Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

Among the surprises: Robert Downey Jr. would return to Marvel’s films, but not as Iron Man. He’ll play the villain Victor Von Doom, or Doctor Doom, in one of the upcoming “Avengers” movies.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said that due to this weekend’s success of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe had now topped $30 billion in box-office earnings. In a nod to a scene in the movie, a choir sang Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” before Feige spoke.

“Deadpool & Wolverine,” released Thursday, has already broken one record and could shatter more in its opening weekend. Feige used Saturday’s panel to chart the course ahead for the MCU, revealing Ford’s character in the next “Captain America” film and revealing “Avengers: Secret Wars and “Avengers: Doomsday” as the titles of the next two films in the epic superhero team-up series.

Feige said all the actors introduced Saturday would appear in the upcoming “Avengers” movies, which will be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo. The brothers guided the “Avengers” franchise through its sprawling storyline capped by “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019.

The session comes after Marvel skipped the convention last year due to the Hollywood strikes, which prevented writers and actors from speaking on panels. Feige is being joined by several special guests, including stars of upcoming Marvel titles like “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts(asterisk)” and “The Fantastic Four.”

The cast of “Captain America: Brave New Wold” — Tim Blake Nelson, Danny Rameriez, Giancarlo Esposito and Anthony Mackie — joined the stage first and teased details about the upcoming film. Esposito revealed that he will be playing the villain, Seth Voelker, also known as Sidewinder.

The cast then stepped aside to share a scene from the movie on the big screen, which revealed that President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, played by Ford, is hoping to rebuild the Avengers with Mackie’s Sam Wilson. It also showed Ford’s character transform into the Red Hulk. Ford himself joined the panel after fans were treated to clips from the movie and flexed his muscles to the roaring crowd.

The cast and director of “Thunderbolts(asterisk)” also surprised fans with a short clip from the movie. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan and David Harbour (in full costume and speaking in character as the Red Guardian at first) stormed the stage and shared some more details about their characters.

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The film is slated to be released in May 2025.

The final film teased at the panel was “The Fantastic Four,” starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. The movie will begin filming on Tuesday in London, Feige said.

He said the film will hit theaters in almost exactly one year in July 2025.

Following a video director Matt Shakman created specifically for Comic-Con that featured the cast in full ’60s glory, he and Feige revealed the official title of the film, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”

Marvel already took over Hall H on Thursday with an electric panel celebrating “Deadpool & Wolverine,” in which the audience was treated to a full screening and surprise guests joining stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman on stage.

The mounting enthusiasm for the film at Comic-Con was reflected across the country as the fans rushed to see it in theaters, securing the film as the new record holder for the Thursday preview for an R-rated movie. The comic book film sold an estimated $38.5 million worth of movie tickets from preview screenings Thursday.

The “Deadpool & Wolverine” success woke up a sleepy year for Marvel and assuaged worries about its box-office underperformance in late 2023. The superhero factory hit a record low in November with the launch of “The Marvels,” which opened with just $47 million.

The below contains spoilers from “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

This story ends with Blake Lively.

After her role as Lady Deadpool in husband Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman‘s “Deadpool & Wolverine” was revealed, the “It Ends With Us” star shared the incredible journey of how she wound up being cast in the Marvel film.

And the story dates back farther than you’d think. After all, Deadpool comic book creator Rob Liefield already had the actress in mind when he drew his first version of the unmasked superhero in 2010, as he and wife Joy Liefield were huge fans of another iconic character Lively played.

“Joy and I were crazy uber ‘Gossip Girl’ fans (who wasn’t right?), never missing a single episode,” Liefield wrote in a screenshot shared by Lively in a July 26 Instagram post. “Yup, I pleaded a strong case that Wanda Wilson was stunning blonde, no scars and Marvel thought that was a cool idea. Invoked Blake on GG and they gave me the thumbs up.”

Of course, this rendering was created before Lively and Reynolds’ 2012 nuptials and the first “Deadpool” movie adaptation arrived in theaters in 2016. In fact, the “A Simple Favor” actress recalled the “Free Guy” actor pitching the film to her and Taika Waititi that same year.

“It was a ‘meta’ superhero,” Lively explained in the caption of her July 26 Instagram. “Most of us didn’t know what exactly meta meant back then. Except Taika bc he’s always been more brilliant than the rest of us mortals.”

Noting that she felt “murky” on whether Reynolds’ idea would “come together for an audience,” the 36-year-old recalled thinking at the time, “It wasn’t a real dream. The movie was never gonna happen.”

However, Lively was eventually proved wrong, and a year before the third installment of “Deadpool” started filming, she discovered that Liefield envisioned her in the Lady Deadpool role.

“And today it’s in theaters,” she marveled. “The universe has such a magical sense of humor sometimes.”

And while Lively has known she would don the black and red jumpsuit for two years, fans have been left to speculate until the film’s release, with some guessing correctly and some wondering if longtime pal Taylor Swift would make her Marvel debut.

But Reynolds—who shares kids James, 9, Inez, 7, Betty, 4, and Olin, born in 2023, with Lively—didn’t let the latter theory last long.

“I wish!” the 47-year-old said of Swift appearing in the superhero flick during an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” “Taylor, you know, if I ever stop, she’d make a good Deadpool. She’s funny. Funny!”

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Could Hugh Jackman be ready to hit the big top once again?

The “X-Men” actor — who starred as circus tycoon P.T. Barnum in “The Greatest Showman” alongside Zendaya and Zac Efron—revealed that he’s open to doing a sequel to the 2017 musical movie.

“The first one took us eight years,” Jackman exclusively told E! News at the “Deadpool & Wolverine” premiere July 22. “Maybe we started five years ago, and it’s gonna be another nine years.”

So, Jackman is never saying never, adding, “I love that movie, and I loved everything about it. So yeah, I’m open.”

And no one is more ready to rewrite the stars than Jackman’s BFF and “Deadpool & Wolverine” costar, Ryan Reynolds.

“What are you so afraid [of]?” Reynolds quipped during the interview, airing July 23. “Give us a sequel! My kids want it even!”

Still, Jackman was reticent to give a firm answer, quipping that from now on, “If I say no or yes or anything, no one believes me anymore. I said I was never playing Wolverine again. So, whatever.”

Luckily for fans, in addition to watching Jackman play Wolverine for the first time since his heartbreaking turn in 2017’s “Logan,” they’ll also be treated to a track from “The Greatest Showman” in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” out in theaters July 26.

The 55-year-old even joked that his contract dictates that “no matter how inappropriate, that we have to have some Showman tracks” in his movies.

And as it turns out, Jackman has recently stepped back into the shoes of his “Greatest Showman” character, making a million dreams come true to entertain Reynolds and wife Blake Lively‘s children: James, 9, Inez, 7, Betty, 4, and Olin, who was born in 2023.

“My kids watch Greatest Showman all the time,” Reynolds revealed during a July 22 SiriusXM interview. “I walked into my house, and I’ve come in, I’ve heard “The Greatest Showman” playing, and I come around the corner and there are my kids watching the movie, singing along and there’s Hugh acting it out with them like just this big kid.”

The 47-year-old continued, “It was [one of] the most heartbreaking, beautiful things I’d ever seen. I knew I would never be able to top it, so I’ve started a new life in a new country with a secret family just like everyone’s supposed to.”

But of course, Jackman had the last laugh, adding, “By the way, we didn’t rent it, we bought it on your account. Residuals.”

Peggy, a pug crossed with a Chinese Crested, landed her breakthrough role in “Deadpool & Wolverine” as Dogpool, protagonist Wade Wilson’s canine sidekick. Actor and producer Ryan Reynolds said Peggy caught his eye after she was crowned with the unfortunate title of Britain’s ugliest in 2023.

“I was a huge proponent for her [to be in the movie] because she feels like the animal manifestation of Wade Wilson,” Reynolds, 47, said in an interview with Empire. He described the on-screen moment where Dogpool meets Wilson as “love at first sight.”

Peggy walked the red carpet alongside Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and the rest of the “Deadpool & Wolverine” cast at the movie’s premieres.

“Guys, this is Peggy, aka Mary Puppins, aka Dogpool,” Reynolds said at the London premiere. “Get a good look.”

He held on to the dog, who was outfitted in her signature black-and-red movie costume, complete with boots. Reynolds gave Peggy a kiss on the head.

“Her nipples are the size of children’s fingers,” he said. “She won the ugliest dog in Britain, but we’re not telling her that because she’s a 10 in our hearts, isn’t she?

“And that tongue, by the way, is real, and I have tasted it. She loves to lick. Loves to get right in there. She is really, truly amazing.”

“This dog went through more training than Hugh Jackman did in the gym every single morning, and we love her very, very much — yes we do,” he added. “She’s a big star.”

Holly Middleton, Peggy’s owner, said the pup is “beautiful both inside and out” in an interview with BBC after Peggy secured her “ugliest dog” win.

Middleton, from East Yorkshire, adopted then-6-month-old Peggy online in 2018. She had been the last remaining pup in her litter.

“We loved her the [i]nstant we laid eyes on her with her big brown eyes, little tuft of white hair and her tongue lolling out to one side,” Middleton added. “We tend to forget Peggy isn’t your standard looking dog and we are very aware some people would refer to Peggy as ugly. It’s always in a humorous way and we don’t take offense, and neither does she.”

Though Peggy was not meant to have a starring role in the movie, she earned it, just like her British accolade.

“[It started as] a tiny little afterthought, and it grew,” Reynolds said to Empire. “It was one of those things where you just keep listening to the movie, and Dogpool became a staple.”

Peggy now has more than 180,000 followers on Instagram and her own line of Dogpool stuffed animals. It may simply be a matter of time before she earns her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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In an Instagram post July 22, Lively applauded Reynolds for his work in the third “Deadpool” film. The actor also shared a photo of herself kissing Reynolds, dressed in his Deadpool costume, on set.

A few days earlier, a new trailer for the film gave a split-second look at Deadpool’s female counterpart, Lady Deadpool. Lively’s appearance on set in a red outfit in her photo had many fans trying to make a connection between her and Lady Deadpool.

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“Okay it’s her. They keep posting stuff like this it’s gonna be her,” one account commented on her post.

“It’s time! Lady Deadpool,” another wrote.

Lady Deadpool can be seen in the trailer sporting a perky blond ponytail and a red and black outfit that’s similar to Deadpool’s.

While it’s unclear who plays Lady Deadpool for sure, online theories have ranged from Lively to her close pal Taylor Swift. (Reynolds has denied Swift is Lady Deadpool.)

(Note that there’s profanity in the trailer.)

In her Instagram post, Lively expressed her admiration for her husband’s work on the film, writing, “Brb I’m buying milky pens to write your name on my hand @vancityreynolds.”

The mother of four also shared a video of herself saying, “Tell me Deadpool’s married to a millennial girl in real life without telling me.”

The rest of the video is a montage of some of Deadpool’s most entertaining pop culture references that millennials would appreciate, ranging from an Avril Lavigne song to a “Harry Potter” reference.

“My y2k girlies, I should be competitive bc @itendswithusmovie is coming out in 3 weeks BUT when your middle school obsessions, your feelings post baby, or about Nice men who use feminism as a tool, your love of the Wizard of Oz, Succession, Sandy & Danny, driving with Avril blasting, the way the choreography of a certain boy*band song got me, of Baz Luhrmann fireworks to punctuate a moment, even down to the fact that our hair color is determined by seasons and the French method by which it’s painted are all so seen… MY WORD… it’s hard not to encourage my ladies to spot all the ways we’ve influenced @deadpoolmovie I’ve never been more proud. And I’ve given birth 4 times,” she captioned the post, adding a crying-laughing emoji at the end.

Only adding fuel to the fire, Lively accompanied Reynolds to the “Deadpool & Wolverine” premiere in New York City on July 22 — and her outfit gave off Lady Deadpool vibes.

The actor seemingly took inspiration from the character with her red carpet look, donning a red jumpsuit. She also wore her hair in a high ponytail.

So is Lively really Lady Deadpool? She and Reynolds have mastered the art of trolling each other on social media. Now, they may be honing their skills of dropping not-so-subtle hints online. Or they’re throwing fans off the scent of the character’s real identity. Either way, we can’t wait to find out once “Deadpool & Wolverine” is in theaters July 26.

This article first appeared on TODAY.com. Read more from TODAY here:

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The supremacy of “ Despicable Me 4 ” was hardly a surprise, as the Universal and Illumination franchise added $44.7 million and pushed the film over $200 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. But the big upset came further down the charts with “ Longlegs ” more than doubling the debut of the Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum romantic comedy “ Fly Me to the Moon.”

“Longlegs,” an original horror about a serial killer starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage, made an estimated $22.6 million from 2,510 theaters. That’s the best ever start for indie outfit Neon (most famous for releasing the Oscar-winning “Parasite”), which acquired the $10 million film for distribution. Written and directed by Osgood Perkins, “Longlegs” also scored the best opening for an R-rated film this year.

Neon deployed an innovative marketing strategy for the film, including touches like placing cipher messages in local newspapers and posting a Los Angeles billboard with a phone number that played an “unnerving” message. In its first 48 hours, the number received over 250,000 calls.

“Longlegs” was well-received by critics (it has an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes), but audiences gave it a less enthusiastic a C+ CinemaScore.

“Fly Me to the Moon,” an Apple Original Films production, launched with only $10 million over the weekend. It trailed holdovers “Inside Out 2,” in third with $20.8 million; and “A Quiet Place: Day One,” in fourth place with $11.8 million.

Sony distributed “Fly Me to the Moon,” the Greg Berlanti-directed film about a marketing executive brought in to sell the space race to the American public, and, later, stage a fake moon landing just in case. Apple has not yet announced when it will debut on its streaming service.

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The movie opened in 3,356 locations this weekend, attracting an audience that was mostly over 45. In this case, the audience was kinder than the critics, giving it an A- CinemaScore against a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, suggesting that word-of-mouth may work in its favor over the long run.

The year-to-date gap between box office performance this year and last is getting moderately slimmer. It’s now down 16.1% from 2023 thanks to a run of recent successes. But performance still pales in comparison to pre-pandemic standards. On July 14 in 2019, the annual box office take was at $6.2 billion. This year it’s at $4.1 billion so far.

“A very unpredictable summer movie season continues,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “And after a slow start in May (it) has continued to surprise and impress with expected as well as unexpected hits adding bottom-line dollars to the industry’s most important season.”

In limited release, A24 opened “ Sing Sing,” an early Oscar contender, in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles. With sellouts in both locations, it made $137,119, one of the best limited openings of the year. The film from director Greg Kwedar is about an arts program at the prison and features many real life participants, including Clarence Maclin in his film debut. “Sing Sing” will continue playing on four screens through July and expand nationwide in August.

Finally, “Twisters,” which opens in North America on Thursday, began its international rollout this weekend, earning $11.5 million from 38 markets including in Australia, Mexico and Brazil.

In its wake comes “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the first Marvel release of the summer.

Estimated ticket sales are for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Despicable Me 4,” $44.7 million.

2. “Longlegs,” $22.6 million.

3. “Inside Out 2,” $20.8 million.

4. “A Quiet Place: Day One,” $11.8 million.

5. “Fly Me to the Moon,” $10 million.

6. “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” $4.4 million.

7. “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1,” $2.4 million.

8. “MaXXXine,” $2.1 million.

9. “Indian 2,” $2 million.

10. “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot,” $1.3 million.

Start peeling that onion, because we’re getting another layer of everyone’s favorite ogre.

“Shrek 5” is officially in the works, according to a July 9 press release from Dreamworks Animation and Universal Pictures, and is set to hit theaters on July 1, 2026, just in time for the 25th anniversary of the first Shrek film.

While plot details are still under wraps, the original trio will return, with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz reprising their roles as Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona, respectively.

The original 2001 film followed Shrek as he set out on a quest with his noble steed — Donkey — to rescue Princess Fiona from a tower guarded by a dragon. But the fairytale took a turn, when it was revealed that Fiona herself turned into an ogre after dark, an appearance she kept after she and Shrek fell in love.

Over the years, the story was expanded in followup films: 2004’s “Shrek 2,” 2007’s “Shrek the Third” and the last entry in the franchise, 2010’s “Shrek Forever After.”

And while fans are no doubt excited about revisiting Far, Far Away once again after 13 years, Myers himself has talked about how much making the films was an incredible part of his life — especially when it came to the unique storyline.

“I love the idea of taking a fairytale and turning it on its head,” he told GQ in 2022, “and having it be that all the traditional bad guys are good guys, and all the traditional good guys are bad guys.”

He continued, “And I realized it’s a dramatic role. I mean halfway through I went, ‘There’s an emotional center here.'”

But more than anything, Shrek’s theme of acceptance is something he found he could relate to.

“You know the old joke, ‘I wouldn’t want to be a member of a club that would have me as a member.’ I have always felt that way,” he said. “The concept of going from a self-loathing ogre to a self-accepting ogre was meaningful to me.”

“I loved playing Shrek,” he added. “If I had to do one Shrek a year I’d be thrilled.”

So, while we wait for “Shrek 5,” grab some waffles and keep reading for all the behind-the-scenes secrets about the first movie.

(E! and Universal Pictures are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

“Despicable Me 4,” the Illumination Animation sequel, led the way over the holiday weekend with $75 million in ticket sales Friday through Sunday and $122.6 million since opening on Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Independence Day holiday weekend haul for the Universal Pictures release further extends the considerable box-office reign of the Minions, arguably the most bankable force in movies today. And it also kept a summer streak going for Hollywood.

Though overall ticket sales were down more than 40% from levels prior to the COVID 19 pandemic, heading into the summer moviegoing season, theaters have lately seen a succession of hits. After Sony’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” outperformed expectations, Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” rapidly cleared $1 billion in ticket sales worldwide, making it the first release since “Barbie” to reach that mark. Last weekend, the Paramount prequel “A Quiet Place: Day One” also came in above expectations.

With “Deadpool & Wolverine” tracking for a $160 million launch later this month, Hollywood’s summer is looking up.

“If you look at the mood of the industry about eight weeks ago, very different than today,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “The song says what a difference a day makes. What a difference a month has made.”

It helps to have the Minions at your disposal. Since first debuting in the 2010 original “Despicable Me,” each entry of the franchise — including two sequels and two “Minions” spinoffs — has been seemingly guaranteed to gross around $1 billion. The four previous movies all made between $939 million (2022’s “Minions: Rise of Gru”) and $1.26 billion (2015’s “Minions”) globally.

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That run has helped give Illumination founder and chief executive Chris Meledandri one of the most enviable track records in Hollywood. “Despicable Me 4,” directed by Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage, returns the voice cast led by Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig and doubles down on more Minion mayhem. Reviews (54% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) weren’t particularly good for the latest installment, which includes a witness protection plot and a group of Minions transformed into a superhero squadron. But in their 12-year run, little has slowed down the Minions.

“This is one of the most beloved franchises, quite frankly, in the history of film, and certainly animation,” said Jim Orr, distribution chief for Universal. “Chris Meledandri and Illumination have their finger on the pulse of what families and audiences around the world want to see.”

Family movies are powering the box office. “Despicable Me 4” performed strongly despite the still considerable drawing power of “Inside Out 2.” In its fourth weekend of release, the Pixar sequel added another $30 million domestically and $78.3 million overseas.

“Inside Out 2,” with $1.22 billion in ticket sales thus far, is easily the year’s biggest hit and fast climbing up the all-time ranks for animated releases. It currently ranks as the No. 5 animated release worldwide.

Instead of cannibalizing the opening weekend for “Despicable Me 4,” “Inside Out 2” may have helped get families back in the habit of heading to theaters.

“What happened, I think, is the release calendar finally settled into a nice rhythm,” said Dergarabedian, referencing the jumbled movie schedule from last year’s strikes. “It’s all about momentum.”

The continued strong sales for “Inside Out 2” were enough to put the film in second place for the domestic weekend. Last week’s top new film, “A Quiet Place: Day One,” slid to third with $21 million in its second weekend, with another $21.1 million from overseas theaters. That was a steep decrease of 60%, though the Paramount prequel has amassed $178.2 million worldwide in two weeks.

The run of hits has caused some studios to boost their forecasts for the summer movie season. Heading into the most lucrative season at theaters, analysts were predicting a $3 billion summer, down from the more typical $4 billion mark. Now, closer to $3.4 billion appears likely.

The weekend’s other top new release was Ti West’s “MaXXXine,” the third in a string of slasher films from A24 starring Mia Goth. In 2,450 locations, “MaXXXine” collected $6.7 million in ticket sales, a franchise best. The film, which follows “X” and “Pearl” (both released in 2022), stars Goth as a 1980s Hollywood starlet being hunted by a killer known as the Night Stalker.

Angel Studios, which last year released the unexpected summer hit “Sound of Freedom,” struggled to find the same success with its latest Christian film, “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.” It debuted with $3.2 million.

Kevin Costner’s big-budget gamble, “Horizon: An American Saga,” didn’t do much to turn around its fortunes in its second weekend. The first chapter in what Costner hopes will be a four-part franchise – including a chapter two Warner Bros. will release in August – earned $5.5 million in its second weekend. The film, which cost more than $100 million to make, has grossed $22.2 million in two weeks.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Despicable Me 4,” $75 million.

2. “Inside Out 2,” $30 million.

3. “A Quiet Place Day One,” $21 million.

4. “MaXXXine,” $6.7 million.

5. “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” $6.5 million.

6. “Horizon: An American Saga, Chapter 1,” $5.5 million.

7. “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot,” $3.2 million.

8. “Kaiki 2898,” $1.8 million.

9. “The Bikeriders,” $1.3 million.

10. “Kinds of Kindness,” $860,000.

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton is a co-producer of the project, which collected footage at several F1 circuits around the world this year and last.

Footage was taken at Silverstone — home of the British Grand Prix — and at the Hungaroring near Budapest; as well as the historic Spa Francorchamps in Belgium; Japan’s popular Suzuka track and Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit.

Pitt plays a former driver who returns to Formula 1 alongside a rookie teammate, who is played by London-born actor Damson Idris. Their fictional F1 team is called APXGP.

The film is directed by Joseph Kosinski of “Top Gun: Maverick” fame.

Formula 1 said in a statement that the film will be released next June.

In a recent interview with People, Kidman and her “A Family Affair” co-star Zac Efron revealed the movie’s explicit working title.

“Originally, it had a different title,” Kidman said, as Efron chimed in with the original name: “It was called Motherf—–.”

“Beeped out,” Kidman clarified. “Somehow that didn’t make it onto the Netflix title.”

The raunchy original title is what caught the actors’ eyes and drew them to the script.

“That made the script stay at the top of the pile. It’s like, what on Earth could this be about?” Efron said.

The PG-13 film “A Family Affair,” which hit Netflix June 28, marks Kidman and Efron’s second time playing onscreen love interests. The actors originally worked together more than a decade prior in the 2012 movie “The Paperboy.”

The “Iron Claw” star said that the enthusiasm to work together again was mutual and said they both “jumped at” the opportunity.

“It was like, this is perfect,” he said. “What better way to reconnect? And we get to have fun.”

The actor also revealed that he was “still so enamored” with Kidman after all these years.

“There’s a part of me that pinches myself when I realize who I’m working with a lot,” he said.

“I think that was more pronounced during ‘The Paperboy’ because I was a lot younger,” he added. “I was very nervous back then.”

The romantic comedy stars Kidman and Efron alongside Kathy Bates and Joey King. In the movie, Efron takes on the role of movie star Chris Cole with King portraying his personal assistant, Zara. Kidman plays Zara’s mom, Brooke, while Bates plays her grandmother, Leila.

Chris proves to be a high maintenance boss for Zara. After cleaning up one too many of his messes, she deems him too self-centered to ever promote her and decides to quit. When he tries to get Zara to return to work with a new title, he ends up meeting Brooke. A whirlwind romance ensues, which Zara tries to personally shut down.

While Efron was excited to reunite with Kidman again, for King, working with him was a dream come true.

The “Kissing Booth” star said during an interview with “Etalk” that “obsessed is an understatement” when it came to the “High School Musical” franchise.

“Zac was my everything when I was younger, and you still are, Zac. There’s so many moments that are pinch me over the years and this is definitely one of them,” she said, before joking, “And I never want to work with you again.

“You lived up to the hype, man,” she added.

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Tom Hanks and Robin Wright – who starred in the iconic movie “Forrest Gump” released 30 years ago – have reunited in the upcoming film “Here.”

And they look as young as they did back when Forrest was running around Greenbow, Alabama.

The trailer for their new film was released Wednesday by Sony, showing the de-aging technology used on Hanks, 67, and Wright, 58, while capturing the passage of time over the course of their relationship from high school sweethearts to elderly spouses. 

As decades pass and appearances change in the movie, the camera used stays firmly in place throughout, with no zooming or spinning. Viewers get one vantage point during the 104-minute film, which is set entirely in the New England location that becomes the couple’s living room. 

“The single perspective never changes, but everything around it does,” director Robert Zemeckis, who also directed “Forrest Gump,” told Vanity Fair. “It’s actually never been done before. There are similar scenes in very early silent movies, before the language of montage was invented. But other than that, yeah, it was a risky venture.”

The trailer shows the location of the living room from when it was a plot of land during the age of dinosaurs, to when the house was constructed, to when an elderly Hanks and Wright, in their roles as Richard and Margaret, have seemingly moved out.

“This was our home,” Hanks tells Wright in an empty living room. “We lived here.”

Here’s everything you need to know about the movie “Here.”

When does “Here” come out?

“Here” will be released in theaters on Nov. 15.

Who stars in “Here”?

Tom Hanks and Robin Wright portray the main characters in “Here.” The movie also stars Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly and Michelle Dockery.

The film reunites the stars of “Forrest Gump” with the 1994 movie’s director Robert Zemeckis, who is “Here’s” director and script co-writer.

Their new movie comes as “Forrest Gump” – which won six Academy Awards – marks its 30th anniversary this summer.  

What is “Here” about?

“Here” captures the relationship of Richard and Margaret, played by Hanks and Wright, over the course of decades strictly from within the setting of their living room.  

The movie is based off Richard McGuire’s graphic novel of the same title.

According to Sony, “Here is an original film about multiple families and a special place they inhabit. The story travels through generations, capturing the human experience in its purest form.”

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Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

Not only is it the second-highest opening weekend in Pixar’s 29 years of making films and the second-biggest animated opening ever (behind only the $182.7 million launch of “Incredibles 2” in 2018); It’s also the biggest of 2024, and since “Barbie.” With an estimated $140 million from international showings, “Inside Out 2” had a staggering, and record-breaking, $295 million global start.

Tony Chambers, who heads theatrical distribution for Disney, was confident that the film would do “extremely well.” But even he was surprised at how much it exceeded already high expectations.

“People go to the theaters for great movies,” Chambers said. “The reviews, the word of mouth just helped build this momentum … It’s becoming a bit of a phenomenon.”

Importantly, “Inside Out 2” audiences spanned ages and all demographics. Post-COVID, he said, breakout successes depend on attracting multicultural audiences.

The success is significant for Pixar, marking a much-needed return to form for a studio that has had a string of underwhelming launches including “ Elemental,” which did eventually become a success, and “ Lightyear,” which didn’t. It’s also vitally important for the greater Hollywood ecosystem and the health of theatrical exhibition, which had been running at a 26% deficit.

“Everybody needed this because success begets success,” said Chambers, who has been getting excited calls from exhibitors and fellow studios alike. “It’s great for the industry, great for Pixar and great for the business overall.”

Disney was already having a good summer, with “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which this weekend was in third place in its sixth weekend with $5.2 million (bringing its global total to $374.5 million). And next up is “ Deadpool & Wolverine ” (July 26).

Kelsey Mann directed “Inside Out 2,” which picks up with Riley as she turns 13. That means the arrival of new emotions like Anxiety (Maya Hawke) and Envy ( Ayo Edebiri ) to Joy’s (Amy Poehler) party. It got glowing reviews from critics (92% on Rotten Tomatoes) and polled audiences who gave it an A CinemaScore, suggesting that this won’t be a first-weekend wonder. With kids out of school and an open market until “Despicable Me 4” enters the ring over the Fourth of July, “Inside Out 2” is just getting started.

“This is a monumental weekend for movie theaters,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore.

“Inside Out 2” is estimated to have cost around $200 million to produce, which does not account for the millions spent on marketing. Going into the weekend, it was tracking for a debut in the $90 million range, which would have been in line with “Inside Out’s” first weekend in June 2019. Even that would have been considered a terrific achievement, and enough to claim the biggest opening of the year — finally unseating March releases like “ Dune: Part Two ” and “ Godzilla x Kong.”

“For the entire industry that works for theatrical, this is a huge turning point for 2024,” said Daniel Loria of Boxoffice Pro. “This is the sort of weekend we’ve been waiting for.”

As the only major release of the weekend, its theatrical footprint was equally impressive playing on 400 IMAX screens, over 900 “premium large format” screens and over 2,500 3D screens.

This recommitment to theatrical comes after Disney sent several Pixar films straight to its streaming service, Disney+, over the pandemic including “Soul,” “Luca” and “Turning Red.” Last month, the New York Times reported that Pixar had decided to return its focus to feature films (and not producing shows for Disney+) and that it had laid off 14% of its workforce (about 175 employees).

“As important as this weekend is for the industry at large, for Pixar this is huge. They’ve been trying to get their groove back since the pandemic,” Dergarabedian said. “They’ve really come back big.”

Second place went to Sony’s “ Bad Boys: Ride or Die, ” now in its second weekend with $33 million, down only 42% from its opening. In just 12 days, it’s already earned over $112 million domestically and $214 million globally. As of Friday, the four-film franchise had crossed the $1 billion mark.

“Bad Boys’” success last weekend was the start of a higher-earning turnaround for the lagging summer movie season. For Hollywood, the summer season, which runs from the first weekend in May through Labor Day, usually represents about 40% of the yearly box office. The deficit is still significant, with ticket sales down 28% for the summer and 24% for the year (and this is still before “Barbenheimer”) but it’s progress in a more promising direction nonetheless.

“We’re not going to get there overnight,” Dergarabedian said. “But it’s good news for theaters. And we have some big movies on the way.”

On the ground, theater owners saw their cineplexes come to life this weekend.

“It has been magical,” said Jeff Whipple, a vice president for Megaplex Theaters. “We have seen literally generations of families brought together for this movie.”

Megaplex Theaters operates 15 locations and 173 screens in Utah and Southern Nevada. And the energy was palpable, Whipple said. Not only have families been hanging around after the showtimes to discuss the film; They’ve also been scoping out what’s coming next with kids taking pictures of the “Despicable Me 4” posters and displays and dads taking note of the “Deadpool & Wolverine” date.

“I think word is going to spread on this film and help draw people into theaters throughout the summer,” Whipple said.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Inside Out 2,” $155 million.

2. “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” $33 million.

3. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” $5.2 million.

4. “The Garfield Movie,” $5 million.

5. “The Watchers,” $3.7 million.

6. “IF,” $3.5 million.

7. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” $2.4 million.

8. “The Fall Guy,” $1.5 million.

9. “The Strangers: Chapter 1,” $760,000.

10. “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” $632,910.

Warner Bros. shared the news in a June 10 TikTok clip featuring one of the most famous scenes from the original movie.

In the TikTok post, stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman dance around with their midnight margaritas to the song “Coconut” by Harry Nilsson. The text over the snippet reads, “Me & the girls finding out that Practical Magic 2 is happening.”

The caption confirms the news: “It’s official… Practical Magic 2 is coming!”

Since the announcement, Warners Bros. has shared several other videos with clips from the first film with captions like, “You asked for it!” with the hashtag #PracticalMagic2 and, “Can’t talk, busy summoning Practical Magic 2.”

The movie studio teased the impending announcement on TikTok June 9, sending fans into a tailspin. Three candles lit one by one in the video, set to a spooky track from composer Alan Silvestri’s film score. 

Text over the video directed users to return to TikTok at midnight, which fans clocked as a reference to the film’s midnight margarita’s scene, memorably set to Harry Nilsson’s “Coconut.” 

“Something magical is brewing…” the post’s caption read.

Based on the book “Practical Magic” by Alice Hoffman, the movie stars Bullock and Kidman as witchy sisters Sally and Gillian Owens. Sally and Gillian attempt to break their family’s curse, which dooms any man who loves an Owens woman to death.

Blood oaths, resurrection possession and the formation of a small-town Massachusetts coven ensue, culminating in a dramatic exorcism.

The film premiered in 1998 and endures as a cult classic today.

Spinoff murmurings surrounding “Practical Magic” picked up in 2019 after Max (then HBO Max) ordered a one-hour pilot for “The Rules of Magic,” a prequel series focusing on siblings Franny, Jet and Vincent Owens.

Franny and Jet become Sally and Gillian’s spell-casting aunts, played by Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest in the 1998 movie.

In February, “Practical Magic” producer Denise Di Novi told UPI the Max TV series was no longer development but teased another “secret.” 

“There is something else that’s going to happen that is still a secret. But, I think the fans are going to be thrilled,” Di Novi said. 

“It’s not ‘The Rules of Magic,’ which I did develop for television, but it’s in the world of ‘Practical Magic,’” Di Novi added at the time. “Something is in the works.”

The cast or release date have not been confirmed. TODAY.com has reached out to Kidman and Bullock about their potential return but has not heard back at the time of publication.

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Expectations were all over the map for “Ride or Die” given the dismal moviegoing market thus far this summer and Smith’s less certain box-office clout. In the end, though, the Sony Pictures release came in very close to, or slightly above, its tracking forecast.

“Ride or Die,” produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, is Smith’s first theatrical test since his 2022 slap of Rock earned him a 10-year Oscar ban. The “Bad Boys” film was in development at the time and was momentarily put on hold, but ultimately went forward with about a $100 million production budget.

Smith starred in the Apple release “Emancipation,” but that film — released in late 2022 — was shot before the slap and received only a modest theatrical release before streaming.

This time around, Smith largely avoided soul-searching interviews looking back on the Oscars and instead went on a whistle-stop publicity tour of red carpets from Mexico to Saudi Arabia, where he attended what was billed as the country’s first Hollywood premiere. The 55-year-old Smith, who for years was one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, appeared on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,” the YouTube series “Hot Ones” and on Friday, made a surprise appearance at a Los Angeles movie theater.

Given that “Bad Boys” trailed May disappointments like “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “The Fall Guy” – both of which struggled to pop with ticket buyers despite very good reviews – the “Ride or Die” opening counts as a critical weekend win for the movie business.

“The fact that a movie overperformed is the best possible news,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “It seems like all we’ve been doing over the past few weeks and almost since the beginning of the year, with a couple of exceptions, is try to figure out why seemingly well-marketed, well-reviewed movies have underperformed. This ignites the spark that the industry has been waiting for.”

“Ride or Die” still didn’t quite manage to match the opening of the previous “Bad Boys” film: 2020’s “Bad Boys for Life.” That movie, released in January 2020, debuted with $62.5 million. After the pandemic shut down theaters, it was the highest grossing North American release of that year, with $204 million domestically.

“Ride or Die” added $48.6 million internationally. Though reviews were mixed (64% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave the film a high grade with an “A-” CinemaScore. Black moviegoers accounted for 44% of ticket buyers, the largest demographic.

In the film, which comes 29 years after the original, Smith and Lawrence reprise their roles as Miami detectives. The plot revolves around uncovering a scheme to frame their late police captain (Joe Pantoliano). In one of the movie’s most notable scenes, Lawrence slaps Smith and calls him a “bad boy.”

Movie theaters will need a lot more than “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” though, to right the ship. Ticket sales are down 26% from last year and more than 40% below pre-pandemic totals, according to Comscore. A big test comes next weekend with the release of Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.” After sending several Pixar releases straight to Disney+, the studio has vowed a lengthy, traditional theatrical rollout this time.

Last weekend’s top film “The Garfield Movie,” slid to second place. Also from Sony, the family animated comedy collected $10 million in ticket sales over its third weekend, bringing its domestic gross to $68.6 million.

The weekend’s other new wide release, “The Watchers,” failed to click with moviegoers. The horror film, directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan, daughter of M. Night Shyamalan, is about a stranded 28-year-old artist in Ireland. Following poor reviews, the Warner Bros. release grossed $7 million in 3,351 theaters.

That allowed “If,” the Ryan Reynolds imaginary friend fantasy, to grab third place in its fourth weekend of release, bringing the Paramount Pictures cumulative domestic total to $93.5 million. Rounding out the top five was “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which added $5.4 million in its fifth weekend of release. It has grossed $150 million domestically and $360 million worldwide.

Moana, our favorite wayfinder, is back in a brand-new animated adventure that premieres Nov. 27. The trailer just dropped and it will get your heart beating just as fiercely as the Polynesian drums.

“This is a call from the ancestors,” Moana’s voiceover begins, “to sail to new skies, and reconnect our people across the entire ocean.”

This journey certainly seems more ambitious than the first.

After we see a slightly older Moana saying farewell to her village — and maybe even a younger sibling — she confidently sets sail, encountering giant sea creatures, strong waves and the Kakamora. (In case you’ve forgotten, the Kakamora are the coconut-looking “murdering little pirates” from the first film.)

The Kakamora aren’t the only familiar faces you’ll see. Moana’s trusty sidekicks, Hei Hei the rooster and Pua the pig are once again in the mix.

And how could the movie be complete without the larger-than-life Maui?

In the trailer, he appears as a shark, then as a hawk before he transforms into human form.

“Boat snack!” he says, grabbing Hei Hei. “Boat snack upgrade!” he says after Pua falls into his free hand. “Bacon and eggs? Why didn’t you bring the pig last time?” he asks Moana.

While Lin-Manuel Miranda penned standout songs from the first film, like “How Far I’ll Go” and “You’re Welcome,” Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear, Opetaia Foa’i and Mark Mancina will oversee the music for the sequel. Foa’i and Mancina previously worked on songs for the first animated flick.

Barlow and Bear are the first female songwriting duo — and the youngest — to compose for a Disney feature film. Based on the fervent fan base these Grammy winners attracted for the unofficial “Bridgerton” musical, we’re guessing their tunes will likely appear in our favorites list during the holiday season and beyond.

The film opens the day before Thanksgiving, just in time for holiday viewing. How far will you go to join Moana on her next adventure?

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The two actors, who last appeared onscreen together 16 years ago in the 2008 crime comedy “Burn After Reading,” remain uncomfortably silent as they travel in a car together in the seemingly tense 30-second trailer, released May 28.

Clooney sits behind the wheel looking annoyed while Pitt fidgets with the car’s visor and then opens the glove box, prompting Clooney to slam it shut. Throughout the trailer, the car’s windshield wipers squeak excruciatingly slowly over the car’s windshield.

A new (and hopefully longer) trailer for “Wolfs” will be released May 29.

What is ‘Wolfs’ about?

“Wolfs,” written and directed by “Spider-Man” franchise director Jon Watts, tells the story of two lone-wolf fixers who attempt to cover up the same high-profile crime, according to GQ.

The movie also stars Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams and Poorna Jagannathan.

When is ‘Wolfs’ coming out?

The movie is scheduled for a theatrical release September 20, according to GQ.

Will we see Clooney and Pitt in any other movies?

Clooney told Deadline in December 2023 that he, Pitt and Watts were “already talking about a sequel” for “Wolfs,” calling the filming of the movie a “great shoot.”

“We had a blast doing it and we’ve seen it. It’s an off-the-charts great film and it’s fun to work with Brad again. We had a really good time,” said Clooney.

Pitt and Clooney have appeared onscreen together several times in the past. In addition to 2008’s “Burn Before The Reading,” the pair co-starred in the “Oceans” franchise.

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It was a close race, but the wasteland warrior of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” came out slightly ahead of the plump orange cat with an estimated $32 million in ticket sales over the four-day weekend according to studio estimates Monday. “The Garfield Movie,” a Sony release, earned $31.1 million in its first four days.

The dust won’t officially settle on the showdown until Tuesday when final numbers are reported, but for now at least Warner Bros. has the No. 1 movie in the country. Including international showings, its running global earnings are at $64.8 million. But victory is a long way off for the $168 million production starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth. George Miller’s prequel stormed theaters riding on great reviews and was expected to have at least a slightly stronger debut.

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For Sony, the launch of the more modestly budgeted “The Garfield Movie” is a win even without the bragging rights of being in first place. The animated film featuring the voice of Chris Pratt is likely to have a long life at the box office the summer holiday beginning for school age children. With its early international release, “The Garfield Movie” has already earned over $91.1 million against its $60 million production budget.

But this weekend has also been a sobering one for Hollywood as one of the worst Memorial Day weekend box office showings in decades, excluding 2020 when theaters were closed. Ticket sales are down 22% from 2023 and the gap may just get bigger as the summer goes on. Remember, at this point last year “Barbenheimer” hadn’t even happened.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Monday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.

1. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” $32 million.

2. “The Garfield Movie,” $31.1 million.

3. “IF,” $21 million.

4. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” $17.2 million.

5. “The Fall Guy,” $7.7 million.

6. “The Strangers: Chapter 1,” $6.9 million.

7. “Sight,” $3.6 million.

8. “Challengers,” $1.8 million.

9. “Back to Black,” $1.4 million.

10. “Babes,” $1.2 million.

One of the most iconic movie homes in the Chicago area was placed on the market Friday, which could make a popular Christmastime attraction your home for a hefty sum.

Made famous for appearing in the 1990 Christmas classic “Home Alone,” the red brick Georgian home at 671 North Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka is now officially for sale at $5,250,000.

Those interested in owning the McCallister family’s residence may notice upon looking at the home’s listing that much of the more than 9,000-square-foot house bears little resemblance to the home in the film, which can be attributed to interior scenes being shot at the shuttered New Trier Township High School and a recent renovation.

While key spaces such as the foyer and instantly recognizable entry staircase were largely unchanged, the home is now also loaded with luxurious amenities — including one feature that the home’s Zillow listing considers to be “the ultimate wow factor.”

Consisting of five bedrooms and a whopping six bathrooms, the residence has a number of notable features — like a luxurious primary suite with a gas fireplace, two laundry rooms and an attic-turned-junior suite that offers “a magnificent treetop escape.”

There’s also a recent addition complete with a sun-drenched family room with sweeping 10-foot, 4-inch tall coffered ceilings and walls of French doors that open to the inviting backyard.

If you’re already impressed, wait for the basement.

The lower level is packed with a fully equipped gym, a recreation space, a full bath, wet bar and a state-of-the-art movie theater, according to the listing.

If you didn’t think that was enough to live inside a part of local film history, there’s also a state-of-the-art indoor basketball court featuring a realistic three-point line.

If you’re wondering, the current owners purchased the residence for $1,585,000 in March of 2012. While the home isn’t open to the public, some lucky folks did get a chance to stay there in recent years.

Reservations for a one-night stay were available through Airbnb just ahead of Christmas in 2021, and unsurprisingly, they sold out quickly.

Renters were able to enjoy the family house as they knew it — filled with Christmas decorations, booby traps, a candlelit dinner of highly nutritious microwavable macaroni and cheese, Kevin’s dad’s aftershave, ’90s junk food, “Chicago’s finest pizza” and more.

For the first time since 2009, the box office doesn’t have a Marvel film to kick off the summer movie season — and it shows.

Since the 2008 release of “Iron Man,” Marvel Cinematic Universe films have consistently launched during this highly lucrative moviegoing season, with only two films generating openings of less than $100 million — not including pandemic years.

This year, the headline film for the first summer weekend was Universal’s “The Fall Guy.” And despite strong marketing efforts and solid reviews, the movie failed to drum up ticket sales during its opening last weekend. The film tallied less than $28 million during its domestic debut.

“‘The Fall Guy’ had quality co-stars in Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, but the lack of a known franchise brand and a niche storyline made it too narrow to attract a mass summer-like audience,” Eric Handler, managing director at Roth MKM, wrote in a note to investors Monday.

That stumble doesn’t bode well for the summer box office, which was already set to decline from last year’s $4.1 billion haul after dual Hollywood labor strikes halted production and clogged the pipeline of new film releases.

The result could send the 2024 summer box office down as much as $800 million compared with 2023, according to Comscore’s Paul Dergarabedian, and have ripple effects for the whole year. After all, the key summer period, which runs from the first weekend in May through Labor Day, typically accounts for 40% of the total annual domestic box office.

A limited and unsteady stream of new films means moviegoers haven’t been exposed to film trailers and poster promotions at their local cinemas and may not be aware of the features heading to the big screen. Additionally, this summer’s movie slate is not as strong as that of prior years, with fewer blockbusters and major franchise films.

There’s only one superhero film slated for the summer — “Deadpool and Wolverine,” the first R-rated Disney Marvel flick — and it doesn’t arrive until late July.

At present, analysts believe the summer movie season will exceed $3 billion in ticket sales, but just barely. Before Covid, the summer box office consistently topped more than $4 billion. The last time ticket sales were as low as $3 billion during this season was in 2000, according to data from Comscore.

“Even with the inevitable year-over-year revenue downturn, the summer of ’24 should be judged more by the quality and value of the moviegoing experience than the quantity of box office cash in the drawer,” said Dergarabedian.

A lackluster summer

So far this quarter, the box office is tracking down 48% year-over-year, Handler noted. While he expects the May slate to help strengthen ticket sales, the box office “will need to see some big splashes” to “reclaim some lost ground.”

“Right now, cinema operators are in need of a significant content infusion,” Handler wrote. “Not only is the volume of content down in 2Q, but it also lacks sizzle.”

For the rest of May, Disney’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is currently tracking for a domestic opening weekend of between $55 million and $60 million. Paramount’s “IF” is looking at around $40 million. And Warner Bros.’ “Furiosa” is expected to hit between $40 million and $50 million.

However, those forecasts pale compared with major releases during the same month last year. Universal’s “Fast X” tallied $67 million during its opening, and Disney’s live-action film “The Little Mermaid” opened to $96 million.

It’s yet to be seen if this summer will have any breakout hits, such as Angel’s “Sound of Freedom” last year, that could bolster the overall box office.

A strong finish

What the summer 2024 slate has going for it is more family-friendly fare. A slew of animated features from established franchises should draw out parents and kids during summer vacation and time off from school.

Currently, Universal’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” is the second-highest-grossing film domestically for 2024, with $188.4 million in ticket sales. Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s “Dune: Part Two” is the highest-grossing domestic release so far this year with $281.3 million.

And some heavy hitters are coming during the last stretch of the year.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” arrives in early September, “Joker: Folie a Deux” hits in October alongside “Venom: The Last Dance,” and November sees “Gladiator II,” “Moana 2” and “Wicked.” Additionally, December will have “Kraven the Hunter,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” and “Mufasa: The Lion King.”

Notably, the first “Joker” tallied $335 million domestically in 2019. Both “Venom” films generated $213 million apiece. “Moana” in 2016 took in $248.7 million, and the two previous “Sonic” movies scored $146 million and $190 million during their runs in theaters.

“Ultimately the race is won at the multiplex and not on a spreadsheet,” said Dergarabedian.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.

According to a press release, the event, Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024, will take place June 28, 29 and 30. The event will make Chicago the first U.S. city to host a Sundance film and artist event outside of Park City, Utah, the home for the well-known annual Sundance Film Festival, the release said.

“This collaboration between Choose Chicago, the City of Chicago, and the Sundance Institute is a momentous
occasion for our city,” a statement from Mayor Brandon Johnson said in the release. “It not only celebrates our rich filmmaking heritage, but also provides an unparalleled platform for our local talent to engage with industry leaders and decision-makers.”

“This event is a shining example of our commitment to enriching Chicago’s cultural landscape and fostering an environment where the arts can thrive,” the statement continued.

The summer event will include screenings of four films from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in January, along with Q&As with filmmakers, the release said. It’s also set to include panel discussions, presentations, and a film program and masterclass for emerging and underrepresented filmmakers, the release added.

“To know the history and landscape of independent storytelling is to know that Chicago has always been a home and a source of inspiration for artists, many of whom have ties to Sundance through our Festival and artist support programs,” Eugene Hernandez, festival director and head of public programming at the Sundance Institute said in the release. “All of us at the Institute are very much looking forward to deepening our connection to this unique community of film lovers, film champions, and filmmakers through this weekend of events designed for and with the city of Chicago.”

Chicago currently boasts more than 50 film festivals each year, the release stated.

Information on tickets, venues and films has not yet been released. More information can be found here.

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

Things change. The Hoosier Gym doesn’t.

About 35 miles east of Indianapolis is the little town of Knightstown, which most people probably aren’t too familiar with. Basketball fans, however, are likely very aware of the place that brings more people into the town than anything else — a small brick building that the Hickory Huskers of the movie “Hoosiers” called home. It’s still there, still iconic nearly four decades after the film’s release, hosting more than 50,000 visitors and dozens of high school games each year.

“When you get that many people coming here every year,” said Larry Loveall, one of the volunteers that keeps the gym running, “you know you’re doing something right.”

The movie — ranked as the No. 1 sports film of all-time by The Associated Press in 2020 — was released in 1986. Gene Hackman starred as coach Dale, a man who was given a second chance at coaching after his first one ended for striking one of his players years earlier. Hackman famously thought the movie would end his career; he didn’t think it would be a success.

He was very, very wrong. The tale of the Huskers, a small-town team that in the movie version took on the big-city South Bend Central in the 1952 Indiana state championship game and won in a David vs. Goliath story with Chitwood — a sharpshooter who initially didn’t want to play for the team — hitting the buzzer-beater to win the state title, still resonates. It’s an underdog story, a Cinderella story, one loosely based on the real-life story of small-school Milan winning Indiana’s 1954 state championship.

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“It’s about basketball, obviously,” said Brad Long, who plays Buddy Walker in the film. “But it’s about redemption and anytime you have a movie where the underdog does well and overachieves, it makes people feel good about themselves. That formula always works.”

It still does.

The movie plays on a loop in the lobby of the building, which was Knightstown High’s home gym until 1966. The court, which is meticulously maintained, has been down since 1936 and there isn’t a single dead spot to thwart dribblers. Down the steep staircase at the far end is the Hickory locker room; people have wanted to repaint it over the years but have smartly resisted — because the faded white walls and scuffed-up gray floor is how it looked in the movie, and so it shall remain.

There have been some upgrades, of course. The backboards are glass, not wood like they were in the film. There are digital scoreboards. Electric heat was added to the locker room. The playing surface was slightly widened to make it conform to current standards.

That’s about it.

“I’ve been maintaining this gym since 1998,” Loveall said. “It’s our pride and joy.”

The gym is in Knightstown, though the movie isn’t about the town. The school — enrollment of nearly 400, not quite the 64 that Hickory famously had in the movie — goes by the nickname Panthers, not Huskers. The Panthers don’t play their home games in The Hoosier Gym, and there has been a time or two where the gym and the school have disagreed on where some items like a long-abandoned victory bell belong; it’s displayed at the gym, in a room filled with Knightstown memorabilia and not artifacts from the movie.

The place remains open largely because fans keep visiting. It has been the site of everything from political rallies to fundraising dinners. The court can be rented for $100 an hour — and groups come from all over to play or just get shots up.

“It’s always an honor to be back,” actor Maris Valainis, who plays Chitwood in the movie, said when the team was assembled in Knightstown for a 35th anniversary gathering a couple years ago.

Of the many lines in the movie that resonate, one — “Welcome to Indiana basketball,” the line uttered by Dale as he fixes his tie before stepping onto the court for his first game as coach — might stand out a bit more than most others.

Thing is, the court isn’t just about Indiana basketball anymore.

High school teams from across the country come to play there now, and from that was born a new tradition. They leave a jersey behind, all signed by players. They hang in the locker room and other parts of the building, more than 300 of them now in a collection that’s constantly growing. Some leave little notes behind on the jerseys as well; Cale Leitch of Talawanda High in Ohio hit a shot at the buzzer to give his team a 48-46 win there last year and scrawled “Game winner” under his name and number.

“I envisioned it,” Leitch told the Southwest Ohio Sports Daily after his winning shot.

There have been more famous visitors as well. LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony were there once as their NBA careers were starting, posing at midcourt with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Chris Mullin has gotten shots up there, while Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. played there as high schoolers.

The movie even got talked about at NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis. Commissioner Adam Silver and No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama were on stage together at the tech summit discussing how artificial intelligence can change the way people view the game. Part of their presentation included a clip from “Hoosiers,” a movie that Wembanyama had just been introduced to.

“It’s based in Indiana,” Silver told Wembanyama. “Parts of it were filmed right down the street here.”

Maybe fittingly, there’s still the whole David vs. Goliath thing going on, just like in the movie.

New Castle — like Knightstown, part of Henry County — boasts the biggest high school basketball arena in the country, the 8,400-seat New Castle Fieldhouse. The Hoosier Gym might hold 400, tops.

“They’ll always tell us that they’ve got the world’s largest high school gym,” Loveall said. “And I said, ‘Isn’t that amazing, in the same county we’ve got the world’s largest — and the world’s most famous.’”

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

The two-minute trailer shows “Industry” and “Barbie” star Marisa Abela playing Winehouse in the British singer’s signature beehive hairstyle and winged eyeliner. Winehouse’s 2006 classic “Rehab” plays over scenes showing her gritty early life and relationships away from the stage. Abela recorded and performs the songs in the movie.

“You need to know this,” she says over the phone at one point. “I ain’t no Spice Girl.”

The clip shows the alternately tender and turbulent relationship between Winehouse and her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, played by Jack O’Connell. It also gives a look at actor Eddie Marsan playing Winehouse’s father, Mitch Winehouse.

The movie is named after Winehouse’s 2006 hit album, which won five Grammys. Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning in 2011.

“I don’t write songs to be famous,” she says in the trailer. “I write songs because I’ve got to make something good out of something bad.”

The movie, which was directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Fifty Shades of Grey”), is set to be released on April 12 in the U.K. and on May 17 in the U.S.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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You go, Glen Coco.

Paramount’s “Mean Girls,” a musical film adaptation of the Broadway show and beloved 2004 film of the same name, opened to an estimated $28 million at the domestic box office, on its way to a $32 million take for the holiday weekend.

The haul comes in on the high end of expectations and exceeds the $24.4 million opening that the Lindsay Lohan-led original snared two decades earlier. It’s particularly impressive considering Paramount had initially commissioned the $36 million-budgeted film for a straight-to-streaming release.

“It seems that ‘Mean Girls’ in any format and on every platform has a message that resonates strongly with audiences,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “Whether as a feature film comedy, a Broadway musical or a new big screen adaptation, Tina Fey’s vision for these characters has truly struck a chord with audiences some two decades after the release of the original on the big screen.”

The movie musical genre has struggled to appeal to moviegoers in recent years, but with Warner Bros.’ “Wonka” and “The Color Purple” alongside the new adaptation of “Mean Girls” it seems like audiences have reversed course.

Combine the musical talent and charisma of star Renee Rapp with the pervasive nostalgia of the original film, and the new “Mean Girls” had a lot to offer cinemagoers over the weekend.

“The success of Mean Girls this weekend is a case study in nostalgia successfully paired with a fresh and modern hook for today’s female audience,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “Many who grew up with the original film returned for this revival alongside younger audiences and fans of the Broadway musical.”

The film skewed toward the female audience, with 75% of ticket sales being bought by women, but played well outside of the teen demographic, said Steve Buck, of movie data firm EntTelligence. In fact, the biggest percentage of ticket sales were for those aged 26 to 35, who accounted for 34% of all opening weekend ticket sales. Meanwhile, the coveted 18 to 25 demographic represented 26% of ticket sales.

“This is another showcase of how important it is for Hollywood to embrace Gen Z alongside their fellow Millennial moviegoers as the two key demographics driving theatrical box office right now,” said BoxOffice.com’s Robbins. “The cinema is a communal hub, and what’s more communal than the marriage of music with movies? Mean Girls is truly an [intellectual property] that’s evolved into a multi-threat pop culture standout.”

The internet had nothing to say of Sherman’s impromptu movie review and her comments flew under the radar. That is until Christopher Nolan, the director of “Tenet,” revealed he took that class, setting the internet ablaze.

Accepting the award for best director for his latest film, “Oppenheimer,” at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards in New York City on Wednesday night, Nolan pointed out the “complex emotional relationship” directors have with critics and criticism, implying he isn’t one to read reviews of his own work.

That was until he was “gasping and dying” on his Peloton when the instructor, Sherman, started her spiel.

Word made it back to Sherman that Nolan took, and maybe didn’t love, her class, but that didn’t stop her from being pumped that Nolan knows who she is.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com.

Slashed free of Disney’s copyright as of Monday, the iconic character from “Steamboat Willie” is already the focus of two horror films. On Monday, just hours after the 1928 short entered the public domain, a trailer for “Mickey’s Mouse Trap” dropped on YouTube. Another yet-to-be-titled film was announced Tuesday.

“Steamboat Willie” featured early versions of both Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, it was the third cartoon featuring the duo they made but the first to be released. In it, a more menacing Mickey, bearing more resemblance to rat than mouse, captains a boat and makes musical instruments out of other animals.

It’s perhaps fitting, then, that the first projects announced are seemingly low-budget and campy slasher movies — and not unprecedented. Winnie the Pooh — sans red shirt — entered the public domain in 2022; scarcely a year later, he was notching up a heavy body count in the microbudget “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.”

In the trailer for “Mickey’s Mouse Trap,” directed by Jamie Bailey, what appears to be a human in a comically small Mickey mask terrorizes a group of young people at an arcade.

“A place for fun. A place for friends. A place for hunting,” text flashed during the trailer reads. “The mouse is out.”

“We just wanted to have fun with it all. I mean it’s Steamboat Willie’s Mickey Mouse murdering people,” director Jamie Bailey said in a statement cited by trade publications. “It’s ridiculous. We ran with it and had fun doing it and I think it shows.”

No release date has been set.

The second movie is from director Steven LaMorte, who previously directed a horror parody of “The Grinch,” which is not in the public domain (the movie is thus called “The Mean One”).

“A late-night boat ride turns into a desperate fight for survival in New York City when a mischievous mouse becomes a monstrous reality,” is the logline for the untitled film, per a post on LaMorte’s Instagram.

“Steamboat Willie has brought joy to generations, but beneath that cheerful exterior lies a potential for pure, unhinged terror,” LaMorte said in a release cited by the trades. The movie has yet to begin production.

With the expiration of the 95-year copyright, the public is allowed to use only the initial versions of Mickey and Minnie — not the more familiar character designs.

“We will, of course, continue to protect our rights in the more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works that remain subject to copyright,” Disney said in a statement ahead of the characters entering the public domain.

LaMorte told Variety that the producers of his film are working with a legal team so as not to run afoul of Disney, and will call their raging rodent Steamboat Willie instead of Mickey Mouse.

“We are doing our due diligence to make sure there’s no question or confusion of what we’re up to,” he said.

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Greta Gerwig’s smash hit ended the year as the highest-grossing film of 2023, having raked in more than $1.4 billion since hitting theaters in July.

It’s the first time in years that a non-sequel has topped the year-end box office. Indeed, of the 10 highest-grossing films of the year, half are part of an ongoing series. “The Little Mermaid,” meanwhile, is a remake.

But the top two films, “Barbie” and No. 2 “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” are both standalone properties (for now). Christopher Nolan’s historical drama “Oppenheimer” rounded out the top three with its $951 million haul.

“I think audiences are really showing what they want are films that are a little different,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, tells CNBC Make It.

After topping the 2022 box office charts with “Top Gun: Maverick” — “Avatar: The Way of Water” split its $2.3 billion box office haul between 2022 and 2023 — Tom Cruise made another appearance in the top 10 with his latest “Mission Impossible” sequel.

Marvel Studios, which in recent years has topped the year-end box office on multiple occasions with “Spider-Man” and “Avengers” films, claimed two spots in the top 10.

These are the highest-grossing films released in 2023, according to Comscore data pulled on December 18.

10. ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’

Worldwide gross: $476.3 million

Release date: February 17, 2023

9. ‘Elemental’

Worldwide gross: $479.8 million

Release date: June 16, 2023

8. ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’

Worldwide gross: $567.5 million

Release date: July 12, 2023

7. ‘The Little Mermaid’

Worldwide gross: $568.8 million

Release date: May 26, 2023

6. ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Worldwide gross: $684.9 million

Release date: June 2, 2023

5. ‘Fast X’

Worldwide gross: $707.6 million

Release date: May 19, 2023

4. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’

Worldwide gross: $845.4 million

Release date: May 5, 2023

3. ‘Oppenheimer’

Worldwide gross: $951.4 million

Release date: July 21, 2023

2. ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’

Worldwide gross: $1.34 billion

Release date: April 5, 2023

1. ‘Barbie’

Worldwide gross: $1.44 billion

Release date: July 21, 2023

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Perhaps the ultimate coming-home movie, “Apollo 13,” and the ultimate staying-home one, “Home Alone,” are both being honored this year, selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. They’re part of an annual group of 25 that this year spans more than 90 years of filmmaking.

The 2023 collection includes the sci-fi sequel “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” the Disney animated classic “Lady and the Tramp” and the searing, Oscar-winning drama “12 Years a Slave.” Just in time for the holidays, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is included.

The oldest film is from 1921: “A Movie Trip Through Filmland,” a very early look at the impact of movies. The newest are both from 2013: “12 Years a Slave” and the Oscar-winning documentary “20 Feet From Stardom,” which is about backup singers.

The registry is housed at the Library of Congress, which since 1988 has selected movies for preservation based on their cultural and historic importance. The current picks bring the registry to 875 films — some, but not all, among the 2 million items in the library’s collection. Turner Classic Movies will host a TV special on Thursday, screening a selection of this year’s movies.

A look at some of the films entering the registry:

”The Wedding Banquet” (1993): Ang Lee’s romantic comedy about a gay man from Taiwan trying to hide his orientation from his family, featuring an over-the-top wedding banquet.

”Bamboozled” (2000): Spike Lee’s stinging satire about race in entertainment, with Damon Wayans as a program executive at a cable network.

”Maya Lin: A Strong, Clear Vision” (1994): Freida Lee Mock’s Oscar-winning documentary about the artist who created two famous memorials.

“Apollo 13” (1995): Ron Howard’s impeccably told chronicle of the near-tragedy involving U.S astronauts trying to get back to Earth, featuring Tom Hanks and the famous (and slightly altered) quote: “Houston, we have a problem.”

“Desperately Seeking Susan” (1985): Susan Seidelman’s uniquely New York saga featuring Rosanna Arquette and none other than Madonna as the elusive Susan.

“Matewan” (1987): John Sayles’ tale of efforts in 1920 to unionize a company town in West Virginia.

“Home Alone” (1990): Chris Columbus’ holiday classic about, let’s face it, deeply questionable parenting that made wide-eyed Macaulay Culkin — aka Kevin — a star.

“Alambrista” (1977): Robert M. Young’s story of a Mexican migrant laborer in the United States.

“Fame” (1980): A story of students seeking fame at the High School of Performing Arts in New York City, and known for Irene Cara’s version of the title song.

“Lady and the Tramp” (1955): The classic Disney canine love story, featuring surely the most famous spaghetti kiss in animated film.

The full list

“A Movie Trip Through Filmland” (1921); “Dinner at Eight” (1933); “Bohulano Family Film Collection” (1950s-1970s); “Helen Keller: In Her Story” (1954); “Lady and the Tramp” (1955); “Edge of the City: (1957); “We’re Alive” (1974); “Cruisin’ J-Town” (1975); “Alambrista” (1977); “Passing Through” (1977); “Fame” (1980); “Desperately Seeking Susan” (1985); “The Lighted Field” (1987); “Matewan” (1987); “Home Alone” (1990); “Queen of Diamonds” (1991); “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991); “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993); “The Wedding Banquet” (1993); “Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision” (1994); “Apollo 13” (1995); “Bamboozled” (2000); “Love & Basketball” (2000); “12 Years a Slave” (2013); “20 Feet From Stardom” (2013).

“My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side supporting him and loving him as he would us,” Patrick O’Neal, a Los Angeles sportscaster, posted on Instagram.

Attempts to reach O’Neal representatives were not immediately successful.

No cause of death was given. Ryan O’Neal was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, a decade after he was first diagnosed with chronic leukemia. He was 82.

“My father, Ryan O’Neal, has always been my hero,” Patrick O’Neal wrote, adding, “He is a Hollywood legend. Full stop.”

“He meant the world to me. I loved him very much and know he loved me too,” Tatum O’Neal told People magazine in a statement. “I’ll miss him forever. and I feel very lucky that we ended on such good terms.”

O’Neal was among the biggest movie stars in the world in the 1970s, working across genres with many of the era’s most celebrated directors including Peter Bogdanovich on “Paper Moon” and “What’s Up, Doc?” and Stanley Kubrick on “Barry Lyndon.” He often used his boyish, blond good looks to play men who hid shadowy or sinister backgrounds behind their clean-cut images.

O’Neal maintained a steady television acting career into his 70s in the 2010s, appearing for stints on “Bones” and “Desperate Housewives,” but his longtime relationship with Farrah Fawcett and his tumultuous family life kept him in news.

Twice divorced, O’Neal was romantically involved with Fawcett for nearly 30 years, and they had a son, Redmond, born in 1985. The couple split in 1997, but reunited a few years later. He remained by Fawcett’s side as she battled cancer, which killed her in 2009 at age 62.

With his first wife, Joanna Moore, O’Neal fathered actors Griffin O’Neal and Tatum O’Neal, his co-star in the 1973 movie “Paper Moon,” for which she won an Oscar for best supporting actress. He had son Patrick with his second wife, Leigh Taylor-Young.

Ryan O’Neal had his own best-actor Oscar nomination for the 1970 tear-jerker drama “Love Story,” co-starring Ali MacGraw, about a young couple who fall in love, marry and discover she is dying of cancer. The movie includes the memorable, but often satirized line: “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

The actor had at times strained relationships with three of his children, including estrangement from his daughter, squabbles with son Griffin and a drug-related arrest sparked by a probation check of his son Redmond. The personal drama often over-shadowed his later career, although his attempts to reconcile with Tatum O’Neal were turned into a short-lived reality series.

O’Neal played bit parts and performed some stunt work before claiming a lead role on the prime-time soap opera “Peyton Place” (1964-69), which also made a star of Mia Farrow.

From there O’Neal jumped to the big screen with 1969’s “The Big Bounce,” which co-stared his then-wife, Leigh Taylor-Young. But it was “Love Story” that made him a movie star.

The romantic melodrama was the highest-grossing film of 1970, became one of Paramount Pictures’ biggest hits and collected seven Oscar nominations, including one for best picture. It won for best music.

After “Love Story” made him a major movie star, O’Neal was considered for seemingly every major leading role in Hollywood. Paramount even pushed for him to to star as Michael Corleone in “The Godfather” before Al Pacino got the part at the insistence of director Francis Ford Coppola.

O’Neal then starred for Bogdanovich as a bumbling professor opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1972 screwball comedy “What’s Up, Doc?”

“So sad to hear the news of Ryan O’Neal’s passing,” Streisand, who also starred with O’Neal in the 1979 boxing romcom “The Main Event,” posted on Instagram. “He was funny and charming, and he will be remembered.”

The year after “What’s Up, Doc?” Bogdanovich cast him in the Depression-era con artist comedy “Paper Moon.”

In it, O’Neal played an unscrupulous Bible salesman preying on widows he located through obituary notices. His real-life daughter, Tatum, played a trash-talking, cigarette-smoking orphan who needs his help — and eventually helps redeem him.

Although critics praised both actors, the little girl’s brash performance overshadowed her father’s and made her the youngest person in history to win a regular Academy Award. She was 10 when the award was presented in 1974. (Younger performers such as Shirley Temple have won special Oscars.)

The elder O’Neal’s next major film was Kubrick’s 18th century epic “Barry Lyndon,” in which he played a poor Irish rogue who traveled Europe trying to pass himself off as an aristocrat.

Filming the three-hour movie was tedious work, however, and Kubrick’s notorious perfectionism created a rift between him and the actor that never healed.

O’Neal then reteamed with Tatum in Bogdanovich’s early Hollywood comedy “Nickelodeon” (1976). But the film was a flop and they never worked together again. An attempt to capitalize on his “Love Story” character, Oliver Barrett, with the sequel “Oliver’s Story” (1978) resulted in another flop.

Father and daughter drifted apart as Tatum O’Neal grew older, with the elder actor learning about his daughter’s marriage to tennis great John McEnroe by a belated telegram, Ryan O’Neal wrote in a 2012 book about his relationship with Fawcett.

“A door inside me locked the morning the telegram came, and I am still blindly searching for the key to open it,” O’Neal wrote in “Both of Us.”

O’Neal’s career cooled further in the 1980s with the emerald heist drama “Green Ice” (1981) and the 1984 comedy “Irreconcilable Differences,” in which he played a busy father in an unhappy marriage whose daughter, played by 9-year-old Drew Barrymore, tries to divorce her parents.

The decade was also a low-point in O’Neal’s personal life. His son Griffin faced numerous brushes with the law, including a 1986 boating accident that killed Gian-Carlo Coppola, 23, son of movie director Francis Ford Coppola in Maryland. Griffin O’Neal was convicted of negligently and recklessly operating a boat, received a community service sentence and later served a brief stint in jail as a result.

With his Hollywood status diminishing, Ryan O’Neal began appearing in TV movies and eventually returned to series television opposite then-lover Fawcett with the 1991 sitcom “Good Sports,” but the show ran only one season.

Both acknowledged the work put a strain on their relationship.

“We get into fights,” O’Neal said in 1991. “She’s tough. She expects to be treated well. On a set that can get lost when you’re trying to create a moment and you’re fighting the clock.”

O’Neal began accepting more supporting roles with the 1989 film “Chances Are.” He began a second career as a character actor, playing a husband who hires a hitman to kill his wife in “Faithful” (1996) and a mysterious tycoon in the blackmail comedy “Zero Effect” (1998).

By then his relationship with Fawcett had ended, although they remained close and eventually rekindled their romance in the 2000s. The volatile O’Neal family dynamics that had taxed their relationship before, however, remained.

In 2007 the elder O’Neal was arrested in 2007 for alleged assault and firing a weapon in an altercation with Griffin, but charges were never pursued. Their son Redmond was repeatedly arrested, jailed and spent several years in court-mandated rehab.

A probation check on Redmond O’Neal in September 2008 at his father’s Malibu home led to the actor’s arrest for methamphetamine possession. Ryan O’Neal pleaded guilty to the charge and entered a drug diversion program, but he publicly denied the drugs were his. He said he confiscated them from his son and was trying to protect him.

Charles Patrick Ryan O’Neal was born on April 20, 1941, and was the son of screenwriter Charles O’Neal and actor Patricia Callaghan O’Neal. O’Neal spent time as a lifeguard and an amateur boxer before finding his calling as a performer.

The 27-year-old actor was on stage at CCXP in São Paulo for a panel on her upcoming film “Dune: Part Two” alongside her co-stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Austin Butler when an object was apparently thrown in her direction, according to video footage posted on social media.

The object appeared to hit Pugh in the eye, causing her to flinch and touch her face, according to the video. Chalamet and Butler also appeared to react and lean in to see if she was alright. The “Midsommar” star then bent over, apparently to see what the object was.

Representatives for Pugh and CCXP, a multi-day, Comic Con-style event, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC News.

While members of the crowd have been throwing items at artists for decades, it has become a troubling trend in recent months. Over the past year, several high-profile artists have been hit by objects including phones and drinks.

Pop star Harry Styles was hit in the eye while performing in Vienna, Austria, this summer. Concertgoer Maddison Ford told TODAY.com the object appeared to be a rose, and that Styles appeared to be “clearly hurt” after it hit him.

Drake and Bebe Rexha were hit by cellphones in separate incidents over the summer. Drake appeared to almost catch the phone before it hit his hand and flew off stage, while Rexha fell to her knees and had to be taken to the hospital for her injuries.

While singer Pink wasn’t hit with an object during a performance in London in June, a fan appeared to toss a bag containing the ashes of their mother on stage.

“This is your mom?” Pink asked as she held the bag, according to video posted of the interaction.

“I don’t know how I feel about this,” she added as she placed the bag on the stage floor and resumed singing.

Adele spoke out about the series of incidents during a “Weekends With Adele” performance in Las Vegas over the summer.

“Have you noticed how people are like forgetting f— show etiquette in America, they’re just throwing s— on stage. Have you seen that?” the singer asked the audience while pacing the stage with a t-shirt cannon.

“(I) f—- dare you. Dare you to throw something at me,” she said, before firing a t-shirt into the crowd.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

• Julia Roberts reveals her ‘simple rules’ for parenting in a phone-obsessed era
• ‘Barbie’ is coming to Max. Here’s when you’ll be able to stream it
• Hoda and her daughters decorate their apartment for Christmas: See her photos

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

Starting Friday, Nov. 24, Krispy Kreme customers can order the doughnut chain’s new, limited-edition Elf Doughnut Collection. Here’s everything we know about the festive collaboration.

The collection features three new doughnuts and a returning favorite.

The new collection is available for a limited time at participating shops across the country and includes three “Elf”-inspired doughnuts and a fan favorite:

• Buddy Snow Globe Doughnut: This Original Glazed Doughnut is covered in sugar cookie light blue icing and white sprinkles then coated with powdered sugar snow and a chocolate “Elf” piece. 
• Buddy Makes Breakfast Doughnut: This twist on Buddy’s famous breakfast features an Original Glazed Doughnut coated in cake batter spaghetti buttercreme, milk chocolate candies, sprinkles and a maple drizzle.
• Christmas Lights Doughnut: This newbie is an Original Glazed Doughnut that’s covered in chocolate icing and a green icing drizzle then coated with sprinkles and a chocolate “Elf” piece. 

• Santa Belly Doughnut: This returning variety is described as a “Santa belly doughnut” that’s full of Cookies & Kreme filling then topped with red icing and a Santa”s belt/belt buckle (made of candy, of course).

“Our new ‘Elf’-inspired doughnuts honor memorable moments from the movie in the most delicious way possible and embody its fun and festive spirit,” Krispy Kreme Global Chief Brand Officer Dave Skena said in a press release.

Doughnut lovers will also find a limited-edition Krispy Kreme six-pack that includes the following doughnuts at select stores, including Walmart, Kroger, Food Lion, Publix, Stater Brothers, Wakefern and more:

• Buddy Snow Globe Doughnut
• Festive Lights Doughnut
•  Santa Belly Doughnut

Krispy Kreme also has other seasonal treats on its menu.

To celebrate the holidays, Krispy Kreme also has a Sugar Cookie Latte that’s available hot, iced or frozen, and a Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate. 

Krispy Kreme will offer customers a Cyber Monday deal on Nov. 27.

Cyber Monday is all about deals and steals, and Krispy Kreme is getting in on the fun with a special Cyber Monday deal for customers on Nov. 27.

When you buy any dozen or 16-count Minis, you’ll get an Original Glazed Dozen for just $1 using the code CYBERMONDAY. The offer is limited to one per customer and is only available online with pickup and delivery orders.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

• TODAY’s 20 most popular Thanksgiving recipes from all-star chefs
• Thanksgiving crowd-pleasers: Turkey and leek pot pie, sweet potato casserole and more
• Jimmy Fallon’s rendition of a Tony Bennett classic wins raves on ‘The Voice’

“The Killer,” a classic Fincher film about an assassin who, “after a fateful near-miss … battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn’t personal,” put a spotlight on the Chicago suburb of St. Charles — specifically the popular and historic Hotel Baker.

In the film, which stars Michael Fassbender, the main character travels to Beacon, New York, “a Hudson Valley town about two hours north of New York City” for a face-off with a fellow “professional,” Tilda Swinton.

But while the scene is set in New York, the footage actually shows St. Charles. At one point, Hotel Baker serves as a waterfront restaurant where the two characters share a tense drink.

St. Charles said filming took place in March 2022. Despite being disguised in the film, which also at one point features the city of Chicago, the suburb touted its cinematic stardom.

“Start planning your watch parties now!” the city said in a statement ahead of the film’s Nov. 10 release date.

Hotel Baker also shared pride for its role.

“The Killer” is currently streaming on Netflix.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

For anyone who came of age in the 2000s or early 2010s, it’s likely the iconic comedy still lives in your head rent free — and why not celebrate that?

The movie gave us SO many memorable quotes — “You go, Glen Coco” and “She doesn’t even go here!” to name a few — and the history of “October 3rd” is no different.

What is the meaning of ‘October 3rd’ in ‘Mean Girls’?

In one of the early scenes of the film, Cady Heron — famously played by Lindsay Lohan — begins talking to her crush, Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett), “more and more.”

“On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was,” Lohan says in a voiceover.

“It’s October 3rd,” she says in the scene.

Fans have latched onto the date for years and even the film’s stars have paid tribute on social media.

Lohan shared a post in 2021 of the scene: “It’s October 3rd,” she captioned it.

Daniel Franzese, who played Damian in the film, has also shared a tribute. In 2021, he thanked fans and the “House of Glen Coco” for their support.

“On this #MeanGirlsDay I’m grateful for so much this film has brought into my life including great memories and friendships and constant new adventures,” he wrote at the time.

How to celebrate ‘Mean Girls’ Day on Oct. 3

Below are some of our totally grool ideas for ways to celebrate the holiday:

• Wear pink (obviously!) even if it’s not a Wednesday
• Go to lunch with your friends and reminisce about your favorite “Mean Girls” quotes
• Go do something fun like go to Taco Bell
• Eat cheese fries — and rejoice in the carbs
• Spread a little joy as a now-older person and make some jokes! But don’t take your wig off when you get drunk like Damian’s nana.
• Hit up the mall for a little retail therapy just like they do in the movie
• Take the stage and recite Kevin G’s rap
• Dress up in Santa Claus and perform the “Jingle Bell Rock” with your besties
• Get a blowout so your hair is so big you can fill it with secrets
• Alternatively, you can check out your local bookstore in honor of this slightly gross but still funny line from Amanda Seyfried‘s character, Karen Smith: “Gretchen, I’m sorry I laughed at you that time you got diarrhea at Barnes & Noble. And I’m sorry for telling everyone about it. And I’m sorry for repeating it now.”
• And most obviously, you can rewatch the film that shaped so many of us! It’s available on Paramount Plus, Apple TV and to rent/purchase on Prime Video.

The limit does not exist on how to celebrate the day!

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

• ‘N Sync’s Joey Fatone says Nick Lachey, Nick Carter ‘so happy, so proud’ of band’s reunion
• Grimes files court petition over parental rights with Elon Musk
• Bobbie Thomas explains why she is ‘thankful’ to experience first breakup after her husband’s death

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

Airbnb is making Shrek’s Swamp available for rent next month.

The home is located in the Scottish Highlands and is decked out just like Shrek’s abode in the movie. It features the glow of “earwax candlelight,” a parfait and even an outhouse.

Check out some views from Shrek’s Swamp below:

Donkey will be swamp-sitting for Shrek and welcoming guests with waffles in the morning.

“Shrek’s Swamp is lovely. Just beautiful. The perfect place to entertain guests,” Donkey said. “You know what I like about it? Everything. The overgrown landscaping, the modest interiors, the nice boulders, all of it. I can’t wait for guests to experience this muddy slice of paradise for themselves.”

Prospective guests can request to book their stay starting Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. ET.

The swamp is available for a two-night stay from Oct. 27-29 for up to three guests. It comes at a $0 cost as “a nod to the priceless refuge Shrek’s Swamp has provided fairytale creatures of all kinds.” Airbnb will also be making a donation to HopScotch Children’s Hospital.

There are layers to the free stay, though. Because the two-night stay is not a contest, guests will need to provide their own travel to Scotland. The outhouse/bathroom is also located 20 meters from the main living area.

The Airbnb listing for Shrek’s Swamp can be found here.

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

Marvel is back on top.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records this weekend, tallying $205 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening, the highest debut of 2024 and of an R-rated film ever.

The film outpaced analysts’ expectations, which called for an opening haul between $160 million and $180 million.

“The massive debut for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ should convince those who were throwing in the towel for the big screen back in May that you can never underestimate the power, allure resiliency and, yes, unpredictability of the movie theater experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Internationally, the film secured $233.3 million, bringing its estimated global haul to $438.3 million for the full weekend.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is the 34th film to be released under the MCU banner and the first of the Disney-produced installments to garner an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association. The previous two Deadpool films, both rated R, were produced and released through 20th Century Fox. Disney acquired the company in 2019, bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four back into the larger Marvel portfolio.

Similar to previous entries in the MCU, “Deadpool & Wolverine” benefitted from fan fervor. Audiences were eager to see the flick in its opening weekend in order to avoid spoilers. Disney kept much of the film’s content secret and provided limited press screenings prior to its debut.

The strong opening of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes after a post-pandemic box office slump for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney overcrowded the market with superhero streaming content in recent years and its push for quantity at the box office led to a drop in quality.

“Marvel took a mini-break to help rejuvenate their creative direction in the wake of several divisive tentpole films and this return to the arena certainly stuck the superhero landing,” said Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory.

“A record-breaking R-rated debut not only shows that Marvel and Disney can spread their wings a little bit when the content calls for it, but also that Marvel fans and casual audiences alike are still eager for the kind of entertaining and meaningful blockbuster storytelling that has defined so much of their unrivaled success,” he added.

“Deadpool and Wolverine’s” opening coincided with Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con panel which revealed an updated film slate and gave fans a sense of where the franchise will head in the coming years. That includes Sam Wilson, the newly minted Captain American, seeking to rebuild the Avengers after they disbanded in the wake of their fight with Thanos, and the pending arrival of Doctor Doom, which is set to be played by Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr.

“Every film should be taken on a case-by-case basis, but Deadpool & Wolverine in tandem with this weekend’s Comic Con announcements mark significant steps back onto a path that could reignite enthusiasm for the broader franchise,” Robbins said.

The TV network just unveiled its Countdown to Christmas and Miracles of Christmas movie lineups.

This year’s batch of holiday films is full of romances with titles like “Checkin’ It Twice,” “Never Been Chris’d” and “Holiday Hotline.” Other stories focus on the power of friendship, like “A Season for Family,” “The Santa Summit” and “Everything Christmas.”

Hallmark also sprinkled several inspiring stories into the mix like “Ms. Christmas Comes to Town,” “A World Record Christmas” and “Heaven Down Here.”

Ready to deck the halls and trim the tree? Here’s everything we know about Hallmark’s holiday offerings so far.

When will Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas begin?

Who needs Halloween anyway? Hallmark is skipping over spooky season and diving right into Christmas. Starting Oct. 20, the network will begin to debut its seasonal films.

The lineup are 40 new movies this year

Yep, you read that right: 40 new holiday movies! As part of the Countdown to Christmas (on the Hallmark Channel) and Miracles of Christmas (on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries), a new movie will premiere on the following days:

• Hallmark Channel: Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m.
• Hallmark Movies & Mysteries: Thursday at 8 p.m. and Wednesday at 8 p.m. the week of Thanksgiving

Here’s how to stream new and old Hallmark movies

Hallmark Movies Now is a subscription streaming service that features hundreds of movies from “Christmas past and Christmas present,” according to a press release.

This year, subscribers will also get early access to two new movies before they debut on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries: “A World Record Christmas” and “Time for Her to Come Home for Christmas.” The streaming service will also exclusively premiere two movies.

Countdown to Christmas lineup 2023

Per a Hallmark press release, here’s the full Countdown to Christmas lineup and a synopsis for each film from the company.

Friday, October 20: “Checkin’ It Twice”

• Stars: Kim Matula (“Ghosts of Christmas Always”), Kevin McGarry (“When Calls the Heart”)
• Synopsis: “A journeyman hockey player (McGarry) falls for a real estate agent (Matula) in a career crisis when he’s traded to her hometown and moves into the cottage in her hockey-loving family’s backyard.”

Saturday, October 21: “Where Are You, Christmas?”

• Stars: Lyndsy Fonseca (“How I Met Your Mother”), Michael Rady (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), Jim O’Heir (“Parks and Recreation”), Julie Warner (“The Good Doctor”)
• Synopsis: “When Addy (Fonseca) wishes for a year without Christmas, she wakes up in a world of black and white. She must work together with the town mechanic (Rady) to restore Christmas.”

Sunday, October 22: “Under the Christmas Sky”

• Stars: Jessica Parker Kennedy (“The Flash”), Ryan Paevey (“Fourth Down and Love”)
• Synopsis: “Kat (Kennedy) is an esteemed astrophysicist, who is scheduled for her first trip into space next year until an accident grounds her. While on leave, coming to terms with the reality that her dream of being an astronaut is over, she volunteers at the local planetarium. There, she is paired up with by-the-book David (Paevey) to work on an exhibit opening right before Christmas. Will the stars align to bring these two together at the holidays?”

Friday, October 27: “Christmas by Design”

• Stars: Rebecca Dalton (“Spun Out”), Jonathan Keltz (“Reign”)
• Synopsis: “A fashion designer (Dalton) gets accepted into a Christmas challenge to create a new holiday-themed collection and not only finds the inspiration for her next line but decides to redesign her approach to what’s most important in life.”

Saturday, October 28: “Mystic Christmas”

• Stars: Jessy Schram (“Chicago Med”), Chandler Massey (“Days of our Lives”), Patti Murin (“In Merry Measure”), William R. Moses (Mystic Pizza)
• Synopsis: “Juniper (Schram) travels to Mystic, Connecticut during the holidays to work at the rehabilitation center and aquarium. She reconnects with Sawyer (Massey), the owner of the pizza shop.”

Sunday, October 29: “Joyeux Noel”

• Stars: Jaicy Elliot (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Brant Daugherty (“Pretty Little Liars”)
• Synopsis: “When a romantic painting of a Christmas market captures the imagination of copy editor Lea (Elliot), she is sent to France with pragmatic reporter Mark (Daugherty) to uncover the mystery behind the artist.”

Friday, November 3: “Flipping for Christmas”

• Stars: Ashley Newbrough (“Love in Glacier National: A National Park Romance”), Marcus Rosner (“Arrow”)
• Synopsis: “It’s almost Christmas when busy realtor Abigail (Newbrough) agrees to help her sister with the ‘simple flip’ of a recently inherited home. Unfortunately, co-beneficiary Bo (Rosner) has other plans in mind.”

Saturday, November 4: “Never Been Chris’d”

• Stars: Janel Parrish (“Pretty Little Liars”), Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes (“Trigger Me”), Tyler Hynes (“Three Wise Men and a Baby”)
• Synopsis: “Home for the holidays, BFFs Naomi (Parrish) and Liz (Lamothe-Kipnes) reconnect with high school crush Chris Silver (Hynes). A complex love triangle forms, forcing them to take stock of their lives and find the value of friendship.”

Sunday, November 5: “The Santa Summit”

• Stars: Hunter King (“The Young and The Restless”), Benjamin Hollingsworth (“Virgin River”)
• Synopsis: “It’s time for the annual Santa Summit, in which revelers put on Santa suits and hop around designated locations in town to eat, drink, and be merry. Three best friends decide to go together: Jordin (King), a recently dumped art teacher looking to cut loose; Ava, a shy woman hoping to run into her crush; and Stella, a Christmas cynic with no interest in the Santa Summit whatsoever. At the start of the night, Jordin meets and bonds with Liam (Hollingsworth), but doesn’t get his name before getting separated and lost in a sea of Santas. As the night progresses and hijinks ensue, amidst the chaos, celebration, and a sea of Santas, they all find what they’re looking for: Christmas spirit, potential romance, and a strengthened bond of friendship.”

Friday, November 10: “Everything Christmas”

• Stars: Katherine Barrell (“Good Witch”), Cindy Busby (“Love in Zion National: A National Park Romance”), Corey Sevier (“Take Me Back for Christmas”), Matt Wells (“Spencer Sisters”)
• Synopsis: “Lori Jo’s (Busby) love for Christmas takes her on a road trip to Yuletide Springs with her roommate Tori (Barrell), where Christmas is celebrated year-round, to participate in a longstanding town tradition to honor her late grandmother. Along the way, the friends meet Carl (Sevier) and Jason (Wells), and the foursome make stops during their journey to enjoy more small-town Christmas attractions. But when a series of events puts a damper on their plans, a little Christmas magic may put this trip back on the right path.”

Saturday, November 11: “Christmas Island”

• Stars: Rachel Skarsten (“The Royal Nanny”), Andrew Walker (“Three Wise Men and a Baby”)
• Synopsis: “When a snowstorm diverts Kate’s (Skarsten) first private flight en route to Switzerland to Christmas Island, she must team up with an air traffic controller (Walker) to secure her dream job as the family’s pilot.”

Sunday, November 12: “A Heidelberg Holiday”

• Stars: Ginna Claire Mason (“A Holiday Spectacular”), Frédéric Brossier (“Todo lo Que Necesitas”)
• Synopsis: “Heidi Heidelberg (Mason) receives the dream opportunity to sell her beautiful, handmade glass ornaments at the prestigious Heidelberg Christmas Market in Germany. While there, she meets Lukas (Brossier), a local artisan who helps her reconnect with her lost heritage.”

Friday, November 17: “Navigating Christmas”

• Stars: Chelsea Hobbs (“Dream Moms”), Stephen Huszar (“A Royal Christmas Crush”)
• Synopsis: “Recently divorced Melanie (Hobbs) and her son Jason visit a remote island for Christmas, only to find themselves running a real working lighthouse where she connects with the curt but cute owner (Huszar).”

Saturday, November 18: “A Merry Scottish Christmas”

• Stars: Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls), Scott Wolf (“Nancy Drew”)
• Synopsis: “When estranged siblings, Lindsay (Chabert) and Brad (Wolf) Morgan travel to Scotland at Christmas to reunite with their mother Jo, a big family secret is revealed.”

Sunday, November 19: “Holiday Hotline”

• Stars: Emily Tennant (“Polly Pocket: Sparkle Cove Adventure”), Niall Matter (“Come Fly With Me”)
• Synopsis: “After leaving London, Abby (Tennant) connects with an anonymous caller while working at a cooking hotline. The caller is single dad “John” (Matter) who Abby unknowingly has become smitten with in real life.”

Thursday, November 23: “Catch Me If You Claus” — premieres at 8p ET/PT

• Stars: Italia Ricci (“The Imperfects”), Luke Macfarlane (“Notes of Autumn”)
• Synopsis: “Avery Quinn (Ricci) is an aspiring news anchor who’s finally getting her big break on her station’s Christmas morning newscast. But that’s put in jeopardy when she captures an intruder in her home wearing a red suit claiming to be Chris (Macfarlane), Santa’s son, who is on his first mission. A night of adventure ensues as they find themselves being pursued by the police as well as some shady characters. Along the way, they connect over living in the shadow of their parents and inspire each other to go after their dreams.”

Friday, November 24: “Letters to Santa” — premieres at 6p ET/PT

• Stars: Katie Leclerc (“Switched at Birth”), Rafael de la Fuente (“Dynasty”)
• Synopsis: “When young siblings receive a magic pen from Santa that appears to be granting wishes, they request a Christmas gift they want more than anything — for their separated parents (Leclerc, de la Fuente) to reunite.”

Friday, November 24: “Holiday Road” — premieres at 8p ET/PT

• Stars: Sara Canning (“Christmas at the Golden Dragon”), Warren Christie (“Batwoman”)
• Synopsis: “When bad weather leaves each of them stranded at the airport for the holidays, a tech entrepreneur (Christie), a travel writer (Canning), a devoted mother (Enid-Raye Adams) and her son (Kiefer O’Reilly), a stubborn senior (Trevor Lerner), an enigmatic woman with a hint of mystery (Brittany Willacy), a couple traveling from Hong Kong (Sharon Crandall, Ryan Mah) and a social media influencer (Princess Davis) all agree to rent a shared van to embark on a road trip to Denver. When their unexpected journey brings them into uncharted territory, they navigate a series of misadventures together and form a deeper bond that just might change the trajectories of each of their lives. Inspired by true events.”
• Saturday, November 25: “Christmas in Notting Hill” — premieres at 6p ET/PT
• Stars: Sarah Ramos (“Parenthood”), William Moseley (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
• Synopsis: “Famous soccer star, Graham Savoy (Moseley), has always been too busy for love, but when he comes home to Notting Hill for Christmas, he changes his mind after meeting Georgia (Ramos) — a visiting American and the one person who has no idea who he is.”
• Saturday, November 25: “Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up” — premieres at 8p ET/PT
• Stars: Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls), Wes Brown (We Are Marshall), Stephen Tobolowsky (“One Day at a Time”), Melissa Peterman (“Reba”), Ellen Travolta (“Charles in Charge”), Seth Morris (“History of the World: Part II”), Jennifer Aspen (“Party of Five”)
• Synopsis: “As the holidays approach, Emily (Chabert) and Jared (Brown) are looking forward to celebrating the holidays together again, this time as a couple. Emily, now embracing Evergreen Lane’s uniquely festive spirit, is ready to work with Jared, Ned (Tobolowsky), Mary Louise (Travolta) and Pamela (Peterman) to make this year’s Christmas celebrations the best yet — even if being the HOA president’s girlfriend doesn’t stop those dreaded decorating citations. When a house on the block goes up for sale, it causes quite a stir with residents. When the soon-to-be neighbors turn out to be holiday royalty (Morris, Aspen), it looks like this year’s competition is about to heat up. As the welcoming committee prepares for the new arrivals, only one thing is certain — this Christmas, Evergreen Lane is going to sleigh!”
• Sunday, November 26: “Our Christmas Mural” — premieres at 6p ET/PT
• Stars: Alex Paxton-Beesley (“Murdoch Mysteries”), Dan Jeannotte (“The Bold Type”)
• Synopsis: “Olivia (Paxton-Beesley) is a single mom who returns home for Christmas. Her mom secretly enters her into a mural contest; she wins but partners with teacher Will (Jeannotte) to create a Christmas masterpiece.”

Sunday, November 26: “A Biltmore Christmas” — premieres at 8p ET/PT

• Stars: Bethany Joy Lenz (“Good Sam”), Kristoffer Polaha (“A Winning Team”), Jonathan Frakes (“Star Trek: Picard”) , Robert Picardo (“Star Trek: Voyager”)
• Synopsis: “Lucy Hardgrove (Lenz) is a screenwriter who lands the job of a lifetime when she’s hired to pen the script for a remake of the beloved, holiday movie classic, His Merry Wife!, which was filmed in 1947 at beautiful, historic Biltmore House. When the head of the studio isn’t satisfied with the ending Lucy wrote because it deviates from the original’s feel-good conclusion, he sends Lucy to Biltmore Estate for research and inspiration. While there, she unwittingly discovers the ability to travel to the 1947 set of His Merry Wife! through the help of an hourglass. While on set, she and Jack Huston (Polaha), one of the film’s stars, spend time together and become close. But her sudden appearance has set off a chain of events that put the production in jeopardy. Before she can return to the present, Lucy must make things right or threaten to alter the future forever.””

Friday, December 1: “My Norwegian Holiday”

• Stars: Rhiannon Fish (“The 100”), David Elsendoorn (“Ted Lasso”)
• Synopsis: “JJ (Fish), grieving the loss of her grandmother and seeking dissertation inspiration, stumbles upon an unexpected holiday destiny. Meeting Henrik (Elsendoorn), a Norwegian from Bergen, their connection deepens when he discovers she has a troll figurine from his hometown. To explore the troll’s history and her grandmother’s ties, JJ agrees to join Henrik on a journey to Norway. In Bergen, they’re drawn into Henrik’s family Christmas and wedding traditions, with his sister’s wedding the day before Christmas Eve. JJ embarks on a holiday adventure, uncovering the troll’s origins and finding her own path to healing, love and family.”

Saturday, December 2: “A Not So Royal Christmas” 

• Stars: Brooke D’Orsay (“A Fabled Holiday”), Will Kemp (“The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango”)
• Synopsis: “Tabloid journalist Charlotte (D’Orsay) attempts to land an interview with a reclusive Count. In response, the royal family has a groundskeeper (Kemp) pose as the Count since the real one fled years ago.”

Sunday, December 3: “Christmas with a Kiss” (wt)

• Stars: Mishael Morgan (“The Young and the Restless”), Ronnie Rowe Jr. (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Jaime M. Callica (“Ruthless”)
• Synopsis: “A woman (Morgan) returns home to help with her family’s Christmas Carnival and romance ignites. A photojournalist (Rowe) curates a surprise reunion.”

Friday, December 8: “Magic in Mistletoe”

• Stars: Lyndie Greenwood (“Holiday Heritage”), Paul Campbell (“Three Wise Men and a Baby”)
• Synopsis: “Harrington (Campbell) is the author of a popular book series but commercial success has left him a bitter recluse. As he returns to his hometown for an annual Christmas festival celebrating his books, he’s joined by April (Greenwood), a publicist for the major publishing house he works with. April is there for damage control after Harrington’s recent comments on social media have ruffled some feathers. But as she gets to know him better, hope springs that April can unlock Harrington’s guarded heart and help him rediscover the spirit of the holiday.”

Saturday, December 9: “Christmas on Cherry Lane”

• Stars: Catherine Bell (“Good Witch”), Jonathan Bennett (“The Holiday Sitter”), John Brotherton (“Fuller House”), Erin Cahill (“Hearts in The Game”), James Denton (“Good Witch”), Vincent Rodriguez III (“With Love”)
• Synopsis: “A young couple preparing to welcome their first child (Brotherton, Cahill); an empty-nester (Bell) and her fiancé (Denton) ready to start a new chapter; and a couple (Bennett, Rodriguez III) who unexpectedly have the chance to expand their family on Christmas Eve celebrate the holiday as they navigate these turning points in their lives.”

Sunday, December 10: “Round and Round”

• Stars: Vic Michaelis (“Upload”), Bryan Greenberg (“One Tree Hill”), Rick Hoffman (“Suits”)
• Synopsis: “Rachel’s (Michaelis) stuck in a time loop, reliving the night of her parents’ Hanukkah party. Can Zach (Greenberg), the “nice boy” Grandma’s trying to set her up with, help her make it to tomorrow?”

Friday, December 15: “The Secret Gift of Christmas” (wt)

• Stars: Meghan Ory (“Chesapeake Shores”), Christopher Russell (“The Most Colorful Time of the Year”)
• Synopsis: “Bonnie (Ory) is a personal shopper who helps her new, widowed client Patrick (Russell) reconnect with his young daughter. Though Bonnie and Patrick’s ideas of shopping couldn’t be more different, she is determined to get Patrick and his daughter everything on their wish list.”

Saturday, December 16: “Sealed with a List”

• Stars: Katie Findlay (“Walker: Independence”), Evan Roderick (“Arrow”)
• Synopsis: “This holiday season, festive Carley (Findlay) sets out to conquer her list of abandoned resolutions from last year. Aided by coworker Wyatt (Roderick), she finds love and the confidence to chase her dreams.”

Sunday, December 17: “Friends & Family Christmas” 

• Stars: Humberly Gonzalez (“Ginny & Georgia”), Ali Liebert (“Bomb Girls”)
• Synopsis: “Daniella (Gonzalez) has recently moved to New York to pursue an art career and decides to stay in town to share the holidays with her circle of artist friends, instead of going home to see her sweet, if overbearing parents. Amelia (Liebert) is a talented entertainment lawyer trying to stay focused on her work after a broken engagement. When Daniella and Amelia are set up by their parents, they agree to pretend that they are dating, to appease them for the holidays. However, as they spend time in eachother’s worlds, they soon build a connection that is deeper than either of them could have hoped for.”

Miracles of Christmas lineup

Per a Hallmark press release, here’s the full Miracles of Christmas lineup and a synopsis for each film from the company.

Thursday, October 26: “Ms. Christmas Comes to Town” 

• Stars: Erica Durance (“Unexpected Grace”), Brennan Elliott (“The Gift of Peace”), Barbara Niven (“Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery”)
• Synopsis: “A shopping channel host known as Ms. Christmas (Niven) receives a terminal diagnosis, which inspires a multi-city excursion set to spread Christmas cheer before her farewell broadcast.”

Thursday, November 2: “My Christmas Guide” 

• Stars: Amber Marshall (“Heartland”), Ben Mehl (“You”)
• Synopsis: “After losing his eyesight, a college professor (Mehl) adopts a seeing eye dog from a guide dog trainer (Marshall). As they all begin to spend time together, his confidence returns and his heart begins to open.”

Thursday, November 9: “Mystery on Mistletoe Lane” 

• Stars: Erica Cerra (“Eureka”), Victor Webster (“Continuum”)
• Synopsis: “New to town, Heidi Wicks (Cerra) and her kids discover a Christmas mystery in their historic home. Local handyman and historian David (Webster) helps along the way, finding his own surprising connection.”

Thursday, November 16: “A World Record Christmas” 

• Stars: Nikki DeLoach (“Curious Caterer Mysteries”), Lucas Bryant (“Five More Minutes: Moments Like These”), Aias Dalman (When Time Got Louder)
• Synopsis: “Charlie (Dalman) is an autistic boy determined to set a Guinness World Record by stacking 1400 Jenga blocks. His mother Marissa (DeLoach) and stepfather Eric (Bryant) encourage him to reach for his dream and they all celebrate when he gets the good news that he’ll have get his chance on Christmas Eve. In the spirit of the holiday, they organize a fundraiser giving the townspeople an opportunity to donate and decorate a Jenga block, with the proceeds going to benefit kids with autism. Charlie’s journey to setting the Jenga world record gives them all the chance to learn more not just about themselves, but about what family really means.”

Wednesday, November 22: “A Season for Family” 

• Stars: Brendan Penny (“Chesapeake Shores”), Stacey Farber (“Virigin River”) Benjamin Jacobson (“A Fabled Holiday”), Azriel Dalman (“Heart of the Matter”)
• Synopsis: “Maddy’s (Farber) adopted son Wesley (Jacobson) has just one Christmas wish — to meet his brother Cody (Dalman), who was adopted into a different family. Cody’s father Paul (Penny) is a widower who is not ready to have this conversation with his son, so he turns down a meeting. However, circumstances bring the two brothers unknowingly together and they become fast friends, while sparks fly between Maddy and Paul.”

Thursday, November 30: “Time for Her to Come Home for Christmas”

• Stars: Shenae Grimes-Beech (“90210”), Chris Carmack (“The O.C.”), Grace Leer (“American Idol,” Singer-Songwriter)
• Synopsis: “Facing her first Christmas without her mother and looking to avoid loneliness, Carly (Grimes-Beech) heads to a quaint town to lead the church choir at Christmas. Once there, Carly meets Matthew (Carmack), a man back in town after serving in the army. As she gets to know Matthew, the choir and townspeople, she stumbles across clues that suggest she may have been brought here for a life changing reason. As the mystery unravels one thing is clear, this journey will teach Carly about true love, learning to trust, and that forgiveness is needed to finally heal.”

Thursday, December 7: “To All a Good Night”

• Stars: Kimberley Sustad (“Game of Love”), Mark Ghanimé (“Virgin River”)
• Synopsis: “A small-town photographer (Sustad) saves the life of a mysterious man (Ghanimé), who may just be in town to buy her family’s parkland — which is also the location of the annual Christmas celebration.”

Thursday, December 14: “Heaven Down Here”

• Stars: Krystal Joy Brown (“Girlfriendship”), Tina Lifford (“Queen Sugar”), Juan Riedinger “Riverdale”), Richard Harmon (“Game, Set, Love”), Phylicia Rashad (Creed III)
• Synopsis: “Inspired by Mickey Guyton’s song of the same name, ‘Heaven Down Here’ tells the story of four disparate people who find themselves stranded in a local diner on Christmas Eve when a snowstorm hits the town. Imami (Brown) is a widowed mother of two who’s having trouble making ends meet and reluctantly agrees to work the Christmas Eve shift, where she clashes with her boss Dan (Harmon), who doesn’t exactly embody the Christmas spirit. Felix (Riedinger) is a local pastor desperately trying to secure food for parishioners while his faith is challenged by his alienation by his son. Clara (Lifford) is a hospice nurse with an obstinate patient (Rashad) and whose daughter is moving away, causing her to question her place in this world. Throughout the evening, these four bicker, bond and unwittingly provide each other with the answer to their respective prayers.”

Thursday, December 21: “Miracle in Bethlehem, PA”

• Stars: Laura Vandervoort (“A Christmas Together with You”), Benjamin Ayres (“Family Law”)
• Synopsis: “Successful and fiercely independent, Mary Ann Brubeck (Vandervoort) adopts a baby girl to raise on her own just before Christmas. Due to weather, she and the baby get stuck in Bethlehem, PA for the holidays. When there is no room at the inn, her only option is to stay with the innkeeper’s brother Joe (Ayres), a quintessential bachelor who lives in a house that he treats like a barn. As Mary Ann learns the value of community by spending time with Joe’s family and participating in the local church’s Christmas events, Joe starts getting his act together with new motivation … and the two begin to see each other in a new light.”

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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