‘The Flash’ Ousted From Top Spot at Saudi Box Office by Egyptian Comedy ‘Beit El Ruby’

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi filmmaker Abdulaziz Alshlahei (“The Tambour of Retribution,” “Zero Distance”) is set to direct timely drama “Hobal,” about a Saudi family living in isolation in the desert during the early 1990s. The film will be shot in NEOM, the sprawling production hub in Saudi Arabia’s northwestern corner. “Hobal” will be Alshlahei’s third feature, segueing from his groundbreaking social issues drama “The Tambour of Retribution,” about the forbidden love between an executioner’s son and a wedding drummer’s daughter in turn-of-the-century Riyadh. “Tambour” scored two prizes at the Cairo Film Festival, was released on Netflix, and was Saudi Arabia’s submission for the 2022 best international feature film Oscar.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Tom Cruise’s latest blockbuster “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” is showing strength at the international box office, collecting an impressive $155 million from 70 markets. Along with an estimated $80 million at the domestic box office, “Mission: Impossible” has grossed $235 million globally through its first five days of release. That’s a mighty worldwide tally, especially for the seventh installment in a 27-year-old action franchise. Imax screens contributed $25 million, including a new franchise-record of $14 million overseas. The only trouble is the movie, which finds Cruise’s durable hero Ethan Hunt defying death as he flies off a mountain on his motorcycle, scales a runaway train and maneuvers a tiny car through the bustling streets of Rome, was incredibly expensive to make. Due to COVID-related starts and stops and other pandemic-era safety measures, Paramount and Skydance spent $300 million before marketing costs. So even as Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” open on July 21, “Dead Reckoning Part One” needs to continue resonating at the global box office to turn a profit in its theatrical run.

SATURDAY PM UPDATE: Facts are facts, and Paramount/Skydance’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One set a 5-day opening domestic record for the franchise with $80M, we hear.

J. Kim Murphy Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” is defusing a bit at the domestic box office, readjusting for an estimated $78 million gross over its five-day opening. That’d be a substantial chunk behind projections headed into the weekend, which had the Tom Cruise action sequel hoping for a $90 million. Some in the industry were expecting a “Top Gun: Maverick” halo effect for “Dead Reckoning” after last year’s legacy sequel positively ignited movie theaters, rocketing through the summer to become the fifth-highest grossing domestic release of all-time. That doesn’t seem to be the case though, as “Mission” seems to be landing around the solid numbers typical for its franchise.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Sony Music Middle East has appointed veteran regional music exec Rami Mohsen, formerly with Spotify, as its new managing director.  Prior to joining Sony Music Middle East, Mohsen was the head of music at the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia unit of Spotify. He was instrumental, in this capacity, to spearheading Spotify’s music and content strategies, as well as elevating the company’s profile in the MENA region. Mohsen began his career at Nogoum FM, a prominent radio station in Egypt and across Middle East, where he rose through the ranks to become network director of both its Nogoum FM and Nogoum FMTV units. In that role, he successfully managed radio programming and music production while overseeing the company’s overall operations.

Sony/Stage 6 Films/Blumhouse’s Insidious: The Red Door may have stolen No. 1 away from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destinyat the weekend box office, but Angel Studios’ indie wonder Sound of Freedom won Monday with an estimated $4 million.

Naman Ramachandran Disney releases “Elemental” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” were locked in a near dead heat at the U.K. and Ireland box office, with the animated elements edging out the veteran archaeologist. “Elemental” debuted with £3.049 million ($3.876 million), according to numbers from Comscore. In its second weekend, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” whipped up £3.046 million ($3.873 million) for a close second and now has a total of £13.1 million. If looking at weekend numbers alone, Harrison Ford’s last adventure as the man in the hat won the race as the “Elemental” numbers include “limited secret sneak previews from across the market,” according to Disney.

Naman Ramachandran The total U.K. and Ireland box office for June 2023 was £90.3 million ($114.8 million), 28% lower than June 2022, according to numbers released by Comscore. Year-to-date 2023 is currently running 7% behind the same period in 2022, the numbers reveal. The territory is very much weather-driven and June 2023 was the hottest June since records began, per the U.K. Met Office, meaning that potential cinema audiences spent a larger proportion of their leisure time outdoors. June’s highest-grossing film was Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” with £26.7 million, which comfortably surpassed the lifetime total of its predecessor, “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” (£10.8 million). The animated sequel is currently the third-biggest release of the year so far.

When it comes to horror movies at the box office, Sony resurrected its track record this past weekend with the opening of Blumhouse/Stage 6 Films’ fifthquel, Insidious: The Red Door which had a $32.65M domestic opening, $64M Worldwide debut.

McKinley Franklin editor Let’s-a-go: “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is officially making its way to Peacock on Aug. 3, the streamer announced on Thursday. Fans will also get treated to bonus content when the blockbuster animated film arrives on Peacock, including behind-the-scenes interviews with the voice cast, an immersive video field guide and a lucrative “Peaches” lyrical video. Peacock $4.99/Month Buy Now

Angels Studios’ Jim Caviezel thriller, Sound of Freedom, came on strong on Tuesday givingDisney/Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny a run for his money, however, until actuals are reported, it remains to be seen who won July 4th, both distributors reporting $11.5M.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Dubai-based pay-TV and streamer OSN launched its rebranded OSN+ streaming service in March 2022 — and then lost some momentum when Disney+, the following June, pulled out its premium content and started a standalone platform in the Middle East. However, OSN remains a leading small-screen outlet for prime Hollywood scripted fare in 22 territories across the Middle East and North Africa. In March 2023, they extended their relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery, forging a new multi-year licensing deal that makes them the exclusive home for HBO content such as “Succession” in the region. And, they’ve retained exclusive rights to Paramount+ shows, plus a slate of Sky Studios and Peacock Originals produced by NBC Universal — among other Hollywood deals firmly in place — as well as recently expanding their exclusive partnership with ITV Studios in the U.K.

Fans of The Name of The Rose author Umberto Eco turned out in NYC, boosting the documentary on medieval scholar turned novelist and social commentator to over $9.1k on one screen – a nice showing by The Cinema Guild for a foreign language documentary on a solid weekend for some indie and arthouse fare.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” lassoed the top spot on domestic box office charts, collecting an underwhelming $60 million in its opening weekend. That’s a decent amount of money for a tentpole that’s aimed at older audiences, but “Indiana Jones 5,” one of the most expensive movies ever, cost $295 million before marketing. It’ll take a heroic feat, one that would test even an enduring legend like Indiana Jones, for the fifth installment in the decades-old franchise to become profitable in its theatrical run. It was a disappointing weekend at the box office as “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken,” a $70 million-budgeted family film from DreamWorks and Universal, cratered in its sixth-place debut with $5.2 million. In addition to “Dial of Destiny” and “Ruby Gillman,” the DC superhero adventure “The Flash” tumbled to the No. 8 spot in its third weekend of release with $5 million, another embarrassing 67% drop. It has yet to cross $100 million domestically, with ticket sales at $99.2 million to date.

Barbie and Oppenheimer is heating up ahead of the films’ releases – here’s who’s on track to come out on top.The two films are both set to be released on the same day next month (July 21) and have been locked into a humorous and meme-filled rivalry.Greta Gerwig’s Barbie stars Robbie in the titular role, with Ryan Gosling as Ken, while Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer sees Cillian Murphy play scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer who is credited as the “father of the atomic bomb” for his role in the Manhattan Project.Ahead of the films’ releases, box office projections have Barbie looking set to pick up more than double the taking of Nolan’s film.New projections from The Hollywood Reporter hint that Barbie could open with between a $70-80million opening weekend, while Oppenheimer is expecting a $40million opening.In the run-up to the release of his new film, Nolan has said there’s an “interesting relationship” between the endings of Oppenheimer and his 2011 film Inception.Speaking in an interview with Wired, Nolan explained that there’s some similarities between Oppenheimer’s ending and the ambiguous final scene in Inception, where it was left unclear whether Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) was still in a dream.Asked whether he believed his films have an optimistic or “anti-nihilistic” outlook, Nolan said: “I mean, the end of Inception, it’s exactly that.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is gunning for the top spot on box office charts. The fifth and final adventure to star Harrison Ford as the legendary, globe-trotting explorer is targeting at least $65 million from 4,500 North American theaters in its opening weekend. The latest Indy installment is also debuting day-and-date at the international box office, where it’s aiming to add $80 million for a global start of $145 million to $150 million. Those ticket sales are decent, especially for the fourth sequel to a decades-old property that’s aimed at older audiences. But Disney spent a mind-boggling $295 million to bring the action-adventure to life. That’s not including marketing costs, such as a no-expense-spared premiere and afterparty at the Cannes Film Festival where much champagne was tippled. Even in the best circumstances, it’ll take a heroic feat — and a lot of nostalgia from long-time fans of the series — for “Indiana Jones 5” to turn a profit in its theatrical run.

Naman Ramachandran Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” swung back to pole position atop the U.K. and Ireland box office, dethroning Warner Bros.’ “The Flash” in the process. In its fourth weekend, “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” collected £1.99 million ($2.5 million) for a total of £23.4 million, according to numbers from Comscore. In its second weekend, “The Flash” took £1.3 million for a total of £6.7 million. Sony’s “No Hard Feelings” bowed in third place with £1.18 million, while Universal’s “Asteroid City” debuted close behind in fourth position with £1.17 million.

$2.3 billion “Avatar: The Way of Water” raked in last Christmas — movie theaters are back to being an armory of high-profile bombs. This weekend, wobbly Warner Bros.’ “The Flash” dropped a staggering 73% in its second week to a worldwide total of just $210 million. A more-than-50% decline for an expensive DC Comics superhero film spells trouble.Consider that fellow Justice League member “Aquaman” made $229 million by his second weekend in the US and Canada alone.Pixar’s uninspired “Elemental,” released June 16 and so far having grossed $121 million, will wind up as one of the Disney-owned animation studio’s biggest failures ever.

our box office analysis last week of the struggles of “The Flash” and Disney/Pixar’s “Elemental,” the DC film suffered from multiple problems, including tepid word-of-mouth upon release, the deep disinterest among casual audiences in DC given its impending reboot, and lead star Ezra Miller’s public scandals, which left Warner Bros. unable to build a marketing campaign around the actor playing the film’s title star like most superhero films.

Ben Croll The walls of Barcelona’s international convention center might soon rattle once the 4,000 European exhibitors, suppliers and service providers in town for the CineEurope trade show breathe out a collective sigh of relief. At the root of such succor are Europe’s more than encouraging box-office admissions, which saw a marked uptick in late 2022 and have continued to rise into the new year. “I think this edition will be very much about celebrating because 2022 was a much better year than 2021,” says Laura Houlgatte, CEO of the Intl. Union of Cinemas (UNIC), which tends to the needs of cinema trade associations and exhibitors across the old continent. “[What’s more] the numbers for the first quarter of 2023 have left everyone in a very good mood.”