Author: SD

Warner Bros’ F1 leads new releases in UK and Ireland cinemas this weekend as Joseph Kosinski’s racing drama speeds into 710 cinemas. The film, which began previews on Wednesday (June 25), is out in slightly fewer sites than Kosinski’s previous title – the post-Covid smash hit Top Gun: Maverick. The Tom Cruise-starrer launched in 737 locations back in 2022 and opened with an impressive £11.2m before grossing £83.7m across its run. Brad Pitt takes the wheel for F1 as a reluctant mentor to a talented, yet untested, young driver played by Damson Idris. Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon and Sarah Niles also feature…

Sony Pictures Entertainment will handle international distribution on four upcoming releases for Amazon MGM Studios as part of a multi-year agreement, as the latter continues to build its own international theatrical distribution infrastructure. The first title is Luca Guadagnino’s After The Hunt, a psychological drama starring Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield that is set for US release on October 10. The 2026 titles under the agreement are Timur Bekmambetov’s Chris Pratt thriller Mercy (US release January 23, 2026), heist film Crime 101 starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Halle Berry (February 13, 2026) and Project Hail Mary, an adaptation…

BBC Film director Eva Yates, Stephan Graham, Oscar winners Mikey Madison, Kieran Culkin and Gints Zilbalodis, and filmmakers Rose Glass and Coralie Fargeat are among 534 people who have been invited to join the Academy. The list includes Irish actor Andrew Scott, British luminaries Jodie Comer, Emma Corrin and Adam Pearson, as well as Fernanda Torres, Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan. Directors Jane Schoenbrun, Halina Reijn, Mamadou Dia, Emily Atef, and freshly anointed Cannes special award winner Bi Gan are also invited. Executive and producer invitees include marketing veteran Heta Paarte from FilmNation, sales heads Andrew Herwitz from The Film Sales Company and Kristen Figeroid…

EXCLUSIVE: Georgia Oakley has signed on to direct a feature version of Sense And Sensibility starring Daisy Edgar-Jones for Working Title Films and Focus Features. Production on the adaptation of the novel by Jane Austen begins next month in the UK. The film is Oakley’s follow-up to her debut feature Blue Jean which premiered in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori in 2022, winning the People’s Choice award. It went on to win four British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) and a Bafta nomination for outstanding British debut.  The script is by Australian author Diana Reid, whose novels include Signs Of Damage, Seeing Other…

Irish director Colum Eastwood’s horror film The Morrigan and Mark Forbes’ class divide documentary Quiet On Set  are among the films set to world premiere at the 37th edition of Galway Film Fleadh, taking place from July 8-13 in Ireland.  Quiet On Set explores class division in the UK film industry and features actors Maxine Peake and Vicky McClure, writer Paul Laverty and filmmakers Sean McAllister and Kolton Lee.   The Morrigan follows an archaeologist who unearths a burial casket of a mummified figure and unleashes an ancient evil upon her team. The cast includes Saffron Burrows, James Cosmo, Toby Stephens and Antonia Campbell-Hughes. Galway is opening…

“I’m going to do a rewrite,” said Romanian director Andrei Tanase of his script, following the feedback he received from international experts at Croatia’s Slano Film Days. Tanase is a member of one of the teams from eight feature film projects in development that attended the CineLink Workshop as part of Slano Film Days, held June 17-21. It takes place ahead of the full CineLink programme at Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Sarajevo Film Festival from August 15-22. The workshop helped connect the regional filmmakers with international experts in production, finance, distribution, and sales. The programme also offered tailored consultations and expert-led sessions…

Sony horror 28 Years Later and Disney animation Elio will hope to lure audiences into UK and Irish cinemas over what is expected to be a heatwave weekend. Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later leads the charge in 707 sites for Sony. The third film in the post-apocalyptic horror franchise comes 23 years after Boyle’s 28 Days Later, which opened on £1.5m and grossed £6.4m at the box office in 2002 as well as being a surprise hit internationally, taking $83m worldwide. In 2007, the Juan Carlos Fresnadillo-directed sequel 28 Weeks Later debuted in the UK with £1.6m from 401 screens for a…

The UK government has unveiled a £75m funding package for the UK film and TV industry, with the UK Global Screen Fund and the National Film and Television School (NFTS) among key recipients of the cash. Titled the ‘Screen Growth Package’, the £75m funding will form a key pillar of the government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan to be announced next week. The UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF) will see its funding rise to £18m annually for the years 2026-2029, up from £7m currently. The UKGSF was launched in 2021 as a way to boost international development and distribution opportunities for…

Tensions between distribution and exhibition The annual CineEurope trade convention in Barcelona brings the film distribution and exhibition sectors together, with a focus on common goals and shared success. However, with global box office still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, film distributors and cinema operators continue to offer different perspectives on the halting recovery. Film studios need to offer strong, balanced, year-round slates, serving all audience segments – and encourage cinemagoing by giving venues a consistent, reliable, exclusive theatrical window, say exhibitors. Okay, but cinemas need to catch up with consumer demands and expectations by making their venues fit for…

EXCLUSIVE: Picturehouse Entertainment has acquired UK and Irish distribution to Ugo Bienvenu’s Annecy award-winning French animation Arco from Goodfellas.  The 2D computer animation was premiered as a Special Screening in Cannes in May before going on to win the top prize in Annecy last week.   Set in 2075, Arco follows a 10-year-old girl called Iris who witnesses a mysterious boy in a rainbow suit fall from the sky. He comes from an idyllic far future where time travel is possible and Iris must help him return to his time. Natalie Portman is among English-language voice actors and also has a producer credit. …