Author: SD

September 2026 posted a 3% year-on-year increase at the UK-Ireland box office, with year-to-date takings now 21% ahead of the equivalent period in 2025. The month brought in £73.3m, slightly ahead of the £71.2m from last year. This contributed towards a £976.6m total so far for 2026, up on the £806.4m from the same period last year, according to figures provided by Rentrak.  Rank Film (origin)Distributor  Release date 4/9/26-1/10/26 Total 1  Resident Evil (US)  Sony  18/9/26  £9.9m  £9.9m 2   Practical Magic 2 (US)  Warner Bros  11/9/26  £7.5m  £7.5m 3   Pressure (UK-US)  Studiocanal  11/9/26  £6.2m  £6.2m 4  …

The combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery will be known simply as Skydance, according to co-CEO David Ellison. Ellison announced the corporate moniker in a social media statement today, ahead of the expected closure of the $111bn merger on October 6. He said the Skydance name would allow Paramount and Warner Bros. “to remain in the spotlight” as distinct brands. “Together, we are Skydance: a creative-first home for bold, quality storytelling,” wrote Ellison, saying he wants to “preserve what has made each of these studios iconic… We never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter or overshadow either…

On this week’s episode of The Screen Podcast, the team looks back on Screen International’s ‘Financing the Future of UK Film’ summit, which brought together major industry figures to discuss the state of the UK indie sector. Watch above or listen below To download or subscribe to future episodes, search for ‘The Screen Podcast’, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast and YouTube. Host and Screen’s editor-in-chief Matt Mueller is joined by deputy editor Louise Tutt and senior reporter, UK & international Ben Dalton to discuss what themes emerged from the panels, including the importance of angel investors and…

UK distributor and producer-financier True Brit has filed for administration three years after launching with a focus on UK independent films. Founded by Zygi Kamasa, the former head of Lionsgate UK and Europe and Marv Studios, True Brit launched in November 2023 with an ambitious plan to co-finance more than $150m of UK independent productions over its first three years, with backing from international music management company Three Six Zero. In a statement to Screen, Kamasa said: “In extremely challenging market conditions, the company has taken the difficult decision to enter administration. An independent specialist has now been appointed to…

Ava DuVernay’s 14th and Isaki Lacuesta’s Flamenco Sketches are among more than 100 films selected so far for the 2026 International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA, November 12–22). Both titles will play in the Signed strand, which aims to showcase “the latest cinematic adventures of some of the most original filmmakers of our time”, according to the festival. Ava DuVernay’s 14th, which traces the legacy of the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment from Reconstruction to the present, will have its world premiere as the closing film of the New York Film Festival in October before coming to IDFA and then playing globally on…

UK-Ireland top five, Sep 25-27 RankFilm (origin)DistributorSep 25-27 TotalWeek 1 Avengers Endgame: Encore  (US)  Disney  £4.1m  £4.1m  1 2  Resident Evil  (US)  Sony  £2.2m  £8.6m  2 3  Heart Of The Beast  (US)  Paramount  £1.5m  £2.1m  1 4  Sense And Sensibility  (UK-US)  Universal  £1.5m  £1.5m  1 5  Shaun The Sheep: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom  (UK)  Studiocanal  £816,000   £2.5m  2 GBP to USD conversion rate: 1.33 Avengers Endgame: Encore topped the UK-Ireland box office with a £4.1m opening weekend, as new releases Heart Of The Beast and Sense…

Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care triumphed at the San Sebastian film festival on Saturday night (September 26), winning the Golden Shell for best film, best screenplay for Leigh, and best leading performance for Kate O’Flynn. Leigh did not attend the closing ceremony of the 74th edition of the festival, leaving two of the film’s lead actors – Paul Jesson and Alice Bailey Johnson – to collect the awards. However, the veteran British filmmaker sent a thank-you video message. Tender Loving Care, which had its world premiere at Telluride and then screened in Toronto, marked the return of Leigh to the Spanish festival…

Rome Film Fest has unveiled its full 2026 lineup, which includes the world premiere of Oscar and Palme d’Or winner Bille August’s Me, You and Alexandre Castagnetti’s contemporary take on 19th-century classic The Phantom Of The Opera. Me, You and The Phantom Of The Opera both play in Rome’s non-competitive Grand Public section. Rome Film Fest runs from October 13-25. Set in post-Second World War Italy, Me, You is the story of shy 16-year-old Marco who falls in love with 20-year-old Caia while on holiday with his father. When she reveals her painful childhood caused by the SS during the war, Marco decides…

The San Sebastian film festival will draw to a close on September 26, eight days after kicking off with the well-received world premiere of Fatih Akin’s Ghost Song. Screen reflects on the key talking points from the festival. La Bola Negra builds Oscar and box-office hype Los Javis, as directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi are known in Spain, were greeted by festival audiences as the A-list stars they are at home, as La Bola Negra had its Spanish premiere ahead of its theatrical release in the country today (September 25) via Elastica Films.  Box-office expectations are high and there is rising Oscar…

The indie film sector is scratching its head this week over what a combined Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) will meaningfully offer it when the $111bn merger closes, which now looks inevitable after Paramount and a dozen US states settled their antitrust case. Barring an unexpected roadblock when a federal judge reviews the legality of the settlement terms in the consent decree filed by Paramount and the states by September 29, CEO David Ellison and his team are going full steam ahead to wrap up a saga that has dominated media headlines for nearly a year. As Ellison and co race…