'Kombat' & 'Prada' Box Office Battle; 'Highway To Heaven' Reboot; NYC Film Commissioner Q&A

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View on web New reader? Subscribe SUBSCRIBE. IT'S FREE. 'MORTAL KOMBAT' AND 'PRADA' SEQUELS ARE POTENT BOX OFFICE DUO THIS WEEKEND, THE CONTRASTING FRANCHISES ARE SET FOR DIFFERENT RESULTS STATESIDE VS. OVERSEAS As the theatrical movie business continues its recovery from Covid and the 2023 strikes, this weekend at the summer box office should offer an intriguing case study. As in recent weeks, it is expected to see spinning turnstiles, to a level well above last year’s second frame of the season. The top two movies alone, Mortal Kombat II (with around $40M to $50M) and The Devil Wears Prada 2 (with an estimated second weekend in the low $40Ms) will alone beat the entire marketplace haul from a year ago. Then there’s the third weekend of Lionsgate’s Michael with around $30M. However, when it comes to business outside the U.S. this weekend, Devil Wears Prada 2 will not cede its throne. International is expected to be 52%-58% off from its $156.6M opening with $65M-$75M.  Devil 2's running global cume would be north of $460M on the high end. As far as the No. 2 spot worldwide, it’s a toss-up between Mortal Kombat II and Michael, which could also do an $80M global take. >>>Full Analysis CANNES PREVIEW   EXCLUSIVE Adrien Brody & Rachel Zegler To Lead Karim Aïnouz’s ‘Last Dance’ With Ben Platt Co-Starring & Writing Original Music & ‘Evita’ Star Zegler Singing EXCLUSIVE Scott Free And Gramercy Park Tap Liam Hemsworth To Star In ‘They Like The Dark’, Fortitude Launching Sales At Cannes EXCLUSIVE Priyanka Chopra Jonas & Orlando Bloom To Topline Survival Thriller ‘Reset’ From Matt Smukler; Fortitude International Launching Sales Sophie Thatcher Joins Jennifer Kent’s ‘The Girl Who Was Plugged In’ As Goodfellas Launches Sales EXCLUSIVE Gary Lineker & Jorge Valdano-Narrated Cannes Doc ‘The Match’ About Argentina-England “Hand Of God” Game Sets Sales With Round 12 Exclusive Rocket Science Boards Glassriver’s Debut Feature ‘Dark Ocean’ Doug Liman To Direct ‘Star One’ With Miles Teller & Eddie Redmayne Rooney Mara To Star In ‘Quest For Love’ — Cannes Market Deadline Exclusives & Originals 'Heaven' Sent - Fox has ordered a new take on Michael Landon's Highway To Heaven from writer-producer Jason Katims, Amblin Television and Michael Landon Productions. >>>Contemporary Reimagining It Doesn't End With This - Financial terms of Blake Lively's recent settlement of litigation against Justin Baldoni stemming from the production of It Ends With Us have not officially been revealed. But Deadline has learned from Lively's legal team that they see a chance of a multi-million-dollar payday for her. >>>Ticking Time Bomb 'Apes' To Rise Again - After helping relaunch Marvel’s Fantastic Four franchise, director Matt Shakman and writer Josh Friedman are getting a shot at more high-profile IP. Shakman is set to direct an untitled Planet of the Apes movie at 20th Century, with Friedman penning the script. >>>New Original Story Oscar Isaac, Netflix & Vegas - Following the success of Frankenstein and Beef, Oscar Isaac and Netflix are going all in. Sources tell Deadline Isaac is in final negotiations to star in the untitled Vegas series from Brian Koppelman and David Levien. >>>First-Look Deal In Works Hulu Passes On Berlanti Pilot - Hulu has passed on YA drama pilot Foster Dade from Greg Berlanti, Bash Doran, Warner Bros. Television and studio-based Berlanti Productions. The project already is being shopped to other platforms. >>>Warners High On Project   THE DEADLINE INTERVIEW New NYC Film Commissioner Rafael Espinal Is Wooing Wary Financiers & Frustrated Filmmakers; What’s His Plan? New York City’s ambitious administration led by Mayor Zohran Mamdani has a new Film Commissioner in the mold — youthful, aspirational and goal-oriented. Brooklyn-born and raised Rafael Espinal, 41, a Queens College graduate in English and film studies, became New York’s youngest elected official at age 26 when he joined the State Assembly in 2011. Now he runs the 100-person Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) where he’s focused on investing in talent; supporting production; creating jobs; and building an economy where artists, storytellers and creative professionals can thrive. He sat down with Deadline to chat about what he’s finding, what he’s doing, and his swerve from NYU film school to politics. >>>Q&A RENEWALS, CANCELLATIONS & PICKUPS ‘Saturday Night Live UK' Renewed For Season 2 At Sky ‘Harry Potter’ Renewed For Season 2 By HBO Ahead Of Premiere; Jon Brown Upped To Co-Showrunner James Marsden Stars In ‘Disavowed’ Thriller Series Ordered By Apple TV ‘When Calls The Heart’ Prequel ‘Hope Valley: 1874’ Renewed For Season 2 At Hallmark+   CASTING ABOUT Exclusive After taking his time in figuring out what his next original feature would be, Ari Aster looks to have not only zeroed in on that project but found a star in Scarlett Johansson. Aster is directing Scapegoat from a script he penned.   Exclusive Matthew Lillard continues to build on what has already been a busy year as sources tell Deadline he is set to join the Superman sequel Man Of Tomorrow from DC Studios. James Gunn is directing, producing and penned the script, with David Corenswet back as the Man of Steel.   Exclusive Oscar winner Brendan Fraser is starring in the cosmic sci-fi thriller Starman from Emmy-winning writer and director Josh Wakely.   Exclusive Prime Video's Scarpetta has assembled the new cast additions for Season 2, which started production last month in Nashville. David Arquette, Jodi Balfour (For All Mankind), William Zabka (Cobra Kai), Stella Baker (The Republic of Sarah), Kim Dickens (Deadwood), Troy Garity (Barbershop), Jerod Haynes (The Greatest), Michael “Killer Mike” Render (The Lowdown) and Holland Taylor (The Morning Show) will recur in the new installment of the forensic crime thriller from Blumhouse Television. DEVELOPMENT   EXCLUSIVE Mandy Moore To Executive Produce & Potentially Star In IVF Series In Works At HBO Max   EXCLUSIVE Amazon MGM Developing ‘Windy City’ Series From Alison McDonald Based On Book Series By Liz Tomforde   EXCLUSIVE ‘Hocus Pocus 3’ In Works With Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker & Kathy Najimy Back QUOTABLE "I loved Ted with all my heart" - Jane Fonda, remembering friend and former husband Ted Turner MORE NEWS 📺 ABC's flagship series High Potential has found a new showrunner — and it’s a duo. Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, who ran the breakout first season of Poker Face, have been named executive producers and showrunners of the hit crime drama starring Kaitlin Olson ahead of its upcoming third season.  📈 HBO Max, which has zigged and zagged more than most streaming services since its delayed launch in 2020, has regained some traction and will hit 150 million subscribers by the end of 2026, parent Warner Bros. Discovery said Wednesday. 🤝 Amazon MX Player is being integrated into larger sibling Prime Video in India, which Amazon claims will form the country’s largest streaming service. The merger puts Prime Video further in competition with JioHotstar, the Reliance Industries- and Disney-run streamer that is currently the market leader. BY THE NUMBERS $2.9B - Q1 loss for WBD, due in part to charges related to its pending merger with Paramount HIRINGS, PROMOTIONS & EXITS   Exclusive Alex Walton Exiting WME Independent To Form New Venture As Agency Label Drops International Film Sales   Exclusive Buchwald Launches Creator Division, Hires Agents Mia Conte And Michael Del Moral   Exclusive Curtis Brown CFO Exiting After A Decade ON THE RADAR Thu - Grey's Anatomy finale; Dave Chappelle at the Hollywood Palladium; Keith Richards on Fallon Sat - Apple x Deadline Casting Panel; WNBA season tips off Mon - Upfronts begin; Webby Awards Tue - Cannes Opening Ceremony Wed - YouTube Brandcast closes out upfronts; Dutton Ranch debuts PHOTO OF THE DAY Wish That You Were Her - Sophie Rose performs “Wish That You Were Me” from Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building  at the Deadline Sound & Screen: Television 2026 event held at UCLA Royce Hall. This email was sent to punjabsvera@gmail.com by Deadline. 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