What's news: Toy Story 5 passes $1b at the box office. A pirated copy of The Odyssey was briefly posted on X. Wendy Williams has settled a lawsuit against A+E Networks. AMC has renewed Interview With the Vampire. And David Jonsson will be the new Black Panther and Ryan Gosling the new Ghost Rider. — Abid Rahman
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'The Odyssey' Sails Past $600M Globally
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►Defy the odds. The Odyssey’s box office journey is not slowing down as it sailed past $600m globally this weekend. After notching $123.5m domestically last weekend, the Christopher Nolan epic brought in another $87m at the domestic box office. That’s a decline of just 30 percent, an extremely good hold for a blockbuster. In terms of holds, that’s the third best ever for a film that opened to more than $100m, behind only Wicked and Top Gun: Maverick.
THR's second nicest man Aaron Couch writes that in a summer in which the Gen Z filmmakers behind Obsession and Backrooms have become the breakout story, Nolan is an establishment player who has managed to capture the attention of younger audiences. Half the opening weekend’s audience was between the ages of 18 and 34. The film has amassed $322m globally.
No new wide release braved the waters this weekend, with studios preferring to stay out of the wake of Nolan. Next weekend, juggernaut Spider-Man: Brand New Day, starring The Odyssey castmembers and married couple Tom Holland and Zendaya, arrives from Sony and Marvel.
The news was good for Disney this weekend as well, with holdover Toy Story 5 passing $1b, to now rank as the No. 6 Pixar release of all time. The box office report.
—Defy the mods. It’s only been a little more than a week since the release of The Odyssey and leaks of pirated films have already been circulating across social media. Most recently, a lower-quality version was posted on X Sunday morning, but was pulled down roughly two hours later, only after garnering nearly 50,000 views. Universal told THR they are looking into the leak. The story.
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Brit Stars Urge U.K. to Block Paramount-WBD Deal
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►"The U.K. is being threatened by a media merger that would harm our workers, our culture and the public — but we can stop it." Actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming and Benedict Wong have penned an op-ed in The Guardian calling for the U.K. to block the Paramount–Warner Bros. merger, arguing that the deal threatens to inflict “immense harm on the British public.” The U.K. culture secretary Lisa Nandy has previously said she was “minded to intervene” in the $111b mega-deal that, if successful, will undoubtedly change not just Hollywood, but the global film and TV industry. The story.
—ICYMI. Paramount has agreed not to close its takeover of WBD until the court decides whether the deal violates antitrust laws. The studio, in a court document filed on Friday alongside the coalition of states looking to block the merger, said it will hold off on consummating the acquisition until June 2027 or five days after the court issues a ruling on the case, whichever is earlier. For Paramount, the delay in closing the deal may prove costly. Under the merger agreement, Warners shareholders are owed roughly $650m per quarter or $6.9m per day if the deal isn’t done by Sept. 30. The story.
—"Seeking to pirate away employees." WBD has filed a lawsuit against Amazon for "hurriedly seeking to pirate away a number of contracted employees," citing the recent hiring of Pia Barlow as a "better example of Amazon’s lawless employee shopping spree." WBD alleges intentional interference with contractual relations, breach of contract, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage and unfair competition against Amazon in the suit. The story.
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►Allow us to pat ourselves on the back... just this once. In a letter from the editor, Maer Roshan reflects on a remarkable few months for THR: scooping a host of prizes and bucking industry trends by posting year-over-year audience growth. Maer writes that at a time of rising headwinds for both Hollywood and media, a record haul of awards proves that good journalism can still make a splash. The letter.
—🤝 Settlement. 🤝 Wendy Williams has settled a lawsuit against A+E Networks over the release of Where Is Wendy Williams?, a docuseries chronicling her deteriorating mental and physical state that was shot without obtaining consent from the former talk show host’s court-appointed guardian. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Sabrina Morrissey, acting in her capacity as Williams’ temporary guardian, sought to block the doc’s release. In a lawsuit filed in 2024, Morrissey claimed that the contract the company brokered to shoot the project wasn’t valid since Williams didn’t have the legal or mental capacity to authorize her participation at the time. The story.
—Legal gamble. Netflix has been threatened with legal action by Kalshi, which accuses the streaming giant of defamation over a trailer for an upcoming documentary that showed traders making wagers in a state it’s not allowed to operate. In a cease-and-desist, Kalshi demanded Netflix immediately take down the trailer for Instadocs: The Prediction Market Games and issue a public retraction. It said that the video falsely suggests that users traded sports events contracts on Kalshi in Nevada in violation of a court order. The story.
—✊ Moving forward. ✊ Hosts for the home shopping network QVC voted to unionize in a National Labor Relations Board election that concluded on Thursday, paving the way for the presenters to join SAG-AFTRA. During the election, 37 hosts voted to join the national performers’ union while nine voted against, resulting in about 80 percent support. All full-time and part-time QVC and HSN hosts employed at the company’s West Chester, Pennsylvania HQ were eligible to participate. The story.
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David Jonsson to Play T'Challa's Son In 'Black Panther 3'
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►🎭 Perfect casting! 🎭 Kevin Feige and director Ryan Coogler announced during Marvel Studios‘ panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday that Black Panther 3 will film on 70mm and hit theaters Dec. 15, 2028. The duo also revealed that the always excellent David Jonsson is set to star as an adult version of the son of T’Challa, portrayed by the late Chadwick Boseman in the 2018 original. Jonsson is a recent Hollywood breakout, with key roles in Alien: Romulus and The Long Walk and HBO's series Industry. Black Panther 3 will come after next year’s Avengers: Secret Wars and will likely affect the larger MCU. The story.
—Into the fire, transform into the Ghost Rider. Ryan Gosling will play supernatural horror hero Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider, in a new big-screen incarnation of the Marvel character that will be directed by Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Shawn Levy. Gosling and Levy are keeping the good time going after shooting Star Wars: Starfighter, due out next year. Lucky and Your Friends and Neighbors creator Jonathan Tropper, who wrote Starfighter and co-wrote Levy’s The Adam Project, is penning the script. The story.
—The Doom Boom. After years of massive Comic-Con panels with full Avengers casts, it didn’t seem possible that Marvel could go bigger. But, on Saturday, go big they did. In a first for Hall H, the studio surprised the 7,000-strong crowd by revealing a hidden stage in the back of the cavernous room, with castmembers from Thunderbolts* and the 2000s X-Men movies appearing. After giving brief speeches, the actors made their way from the back, through the entire hall, high-fiving fans along the way and the crowd screaming like it was a Beatles or BTS concert. They joined the main stage already populated by Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and the star attraction, Robert Downey Jr. The recap.
—"When do you start filming?" Ryan Reynolds gave maximum effort while angling for a role in Avengers: Doomsday during Comic-Con. As the star-studded team for the forthcoming Marvel film was onstage on Saturday, Reynolds surprised fans when he appeared among the crowd while dressed in Deadpool‘s gray suit that has not yet appeared on the big screen but can be seen in X-Force comics. The recap.
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How Bravo Struck Gold With 'Housewives of Rhode Island'
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►"Basically, we found magic." Bravo has introduced its first new U.S.-based Housewives installment since The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City in 2020, and everyone from locals to viewers from afar has thoughts about The Real Housewives of Rhode Island. THR's Nicole Fell looks at how the newest Bravo franchise became a hit. The story.
—Quick as you like. Interview With the Vampire has been renewed for a fourth season, AMC announced Friday. The renewal news came during the Comic-Con presentation of the show’s third season. The show was given a name change to The Vampire Lestat for season three to match the name of the Anne Rice novel on which the season was based. Season four will follow that trend and has been dubbed Queen of the Damned. The third season just ended its run last week. The story.
—Presidential seal of approval. Rick and Morty spinoff President Curtis is got a quick renewal before its series launch. During the Comic-Con panel on Friday for the forthcoming Adult Swim animated series, the team announced that President Curtis has been renewed for a second season that is currently in production. Keith David leads the voice cast as President Andre Curtis for the project that premiered its first season on Sunday. The story.
—📅 Dated! 📅 Prime Video and Mike Flanagan are giving more of a glimpse at their reimagining of Stephen King’s classic debut novel Carrie. Ahead of the Carrie panel at Comic-Con, Amazon debuted the official teaser trailer for the eight-episode series, which expands on King’s original story about a high school girl with telekinetic powers. At the end of the panel, Flanagan announced that all eight episodes of the series will premiere on Prime Video on Oct. 7. The story.
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Destin Daniel Cretton Talks 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'
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►"Keeping what Sadie’s doing under wraps, you’ll honestly understand when you see the movie." THR's Brian Davids spoke to filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton ahead of the release of his big new film Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Cretton also discusses the secrecy around Sadie Sink’s role, how Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle/The Punisher was achieved in a PG-13 context, before explaining why a particular Spider-Man shot required at least 65 takes. The interview.
—"We didn’t want him to be perfect." THR's Rick Porter spoke to Luke Bracey about his new show Little House on the Prairie. The Aussie actor talks about taking on the role of Charles Ingalls in the Netflix drama and the character's naiveté — and playing "pretend dad" on set. Warning: Spoilers! The interview.
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The 25 Best U.S. Film Schools in 2026
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►Crème de la crème. As studios embrace AI and analog film makes a comeback, the nation's top programs are racing to future-proof their students with courses that run the gamut from emerging tech to the celluloid arts. THR’s annual rankings anoint the nation’s top programs as they navigate an industry in flux and graduate the next Ryan Coogler and Chloé Zhao. The list.
—Global greats. From Tokyo to Toronto, THR scoured the globe to find the 16 top academies for acting, directing, crafts and animation. The list.
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TV Review: 'President Curtis'
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►"Gets better after a shaky start." THR's chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg reviews Adult Swim's President Curtis. Keith David voices President Andre Curtis in this Ricky and Morty spinoff, an American history-skewing animated series. Also featuring the voices of Jim Rash and Stephanie Beatriz. Created by Dan Harmon and James Siciliano. The review.
In other news...
—John Cena races to find a nuclear warhead in Matchbox the Movie trailer
—Lanterns trailer reveals Sinestro and its Manhunter threat
—The Rings of Power S3 trailer is full of Middle-earth action
—Blade Runner 2099 unveils first trailer for Amazon’s sci-fi sequel series
—Hudson Williams, Carrie-Anne Moss star in steamy and spooky Yaga teaser
—Prime Video India picks up 100-plus Korean dramas from CJ ENM
—Ralph W. Hemecker, veteran TV director of Blue Bloods, Once Upon a Time and more, dies at 65
What else we're reading...
—Brooks Barnes reflects on Johnny Depp's comeback into the mainstream with his shock appearance at Comic-Con [NYT]
—Ben Child wonders if Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool wants to be a true Marvel superhero, and whether it is time the character grew up and stopped joking around [Guardian]
—Chip Cutter (incredible name) reports that big American companies are starting to hire again, defying predictions of an AI wipeout [WSJ]
—Lucas Shaw goes inside the six-year fight to reopen the Cinerama Dome and ArcLight Hollywood theater complex [Bloomberg]
—Sofia Bettiza reports that Italy is facing an obesity crisis due to the modern diet of the "five Ps" — pizza, pasta, potatoes, protein and pane [BBC]
Today...
...in 1945, Warner Bros. debuted Peter Godfrey's romantic comedy Christmas in Connecticut at the Strand Theatre in New York. The original review.
Today's birthdays...
Donnie Yen (63), Maya Rudolph (54), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (56), Cliff Curtis (58), Bryan Fuller (57), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (49), Taylor Schilling (42), Heidi Gardner (43), Kubbra Sait (43), Alyvia Alyn Lind (19), Sasha Mitchell (59), Rebecca Staab (65), Maria Grazia Cucinotta (58), Rade Serbedzija (80), Indiana Evans (36), Seamus Dever (50), Park Gyuyoung (33), Ryan Michelle Bathe (50), Jim Toth (56), Lou Taylor Pucci (41), Roxanne Hart (74), John Putch (65), Tahirah Sharif (33), Kenny Wormald (42), Roger Guenveur Smith (71), Wolé Parks (44), Betty Thomas (78), Paul Levesque (57), Rebekah Graf (44), Sara Klimoska (32), Winnie Harlow (32), Yahoo Serious (73)
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Chuck Russell, who employed groundbreaking visual effects while directing such box office hits as A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Blob and The Mask, has died. He was 74. The review.
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