Tag: Warner Bros.

  • New ‘Joker’ film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office

    New ‘Joker’ film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office

    Warner Bros.’ “Joker: Folie a Deux,” a dark new musical Batman spinoff, earned an estimated $40 million over the weekend to top the North American box office, industry watchers reported Sunday.

    But that was far behind the $96.2 opening of the original “Joker” in 2019, a movie that earned Joaquin Phoenix a best-actor Oscar and grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. Industry analyst David A. Gross called it “a weak opening for the follow-up sequel in a superhero series.”

    “Folie a Deux” — French for “shared madness” — again stars Phoenix as the unbalanced titular villain, this time joined by Lady Gaga (playing the cheerily deranged Harley Quinn) as the two sing, dance and plan assorted acts of mayhem. Todd Phillips directs, and the cast includes Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener.

    Last week’s box office leader, family-friendly sci-fi tale “The Wild Robot” from DreamWorks Animation, slipped a spot to second, taking in $18.7 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations estimated.

    Lupita Nyong’o voices Roz, an intelligent robot who is marooned on an uninhabited island and, to survive, has to befriend a menagerie of woodland animals — and ends up adopting an adorable gosling.

    Warner Bros.’ “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” also slipped a spot, to third, earning $10.3 million.

    Michael Keaton again plays the creepily hilarious title character with Winona Ryder reprising her role as Lydia Deetz, backed by “Beetlejuice” newcomers Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci and Justin Theroux.

    In fourth was Paramount’s animated action film “Transformers One,” the latest installment in the toy-based franchise, at $5.4 million.

    And in fifth, for the second straight week, was “Speak No Evil,” a psychological horror film from Blumhouse and Universal Pictures, at $2.8 million. James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis star.

    Rounding out the top 10 were:

    “White Bird” ($1.5 million)

    “Deadpool & Wolverine” ($1.5 million)

    “The Substance” ($1.3 million)

    “Megalopolis” ($1.1 million)

    “My Old Ass” ($908,000)

  • Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Hollywood A-listers donated $1 million to the SAG-AFTRA strikes

    Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Hollywood A-listers donated $1 million to the SAG-AFTRA strikes

    The SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood has reached its 21st day of protests against studios paying low residuals, poor working conditions as well as the use of A.I to replicate images of background actors. Studios like Warner Bros, Netflix and Disney have reportedly refused to negotiate with the union, with sources revealing the studios were planning to prolonge the protest till most of the actors become broke, according to ‘The Bear’ staff writer Alex O’Keefe.

    In the midst of the protests, multiple A-list celebrities have come forward to offer donations to keep the movement going. Variety reports that some of the A-list celebrities who contributed to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Emergency Financial Assistance Program were Meryl Streep, Dwyane Johnson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Amal and George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey.

    “Thanks to the support of some of Hollywood’s top-earning stars, the Foundation is preparing to bring aid and hope to thousands of journeymen actors facing tremendous economic hardship,” the foundation said in a statement released a few days ago.

    In a statement sent to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to end the strike and pay fair residuals to writers and actors, Meryl Streep recalled how she began her career working as a waitress and struggled to make ends meet:

    “I remember my days as a waiter, cleaner, typist, even my time on the unemployment line,” Streep said in a statement. “In this strike action, I am lucky to be able to support those who will struggle in a long action to sustain against Goliath. We will stand strong together against these powerful corporations who are bent on taking the humanity, the human dignity, even the human out of our profession. I am proudest of my fellow actors who have immediately offered to fund the Emergency Financial Assistance Program.”

    “We stand ready to get back to the table and make a fair deal with the AMPTP,” George Clooney said. “Until then, I’m proud to be able to support the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and my fellow actors who may be struggling in this historic moment. We’ve stood on the shoulders of the likes of Bette Davis and Jimmy Cagney and it’s time for our generation to give something back. I can’t thank Courtney enough for his determination in putting this effort together by shedding light on the human toll happening right now, and how we can work together to alleviate some of the pain and suffering.”

  • Warner Bros, HBO Max shut down reports of ‘Harry Potter’ TV series

    Warner Bros and HBO Max have shut down and rubbished reports which stated that a Harry Potter TV series is in making at HBO Max.

    In a joint statement to NY Post, Warner Bros. and HBO Max said: “There is no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform.”

    Read more – Hilary Duff confirms ‘Lizzie McGuire’ reboot cancelled

    There have long been talks of a “Potter”-verse series but no information on the subject has been shared by either the cast of the movies or the production house.

    Nonetheless, if the creators of the film franchise were to make something, it would probably be a redo of the Harry Potter books, which came out between 1997 and 2007 considering plenty of material, such as a lot of the Marauder’s backstory, or Hermione’s house-elf crusade, was cut from the movies.

    On the other hand, a TV series could also easily be set in a different era in the rich Harry Potter world, like the spinoff movie franchise Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is set around World War II.

    As far as the return of original cast members such as Daniel Radcliffe or Emma Watson is concerned, only time will tell.

    Meanwhile, it is pertinent to add that author J.K. Rowling recently came under fire for her controversial views on transgender people, which she outlined in a lengthy manifesto. This could perhaps present an issue for the Potter series from making a comeback.

    The Potter books have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide and remain a hit, so they could also be controversy-proof as a pop-culture juggernaut. 

  • Anne Hathaway apologises to disabled community for hurting sentiments in ‘The Witches’

    Oscar-winning actor Anne Hathaway has apologised to the limb difference community after her latest film The Witches received an online backlash from the community.

    According to details, the villainous witches in the Warner Bros. film including the coven leader played by Anne Hathaway, are seen as having only three fingers.

    The design of the fingers resembles ectrodactyly, also known as a split or cleft hand, which is a limb disability.

    Several social media users have objected to the representation of the limb as disrespectful as it was used to portray Hathaway’s character as non-human.

    Following the outrage, the actor took to Instagram to share a video by Luck Fin project featuring people with limb differences, with which she penned a long caption dedicated to people with disabilities and apologised to the community for offending them with her film.

    “I have recently learned that many people with limb differences, especially children, are in pain because of the portrayal of the Grand High Witch in The Witches,” she wrote.

    “Let me begin by saying I do my best to be sensitive to the feelings and experiences of others not out of some scrambling PC fear, but because not hurting others seems like a basic level of decency we should all be striving for,” her caption further read.

    The actor then went on to extend her heartfelt apologies to the entire community and especially to “kids with limb differences.”

    “As someone who really believes in inclusivity and really, really detests cruelty, I owe you all an apology for the pain caused. I am sorry. I did not connect limb difference with the GHW when the look of the character was brought to me; if I had, I assure you this never would have happened,” the 37-year-old actor wrote.

    “I particularly want to say I’m sorry to kids with limb differences: now that I know better I promise I’ll do better. And I owe a special apology to everyone who loves you as fiercely as I love my own kids: I’m sorry I let your family down,” she added.

    View this post on Instagram

    I have recently learned that many people with limb differences, especially children, are in pain because of the portrayal of the Grand High Witch in The Witches. Let me begin by saying I do my best to be sensitive to the feelings and experiences of others not out of some scrambling PC fear, but because not hurting others seems like a basic level of decency we should all be striving for. As someone who really believes in inclusivity and really, really detests cruelty, I owe you all an apology for the pain caused. I am sorry. I did not connect limb difference with the GHW when the look of the character was brought to me; if I had, I assure you this never would have happened. I particularly want to say I’m sorry to kids with limb differences: now that I know better I promise I’ll do better. And I owe a special apology to everyone who loves you as fiercely as I love my own kids: I’m sorry I let your family down. If you aren’t already familiar, please check out the @Lucky_Fin_Project (video above) and the #NotAWitch hashtag to get a more inclusive and necessary perspective on limb difference.

    A post shared by Anne Hathaway (@annehathaway) on

    Earlier last week, Warner Bros studios had also extended apologies to the community. In a statement, the studio said it “regretted any offense caused.”

    The Robert Zemeckis-directorial has been adapted from the classic Roald Dahl children’s book. The story centres on a young boy who stumbles upon a gathering of witches while staying with his grandmother at a hotel. After finding out their evil plan to turn the world’s children into mice, he works with his grandmother to thwart their wicked plot. Along with Hathaway, the cast includes newcomer Jahzir Kadeem Bruno, Octavia Spencer, Stanley Tucci, Chris Rock and Kristin Chenoweth.

    The Witches was released on October 22 on HBO Max, which is Warner Bros.’ sister streaming service. It was earlier scheduled for theatrical release before the coronavirus induced shutdown of theatres in March.