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Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2024 Oscars Predictions:

Best Original Score Killers of the Flower Moon Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone Credit: AppleTV+

Weekly Commentary: It’s Ludwig Göransson taking home another Oscar for “Oppenheimer,” following his first win for “Black Panther.”

Next.

Will Win: “Oppenheimer” (Ludwig Göransson)

Could Win: “Killers of the Flower Moon...

Netflix’s One Piece sailed to the top of the original streaming series rankings in its first week of release. Suits, meanwhile, maintained its grip on the top of the overall charts.

One Piece, a live-action adaptation of the beloved manga and anime, delivered 1.31 billion minutes of viewing in the United States for the week of Aug. 28-Sept. 3 (it premiered Aug. 31). It ranked first among original series in the weekly rankings, bumping Who Is Erin Carter? (1.02 billion minutes) from the top spot.

The 1.31 billion minutes for One Piece equates to 21.85 million hours of viewing in the U.S. — a little under 16 percent of the worldwide total Netflix reported in its own top 10 rankings for the week. (Nielsen and Netflix use different methods to calculate viewing time.)

Suits racked up another 2.45 billion minutes of viewing on Netflix and Peacock and remained the top overall title in the rankings for the 11th straight week.

Warner Bros. isn’t happy with industry consensus appointing “Gran Turismo” as the weekend’s top-grossing film, beating “Barbie.”. It will be small solace, but Warners’ “Meg 2: The Trench” is the dominant title on this week’s VOD charts.

“Meg 2” moved to PVOD after 21 days — a quick turnaround previously reserved for Max exclusives and/or lower-budget titles like “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” and “House Party.” However, “Meg 2” is the $130 million sequel to a film that grossed over $500 million worldwide.

It dropped Friday and quickly reached #1 at iTunes. It also is #1 at Vudu, more impressive since its chart covers seven days and “it “Meg 2” was available for only three of them. Google Play, as always lagging a few days behind, has it at #3 and rising.

“Meg 2” opened two weeks after “Barbie,” yet came to PVOD at least 11 days ahead of Greta Gerwig’s #1 film for 2023. Though not confirmed, the PVOD...

On paper, it seemed like a quiet weekend at the box office. "Blue Beetle" entered its second weekend and the only major newcomer was Sony's racing drama "Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story," which is, as the title implies, based on a real story about a gamer who ends up getting the chance to become a racing driver. But between National Cinema Day bringing out tons of moviegoers on Sunday and an unexpectedly tight race for the top spot on the charts, things did get interesting after all. Now, Warner Bros. and Sony are in a bit of a dispute over who actually came in at number one. So, was it "Gran Turismo" or "Barbie" on top? It depends on who you ask.

According to Variety, Warner Bros. is claiming that "Barbie" was the number one movie this past weekend, with Greta Gerwig's blockbuster taking in $15.1 million in its sixth frame.

A strong quarter at the movies couldn’t stop Sony from taking a dive in terms of profits.

The Japanese electronics conglomerate reported revenues of $20.3 billion for the quarter, besting Zacks’ estimates of $18.6 billion.

However, profits fell approximately 31% year over year, with $1.8 billion this quarter compared to an adjusted profit total of $2.5 billion this time last year.

The Japanese giant continued to benefit from its domination in the video game field, as well as creating must-have image sensors for everyone’s smartphone. But this quarter, Miles Morales was the star of its motion picture division.

The animated star of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” contributed to better-than-expected earnings at the company, with the blockbuster sequel earning $684 million worldwide at the box office thus far. Most of that came in June, and papered over comparatively soft performances from “Big George Foreman,” “The Machine” and “No Hard Feelings.”

It helped the overall division claim a profit of $111 million,...

With six of the top eight film distributors committed to their own streaming sites — and all the expenses that come with them — the two studios that operate without a streamer continue to elevate home viewing without that heavy investment.

Universal has three films occupying eight positions this week, led by the just-released “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” that’s #1 on all three VOD charts. Lionsgate also has three films in eight slots, while Sony has three films in six slots — plus, three more films in the Netflix top 10.

Multiple placements aren’t unusual for Universal; it has high volume as well as a consistent PVOD policy that often sees titles surface in a month or less. For the scrappier Lionsgate, this achievement demanded a lot of smart strategy. Both “Operation Fortune: Russe de Guerre” and “Sisu” showed limited interest in theaters (each grossed around $7 million). Yet each has shown strength on PVOD,...

Big George Foreman is a film directed by George Tillman Jr. starring Khris Davis.

Some movies simply wait for a great story to do all the work.

Foreman’s life was quite a story.

We can’t say the same for the film.

Movie Review

Some said the voiceover was anti-cinematic, and it was Scorsese (among others) who denied it film after film. This Big George Foreman wants to have a lot of Scorsese without achieving his pace, effectiveness and, above all, grace, and narrative freshness.

Big George Foreman is a film that resorts, at all times, to the obvious, to direct compassion, to that piece of American History a thousand times told in a thousand better ways and with more elaborate plots and less flat characters and, in the end, with more to say.

It is well executed technically, it knows how to behave, but the script’s compassionate...

Film has £15.8m including the Bank Holiday Monday.

Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (May 5-May 7) Total gross to date Week 1. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) £12.1m £15.8m 1 2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) £1.3m £50m 5 3. Evil Dead Rise (Studiocanal) £493,732 £4.6m 3 4. The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry (eOne) £336,000 £2.2m 2 5. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) £195,057 £17.1m 7

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.26

Disney’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 opened top of the UK-Ireland box office chart this weekend with a powerful £12.1m start – the highest opening of the year to date, and just behind the £13.1m of the second Guardians film.

Yes, anytime a film opens over $100 million is a positive event for theaters. And yes, for Marvel and Disney, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is an improvement over the lesser initial take for “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” ($106 million first weekend last February). Correct also is that it’s the second best opening of the year.

But the elephant in the room exists. Since 2013, Disney has opened their top summer season Marvel release on this date: Without even having to adjust for inflation, the new “Guardians,” with $114 million for its U.S./Canada gross, ranks dead last — nine out of nine. The falloff from last year’s entry (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”) is steep — down $73 million from that one. And “Strange” was a sequel to a lesser series release than “Guardians.” This should be sobering: “Vol. 2,” on this same weekend in 2017, grossed at current ticket prices around $170 million.

Franchise titles continue to dominate, with ‘Big George Foreman’ the second best performing new release.

RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (Apr 28-May 1)Total gross to date Week 1. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) £3.1m £47.2m 4 2. Evil Dead Rise (Studiocanal) £1.1m £3.6m 2 3. The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry (eOne) £760,000 £1m 1 4. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) £620,444 £16.8m 6 5. Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (Warner Bros) £576,000 £13m 5

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.25

Holdovers continued to dominate the UK-Ireland box office over the bank holiday weekend, with eOne’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry the only new release, and only non-franchise title, to find...

It was, in some ways, a rather uneventful weekend at the box office -- or so it seemed on the surface. We had a repeat of the prior weekend, with "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" once again taking the top spot (now for the fourth week in a row) with very little drop-off. The animated flick has already crossed $1 billion worldwide, becoming just the fifth movie of the pandemic era to do so. Meanwhile, "Evil Dead Rise" once again came in at number two, dropping just 50% to add $12.2 million domestically. Globally, it sits at $86 million and will soon pass "Evil Dead" 2013. Most interesting of all though: "Star Wars" is back in the top five on the charts.

Yes, Disney decided to re-release "Return of the Jedi" in theaters to honor the film's forthcoming 40th anniversary and, as it turns out, audiences still really love the original trilogy. Per The Numbers,...

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Universal) is projected to gross another $40 million in its fourth weekend, an achievement held only “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Black Panther” in 2018.

That puts Illumination’s animated film at $1.022 billion worldwide and $490 million domestic. If it hits $650 million domestic — now possible — it will surpass any cartoon feature this century. (“Shrek 2” and “Incredibles 2” reached $600 million adjusted).

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (Disney) opening next weekend will end Mario’s #1 streak, but “Smb” should stay strong for weeks to come. It could surpass “Maverick” ($719 million) — an even more impressive feat when it lacks a concentration premium tickets and sells many more lower-priced children’s priced tickets.

Though at a lower gross and hold, “Evil Dead Rise” (Warner Bros. Discovery) at #2 with $12.5 million, adds to the positive news. Its 50 percent second-week drop was low end for a genre film. Even better,...

The month of April comes to a close with a second weekend in which no new movies opened with more than $10 million. Even so, one single movie has dominated the month so heartily that “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has now entered the top 20 all-time domestic blockbusters in less than one month playing in theaters.

Sure enough, the Nintendo game adaptation won its fourth weekend in a row with an estimated $40 million, down 33% from last weekend, after hitting $450 million as of Thursday. With the $490 million it has made through Sunday, “Super Mario Bros.” passes 2019’s “Frozen II” and 2016’s “Finding Dory” to become the 19th-highest grossing movie domestically with $500 million in its sights in the coming days.

“Super Mario Bros.” also became the first movie of 2023 to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide, adding another $68.3 million overseas, including $14.3 million in its Japan opening and $5.7 million in South Korea. With $1.02 billion grossed so far,...

It’s another weekend of box office domination for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which collected a towering $40 million in its fourth frame. Those ticket sales, down just 33% from the weekend prior, were easily enough to rule over the weekend’s newcomers, including literary adaptation “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” Finnish war drama “Sisu” and biopic “Big George Foreman.”

After four weeks on the big screen, “Mario” has grossed $490 million in North America and $532 million internationally to loom even larger as the highest-grossing film of 2023. It’s also the first movie of the year to cross $1 billion globally. Only five pandemic-era blockbusters have hit that milestone.

“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” fared the best among the new releases, opening in third place with $6.8 million from 3,343 North American theaters. Those are rocky ticket sales for the $30 million-budgeted coming-of-age story, which is based on Judy Blume’s seminal novel,...

Khris Davis stars as George Foreman in Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story Of The Once And Future Heavyweight Champion Of The World. To compete with heavyweight champions like Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, boxers who were just as well known for their presence outside the ring as their fighting skills, George Foreman cultivated his own larger-than-life personality. It’s served him well for decades, from his boxing title pursuits of the 1970s to his entrepreneurial efforts of the ’90s and beyond. But that also posed a challenge for any actor who wanted to portray Foreman in the new biopic about his life, Big George Foreman. But Foreman, who serves as an executive producer on the film, says that Khris Davis’s performance is a knockout. (Click on the media bar below to hear George Foreman) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/George_Foreman_Kris_Davis_.mp3 Big George Foreman is now playing in theaters.

Everyone has seen the infomercials for the George Foreman Grill, but many younger TV viewers might not be as familiar with his prolific boxing career. Foreman was the oldest boxer ever to win a heavyweight championship, and now fans can see his story on the big screen for the first time in “Big George Foreman,” in theaters Friday, April 28.

“Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World” is based on the remarkable true story of one of the greatest comebacks of all time. Fueled by an impoverished childhood, Foreman channeled his anger into becoming an Olympic Gold medalist and World Heavyweight Champion. When he sees his community struggling spiritually and financially, Foreman returns to the ring and makes history by reclaiming his title, becoming the oldest and most improbable World Heavyweight Boxing Champion ever.

The film has received mixed reviews on Rotten Tomatoes,...

Further new releases include ’Big George Foreman’ and ‘Little Richard: I Am Everything’.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry is the widest release across the UK’s three-day bank holiday weekend, walking into 643 locations for eOne, with no franchise new releases in the mix.

Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton star in Hettie Macdonald’s feature, about a seemingly unremarkable man in his 60s who embarks on a 450-mile mission to see his friend who is dying in a hospice.

Broadbent’s last big screen outing was in Roger Michell’s The Duke, which brought in £941,975 in its first weekend for...

Big George ForemanPhoto: Sony

For historical context (and for fans of boxing when boxing mattered), in 1968, 19-year-old George Edward Foreman of Marshall, Texas, represented the United States in the heavyweight division of the Mexico City Olympic Games. He won a gold medal and then turned professional. Meanwhile, in the stateside boxing world,...

There’s George Foreman the boxer and George Foreman the grill. The Sony biopic out this Friday offers a different George. “I want to spread the word of God,” says Foreman (Khris Davis) in the trailer for “Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World.”

It’s a production from faith-based Sony Pictures’ label Affirm Films. Its first film in 2008, “Fireproof” starring Kirk Cameron, grossed $33 million on a $500,000 budget. To date, the (mostly domestic) global theatrical gross for Affirm titles stands at $520 million — $400 million more than the films’ total production costs.

Directed by George Tillman Jr. and with Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker in a supporting role, “Foreman” may represent the biggest Affirm budget to date. (One source lists it at $34 million.) Prior Affirm budgets topped out at $20 million. It’s also got one of Affirm’s biggest releases, with 2,575 theaters.

Opening prospects are unclear.

Biopics about star athletes or artists tend to have the same broad shape: the rise to achievement and fame, the fall from triumph (often fueled by some combination of addiction and ego), the restoration to a harder-won glory. A great biopic, like “Get on Up” or “I, Tonya,” will tease a profound portrait of the subject out of that form; a middling one will oversimplify the subject just to hit the right beats. But then there’s a film like “Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World.” That’s not a movie title — it’s the title of a parable. And it’s well chosen, since “Big George Foreman” is about a life that feels so outlandishly ready-made for the ups and downs, the lessons and inspirations, of the superstar biopic genre that you don’t even have to mess with it.

So often thought of primarily as the big lug who was so dramatically dispatched by Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire in 1974, George Foreman is the main event in Big George Foreman. While there is plenty of boxing here to satisfy sports fans, the film is mild-mannered and genial to a fault as it charts the life of a dirt-poor Texas kid with a devastating punch whose public image transformed over the years from hulking bogeyman to that of a good-natured businessman and man of God.

Ali was such a commanding, entertaining and (mostly) adored worldwide figure, from his emergence as the self-anointed “greatest” to his ultimate status as one of the most beloved and admired men on the planet, that it isn’t easy to watch him take a back seat here to a younger but less charismatic figure onscreen. Eventually, if you like...

We’re just one week away from the official start of the summer movie season, but before that, we have one more weekend of April to knock out a few releases hoping to bring in some business the summer’s bigger releases take over. Not that it matters, because “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” will continue its first place run with another $35 to 37 million this weekend, edging its way closer to $500 million. Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.

There are three new wide releases, the strongest of them being Lionsgate’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” based on Judy Blume‘s beloved 1970 young adult bestseller, which helped get many a girl (and a few boys) through puberty. The movie stars Abby Ryder Fortson as the film’s title character, Margaret, as well as Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates and Benny Safdie as her family.

SEEBox office: ‘Super Mario Bros.’ crosses $400 million,...

Khris Davis stars as George Foreman in Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story Of The Once And Future Heavyweight Champion Of The World. Big George Foreman is a big step forward for Khris Davis. It’s his first film as an above-the-line star, following supporting roles in films like Judas and the Black Messiah and Space Jam: A New Legacy. Davis, however, sees this starring role less as a win for himself and more of a win for the subject of the biopic, boxer George Foreman. (Click on the media bar below to hear Khris Davis) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Khris_-Davis_Big_george_Formean_.mp3 Big George Foreman opens in theaters on Friday.

The post Khris Davis Gets A ‘Big’ Break But Is Happier For George Foreman appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

Khris Davis stars as George Foreman in Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story Of The Once And Future Heavyweight Champion Of The World. Twenty-two years after Ali was released, one of Muhammad Ali’s main rivals, George Foreman, gets his very own biopic, Big George Foreman. The film, which traces the boxer’s life from childhood to becoming the oldest heavyweight champion of the world, counts its subject as one of its executive producers. And Foreman, who’s portrayed in the film by Khris Davis, says he still finds it hard to believe what he was able to accomplish, especially after he’d originally hung up his gloves. (Click on the media bar below to hear George Foreman) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/George_Foreman_Life_.mp3

Big George Foreman opens in theaters on April 28.

The post George Foreman And His ‘Crazy’ Second Act appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

Won’t you think of the children? With three months since “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” (Universal) opened in theaters, families are movie-starved. That creates a huge opportunity for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” also Universal, which opens Wednesday just before the lucrative Easter weekend. It comes days after Paramount opened “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” another game-based movie also previously adapted for film.

“Dungeons & Dragons” opened to $37.2 million, making it the fifth consecutive release with a domestic debut over $30 million and “Super Mario Bros.” will make it six. Even with a Wednesday opening that siphons off some of its total, industry estimates put its five-day tally conceivably at $125 million. That could translate into over $250 million during the month.

For April, best guess for all films’ domestic take is around $650 million. That’s what we projected for March, with the total falling just short (around $635 million). That...

Sony announced on Friday that they will release the starry Craig Gillespie film Dumb Money on the GameStop short squeeze of 2021 on October 20.

The Black Bear Pictures title’s fall positioning suggests a return to the awards conversation may be in the cards for Gillespie — the creative behind Hulu’s Emmy winner Pam & Tommy and Neon & 30West’s I, Tonya, which brought Margot Robbie her first Academy Award nom in 2018.

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The buzzy feature based on the Ben Mezrich book The Antisocial Network tells the story of fortunes made and lost overnight in the David-vs.-Goliath short squeeze that may have changed Wall Street forever. It’s said to offer a scathing,...

The eighth annual Icon Mann Honors dinner will salute “The Woman King” filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood, “Sidney” director Reginald Hudlin and Uzodinma Iweala, CEO of the Africa Center NYC and author of the New York Times bestseller “Beasts of No Nation.”

Icon Mann partnered with Sony Pictures for the event, which has a “Reimagining African Diasporic Narratives” theme and will take place on Wednesday, March 8 at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The dinner is part of a series of awards week events for Icon Mann, which is a media, production and management consultancy representing African Diasporic heritage. The company is a leading strategic broker for investments and enterprise within creative industries for Hollywood and media-driven African nations, cultivating a global network of creators and leaders focused on “positive narrative representation.”

Filmmaker George Tillman will also be honored on Tuesday, Feb. 28 with a fireside chat and film retrospective in advance...

Exclusive: Mandalay Television is continuing to ramp up its slate of book to series adaptations.

The company, founded by former Sony Pictures boss and Rain Man and Flashdance producer Peter Guber, has optioned Mike Grist’s series of action thriller novels including Saint Justice for television.

The six-book series follows ex-CIA operative Christopher Wren, as he chases down the worst cult leader in history who is trying to destroy American democracy by dividing and pitting the US population against each other.

Only Wren can stop the anarchism when he discovers the leader of the cult is his father, who he escaped from as a young teenager. Wren’s internal battlefield leads him to finding redemption and atoning for the dark events of his own past.

The series is being overseen by Mandalay executives David Zelon, Vanessa Johnston and Zach Wanerman.

Saint Justice was originally self-published by Mike Grist in...

The Who frontman Roger Daltrey has brought life back to his longtime passion project, a biopic about the iconic rock band’s former drummer, Keith Moon.

Daltrey said in an interview with Vulture that he had recently finished a script for the movie, which had been nearly set to film last summer before Daltrey — with an aversion for a script written by Jeff Pope — stepped in and halted production. Paul Whittington (“The Crown”) had been set to direct.

Daltrey then committed to writing the script. He said he would now like to get the film shot within two years.

“I’m very pleased with the script,” Daltrey, 78, told Vulture. “I want people to get an understanding of him and his life, and the complete genius he was. He had so much talent, that boy, but he became out of control for a lot of reasons. Mostly for lack of discipline.

Sony has offered up the first wave of marketing for their upcoming George Foreman biopic, namely a trailer, a poster and a release date.

“Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World” will debut theatrically on April 28, 2023, occupying the pre-summer slot that in previous years was home to “He Got Game,” “Obsessed” and “Keanu.” In 2023, that any studio is slotting anything resembling a big movie is a sign of a return to sanity within the theatrical ecosystem.

Directed by George Tillman Jr. and starring Khris Davis as Foreman, “Big George Foreman” stems from a story by Dan Gordon and Frank Baldwin and Goerge Tillman Jr. And a screenplay from Baldwin and Tillman.

The trailer, which you can watch at the top of this file, features the rags-to-riches true-life story of a young man who channeled his anger into Olympic glory and eventual...

Boxing movies tend to be pretty great fodder for a harrowing feel-good story. Even people who don't give a damn about boxing otherwise would be hard-pressed not to cheer by the end of "Rocky" or "Cinderella Man." Sure, there is the occasional dark boxing tale, such as "Raging Bull," that makes for equally -- if not more -- compelling cinema. Today though brings us what appears to be an underdog story, and a familiar one for many fans of the sport, as the trailer for "Big George Foreman" is here. Or, to be more specific regarding the title, "Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World." And yes, they did put all of that on the poster.

In any case, this is the tale of George Foreman and, more specifically, his wildly unlikely comeback story as a boxer advanced in his years.

From “Rocky” to “Ali,” to “The Champ,” “Creed,” and more, boxing has a storied history in cinema. Everyone loves an underdog tale, and boxing narratives always manage to expertly tell these tales of overcoming the odds and achieving greatness with many of the personal costs involved.

The latest boxing film, however, centers on a boxer who’s never really had the cinematic treatment so far, George Foreman.

Continue reading ‘Big George Foreman’ Trailer: Khris Davis & Forest Whitaker Star In The Story Of A Future Heavyweight Champ at The Playlist.

"Now you look like the Michelin Man. This ain't no beauty contest." Sony Pictures has finally unveiled the official trailer for the Big George Foreman movie, formerly called Heart of a Lion. After being delayed from opening last year, this boxing biopic is now to set open in April, and the movie's full title is seriously: Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World. Yowza. The biopic tells the life story and follows the boxing career of the legendary George Foreman. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist (and creator of the George Foreman Grill). Directed by acclaimed filmmaker George Tillman Jr., the film stars Khris Davis (seen in Judas and the Black Messiah) as Foreman and it also stars Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker as Foreman's trainer and mentor Doc Broadus. The cast also includes John Magaro,...

The Sony Adam Driver sci-fi movie 65 is moving onto the opening weekend of New Line’s Shazam: Fury of the Gods, March 17-19. The Scott Beck-Bryan Woods movie was previously dated for March 10, 2023.

The studio, I hear, has a confidence in the movie, and it’s to give the pic some air from the next Scream sequel on March 10. No rating yet for 65.

In addition the studio is movie its Affirm release of the George Foreman Biopic from March 31 next yera to April 28. The movie moves away from Paramount/eOne’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Uar’s A Good Person, and Focus Features’ A Thousand and One to a weekend where there’s Lionsgate’s feature take of Judy Blume novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

65’s logline: After a catastrophic crash on an unknown planet, pilot Mills (Driver) quickly discovers he’s actually stranded on Earth…...

Exclusive: Demetrius Grosse, coming off playing one of the leads in ABC’s untitled Kay Oyegun drama pilot, has been cast by the network as a lead opposite Neve Campbell in another drama project, Avalon. The series, based on Michael Connelly’s short story, comes from David E. Kelley, A+E Studios and 20th Television.

Avalon, which has a straight-to-series order, takes place in the city of Avalon on Catalina Island, where L.A. Sheriff’s Department Detective Nicole “Nic” Searcy (Campbell) heads up a small office. Catalina has a local population that serves more than 1 million tourists a year, and each day when the ferries arrive, hundreds of potential new stories enter the island. Detective Searcy is pulled into a career-defining mystery that will challenge everything she knows about herself and the island.

Grosse will play Senior Deputy Dayo Musa, who is assigned to Catalina Island, a post he’s...

Gerard Butler has paid tribute to his friend Darius Campbell Danesh, saying he has been left “devastated” by the death of his “brother in arms” last week.

The Scottish actor was reported to be close friends with the Scottish reality TV singing contestant turned West End actor and Hollywood producer, who was found dead in his Minnesota apartment on August 11. They were reported to have met at parties held for fellow Scots by Rod Stewart in LA, and were filmed socialising together earlier this year.

Butler paid his tribute on Instagram, writing: “I am devastated by the sudden passing of my dear friend Darius, a true brother in arms.

“My thoughts and love go to his wonderful mum and dad Avril and Booth and his two brilliant brothers Aria and Cyrus.

“To those lucky enough to have met Darius for more than a few minutes, they were deeply moved by...

ABC’s Kay Oyegun drama pilot has found its five therapists. Sendhil Ramamurthy (Never Have I Ever), Johnny Simmons (Girlboss), Rachel Hilson (Winning Time), Demetrius Grosse (Fear the Walking Dead) and Rahnuma Panthaky (NCIS: Los Angeles ) are set as leads opposite previously announced Marsha Stephanie Blake.

The untitled hourlong project comes from 20th Television and is written and exec produced by This Is Us writer-producer Oyegun.

2022 ABC Pilots & Series Orders

The drama revolves around five therapists in Philadelphia who find unique ways to solve problems in their patients’ lives while grappling with their own. Ellen Roman (Blake), the owner of the practice and a brilliant therapist, has her life shockingly turned upside down when she begins working with a sociopathic patient who may hold the key to the disappearance of her sister five years earlier.

Ramamurthy plays Amit. Big-hearted, instantly likable, gentle, intuitive, well-respected relationship...

ABC’s untitled drama pilot from “This Is Us” and “Queen Sugar” writer Kay Oyegun has cast Sendhil Ramamurthy, Johnny Simmons, Rachel Hilson, Demitrius Grosse and Rahnuma Panthaky.

The pilot follows five therapists at the Mindful Insight Therapy Group in Philadelphia who find unique ways to solve problems in their patients’ lives while grappling with their own. Ellen Roman, the owner of the practice and a brilliant therapist, has her life shockingly turned upside down when she begins working with a sociopathic patient who may hold the key to the disappearance of her sister five years earlier.

Ramamurthy will play Amit, a big-hearted and well-respected relationship therapist. Amit and his wife Sonali are known for their very successful Dara Method for helping rescue marriages. Amit can read his wife just by sitting next to her and believes that they are perfectly in sync with each other both in and out of the office.

Exclusive: Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Sam Trammell, Erica Tazel, Matthew Glave and Al Sapienza are the latest additions to the cast of George Tillman Jr.’s untitled George Foreman biopic for Sony Pictures and Affirm Films.

They join an ensemble led by Khris Davis that also includes Sullivan Jones, Forest Whitaker, Jasmine Mathews, Sonja Sohn, John Magaro and Shein Mompremier, as previously announced.

Tillman Jr.’s latest will follow the remarkable life and times of Foreman (Davis), from Olympic Gold medalist to World Heavyweight champion, the Rumble in the Jungle fight with Muhammad Ali in Zaire, to finding his faith, retiring, and becoming a preacher. When financial hardship hits his family and church, he steps back in the ring and regains the championship...

Sony has dated TriStar’s The Woman King from Gina Prince-Bythewood to open on Sept. 16, 2022.

At the same time they’ve pushed Affirm Films’ untitled George Foreman Biopic from Sept. 16, 2022 next year to March 24, 2023.

The Woman King is a historical epic inspired by true events that took place in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. The story follows Nanisca, General of the all-female military unit, and Nawi, an ambitious recruit, who together fought enemies who violated their honor, enslaved their people, and threatened to destroy everything they’ve lived for.

Dana Stevens wrote the original screenplay with the current draft by Stevens and Prince-Bythewood. Cathy Schulman, Viola Davis, Julius Tennon and Maria Bello are producing with Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch and John Boyega starring.

Affirm Films’ George Foreman biopic follows the boxer from Olympic Gold medalist to World Heavyweight champion,...

Sony Pictures announced a slew of release dates late Thursday, including its Whitney Houston and George Foreman biopics, children’s book adaptation Harold and the Purple Crayon and its acquired title A Mouthful of Air. The studio also moved back the opening of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by four months.

I Wanna Dance with Somebody, TriStar’s story about pop legend and part-time movie star Houston, gets a December 23, 2022, opening slot. Naomi Ackie stars as the iconic singer with Kasi Lemmons is directing.

The Untitled George Foreman Biopic from Affirm Films, which tells the story of the former boxer’s rise from Olympic gold medalist to fighting Muhammad Ali and eventually becoming the oldest heavyweight champion in history, is set for September 16, 2022. Khris Davis stars as Foreman in the pic from director George Tillman Jr.

Columbia Pictures’ Harold and the Purple Crayon, based on Crockett Johnson’s best-seller and starring Zachary Levi,...