Nell Tiger Free, Bill Nighy, & More Attend 'The First Omen' Premiere in L.A.

EXCLUSIVE: The First Omen director and co-scribe Arkasha Stevenson and the pic’s screenwriter/EP Tim Smith have signed with WME for representation in all areas. 

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The 30th anniversary of the original animated film version of “The Lion King” will be celebrated at the Hollywood Bowl next month with a live-to-film concert/screening that will include cast members from both the movie and theatrical versions — and beyond — including Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Billy Eichner, Ernie Sabella, Jason Weaver and Bradley GIbson. The shows will take place at the Bowl May 24-25 and be produced by Disney Concerts, Fulwell 73 Productions, AMP Worldwide and Live Nation-Hewitt Silva.

The stars are stepping out in style!

J. Kim Murphy It’s a primate face-off at the box office this weekend, plus some old-fashioned Antichrist horror on the side. Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros.’ “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” looks to stick on top of domestic charts, holding off the opening weekend bows of Universal’s beat-em-up “Monkey Man” and 20th Century Studios’ horror revival “The First Omen.” That kaiju victory lap probably has less to do with the staying power of “The New Empire” than the strength of its competition though.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON: Legendary/Warner Bros’ Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is leading as planned at the weekend B.O. with a $7.5M second Friday, -80% for a what’s shaping up to be a $25M-$28M second frame at 3,948 theaters, -65% on the high end. Hopefully, there’s more of a bounce.

The new horror movie The First Omen is now playing in theaters and fans are ready to get scared out of their seats.

William Earl administrator SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses plot points from “The First Omen.” Director Arkasha Stevenson grew up as a fan of “The Omen” franchise, but any anxiety she felt about helming a prequel to the 1976 original was funneled into the potential of shifting the series’ perspective. “It’s a pretty masculine franchise,” she says. “Exploring it through the point of view of a woman was exciting.

Two years ago, following a vast array of attempts at a hit small screen vehicle for uber-talented “SNL” veteran Maya Rudolph, Apple TV+’s “Loot” hit the sitcom world, entering on new divorcée Molly Wells (Rudolph) trying to navigate and decide what to do with an enormous $87 billion settlement. Eventually, she settles on re-engaging with her charitable foundation, reconnecting with the real world, and trying to find out who she is along the way.

I am not sure the world asked for yet another take on 20th Century Fox’s Omen franchise, the constantly regurgitated series with Damien (who made the numbers 666 iconic) and company. Since the 1976 original, when Damien first appeared in the movie with Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, we have had Damien: Omen II, The Final Conflict, Omen IV: The Awakening (in which a girl becomes the antichrist for the first time), the 2006 remake The Omen, and even a 2016 Damien TV series. Of course, like all these horror franchises, it is inevitable someone would come up with the idea for an origin story, and that is what we now have with The First Omen, which is, of course, not the first, just the latest. But, set in 1971, it does attempt to take us right to the doorstep of the actual first,the Richard Donner-directed 1976 starter.

Guy Lodge Film Critic It’s no great slight to “Scoop” to say that it’s no more compelling than the real-life news broadcast on which it pivots. It’s also no less compelling than said broadcast, which was, after all, a doozy: the 2019 episode of “BBC Newsnight” in which anchor Emily Maitlis interviewed Prince Andrew about his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” is poised to stomp all over the box office competition… again. After its better-than-expected debut, Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s monster tentpole has generated $95 million domestically and $210 worldwide to date.

No dart gun, or First Omen, or Monkey Man will put Legendary/Warner Bros’ Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire to sleep this weekend. The pic, after an unexpected $80 million Easter weekend start, will continue to rumble with a 55%-60% second-weekend drop to between $32M-$36M. Through four days, the Adam Wingard-directed Monsterverse title stands at $87.7M, fueled by 57% of K-12 schools out Monday and another 14% colleges. Expect more cash today as, per Comscore, there are 28% of K-12 school out, and 5% universities.

Coming off a well-deserved first-ever Oscar nomination, Bill Nighy has a new worthwhile movie to add to his highly impressive filmography. The Beautiful Game is, on its surface, another well-worn story of a ragtag team of misfits coming together for validation not just in their football (i.e. soccer) skills but, more importantly, in their lives. And even though we have seen countless underdog stories like this one set on a playing field, we actually haven’t seen one quite like this in terms of the welcome spotlight it puts on the homeless population among us. The timing is particularly pertinent as many major cities seem to a war going on with the homeless, a complete lack of empathy toward what gets a person to this point in life and a solution for lifting them out of it.

Demi Moore, Glen Powell and more of Hollywood’s biggest stars stepped out on Wednesday night (March 27) to honor their stylists.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Happy Gilmore 2″ is apparently being developed by Adam Sandler, and a script even exists. Shooter McGavin actor Christopher McDonald revealed the news during a radio interview on “Audacy’s 92.3 The Fan.” McDonald said he had a recent run-in with Sandler, who unexpectedly pulled out the first draft for a sequel to their 1996 sports comedy classic. “I saw Adam [Sandler] about two weeks ago, and he says to me, ‘McDonald, you’re gonna love this,'” McDonald said.

Guy Lodge Film Critic An assortment of familiar life-as-sport metaphors get a healthy workout in “The Beautiful Game,” a story of underdog athletes for whom winning may not be everything, though it’s a welcome distraction from greater obstacles. For many viewers, Thea Sharrock‘s cheery Netflix entertainment may serve as an introduction to the real-life event on which it’s based: the Homeless World Cup, an annual soccer tournament bringing together displaced or dispossessed players from nearly 50 countries, playing not merely for a trophy but for a second shot at life.

Pulp have announced the addition of new dates to their upcoming North American tour, marking their first shows in the US in over a decade.The band previously announced a handful of live dates set to take place in the US starting on September 8. Today (March 20), the Britpop group shared that they have added additional shows in Toronto, New York City and Los Angeles.The new dates are September 11 at HISTORY in Toronto, September 14 at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, and September 19 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.

An A-list cast including Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whittaker, and Bill Nighy will lend their voices to That Christmas, an animated feature from Netflix penned by Richard Curtis and directed by Simon Otto (How to Train Your Dragon trilogy). 

Netflix has shared the first teaser for Joy, the historical drama starring James Norton, Bill Nighy, and Thomasin McKenzie about the birth of IVF treatments. 

Greg Rutherford, the retired Olympian who was a favourite to win Dancing On Ice, has shared a video of the moment he suffered a serious injury during rehearsals. The accident forced him to withdraw from the ITV competition as he needed stitches.