Maleficent: Mistress of Evil didn’t set the world on fire with just $36 million, but it was enough to beat Joker (#2, $29.2 million) at the top spot at the box office. Newcomer Zombieland 2: Double Tap came in at #3 with $26.7 million. Here’s the top 10:
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil– The $36 million figure may have disappointed, but internationally it made over $117 million!
Joker – Joaquin Phoenix is definitely having the last laugh with a $29.2 million showing.
Zombieland 2: Double Tap – Budgeted at $42 million, this flick debuted at $26.7 million and is bound to turn Sony a solid profit.
The Addams Family– Comedy checks in with $16 million.
Gemini Man – Will Smith’s latest collects $8 .5 million.
Abominable – Animated film is doing just fine with $3.5 million.
Downton Abbey – Drama rakes in another $3 million.
Judy – Biopic on Judy Garland makes $2 million.
Hustlers– Jennifer Lopez feature is still hanging on with $2 million.
It: Chapter Two – Horror movie takes in $1.5 million and it has made over $209 million stateside to date.
The new anthology series Modern Love explores the different aspects of love and how they influence a wide array of characters. Cristin Milioti’s episode, “When The Doorman Is Your Main Man,” centers on Maggie (Milioti), a woman who, while enduring her share of romantic travails, finds unconditional support from her doorman Guzmin (Laurentiu Possa).
“I think anything that can help promote people feeling less isolated, and less shame, and less alone, and a little more open hearted and understanding of each other,” said Milioti on the themes behind Modern Love. “And that promotes all the different types of love there are and that they should all be accepted, I think the better.”
Click on the media bar to hear about the “kindred connections” that are part of the fabric of Modern Love, a show based on the New York Times column of the same name:
Modern Love, co-starring Anne Hathaway, is now streaming on Prime Video.
New Amsterdam was one of last season’s breakout hits, and the medical drama hasn’t disappointed in its sophomore season. The show’s idealistic plotlines and realistic relationships have connected with viewers, and one of the show’s stars, Anupam Kher, feels like New Amsterdam’s ride is just getting started. (Click on the media bar below to hear Anupam Kher)
As writer and director of the movie, Taika Waititi had a very specific vision for his unique World War II comedyJojo Rabbit. That vision served him well, from the quirky screenplay to the inspired casting of Scarlett Johansson as young Jojo’s mother. When we spoke to Waititi, he told us he wanted an actress who was a mother herself, and Johansson brought a real sense of maternal love and compassion to the role. (Click on the media bar below to hear Taika Waititi)
After 10 years, the Zombieland gang’s all back together for the sequel, Zombieland: Double Tap. The original film’s stars — Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, and Woody Harrelson — have all reunited for the new movie. Harrelson told us he wouldn’t have had it any other way. In fact, he thinks everybody looked at a sequel as an “all or nothing” proposition. (Click on the media bar below to hear Woody Harrelson)
Zombieland: Double Tap is playing now in theaters.
The Karate Kid had a great run. After the original 1984 movie, there were two sequels with the original stars, a reboot with Hilary Swank as The Next Karate Kid, and a second reboot produced by Will Smith as a vehicle for his son Jaden. Nobody expected the original cast to come roaring back with a popular new series, but Cobra Kai is now shooting its third season. Ralph Macchio, who starred in the first three films and has returned for Cobra Kai still finds it hard to believe that so many new fans have jumped aboard the Karate Kid fan wagon. (Click on the media bar below to hear Ralph Macchio)
Look for Season 3 of Cobra Kai to premiere next year on YouTube.
The very definition of the word “maleficent” is “doing evil or harm.” Surely that’s not how Angelina Jolie views herself, right? Well, that might be a stretch, but after playing the role of Maleficent in two films, Jolie does say she feels right at home in the character’s skin. (Click on the media bar below to hear Angelina Jolie)
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is playing now in theaters.
Television was much easier in the days before the Internet. If people didn’t like the way a show was going — or the way it ended — it was very difficult to make those views known beyond their circle of friends. But now, with blogs and comment sections, literally everybody’s a critic. Consider the fact that there’s a group of vocal fans who’ve launched a petition aimed at getting HBO to redo the final season of Game of Thrones in a way more to their liking. After many fans savaged the Lost finale, Damon Lindelof knows what it’s like to feel the wrath of the Internet. Now he’s back with another new polarizing series, a reboot of Watchmen,and we asked him how much he would be willing to bend to fan pressure when making the show. (Click on the media bar below to hear Damon Lindelof)
For writer/director Rian Johnson, Knives Out was a pet project that was many, many years in the making. Once he’d finally earned the Hollywood capital to get the movie greenlit, he had no problem getting plenty of big stars to get on board, including Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer, and Jamie Lee Curtis. For her part, Curtis says she was really attracted to the unique way in which Johnson was handling a well-worn cinematic genre. (Click on the media bar below to hear Jamie Lee Curtis)
It’s extremely rare when a spinoff of a successful television show actually outlasts the original show. In fact, only two come to mind: The Jeffersons (11 seasons) outlasted All in the Family by two seasons, and now, Law & Order: SVU has one season more than the incredible 20-season run of Law & Order. SVU wouldn’t have lasted this long if its stories hadn’t stayed relevant all these years; when we talked with Ice-T (who joined the show in its second season), he listed a number of factors that he believes have contributed to the show’s incredible longevity. (Click on the media bar below to hear Ice-T)
