Chris Meledandri Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Ethan Shanfeld After “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” powered up to over $1.3 billion at the global box office, it’s Princess Peach’s turn to take the spotlight in a brand new video game coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2024. The gaming giant made the announcement during their June 21 Nintendo Direct, debuting a 26-second teaser trailer. In the clip, Peach frolicks around a version of the Mushroom Kingdom that looks like a theater production. From the available footage, the game appears to be a 2.5-dimension side-scroller. She also appears to have a star-shaped companion who she can employ to knock out enemies. Plot details, or a title, for the game have yet to be announced.

CinemaCon attendees got an extended clip from Illumination’s Despicable Me 4 at Universal’s presentation Wednesday in Las Vegas.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Gru, the recovering supervillain turned huggable and lovable dad, is back in action. Universal premiered a new sequence from “Despicable Me 4,” the latest installment in the studio and its partner Illumination’s long-running animated franchise, at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Wednesday. It featured an aspiring villainess (Joey King) as well as a new addition to the Gru family — Gru Jr., who bears a strong resemblance to his beak-nosed namesake — as they attempted a “Mission: Impossible” style heist of a heavily fortified castle.

Chris Meledandri’s Illumination and video game giant Nintendo have partnered on a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros. with theatrical release set for April 3, 2026 in the U.S. and international markets.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Illumination and Nintendo will join forces to produce a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros. The companies previously partnered on last year’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which grossed more than $1.3 billion and became the second highest-grossing movie of 2023.

In the first Despicable Me movie in seven years, Gru, the supervillain-turned-Anti-Villain League-agent, returns with his Minions in Illumination’s Despicable Me 4. The official trailer will air just before today’s national anthem at the Super Bowl after debuting at the AFC Championship game.

In the first Despicable Me movie in seven years, Gru, the supervillain-turned-Anti-Villain League-agent, returns with his Minions in Illumination’s Despicable Me 4.

Chris Meledandri‘s Illumination animation house has had a boatload of hits from Despicable Me and Minions to 2023’s global smash The Super Mario Bros Movie. But in between, this underrated (in terms of awards) producer of delightful and genuinely funny toons creates new franchises by embracing originals such as The Secret Life of Pets and Sing, winners both in my book. Now, just in time for the holidays, comes Migration, about a family of ducks on the adventure of a lifetime. It is the kind of animated entertainment that all ages will find something to like, and in terms of the creative talent involved, it is a breath of fresh air in the genre.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic In a medium where stop-motion chickens organize elaborate escape plans, computer-generated ducks have to do a lot more than relocate to amuse us. Illumination’s “Migration” — about a fussy duck dad who reluctantly reconsiders his fear of flying — is a cartoon in search of a concept, where the most daring idea is hiring the Oscar-nominated co-director of 2012’s “Ernest & Celestine” and asking him to abandon that movie’s unique watercolor style in favor of a relatively standard digital approach.

Illumination’s upcoming film Migration is a comedy about a family of ducks trying to fly from New York to Jamaica. Writer-director Benjamin Renner makes his 3D animation debut, and John Powell wrote the score for his film. Renner told the audience Saturday at Deadline’s Contenders Film Los Angeles event that Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri assured him he could pick up 3D animation on the job.

Warner Bros/Heyday Films’ Wonka has been granted a December 8 release in China, a week ahead of the domestic start and as part of an early overseas rollout for the Timothée Chalamet-starrer. Wonka will be going the same day as Universal/Illumination’s Migration in China.

Ethan Shanfeld Nintendo has announced a live-action film based on The Legend of Zelda, creator and game developer Shigeru Miyamoto announced. The gaming legend took to Nintendo’s official X/Twitter account to write, “This is Miyamoto. I have been working on the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda for many years now with Avi Arad-san, who has produced many mega hit films.” He continued, “I have asked Avi-san to produce this film with me, and we have now officially started the development of the film with Nintendo itself heavily involved in the production.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer The Minions are about the get the white glove treatment, as Variety has learned that CAA has signed Illumination CEO and prolific animation producer Chris Meledandri as a client. Meledandri, who founded the company and is responsible for two of the four highest-grossing animated franchises of all time (“Despicable Me,” “Ice Age”), will be represented by a team including the agency’s co-chairman Bryan Lourd. Illumination has an exclusive financing and distribution partnership with Universal Pictures, most recently delivering this year’s $1.3 billion baby “Super Mario Bros.” starring Chris Pratt and Anya-Taylor Joy.

With Tuesday’s grosses, Illumination/Nintendo/Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie has crossed the $100M (13.74B yen) mark in Japan. In doing so, it becomes Universal’s top title ever there. In local currency, Mario overtakes Top Gun: Maverick as the No. 6 Hollywood film of all time in Japan, and is the No. 1 studio picture since the beginning of the pandemic.

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

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has gotten its Peacock premiere date following a hugely successful run in theaters, the streamer announced on Thursday. The film from Universal and Illumination begins streaming exclusively on the platform on August 3rd, and will be joined there by behind-the-scenes cast interviews, as well as an immersive “Field Guide” expanding the film through bonus features, and a lyric video for a song sung by Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy).

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has announced the Class of 2024, consisting of 31 celebs who will be receiving stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year.

Ben Croll With “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” riding high to the tune of $1.3 billion in global receipts, and as Pharrell Williams lay in the wings to offer the producer a lifetime achievement award, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri made sure to direct the lion’s share of attention to “Migration” director Benjamin Renner as the pair sat before a packed auditorium at the Annecy Animation Festival on Wednesday. Taking the stage after premiering 25 minutes of “Migration” footage, Meledandri stepped (quite adeptly) into the role of interviewer, putting Renner in the spotlight and peppering the French filmmaker with questions about inspiration and artistry. If the interest was genuine, it was also no doubt strategic, as Meledandri inferred to Variety in an interview following the presentation.

Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri was feted at the Annecy International Film Festival Wednesday morning with a “Golden Ticket” lifetime accreditation in a surprise session featuring Grammy-winning musician and Louis Vuitton designer Pharrell Williams.

via Jeff Sneider) had the two companies collaborating on a different beloved property – “The Legend of Zelda.” At the Annecy International Animation Festival, TheWrap caught up with Chris Meledandri, the founder and CEO of Illumination and the producer of all of their films, and asked about whether Link was coming to the big screen soon.“I don’t know where that came from,” Meledandri said of the “Legend of Zelda” rumor. “I mean I can understand how people would surmise all sorts of things because obviously, we’ve had a great experience working together.

After “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” made over $1.3 billion at the global box office, it’s safe to say that Illumination is pretty pleased with its partnership with Nintendo.

Ben Croll Before Pharrell Williams put in a surprise appearance to honor Chris Meledandri with Annecy’s Golden Ticket lifetime achievement award, the Illumination CEO joined “Migration” director Benjamin Renner for a wide-ranging conversation and to present the first 25 minutes of the film.  Though the duo made sure to mention that the excerpt was not quite locked, the opening salvo was nevertheless polished and sure-footed, giving Annecy attendees a good impression of the final form. Set for release on Dec. 22, “Migration” seems like another crowd-pleaser – at least if auditorium’s laughs and applause offered any indication.

Illumination founder Chris Meledandri has confirmed he is working on new projects with Pharrell Williams and Pierre Coffin at the Annecy International Film Festival.

Naman Ramachandran Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri was presented with the Annecy International Film Festival’s lifetime accreditation Golden Ticket on Wednesday. In a surprise appearance, two-time Oscar nominee and Grammy-winning global superstar Pharrell Williams presented Meledandri with the festival’s honor. Meledandri is the creative producer behind “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” the Despicable Me, Minions, Sing and The Secret Life of Pets franchises, and the upcoming action comedy, “Migration.” Williams, a longtime creative partner with Illumination, earned his first Academy Award nomination for his blockbuster song “Happy” from the studio’s “Despicable Me 2.”

Carole Horst This year, the Annecy Animation Film Festival hosts a variety of first-looks and works-in-progress, including the anticipated “Migration,” from Illumination, to be released by Universal on Dec. 22. On the heels of a presentation at CinemaCon in April, Illumination chief Chris Meledandri will present never-before-seen footage of the feature at Annecy June 13. Meledandri and “Migration” director Benjamin Renner (“Ernest and Celestine,” “The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales”) will also be in conversation about the film. The film stars the voice talents of Kumail Nanjiani and Elizabeth Banks as duck parents who lead their family on an adventure. Rest of the cast is rounded out by Casper Jennings, Tresi Gazal, Awkwafina, Carol Kane, Keegan-Michael Key, David Mitchell and Danny DeVito.

Ethan Shanfeld Eddie Murphy is readying his magnifying glass, as the actor is in talks to star as Inspector Clouseau in MGM’s upcoming “Pink Panther” film, Variety has confirmed. The reboot of the classic property will be directed by “Sonic the Hedgehog” filmmaker Jeff Fowler. Chris Bremner (“Bad Boys for Life,” “The Man From Toronto”) is writing the script, while Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich will produce via their Rideback banner. “The Pink Panther” franchise began with the 1963 comedy film starring Peter Sellers as Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Sellers would go on to reprise the role in 1964’s “A Shot in the Dark,” 1975’s “The Return of the Pink Panther,” 1976’s “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” and 1978’s “Revenge of the Pink Panther.” The role has also been inhabited by Alan Arkin, Roger Moore and Steve Martin.

Refresh for latest…: It was just a matter of time. With estimates through Sunday, Illumination/Nintendo/Universal’s The Super Mario Bros Movie is expected to cross $1B global tomorrow, becoming the first release of 2023 to the milestone, and the fifth of the pandemic era. It is getting there in 26 days. Wahoo!

CinemaCon 2023 officially drew to a close this evening in Las Vegas, with NATO handing out its Big Screen Achievement Awards to such recipients as Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Zendaya, Chris Meledandri and Melissa McCarthy. The evening’s sentiment continued the running theme of the four-day conference: celebrating and preserving the theatrical experience.

Refresh for updates The studio that owns the highest grossing movie of the year so far, Universal with its billion bound Super Mario Bros Movie, brought the stars and filmmakers to CinemaCon. Could we expect anything less?

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Kumail Nanjiani and Elizabeth Banks will lead the voice cast of Universal and Illumination’s upcoming “Migration,” an animated adventure about a family of ducks on the go. “I find ducks so irresistible,” Illumination founder Chris Meledandri told the crowd at CinemaCon on Wednesday as he unveiled the compete voice cast for the original cartooned comedy. “In our movie, ducks worked beautifully to convey the relatable quirks and truths of a modern-day family.” Attendees of the annual Las Vegas-bassed exhibition industry trade show were also treated to an extended first-look at “Migration,” which opens in theaters on Dec. 22. The road-trip story follows a family of ducks, who try to convince their overprotective father to embark on the vacation of a lifetime.