Independent film has always required a certain kind of stubbornness. It demands that creators believe in a story enough to build it without waiting for permission—no studio approval, no corporate safety net, and no guarantee that the market will make it easy. It takes...
As the co-chairman and co-CEO of DC Studios, James Gunn is responsible for setting the course of the DC Universe (DCU), Warner Bros.’ latest attempt at bringing some of comics’ most iconic characters to life on screen. He’s also the writer and director of Man of Tomorrow, the sequel to last summer’s Superman.
Netflix has quietly canceled the Duffer Brothers’ next major project, shelving their long-planned adaptation of The Talisman shortly after the controversial Stranger Things finale wrapped up the company’s flagship series.
The Avatar box office story has once again hit a major milestone, but context matters more than headlines. Avatar: Fire and Ash has officially crossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, doing so in roughly three weeks of global release. While that number will inevitably be touted as another unquestionable victory for James Cameron and Disney, the underlying data tells a more complicated—and far less triumphant—story when placed next to its direct predecessor.
If you thought the 2025 domestic box office had outperformed the 2024 box office (as had I originally), think again. Only a gluttony of extra films managed to make that picture look like reality. But the truth is a much harsher mistress for cinemas and movie lovers....
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie won’t arrive in theaters until April 3, but merchandise for the film is already hinting at a minor redesign for Toad. For the last few months, the voice of Toad, Keegan-Michael Key, has been dropping hints that the character would be “finding his light” in the new movie. Now it’s clear what he meant. Licensed images spotted by The Direct show the addition of a headlamp, suggesting the look that Toad sported in Super Mario Galaxy and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker games.
At the end of a rough year for the company, Disney had a historic win. Zootopia 2 has become Walt Disney Animation’s highest-grossing movie ever, with $1.46 billion at the global box office. Previously, the record was held by 2019’s Frozen II, with $1.45 billion. While many of the company’s 2025 releases, like Snow White and Captain America: Brave New World, faltered at the box office, Zootopia 2 could provide a template for projects in other franchises.
As Netflix edges closer to absorbing one of Hollywood’s last legacy studios, alarm bells are ringing across the theatrical exhibition business — and for good reason. The streamer’s carefully worded assurances about theatrical releases are colliding head-on with insider reports from Deadline that the actual planned Netflix theatrical window for WB films may be as short as 17 days.
Netflix announced via X on Christmas Eve that KPop Demon Hunters has officially surpassed 500 million total views on its platform since its June 20th release.
The Justice Department announced on Tuesday that it had resolved a case against Disney Worldwide Services Inc. and Disney Entertainment Operations LLC. A federal court has ordered Disney to pay $10 million in civil penalties to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that Disney violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
On New Year’s Day in China, a surprising Disney box office Civil War unfolded as Zootopia 2 overtook Avatar: Fire and Ash.
After 37 days in theaters, Zootopia 2 surged back to #1 in China, overtaking Avatar: Fire and Ash, which has been in release for just two weeks.
Hollywood entered 2025 with modest hopes for theatrical box office recovery — and still came up short.
According to year-end domestic ticket sales data reported by Variety, the 2025 box office closed at $8.87 billion, narrowly missing the already-reduced $9 billion projection that analysts had framed as a realistic benchmark. While the industry has attempted to spin the result as progress, the numbers tell a far less flattering story.
For years, Hollywood executives insisted audiences were the problem. Viewers were told they were behind the times, resistant to progress, or simply misunderstanding what creators were trying to say. When films failed, the blame was rarely placed on the product itself. Instead, it was shifted onto the audience. “A small but vocal minority” was their favorite refrain.
2025 put an end to that narrative.