| | | | | | | THREE WEEKS OUT, NEW LINE FRANCHISE FINALE EYES $35M-PLUS |
September won’t have a massive tentpole à la last year’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which opened to $111M, but something is brewing in New Line’s finale The Conjuring: Last Rites. The horror pic hit three-week tracking Thursday morning at $35M to $40M ahead of its September 5 bow.
Warner Bros has largely owned the post-Labor Day box office frame with a big scary movie since debuting It: Chapter One to the world with $123.4M back in 2017; It remains September's biggest opening ever. The following year, in the same exact frame, the studio debuted The Nun, which still owns the biggest opening in The Conjuring franchise with $53.8M.
While The Nun II faced headwinds from the 2023 actors and writers strikes (which prevented talent from publicizing the movie), it opened to $32.6M and ended its domestic run at $83.2M. The Devil Made Me Do It saw its gross potential hampered by Warner Bros' theatrical day-and-date pandemic-era HBO Max experiment, with that pic bowing to $24.1M in the U.S. and Canada and finaling at $65.6M. With Last Rites being a full-bodied theatrical release, it's a moment for a The Conjuring sequel to return its grosses back to their full potential. >>>Tracking Solid Among Women |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
Jessica Alba Means Business - Jessica Alba’s Lady Metalmark Entertainment has closed a deal with Netflix for an untitled R-rated female ensemble comedy, in which she’ll star and produce alongside partner Tracey Nyberg. The project stems from an original pitch inspired by business retreats that Alba has attended over the years as an entrepreneur. >>>Absurdities Of Business Culture
The Road Forward - The Toronto Film Festival said Thursday that it will invite to its 50th edition Barry Avrich‘s October 7th documentary The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, two days after organizers rescinded their invitation for it to appear in the documentary lineup of this year’s festival. >>>Joint Statement
Turbulance For 'Top Gun' Sequel - Newly minted Paramount CEO David Ellison has emphasized that Top Gun 3 is a priority for the regime. Well, the sequel may be getting ready for take-off, but there’s a new counterclaim this week in the legal dogfight with self-declared co-screenwriter Shaun Gray over the Oscar-nominated script for the 2022 blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, which has grossed $1.5B and counting. >>> Cousin's Claim
Ad Council Steps Into the Breach - For the first time in its 80 years of existence, the non-profit Ad Council is branching beyond its impactful public service spots into long-form storytelling. The Ad Council has formed Ad Council Entertainment in partnership with Sugar23, the media company founded by Michael Sugar, producer of Spotlight and 13 Reasons Why. >>>Looking To Fill A Void
Levantine Films Rebrands - Independent studio Levantine Films will now be known as August Night. The first project slated for release under the banner is Maude Apatow’s feature directorial debut, Poetic License, which is making its world premiere at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. >>>Looking To Diversify Content |
Carrie Bradshaw’s second chapter in the Big City finally came to an end yesterday, with the Sarah Jessica Parker character realizing that marriage wasn’t in the cards, and it was more than okay to have an absurdly large brownstone all to herself.
Carrie’s circle of friends also received some tidy goodbyes, though Cynthia Nixon’s Miranda had to wade through literal shit (way to drop it like it’s hot, Epcot) after having to accept that her son Brady was about to become a dad.
Here, And Just Like That co-creator Michael Patrick King reflects on the comedy’s final season, why Miranda was required to do extra clean-up duty, and whether another movie is in the cards for Carrie and her clan. >>>Q&A
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ExclusiveIt appears Baz Luhrmann has found the title heroine for his Warner Bros epic Jehanne d’Arc. Deadline hears he’s in early talks with Isla Johnston to play Joan of Arc. You might remember her from The Queen’s Gambit, where she played the younger version of the Beth Harmon character that was a breakout role for Anya Taylor-Joy.
ExclusiveMaggie Grace, Devon Sawa, Emmy winner Tiffany Haddish and Ralph Macchio have signed on to star in an indie crime thriller titled The Girl in the River. exclusiveScott Bakula will star opposite Ariana DeBose in this fall’s Off Broadway presentation of the storied musical The Baker’s Wife, producer Classic Stage Company announced today.
ExclusiveMunya Chawawa and Bridgerton star Charithra Chandran have been cast in Schooled, the Channel 4 comedy inspired by creator Delia-René Donaldson’s experience in pastoral care at a London academy.
Brie Larson, Lily Collins, Jack Quaid and Henry Golding are set to star in Close Personal Friends from Amazon MGM Studios. Jason Orley is directing.
Leila George is set to join Jake Gyllenhaal in the upcoming sequel to Amazon MGM Studios’ reboot of Road House. Dave Bautista also recently joined the cast of the pic, which Ilya Naishuller is directing. |
by the numbers 5M - Tally of cross-platform viewers in the first 3 days of availability for 'The Gilded Age' Season 3 |
MORE NEWS
✂️ PBS plans to cut its budget by 21% as public media faces the loss of $1.1 billion in federal funding over the next two fiscal years.
⛰️ Paramount is making more splashy deals following Skydance’s acquisition. Deadline is told that Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer are in talks for a massive overall deal at the David Ellison-run media company, which just shelled out in the range of $9 billion for UFC fights and South Park.
💰 Netflix said it has closed its U.S. upfront ad sales process, doubling the prior year’s level of commitments by buyers and again selling out its two Christmas Day NFL games.
✍🏼 Mubi CEO Efe Cakarel has published what he has described as an open letter to the filmmaking community in response to the mounting public criticism of his company’s ties to the private equity firm Sequoia Capital. |
ON THE RADAR
Fri - The Rainmaker series premiere on USA Network
Sun - Deadline Contenders @ HBO Max event
Tues - Edinburgh TV Festival begins
Thu - Peacemaker S2 premiere on HBO Max |
Thursday Night Movie Club - Chris Columbus, Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Ellis and Ben Kingsley at last night's special screening of The Thursday Murder Club in New York. |
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