crossed the $200 million mark and has now achieved this interesting feat. The Dreamworks animated feature was made on an estimated budget of $78 million. Scroll below for the deets.

Migration is an animated comedy-adventure movie by Universal Pictures and Illumination. It featured the voices of Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina, and Danny DeVito. The animated feature follows the story of a family of mallards trying to convince their overprotective father to go on a vacation of a lifetime and try to migrate from New England to Jamaica via New York City.

According to Luiz Fernando’s report, The Wild Robot recently lost 196 theatres and is also available on digital platforms,...

Exclusive: Fresh off acclaimed genre pic The Substance, Margaret Qualley has been set to star in psychological horror-thriller Victorian Psycho, which Anton is launching ahead of next week’s American Film Market.

It’s a strong premise for the in-demand Qualley. Set in 1858, the film will follow a young, eccentric governess named Winifred Notty (Qualley) who arrives at the remote gothic manor known as Ensor House. Winifred’s responsibilities include teaching the children table manners and educating them about their family’s history, all whilst hiding her psychopathic tendencies. As Winifred assimilates into life at Ensor House, staff members begin to inexplicably disappear, and the owners of the estate begin to wonder if there is something amiss about their new governess.

Zachary Wigon (Sanctuary) is directing from a script by author Virginia Feito (Mrs. March), based on her upcoming novel of the same name. Production is set to begin in...

Netflix customers will be able to add even more Universal movies to their queue with the studio’s live-action titles coming to the streamer in the U.S. starting with the 2027 slate.

Netflix and NBCUniversal’s Universal Filmed Entertainment Group announced a deal to renew their existing licensing deal for animated films from Illumination and DreamWorks Animation. Now, beginning with the 2027 slate, Netflix will have U.S. rights to live-action films from both Universal Pictures and Focus Features “no later than eight months” following their theatrical release.

After the Universal films’ initial premiere on NBCU’s Peacock, Netflix will have a 10-month window during which these films are available only on Netflix — before they return to Peacock. Netflix will also license rights to Universal’s full animation and live-action film slate for additional windows in subsequent years as well as rights to select titles from Universal’s film library, the companies said.

When Universal’s “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” opened in December 2022, the “Shrek” spinoff sputtered to a $12.4 million debut. Then, something miraculous happened. Thanks to TikTok and solid buzz, the animated adventure about the swashbuckling cat enjoyed nine lives on the big screen. Ticket sales barely declined week over week, and “The Last Wish” ended its run with $186 million domestically — 15 times its opening weekend — and $481 million globally.

Universal experienced this phenomenon again with Illumination’s “Migration,” which had a disappointing $12.4 million start around Christmas 2023. The cartoon tale about a family of mallards sustained momentum and flew to $127 million in North America — more than 10 times its debut — and nearly $300 million worldwide. (The average film has a 3 or 4 multiple — industry parlance for the ratio of final gross to opening weekend.) “Puss in Boots 2” and “Migration” hold the two highest animated multiples of the past 20 years.

Now, it’s happening once more...

The Wild Robot has hit a major global milestone, possibly breaking even in the process. The new DreamWorks animated movie follows Roz (Lupita Nyong'o) a robot who finds herself stranded on a desert island and forges a motherly bond with an orphaned gosling named Brightbill (Kit Connor). The Wild Robot release kicked off with a middling $35.8 million opening weekend, but it has had a slow and steady climb to become the fifth highest-grossing animated movie of the year so far, behind The Garfield Movie, Kung Fu Panda 4, Despicable Me 4, and Inside Out 2.

Per Box Office Mojo, The Wild Robot has passed the $200 million milestone worldwide as of its fifth weekend in theaters. It has become the 16th movie to pass that milestone so far in 2024 and will shortly overtake Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire ($201.8 million) as the 15th highest-grossing movie of the year worldwide. Additionally, it has seemingly become profitable at long last,...

Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri is set to receive the Producers Guild of America’s David O. Selznick Achievement Award.

Meledandri will be honored at the 2025 PGA Awards, set for Feb. 8 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. The boss of the animation company behind the Despicable Me franchise is only the second animation producer to receive the Selznick Award after John Lasseter received the honor in 2009.

Earlier recipients of the David O. Selznick Award also include Steven Spielberg, Barbara Broccoli, Mary Parent, Charles Roven, Brian Grazer, David Heyman, Kevin Feige and, most recently, Martin Scorsese. Meledandri, who launched Illumination in 2007, in a statement paid tribute to the filmmakers that came before him and paved the way for his own career.

“Early in my career, I was fortunate enough to work with legendary filmmakers who taught me the intricacies of storytelling, production and connecting with an audience. Their...

Chris Meledandri, founder and CEO of the animation powerhouse Illumination, will be honored with the David O. Selznick Achievement Award at the 36th Annual Producers Guild Awards, the guild announced Thursday.

Meledandri’s credits include “Despicable Me,” the Oscar-nominated “Despicable Me 2,” “The Lorax,” “Minions,” “The Secret Life of Pets,” “Sing,” “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “Migration.”

“The extraordinary vision and innovation Chris brings to animated feature films has not only captivated audiences of all ages but also been instrumental in reshaping the entertainment landscape,” PGA presidents Donald De Line and Stephanie Allain said in a joint statement. “His hands-on, meticulous approach to producing has resulted in the rare accomplishment of record-breaking films and beloved franchises. We are proud to honor Chris with this prestigious award as a leader in both the animation industry and our industry as a whole.”

Meledandri stated, “Being recognized by my peers with the...

RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (Oct 18-20)Total gross to dateWeek 1. The Wild Robot (Universal) £3.1m £3.3m 1 2. Smile 2 (Paramount) £1.7m £2m 1 3. The Apprentice (Studiocanal) £643,434 £746,303 1 4. Transformers One (Paramount) £642,000 £2.8m 2 5. Terrifier 3 (Signature)

£561,752 £2.2m 2

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.30

Universal animation The Wild Robot opened top of the UK-Ireland box office, with a £3.1m weekend.

Chris Sanders’ family feature, that has a voice cast including Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal and Kit Connor, played in 675 cinemas, taking a £4,591 site average. Including previews, the film has £3.3m. It is slightly down on the £3.6m start of another original Universal animation, Migration, from February this year.

Worldwide box office October 18-20 Rank Film (distributor) 3-day (world) Cume (world) 3-day (int’l) Cume (int’l) Territories 1. Smile 2 (Paramount) $46m $46m $23m $23m 63 2. The Wild Robot (Universal) $33.3m $196m $23.2m $94.3m 77 3. Joker: Folie a Deux (Warner Bros) $16.9m $191.9m $14.7m $135.5m 79 4. Terrifier 3 (various) $12.3m $44.8m $3m $8.6m 10 5. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros) $8.7m $434.6m $3.7m $150.6m 75 6. The Volunteers: To The War 2 (various)

$8.5m $154.5m $8.5m $154.5m 2 7. L’Amour ouf (Studiocanal) $6.6m $6.6m $6.6m $6.6m 1 8. The Substance (Mubi) $5.2m $42.1m $4.3m $28.7m 36 9. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (Warner Bros) $4.7m $4.7m $4.7m $4.7m 1 10. Transformers One (Paramount) $4.6m $119m $2.6m $62.4m 71

Credit: Comscore.

Worldwide box office October 11-13 RankFilm (distributor)3-day (world)Cume (world)3-day (int’l) Cume (int’l)Territories 1. The Wild Robot (Universal) $37.5m $148.5m $24.1m $64.7m 56 2. Joker: Folie À Deux (Warner Bros) $29.8m $165.3m $22.7m $113.7m 78 3. Terrifier 3 (various) $23.1m $23.1m $4.9m $4.9m 8 4. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros) $11.7m $420.3m $4.6m $144.7m 77 5. The Volunteers: To The War 2 (various) $10.7m $139.7m $10.7m $139.7m 2 6. Transformers One (Paramount)

$13.8m $27.1m $13.8m $27.1m 71 7. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone (Warner Bros) $6.6m $6.6m $6.6m $6.6m 1 8. The Substance (Mubi) $6.2m $33.4m $5.1m $21.8m 34 9. My Hero Academia: You’re Next (various) $5.4m $29.8m $2.4m $26.8m 67 10. Piece By Piece...

Refresh for latest…: After its sadly disappointing start last weekend, Warner Bros and Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux is still a sad clown, adding an estimated $22.7M from 77 international box office markets this session (a 70.5% drop). The overseas running cume now stands at $113.7M and the worldwide total is currently $165.3M through Sunday. The outlook offshore is about a $150M final.

New this session was Japan where Joker 2 was the top U.S. title with $2.4M. The Top 5 overseas to date are the UK ($11.8M), Germany ($7.9M), Italy ($7.6M), Mexico ($7.4M) and France ($7.1M). China still has to release, but we’re not expecting firecrackers. The Imax total to date is $13.5M global, of which international is $7.3M.

Onward.

The wild run of Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot continues as its staggered rollout added 19 markets including France, Spain, Italy and Brazil this session. The offshore...

The Perfect Couple shot to the top overall spot in Nielsen’s streaming rankings for its premiere week.

The murder mystery limited series, which stars Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber and Dakota Fanning, accumulated 1.91 billion minutes of viewing for the week of Sept. 2-8 (it premiered on Sept. 5). That’s the fifth highest total for any original series premiere week on the streaming charts this year, behind Fool Me Once (3.04 billion minutes), Fallout (2.9 billion), Bridgerton (2.76 billion) and Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender (2.56 billion).

The Perfect Couple was one of five titles to record more than a billion minutes of viewing for the week. The others are Netflix’s movie Rebel Ridge (1.11 billion), Family Guy (1.06 billion), Prison Break (1.05 billion) — which had been the overall No. 1 for the previous four weeks — and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (1.02 billion), which was even with its season two premiere a week earlier.

Transformers One's box office numbers are in for the all-important first weeks of its theatrical run. The feature-length project, which is an animated prequel, is the ninth theatrical installment in the franchise and only the second to be animated after the 1986 offering The Transformers: The Movie, which was the first to be released in theaters after the franchise launched as a toy line and animated series several years earlier. The new movie was written by Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari, and was directed by Josh Cooley, who also provides the voice for Cybertronian High Guard seeker Skywarp.

The Transformers One cast includes a variety of stars who have not appeared in the franchise before, though many of them are voicing characters who have had a presence in previous installments. This includes Chris Hemsworth as Optimus Prime (who was previously voiced by Peter Cullen in the live-action movies...

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In a year that has provided its fair share of disappointments at the box office, it's always nice when we get to talk about something good that happened -- if not something downright great, in this particular case. Indeed, DreamWorks and Universal's "The Wild Robot" debuted in theaters this past weekend, taking in $35 million at the domestic box office. That blew past industry expectations, in no small part thanks to the stellar reviews and word of mouth. It also set a new high-bar for non-franchise animation in the pandemic era.

That $35 million figure represents the very top end of the most optimistic projections heading into the weekend. "The Wild Robot" also pulled in $18 million overseas for a $53 million global start. To say that it is difficult to open a non-franchise animated film in the pandemic era would be an understatement.

Updated: We’re in a bit of a getting going/holdover situation for the studios this weekend at the international box office. There are two animated films continuing to roll out in the marketplace — both of which are highly scored, and performing to differing degrees.

To wit: Paramount/Hasbro’s Transformers One added $16.6M in 61 markets this frame, taking the offshore total to $32.8M. Globally, the animated movie is at $72M. Still to open are Germany, UK and France. Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot also continued its staggered release to add 21 markets this session. In 29 total, the frame was $9.9M for an overseas cume of $18.1M and $53.1M globally.

Before we get into detail on those titles, the international winner this frame was Telugu action epic Devara Part 1 with an estimated $27.8M overseas and $32.9M globally, per comScore. Starring Ntr Jr, Janhvi Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan,...

Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot” landed in first place on box office charts, taking flight on the higher end of expectations with $35 million from 3,962 venues. Meanwhile, Francis Ford Coppola‘s sci-fi epic “Megalopolis” collapsed in its box office debut, collecting an anemic $4 million from 1,854 North American theaters.

Ticket sales for “Megalopolis” were less than initial projections of $5 million to $7 million, which would have been financially disastrous for the $120 million-budgeted film. By comparison, Kevin Costner’s mostly self-funded $100 million-budgeted passion project “Horizon: An American Saga – Part One” arrived to $11 million over the summer before tapping out with $36 million worldwide. As a result, plans to release “Part Two” were indefinitely paused.

With poor word of mouth (the film received a “D+” grade on CinemaScore), “Megalopolis” opened in sixth place behind three holdover titles and the Indian Telugu-language action film “Devara: Part 1.” Reviews have been wildly divisive with the...

“The Wild Robot,” Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s latest family-friendly, animated adventure, has made $1.95 million in Thursday previews at the box office so far.

Director Chris Sanders’ movie, about a lost robot on a planet overrun by wildlife, is on track to make between $24 million to $30 million in its opening weekend. That should be enough to claim the top slot from Warner Bros.’ spooky sequel, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which has been the No. 1 movie for the past three weeks. Tim Burton’s film should take second place in its frame week of release, with an estimated $13 million to $15 million this weekend. Last week’s newcomer, Paramount’s animated origin story “Transformers One,” will have to settle for third place, with a projected $12 million to $14 million after opening in second place last weekend.

“The Wild Robot” stars Lupita Nyong’o as the titular automaton, who is named Rozzum unit 7134 but better known as Roz.

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“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” debuted its second season as Nielsen’s No. 2 most-watched streaming program in the last week of August.

The Prime Video series, which released the first three episodes of Season 2 on Thursday, Aug. 29, logged 1.015 billion minutes viewed across its 11 existing episodes during the interval of Aug. 26-Sept. 1, according to Nielsen. “The Rings of Power” stood as the most-watched original streaming show during the week, but was outpaced on the overall streaming list by “Prison Break.”

“Prison Break,” which has been gaining traction since it was added to Netflix in late July, continued its reign atop the overall streaming list for a fourth consecutive week, this time racking up 1.188 billion viewing minutes across Netflix and Hulu. Viewership for “Prison Break” saw a...

The second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power opened to big viewing numbers in the United States — just not as big as its first season.

The Prime Video series amassed 1.02 billion minutes of viewing in the United States for the week of Aug. 26-Sept. 1, good for first place among original series and second among all titles in Nielsen’s streaming rankings. Season two premiered on Aug. 29 with three episodes, and Nielsen says about 70 percent of the show’s weekly total was for those three, with the remainder devoted to season one. (Viewing totals on the ratings service’s charts cover all episodes of a series.)

The 1.02 billion minutes is down about 19 percent from season one’s opening week (1.25 billion) in August 2022. The Rings of Power ranks third among Prime Video series U.S. opening weeks this year behind Fallout (2.9 billion minutes) and The Boys (1.19 billion...

Francis Ford Coppola’s sci-fi epic “Megalopolis,” the director’s self-funded passion project, is tracking to a disappointing $5 million to $7 million box office debut.

The film, released by Lionsgate, is expected to play at 1,700 North American theaters in its opening weekend. A single-digit start would be underwhelming for a movie that cost above $100 million to produce.

Coppola has a lot riding on “Megalopolis” because the 85-year-old “Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” director ended up independently financing the film for $120 million. After its Cannes Film Festival premiere, Lionsgate agreed to release and market the movie in exchange for a distribution fee.

“Megalopolis” is set in a futuristic America and follows an architect (Adam Driver) who clashes with the corrupt mayor (Giancarlo Esposito) in determining how to rebuild the metropolis of New Rome after a disaster. Reviews have been wildly divisive (it holds a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes), which could stoke interest in the film.

“Blink Twice” (Amazon MGM), actress Zoë Kravitz’s feature directorial debut with Channing Tatum as a tech billionaire who invites a cocktail waitress to his private island, was a modest performer in theaters last month. Its opening weekend only reached #4 at the box office, earning $7 million, with the full run amounting to $22 million.

Flash forward a few weeks, and it is #1 for its debut week in PVOD. It jumped to the top even as three other new releases (all weaker performers) also made at least one of the two top 10 lists below.

Netflix continues to find appeal for its recent originals, with four films in its top five. These though were trumped by “The Garfield Movie,” the latest Sony release to transition to the streamer four months after release. Azazel Jacobs’ “His Three Daughters” (premiering at Toronto Film Festival last year and garnering an excellent 84 Metacritic score) is top among...

Updated: Paramount/Hasbro Entertainment’s Transformers One is out of the gate with a $39M global start. From just 50 international box office markets (representing only 40% of the overseas footprint), the first animated Transformers movie in close to 40 years grossed $14M.

The Josh Cooley-directed origins story came in below projections domestically and international is off to a softer start than hoped.

While there are still major markets to come including Brazil, Italy, Korea, China, Germany, UK and France, it’s still a bit of a head-scratcher that the offshore opening wasn’t bigger given reviews, word of mouth and how much perceived anticipation there has been for the movie. A work-in-progress screening at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival had the room on its feet in June. However, we are hearing about general softness in the marketplace — and the back-to-school period can be a tricky one. The hope here is...

Update: 2024/09/22 08:28 Est By Brennan Klein

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Pulls Ahead Of Transformers One To Claim No. 1

This article was originally written Saturday Am and has been updated Sunday Am with altered box office projections (in bold), a full chart, and further analysis.

The animated prequel Transformers One has lost its battle for the top spot in its opening weekend. The Transformers One box office debut comes during the third weekend in September, at the same time as two new release horror movies. Those would be Never Let Go, a survival thriller from High Tension and Crawl's Alexandre Aja that stars Halle Berry as a mother who is desperate to protect her children from mysterious outside entities, and The Substance, the sophomore feature from Revenge director Coralie Fargeat which stars Demi Moore as an aging fitness icon.

Per Deadline, as of Sunday morning, Transformers One is projected to earn a three-day...

Optimus Prime and Megatron put up a fight, but in the end, the robots were no match for everyone’s favorite bio-exorcist.

After an unusually close box office race, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” emerged victorious over newcomer “Transformers One” to retain the No. 1 spot for three consecutive weekends. The spooky Warner Bros. sequel added a strong $26 million from 4,172 theaters, bringing its tally to $225 million domestically and $329.7 million globally.

Meanwhile, “Transformers One” kicked off behind expectations with $25 million from 3,978 venues. It’s a meager start for Paramount and Hasbro’s animated movie, which cost $75 million and was targeting a start of $30 million to $40 million. It only brought in $14 million internationally for a worldwide total of $39 million. Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry and Scarlett Johansson lead the voice cast of “Transformers One,” the franchise’s first theatrical animated film since 1986’s “The Transformers: The Movie.” That film was a box office disappointment, though its...

AMC made a bet earlier this year that licensing a number of its shows to Netflix would help them find more viewers. That bet appears to have paid off.

Two AMC shows, Dark Winds and A Discovery of Witches, are among the top 10 streaming titles for the week of Aug. 19-25. They were added to Netflix at the beginning of that week as part of a deal struck in July to place about a dozen AMC shows on the service, complete with branding as the “AMC Collection.” (The shows will be available for 12 months.)

It’s not new territory for AMC, which partially credited Netflix for a huge spike in ratings for Breaking Bad’s final season and has also licensed The Walking Dead and Better Call Saul, among others, to the streamer in the past.

Dark Winds drew 929 million minutes of viewing for the week, good for fourth place overall.

Dwayne Johnson's The Rundown has become a surprise hit on Netflix 21 years later. Released in 2003, director Peter Berg's The Rundown marks one of Johnson's first major movie roles. The film sees the former WWE wrestler starring as Beck, a bounty hunter who teams up with the son of a powerful loan shark to seek out a legendary lost treasure in the Amazon. The movie, which also stars Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson, and Christopher Walken, was a notable box office failure.

Now, new data from Netflix reveals that The Rundown was the eighth most popular movie on the service in the U.S. for the week of September 2 8. While exact viewership data isn't provided, the Johnson movie beats 3:10 to Yuma (2007) and Trolls Band Together (2023). The Rundown falls short of other titles like Shark Tale (2004), The Union (2024), Migration (2023), Aloha (2015), Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), The Deliverance (2024), and, in the number one spot,...

When Disney released its new version of “The Lion King” in 2019, the company was quick to describe it as the live-action version of the beloved 1994 original.

Director Jon Favreau, who made a Christmas classic in “Elf” and jumpstarted the Marvel Cinematic Universe with “Iron Man,” was covered by the Directors Guild of America, which afforded him insurance and incentives, along with profit participation. One reported estimate had the director earning $60 million from his involvement in the film, which grossed $1.66 billion worldwide.

But this version of “The Lion King” wasn’t live-action — it was fully animated. And directors of animated films are not traditionally covered by the DGA, hence the push to categorize this feature as “live-action.”

The DGA has long kept animation directors out of the guild. And the chasm between the benefits afforded to live-action directors and animation directors is a growing source of frustration within the filmmaking community.

Aloha has made it to the Netflix Global Top 10. Released in 2015, Aloha tells the story of a military contractor who returns to Hawaii for a job and reconnects with an old lover while also falling for the Air Force member assigned to work with him. Aloha is directed by Cameron Crowe, who is best known for his work on Almost Famous. Aloha's leading cast features Bradley Cooper, Rachel McAdams, Emma Stone, Alec Baldwin, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, Bill Camp, and Jaeden Martell.

Now, Aloha has become a hit on the Netflix Global Top 10. Aloha came in no. 8 on the Netflix Global Top 10 for the week of September 2 to September 8, amassing 4.3 million views. Topping the charts this week were Rebel Ridge at no. 1 (31.2 million views), The Deliverance at no. 2 (21.8 million views), and The Union at no. 3 (8.3 million views). Coming in at no. 8, Aloha beat out animated film Migration (no.

Maybe there’s hope for quality Netflix originals apart from its awards contenders. “Rebel Ridge,” a topical thriller about an ex-Marine confronting a corrupt small-town sheriff, is #1 at Netflix. It stars Aaron Pierre — who stepped into the role after John Boyega walked off the production in June 2021. A respected actor and ascendant star, Pierre is not a household name like Mark Wahlberg or Adam Sandler or Eddie Murphy, all of whom recently took Netflix originals to #1.

Nor is it a flashy drama, or a big-budget production. Its director, Jeremy Saulnier, most recently directed “Hold the Dark” for Netflix in 2018 (along with a couple of episodes of “True Detective”). IndieWire has watched his career for years, but directors like these also have wound up at Netflix making films that lack edginess or creativity. This seems like a happy exception. Its success suggests that well-crafted stories driven by substantial characters can be popular,...

“Twisters” (Universal) wasn’t the biggest film of the summer. But it is becoming the comeback kid among the group, both theatrically and at home.

The tornado-focused special effects disaster film just had a very rare weekend in theaters. In its seventh weekend, losing 200 screens, its gross increased 17 percent. That comes in its third week at home on PVOD. And right at the same time, “Twisters” returned to #1 at iTunes, edging out the second weekend of “Inside Out 2” (Disney), 2024’s biggest hit.

The Pixar film retains its top spot at Fandango, with the advantage that its $24.99 rental cost gives it with that site listing by revenue earned, not transactions like iTunes does. In any event, the split decision this week continues a now multi-month trend of no film placing #1 at both for two consecutive weeks.

After a rare repeat at Netflix, where Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry’s...

“Inside Out 2” (Disney), the biggest domestic movie since “Top Gun: Maverick” in 2022, finally arrived at home. Released in theaters June 10, it still ranked #10 at the box office last weekend — which is probably why it could debut with a $24.99 three-day rental and take first place at both iTunes (which ranks by transactions) and Fandango (ranking by revenue).

This week Netflix had three of its own original films among the top four, led by “The Union” starring Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry. The secret agent comedy-thriller is #1 for the second week, uncommon among Netflix Originals.

VOD charts also saw Neon’s low-budget sleeper success “Longlegs” place third at both sites. This came after six weeks of strong theatrical success, with $73 million so far.

Unusually, iTunes and Fandango shared the same top four films. “Twisters” (Universal), last week’s #1, is second at both, while “Despicable Me 4” (Universal) is fourth.

‘Oddity’

Also...

Migration's success on Netflix has sparked interest in similar heartwarming family stories in other movies. Potential movies like The Lorax, The Secret Life of Pets, and The Mitchells vs. the Machines offer humor and emotion like Migration. Films like Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Madagascar share themes of overcoming fear and the importance of family, similar to Migration.

Illumination Studios' Migration has gotten a new life since being added to Netflix, and some viewers may want more of its heartwarming family story in other movies. Migration was recently added to Netflix, and a whole slew of new viewers got a chance to experience its family-friendly story. Migration is great on its own - it features a talented voice acting cast, a timeless story, and some hilarious jokes and gags - and there are 10 other movies that keep that good time rolling.

Migration was made by Illumination Studios, the production company...

Illumination's 'Migration' features an impressive cast of Hollywood legends and young stars. The 2023 animated film is a sweet family adventure tale set in New England and New York City. Cast members include Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Awkwafina, and more.

The characters in Migration are voiced by Hollywood legends, young stars, and renowned comedians, making it one of Illumination's most impressive casts, resulting in various achievements. The 2023 animated adventure comedy is Illumination's first original movie that isn't a sequel or based on a pre-existing franchise in eight years, and its accomplishments prove that, with a great cast, new ideas can still succeed. Of course, the cast is exciting and boosts the film, but Migration is also a sweet adventure tale that families can enjoy together. Consequently, Migration received positive reviews and grossed almost $300 million against a $72 million budget.

Migration revolves around a family of ducks living in Moosehead Pond in New England.