Month: February 2023

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania led the domestic box office with a $32.2 million, despite suffering one of the worst second-week declines in recent years with a 70% drop from its stellar $105.5 million opening weekend. The Marvel film fell behind every other comparable in its second-weekend performance: 2015’s Ant-Man dropped 56% in its sophomore week, while 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp fell 62% at the same point.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania fell further behind in its second frame than other Marvel titles including Thor: Love and Thunder (-68%), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (-67%), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (-63%).

Universal’s Cocaine Bear took second place with $23 million from 3,534 screens in its opening weekend. The horror-comedy surpassed expectations thanks to social media buzz created by Universal’s marketing campaign. Lionsgate’s Jesus Revolution brought in $15.52 million from 2,475 sites in its theatrical debut, with the film scoring an A+ CinemaScore rating.  Finally Avatar: The Way of Water finished in fourth place with $4.7 million from 2,495 locations in its eleventh weekend in release, brining its total to $664 million domestically . Avatar: The Way of Water is now the third highest-grossing film of all time globally with a worldwide total of $2.26 billion.

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The Emmy-winning HBO drama ‘Succession‘ will end with Season 4.  Creator and showrunner Jesse Armstrong confirmed that the upcoming fourth season will be its final run on the premium cable network. ‘Succession‘ earned the Emmy Award for best drama series for both its second and third seasons. The cast includes Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Nicholas Braun, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen and Sarah Snook, who have collected numerous wins among them.

Armstrong told the New Yorker that “there’s a promise in the title of Succession. I’ve never thought this could go on forever. The end has always been kind of present in my mind. From season two, I’ve been trying to think: Is it the next one, or the one after that, or is it the one after that?  I got together with a few of my fellow writers before we started the writing of season four, in about November, December, 2021, and I sort of said, ‘Look, I think this maybe should be it. But what do you think?’ And we played out various scenarios: We could do a couple of short seasons, or two more seasons. Or we could go on for ages and turn the show into something rather different, and be a more rangy, freewheeling kind of fun show, where there would be good weeks and bad weeks. Or we could do something a bit more muscular and complete, and go out sort of strong. And that was definitely always my preference.”

Armstrong then added: “I feel deeply conflicted. I quite enjoy this period when we’re editing — where the whole season is there — but we haven’t put it out yet. I like the interregnum. And I also quite liked the period where me and my close collaborators knew that this was probably it, or this was it, but hadn’t had to face up to it in the world. It’s been a difficult decision, because the collaborations — with the cast, with my fellow writers, with Nick Britell and Mark Mylod and the other directors — they’ve just been so good. And I feel like I’ve done the best work I can do, working with them. And HBO has been generous and would probably have done more seasons, and they have been nice about saying, ‘It’s your decision.’ That’s nice, but it’s also a responsibility in the end — it feels quite perverse to stop doing it.”

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The 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards were held on Sunday, steaming on Netflix’s YouTube channel, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

The film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” walked away as the big winner of the evening – breaking records to become the biggest film winner in the history of the SAGs by sweeping nearly every category. Brendan Fraser earned best actor honors for his work in “The Whale,” while ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ co-stars Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan won for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor in a Movie, respectively.

In the television categories, the sitcom “Abbott Elementary” won the best TV comedy ensemble statue, while “The White Lotus” took home the best TV drama ensemble honor. Ozark’s Jason Bateman won for Best Actor in a Drama Series, and Jennifer Coolidge won Best Actress in a Drama Series for The White Lotus. Jean Smart earned the trophy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks and Jeremy Allen White earned the honor for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for The Bear. Jessica Chastain won the statuette for Best Actress in a TV Movie or Limited Series for George & Tammy and Sam Elliott was named Best Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series for 1883.

Andrew Garfield presented the ‘SAG Life Achievement Award’ to his ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ co-star Sally Field. Field earned nine SAG nominations throughout her career and won one for outstanding performance in a drama series in 2009 for “Brothers & Sisters.”

For the full list of winners, head to www.sagawards.org.

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ABC’s “The Goldbergs” is ending after 10 seasons. The finale for Season 10 is set to air on May 3, and will also serve as the series finale. Series creator Adam F. Goldberg loosely based ‘The Goldbergs’ on his own childhood in the 1980s, with the cast of the show comprised of Wendi McLendon-Covey, Sean Giambrone, Troy Gentile, Hayley Orrantia, and Sam Lerner, with Patton Oswalt serving as the narrator.

‘The Goldbergs’ is currently the longest-running live-action network comedy on the air, but has dealt with controversies over the past few years. George Segal, who starred as Albert “Pops” Solomon on the show, passed away in early 2021, and series star Jeff Garlin exited the show later that same year following an HR misconduct investigation.

Series star and executive producer McLendon-Covey said in a statement: “It’s been an honor to be part of ‘The Goldbergs’ for the last decade. I’m really proud of what we accomplished with the show, and I’m so lucky to have had such a rewarding experience. I will miss my TV family and every last crew member. Thanks to our brilliant writers for giving us thoughtful story arcs year after year, and for being so collaborative. Thanks to the best EPs in the business. And thanks to all our fans (the Goldnerds) for being so sweet and supportive. My heart is full…But I definitely hope I never see another pair of shoulder pads for the rest of my life.”

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Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison Thursday for a rape conviction in Los Angeles. The 70-year-old Weinstein was convicted in the Los Angeles case in December, three years after he was convicted at a sex crimes trial in New York City. Weinstein’s new sentence will run consecutive with the 23-year term given to him in his New York trial, giving him a total of 39 years behind bars in sex crimes convictions.

A jury found Weinstein guilty of three counts in the L.A. case, related to the accuser known as Jane Doe 1: ‘forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by foreign object.’  The jury found him not guilty of sexual battery by restraint involving a second accuser, identified as Jane Doe 2, and was unable to reach verdicts for allegations involving Jane Doe 3 and Jane Doe 4. Appearing in a wheelchair and a gray county jail uniform, Weinstein was allowed to speak during the hearing, where he proclaimed his innocence, accusing Jane Doe 1 of being an “actress” who can “turn on” her tears: “Please don’t sentence me to life in prison. I don’t deserve it. There are so many things wrong with this case. … This is a setup.”

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has said that Weinstein faced up to 24 years in the Los Angeles case. Weinstein’s legal team filed an appeal requesting a new trial, alleging that evidence was excluded about a romantic relationship between Jane Doe 1 and a witness that could have altered the jury’s decision. Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench denied Weinstein’s request for a new trial.

Weinstein was convicted in New York in 2020 of third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual act for crimes against two women. Weinstein pleaded not guilty at both trials and has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex. In both trials, Weinstein waived his right to take the witness stand.

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com