Box Office: ‘Dune 2’ Passes $700 Million Globally, ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ Tops $500 Million Worldwide

After seeing Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire gross over $548 million and counting worldwide since its March 29 debut, Legendary has tapped Dave Callaham (Shang-Chi) to script the next film in its Monsterverse franchise, Deadline can confirm.Detail as to the threequel’s plot are under wraps. Directed by Adam Wingard on the heels of Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla x Kong watches as natural foes Godzilla and Kong come together to combat a mysterious Hollow Earth threat. Rebecca Hall, Bryan Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen, and Rachel House starred in the pic written by Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett and Jeremy Slater.

Selena Kuznikov Variety received 74 nominations for the SoCal Journalism Awards sponsored by the Los Angeles Press Club during the 2023 calendar year, with nods across magazine and entertainment journalism, video, audio, online content, and social media. Among the nominations announced Thursday were Brent Lang and Chris Willman for entertainment journalist of the year. Additionally, Variety.com was nominated for best traditional news organization website in the online category.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Pam & Tommy” stars Sebastian Stan and Lily James will reunite to star in psychological horror thriller “Let the Evil Go West.” The film sounds very different from Stan and James’ previous collaboration, which saw them playing Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson in a Hulu mini-series. In “Let the Evil Go West,” a railroad worker stumbles upon a fortune under deeply disturbing circumstances. As horrifying visions and manifestations drive him toward madness, his wife becomes convinced that an evil presence has attached itself to their family.

Warner Bros. is set to release a new Lord Of The Rings film in 2026, featuring help from Peter Jackson.The news of the upcoming film arrived earlier today (May 9), during a conference call about Warner Bros.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Sandbox Films has promoted Jessica Harrop to executive director of the company. In her new role, she will lead in strategic planning, editorial decision-making and the building of new partnerships and initiatives at the nonfiction studio.

A new Lord of the Rings movie is coming in 2026, and we have details including a title!

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. will release the first of its new batch of “The Lord of the Rings” films in 2026, which will focus on Andy Serkis’s Gollum. Original “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy filmmaker Peter Jackson and his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are producing the movie and “will be involved every step of the way” on the movie, Warner Bros.

UPDATED with name of film, details: The first of two new films — working title Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum — will be directed by and star Andy Serkis (Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle), with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens set to write the screenplay, along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou (Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim). The film will be executive produced by Ken Kamins, with Serkis and The Imaginarium’s Jonathan Cavendish.

Fans of the “Dune” novel series were not shocked by much in Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation. However, even if you read the original book, you were probably shocked to see the inclusion of Anya Taylor-Joy in the film.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Steven Quale, best known for his work on “Into the Storm” and “Final Destination 5,” has been tapped to direct Capstone Studios and Hammerstone Studios’ “Black Box (Flight 298).” The upcoming supernatural thrilleris based on an original screenplay from Stephen Susco, a horror writer whose many genre credits include “The Grudge,” “The Grudge 2,” “Texas Chainsaw 3D” and “Hell Fest.” According to the logline, the film follows the supernatural events surrounding Vero Airlines Flight 298 from New Orleans to Seattle. Hammerstone Studios’ Alex Lebovici (“Barbarian”) and Jon Oakes (“The Guilty”) will produce alongside Capstone’s Christian Mercuri and David Haring (“Bill & Ted Face the Music”), Warren Zide (“The Final Destination” and Susco.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s “The Fall Guy” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.5 million ($4.5 million), according to numbers from Comscore. But the force was strong with Disney’s 25th anniversary rerelease of “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” as it debuted in second place with £1.1 million.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Locally-produced crime action thriller “The Roundup: Punishment” dominated the South Korea box office for a second weekend. In contrast, Hollywood’s “The Fall Guy” opened softly in third place. Data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), showed “The Roundup: Punishment” grossed $13.8 million between Friday and Sunday, earned from 1.92 million ticket sales. That represented a huge 83% market share over the weekend, albeit down from 92% a week earlier.

EXCLUSIVE: Following a competitive auction that saw several studios chasing the package, A24 has landed the action thriller Onslaught with Adam Wingard on board to direct. The film is reuniting writers Wingard and Simon Barrett and returning to Wingard’s roots where they made a name for themselves with films like You’re Next and The Guest..

Brent Lang Executive Editor Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, two essential ingredients in the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, will leave Barbieland and Los Alamos behind them as they team up for “The Fall Guy.” But will audiences turn up in force to see the “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” stars when their new action comedy debuts this weekend? Well, “The Fall Guy” isn’t going to hit those films’ box office heights, but it should have no trouble topping charts as it kicks off the summer movie season. The film is expected to earn north of $30 million, with some rival studio executives pegging the opening at between $35 million to $40 million. The catch is that movie wasn’t cheap to produce, boasting a healthy budget of $130 million, so “The Fall Guy” will need strong word-of-mouth if it’s going to leg it out on the long path to profitability.

physical media like DVDs and Blu-rays remains robust, transcending mere nostalgia. These formats offer a tangible, personal connection to the artistry of film and television—a curated collection that one can physically handle, showcase, and possess.

As an actress and executive producer, Zendaya is already a multi-hyphenate, but she’s not quite ready to climb into a director’s chair.  IndieWire reports (via The New York Times) that the “Challengers” star needs more time before she directs her first project. But when that day comes, Luca Guadagnino will say, “I told you so.” READ MORE: ‘Challengers’ Review: Zendaya Rules This Love Triangle “I’m overly conscious of everything else around me,” Zendaya told the publication in an interview for Guada’s new tennis drama, in theaters today.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Karlovy Vary Film Festival and Variety have teamed up to honor Francine Maisler, one of the world’s most respected casting directors, whose recent credits include “Dune: Part Two,” “The Bikeriders,” “Challengers,” “Civil War” and “Joker: Folie à Deux.” Maisler has worked on more than 70 feature films and is a recipient of 15 Artios Awards from the Casting Society of America, including for “Marriage Story” in 2020 and “Don’t Look Up” in 2021. As well as working with director Denis Villeneuve on “Dune: Part Two,” “Dune,” “Arrival” and “Sicario,” her other films include Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life” and “Knight of Cups,” and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “The Revenant” and “Birdman.” In 2022, she won a Primetime Emmy Award for her work on HBO’s “Succession.” As part of its homage, Karlovy Vary will hold a special screening of one of the films which Maisler worked on.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Joe Hall has been named president and CEO of Manhattan Neighborhood Network, an award-winning cultural organization. The non-profit is also the largest community media center in the country, overseeing two state-of-the-art facilities in Hudson Yards and East Harlem. In his new role, Hall is tasked with setting the vision of Manhattan Neighborhood Network and building out a development team that can market the organization, raise its profile and increase funding.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Box office sands continue to flow for “Dune: Part Two,” which is nearing $700 million worldwide. Director Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic has grossed $276 million in North America and $419 million overseas, bringing its global tally to $695.8 million after eight weeks of release. It’s an impressive benchmark in post-COVID times; only five movies in 2023, eight in 2022 and five in 2021 managed to cross the $700 million mark.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “No extraneous commotion,” Jordan Fein, the associate director of “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club,” beseeches the small army of construction crew members who are drilling, hammering and carrying planks of wood around him, not to mention the half-dozen musicians and dancers waiting to rehearse. It’s roughly two weeks before the revival of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s “Cabaret” opens its doors to the public, and Fein is fine-tuning the prologue, an hour-and-15-minute immersion into club culture that precedes the show. It’s a daring piece of theatrical provocation that has helped to make the Broadway production one of the season’s hottest (and most expensive) tickets.