| | | | | | What's news: Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has been released from prison. CoComelon is leaving Netflix for Disney+. Amazon has canceled The Wheel of Time. A24 is shuttering its doc division. — Abid Rahman
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'Lilo & Stitch' and 'MI8' Blow Up Memorial Day Box Office ►Lilo & Rich. Disney’s live-action redo of Lilo & Stitch and Tom Cruise's final Mission: Impossible movie, from Paramount and Skydance, fueled the biggest start-of-summer holiday weekend of all time. Lilo & Stitch blew away all expectations with a record-smashing, four-day domestic debut of $183m, and a jaw-dropping $341.7m globally, while Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning opened to a series-best $77m domestically and $190m worldwide. The domestic numbers includes a three-day weekend tally of $145.5m for Lilo, and $63m for Final Reckoning.
Three weeks ago, Lilo was tracking to open to $120m. On Thursday, that number had grown to $165m. But it came in even higher. The reason? THR's Pamela McClintock writes that the animated film isn’t just drawing interest from families; to the contrary, 60 percent of ticket buyers were non-parents and kids, far higher than the norm. Interest exploded among teenage girls and younger women adults — i.e., Gen Z and younger Millennials — who grew up on the first movie and resulting TV show about a Hawaiian girl with a fraught family life who adopts an adorable, albeit trouble-making, dog-like alien. Box office pundits say the nostalgic factor is running high, just as it did among Millennials and Gen Z’ers for Disney’s live-action Aladdin, which made $1.1b in global ticket sales after getting families, teens and younger adults. Rideback produced both Lilo and 2019’s Aladdin.
Final Reckoning — which had a lock on Imax screens — more than made up for the lackluster $54.7m five-day bow of Dead Reckoning, as well as supplanting the $61.2m three-day launch of Fallout to set a new franchise opening record. Mission movies have never been big openers since diehard fans are usually older adults, and particularly older males. Ticket buyers over the age of 55 made up the largest chunk of the audience, followed by the coveted 18 to 24 demo. It boasts a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 80 percent and earned an A- CinemaScore. The box office report. |
The Real Reason the OpenAI-Jony Ive Partnership Is So Strange ►"You could be forgiven, given how many announcements OpenAI makes, for wondering about Altman’s motivations." OpenAI's $6.5b link up with former star Apple industrial designer Jony Ive is the talk of tech, and has even piqued the interest of normies. THR's Steven Zeitchik wonders if OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman just figured out what AI's been missing? Or did he get locked into the very thinking he's spent his career avoiding? The analysis.
—Released. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the movie armorer convicted in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western movie Rust, was released from a New Mexico prison on Friday after completing an 18-month sentence. Prison records show Gutierrez-Reed signed out of the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants to return home to Bullhead City, Arizona, on parole related to her involuntary manslaughter conviction in the death of Halyna Hutchins in 2021. Gutierrez-Reed also is being supervised under terms of probation after pleading guilty to a separate charge of unlawfully carrying a gun into a licensed liquor establishment. The story.
—Guilty. A Paris court on Friday found the ringleader and seven other people guilty in the 2016-armed robbery of Kim Kardashian, but did not impose any additional time behind bars for their roles in what the U.S. celebrity described as “the most terrifying experience of my life.” The chief judge, David De Pas, said that the defendants’ ages — six are in their 60s and 70s — and their health issues weighed on the court’s decision to impose sentences that he said “aren’t very severe.” He said that the nine years between the robbery and the trial — long even by the standards of France’s famously deliberate legal system — were also taken into account in not imposing harsher sentences. The story. |
'Last of Us' Creators on Finale Death, Ending and S3 Changes ►"This show is going to be a different show every season." THR's James Hibberd spoke to The Last of Us creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckman about the latest episode of the HBO drama. The duo answer several burning questions about that season 2 cliffhanger finale. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
—Let the spinning begin. Disney+ has picked up the hit preschool show CoComelon after Netflix declined to renew its license. Disney+ will have every season of CoComelon starting in 2027. Netflix sources told THR that the streamer chose not to renew due to a decline in viewership. The show has been with Netflix since 2020. Despite airing four new seasons in 2024, the preschool series’ viewership declined by nearly 60 percent from 2023 H1 to 2024 H2, according to the streamer’s reports. However, another source close to negotiations said that Netflix actually put in a bid to renew at a higher price than their current fee, and Disney outbid Netflix. CoComelon will slide easily into children’s programming on Disney+ as it’s already home to other top preschool titles, including Bluey, Spidey and His Amazing Friends and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Netflix will continue to exclusively stream its spinoff Cocomelon Lane, as well as Blippi. The story.
—Let the spinning stop. The Wheel of Time has been canceled after three seasons at Amazon Prime Video. The series, from Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios and based on Robert Jordan’s best-selling series of fantasy novels, aired its third-season finale on April 17. At the time, showrunner Rafe Judkins, who adapted the series for television, addressed the show’s uncertain future in an interview with THR . Judkins said he’d been asking Amazon, “What is the end game for the show? I really want to deliver this full series, so how do we best do that?” He added that he hoped to be able to “finish this story” and spoke about how the season finale included a “lot of place-setting” for the next season, suggesting that Friday’s cancellation news will end things prematurely, though the season three finale did wrap some major storylines. The story. |
'Michael' Moonwalking to 22 Days of Additional Photography ►Headway. Lionsgate and producer Graham King have looked at the man in the mirror and decided he needs some work done. Antoine Fuqua's Michael, the in-flux Michael Jackson biopic, is prepping for a bulky 22-day set of additional photography to be held in June, multiple sources tell THR's Ryan Gajewski and Mia Galuppo . The not-insignificant shoot comes as King, the Jackson Estate and studio partners Lionsgate and Universal are still mulling how to move forward in light of a legal issue, with the movie most likely being split into two parts. The new shoot seems to indicate that headway is being made. The story.
—Feature focus. A24 is shutting down its stand-alone in-house documentary arm, a division that was behind titles like Netflix doc The Deepest Breath and Steve McQueen’s Occupied City. In all, five roles will be impacted by the move. Among those affected is the well-regarded non-fiction exec and producer Nicole Stott, who headed the mini-major’s non-fiction arm. Stott joined the company from Concordia Studio where she served as the co-head of non-fiction, working on Oscar and Emmy-winning titles like Summer of Soul, Boys State and Still: A Michael J. Fox Story. Emily Osborne, who served as head of production and joined A24 from RadicalMedia, was also impacted by the scale-back of the division. The non-fiction team will be staying on long enough to aid in the transition of ongoing projects. The story.
—Hmmm. Ryan Reynolds wants Disney to extend the R-rated success of Deadpool & Wolverine into the Star Wars universe. The actor and producer revealed on an episode of The Box Office podcast that he went to Disney with an idea for Star Wars. “I pitched to Disney, I said, ‘Why don’t we do an R-rated Star Wars property? It doesn’t have to be overt, A+ characters. There’s a wide range of characters you could use.’ And I don’t mean R-rated to be vulgar. R-rated as a Trojan horse for emotion. I always wonder why studios don’t want to just gamble on something like that." The story. |
Marcel Ophuls 1927 - 2025 ►Influential documentarian. Marcel Ophuls, the Oscar-winning, German-born French filmmaker whose powerfully eloquent documentaries confronted difficult political, moral and philosophical issues, has died. He was 97. Ophuls earned his Academy Award — as well as prizes from the Cannes and Berlin film festivals— for Hotel Terminus (1988), a 4-hour, 27-minute documentary that examined the life of the notorious Klaus Barbie, convicted in Bolivia of his Nazi war crimes in 1987. His best known work, however, came almost two decades earlier with The Sorrow and the Pity (1969), which explored the reality of the Nazi occupation in the small industrial French city of Clermont-Ferrand. Sorrow and the Pity struck such a nerve in France that it was not shown in the country until 12 years after it was completed. The obituary.
—Magician. Les Dilley, the Welsh Oscar-winning art director and production designer, has died. He was 84. Dilley died on May 20 due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease, his family said. Hailing from the Rhondda Valley, Dilley worked on 100 film and TV projects over his 60 year career, with his biggest credits being Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, for which he earned Academy Award trophies for best art direction. That brought him on set to work with Hollywood directors like George Lucas, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Irvin Kershner, John Landis and Mimi Leader. Dilley was also nominated for best art direction for Alien, The Empire Strikes Back and The Abyss . In 2020, Dilley was honored with a BAFTA Award for his contribution to British cinema. The obituary.
—Awards show legend. Jeff Margolis, the award-winning TV producer and director of awards shows, has died. He was 78. In all, Margolis directed 22 American Music Awards, eight Oscar ceremonies, seven Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Emmys, three Golden Globes Red Carpet Specials and two Academy of Country Music Awards telecasts. His work also included Richard Pryor: Live in Concert, two Christmas in Rockefeller Center specials and a variety of specials for performers like Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Midler and Cher. In a rich career, he earned two Directors Guild of America Awards for directing the Oscars, six Emmy nominations for helming the Academy Awards between 1991 and 1996, and Emmy wins for the 1995 Oscars and Sammy Davis Jr.’s 60th Anniversary Celebration. The obituary.
—"We know so many of you love him and have been impacted by his life." Phil Robertson, one of the stars of reality TV phenomenon Duck Dynasty, has died. He was 79. His daughter-in-law, Korie Robertson, who is married to Phil’s son Willie, posted the news on Facebook on Sunday. Duck Dynasty became a huge hit when it premiered on A&E in 2012, running for 11 seasons. The reality show, which aired until 2017, followed the Louisiana-based Robertson family. The show was drawing nearly 12m viewers during its peak, becoming the most-watched nonfiction series in cable history, according to A&E. Phil founded Duck Commander, a company that made duck calls and other products. The obituary. |
Jafar Panahi's 'It Was Just an Accident' Wins Cannes Palme d'Or ►🏆 Triple crown complete. 🏆 At the Cannes Film Festival's closing ceremony on Saturday, dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi won the Palme d’Or for best film for It Was Just an Accident. Panahi, who just a few years ago was imprisoned in Tehran and under a 20-year travel and work ban, returned triumphantly to Cannes, accepting his award from jury president Juliette Binoche. Panahi’s film, his first since being released from prison in 2023, is a direct assault on Iran’s authoritarian regime. With his Cannes win, Panahi has now completed the rare festival triple crown, winning the top prize at all three major European film festivals, following his Golden Lion win in Venice for The Circle (2000) and Berlin’s Golden Bear for Taxi (2015). The winners.
—🏆 Félicitations! 🏆 The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, Chilean writer-director Diego Céspedes’ AIDS bigotry drama and feature debut, has claimed the top prize in the Cannes' Un Certain Regard competition. The film, set in the 1980s, portrays a small mining town in Chile where an unknown illness spreads and gay men are accused of transmitting it with their gaze. That leaves Lydia, an 11-year-old girl, to find out the truth. The Un Certain Regard competition winners were revealed in an awards ceremony in the Debussy Theatre on Friday. The story. |
THR Critics' 20 Best Films of Cannes 2025 ►Gay kink, Godard and German girlhood. THR's cadre of critics — David Rooney, Lovia Gyarkye, Jordan Mintzer, Jon Frosch and Sheri Linden — make their annual selection of the best of the Cannes Film Festival. The new Spike Lee joint, an inventive Brazilian political thriller and a Scandinavian family drama spiked with humor were among other standouts from the world's pre-eminent film festival. The selection. |
Film Review: 'Honey Don't!' ►"Gags in search of a film." THR's Lovia Gyarkye reviews Ethan Coen's Honey Don't! In the second installment of Coen and wife Tricia Cooke's planned lesbian B-movie trilogy, a small-town private investigator gets pulled into a conspiracy linked to a local church. Starring Margaret Qualley, Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day and Lera Abova. The review.
—"A war-time coming-of-age tale that's a bit too lovely for its own good." Lovia reviews Fatih Akin's Amrum. In the Head-On director's latest, a 12-year-old boy living on an island off the coast of Germany embarks on a series of adventures to get his mother bread, butter and honey. Starring Jasper Ole Billerbeck, Laura Tonke, Lisa Hagmeister, Diane Kruger, Kian Koppke and Detlev Buck. The review.
—"A catchy anthem that at times rings hollow." Lovia reviews Sebastián Lelio's The Wave. Premiering in Cannes, the latest film from the Chilean director behind A Fantastic Woman and The Wonder is a musical drama inspired by a protest movement that swept Chile in 2018. Starring Daniela López, Lola Bravo, Avril Aurora and Paulina Cortés. The review.
—"A stunning time capsule that’s easier to admire than watch." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Lav Diaz's Magellan. Gael Garcia Bernal plays the famous Portuguese explorer in Diaz's 160-minute feature that depicts the decade of devastation wreaked by European conquistadors in the Pacific. The review.
—"A powerful, well-performed drama that strains credulity." Jordan reviews Saeed Roustaee's Cannes competition selection, Woman and Child. The writer-director behind Leila's Brothers returns to Cannes with a tale of motherhood, mourning and vengeance set in contemporary Tehran. The review.
—"Cinema with a capital ‘C.’" Jordan reviews Bi Gan's Cannes competition selection, Resurrection. The Chinese director's followup to 2018's Long Day’s Journey into Night is a century-spanning movie-tale made in the cinematic style of five different epochs. Starring Jackson Yee, Shu Qi, Mark Chao, Li Gengxi, Huang Jue, Chen Yongzhong, Guo Mucheng and Zhang Zhijian. The review. |
Film Review: 'Mountainhead' ►"Entertaining enough, but very minor." THR's Frank Scheck reviews Jesse Armstrong's Mountainhead. Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Ramy Youssef and Cory Michael Smith star in the Succession creator's film directorial debut, another tale of toxic masculinity and wealth. The review.
—"More visually beguiling than intimately involving." THR's chief film critic David Rooney reviews Carla Simón's Cannes competition selection, Romería. The Catalan writer-director sends an alter ego to the Atlantic coast to meet paternal relatives and fill in gaps about the parents who died when she was a child. Starring Llúcia Garcia, Mitch, Tristán Ulloa, Alberto Gracia, Miryam Gallego, Janet Novás, José Ángel Egido, Marina Troncoso, Sara Casasnovas and Celine Tyll. The review.
—"There will be tears." David reviews Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Cannes competition selection, Young Mothers. The two-time Palme d’Or winners’ latest is an ensemble drama developed out of time spent with teenagers and their babies in a maternal support shelter near Liège. Starring Lucie Laruelle, Babette Verbeek, Elsa Houben, Janaïna Halloy Fokan, Samie Hilmi, Jef Jacobs, Günter Duret, Christelle Cornil, India Hair and Joely Mbundu. The review.
—"An artful exercise in genre reinvention." David reviews Kelly Reichardt's Cannes competition selection, The Mastermind. Josh O’Connor, Alana Haim, Bill Camp and Hope Davis feature in this early ‘70s-set story of an out-of-work carpenter who pulls off a major art theft without thinking it through. The review.
In other news...
—Mandy Walker elected president of American Society of Cinematographers
—Demi Lovato marries Jordan “Jutes” Lutes in California wedding
—Sacha Jenkins, journalist turned documentarian, dies at 54
—Mara Corday, star of Tarantula and lots of westerns, dies at 95
What else we're reading...
—Will Oremus looks at how Elon Musk’s "truth-seeking" AI chatbot Grok lost its way [WaPo]
—Sara Randazzo, Douglas Belkin and Emily Glazer report on Harvard's efforts to fight back against Trump, but how it is also suffering financially [WSJ]
—Andrew Greif reports that Caitlin Clark's impact on the WNBA could eclipse "a billion dollars" [CNBC]
—Amid attacks from Trump, Rolfe Winkler charts Apple CEO Tim Cook’s bad year that just keeps getting worse [WSJ]
—Bill Shapiro pays tribute to Neil Leifer's iconic photograph of Muhammad Ali knocking down Sonny Liston that turns 60 this year [NYT]
Today...
...in 1982, Steven Spielberg unveiled E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial at the Cannes Film Festival. The sci-fi classic would become a summer smash en route to four Oscar wins at the 55th Academy Awards. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Lauryn Hill (50), Pam Grier (76), Lenny Kravitz (61), Alex Garland (55), Helena Bonham Carter (59), Margaret Colin (67), Philip Michael Thomas (76), Tarsem Singh (64), Matt Stone (54), Adam Curtis (70), Astrid Bergès-Frisbey (39), Bobcat Goldthwait (63), Alexander Karim (49), Elisabeth Harnois (46), Elizabeth Tabish (39), Kevin Gage (66), Musetta Vander (62), Genie Francis (63), Lola Flanery (20), Richa Moorjani (36), Oliver Hermanus (42), Julianna Rose Mauriello (34), Selenis Leyva (53), Lisa Niemi (69), Kiran Sonia Sawar (34), Barbara Stock (69), Joe Chrest (62), Rochelle Okoye (40), Georgie Farmer (23), Kerry Ingram (26), Molly-Mae Hague (26), T.J. Ramini (50) |
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