Universal Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Awkwafina is quickly becoming a huge star in Hollywood. From her breakout (and underrated) role in “The Farewell” to her recent Marvel debut in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” the comedic actress is quickly rising to that coveted A-list ranking.

Last month, it was revealed that after weeks of speculation (especially after Warner Bros. upset quite a few filmmakers by releasing blockbusters day-and-date in theaters and HBO Max), Christopher Nolan is leaving behind his years-long WB relationship and taking his next, untitled film to Universal.

Christopher Nolan made headlines when it was recently announced that his next film, an untitled historical drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer, a person behind the creation of the atomic bomb, would be distributed by Universal and not his typical partner, Warner Bros.

More than 22 years ago, the International Space Station was launched into orbit. And with it, the first and, thus far, only long-term inhabited space mission on Earth.

After everything is all said and done in 2021, it’s likely that “F9,” the latest addition to the “Fast & Furious’ franchise, could end up as the biggest box office hit of the year. In a world where “The Suicide Squad” and “Black Widow” are putting up fairly disappointing numbers, Vin Diesel’s action film is bringing cinemas hope that maybe things will turn around.

After seemingly toiling around in development at Universal, it appears the studio’s “Dracula” spinoff/reimagining, “Renfield,” is picking up some momentum. With a new director, and now a big star, we might just see “Renfield” on the big screen soon enough.

Any other year, it wouldn’t be a massive surprise that a ‘Fast & Furious’ film debuted with a huge box office total. But after a year of basically no theatrical releases and no major blockbusters, the fact that “F9” debuted with a $70 million estimated opening weekend is noteworthy.

In an era where everyone who has ever touched a microphone or musical instrument and released at least one hit single is getting their own biopic, it actually took a little while longer than you might think for Cher to land one of her own. However, thanks to the people behind “Mamma Mia” and an Oscar-winning screenwriter, the Cher biopic is officially in development.

There are just a few people in Hollywood that can get a major blockbuster film made based almost completely on their star power. One of those people is Vin Diesel.

Today is the day that we finally got to see another “F9” trailer. And that means fans will spend all day watching and rewatching the new clip, talking about the latest bonkers action scene that is teased (they’re really going to space, huh?).

After the complete and utter failure of the Dark Universe several years ago, it appears that Universal has made a complete 180-degree shift and decided to just let filmmakers take the studios Monster characters and do whatever they want. We saw that already with Blumhouse’s take on “The Invisible Man” from last year.

For the most part, remakes, reboots, and revivals still get a bad rep from film fans. Why remake a classic when you can just watch the classic? Well, sometimes, we get something special like Leigh Whannel’s take on “The Invisible Man,” and our faith in remakes grows just a little bit.

There’s good news and bad news today in regards to folks hoping for a Summer Movie Season full of blockbusters and packed theaters. The bad news is Universal has gone ahead and delayed the release of the highly-anticipated “Fast & Furious” sequel, “F9.” The good news for fans of the franchise is the film is only getting pushed by a matter of weeks.

Imagine it’s 1998. News is released that George Clooney (the heartthrob from “ER”) is teaming up with Julia Roberts (the actress from “My Best Friend’s Wedding”) to do a rom-com.

Chloé Zhao is having one hell of a 2021 already. We’re only in early February and her recent film, “Nomadland,” has been released to rave reviews and has earned a ton of awards recognition, with Oscars likely in her future.

Even though there has been next to nothing revealed about “Bios” yet, that doesn’t mean the film isn’t ready to go. In fact, the film was originally supposed to be released in October 2020 by Universal.

We’ve already heard from a number of filmmakers about the recent WB/HBO Max move, where more than a dozen high-profile Warner Bros. films will be debuting on the same date in theaters and on HBO Max in 2021.

With WarnerMedia effectively blowing up the theatrical exclusivity window with its entire 2021 Warner Bros. film slate, many are wondering which studio will make a similar move.

Earlier, I posted about the news that Cineworld (Regal Cinemas parent company) secured new funding to help the company survive for now, in hopes that 2021 will offer a new chance to reopen and attract customers to theaters. Well, about that.

The Dark Universe is dead, long live the Dark Universe! Despite 2017’s “The Mummy” utterly failed to launch a cinematic universe, it seems like Universal is not ready to give up on a monster universe. After the success of “The Invisible Man,” the studio is already seeing to enter its “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” phase by letting Phil Lord and Chris Miller do a monster comedy with Channing Tatum.

Sure, he’s currently celebrating the recent release of his latest horror-comedy, “Freaky,” but filmmaker Christopher Landon can’t escape the “Happy Death Day” questions. After writing and directing the first two films in the Blumhouse franchise, fans have been eagerly awaiting news about the planned third film.

Earlier this year, Universal made a landmark deal with AMC Theatres, allowing for some of the films from Universal to arrive on PVOD 17 days (or three weekends) after they’re released. Many saw this as a major loss for theatrical business, as it means the world’s largest theater chain would be allowing for one of the biggest studios to cut into ticket sales after only 17 days.

If you’re a theater owner in the United States, there are fewer and fewer films sticking around in 2020 to get excited about as we enter the final weeks of the year. But one of those movies is the Tom Hanks drama, “News of the World.” And it appears that theater owners in the US might have dodged a bullet, as Universal is likely going to send the feature to streaming everywhere except America.

Even though Jordan Peele has only released two feature films as a director, we’re starting to notice a trend. First, the film is likely going to be a horror-thriller.

Cinemark, much like the rest of its theater chain competition, is struggling. During a recent investors call, where CEO Mark Zoradi revealed the Q3 losses for the company (via Deadline), it appears that the third-largest cinema chain in the US isn’t immune to the disastrous business that is plaguing the theatrical experience right now, as we continue to deal with a surging pandemic.

Sadly, even if you go in front of a mirror and say his name five times, the “Candyman” film written by Jordan Peele and directed by Nia DaCosta isn’t going to appear anytime soon. In fact, the film is going to have been delayed more than a full year when it finally hits theaters, as Universal has unveiled the new date for its highly-anticipated horror film.

The question that seems to be on most film fans’ minds and definitely the minds of major Hollywood studios is simple, yet difficult to answer—when will movie theaters be back to normal? Namely, when will we see weekend after weekend dominated by new films at the multiplex and record-breaking box office, like we’ve been accustomed to? Well, given the recent decisions by Cineworld and the AMC financial situation, the answer might be “never.” But the heads of two major studios, Warner Bros.

Horror film The Others is to be remade, it has been announced.

With yesterday’s confirmation from Cineworld, the parent company of Regal Cinemas, that the company would be closing all of its US and UK movie theaters “until further notice,” film fans (and box office analysts) feared the worst. When would AMC follow suit? And would this be the final nail in the coffin of theater exhibition in 2020 (and possibly forever)? Well, AMC isn’t ready to close its doors.