‘See How They Run’ Stays Atop U.K. Box Office, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Reenters Top Five

Paramount’s Smile is positively grinning ear-to-ear as the horror pic from director Parker Finn saw a wild 19% upswing in holdovers at the international box office in its second frame. The weekend gross was $17.5M in 61 markets for a $40M offshore cume and $89.9M global to date.

Universal/Working Title’s Ticket to Paradise, the latest big-screen collaboration for Julia Roberts and George Clooney, has led the duo to a new milestone. Five films in which the mega-stars worked together have now grossed a combined $1B at the global box office. 

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Ticket to Paradise,” a romantic comedy that reunites Julia Roberts and George Clooney, is (surprise, surprise) charming audiences at the international box office. The movie has generated $60 million overseas to date, a promising start given the current challenges facing theatrical rom-coms. Of course, it helps when the genre gets a boost from megawatt stars like Roberts and Clooney. According to Universal, which is backing the film, “Ticket to Paradise” is outpacing recent meet-cute stories like “The Lost City,” “Last Christmas” and “Crazy Rich Asians” at the same point in their respective big-screen rollouts. Over the weekend, “Ticket to Paradise” earned $10.5 million from 61 territories, including debuts in France ($1 million), Mexico ($1 million) and Italy ($800,000). In holdover markets, “Ticket to Paradise,” which features Clooney and Roberts as exes who try to stop their daughter from marrying a near stranger, has been popular in Australia ($8.5 million), the United Kingdom and Ireland ($7.4 million) and Germany ($7.4 million). It opens Oct. 21 in the U.S. and Canada.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Hold onto your bucket hats: Sony’s action-thriller “Bullet Train” crossed $100 million at the domestic box office. It’s an impressive milestone (in post-COVID times) for an original movie that doesn’t involve marquee comic book heroes or intergalactic adventures. It helps, of course, that a bankable actor like Brad Pitt stars in the film, as a heavily therapized assassin named Ladybug. “Bullet Train” reached $101 million in domestic ticket sales on Friday, making it only the 14th release this year to hit that benchmark. With another $130 million at the international box office, the film has now earned $231 million in global ticket sales to date.

Miles Teller gave fans a glimpse into the moment he met the royal family. Teller, 35, was introduced to Prince William and Catherine at the May premiere of "Top Gun: Maverick" in the United Kingdom. "I kind of had a sheet to prep to make sure I didn't mess it up," the actor admitted during an appearance on "The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon." Despite being given a list of "dos and don'ts," Teller doesn't think the encounter went the way it was supposed to go.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s ‘Ticket to Paradise,’ starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney, and Warner Bros.’ “Don’t Worry Darling,” with Florence Pugh, Harry Styles and Chris Pine, were in a close tussle at the U.K. and Ireland box office, with the former winning narrowly. “Ticket to Paradise” collected £2.8 million ($3.03 million) to top the box office, edging “Don’t Worry Darling,” which took £2.7 million ($2.99 million) to second place, according to numbers released by Comscore. Disney’s “Avatar” rerelease placed third with £1.2 million. After two weeks atop the box office, Disney’s “See How They Run” dropped to fourth position in its third weekend with £473,222 for a total of £3.6 million.

Paul Merson believes Kevin De Bruyne is “the best player in the world” and has put Manchester City teammate Rodri among the top five midfielders currently playing in the Premier League.

Maverick in training. Lewis Pullman is not only praising his dad, Bill Pullman, for his generous influence, but also his Top Gun costars Tom Cruise and Miles Teller.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Comedy drama film “Give Me Five” held on to the top spot at the mainland Chinese box office with a weekend score of just $7.4 million (RMB50.8 million). The film is the story of a young man who is helping his father rediscover his lost memories. As he does so, he is transported back in time and accidentally alters his parent’s pasts. That means he must reunite the pair or risk never being born. It stars Ma Li Chang Yuan and Wei Xiang and is directed by Zhang Luan.

There are only four contestants remaining in the Big Brother house and we are just 10 days away from the season finale!

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Regé-Jean Page and Glen Powell will star in TV series about Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid for Amazon, Variety has confirmed with sources. The untitled series will be executive produced by The Russo Brothers under their AGBO production banner. Kaz and Ryan Firpo, who most recently worked on Marvel’s “The Eternals,” will write. The search is currently on for a showrunner. According to sources, deals for the series are not yet closed and discussions are ongoing. Exact plot details are being kept under wraps but it is known that Page will play Cassidy while Powell will play The Sundance Kid. Both actors will also serve as executive producers on the show in addition to starring. Mike Larocca, Angela Russo-Otstot, and Scott Nemes of AGBO will also executive.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Gianni Amelio’s “Lord of the Ants,” a biopic of Italian poet and playwright Aldo Braibanti, who was jailed in 1968 due to a Fascist-era anti-gay law, has reached the top spot at Italy’s box office following its launch from the Venice Film Festival. “Ants” on Monday reached the numero uno position at the local box office roster with a €483,474 ($487,000) intake from more than 300 screens following its September 8 release. While far from stellar in normal times, this result is being hailed as an encouraging sign for the country’s still sagging post-pandemic theatrical sector. Amelio’s film is now ahead of Japanese anime pic “Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo,” which was released as an event on Monday for a three day run, and “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” which is at the end of its run, following it’s Aug. 18 Italian outing.

Real Madrid hero Iker Casillas has included Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson in his list of top five current goalkeepers.

Refresh for latest…: There was a little more excitement at the international box office this weekend, with two local movies leading the charge and a handful of new milestones for Hollywood pics.

according to BoxOffice Mojo. It’s projected to earn $9 million this weekend, according to Variety.In second place, taking in $2 million in its debut, was the Hindi-language action flick “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva”Brad Pitt’s “Bullet Train” came in third, with $865,000 in ticket sales.

Ethan Shanfeld As “Top Gun: Maverick” continues to dominate the box office more than three months after its release, Jon Hamm, who stars in the movie as Vice Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson, is still celebrating its success. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Hamm noted that the Tom Cruise-led sequel is the only film to top the box office on both Memorial Day (when it premiered) and Labor Day. “That’s unprecedented in many ways,” Hamm said. “It’s one of the only top five [films] that doesn’t have somebody in a cape or on a spaceship. It’s a story about real people, it’s got a lot of emotional resonance, people are really responding to it.”

There are now just five contestants remaining in the Big Brother house after two players were evicted during the latest episode.