News

Sublimity Entertainment has acquired worldwide sales rights to the sci-fi horror film Silk Theory and will introduce to buyers at the EFM in Berlin next week.

Timothy Hutton and Laura Marano (The Royal Treatment) are attached to the survival story.

Benjamin directs from a screenplay by Jonah Kuehner, hiscollaborator on the 2020 found footage horrorStoker Hills,about a young couple who face the growing dangers of unexplained mutations that threaten their farm community.

Kiskeya Pictures produces and Spectral Motion, the California-based studio known for its work on Stranger Things, Hellboy, and X-Men: First Class, will provide creature effects.

Production is scheduled...

This article is part of ScreenRant's Exclusive 2025 Movie Preview. Keep an eye out for the full feature next week!

A new image reveals a steamy moment from Wish You Were Here. The upcoming romance movie is the directorial debut of 10 Things I Hate About You star Julia Stiles. It stars Isabelle Fuhrman (who previously collaborated with Stiles as co-stars in the Orphan: First Kill cast) as a young woman who has a fling with a character played by Mena Massoud (who played the titled character in 2019's Aladdin) before learning that he has a terminal illness and attempting to help him embrace the final days of his life. The supporting cast also includes Kelsey Grammer and Jennifer Grey.

ScreenRant can now share an exclusive first-look image from Wish You Were Here. The still is from a scene where the duo is outside and seemingly about to kiss. Fuhrmann's...

The official trailer for Julia Stiles’ directorial debut, Wish You Were Here, is here!

The story follows Charlotte (Isabelle Fuhrman) as she struggles to find meaning in her seemingly ordinary life. After an unforgettable night with a stranger ends abruptly, Charlotte’s quest for answers takes her on an emotional adventure that leads to a life-changing revelation.

The film features Mena Massoud, Jimmie Fails (The Last Black Man in San Francisco), Gabby Kono-Abdy (Baker’s Dozen),Jennifer Grey, and Kelsey Grammer.

Keep reading to find out more…

The upcoming romantic drama, based on the best-selling novel by Renée Carlino, also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Renée. It hits theaters on January 17, 2025, and will be available on digital platforms starting February 4, 2025. Watch the trailer below!

Wish You Were Here Trailer...

I am starting to question if Lionsgate has an under-the-table deal with Kleenex because, after watching the studio’s Wish You Were Here trailer, I think this movie will make people cry. And not just a little; I’m talking about Niagara Falls, Frankie. Niagara Falls. Wish You Were Here offers an intimate look at Julia Stiles‘s feature directorial debut. In February, the Golden Globe-nominated actress-turned-filmmaker told Deadline she’s “been looking for years for the right story to tell” as a director, and she’s finally found it with an adaptation of Renee Carlino’s best-selling novel of the same name.

Here’s the official synopsis for Wish You Were Here courtesy of Lionsgate:

“Julia Stiles makes her directorial debut in a brilliantly warm and romantic film based on the bestselling novel, Wish You Were Here. Isabelle Fuhrman, Mena Massoud, Jennifer Grey and Kelsey Grammer star in a...

Netflix is getting really good at making Hallmark-type films. But the streamer does it a bit differently. We know the Hallmark Channel drill: Boy moves to town, girl is trying to get out of a bad relationship, they meet and girl doesn't like boy, and then they end up falling in love and being happy forever. Netflix Originals normally add a lot more intrigue.

We also get actors we know well in most Netflix movies. This will be the case next year (we hope) when Alicia Silverstone is set to join Oliver Hudson, Jameela Jamil, Pierson Fode, and Melissa Joan Hart in a film called A Merry Little Ex-Mas. The script was written by Holly Hester who also penned The Royal Treatment.

The plot involves a recently separated couple trying to have one more Christmas as a family with their children before the mother starts her life over. The issue...

Alicia Silverstone, Oliver Hudson, Jameela Jamil, Pierson Fode, and Melissa Joan Hart have signed on to star in A Merry Little Ex-Mas, a Netflix holiday rom-com from director Steve Carr (Daddy Day Care).

In the film written by Holly Hester (The Royal Treatment), a recently separated couple attempts to have one last Christmas with their kids before the wife sells the family home to move and start fresh. But complications arise when the husband brings his amazing new girlfriend into the holiday mix.

Melissa Joan Hart and Paula Hart will produce for Hartbreak Films, with Silverstone serving as executive producer.

Silverstone is repped by UTA, Untitled Entertainment, and Gang, Tyre, Ramer. Hudson is repped by CAA, Entertainment 360, and Ziffren Brittenham. Jamil is repped by The Artists Partnership in the UK, UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman. Fode is repped by Innovative Artists, Zero Gravity Management, and Gang,...

Ugh, as if you want to miss this upcoming holiday rom-com.

Alicia Silverstone is decking the halls for A Merry Little Ex-Mas, the latest addition to the Netflix holiday-verse you can add to your annual watch list. From director Steve Carr (Daddy Day Care) and writer Holly Hester (The Royal Treatment), A Merry Little Ex-Mas also stars Oliver Hudson, Jameela Jamil, Pierson Fode, and Melissa Joan Hart, who also produces with Paula Hart for Hartbreak Films.

As the executive producer and star of the film, Silverstone plays one half of a recently separated couple attempting to have one last Christmas with the kids before she sells the family home to move and start fresh. But complications arise when the husband brings his amazing new girlfriend into the mix. After all, what’s the holiday season without a little mischief?

At this point, if there’s one thing you can expect...

Production is underway on horror-thriller film “Borderline,” shot in the U.K. and Malta.

Lucien Laviscount (“Emily in Paris”), Laura Marano (“The Royal Treatment”) and Middle Eastern star Cynthia Khalifeh (“8 Days”) lead a cast that also includes Jason Flemyng (“A Violent Man”).

Khalifeh will play Zena, a young woman who arrives at the Borderline pub for a date with the handsome Jack, whom she met on an app. Quickly realizing she has been stood up, Zena is persuaded to have a drink with the bumbling but charming local Paul, played by Laviscount. However, Paul’s non-threatening manner and easy conversation skills are merely a façade, and he is in fact a serial killer, who lures his victims inside the lawless walls of the Borderline.

The first instalment of the planned horror franchise is directed by Jane Gull (British Independent Film Awards nominated “My Feral Heart”) and written by Elizabeth Morris...

Brandon Evans and Todd Slater’s Brick Lane Entertainment - the newly-formed sales, financing and production partnership between between the US’ Convoke Media and Ireland’s Brick Lane Pictures – has added a trio of features to its slate and will sell them at Cannes.

Tiffany Kim Stevens’s Trigger Happy centres on a repressed husband attempting to murder his wife for her life insurance, starring Tyler Poelle, Elsha Kim and Christina Kirkman. Kyle Herman produces for Los Angeles-based West 36 Productions.

Matt McClung’s Inhabitants is a psychological horror starring Anna Jacoby-Heron, West Side Story’s Josh Andrés Rivera and comedian Kevin Nealon.

Irish Wish is a 2024 romantic drama movie on Netflix, featuring Maddie Kelly, a book editor played by Lindsay Lohan, who has a deep infatuation for the book writer Paul Kennedy, portrayed by Alexander Vlahos. Despite their contrasting personalities, Kelly mistakes her crush for love. When Kennedy is on the verge of marrying Kelly’s best friend Emma, played by Elizabeth Tan, Kelly wishes she could be the one for him. However, she crosses paths with James Thomas, a photographer played by Ed Speleers, who helps her discover her self-worth through mystical circumstances. While the storyline may seem familiar, akin to films like Look Both Ways or The Royal Treatment on Netflix, Irish Wish adds a touch of intrigue with its mystical fantasy element, ultimately showcasing the importance of self-love. Now, let’s delve into the cast and character guide.

Spoilers Ahead

Maddie Kelly

Maddie Kelly, played by Lindsay Lohan, is...

Exclusive: Todd Slater of Convoke Media and Brandon Evans of Brick Lane Pictures have launched Brick Lane Entertainment. The production, sales and financing partnership based in LA and Dublin will be taking When We Collided, starring Laura Marano and directed by her sister Vanessa, to AFM.

Brick Lane will co-produce alongside Laura, Vanessa and Ellen Marano’s Calabrian Rhode Productions. Christina Mengert wrote the screenplay based on the 2016 Emery Lord novel.

The film is scheduled to begin production in Ireland next spring.

Laura Marano is the actor and successful singer-songwriter launched by the wildly popular Disney Channel series Austin & Ally. Vanessa Marano’s acting credits includes Switched At Birth, How To Deter A Robber and Gilmore Girls.

Brick Lane Entertainment will also serve as the sales rep at AFM...

Choose Love is a rom-com interactive film directed by Stuart McDonald with a screenplay by Josann McGibbon. The Netflix film follows Cami, a young woman who starts to doubt her relationship with her partner Paul when two other men enter her life. Choose Love stars Laura Marano, Avan Jogia, Scott Michael Foster, and Jordi Webber. While Choose Love is an interactive film we are only able to recommend romantic comedies as there are not many rom-com interactive films in existence. So, if you loved Choose Love here are some similar movies you could watch next.

Look Both Ways (Netflix) Credit – Netflix

Synopsis: On the eve of her college graduation, Natalie’s [Lili Reinhart] life diverges into parallel realities: one in which she becomes pregnant and remains in her hometown, and another in which she does not and moves to Los Angeles. In both journeys, Natalie experiences life-changing love, pursues her dream career as an artist,...

Back in 2018 with “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch,” Netflix introduced interactive features as a way for viewers to take charge of a movie, using a controller to select diverse story paths. The filmmakers offered choices branching off from pivotal points within the narrative that led to a range of conclusions that either worked, eventually triggering the end credits, or didn’t, propelling the viewer back to an earlier point to try again. More programming utilizing this style shortly followed in other genres: the scripted comedy “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend,” the animated special “We Lost Our Human,” and the reality series “Ranveer vs. Wild with Bear Grylls.”

This innovative concept is now applied to the streamer’s growing stable of saccharine-but-sentimental romantic comedy features with “Choose Love.” Director Stuart McDonald (“A Perfect Pairing”) and writer-producer Josann McGibbon (“Runaway Bride”) center their tale on an indecisive career-driven woman who must choose...

Netflix’s Choose Love gives romantic comedy fans a chance to decide who ends up with who. Choose Love, which just dropped a trailer, new photos, and a poster, allows viewers to pick the lead character’s career path and which of the assorted single males she’ll end up with.

Laura Marano (The Royal Treatment) leads the cast as Cami Conway, a recording engineer, and Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap) stars as Rex Galier, a British rock star. Scott Michael Foster (You) plays Paul, Cami’s boyfriend, and Jordi Webber (Power Rangers Ninja Steel) stars as Jack Menna, Cami’s first love. Rounding out the cast is Megan Smart (Class of ’07) as Amalia, Cami’s sister.

Stuart McDonald directs from a screenplay by Josann McGibbon. McGibbon, Robyn Snyder, Deborah Evans, Mel Turner, and Axel Paton serve as producers.

Choose Love premieres on Thursday, August 31, 2023.

Laura Marano as Cami...

Netflix is opening the door for interactive content once again with the first trailer of their next rom-com, Choose Love, starring Laura Marano.

Former Disney Channel star from Austin & Ally has become one of the biggest names for the streaming platform when it comes to romantic comedies after starring in The Royal Treatment and The Perfect Date, but now she's entering a whole new world with Choose Love, a new interactive adventure from Netflix.

The story follows Cami, a girl with a seemly perfect life with a wonderful boyfriend and an amazing job. But when she crosses paths with a fortune-teller, everything changes. From that moment on, Cami will have plenty of options to keep her life in line or shake things up completely, with viewers being able to choose what she'll do next.

Here's the first trailer and official synopsis for the film:

"Laura Marano returns with a unique...

Exclusive: Malcolm McDowell is saddling up with James Paxton, Bernadette Peters and Laura Marano for Adam Rifkin’s Western Last Train to Fortune.

Last Train to Fortune also reteams McDowell with his former wife, Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen, the duo previously starring together in the 1979 sci-fi drama Time After Time and the 1983 Martin Ritt drama Cross Creek.

In the pic, McDowell plays Cecil Peachtree, a stuffed-shirt schoolmaster who misses the last train to Fortune and meets an outlaw named Dooley (Paxton), at which point they strike a deal: The gunslinger will ride the book-loving Cecil to Fortune in exchange for his teacher’s stipend awaiting him. Along the way there are gunfights, jailbreaks and saloon gals, and our mismatched heroes form an unlikely bond. The pic, which is produced by Michael P.J. Gerstein, Paxton, Matt Williams, Rifkin and Brad Wyman (the Oscar-winning Charlize Theron drama Monster) is said to be...

The true-life tale of British-Yemeni boxer Prince Naseem “Naz” Hamed and his relationship with Irish-born trainer Brenan Ingle is about to get the Hollywood treatment. Written and directed by Rowan Athale ‘Giant’ will star Mena Massoud and Paddy Considine.

Produced by Mark Lane of Tea Shop Productions and Kevin Sampson of White Star Productions, AGC Studios will fully finance while Sylvester Stallone and Braden Aftergood of Balboa Productions will executive produce.

“Giant” is the true story of Hamed’s beginnings on the working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer. Their unlikely partnership — along with Naz’s unorthodox style, cocky persona and dominance in the ring — propelled them to the top of boxing’s elite. Hamed’s global superstardom occurred amid the rampant Islamophobia and racism of 80’s and 90’s Britain.

Also Read:

Sundance: Mubi Nabs ‘Passages’ for Theatrical Release

Rowan Athale stated,...

Photo: ‘Live is Life’ Netflix generally knocks it out of the park when it comes to many of their streaming shows. Many of their original series titles, ‘Squid Game,’ ‘The Witcher,’ and ‘Strangers Things’ to name a few, have been of stellar quality and have cemented the streaming service as a force to be reckoned with in producing and distributing top-notch multi-episode content. Their original films, on the other hand, have been far less worthy of remembrance. Once every few years, Netflix will give us a film such as ‘Okja’ or ‘Beasts of No Nation,’ but for every one of those films the streaming platform gives us fifty films like ‘The Royal Treatment.’ This leaves us wondering when Netflix subscribers might be blessed with the next ‘Beasts of No Nation’ or ‘Okja.’ Unfortunately, Netflix’s newest Spanish film ‘Live is Life’ is not that type of movie. While the film...

Exclusive: Actor-producer Laura Marano, who most recently starred in and produced the Netflix romantic comedy, The Royal Treatment, has signed with Verve for representation.

The agency will also rep her Calabrian Rhode Productions company as they look to expand their slate following the success of the feature which held the No. 1 spot for three weeks following its global release on the streamer.

Up next, Marano is set to star in the first interactive romantic comedy for Netflix, Choose Love, which will start production in New Zealand shortly. Previously, Marano starred alongside Noah Centineo and Camila Mendes in The Perfect Date for Netflix and appeared in A War With Grandpa opposite Robert De Niro and Oakes Fegley. Marano was also seen in the 5x Oscar-nominated movie, Ladybird, from Greta Gerwig. She also starred in the family drama Saving Zoe, which she also produced alongside her mother Ellen and sister Vanessa. In addition to her onscreen credits,...

Netflix is expanding its interactive content offerings, with the streamer ordering the interactive romantic comedy film “Choose Love” from Josann McGibbon.

The cast includes Laura Marano (“The Royal Treatment”), Avan Jogia (“Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City”), Scott Michael Foster (“You”), and Jordi Webber (“Head High”). McGibbon is the writer and executive producer on the film, with Stuart McDonald directing. Robyn Snyder, Deborah Evans, Mel Turner, Axel Paton serve as producers.

In the film, Cami Conway (Marano) has it all. She’s got the job she wants as a recording engineer and is headed towards engagement, marriage and kids with her wonderful boyfriend, Paul (Foster). And yet, she feels something is missing. Is it just Fomo and the fear of commitment that goes with it? Or is she actually missing out on an even better career, perhaps the long abandoned singing career she once dreamed of? And is Paul the love of her life?...

Sam Claflin plays an uptight novelist on a Mexican book tour in a romantic comedy short on romance and comedy

Ever since it was insisted that Netflix had single-handledly resurrected the romantic comedy despite the general hideousness of the romcoms they were releasing, streamers have churned them out by the dozen, quality be damned.

As Valentine’s Day looms, with Netflix still basking in the success of last month’s The Royal Treatment, the next week will see the teen sequel Tall Girl 2 and Turkish offering Love Tactics also added to its catalogue. At the same time, Amazon will launch the Jenny Slate-Charlie Day comedy I Want You Back and Universal will give Marry Me, J-Lo’s glossy return to the genre, a hybrid cinema-Peacock launch. It’s a theoretical feast for fans, but here’s naively hoping that they’re a damn sight better than this week’s...

The no-stars, no-buzz, no-budget film about a hairdresser falling for a prince has shot to the top of the global charts

For the most part, Netflix’s top 10 makes a lot of sense. The shows and films that occupy that list tend to be big and splashy and trailed to death. Don’t Look Up is a perfect case in point. Look at the orgy of attention that film was given when it came out a few weeks ago. Look at all the fawning over the stars and the director and the themes that accompanied the release. It was genuinely inescapable.

Anyway, Don’t Look Up is currently the fourth most watched English language film on Netflix. The first is The Royal Treatment; a film with no big names, no urgent message and barely a publicity campaign. And yet in the last week of January, people around the world spent 26 and a half million minutes watching it.

Upwards of 85 new films will launch (or have already arrived) on Netflix this year. A few movies made their grand debuts in January, and quite a few more are set to launch at the beginning of this month, but the streaming service is touting its 2022 slate with new movies every week and a robust lineup of actors and filmmakers.

Standout tiles include Shawn Levy’s time-traveling tale, “The Adam Project,” with a cast led by Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner and Zoe Saldaña, as well as a new adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Persuasion,” starring Dakota Johnson and Henry Golding. Regina King will embody trailblazing politician Shirley Chisholm in a biopic titled “Shirley.” Stop-motion and horror maestros Henry Selick and Jordan Peele are teaming up for the animated pic “Wendell & Wild.” “The Gray Man” stars both Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans in a CIA/spy/global manhunt film alongside Ana de Armas.

Juicy, soapy Korean series have been a staple on Netflix for years, but following the “Squid Game” phenomena, audiences around the world can’t get enough of not only the typical K-drama fare but also Korean thrillers and reality series.

Korean zombie thriller “All of Us Are Dead,” which features a familiar “Squid Game” face (Lee Yoo-Mi) made its debut on the streamer’s non-English language TV Top 10 list for the week of Jan. 24 through 30, coming in at No. 1 with 124.79 million hours viewed. This marks the most hours viewed in the premiere week for any Korean title since Netflix began releasing its Top 10 data last year.

“Squid Game” remains legions above all other titles on Netflix’s Top 10 most popular non-English TV list of all time (based on hours viewed in the show’s first 28 days on the streaming platform), with a mammoth watch count of 1,650,450,000 hours. However, for the first time in months,...

Byrde family fans flocked to Netflix to watch “Ozark” Season 4, Part 1, drawing more viewers than any other TV series in its debut week on the streamer.

The first half of the final season of the Jason Bateman-led drama landed at No. 1 on Netflix’s English-language TV Top 10 list for the week of Jan. 17-23, with 77 million hours viewed in just its first three days. Coming in second place was “The Boys” executive producer Rebecca Sonnenshine’s horror series “Archive 81,” which racked up 71 million hours viewed in its second week after launch, an impressive rise after debuting at No. 7 on the list last week.

Also making return appearances on the English-language TV Top 10 were “Stay Close,” “Cobra Kai” Season 4, “The Witcher” Season 2, “Manifest” Season 1, “Cheer” Season 2 and “Emily in Paris” Season 2. Newbies for the week were the third season of “Too Hot to Handle,” which came in third place with 41 million hours viewed,...

Photo: ‘The Royal Treatment’ As the month of January 2022 comes to a close, we welcome the new (and quite affectionate) month of February. Love is constantly in the air, whether it be self-love or spending time with your dear loved ones, and it seems as though a majority of people will be looking forward to spending their days in a month best-known for its fondness and beautiful heart-shaped goodies coupled with gorgeous arrays of gourmet chocolates. However, there’s another tradition in this month of adoration that many others tend to gravitate towards: romantic comedies. Rom-coms are incredible, and a wonderful cinematic way to escape from the world and just live in fantasy to watch love play out between two characters that we’ll never know. It’s one of the most magical and intimate ways to go about films, and no matter how cheesy they may be there’s...

We’ve come a long way in terms of fairy tales centered on a handsome prince from a far-off land rescuing a beautiful, distressed damsel from a life of destitution. It’s widely welcomed that women can rescue themselves and concurrently complement the male arc. With Netflix delivering progressive modernizations of these fantasies in their stable of holiday-themed titles, they’ve ever-so-slightly refashioned the traditional model of empty-calorie cinematic confections. Yet their off-season offerings have been scarce — until now, with Rick Jacobson’s “The Royal Treatment,” which takes expected genre trappings and infuses them with unexpected delights, creating an enlightened, enchanting and entertaining feature.

Indomitable beauty salon owner Izzy (Laura Marano) has never met a head of hair or a troubled soul she hasn’t been able to touch. A fixture in her Bronx neighborhood, delivering donuts and smiles in equal measure to friends and family, her Italian heart of gold keeps her world turning.

This weekly feature is in addition to TVLine’s daily What to Watch listings and monthly guide to What’s on Streaming.

With nearly 500 scripted shows now airing across broadcast, cable and streaming, it’s easy to forget that a favorite comedy is returning, or that the new “prestige drama” you anticipated is about to debut. So consider this our reminder to set your DVR, order a Season Pass, pop a fresh Memorex into the Vcr… however it is you roll.

More from TVLineYellowjackets Season 2 Likely Will Premiere Sooner Than You'd ThinkYellowjackets EPs Answer Our Burning Questions About the Antler Queen,...

Netflix is ringing in the new year in atypical fashion. Throughout 2021, the streaming giant’s original offerings swelled while its library titles shrunk. With its list of new releases for January 2022, however, Netflix is expanding its non-original market quite a bit.

Jan. 1 sees the arrival of a truly stunning amount of impressive non-Netflix movies and TV shows. The big titles available on the first of the month include: 300, Interview with the Vampire, Paranormal Activity, Superman Returns, Terminator 2, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and much more. Later on in the month, Netflix is also set to add Phantom Thread (Jan. 16) to its roster.

Read more TV Interview with the Vampire Series Will Tweak Anne Rice’s Story By Alec Bojalad and 1 other Movies Superman Returns: What Went Wrong? By Mike Cecchini

Though Netflix is lighter on original content in January 2022, there is still plenty of intriguing titles to check out.

"We're in Hair Camp, and you're out flirting with hot royalty." Netflix has unveiled the official trailer for another sappy romantic comedy called The Royal Treatment. Which just copies so many other romcom stories with "what if she could be a princess by marrying this guy?!" Been there, done that, this isn't new, yet they keep making these. New York hairdresser Izzy, played by Laura Marano, seizes the chance to work at the wedding of a charming prince, but when sparks between them fly, will love — or duty — prevail? She and Prince Thomas learn that taking control of their own destiny requires following their hearts. The full cast includes Mena Massoud (from Aladdin!), Chelsie Preston Crayford, Grace Bentley-Tsibuah, and Cameron Rhodes. Looks like yet another extra cheesy Hallmark holiday special that Netflix scooped up. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Rick Jacobson's The Royal Treatment, from Netflix's YouTube:...

Telma Hopkins, Linda Park and Vanessa Marano are set as series regulars opposite Shanola Hampton and Dascha Polanco in NBC pilot Dangerous Moms, from Warner Bros. Television and Universal TV.

Written by Janine Sherman Barrois based on the Spanish series Señoras del (h)Ampa, Dangerous Moms is an off-center dark dramedy about four diverse mothers who accidentally kill the queen bee of their school’s PTA during the demonstration of a new high-end food processor. The story becomes a female anthem about friendship and family as it tells the story of one completely unprepared group of women who must juggle their everyday lives while their worlds are turned upside down.

Hopkins will play Fatima. The highly spiritual Fatima lives in and works as a manager at one of Pia’s (Polanco) buildings, where she takes care of her own grandson. She is also a full-time embalmer at a popular funeral home.

Filmmakers need to navigate tight entry rules, admission caps and strict quarantine protocols.

Film and TV production has been back on track for months in Australia and New Zealand and the two southern hemisphere countries have attracted various footloose shoots that might otherwise have shot in locked-down Europe or North America.

But it is not plain sailing and international filmmakers need to contend with tight entry rules, caps on total arrivals and strict quarantine periods to get into either territory.

First to re-open to international shoots after a strict lockdown in March 2020 was New Zealand. There have been 388 people, “related...