Author: SD

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has beaten Avengers: Endgame to set the record North American opening weekend after all, arriving on a confirmed $360m reported by Sony Pictures on Monday. The updated number improves on the weekend estimate of $355m and exceeds Endgame’s $357.1m opening weekend in unadjusted terms, although the April 2019 number equates to $466.7m when factoring in inflation. Nonetheless Sony’s poster child has delivered a spectacular debut – and earned a confirmed $932m worldwide – to keeps summer box office on course for a $4bn seasonal yield and keeps alive the goal of certaintly a $9bn and possibly…

Universal executives said the studio became the first in 2026 to reach $4bn at the global box office after crossing the milestone on Sunday (August 2). This marks the first time since 2023 that the studio has accomplished the feat and its fifth overall. As of Sunday the studios’ films had grossed $1.5bn in North America and $2.5bn internationally. The key drivers are The Odyssey, which currently stands at $911.4m worldwide ($395.5m North America, $515.9m international), The Super Mario Galaxy Movie on just over $1bn worldwide ($429.8m North America, $581.7m international), and the international box office of Michael on more…

Sony Pictures confirmed on Saturday morning that Spider-Man: Brand New Day delivered an opening day record for the studio and franchise on Friday with $168m from 4,487 sites. The spectacular debut blew away the unadjusted $157.4m in from previous record-holder Avengers: Endgame in April 2019 (in real terms that would now equate to $205m) and puts that film’s opening weekend frame in the spotlight. Sony sources are estimating the new release will gross approximately $325m over the weekend, which would make it the second-highest opening weekend of all time in North America, usurping the last Spider-Man film, No Way Home, on…

Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the widest opening in UK and Ireland cinemas in an otherwise quiet weekend for new releases. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is being released in 714 cinemas as the fourth entry in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man series. The previous film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, opened in 2021 in 645 sites, grossing a huge £7.6m in its first day and £19.5m over the opening weekend. 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming opened with £9.4m while 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home opened with £14.2m. According to Vue CEO Tim Richards, pre-sales have already surpassed the cinema chain’s biggest advance ticket sales of the year…

John Legend will play actor, singer, and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte in Bill Condon’s The Road Home, with production underway in South Africa. Legend joins Thabo Rametsi, Cynthia Erivo, Guy Pearce and Screen Star of Tomorrow Johnny Flynn on the cast. The Road Home tells the true story of trumpeter Hugh Makesela, who was exiled from his native South Africa. He is pulled between two worlds when the anti-apartheid movement, led by his mentor archbishop Trevor Huddleston, launches a boycott against Hugh’s friend Paul Simon over his album Graceland, accusing Simon of violating the cultural boycott of the country.…

Cinema admissions in Indonesia dropped 16.7% in the first half of 2026, despite strong performances from local titles. A total of 53.77 million admissions were recorded over the period, which translated to an estimated $137.7m (IDR2.48tn) based on an average ticket price of $2.56 (IDR46,056). The top five biggest earners at the box office were all local titles, led by Danur: The Last Chapter with 3.62 million admissions. The supernatural horror marks the fourth instalment in the popular Danur franchise and reunited director Awi Suryadi with actress Prilly Latuconsina. It was followed by Joko Anwar’s horror comedy Ghost In The…

“Phew!” is how one UK producer expressed their relief following Isabel Davis’s appointment as director of the BFI Filmmaking Funds last week. This sentiment seems to be reverberating throughout much of the UK independent producing community, impressed by what Davis has achieved in her eight years as Screen Scotland’s inaugural executive director. Davis takes up the BFI role in October, with current head Mia Bays leaving the same month after her five-year contract ends. “Isabel has done a tremendous job leading Screen Scotland, creating the conditions in which we can all do our best work,” said John Archer of Glasgow-based Hopscotch Films.…

Italian and European film organisations have published a statement criticising the Venice Film Festival for the lack of Italian female filmmakers in its official selection, calling the lineup “one-dimensional” and “troubling”. The statement, published in leading Italian newspaper La Repubblica, is signed by Italian filmmaking bodies 100autori and ANAC, directing organisation Air3, documentary group Doc/it and Women in Film Television & Media Italia as well as the European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA). Scroll down for statement in full It comes a few days after the Venice lineup was unveiled, featuring only one film made by a female director out of 20 titles in…

In its second weekend, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey delivered the biggest second weekend of the filmmaker’s career, adding an estimated $87m to stay top of the North American charts and reach $286.4m. Beating the inflation-unadjusted $75.2m July 2008 second weekend of Nolan’s superhero adaptation The Dark Knight (which earned $114.2m in real terms) The Odyssey fell 30% from last weekend’s storming debut and plays in 3,942 sites.  In further second-weekend glory, the UK director’s latest blockbuster produced the second-highest-grossing sophomore session by an R-rated film behind Disney/Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine on $96.8m in August 2024. It also delivered the third-highest…

David Ellison’s Paramount has agreed to postpone the Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) merger in light of antitrust lawsuits brought by US states and Writers Guild Of America. In papers filed by the media company on Friday, Paramount agreed it would not close the $111bn transaction until five days after the cases are heard or June 1 2027, whichever occurs first. There is still no trial date after a coalition of 12 states spearheaded by California secured a temporary restraining order earlier this week blocking the merger for 28 days. They have alleged a merger will harm cable and theatrical competition. The…