Author: SD

James Cameron has said generative AI is the “next big wave in cinema technology” and “a genie that has been released from the bottle”.  “We haven’t learned how to control it yet,” he added.  Speaking from New Zealand, where he is wrapping post-production on Avatar: Fire And Ash, Cameron spoke candidly about the potential possibilities and threats of generative AI.  “I can’t think of anything coming up that is bigger and more important to us right now than confronting this generative AI issue,” he said. “It is critical that we master it and control it so that it remains an…

Warner Bros’ muscular box office run continues as Weapons stormed to the top of the charts in North America on an estimated $42.5m, one place ahead of Disney’s new release Freakier Friday, to ensure the studio’s last six films have each opened on more than $40m – a Hollywood record. ComScore reported that the weekend generated an estimated $131m, with $5.6bn year-to-date tracking 7.6% ahead of 2024 by the same stage. Weapons, the follow-up to Zach Cregger’s 2022 debut Barbarian, arrived on an A- CinemaScore and debuted via New Line in 3,202 locations. EntTelligence reported an estimated 2.8m audience and a 54%-46% male-female…

EXCLUSIVE: Hot on the heels of its world premiere last night (August 7) in Locarno’s Piazza Grande, The Birthday Party, directed by Miguel Angel Jimenez and starring Willem Dafoe, has secured distribution across a wide range of international territories. The film, which started pre-sales at this year’s European Film Market, is represented by Heretic and Bankside Films. Both companies said the Locarno premiere has added momentum to the global sales push. Paradiso has acquired rights for Benelux, with Praesens on board for Switzerland. Warner Bros Discovery has purchased the broadcast rights to the film, set to be launched after its…

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, September 4-14) has unveiled the 25th edition of its Wavelengths line-up celebrating international, experimental and avant-garde cinema and contemporary art. A roster of eight features, a special pairing, and three shorts programmes brings the world premiere of Rhayne Vermette’s Levers, the follow-up to her TIFF Amplify Voices award-winning Ste. Anne (2021). There are North American premieres for Lav Diaz’s adventure and Cannes Premiere entry Magellan starring Gael García Bernal, and Alexandre Koberidze’s Dry Leaf, which shot on an antiquated Sony Ericsson phone and gets its world premiere in Locarno next week. The line-up features a tribute…

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) revenues for the second quarter increased marginally on the year-ago period to reach $9.8bn as the Streaming and Studios segment saw a 9% rise to $2.8bn buoyed by strong theatrical performances. For the three months ended June 30 studios revenue increased 55% to $3.8bn and content revenues increased 16% ex-FX, primarily driven by excellent box office that generated more than $2bn worldwide. A Minecraft Movie opened on April 2 and has grossed more than $955m to date, complemented by Sinners ($365m), F1 on behalf of Apple ($552m), and New Line’s Final Destination: Bloodlines ($285m). The last five…

Apple Original Films’ global hit F1 distributed theatrically by Warner Bros will get a re-release on Imax starting August 8. Joseph Kosinski’s motor racing drama starring Brad Pitt, Kerry Condon, Damson Idris and Javier Bardem was filmed for Imax and will expand into further Imax locations and large formats worldwide starting August 15. Currently sitting on $552.5m worldwide through August 5, of which $377.8m hails from international markets and $174.7m from North America, F1 now ranks as Pitt’s biggest global hit and Imax’s highest-grossing release of 2025 to date on $85m worldwide. F1 was filmed for Imax and will expand…

France’s box office declined in July with 14.8 million admissions (€108m), a 17.3% drop compared to the same month last year according to figures from the CNC. Since January 1, the country has clocked 89.5 million admissions (€653m), down 13.6% on the same period in 2024. That is the lowest figure since 1999 (84.7 million admissions) excluding the pandemic period of 2020, 2021 and 2022. US blockbusters dominated the charts in July with Jurassic World Rebirth (Universal) leading the charge with 2.4 million admissions since its July 4 release, followed by F1 (Warner Bros) on 1.6 million in July, and…

David Ellison has unveiled the New Paramount leadership team in the wake of US government approval of the Skydance Media-Paramount Global merger that is expected to close this week. Chairman and CEO David Ellison and president Jeff Shell will preside over three segments, with former Netflix vice president of original content, CEO of Sister, and recent Skydance advisor Cindy Holland leading the streaming business; Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg overseeing studios; and George Cheeks in charge of TV media. Greenstein is the former president of Sony Pictures Entertainment film group who becomes co-chair of Paramount Pictures and vice chair of…

EXCLUSIVE: Susanna White’s Prima Facie, starring Cynthia Erivo, is gearing up to shoot at London’s Story Works Studios in the autumn, marking the first independent feature to shoot at the studios. The UK-Australian co-production is an adaptation of Suzie Miller’s Tony- and Olivier award-winning play. Australia’s Bunya Productions produces alongside the UK’s Embankment Films, in association with Story Works Studios. Embankment also represents sales, with UTA Independent Film Group and CAA Media Finance co-representing for the US. Miller has adapted the play for the screen.  UK producers Damian Keogh and Simon Vaughan founded 22-acre site Story Works at a former…

Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, director of the controversial DAU immersive art project and films, will be a special guest at the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival. The festival will screen a retrospective of his films as part of the ‘Tribute to’ programme. Russia-born filmmaker Khrzhanovskiy is artistic director of the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center in Kyiv, the largest Holocaust research and memorial centre in Eastern Europe. His long-gestating DAU project was made from 700 hours of footage, from which came 14 feature films, three TV series, video performances and scientific films were created. The films included DAU. Natasha and DAU. Degeneration, both…