Author: SD

EXCLUSIVE: The 15th Frontières Co-Production Market (July 22-25) in Montreal will host its first Thai project Cher featuring the star from the Death Whisperer trilogy as well as Gro(ceries) from the UK’s Sophie King, who is at the vanguard of an increased presence of female filmmakers. Running in conjunction with Fantasia International Film Festival (July 16-August 2) and boasting a record 194 submissions this year (136 from official selection and 58 for Shorts To Features), the market comprises conference panels, pitching sessions, one-to-one meetings, and roundtable networking. Official Selection features 12 entries by men and eight by women and includes Songsak Mongkolthong’s Thai…

Comcast NBCUniversal and the UK government have committed a combined £7.3bn ($9.8bn) to the creation of Universal’s first European theme park, which will be named Universal United Kingdom Resort. NBCUniversal will invest over £5bn ($6.7bn) in the resort complex in Bedford, north of London, across an expected five years of construction ahead of the park’s scheduled 2031 opening. It will also invest an additional £1bn ($1.3bn) in capital investment in the first 10 years of operation. The UK government is supporting the project with £1.3bn ($1.8bn) in regional and local community infrastructure investment for the resort. This will include improved…

The French box office continued its strong momentum through May with nearly 15 million admissions clocked over the month, up 33.2% from the same month last year, according to figures from the CNC. The figures amount to a gross of approximately €111 million, based on an average ticket price of €7.40. Admissions were high over the first three weeks of May, but fell by 42% compared to the week before during the final week of the month, likely due to a heatwave throughout much of the country. Universal Pictures’ music biopic Michael danced its way to the top of the…

The Academy has launched an award recognising 50 cinemas around the world and will unveil the inaugural selections in spring 2027 during the institution’s centenary year. Described by sources as more akin to a Michelin Guide and not an Oscar for cinemas, the Academy Marquee Theatre List will comprise 25 US and 25 international cinemas that demonstrate “exceptional audience experiences, preserve cinematic history and serve as cultural anchors in their communities”. Applications are open through August 25 for bricks-and-mortar venues that operate year-round and screen first-run films or repertory screenings. A selection committee will review submissions based on community engagement,…

The new guard of YouTube horror creators dominates Hollywood as Kane Parson’s Backrooms delivered an $81.5m record A24 debut atop the North American charts while Curry Barker’s Obsession became Focus Features’ biggest domestic hit on $104.7m. Powered by Gen Z film-goers and a priceless in-built fanbase, Parsons’ feature version of his YouTube found footage shorts outpaced A24’s prior opening weekend record holder Civil War on $25.5m in 2024 by more than three times and set multiple records. A24 said Backrooms produced the biggest R-rated debut of 2026 so far; the biggest original horror debut and biggest opening weekend by a…

Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada said he stands by his controversial Cannes remarks saying the group would no longer finance films made by signatories of an open letter criticising its majority shareholder Vincent Bolloré’s influence over France’s media industry, but he denied the existence of any “blacklist”. Speaking at the group’s general assembly on Friday (May 29), Saada clarified: “I obviously never mentioned a blacklist. There is no question of us going after the crew members who signed the petition and refusing to fund the films they work on. That is out of the question, and always will be.” He added: “We…

Paramount Pictures and Studiocanal have confirmed a deal for David Ellison’s big-swinging Hollywood studio to acquire North America and select territories on the upcoming fantasy drama The Midnight Library with Florence Pugh attached to star. Studiocanal took the $70m marquee European project to Cannes where it sparked a “competitive bidding process”. While Studiocanal did not confirm the reported $36m price of the Paramount deal, it did say the amount “could be over the rumoured number…” The European giant will distribute directly in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Benelux, Australia, New Zealand and through partners in Scandinavia and South Africa, while Paramount…

Germany has confirmed plans to nearly double its production incentive programmes for feature films and TV series. The Ministry of Finance is to increase the annual budget for the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) and German Motion Picture Fund (GMPF) incentive schemes from €133m to €250m with immediate effect. Between them, the two funds provide grants that cover up to 30% of approved German production costs, subject to specific caps. Projects supported recently by the DFFF incentive include Riddick 4: Furya and Marie Kreutzer’s Gentle Monster, while the GMPF fund backed series like Apple TV’s Where’s Wanda? and Netflix’s The…

Filming is gearing up in the UK on Matt Reeves’s The Batman Part II for Warner Bros. Production is based at Warner Bros Leavesden with filming locations including London and Liverpool. Principal photography officially begins next month. Robert Pattinson returns to star in The Batman Part II as the titular superhero, while Andy Serkis, Jeffrey Wright and Colin Farrell also return. Additions to the cast include Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Brian Tyree Henry and Charles Dance. Plot details are currently under wraps. The film is produced by Warner Bros alongside DC Entertainment and Reeves’s production company 6th & Idaho Productions.…

UK-Ireland top five, May 22-24 Rank Film (origin) Distributor  May 22-24 Total Week 1 Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu (US) Disney £5.3m  £6.4m 1 2  Michael (US) Universal £1.8m £44.8m 5 3  Obsession (US) Universal £1.3m £4.3m 2 4  The Devil Wears Prada (US) Disney £1.1m £30.5m 4 5  The Sheep Detectives (US) Sony £536,326 £6.8m 3 GBP to USD conversion rate: 1.35 Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu topped the UK-Ireland box office in its opening weekend as cinemas took a hit over the Bank Holiday heatwave.  Jon Favreau’s…