Author: SD

Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller Disclosure Day arrived on an estimated $44m through Universal as Obsession and Backrooms remained in the top five as the former surged towards $200m in its fifth session. Starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colman Domingo, Eve Hewson. and Colin Firth, Disclosure Day follows seemingly inexplicable events as separate factions race to handle revelations about extra-terrestrials on earth. The feature, which reportedly cost a discplined $115m to make and $80m to market, opened in 3,824 locations and scored Spielberg’s highest-grossing opening weekend for an original film as a director, as well as Amblin’s highest-grossing opening weekend for an…

The US Department of Justice’s (DoJ) antitrust division has given the greenlight to Paramount’s $111bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) after ruling the proposed transaction ”is not likely to harm competition or American consumers”. Announcing the decision on Friday, the DoJ said, “The extensive investigatory record reviewed by the division suggests that the impact of the transaction will be to increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem, with benefits for American consumers and workers […] These investigative efforts all led to the same conclusion: the film and television industry is highly dynamic, and the proposed transaction is not…

Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day is this weekend’s widest new release in the UK and Ireland, opening in 720 locations for Universal.  Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo and Colin Firth star in Spielberg’s 37th feature, in which a meteorologist and a cybersecurity expert find themselves at the centre of a movement to expose the government’s cover-up of past extraterrestrial encounters. Spielberg’s recent releases in the territory have been The Fabelmans, opening to £1m in 2022; West Side Story which opened to £1.3m in 2021; and Ready Player One, which debuted with £6.7m on its first weekend in 2018. Elsewhere, it’s a…

EXCLUSIVE: Eivind Landsvik’s debut feature Low Expectations about a young Norwegian musician struggling with mental health has seen an uptick in global sales following its world premiere in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight last month. Paris and Berlin-based sales outfit Salaud Morisset has sold the film to Italy (Wanted Cinema), Portugal (Films4You), Poland (Aurora Films), Hungary (Budapest Film), Switzerland (Anderdog Film), Taiwan (Hooray Films), and Brazil (Imovision). The film has now inked deals in more than 20 territories including previously announced Benelux (Cherry Pickers), Austria (Polyfilm via Pandora Film Verleih), Spain (Adso Films), Czech Republic (Pilot Film), Greece & Cyprus (Rosebud.21), France…

Browse Screen’s Primetime Emmys 2026 special, which focuses on some of this year’s international contenders including The Pitt, Lord Of The Flies, Beef and Shrinking.This issue features interviews with Richard Gadd, Riz Ahmed and Rufus Sewell, and examines how US late-night TV is battling for its survival. Click here to read the digital edition    

Justine Triet, Arnaud Desplechin, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Claire Denis and Apichatpong Weerasethakul are among the signatories of an open letter in support of Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid after he was forced to pull out of French film festival FID Marseille this week as part of a cultural boycott of Israel due to the actions of its government in Gaza. “Inviting an artist to a festival does not make them a cultural ambassador,” said the letter, which was published in French newspaper Le Monde yesterday (June 8). Signed by more than 350 filmmakers and actors, the letter said the pressure on FID Marseille…

US states including California and New York are preparing to file a lawsuit against Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD). The $110bn deal, which was agreed following a tumultuous six-month pursuit, has been opposed by officials of both states while thousands of on and off-screen talent including JJ Abrams, Kristen Stewart and Ben Stiller were among stars to sign a letter earlier this year that claimed the acquisition would “threaten the sustainability of the entire creative community”.  Hollywood state California and New York will be joined by other as-yet unnamed states in filing a lawsuit against the deal…

UK actor Anthony Head, who found international fame in the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series, has died aged 72. His film roles included The Iron Lady, The Inbetweeners Movie, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, and A Street Cat Named Bob.  Head’s other TV credits included Merlin, Little Britain and Ted Lasso. In a statement, his daughters, actors Emily and Daisy Head, said: “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father, Anthony Head. “He passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family. It has been, and…

Shivani Pandya Malhotra has stepped down as managing director of the Red Sea Film Foundation after seven years at the organisation behind Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF). Pandya Malhotra’s last official day was May 31. She joined the Foundation in 2019 to spearhead the launch of RSIFF, with the aim of creating an event in Saudi Arabia to promote cross-cultural exchange and foster the growth of the Arab film industry. It has since become one of the most prominent festivals in the Arab world.  Overseeing five editions since its launch in 2021, she has also supported and helped develop the…

Box office takings in the UK and Ireland are up 11% year-on-year, after May brought a 19% increase on the year before. Blockbuster releases including Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2 brought May 2026 to a £130.4m total, up on the £109.4m of last year, and 79% up on the £72.7m from May 2024. The year-to-date is now at £505m, 11% up on the £455.5m at the same stage last year and 33% up on £380.4m at the same point in 2024, according to figures provided by Comscore. UK-Ireland May 2026 top 10  Rank Film (origin)Distributor  Release date 1/5/26-4/6/26 totalTotal  …