Category: 5. Entertainment

After the death of Linkin Park’s lead vocalist, Chester Bennington in 2017, the band is finally ready to make a comeback. In conversation with The Guardian, singer-songwriter Mike Shinoda and vocalist Emily Armstrong discussed the band’s rebirth and the backlash they have dealt with.

Twenty-five years since its formation, Linkin Park has become one of the biggest US rock bands of this millennium. Their debut Hybrid Theory was one of the best selling albums of 2001 and since then, the band has garnered a massive worldwide fanbase. While they have given us bangers such as Numb and In the End, Linkin Park has struggled with deciding the course of their music career after Bennington’s death.

After much experimentation, the originally six-person group decided to add two more people to the mix. Armstrong joined as co-lead vocalist and Colin Brittain as the drummer. This addition to the band was made while navigating fan reaction to Bennington’s death and understanding what musical path the group wants to take in future. Shinoda, who founded Linkin Park at nineteen years of age, described what prompted him to pick Armstrong for lead vocals and why it upset fans.

“There were people who lashed out at Emily and it was really because she wasn’t a guy.” Shinoda narrated, “(The fans) are used to Linkin Park being six guys and the voice of a guy leading this song. They were just so uncomfortable with what it was that they chose a ton of things to complain about.”

Despite fan backlash, Shinoda was fully confident in Armstrong’s enthusiasm to carry their legacy forward. “There are a lot of people for whom it’s all about follower count. It’s a very greedy way to live. And these guys aren’t that way,” he said. The singer thought that Armstrong, who had a “sassy little sister energy” seemed like a “natural fit”.

“Something clicked,” he added.

Staging a comeback

Armstrong’s selection was made on the basis of trials held at the band’s studio.

“I didn’t tell them this was part of a potential Linkin Park comeback,” Shinoda revealed. “Things could get awkwardly vague. Two hours into the session, they’d be like, ‘Hey, can I ask you a question? What’s going on here? Who are we writing for?’ And we’d be like: ‘Yeah, we don’t know.’”

Finally he came across Armstong and was impressed by her respectability and enthusiasm for the kind of music we asked her to play. As for Armstrong herself, she was simply, “excited to write with Mike Shinoda”.

Armstrong was the frontwoman for Dead Sara, a bluesy LA punk band that never really made it big. When she first heard about Shinoda’s offer, she was in disbelief. “I’ve (previously) been in a band for 20 years and I could only dream of this kind of success,” the new lead shared.

Being Bennington’s replacement, Armstrong was slightly under pressure. She recalled, “I was scared at the prospect of stepping into such big shoes. ‘Why do I think I can do this?’ I wondered. I told Shinoda that I didn’t want to ‘ruin’ Linkin Park. I was like ‘you guys are a legacy band – you guys are so important.’”

New horizons

Despite Armstrong’s hesitation, Shinoda is eager to take new music forward after coming to terms with Bennington’s death. For example, in honour of his late bandmate, the singer released Post Traumatic on June 15, 2018, which was an emotional solo album that detailed his journey of processing grief. He described the tours as, “I felt like I was coping well and I was able to get up in the morning and not think about it, and I was evolving from the terrible stuff that had happened.”

However, it soon became exhausting, “I would go to the show and spend 90 minutes with half the crowd crying. And I’m like, this is exhausting. You know how therapists see patients all day and help them, but then they need therapy themselves? That’s how I felt.”

Having processed Bennington’s passing, Shinoda decided to recruit musicians, work on new music and move forward. Their eighth studio album, FROM ZERO, came out on November 15 via Warner Records. The new album is similar to the band’s original music, with rock rap fusion, easy to catch melodies, loud guitar harbouring and angry lyrics.

Now that the rock band is complete again, Linkin Park is all set to tour the US from July 29. While fans still look for traces of Bennington in their work, the hype for new music has not died.

“This tour and this album are one of our most successful of all time,” marvelled Shinoda. “That, for me, is insane. That is way beyond my hopes and dreams for what this whole thing could be.”

Chris Martin is giving his concertgoers a heads-up that, yes, they might be featured on the jumbotron at one of his band’s shows.

The Coldplay frontman jokingly referenced the recent kiss-cam scandal involving Astronomer CEO Andy Byron during his band’s latest concert — the first since the video went viral. On Saturday night, the singer lightheartedly warned fans that they might appear on the jumbotron during the band’s show at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

“We’d like to say hello to some of you in the crowd,” he said in a video posted on X, which sparked cheers and laughter from those in attendance. “How we’re gonna do that is we’re gonna use our cameras and put some of you on the big screen. So please, if you haven’t done your makeup, do your makeup now.”

That, of course, was a reference to the kiss-cam scandal that has taken the internet by storm and dominated social media for the past several days. It all started during Coldplay’s Boston concert on Wednesday when the jumbotron caught Byron with his arms around his top human resources executive, Kristin Cabot, in a kiss-cam segment. However, once they realized they were on the jumbotron, Byron ducked down so he couldn’t be seen, and Cabot turned around, trying to hide her face. Both Byron and Cabot are reportedly married to other people. 

In videos posted of the incident online, Martin joked, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”

Saturday’s concert in Madison was Coldplay’s first show since the incident. After a video of the incident surfaced online, Byron and Cabot were reportedly put on leave, and Byron has since resigned. Astronomer said in a statement that it is searching for his replacement. 

“Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,” the statement reads. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met. Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.”

The statement continues, “Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI. While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not. We’re continuing to do what we do best: helping our customers with their toughest data and AI problems.”

In a nondescript conference room on the very descript floor of Marvel Studios (full size Iron Man statues, superhero murals and movie props) is a padlocked door. Behind that padlocked door is a white board featuring a plan for Marvel movies spanning the next seven years.

So teased Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, the producer behind the most successful run of movies in Hollywood’s history, as he welcomed a select group of journalists into the same room where he first met Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch and where filmmaker Chloe Zhao pitched her take on Eternals.

Marvel’s run has been tested of late, this year especially with Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World, which grossed among the lowest totals for the company. But Feige isn’t interested in your theories of superhero fatigue, which he doesn’t buy as real. He pointed to DC Studios’ Superman, which is doing strong at the box office, at least domestically.

Feige said he texted filmmaker James Gunn to let him know how much he liked it.

“I love how you just jump right into it,” Fiege enthused of the film, which Gunn directed after he helmed three Guardians of the Galaxy movies for Marvel before decamping to run DC Studios. “You don’t know who Mr. Terrific is? Tough. You’ll figure it out. You don’t know what this is? Just go, go. This is a fully fleshed out world.”

Even if he doesn’t buy the idea of superhero fatigue, Feige and his team have done plenty of post-mortems on this year’s underperforming movies, and on all their movies since the massive success of Avengers: Endgame.

Right now, the company is prepping for the July 25 release of its latest movie, Fantastic Four: First Steps. It’s the first time Marvel Studios is handling the characters, after a trio of movies of various quality and box office made by Twentieth Century Fox before its 2019 acquisition by Disney. There was also the never-released, 1994 feature produced low-budget king Roger Corman. (Fun fact: the four stars of that movie cameo in First Steps.)

One thing that Feige seemed to relish is that this new movie is mostly self-contained and is in a fully-fleshed world that doesn’t require that dreaded word “homework.”

“We didn’t want to have the Eternals issue of ‘Where were they, where have they been, how come they didn’t help with Thanos?’” he explained. “We wanted them to be apart from our reality so that we didn’t have to say, ‘Oh look, they were hiding over here.’”

And highlighting a 1960s aesthetic was more than just a period piece choice.  “It was a unique aesthetic that felt like it could absolutely be its own world, its own reality” said Feige. “And when we show it to audiences in the screening process that we do leading up to it, people just accept it right off the bat and feel liberated that they can just enjoy what’s ahead of them.” He underscored, “it is no homework required.”

In a free-wheeling discussion with the journalists, Feige, wearing a blue Fantastic Four hoodie and a Wonder Man cap, opened up on a range of topics, from what’s going on with Blade, his future at Marvel, and the exit of Jonathan Majors from the MCU.

Here is what The Hollywood Reporter learned.

Yes, Feige knows Marvel made too many movies and shows (and the other things they did wrong)

From the first Iron Man in 2008 through Endgame in 2019, Marvel produced around 50 hours of screen storytelling. In the six years since Endgame, the number jumped to an astounding 102 hours of movies and television. 127 hours if you include animation.

“That’s too much,” Feige said.

He characterized the time period after Endgame as an era of experimentation, evolution and, unfortunately, expansion.  And while he’s proud of the experimentation – he points to TV series WandaVision and Loki as some of the best stories they’ve made – he admits, “It’s the expansion that is certainly what devalued” that output.

Being high on success also may have pushed Marvel to readily agree to try to deliver more programming at a time when Disney and the rest of Hollywood were engaged in the streaming wars.

“It was a big company push, and it doesn’t take too much to push us to go, ‘People have been asking for Ms. Marvel for years, and now we can do it? Do it! Oscar Isaac wants to be Moon Knight? Do it!’” recalled Feige. “So there was a mandate that we were put in the middle of, but we also thought it’d be fun to bring these to life.”

Marvel has already pulled back the amount of movies and shows it makes. Some years may even only have one movie. Certainly there will be years with only one TV show. Also, Marvel has started “grinding down” on budgets, with movies costing up to a third cheaper than the films from 2022 or 2023.

Here’s why Thunderbolts* failed (even though it’s a “very, very good movie”)

The massive expansion into television and focus on Disney+ led to the feeling that watching Marvel was becoming a type of homework.

“It’s that expansion that I think led people to say, ‘Do I have to see all of these? It used to be fun, but now do I have to know everything about all of these?’ And I think The Marvels hit it hardest where people are like, ‘Okay, I recognize her from a billion dollar movie. But who are those other two? I guess they were in some TV show. I’ll skip it.’”

This had an effect on Thunderbolts*, which featured characters that were seen on various platforms, including some only appearing on shows before hitting the big screen.

“Some of them were still feeling the residual effects of that notion of, ‘I guess I had to have seen these other shows to understand who this is,” Feige explained. “ I think if you actually saw the movie, that wouldn’t be the case, and we make the movie so that’s not the case. But I think we still have to make sure the audience understands that.”

Feige is staying put at Marvel (for now)

No Hollywood executive stays in their chair forever. Whether it’s because of a change at the top or a bad run of movies, change is inevitable. And succession is a hot topic at Disney, and in Hollywood in general.

Feige was a bit circumspect on long he would stay at the company, quietly admitting he has about “two years, a little less” on his contract.

But regardless, he stated his desire is to keep making big movies for the widest possible audience.

“Do I want to be making big movies for big audiences in 10 or 15 years from now? Yes, absolutely. That’s all I want to do,” Feige said.  “Marvel’s a great way to do that for me right now. But I hope to make big movies for lots of people forever more.”

Feige Addresses Jonathan Majors for the first time (without talking about Jonathan Majors)

Marvel faced several curveballs in the last few years as it worked on its post-Endgame phases. Yes, there were real world issues of a pandemic and Hollywood strikes. There was the tragic loss of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman. And there was the assault conviction of Jonathan Majors, the actor who was playing villain Kang and seemed to be teed up as the next big arch nemesis for years to come.

Feige never mentioned Majors by name, instead calling him “Kang actor” at one point or “the actor” or just zeroing on Kang as a character. And, Feige said, Marvel was already preparing to pivot away from Kang before the Majors issue.

“We had started even before what had happened to the actor happened, we had started to realize that Kang wasn’t big enough, wasn’t Thanos, and that there was only one character that could be that, because he was that in the comics for decades and decades,” said Feige. “Because of the Fox acquisition, we finally had it, and it was Dr. Doom. So we had started talking about Dr. Doom even before we officially pivoted from Kang. And in fact, I had started talking with Robert [Downey Jr.] about this audacious idea before Ant-Man 3 even came out. It was a long plan that we had, to take one of our greatest characters and utilize one of our greatest actors.”

Don’t expect a live-action Miles Morales any time soon (thanks a lot, Sony)

Many fans have been for years clamoring for a live-action MCU appearance of Miles Morales, the Spider-Man who headlines the acclaimed Spider-Verse movies from Sony Animation. When asked where Marvel was in the development of a live-action version of the character, Feige responded, “That is nowhere.”

And added that Morales’ fate was in Sony’s hands. 

“Sony has their brilliant, genius, incredible Spider- Verse animated franchise going and until that finishes, we’ve been told to stay away,” said Feige.

Blade being sharpened (again)

What’s the hold up with Blade? Well…

“The obstacle was Ryan Coogler called and said, ‘We’d love some costumes for Sinners.’ And we said, ‘Take them, man.’ He’s our good friend, take our costumes. We’ll hold off on the movie,” said Feige.

Feige was, of course, joking, connecting Sinners to a version of Blade that was recently being developed, one that was set in a Prohibition Era, just like Coogler’s original hit earlier this year.

Feige confirmed there had been four takes of Blade that been developed over recent times, two that were period, two that were not.

Marvel has now “landed on modern day.” And yes, Mahershala Ali is still attached. 

He didn’t reveal a timeline for Blade but did say that he, and Coogler, have a timeline for Black Panther 3.

Tonal malleability is a key to Marvel’s success (yes, there will be more R-rated stories coming)

Deadpool & Wolverine as well as the Daredevil TV show have shown that Marvel is becoming more and more comfortable with pushing stories that are adult-oriented.

But its characters can also appear in age-appropriate settings when needed. It’s all a way to keep audiences interested and invested. That is how, Feige pointed out, you can have the Green Goblin build snowmen in Disney+’s Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends but then kill Aunt May in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Punisher is another example. The violent vigilante played by Jon Bernthal is the subject of a special that just began shooting last week and will air on Disney+ next year. It is intended to be TV-MA.

But “when Punisher is in the Spider-Man movie, it’ll be a different tonality,” said Feige, confirming the character is in the next Spidey film.

Feige still likes the flexibility of going into production without a set script

The Marvel method of moviemaking has included ever-evolving scripts and heavy-lifting in post-production. Striking a contrarian position, Gunn, after working at Marvel, has publicly stated that his DC Studios won’t begin a project without a locked script and a definite ending.

Feige says Marvel has never started a movie without a full script but also added that he’s never been satisfied with a script the company has had. “I’ve never been satisfied with a movie we’ve released,” he even added on top of that.

What he and the company like to do is “plus-ing at every turn.”

“There’s plus-ing happening every day on the Avengers: Doomsday set right now, and it is amazing to watch because what those filmmakers, those actors, both the ones that are playing these characters for the first or second time and the one playing them for the 10th or 12th time, are the best in the world at it, and know these characters so well,” said Feige. “So if they have an idea, you want to listen to it and you want to adjust to it and you want to improve it. I wouldn’t want to change that.”

Stephen McFeely is writing the script, but Feige revealed that Loki creator Michael Waldron is also helping.

At band’s first gig since accidentally exposing a workplace affair, singer lets fans know “we’re gonna use our cameras and put some of you on the big screen”

When it comes to the future of Marvel Studios, which has taken its licks this year with misfires Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World, the No. 1 superhero box office brand isn’t letting up.

Marvel Studios producer and president Kevin Feige hosted a sit down with the press at Marvel’s Burbank HQ, gesturing toward a series of locked doors in a meeting room.

“It’s a seven-year plan,” teases Feige, “I think it goes to 2032.”

“It’s on magnets, it can move around.”

Feige is particularly chipper, for even though Marvel is skipping San Diego Comic-Con this year as they remain knee-deep in production on the Russo Brothers’ Avengers: Doomsday and in prep on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the Marvel Boss and former X-Men associate producer, finally has his hands in The Fantastic Four thanks to the Disney-Fox merger. Having that subset of Marvel characters has liberated Feige to take even bigger swings within the MCU. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is looking to be Marvel Studios’ biggest opening YTD with $100M-$110M stateside.

While Fox had respectable success with the 2005 and 2007 Fantastic Four movies (which starred Chris Evans as Johnny Storm pre-Captain America), the former studio saw a Josh Trank-directed 2015 reboot completely tank after a full reshoot, grossing only $167M worldwide. This time, it’s different — it’s Feige’s Fantastic Four.

“Why Fantastic Four? Because it’s Marvel’s first family,” explains Feige on the reasons for another redo. “It’s in the history of our characters; they deserve to be A-listers. They were A-listers in the comics. Every crossover movie we’ve made in the Infinity saga, Civil War, leading to Infinity War and Endgame, which is really the Infinity saga from the comics, the Fantastic Four were huge players in those comics and obviously we couldn’t do that then.”

While several Marvel projects post-Avengers: Endgame have dovetailed between TV series and films, for Feige, it was important to have The Fantastic Four be contained in their own world sans any callbacks to the Avengers‘ blip or other verse characters.

“It’s a no-homework-required, go see the movie. It’s literally not connected to anything that was made before,” says Feige. “It kicks off Phase Six.”

“There were a lot of left turns and surprises that happened over the last seven or eight years,” Feige continues. “A positive one was to finally have those characters back and the X-Men.“

Getting access to the Fox Marvel characters has enabled Feige to plus-up the next two Avengers movies with the most notorious antagonist in the comic books: Dr. Doom. While the original plan for the Avengers movie announced at Comic-Con 2019 was to feature Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror as the main baddie, the character’s future was thrown into question after the actor’s arrest for assaulting his then-girlfriend in early 2023.

Feige says, “Even before what had happened to the actor, we had started to realize that Kang wasn’t Thanos.”

“There was only one character that could be that because he was that in the comics for decades and decades, and because of the Fox acquisition, we finally had it, and that’s Dr. Doom,” says the studio head.

“We had started talking about Dr. Doom even before we officially pivoted from Kang,” he says. “In fact, I had started talking with Robert about this audacious idea before Ant-Man 3 even came out.”

Already Patrick Stewart’s X-Men papa Dr. Xavier has made a cameo in the Disney/Marvel Studios Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, with a slew of X-Men characters, e.g. Channing Tatum’s Gamit, and even Wesley Snipes’ Blade making cameos in last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine.

Speaking of Blade, despite being taken off the calendar, the project remains in development with 2x Oscar winner Mahershala Ali still attached. The movie with the actor was first announced at SDCC 2019 with Ali taking the Hall H stage in what was then a huge announcement of the MCU’s plans across cinema and Disney+.

Feige revealed on Friday that while there were four versions of Blade in the works, two of them period (one of them set in the 1930s), “we landed on modern day and that’s what we’re focusing on.”

On pausing Blade after the exit of two filmmakers — Yann Demange and Bassam Tariq — Feige says: “We didn’t want to put a leather outfit on [Ali] and have him start killing vampires.”

“You can start and have a good script and make it a great script through production, but we didn’t feel confident we could do that on Blade,” he continues. “We didn’t want to do that to Mahershala and didn’t want to do that to us.”

In the wake of the success of his own vampire movie, Sinners, one reporter wondered whether Ryan Coogler would get to take a crack at directing Blade. Feige says there’s no such plans, and the director remains committed to Black Panther 3.

Feige’s next phase of the MCU are fewer, higher quality movies, numbering anywhere from one to three movies annually with less connectivity between the films and TV shows. Marvel learned the hard way that their over-reaching Disney+ series and theatrical movie plans were too much of a good thing for fans, evident in the bombing of The Marvels ($206.1M global box office), which fused together Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel (who had her own $1 billion-grossing film) with the lesser-known characters of Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau. The takeaway was that many fans and general moviegoers didn’t buy tickets for The Marvels because they weren’t caught up on Ms. Marvel on Disney+.

Still, while storylines won’t crossover between series and film, characters will: think Jon Bernthal’s The Punisher cameo in the upcoming Sony/Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

“Where we have great actors playing great characters, I think it would be fun to see them in multiple places,” says Feige.

With Downey Jr. now playing Dr. Doom, are there plans to recast the core Iron Man, Captain America, etc. on the big screen? Yes and no. Feige sees a star such as Chris Hemsworth still in his prime to play Thor, and even cherishes the return of thespians (i.e. Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Stern in Captain America: Brave New World) who played Marvel characters years ago. But, yes, in the longterm like with many other storied movie franchises, Marvel classic superheroes will get new faces. When exactly? “X-Men is where that will happen,” promised Feige.

In addition, post-Avengers: Secret Wars, there is a plan to “reset singular timelines” and reboot the MCU. Are there more R-rated MCU movies after making the highest grossing R-rated movie of all-time with Deadpool & Wolverine at $1.33 billion? Sure. “Where appropriate and where necessary,” says Feige.

With regard to Feige’s future and whether there’s more Marvel under him, he’s not going anywhere. While his contract is up in two years, he tells us, “Do I want to be making big movies for big audiences in ten or 15 years from now? Yes, that’s all I want to do. Marvel is great way to do that.”

Upcoming Marvel schedule according to Comscore:

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Sony) – July 31, 2026
Avengers Doomsday – Dec. 18, 2026
Untitled Marvel – July 23, 2027
Avengers: Secret Wars – Dec. 17, 2027
Untitled Marvel – Feb. 18, 2028
Untitled Marvel – May 5, 2028
Untitled Marvel – Nov. 10, 2028
Untitled Marvel – Dec. 15, 2028

Getty Images

‘We’re staying here’

Getty Images

Being gay in Hollywood ‘is still a problem’

Getty Images

‘Does being blunt mean I’m mean?’

Would ‘love’ a British talk show

Refresh for latest…: It’s been a busy weekend globally for Hollywood, with new milestones for two pictures, and as another pair close in on benchmarks amid strong holds. There was also new studio fare this frame while the latest Demon Slayer is a big hit in Japan, its first release market.

Taking the major milestones first, and before digging into more detail, DC/Warner Bros’ Superman topped the four-century mark in its sophomore session, flying to $406.8M global. In its 3rd weekend, Universal/Amblin’s Jurassic World Rebirth, after topping half a billion worldwide during its sophomore frame, roared past $600M global to reach $648M through Sunday.

In holds, and near milestones, Apple Original Films’s F1, via Warner Bros, keeps pushing the needle with increases in some markets again this session amid a mere 24% overseas drop from last weekend to top $300M ($307.2M) at the international box office and reach a $460.8M global cume to date, on its way to $500M. 

Universal’s How to Train Your Dragon is closing in on $600M worldwide with $589M through today.

Notably, some of the above titles have yet to open in Japan, having dated out of the way of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle which started local release on Friday. This is the massively anticipated latest in the Demon Slayer franchise. While getting reliable grosses out of Japan this early (particularly as this is a four-day weekend with Monday a holiday), we are hearing estimates as high as 5.9B yen ($39.7M) for the FSS. 

We will update as clearer figures become available, but we do know that the movie (which will be released by Sony domestically in September) opened to an all-time Imax record in Japan of $3M. That’s bigger than any Hollywood or local title and includes an Imax opening day Friday record. The estimated four-day total is $3.5M in Imax.

Before we turn back to details on the above Hollywood holdovers, here’s how the new movies fared. 

Paramount Animation’s Smurfs grossed $22.6M this session internationally, for $33.6M global. That’s lower than where we saw it pre-open, but comes with the codicil of a crowded marketplace and not so family friendly weather in Europe. Including Australia, which started last weekend, the offshore cume is $25M.

As expected, France was first up with $3.7M, followed by the UK at $1.7M, Brazil at $1.6M, Mexico with $1.5M and Germany at $1.5M. Including last weekend, Australia is at $3.3M.

Major markets still  to release include Korea and Italy in August and Japan in September.

Also new, Sony’s I Know What You Did Last Summer hooked $11.6M from 58 overseas markets this session. That’s on par with Happy Death Day 2U and 11% above Speak No Evil for the same group of markets at current rates. 

Overall, there’s not the same nostalgia for this property internationally as there is domestically.

Returning to the toplines… Superman added an estimated $45.2M from 78 overseas markets, for a holdover drop of 44% (excluding China; that market has positively rejected this movie). The international running cume is now $171.8M.

Weather, as noted earlier and as we always note during summer (and/or random phenomenon months), has been a factor. With a more favorable moviegoing climate, the UK dropped by 31% while other markets saw strong holds including France (-23%), Holland (-25%), Germany (-29%), and Italy (-38%).

Latin America held to -39%, and a highlight in Asia Pacific was Australia where the drop was -32%.

The Top 5 to date are: UK ($22.2M), Mexico ($16.6M), Brazil ($11.2M), Australia ($11M) and China ($8.5M).

The global Imax total is $51.4M.

After topping half a billion worldwide during its sophomore frame, Universal’s Jurassic World Rebirth crossed another milestone during its third session, roaring past $600M global to reach $648M through Sunday.

This makes the Scarlett Johansson-starrer the 4th biggest Hollywood film of 2025 worldwide (behind Ne Zha 2, Lilo & Stitch and A Minecraft Movie). It is the 6th Jurassic title to cross $600M global, and in China has become the biggest Hollywood movie of 2025 with $71.8M to date.`

Overseas, Gareth Edwards’ JWR dipped 44% across 82 markets for a $40.3M weekend. The international box office cume is $371.8M through Sunday.

Looking at comps, excluding China, the offshore performance is in line with Jurassic World Dominion, just off Top Gun: Maverick and well above Universal’s current How to Train Your Dragon (2025) and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

The Top 5 markets to date are: China ($71.8M), UK ($33.7M), Mexico ($28.7M), Germany ($20.3M) and France ($17.4M).

Japan is still to release, on August 8.

In another impressive performance, F1 is continuing to gain traction from great word of mouth. The Joseph Kosinski-directed movie added an estimated $29.5M in its 4^th weekend in 78 overseas markets for a $307.2M offshore cume to date, with the global running tally at $460.8M.

The holds here are impressive: Asia Pacific, excluding China, dipped just 11% while China, after increasing last weekend, slid just 37% while new local movies entered that market. Europe was off 25% from last weekend, and Latin America came in with a drop of -32%. 

Very notably, Korea grew this session by 28%, that’s freaky for a depressed market but speaks to the power of word of mouth (and some other alchemy we’re still figuring out). Taiwan (+5%), UK (+2%), France (-5%), Holland (-18%), Saudi Arabia (-19%), India (-22%), Spain (-27%), Australia (-28%), Mexico (-29%),  Brazil (-35%), UAE (-36%), Germany (-37%) and Japan (-42%) are also among the impressive holds.

Here are the Top 5 through Sunday: China ($45.5M), UK ($24.6M), France ($20.8M), Mexico ($17.4M) and Australia ($15.2M).

The worlwide Imax cume is $79M.

How to Train Your Dragon for its part is closing in on $600M with $589M global through today. The international weekend was $8.6M in 82 markets, a 38% dip from the previous session. Overseas, the running cume is $338.2M. 

Here are the Top 5: China ($38.7M), Mexico ($36.3M), UK ($27.8M), Brazil ($20.5M) and Australia ($18.5M).

Japan releases on September 5.

In an industry where newcomers often struggle to make their presence felt, Saiyaara has emerged as a refreshing exception — one that’s breaking norms, box office records, and expectations alike. The romantic musical, helmed by Mohit Suri and released in theatres on July 18, has not only struck a chord with audiences but also found a surprise admirer in Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu.

Taking to social media, the actor shared a heartfelt endorsement of the film, calling it “a beautifully made film with honest storytelling, standout performances, and top-notch execution.” Quoting his post from X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, “Take a bow #Saiyaara team… Big love to #AhaanPanday & #AneetPadda for living their roles so effortlessly… This one deserves all the love coming its way.” The statement has added a new layer of credibility and excitement to what was already being celebrated as a promising debut for its lead stars.

A Dream Realised on Debut

At the centre of this cinematic wave is Ahaan Panday — nephew of actor Chunky Panday — who makes his big screen debut as Krish, a passionate singer with a turbulent past. Alongside him is Aneet Padda, playing Vaani, a character navigating heartbreak, renewal, and self-discovery. Together, they breathe life into a narrative that walks the fine line between emotional depth and youthful exuberance.
Their on-screen chemistry, coupled with Mohit Suri’s evocative direction, has turned Saiyaara into more than just a musical — it’s a heartfelt journey of healing, ambition, and rediscovered love. The film follows Vaani as she tries to rebuild her life after being abandoned at the altar, only to cross paths with Krish, a musician nursing emotional wounds of his own. What unfolds is a tender story of connection, resilience, and the courage to love again.

Praise from Peers and Public Alike

Beyond Mahesh Babu, industry voices have been vocal in their admiration. Alia Bhatt, Arjun Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, and Rasha Thadani have shared glowing tributes on social media, while actor Harshvardhan Rane called the film “a melodious love story that shatters all formulas.” Even filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga reportedly sent director Mohit Suri a personal message after watching the film.
According to Sacnilk, Saiyaara opened with an impressive ₹21 crore, followed by ₹24 crore on day two. With the weekend closing in, the film is projected to touch ₹73 crore — numbers that many seasoned stars would envy in today’s challenging box office climate. Produced under the Yash Raj Films banner, the film has also secured a digital home with Netflix, although the OTT release date is yet to be confirmed. This move is expected to widen its reach, especially among young audiences resonating with its chart-topping music and modern emotional themes.