Showing success both on transactional and revenue charts, “Croods 2,” is seeing a rebound at $5.99 after two months at $19.99. Per rental, the bounty to Universal per rental is much lower ( $4.20 vs. $16); this is the online equivalent of dollar-house bargain runs, which once were lucrative for distributors. There’s more gold in those hills; it tops both Apple TV and Google Play’s per-rental lists and #2 at transaction-based FandangoNow....

Speaking to Variety during the ongoing SXSW Festival, Kruger opened up about an audition process for “Troy” that left her feeling degraded. “I remember testing for ‘Troy’ and having to go to the studio head in costume,” Kruger recalled of the Wolfgang Petersen-directed film, which Warner Bros. released in May 2004. “And I felt like meat, being looked up and down and was asked, ‘Why do you think you should be playing this?...

“Since its launch, advertisers have been clamoring for the opportunity to be part of Disney+ and not just because there’s a growing demand for more streaming inventory,” Rita Ferro, the president of advertising for Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution (DMED), said in a press statement. “Disney+ with advertising will offer marketers the most premium environment in streaming with our most beloved brands, Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, and National Geographic....

“I want to be crystal clear,” Chapek wrote in an internal memo shared with media outlets. “I and the entire leadership team unequivocally stand in support of our LGBTQ+ employees, their families, and their communities. And, we are committed to creating a more inclusive company — and world. We all share the same goal of a more tolerant, respectful world. Where we may differ is in the tactics to get there....

While Marvel has since made more effective use of its recipe (“Black Panther”), and even feigned at allowing someone to make a different meal out of it (“Eternals”), the studio has also diluted Doctor Strange (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”) to the point that he began to seem like the last superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who might anchor a movie that actually heeded The Ancient One’s teachings. That’s why it felt like much ado about nothing when it was announced that Sam Raimi — whose ability to re-thread Silver Age spandex with a personal touch made his “Spider-Man” trilogy the ultimate proof-of-concept for the MCU’s product, as well as a prototype that it has still yet to match — had been hired to direct the first proper sequel to “Doctor Strange....

This mid-August weekend usually sees bigger openings. In the five years between 2015-2019, six titles debuted above $21 million. Last year, in a season of still-recovering grosses, “Free Guy” opened to $28 million. “Super Hero” in 3,007 theaters is by far the widest-ever domestic Japanese anime release. The Toei Animation film fell a little short of “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” last year, which played at a little more than half as many theaters to open at $21....

The debut feature of Argentine-born Spanish artist-turned-filmmaker Amalia Ulman, Sundance 2021 premiere “El Planeta” is all her: She’s the director, writer, producer, and star, one of only three named characters in the film. (One is her own mother, Ale Ulman, making her acting debut.) Within the sleepy coastal city of Gijón, inside the autonomous region of Spain known as Asturias, they portray mother-daughter grifters María and Leonor, who execute disastrous romantic and financial schemes in the guise of rich people....

“There was so much press and so many premieres all around the world and I was wearing dresses and heels to pretty much every single event,” Page said, noting one bad panic attack occurred in Paris on the “Inception” press tour after his manager offered him three dresses to wear to a screening (via The Independent). “I lost it, it was like a cinematic moment. That night, after the premiere at the after-party, I collapsed....

The status of the movie has been open-ended since Will Smith accosted Chris Rock onstage at the 2022 Academy Awards. But with Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” pushed to next year, “CODA” winner Apple was lacking in a meaty narrative feature Oscar contender this year; “Emancipation” fills the void. Fuqua’s film already screened over the weekend to positive reactions in Washington, DC from Capitol Hill heavy-hitters and activist groups....

Best friends and seniors Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins) and Sean (RJ Cyler) set out to hit up every major Greek party on their campus circuit, something that was long ago dubbed a “Legendary Tour.” But being two young Black men in a not-your-average college party movie, the fun is over before it begins. Their epic night is abruptly interrupted by the sudden appearance of a young white girl, who the guys find passed out in their living room....

Per Bloomberg: “The stars are worried that many potential theater fans might wait for the film to be available for home viewing, reducing the box-office receipts, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. The original ‘A Quiet Place’ collected $341 million in ticket sales worldwide in 2018…Representatives for the couple, along with other producers who have a stake in the movie’s box-office performance, including filmmaker Michael Bay, have asked Paramount for compensation, according to the person, and the discussions are ongoing....

The awards ceremony was hosted by German actor Annabelle Mandeng. The hybrid event saw nominees, presenters, and winners participating in a mixture of live, virtual, and pre-recorded formats. “Quo Vadis, Aida” tells the story of the Srebrenica genocide, during which Serbian troops sent 8,372 Bosniak men and boys to their deaths in July 1995. The powerful story is told through the eyes of Aida, a UN translator attempting to leverage her position to secure safety for her husband and two grown sons....

It was last reported that Miller was hiding out on a farm in Vermont with a mother and her three children, stocked with firearms and marijuana, after being arrested twice in Hawaii. As previously reported, Miller met Tokata Iron Eyes during the Dakota Pipeline protests when she was 12 years old, and her parents have accused Miller of facilitating an inappropriate relationship marred by drugs and physical and verbal abuse, all of which Tokata has denied....

But the reality is no director, including Lin, can be on the ground conducting each element. In fact, while Lin was on a soundstage in the U.K. with Vin Diesel and the “F9” cast, stunt coordinator Spiro Razatos’ second unit squad was in Thailand shooting huge action sequences that traverse through a jungle minefield and then down the side of mountain and, eventually, off a cliff. When Lin was on the Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast, we asked how he keeps his hand in directing the action from — literally — the other side of the globe....

When producers come to you, how do you assess whether they should try to move forward or wait? Look, it’s not my job to say “wait” or “go.” The question is, if they want to go, how can they make it work? Sure, but you’re allowed to have an opinion on this, too. It’s a function of whether they have the financial resources for a plan B. You can do everything perfectly and there still could be an outbreak....

In Paolo Sorrentino’s compassionate coming-of-age drama “The Hand of God,” the director delivers a tender ode to his traumatic teen years, when the sudden death of his parents forced him to sort out his place in a cruel universe. The movie reads as a biographical justification for the movies he’s made throughout his career and provides an excuse to revisit them in a new light. Sorrentino’s sudden orphanhood influenced his decision to become a filmmaker, yet even the swooning collection of colorful Italian creatives in his Oscar-winning “The Great Beauty” seemed to dance around his own connection to his stories....

The “Full House” alum-turned-Hallmark Channel’s Queen of Christmas announced a partnership with the Great American Family as its chief creative officer ahead of upcoming holiday film “A Christmas…Present.” Bure slammed Hallmark for becoming too woke in recent years, namely with an upcoming LGBTQ Christmas love story. “It basically is a completely different network than when I started because of the change of leadership,” Bure recently told The Wall Street Journal....

The official total of $48.5 million for five days (don’t be surprised if it gets closer to $50 million when Sunday’s numbers are verified) represents $32.2 million for the three-day weekend. By midweek, it should outgross the totals for “Tenet” ($58 million) and “The Croods: A New Age” ($56 million). This comes with day-and-date play for HBO Max subscribers in the U.S. and Premium VOD in Canada, where most theaters are closed....

But those are concerns for the film world. Here, we’re predicting the TV winners, and hoo boy are they as tricky as ever. Even though new TV continued to roll out throughout the year, the 2021 class of Golden Globe nominees still reflects an upended release schedule. Neither of last year’s big winners (“Succession” and “Fleabag”) are eligible in 2021, and plenty of repeatedly sidelined series found their way into the running....

Paltrow admitted in a preview clip of this week’s Sunday ”Today” show, airing July 24, that she doesn’t feel the need to return to acting anytime soon. “I really don’t miss it at all,” Paltrow told host Willie Geist. “I think I’m so lucky that I got to do it, and I still, I’m sure I still will, at some point.” She added, “The team is always trying to get me to do a movie, but I really love what I do....