Why 'Smashing Machine' Crashed; Paramount+ Buys Kidman-Fanning Series; Anthony Zuiker Q&A

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View on web New reader? Subscribe SUBSCRIBE. IT'S FREE. HOW 'THE SMASHING MACHINE' WENT DOWN FOR THE COUNT DESPITE DWAYNE JOHNSON'S B.O. MUSCLE, THE FILM TURNED IN THE STAR'S LOWEST OPENING TO DATE WWE legend Dwayne Johnson learned about his Achilles heel at the box office after his R-rated drama The Smashing Machine hit the mat last weekend. Its $5.9M U.S. debut marks the blockbuster star's lowest opening ever. It's a blow made tougher given the story of UFC champ Mark Kerr was a passion project of Johnson's. What's more, there truly seemed to be an awards glow on The Smashing Machine coming out of its Venice Film Festival world premiere after its 15 1/2 minute standing ovation. The reception left Johnson in tears, Benny Safdie with a Silver Lion and the film with a 73% Rotten Tomatoes "certified fresh" score from critics. Despite all of those positives, it's never a good sign when a movie plummets from its initial opening-weekend projections. Three weeks ago, The Smashing Machine was forecast to be one of A24's highest openings ever, in the high teens to $20M range. >>>What Went Wrong Related: Dwayne Johnson On ‘Smashing Machine’s Opening: “You Can’t Control Box Office Results" Deadline Exclusives & Originals Paramount+ Makes A Statement - Cindy Holland and her team have officially announced themselves to the TV marketplace by scooping up a big package with a big commitment in a big bidding war. In the first official greenlight for Paramount+ since its parent company merged with Skydance, the streamer has given a straight-to-series order to Discretion. The legal thriller from A24 is written and executive produced by The Husbands author Chandler Baker and has Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning starring and executive producing.  >>> 7 Rival Offers Ari Melber Q&A - As anxieties run high throughout the media business, MSNBC's Ari Melber sees the positives in the channel’s pending spinoff from Comcast, meaning that NBC News no longer will be a sister organization. “We always had great advantages from collaborating with a network,” Melber said. “Now we’re completely independent." >>>"Idols Become Rivals" 'Clue' Competition Series In The Works At Netflix Jafar Panahi May Be Stateside Soon For NYFF Love, Academy Screening & Theatrical Release Of His Palme D’Or Winner ‘It Was Just An Accident’ ‘Red Alert’ EP Lawrence Bender On Oct. 7 Miniseries, David Ellison & Cindy Holland’s Support, Quentin Tarantino, & “A New Chapter In My Life” THE DEADLINE INTERVIEW ‘CSI’ At 25: Creator Anthony Zuiker On His Favorite Episodes, What New Spinoffs He Would Do, ‘Vegas’ Cancellation & ‘Quiet Tenant’ Status Twenty five years ago this week, CSI premiered on CBS, launching one of the most successful TV franchises in history. It was a low-key start for the crime drama in the low-profile Friday 9 p.m. time period behind a series remake of The Fugitive with no watch party for the premiere. Early the following morning, Zuiker called a phone number to get the “fast national” ratings. He had been told that if CSI retained 75% of The Fugitive's ratings, they’d be “considered a quasi hit.” Instead, the little known show surpassed its lead-in as it would continue to do in the following weeks. The Fugitive would be canceled after one season; CSI ran for 15 seasons. Here, Zuiker talks about the show's long road to "yes," which included a stalwart stand from star William Petersen, a doubtful Les Moonves and multiple miracles.  >>>Read The Interview      Quotable   "It’s dumb" -  Zelda Williams on people sending her AI-generated videos of her late father, Robin Williams CASTING ABOUT Exclusive Emily Deschanel (Bones) is set to star opposite Amelia Brantley in Monkey Bread, an indie marking Brantley’s feature directorial debut, which she also scripted.   Beyond the Gates creator Michele Val Jean promised Deadline in July that a “hot male” was about to join the action in her leafy Maryland suburb. She kept her word: Greg Vaughan is joining the CBS sudser in a mystery role later this season.   EXCLUSIVE Jonathan Tucker has joined MGM+'s American Hostage, starring Jon Hamm and Giovanni Ribisi, in a heavily recurring role. Tucker will play FBI Special Agent Cormac McNally, a criminal profiler with the Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI.              DEVELOPMENT Exclusive Hello Sunshine Co-Developing Mattel & Amazon MGM Studios’ ‘Polly Pocket’ Lily Collins Movie StudioCanal Developing TV Series Based On Kids’ Crime Capers ‘Murder Most Unladylike’ MORE NEWS 🤖 Studios are collectively calling out OpenAI over Sora 2 for generating characters that infringe on their copyrights. In a statement, MPA Chairman Charles Rivkin said, "OpenAI needs to take immediate and decisive action to address this issue. Well-established copyright law safeguards the rights of creators and applies here.” 📽️ Timothée Chalamet and director Josh Safdie world premiered their new movie, Marty Supreme, at the New York Film Festival on Monday to the surprise of the crowd. ⚖️ The alleged victim in an altercation early Saturday morning in which Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez was stabbed has filed a civil suit against Sanchez and Fox Sports’ parent company Fox Corporation. Prosecutors also added a felony battery charge to three misdemeanors against Sanchez for the incident. HIRINGS, PROMOTIONS & EXITS   Shannon Buck Joins Paramount As Head of Communications & PR For Direct To Consumer EXCLUSIVE AGI Entertainment Media & Management Hires Josh Bider To Lead New Los Angeles Office As EVP OBITUARIES 🕯️ Ken Jacobs, the avant-garde filmmaker known for using found footage and experimental techniques during a career spanning more than 65 years, died Sunday. He was 92.  🕯️ Ben Lewis, the Australian actor who played the title role in The Phantom of the Opera in London’s West End, died of bowel cancer in Sydney. He was 46. 🕯️  John Woodvine, the prolific, Olivier Award-winning British stage actor who appeared in more than 70 stage productions at the Old Vic, the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company and made memorable turns in An American Werewolf in London and The Crown, has died. He was 96. 🕯️ 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery ON THE RADAR Tue - Jennifer Lopez on Fallon Thu - Infinity Festival Hollywood kicks off; David Ellison interviewed at Bloomberg ScreenTime Sat - Deadline Contenders Film: London; MSNBC Live ’25 event PHOTO OF THE DAY 'Kiss' And Make Up - Ben Affleck joined ex Jennifer Lopez on the red carpet of their new film, Kiss of the Spider Woman. This email was sent to punjabsvera@gmail.com by Deadline. Please add email@email.deadline.com to your address book to ensure delivery to your inbox. 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