News

Exclusive: Writer-director Ryan Whitaker has rounded out the cast of his indie Western Flint, starring Josh Holloway, on which we were first to report in April. Cast members newly aboard in major roles include Sarah Gadon (Ferrari), Max Martini (13 Hours), Dianna Agron (El Elegido), Mike Vogel (Sex/Life), and Charles Esten (Outer Banks).

Based on the Louis L’Amour novel of the same name, Flint has now wrapped production in Montana. The film centers on James Kettleman (Holloway), a hardened East Coast businessman who returns to the Montana frontier under the name Flint, the alias of the notorious killer who raised him. As he’s pulled into a violent range war, a chance encounter with a strong-willed rancher forces him to reckon with the man he’s become — and the legacy he hopes to leave behind.

Gadon will play Nancy Kennigan, a strong, single woman forced to step into her...

Each week, we handpick a selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends, updates, business moves, and more from around the creator industry. This week, one creator-led gauntlet is getting the go-ahead, while another one is going under due to drama. Also, the Hawk Tuah girl is back.

Creator commotion

iShowSpeed and Jynxzi are hosting a six-figure celebrity Fortnite match. Speed took a break from his latest tour to announce a massive collab with streaming star Jynxzi. The two creators will put $100,000 on the line in a star-studded Fortnite battle royale. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a project like this, but the star status of the two hosts could make this the biggest celebrity Fortnite match ever.

Hawk Tuah girl Hailey Welch sold her X account. The anonymous creator behind a meme page insinuated that they paid $325,000 to take over Welch’s personal X page.

Exclusive: Amazon MGM Studios has optioned The Shift, Tinx’s bestselling debut book, to develop as a romantic comedy series produced by Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment.

A search is underway for a showrunner to co-write the adaptation with author, content creator and podcast/radio host Tinx (aka Christina Najjar), whose advice book is described as a guide to a new way of thinking about life, love, happiness and friendships.

Based on the book, The Shift TV series will follow two early-thirtysomethings as they navigate love, friendship and life while dating in New York City.

Tinx will co-create the series, which she will executive produce alongside Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment as well as Troy Zien and Dunia McNeily of 3 Arts Entertainment will also EP. Kapital’s Jaiden Kaplan will co-executive produce.

Related: 2025 TV Series Cancellations & Renewals

The Shift: Change Your Perspective, Not Yourself was published in May 2023 via Simon & Schuster...

While the summer box office has been dominated in recent weeks by tent poles such as Disney’s live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch and Paramount’s Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, counter-programming was provided by the faith-based Western The Last Rodeo, starring Neal McDonough. The movie has now completed two full weeks of release, emerging as one of the highest-grossing titles in indie distributor Angel Studios’ history. The outfit specializes in faith-based projects, although its reputation remains checkered following Jim Caviezel’s QAnon-skewing Sound of Freedom.

That film remains Angel Studios’ biggest hit, but The Last Rodeo is now number five on the charts, having overtaken the likes of Bonhoeffer, The Shift, and His Only Son in one weekend. With $13 million in the bank against a reported budget of $8 million, it now trails Cabrini, Homestead, and the recent animated movie The King of Kings, which made $60 million worldwide in its theatrical run.

Antonio Sequeira’s “Autumn” offers a window into Portuguese life, focusing on a family unit whose familiar contours are subtly reshaped by departure and the passage of time. The film follows this rural household through the cycle of a year, delineated by the four seasons, a period made significant by the eldest son, Tomás, leaving for university studies in London.

This journey sets up an immediate dialogue between the sun-drenched, tradition-steeped Portuguese countryside, particularly the family’s vineyard which grounds them in the soil, and the sprawling, anonymous urbanity of London that begins to claim Tomás.

“Autumn” thereby positions itself to explore not just the intimate shifts within a family, but also the broader tremors of change as local lifeways intersect with global currents, all rendered with a gentle, observant eye.

Portrait of a Household Before the Shift

At the heart of “Autumn” is a family whose initial dynamics are...

Sony Pictures Classics is out with Jane Austen Wrecked My Life in limited release, Angel Studios’ The Last Rodeo opens wide and A24’s Friendship added screens with few new indies braving the double whammy of live action Lilo & Stitch and Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning.

The former may have set a Disney record for Memorial Day weekend previews, Deadline reports, while Tom Cruise’s high octane eighth outing as Ethan Hunt may have set a record preview night for a Mission: Impossible.

Jane Austen in her own right “has become a bit of a rock star in the marketplace,” SPC brass rightly noted when the distributor acquired the feature debut by Laura Piani ahead of its TIFF world premiere last year. It’s opening on 61 screens in select markets including Lincoln Square and Angelika Film Center in New York and the AMC Grove and Laemmle Royal in LA.

Exclusive: Ahead of his new Max series Duster‘s May premiere, Josh Holloway has inked a deal to star in Flint, an adaptation of the Western novel by Louis L’Amour, which is due to begin production in New Mexico later this year.

Written and to be directed by Ryan Whitaker, the film has Holloway taking on the lead role of James Kettleman, a ruthless East Coast businessman who, in returning to the unforgiving New Mexico frontier, adopts the name Flint, which belonged to the notorious killer who raised him. As he becomes entangled in a violent range war, his encounters with a strong-willed rancher, Nancy Kennigan, challenge him to reconsider the legacy he wants to leave behind.

In addition to starring, Holloway will produce alongside Ken Carpenter, Mark Pentecost (Florida Wild), Jerilyn Esquibel (The Unbreakable Boy), and Beau L’Amour, son of Louis L’Amour. Tirian Films...

Exclusive: An Icelandic-Romanian comedy-drama series is set to launch internationally, as European countries continue to combine to get production rolling.

Hot Stuff comes from Reykjavik-based Glassriver and Romania’s Idea Film and is for Icelandic broadcaster SÝN’s Channel 2 (Stöð 2). Paris-based Oble has taken international distribution rights and will begin shopping the show.

The co-production has that distinctly European co-production flavor that underpinned Series Mania a few weeks back. With U.S. money seemingly gone from Euro production, countries are assemblies in intriguing ways to get productions lensing, making an Icelandic-Romania co-pro much more likely. Last month, we revealed details on Series Mania series Torna a Surriento, an Finnish-Italian drama series that Glassriver is working on with Finland’s Whatevergroup Italy’s Viola Films and Norway’s Rein Film.

Magnús Leifsson (Dovetail) is the director on Hot Staff, and Ragnar Bragson is the creator and co-writer. Known for The Shift TV series trilogy,...

The Taliban’s sweep to power in Afghanistan in 2021 serves as the backdrop to “Kabul,” one of France’s most ambitious international thriller dramas to date.

The six-part geopolitical show, which is world premiering today at Series Mania in Lille, emerged from the first-hand experience of producer Fabienne Servan-Schreiber who played a direct role in the chaotic evacuation efforts.

While vacationing in Greece with her son (and fellow producer) Matthias Weber, Servan-Schreiber heard of the situation in Kabul and got fully involved in efforts to rescue multiple families of Afghan artists and doctors.

Speaking to Variety along with Weber on the eve of “Kabul”‘s presentation at Series Mania, Servan-Schreiber says she was initially contacted by Jean-Michel Frodon, a film historian and journalist, who was looking for help to raise funds to buy plane tickets for a group of Afghan artists.

“I sent the email to everyone in my address...

Exclusive: 20th Television has optioned Tinx’s 2024 novel Hotter in the Hamptons for the Nobody Wants This duo of creator/executive producer Erin Foster and executive producer Sara Foster to develop as a comedy series through their Fatigue Sisters Productions.

This marks one of the first projects for the Foster sisters since they signed an overall deal with 20th TV in December, on the heels of the massive success of their 20th TV romantic comedy for Netflix Nobody Wants This, which has been renewed for a second season.

Hotter in the Hamptons, the debut novel by the content creator and host of It’s Me, Tinx on SiriusXM, delves into the worlds of high fashion and online fame. It follows fallen influencer Lola’s chaotic, whirlwind summer in the Hamptons as she clashes—and finds unexpected connection—with culture critic Aly Ray Carter who took her down.

Search is underway...

Stars: Kristoffer Polaha, Elizabeth Tabish, Neal McDonough, Sean Astin, Rose Reid, John Billingsley, Paras Patel, Emily Rose, Nolan North | Written and Directed by Brock Heasley

Whilst I don’t typically cover faith-based films, I was intrigued by The Shift‘s ambitious premise. A Christian science fiction thriller from writer/director Brock Heasley, A film that combines the high-concept appeal of multiverse storytelling with faith-based themes is certainly a bold endeavour, and Heasley deserves credit for taking such a creative risk.

The story follows Kevin Garner, played by Kristoffer Polaha, a man thrust into a dystopian web of parallel universes while trying to reunite with his wife, Molly, portrayed by Elizabeth Tabish. Neal McDonough delivers a menacing performance as “The Benefactor,” a mysterious and sinister figure who seems to control Kevin’s fate. The film’s biblical inspiration, particularly the story of Job, is evident in Kevin’s relentless struggle to...

Rai Adapting Mario Tobino’s Tuscan World War Two Novel

Italy’s Rai is adapting Mario Tobino’s influential novel Le Libere Donne di Magliano- Mondadori Libri. Endemol Shine Italy and Rai Fiction are producing the adaptation, which is set in Tuscany during the Second World War and follows a psychiatrist challenging the repressive confines of a women’s psychiatric hospital. Within this microcosm of society, some women find solace and an unexpected sense of freedom within a restrictive society, while others are unjustly confined for defying societal norms. The series stars Lino Guanciale, Grace Kicaj, Gaia Messerklinger and Fabrizio Biggio. Endemol Italy boss Leonardo Pasquinelli said: “This co-production illustrates our strong partnership with Rai and our combined commitment to deliver high-quality, culturally significant stories. Le Libere Donne is a powerful narrative of resilience, freedom and self-worth, bridging period drama with contemporary relevance, showcasing the impactful work of Mario Tobino.

Say goodbye to the old ways of doing TV business and hello to new ones.

“We need to rethink everything. The business model we used to have, that’s gone,” said Silver Reel’s Claudia Bluemhuber, a panelist at this year’s TV Beats Forum at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

“We’re going to see fewer shows. The costs have skyrocketed, we have inflation, and if you’re looking to attach a meaningful cast, there’s huge competition with streamers. At the moment, our industry is driven by fear. We need to overcome the fear of failure.”

And find new solutions. According to Meg Thomson, an executive at Globalgate Entertainment, there needs to be more cross-continental collaboration in the near future, as well as more focus on YouTube and TikTok, “where advertising is more targeted,” added James Copp, co-head of content at Night Train Media.

“The idea of...

Hey, "60 Minutes" fans. It's time for us to deliver another new preview session for you guys. In this one, we're going to talk about what you can expect to see show up in the next, new episode 9 of this current season 57, which is due to hit the air tonight, November 10, 2024. The CBS people put out an official press release for this new episode 9. So, we will certainly tell you everything it has to say in this preview session. Let's get to it. The first thing we want to tell you is that tonight's new episode 9 is going to be longer than usual with 90-minutes instead of the usual one-hour. It's going to feature a total of 4 segments. The first segment is titled, "The Shift." CBS' official description for it reads like this, "Days after President-elect Donald Trump won the election by moving nearly every county in the country toward the right,...

Exclusive: Angel Studios, the crowdfunding studio behind titles like Sound of Freedom, is set to release The Last Rodeo, a new bull riding drama co-written, produced by and starring Neal McDonough (Band of Brothers), for Memorial Day weekend on May 23, 2025.

Directed by Jon Avnet (Fried Green Tomatoes) from his script written with McDonough and Derek Presley (Boon), The Last Rodeo‘s cast also includes Mykelti Williamson (Forrest Gump), Christopher McDonald (Hacks), Sarah Jones (For All Mankind), and Professional Bull Riding Champion Daylon Swearingen.

Neal and Ruvé McDonough

Pic shares the story of Joe Wainwright (McDonough), an aging retired champion bull rider, and his daughter Sally (Jones), who face a crisis that can only be solved by Joe entering and winning a bull riding competition. Joe must connect with a bull fighter and his estranged best friend of many years, Charlie Williams (Williamson), to enter the legends contest as the oldest contestant in history.

Copenhagen-based TrustNordisk continues to score with the thriller “Boundless,” starring Ulrich Thomsen as maverick detective Carl Mørck from author Jussi Adler-Olsen’s “Department Q” crime series.

The latest deals were closed with Plaion for Germany and Austria, Movies Inspired for Italy, Cinemania Group for former Yugoslavia and Albania, Media4Fun for Poland and Palace Films for Australia and New Zealand.

A total of 26 territories now hold the rights including France (Wild Bunch Distribution), Spain (Vértigo Films) and Switzerland (Frenetic Films). According to TrustNordisk’s sales manager Frederik Hemmingsen, 65% of the buyers are the same ones who acquired earlier “Department Q” films.

Currently ranking second at the 2024 Danish box office with over 311,000 admissions, “Boundless” is the second of six “Department Q” standalone features produced by Nordisk Film Production Denmark, after “The Marco Effect.” Four earlier film adaptations produced by Zentropa turned into major hits: “The Keeper of Lost Causes,” “The Absent One,...

South African born SAG Award nominee Stelio Savante, also known as ‘Ajax’ in the Call Of Duty video game series and ‘Moses’ in the historical world-wide hit biblical series The Chosen, is starring in key roles in three upcoming films, all based on true stories. Sarah’s Oil, Between Borders, and Hazel.

Sarah’s Oil, is an Amazon MGM drama starring Zachary Levi, Naya Desir Johnson, Sonequa Martin Green, Garret Dillahunt, Bridget Regan, Kenric Green, Adyan Copes, Stelio Savante and Mel Rodriguez. Sarah’s Oil is inspired by Tonya Bolden’s book Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America, and tells the true story of Sarah Rector, an African American born in Oklahoma in the early 1900s. Filmed in Oklahoma, the drama chronicles Sarah’s journey to becoming the first African American teenage millionaire. Cyrus Nowrasteh (who also directed Savante in the action thriller Infidel) directed Sarah’s Oil from...

Conic has acquired UK-Ireland distribution rights to Laura Carreira’s On Falling, ahead of the film’s UK premiere at BFI London Film Festival this evening.

Conic will release the film in the UK and Ireland in early 2025, having acquired the title from the film’s producer Jack Thomas-o’Brien of Sixteen Films.

The film has also sold to Benelux (Vedette), former Yugoslavia (McF), Greece (Cinobo), Middle East (Teleview), Spain (Vertigo) and Switzerland (Frenetic). Advanced negotiations are underway for France and the US.

The debut feature of 2022 Screen Rising Star Scotland Carreira, On Falling tells the story of a Portuguese migrant...

This year’s San Sebastian Film Festival Official Competition was a strong one, featuring veteran filmmakers including Albert Serra - who ultimately took the top prize Golden Shell for his documentary Afternoons Of Solitude - Mike Leigh and François Ozon. There was room for new voices, too, including that of Portuguese filmmaker Laura Carreira, whose debut feature On Falling charts a handful of days in the life of a lonely migrant warehouse picker working in Scotland. The film, which stars Joana Santos as Aurora, a woman who struggles to find connections after relocating from her homeland to Edinburgh, won the Silver Shell for best director at the festival. We caught up with Edinburgh-based Carreira in Spain to chat about expanding on ideas from her short films, including The Shift, living precariously and...

The Toronto Film Festival is awash with international titles. Led by Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed Of The Sacred Fig” and Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow,” the festival’s huge Centrepiece spread alone has 38 titles from outside Canada and the U.S. The Discovery section has another 18.

Not all Toronto international titles are world premieres, however. Here are 16 which are sparking good word of mouth. Variety isn’t claiming they are the best. The buzz might not be justified. But they are certainly worth tracking.

“Sunshine,” (Antoinette Jadaone, Philippines)

Anima, the Filipino studio behind Erik Matti’s Venice winner “On The Job 2: The Missing 8” and Sundance winner “Leonor Will Never” Die, joined Project 8 Projects to co-produce Antoinette Jadaone’s teenage pregnancy drama “Sunshine.” It turns on a young gymnast who discovers she is pregnant on the week of the national team tryouts. On her way to a seller of illegal abortion drugs,...

Debuting tomorrow at TIFF before heading for competition slots at San Sebastian and London, Laura Carreira’s On Falling looks set to be the breakout British title from this year’s festival circuit.

Recent examples include Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun and Georgia Oakley’s Blue Jean. And Carreira’s On Falling, the latest feature from Sixteen Films, depicts an equally dark and politically driven slice of contemporary society. The film follows Aurora, a young Portuguese woman who struggles to make ends meet across one week in her adopted home of Glasgow, Scotland. Long days spent grabbing packages off shelves for an anonymous e-commerce giant barely cover the bills and leave her exhausted and desperate for something more.

Per the synopsis: Aurora seeks to resist the loneliness, alienation, and ensuing small talk that begin to threaten her sense of self. Set against a landscape dominated by an algorithm-driven gig economy, designed to keep us apart.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Mike Leigh's Hard Truths Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival San Sebastian Film Festival has announced its Official Selection, which this year will include the latest films from Mike Leigh, Maite Alberdi, Edward Berger, Gia Coppola, Costa-Gavras, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Diego Lerman, Joshua Oppenheimer, Laura Carreira and François Ozon.

They will compete for the Golden Shell at the festival's 72nd edition, which runs from September 20-28.

It will mark the first time Salford-born Leigh will compete at the festival. He brings British-Spanish production Hard Truths, which Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Michele Austin, and depicts the everyday life of a London family, addressing such issues as family relations, mourning and mental health.

Laura Carreira's On Falling concerns the precarity of life for a Portuguese warehouse worker in Scotland Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival Edinburgh-based Portuguese director Carreira, who previously directed acclaimed short films including The Shift,...

Band of Brothers may have been gritty, but this on-set mishap takes the cake! Neal McDonough got whacked in the face with a rifle, needing stitches. The show’s ‘medic’? An actor with zero sewing experience! Hilarious right? He stitched Neal up (no anesthetic!), all to avoid insurance reports and delays.

Neal McDonough in a still from Van Helsing | Sommers Company

This wacky story shows the chaos and dedication behind filmmaking—actors become medics in a pinch, all for the sake of the brotherhood (and the show!)

From Battlefield to Band-Aids: Neal McDonough’s On-Set Mishap on Band of Brothers Kevin Costner and Neal McDonough in Yellowstone | Linson Entertainment

Filming HBO’s gritty miniseries Band of Brothers was bound to have its share of bumps and bruises. Actor Ron Livingston even kept a video diary chronicling the injuries sustained during the intense boot camp. But one mishap involving Neal McDonough...

With DVD boxsets of landmark series like The Wire and Mad Men now gathering subtle layers of ambient cabinet-dust whilst the buffering wheel endlessly churns on your bug-ridden streamer of choice, it’d be fair to say that the so-called “Golden Age” of TV drama has passed. Of course, there were other golden eras of TV before Walter White broke bad or Lena Dunham’s Girls terrorized New York. And there will be golden eras again–full of unforgettable stories and distinct, signature creative perspectives.

Of course, at Film Independent we’re not just going to sit around and wait for the next big episodic storytelling residence to occur out of thin air. No, we’re actively working to make it happen–most recently via this year’s inaugural Imaginar TV Incubator. Or more specifically “The Imaginar TV Incubator for Fearless Latinx Creators”, launched together with our partners at FX and in collaboration with Nalip,...

Wouldn’t it be nice to hear your favorite Beach Boys songs all in one countdown?

In celebration of The Beach Boys’ new Disney+ documentary, we’re kicking off summer by counting down our listeners’ favorite 60 Beach Boys songs.

Listener Top 60Stream the full countdown nowListen on the App

Listen on the App

You voted, and now it’s time to hear the results. Tune in to Good Vibrations: The Beach Boys Channel on channel 79 and the SiriusXM app to catch the countdown on-air over Memorial Day weekend, or stream it in full on the SiriusXM app for a limited time.

Directions: Vote for up to 20 of your favorite Beach Boys songs in the poll below before May 16 at 11:59pm Et. Use the write-in option at the bottom is let us know any songs you think we might’ve missed!

Can’t see the poll? Click here to vote.

Joel Kinnaman’s 2023 action thriller Silent Night was a mixed bag from the very beginning. The John Woo directorial features no spoken language and is very different from any action movies you’ve watched. The characters in the movie have no dialogue, so when the casting was happening, it is no surprise that people were apprehensive.

Joel Kinnaman in Silent Night

The Suicide Squad actor, who is the lead protagonist of the story, plays a grieving father who saw his son getting killed in the crossfire of a gang war. His performance, one of the positives about the movie, came from the sheer physicality he brought to the role.

Joel Kinnaman Was Not Hesitant But Knew It Was a Risk

Joel Kinnaman in The Suicide Squad

John Woo, who is a revered figure in the action genre, came back to Hollywood after 20 years to film Silent Night. And Joel Kinnaman,...

Mediawan Rights has boarded “Kabul,” a highly anticipated thriller series produced by France’s 24 25 Films and Cinétévé.

Shervin Alenabi (“Tehran”) and “Euphoria’s” Eric Dane (in a small role) have joined the international cast of the show, which already comprises Jonathan Zaccaï (“Le bureau des legendes”), Thibault Evrard (“The Night of the 12th”), Vassilis Kukalawi (“Kandahar”), Jeanne Goursaud (“Pax Massilia”), Gianmarco Saurino (“L’estate piu Calda”) and Valentina Cervi (“Medici: Masters of Florence”).

The series, set against the backdrop of U.S. troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan and Taliban’s sweep to power, just started filming on April 1. Mediawan Rights will introduce the gripping series project to international buyers at upcoming markets, and is handling worldwide distribution with the participation of Entourage.

“Kabul” explores the chaotic evacuation of various characters, from diplomats to soldiers to civilians, who desperately seek refuge and solidarity in a country in crisis, with the arrival of the Taliban in Kabul.

Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment are excited to announce that The Shift is out now to rent/buy on Amazon Prime Video in the UK and will be available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD from 1st April 2024.

A gripping sci-fi thriller from the studio behind breakout hit Sound of Freedom, starring Kristoffer Polaha (Wonder Woman 1984, Mad Men), Neal McDonough (Minority Report, Yellowstone), Elizabeth Tabish (The Chosen) and Sean Astin (Stranger Things, The Lord of the Rings).

The Shift is a modern-day retelling of the book of Job. Kevin Garner (Polaha) gets separated from Molly (Tabish), the love of his life, when a mysterious adversary known as The Benefactor (McDonough) sends him to an alternate dystopian reality. Will hope and faith be enough to find his way back?

First released in the US in December 2023 by Angel Studios, The Shift struck a bold chord with viewers, grossing $12 million domestically, as well as...

Sofie Grabol as Miriam in the Danish TV prison drama series “Prisoner.” Photo by Adam Wallensten. Courtesy of Mhz Choice

Prison films and series tend to pick one of the following themes: Action flicks with plenty of fighting, starring the likes of a Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme or Scott Adkins. Usually, it’s a good guy fighting for survival against overwhelming odds. Next would be the slew of sexploitation women-in-chains sort, using the premise as an excuse for nudity and other aspects of lurid appeal. Most were B movies that thrived in the 1970s –‘80s. The “Orange is the New Black” series classed that genre up considerably without losing its titillation value. Then there were high-quality character dramas like Shawshank Redemption, Cool Hand Luke and The Rock. Finally come comedies like The Longest Yard.

The six-episode subtitled Danish drama “Prisoner” manages to break relatively new ground with a bleak,...

Angel Studios, a small production studio operating out of Utah, has swiftly ascended as a significant player in the entertainment industry with its unique approach to distribution. Offering a diverse range of, mostly faith-themed, content accessible worldwide; the small film and TV outfit has revolutionised the distribution landscape mostly through crowdfunding.

While their decidedly innovative approach has been making headlines ever since the extraordinary record-breaking success of Sound of Freedom in 2023 – the film grossed around $250 million on a modest $14.5 million budget – the studio has also scored some huge wins with shows like The Chosen, Dry Bar Comedy and more recently the faith-based sci-fi drama The Shift.

The latest release from this ever surprising outfit sees the return of Sound of Freedom co-director Alejandro Monteverde at the helm in this impressive biopic detailing the life of 19th century Catholic missionary Francesca Cabrini. Portrayed by esteemed Italian actress Cristiana Dell’Anna (Patrizia in...

Copenhagen-based TrustNordisk has inked multiple deals on the Danish thriller “Boundless,” based on Jussi Adler-Olsen’s “Department Q” novel, which is currently dominating the Danish box office.

Ahead of the pic’s market screening Feb 17 at the Berlin European Film Market, the title, helmed by Ole Christian Madsen has sold to Wild Bunch Distribution for France, Vértigo Films for Spain, Frenetic Films for Switzerland, Film Europe Slovakia for Czech Republic, Vertigo Media for Hungary and Contents Panda for Korea.

“Boundless” is the second of six Department Q thrillers produced by Nordisk Film Production Denmark, after “The Marco Effect,” headlining Ulrich Thomsen as maverick detective Carl Mørck.

“It’s such a pleasure to handle this amazing ‘Department Q’ saga for Vértigo, and “Boundless” confirms again the power and seduction of this perfect thriller,” said Spanish distributor Andres Martín from Vértigo Films, who also acquired “The Marco Effect” from TrustNordisk.

In “Boundless,...

If you want to prove you’re committed to the continued survival of movie theaters, a great way to do it is to make a showing at the annual CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas. It’s when studios go all out to wine and dine exhibitors, and screen previews of their upcoming film slates, hoping to squeeze out a few extra screens from your local multiplex.

This year, CinemaCon will feature a distributor on stage at Caesar’s Palace in front of every theater owner in the country, out to prove its dedication to theatrical. It’s not Apple, or Amazon and MGM, or Sony, which opened last year’s convention but will sit out this year. It’s Angel Studios, the distributor behind last year’s surprise box-office smash “Sound of Freedom.”

“Sound of Freedom” was the summer blockbuster about child sex trafficking that grossed $250 million worldwide. At $184 million domestic,...

Cologne-based The Match Factory has acquired rights to Swedish-Polish helmer Magnus von Horn’s Danish pic “The Girl With the Needle,” billed as a “fairy-tale about a horrible truth.” In the starring roles are Trine Dyrholm, Vic Carmen Sonne and Besir Zeciri (“Wildland”).

First clips of the stylised black-and-white chiller will be unveiled at the Works in Progress at Göteborg’s Nordic Film Market.

“Magnus von Horn is a talent to follow,” said The Match Factory’s head of sales Thania Dimitrakopoulou. “His story of “The Girl with the Needle” hooked us and his choice of cast and narrative style promises a great outcome. We are certain the audiences will relate to this.”

Von Horn’s dark drama is his first foray into period genre, following his 2015 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight calling card “The Here After”, and his 2020 Cannes-selected and international festival hit “Sweat”, a “poised, impressive drama” according to Variety.

Sofie Gråbøl in the Danish TV hospital drama “The Shift.” Courtesy of MHz Choice

The Danish TV hospital drama “The Shift (originally Dag & Nat)”offers some interesting contrasts with our domestic fare. Ella (Sofie Grabol) stars as the chief midwife for the highest-rated maternity ward in the city. She’s single, in her 40s and besieged by problems on all fronts. The worst of them is the hospital’s money guy who consistently ignores her pleas and arguments to add staff for the sake of her overburdened crew and their patients. Several of the midwives and aides present an assortment of personal and professional issues to manage. She’s boinking a married doctor (Pal Sverre Hagen) on the down-low, and constantly worried about her public facility that serves the underclass losing colleagues to upscale private hospitals and clinics catering to the wealthy. Those places can pay more while working them less.

A new film claimed the top spot of the box-office weekend top ten as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom finished $10.4 million ahead of the second-place film in the three days prior to the Christmas holiday.

Despite bringing in $28.1 million over the course of its opening weekend, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom couldn’t have been more disappointing for Warner Bros. as it opened to less-than-positive reviews and seems destined to be the final nail in the coffin of the current iteration of DC Extended Cinematic Universe. The debut of the latest DC film pushed Wonka to second place in its second week of release where it picked up $17.7 million, bringing its overall total to $75.2 million for Warner Bros. Universal Pictures enjoyed a third-place debut for Migration where it made $12.3 million for the studio. Anyone But You debuted in fourth place, adding $6.2 million to thew coffers over at Columbia Pictures. Fifth...

John Billingsley, who played Dr. Phlox in Star Trek: Enterprise, is open to returning in a Star Trek series on Paramount+. He has had conversations with the writers of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and possibly Star Trek: Picard season 3. Billingsley believes that Dr. Phlox could still be alive in the 23rd century of Strange New Worlds and even in the early 25th century of Star Trek: Picard.

Star Trek: Enterprise's John Billingsley believes that "Dr. Phlox is still out there," and he is open to returning in Star Trek on Paramount+. Billingsley played Phlox, the Denobulan Chief Medical Officer, in all four seasons of Enterprise. Along with being the first extraterrestrial doctor in Starfleet in the prequel set a hundred years before Star Trek: The Original Series, Dr. Phlox was something of a "witch doctor" who used alien leeches and all manner of offbeat practices to heal his...

John Billingsley stars in the new sci-fi movie, The Shift, alongside Kristoffer Polaha and Neal McDonough. In The Shift, Billingsley plays Russo, the owner of a theater in an alternate universe, where a portal allows Kevin to see into other universes. Billingsley discusses his role in The Shift, fan perception of Star Trek: Enterprise, and his involvement in charitable causes.

John Billingsley is best known to Star Trek: Enterprise fans as Dr. Phlox, and he stars in the new sci-fi movie, The Shift. A multiversal adaptation of The Book of Job, The Shift stars Kristoffer Polaha and Neal McDonough, who plays a Devil-like figure called The Benefactor.

In The Shift, John Billingsley plays Russo, who owns a theater in the totalitarian alternate universe that Kevin (Polaha) is banished to by The Benefactor. Russo's theater contains a portal that lets Kevin see into other universes, and he uses it to find Molly,...

John Billingsley recalls fans protesting Star Trek: Enterprise's theme song, "Where My Heart Will Take Me," shortly after 9/11. The theme song and series finale of Enterprise continue to be widely disliked by fans. Despite the controversy, the show has gained new appreciation and a more appreciative audience through streaming.

Star Trek: Enterprise's John Billingsley recalls his shock at fans protesting the show's controversial theme song. Billingsley played Dr. Phlox, the Nx-01 Enterprise's Denobulan Chief Medical Officer in all four seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise. The prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series launched with high hopes in the fall of 2001, but Enterprise wasn't received as well as prior series. Enterprise lasted only 4 low-rated seasons before it was canceled by the Upn Network.

In an upcoming exclusive interview with Screen Rant to promote his new sci-fi movie The Shift, John Billingsley recalled a moment in 2001 just after 9/11 when...

For the third week in a row, a new film sits atop the box-office weekend as Wonka debuted in the top spot, besting the second-place film by $33.2 million.

Over its first three days in release, Wonka brought in $39.0 million for Warner Bros., easily claiming the top spot of the weekend box office. In a distant second place, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes managed to earn $5.8 million in its fifth weekend in release for Lionsgate Films, bringing the film’s overall total to $145.2 million. Meanwhile, last weekend’s top film, The Boy and the Heron fell two spots to land in third place where it added $5.2 million for Gkids, bringing its total gross to $23.1 million. Also falling a spot this weekend, and finishing in fourth place, was Godzilla Minus One with $4.9 million earned over the last three days. This gives the film a three-week total of $34.6 million.

Also opening is Meg Ryan’s ‘What Happens Later’ and ’The Three Musketeers – Milady’.

Toho Studios’ Godzilla Minus One is aiming to scare away the competition at the UK and Ireland box office this weekend as the Japanese monster epic opens in 469 cinemas for Anime Ltd.

It is an impressively wide opening for a non-English language film and is the widest opening for Anime Ltd, which specialises in distributing Japanese titles. The film was originally reported to be opening in 200-250 sites but was expanded due to critical acclaim, including a recent Critics Choice award nomination, and box office success...

Warner Bros.’ “Wonka,” starring Timothee Chalamet, has debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £8.9 million ($11.2 million), according to numbers from Comscore.

In its third weekend, Disney’s “Wish” climbed up to £1.9 million in second place for a total of £5.8 million. In its fourth weekend, in third place, Lionsgate U.K.’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes” collected £961,055 for a total of £14.7 million.

Not far behind was Ridley Scott’s epic “Napoleon,” distributed by Sony, which took in £951,101 in its third weekend in fourth position for a total of £11.3 million.

Rounding off the top five was Warner Bros.’ “Saltburn” that earned £417,609 in its fourth weekend and now has a total of £4.1 million.

Bollywood blockbuster “Animal,” starring Ranbir Kapoor, grossed £401,015 in its second weekend in sixth place for a total of £1.6 million.

The only other debut in the top 10 was Vertigo Releasing’s “The Peasants” that collected £74,441 in 10th position.

This weekend was a relatively slow one with Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron landing in first place with $12.8 million. While that number may seem a little low for a first place finish, it is actually quite the feat as it becomes Gkids (American distributor of Indie Animation titles) and Studio Ghibli’s (Japan Animation Studio) highest domestic opening of all time. The film also becomes Academy Award Winner Miyazaki’s highest domestic opening of all time while only about $5 million away from becoming his highest grossing domestic release of all time (a title currently held by 2008’s Ponyo with $15.7 million)

The story of The Hunger Games; The Battle of Songbirds and Snakes is an interesting one. The movie was released three weeks ago where it came in under predictions with just a $44.6 million domestic debut. The following week, Thanksgiving week, the movie was expected to have a...

After two weeks on top of the box-office weekend, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes succumbed to newcomer Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé by $6.5 million to cede the number one spot this weekend.

With $21.0 million to show for its opening weekend, the concert film Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé took control of the weekend box office top ten. In second place, with $14.5 million, was The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Despite falling from the top spot this weekend, the film still sports a three-week total of $121.2 million. The second debut of the weekend, Godzilla Minus One landed in third place with $11.0 million to show for its opening weekend. Holding steady in fourth place was Trolls Band Together with $7.6 million. The Universal Pictures product now sports a three-week total of $74.8 million. Meanwhile, last weekend’s third-place film, Wish dropped to fifth place this weekend where...

Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé is a box office success, grossing $21 million during its opening weekend. The concert film holds a perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has received rave reviews from critics and audiences. Beyoncé's film is compared to Taylor Swift's concert film, but both artists show support and encouragement for each other's projects.

Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé was a box office success during its opening weekend. The film is expected to close Sunday with $21 million at the domestic box office, per Variety. Written, directed, and produced by Beyoncé, the documentary concert film provides an in-depth look at the development and execution of the Renaissance World Tour, the musical icon's ninth and now highest-grossing tour. Opening weekend sales for Renaissance, which premiered December 1, put Beyoncé in excellent company as she joins the likes of renowned musicians like Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Madonna, U2, Michael Jackson, and Justin Bieber,...

The first weekend in December is often a dead zone and this year it it was headed for rock bottom with abysmal results for two prime Disney films. Instead, it’s the best-grossing weekend for this date since 2017. And how we got there proves out what we’ve learned in 2023: Nontraditional titles with fervent fanbases are the new path to exhibition success.

“Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” (AMC Theatres) is #1 with $21 million; also in the top 10 this week are “Godzilla Minus One” (Toho) with $11 million, India’s “Animal” (Cinegalaxy) with $6 million, and “The Shift” (Angel) with $4.3 million. As major players vacate the release calendar, outside forces are eager to fill the gap.

“Renaissance” is a far cry from “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which opened to $93 million, but it stands out as an opening for this date. While it shows that Swift is a unique draw (and the limited...

December kicked off with a scattered mix of wide releases, and it may have surprised some which movies did better than others. Read on for the weekend box office report.

The biggest high-profile release of the weekend was meant to be “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” AMC Theaters Distribution’s follow-up to its global blockbuster “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” though it opened in over 1,000 fewer theaters than “Eras” did. “Renaissance” opened in 2,539 theaters on Friday, receiving 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, but from only 17 reviews.

SEEFilm editing roundtable: ‘Air,’ ‘American Fiction,’ ‘Saltburn,’ ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ and ‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

After making $11.5 million on Friday, including $5 million in Thursday previews, the movie only brought in an estimated $21 million to lead the weekend, which must seem like a disappointment compared to Swift’s film. Even so, audiences loved it, giving it an “A+” on CinemaScore, same as “The Eras Tour,...

AMC Theaters has found a new winning formula: take highly successful artists with concerts that seemed to sell out, or at the very least have ticket prices that no ordinary person could afford, film those concerts and give the artists creative control along with a favorable contract for the theatrical release and bypass the studios to make it a win win for both sides. That formula worked in October when they launched their first film: Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour to a massive $92.8 million domestic on its way to a record shattering domestic haul of $178.2 million ($248.9 million worldwide) and now it has worked again, although not to those same levels as Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé has taken in a reported $21 million, a solid debut, but not enough to take down the first week of December record set by 2003’s The Last Samurai ($24.2 million).

While that number pales in comparison...

Queen Bey is the new box office queen. “Renaissance,” a concert film written, directed and produced by Beyoncé, topped the domestic box office with $21 million in its opening weekend, slightly ahead of expectations.

These ticket sales rank as one of the best debuts for a concert film, joining the company of Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” (far and away the biggest with $92.9 million), 2008’s “Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert” ($31.1 million), 2011’s “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” and 2009’s “Michael Jackson: This Is It” ($23.2 million).

“Renaissance” provided a tidy box office bounty in what would have otherwise been a bleak kickoff to December. According to its distributor AMC Theatres, it’s the first time in two decades a film has opened to more than $20 million on the weekend following Thanksgiving, which is a notoriously slow time at the movies.

“This is an excellent domestic opening for a concert film,...

“Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” is taking over the box office after grossing $11.5 million on its opening day from 2,539 locations, a figure that includes a strong $5.1 million in Thursday previews. Putting that next to the massive October debut of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” it’s shaping up to be the first year on record that two concert documentaries have opened at the top of domestic charts.

“Renaissance” isn’t expecting to match up to the white-hot fan frenzy that met “The Eras Tour,” which scored $92 million in its domestic opening and has now surpassed $250 million worldwide. But the epic-length film, which documents Beyoncé’s recent Renaissance world tour, is still looking at a substantial debut north of $20 million — an impressive figure for a concert doc. Like “The Eras Tour,” “Renaissance” is also being distributed by AMC Theatres in a deal brokered between the headliner musician and the exhibitor — meaning...

Beyoncé’s new concert film is delivering the goods at the box office, where it’s headed for the biggest early December opening in two decades.

Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé — which Beyoncé wrote, directed and produced — could now earn $21 million to $24 million in its debut after it was graced with glowing reviews and a coveted A+ CinemaScore. The film earned $11.5 million on Friday, including $5 million in Thursday previews

Distributor AMC Theatres — also home of blockbuster Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour — is remaining more conservative in suggesting a $20 million opening.

More than 70 percent of Friday’s audience was female, while 50 percent of the audience were Black moviegoers, in a win for diverse programming.

The weekend after Thanksgiving is notoriously sluggish, and Renaissance is a welcome gift for exhibitors. To date, the biggest opening for the first weekend of December belongs to Tom Cruise’s The Last Samurai ($24.3 million), not adjusted for inflation.