Entertainment

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One has cruised into the top spot in its opening weekend at the box office, securing $56.2 million between Friday and Sunday and $80 million since its Wednesday opening.

Although Mission: Impossible landed atop the box office, the Tom Cruise-led film fell slightly below the $85 to $95 million it was projected to earn in its five-day U.S. opening. Nonetheless, the film set a franchise record, earning more in its first five days than 2018’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout, which earned $77.5 million, and 2000’s Mission: Impossible II, which brought in $78.8 million, during the same amount of time. Overseas, Dead Reckoning earned $155 million for a global total of $235 million.

Bumping up a spot from last week, Sound of Freedom landed in second place for its second week in theaters, earning $27 million, bringing its total to $85 million. Insidious: The Red Door, also in its second weekend of release, dropped down to third, earning $13 million. Overall, the horror film has made $58 million domestically.

In fourth, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny snagged an additional $12 million in its third week at theaters, bringing its domestic total to $145 million and $302 globally. 

Pixar’s Elemental rounded out the top five, adding $8.7 million during its fourth week. The animated comedy has now topped $125 million at the North American box office and $311.6 million worldwide.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The anticipated Norman Reedus-led spinoff The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon will debut on AMC and AMC+ on September 10, the network announced Friday, July 14.

The network teases, “In The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Daryl (Reedus) washes ashore in France and struggles to piece together how he got there and why.”

The show was shot overseas, a first for the undead apocalypse series.

Producers add, “The series tracks his journey across a broken but resilient France as he hopes to find a way back home. As he makes the journey, though, the connections he forms along the way complicate his ultimate plan.”

The show also stars Clémence Poésy, Adam Nagaitis, Anne Charrier, Eriq Ebouaney and Laïka Blanc-Francard, among others.

The Walking Dead currently lives on in the spinoff Dead City, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan and Lauren Cohan as Maggie.

Another project, centering on returning star Andrew Lincoln‘s Rick Grimes and his love, Michonne, played by Danai Gurira, will debut in 2024.

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The second season of Apple TV+’s science fiction epic Foundation debuted on Friday, July 14.

Based on Isaac Asimov‘s seminal work, the series stars Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Lee Pace as Brother Day, one of a familial line of galaxy-ruling emperors. His God-like control over humanity is threatened by Jared Harris‘ genius Hari [Harry] Seldon and his disciples.

“I feel like we learned what the show was in the first season … what the tone was, what the universe was, what the characters are about, really,” Pace told ABC Audio before the SAG-AFTRA strike began.

He adds, “I was able to approach this season with … a willingness to just play with the character … just to kind of have a good time with his messy emotions, and that messy ego and kind of the chaos that he creates.”

Lou Llobell plays Gaal [Gail] Dornick, one of Hari’s disciples. She says it was “such a joy” to keep exploring her gifted character, who in this season discovers she has a daughter she’s never met.

“I was so, so, so excited because I was kind of like, ‘Oh, my gosh, where are we going to go from here?'” Llobell recalled thinking when season 1 ended. She adds with a laugh, “I’m hoping that I do get more and more … because I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied.”

While the second season filled a lot of wishes for its cast, there was one letdown.

When Foundation‘s first season debuted, Pace promised that if the show was renewed, he’d get Harris to participate in one of Pace’s famous on-set dance-offs.

Alas.

“I owe you a real apology,” Lee laughs. “But maybe … if we get a season 3, we can get Jared dancing.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The hype for Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer is already at a fever pitch, but for those who can’t wait to see it in theaters July 21, a five-minute peek at Nolan’s drama is now available online.

Billed as an “Opening Look” at Nolan’s latest epic, the sneak peek begins in black and white. Robert Downey Jr.’s U.S. Atomic Energy Commissioner Lewis Strauss takes Cillian Murphy‘s J. Robert Oppenheimer to task after reading a report that the Russians tested an atomic bomb.

The scene appears to be after Oppenheimer’s Manhattan Project created the bombs that ended World War II — a development that subsequently started a nuclear arms race with the Soviets.

“The Russians have the bomb,” Strauss says. “I thought we were supposed to be years ahead of them?!”

“We were in a race against the Nazis,” Oppenheimer huffs.

“So now the race is against the Soviets,” Strauss says, to which Oppenheimer replies, “Not unless we start it.”

“Robert: They just fired a starting gun,” Strauss snaps back.

After this exchange, the footage segues into a series of various snippets from the film.

Matt Damon also steps into the spotlight in the snippet as Leslie Groves, a lieutenant general who served as director of the Manhattan Project.

Groves at one point asks Oppenheimer, “Are we saying there’s a chance that when we push that button we destroy the world?”

The preview segues into a montage of stunning visuals from cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema and set to the stirring score from Ludwig Göransson, with peeks of the other stars, including Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer’s botanist wife, Kitty, and Florence Pugh as Oppenheimer’s other love interest, Jean Tatlock.

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Donald Glover and Maya Erskine are married assassins in the first look at the upcoming Mr. & Mrs. Smith series.

Footage for the show, which is set to debut in November, appeared in a sizzle reel for Amazon’s Prime Video released Thursday, July 13.

Starting around the 1:10 mark in the video, doors open on a packed elevator with Glover and Erskine looking serious as they blend into the crowd.

In another scene Glover asks Erskine, “You ever kill anyone?” to which she replies, “Do I look like I have?”

There are shots of Erskine, who co-created and starred in Pen15, walking away from a building just before it explodes and another shot of her loading a gun.

We see the pair running down a street in yet another scene, with the last shot featuring the two sitting on a park bench, enjoying a snack break. “This marriage is starting off on a great foot,” Glover says.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith was first announced back in February 2021 and was originally set to star Glover, who created and starred in Atlanta, alongside Fleabag Emmy winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

The show is based on the hit 2005 film of the same name, which was directed by Doug Liman and starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The SAG-AFTRA strike isn’t even a day old yet, but Hollywood productions all over the world have already ground to a halt because of it.

With Hollywood stars among the 160,000 members forbidden from working by Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists rules, The Hollywood Reporter notes a number of high-profile movies have stopped production.

Among them, the trade reports, are the third Deadpool movie for Disney-owned 20th Century Studios, which is currently shooting in the U.K., as well as Sony Pictures’ third Venom with Tom Hardy and the star-studded follow-up to Oscar winner Ridley Scott‘s Gladiator.

Big screen projects that were on a scheduled hiatus — like Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, which was on a break while Tom Cruise and company traveled the world to promote Part One — will see their shoots delayed as long as the strike continues.

SAG-AFTRA has a specific set of no-nos for its members while the union is on strike, and it’s far beyond what happens between “action” and “cut.” For example, celebrities can’t promote their upcoming films through interviews or social media.

Additionally, they can’t participate in podcasts, narrate any projects, attend fan conventions, audition for future work, negotiate upcoming jobs or attend awards shows.

Interestingly, other prohibited activities include “Puppeteering, Performance capture or motion capture work,” allowing their likenesses to be used for digital doubles and even “Piloting on-camera aircraft,” according to SAG-AFTRA’s website.

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Have no fear, your reality roundup is here! Here’s a look at what’s happened in the world of reality television this week.

Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard 

– “We’re headed back to the Vineyard,” read a July 11 tweet from Bravo. “#SummerHouseMV is officially coming back for season 2 and films this summer.” The reality series delves into the lives of a group of friends as they navigate summer in the picturesque Martha’s Vineyard, exploring their relationships, personal growth, and indulging in the island’s lifestyle. The first season starred Nicholas “Nick” Arrington, Jasmine Ellis Cooper, Silas Cooper, Jordan Emanuel, Bria Fleming, Shanice Henderson, Amir Lancaster, Jason Lyke, Preston Mitchum, Summer Marie Thomas and Alex Tyree.

FBoy Island 

– Katie Thurston, who previously starred in Season 17 of The Bachelorette, has joined the cast of FBoy Island, where she continues her quest for love. The reality series features three women relocating to a tropical paradise, accompanied by 26 men, including 13 self-proclaimed “Nice Guys” and 13 self-proclaimed “FBoys” competing for a cash prize, as they navigate the dating pool in search of a genuine connection.

Vanderpump Rules  

-In a historic achievement, the popular reality TV show Vanderpump Rules has received its first-ever Emmy nominations following Scandoval — the shocking affair between cast members Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss. VPR was nominated in two categories, Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program and Outstanding Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The world of Stranger Things is coming back to Universal theme parks this Halloween with a season 4 upgrade.

In a new video, which shows a young woman who finds herself facing off against the demonic Vecna, the park touts the upcoming attraction as celebrating “the scariest season of Stranger Things yet.”

“The Stranger Things haunted house mirrors the mind-bending twists and supernatural terror of Season 4, immersing guests in a heart-pounding experience alongside valiant characters from the series, including Eleven, Max, Eddie and more,” Universal touts. “Guests will find themselves on the front line of Vecna’s deadly attacks on the citizens of Hawkins while traveling through iconic scenes, including the notorious Hawkins Lab, the enigmatic Creel House and Vecna’s chilling mindscape.”

“Along the way, guests will confront their deepest fears and come face to face with otherworldly creatures like demobats and even Vecna himself,” the announcement continues. “In a race against the clock, guests find themselves in the ultimate showdown within Vecna’s blood-red Mind Lair, striving to escape and save mankind from his deadly curse.”

The announcement comes exactly a month after Universal touted it will be offering park-goers a chance to step into the world of another creepy hit show, HBO’s Emmy nomination magnet The Last of Us.

Both shows will get their own Halloween Horror Nights Haunted House at Universal’s Orlando and Hollywood parks, opening in September.

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More than 160,000 members are expected to hit the picket lines Friday, July 14, a day after the national board of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) voted for a nationwide strike.

The strike comes on the heels of the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike that began May 2.

In solidarity with his fellow members, Oscar winning producer and actor George Clooney issued a statement obtained by ABC Audio, calling this moment “an inflection point in our industry.” 

Clooney continued, “Actors and writers in large numbers have lost their ability to make a living. For our industry to survive that has to change. For actors that journey starts now.”

This is the first time both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA have been on strike at the same time since 1960, when a movie star named Ronald Reagan was the president of the latter group. 

In an impassioned speech after the vote on Thursday, SAG-AFTRA’s current president, Fran Drescher, blasted the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, saying in part, “We are being victimized by a very greedy entity. I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us…How they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right, while giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them.”

Among the issues for both SAG-AFTRA and WGA members is how streaming has lessened payments for their work, and the encroachment of AI in the entertainment industry. “The entire business model has been changed by streaming, digital, AI,” Drescher said.  … [I]f we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be … in jeopardy of being replaced by machines.”

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Did Ryan Reynolds‘ daughter inherit her mom Blake Lively‘s gift for trolling the Deadpool star? 

While the couple who have been married since 2012 have made headlines by good-heartedly goofing on each other on social media over the years, one of their daughters may be getting in on the act.

According to snaps published in Page Six, Lively and their daughters James, 8, Inez, 6, and Betty, 3, visited dad in his Deadpool costume on the U.K. set of Deadpool 3. One of the girls was spotted toting a superhero action figure — but it wasn’t their dad’s character, it was Hugh Jackman‘s character Wolverine. 

Of course, Jackman and Reynolds have been trolling each other for years on social media, so one shouldn’t put it past the Australian superstar that he actually put the little girl up to it to bust dad’s chops.

Blake and Ryan’s youngest child, who was born in February, but whose name and gender wasn’t publicly revealed, was apparently not on the set. But the visit saw Ryan cuddling with his wife, and doting on his daughters. 

Deadpool 3, for which Reynolds lured Jackman back to play Logan/Wolverine after the actor retired from the role with 2017’s Logan, opens May 3, 2024. 

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