| WHILE THE PROJECTION MAY BE THE LOWEST EVER FOR A 'STAR WARS' MOVIE, IT'S STILL A HEALTHY HAUL |
Lucasfilm/Disney’s first Star Wars movie in seven years, The Mandalorian and Grogu, arrived on tracking in what looks to be an $80 million-plus four-day start over the U.S. Memorial Day weekend.
While that’s not the $100M+ opening to which we’re accustomed for a Star Wars movie, note that it’s still early in the campaign, and though it currently skews toward men over 25, Disney’s plan is to attract more families heading into the pic’s May 22 opening. On May 4, aka Star Wars day, Imax auditoriums will show off the first 19 minutes of the Jon Favreau-directed movie. He co-wrote and produced the pic with Dave Filoni. >>>Still Has Time To Build |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
Missing Oscar Found - Lufthansa says it has found the Oscar that went missing after filmmaker Pasha Talankin was told he couldn’t bring his statuette onto a flight from JFK in New York to Frankfurt, Germany. (He won it for Mr. Nobody Against Putin.) The airline tells Deadline, “We can confirm that the Oscar statue has now been located and is safely in our care in Frankfurt. We are in direct contact with the guest to arrange its personal return as quickly as possible. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and have apologized to the owner.” >>> "They Lost It"
From Stunts To The Stage - David Holmes, Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter stunt double and close friend, has turned the story of his tragic accident during stunt tests for Deathly Hallows: Part One that left him paralyzed from the waist down into a stage play. >>>Baz Bamigboye's Column
Can Amazon Stomach 'The Apprentice, Jr.'? — If Donald Trump Jr. were to host The Apprentice, it would be a test of the cordial relationship between Amazon’s Bezos and the Trump Clan. For example, how would the streamer have responded to Don Jr’s post about the near-fatal 2022 home invasion attack on Paul Pelosi? Trump Jr. posted and image of a pair of underwear and a hammer, expressing that he had found his Paul Pelosi Halloween costume. >>> Mike Fleming's Take
Alba Signs With CAA - Jessica Alba has inked with CAA. Over the course of her career she has appeared in more than 25 features, exec produces movies and TV and founded The Honest Company in 2012, becoming the youngest Latina to take a company public with its IPO. >>>Olympics Role
Deadline’s Reality TV Summit: The Lineup - The full lineup has been set with Andy Cohen kicking things off with a keynote Q&A. See the full lineup below, which includes executives from all the major streamers, broadcasters and cable networks as well as top-tier talent and producers. >>>List
AF Targets A-List - As production in Europe continues to grow at a rapid pace, AF Films is emerging as one of Spain’s most ambitious new players. In just five years, the Madrid-based banner has built itself into a fully-fledged indie studio with a Spanish distribution label and two soundstages on the incredibly tax-friendly Canary Islands. >>>International Disruptor
Pope Speaks Out - The entrance of American streamers into the factual drama space has muddied the waters in terms of defining a show's success, according to Jeff Pope, the British writer behind last year's Disney+ series Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. >>>Production Economies Changing |
Jeff Blackburn had a prolific 24-year run at Amazon, helping create and build Prime Video, Amazon Studios, Amazon Music and leading the company’s push into advertising. Prior to the “everything store,” though, he was a former high school tennis standout who came to recognize that a passion for the sport and the long hours required by a famously hard-driving tech culture were incompatible.
The exec’s personal and professional backgrounds officially fused last year when he was named CEO of the Tennis Channel by Sinclair, which paid $350 million to acquire it in 2016. After dropping tennis in order to play linebacker on Dartmouth’s football team, Blackburn “gave up the racket,” as he puts it, for 25 years. “I missed it so much, but was working so hard,” he recalls. After rediscovering the sport while still at Amazon, he now plays competitive team matches. “I go out there and battle on the weekends,” he says with a grin.
Blackburn’s arrival has coincided with an upswing in ratings and streaming signups. The spring season has been the most-watched in company history. >>>Read The Interview |
QUOTABLE
"Shame on you" - Wasp actress Evangeline Lilly blasting Disney after the visual department layoffs at Marvel
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ExclusiveAmazon MGM Studios has been quietly casting the second installment of the college-set romantic drama series Off Campus. India Fowler has been tapped for the series regular role of Grace Ivers, the love interest to Antonio Cipriano's John Logan. Philipa Soo is set to recur as Scarlett.
ExclusiveCurry Barker's next movie Anything But Ghosts continues to expand its cast, this time with M3GAN franchise and Thunderbolts* actress Violet McGraw.
ExclusiveJacob Martinez has been tapped to join Days of Our Lives in the role of Javier “Javi” Hernández. The role of Javi was portrayed by Al Calderon, who left the Peacock sudser to join NBC’s Brilliant Minds.
ExclusiveRivals star Alex Hassell and Contagion's Jennifer Ehle have joined the cast of First Woman, the ITV lunar thriller series.
ExclusiveÉanna Hardwicke (A Very Royal Scandal) has landed a role alongside Channing Tatum and Eve Hewson in Isle of Man, Amazon MGM Studios‘ film based on the motorsports event of the same name. |
BY THE NUMBERS
$111.2B - Apple's Q2 revenue, beating Wall Street forecasts for three months ended in March
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MORE NEWS
⚖️ In a 46-page complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, Pamela Faust, Len Marazzo, Lisa McCarthy, Deborah Rubinsohn and Gary Talewsky aim to stop the $111 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. merger that has been greenlighted by the Trump administration.
🏆 Andre Bishop, artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater from 1992 to 2025; pioneering Broadway lighting designer Jules Fisher; and playwright, director and frequent Stephen Sondheim collaborator James Lapine will be this year’s recipients of the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.
✍️ Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton released his five-point plan to revive California's sagging film and television industry, noting, “The lights are literally going out in Hollywood.”
🔎 Charles Collier, Rebel Wilson's former UK agent, has offered a frank assessment of the legal mess that has engulfed The Deb in evidence to a trial in Australia. Appearing via video link from the UK, Collier described the proceedings as a “car crash” resulting from a clash of personalities on the independent film, which is Wilson’s directorial debut.
⛳ LIV Golf has confirmed it is seeking “secure long-term financial partners” as part of a major restructure, with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund set to withdraw funding.
😎 SXSW is returning to London’s East End for its second UK edition. Deadline managed to pull the Director of Programming, Katy Arnander, away from the rigors of getting the 2026 festival in shape for a deeper dive on what to expect and how the team plans to put SXSW London on the map. |
| ON THE RADAR
Fri - Deadline Reality TV Summit; Gavin Newsom on Maher
Sat - Kentucky Derby; Olivia Rodrigo hosts SNL; Aimee Lou Wood hosts SNL UK
Mon - Paramount earnings; The Met Gala; Netflix is a Joke Fest begins
Tue - Tony noms; Obama on Colbert
Wed - Sound & Screen Television; Disney earnings
Thu - Grey's Anatomy finale; Dave Chappelle at the Hollywood Palladium
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Star Attraction - Dwayne Johnson, Robert Downey Jr., Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep and Matt Damon attend the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony celebrating Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci |
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