Universal has set a release date for DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls 3 for Nov. 17, 2023. This is the first announcement of the threequel, which isn’t shocking given that the pic’s extensive brand value, not to mention the first movie earned $350M at the global B.O. and the sequel last year, Trolls World Tour, grossed more than $100M
Trolls World Tour
Universal is moving up The Croods: A New Age from its Dec. 23 release date to Wednesday, Nov. 25. This move indicates the studio’s confidence that Disney will move Pixar’s Soul out of the Thanksgiving stretch according to recent reports, that movie still scheduled to debut on Nov. 20 on the same weekend of MGM’s No Time to Die.
The hope for NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell in the studio’s new unprecedented 17-day theatrical window collapse-PVOD deal with AMC Theatres is to make more money in the post theatrical windows which have waned in recent years. “Movies are our lifeblood,” said the NBCUniversal pro-PVOD exec, “Over the last couple of years, it’s become more increasingly
EXCLUSIVE: Those in town assuming that one of the other big exhibition circuits will fall in line with AMC and seek their own 17-day theatrical window-PVOD deal with Universal will soon realize that it will be a cold day in hell. Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger, who oversees the world’s second largest chain, exclusively tells Deadline
After AMC CEO Adam Aron publicly threatened that he would never play Universal movies as along as the studio had a plan for simultaneous theatrical-PVOD releases like Trolls World Tour, the world’s No. 1 exhibitor and the Hollywood studio have broken bread with the following multi-year agreement: Universal and Focus Features releases will play at
Korean hit #Alive kicked up another $2.2M this weekend, holding well throughout the mid-weeks, but with an overall 63% Friday-Saturday-Sunday dip from the comparable weekend days last session. The timely thriller that’s set against the backdrop of a city in lockdown due to a virus has now grossed $11M. It’s a continued indication that moviegoers
EXCLUSIVE: Steven Spielberg’s 1993 movie Jurassic Park was No. 1 for the fourth time in its release history this past weekend as movie theaters tried to have a semblance during the COVID-19 pandemic over what is typically a big moviegoing weekend, Father’s Day. While 2020 fare like Universal/Dreamworks Animation’s Trolls World Tour had been leading at a
Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi said the chain is in “active discussions” with Universal over windows but choses to do it privately instead of entering “the media fray” that exploded when AMC Entertainment threatened not to show Universal films. “I know that Universal is committed to the theatrical business” for big films like Jurassic World 3:
EXCLUSIVE: Updated with figures for Infamous…For a second time, Universal/Blumhouse’s Elisabeth Moss horror movie The Invisible Man has taken the top spot at the box office. That win, in the pic’s 16th weekend, reps its second No. 1 finish since opening over the February 28-March 1 weekend, thus stepping on the nine-week streak of the studio’s DreamWorks
EXCLUSIVE: From what we’ve been able to pull together, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour continues to reign with $300K in its ninth weekend at the domestic box office from a theatrical marketplace that remains largely shut down coast to coast. Our sources believe that the sequel has made slightly more than $3M from theatrical ticket sales
While Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi continued to champion the theatrical window this morning on the chain’s Q1 earnings call, he also told investors and financial analysts that when it comes to smaller and lower-grossing titles, “we’re open to talking with studio partners about alternatives we can consider.” “I don’t want to give the wrong impression,”
EXCLUSIVE w/chart: As more theaters have inched toward opening as COVID-19 safety restrictions are eased in states like Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee, a top 10 box office chart has emerged, and we just got our hands on the last two weekends. First of all, it’s still pretty grim out there and this gives you an
Studios look set to gain the upper hand in skirmishes with exhibition over windowing as trends during the COVID-19 pandemic extend into the future with mid-range films generating the $50-$100 million range the most at risk of dwindling theatrical runs, according to a leading Wall Street analyst. Exhibitors have until now been able to stand
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a major toll on Hollywood, as social distancing and shelter-in-place orders across the U.S. have led to release date delays, production shutdowns, theater closures, and, as a result, record-low movie ticket sales. In response to the crisis and theatrical closings, several film studios have been taking proactive measures to ensure
Days after Jeff Shell’s statements in the Wall Street Journal spurred AMC boss Adam Aron to embargo the studio’s films, the NBCUniversal CEO acknowledged the company’s commitment to theatrical, but that PVOD will still be part of the equation. “The question is when we come out of this (pandemic), what is going to be the model?
Not to deflate the rousing round robin of mudslinging between AMC, Cineworld and Universal, but this whole OMG melee between exhibition and studios over PVOD, theatrical-window crunching and hurt feelings is poised to calm down soon. Some industry insiders believe the situation has already eased, and the statements made Thursday morning on Comcast’s Q1 earnings
The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC) has weighed in on the debate around Universal’s decision to release Trolls World Tour digitally during the pandemic. Yesterday, Universal CEO Jeff Shell revealed that the PVOD release, which the studio pivoted to after cinemas were shuttered by coronavirus, had generated close to $100M in revenues. Shell added that
EXCLUSIVE: Following yesterday’s flurry of dramatic exchanges involving AMC, the National Association of Theatre Owners and Universal, Regal Entertainment owner Cineworld Group has now added its voice to the chorus of windows controversy surrounding Trolls World Tour. The world’s second biggest circuit says its policy with respect to the window “is clear, well known in
AMC boss Adam Aron has just fired off a letter to Universal Studios Chairman Donna Langley in response to NBC Universal CEO Jeff Shell’s statements in the Wall Street Journal this morning about the $95M PVOD success of Trolls World Tour. As Aron explains to Langley in the letter (read it below), he initially got it:
Universal has responded to AMC boss Adam Aron’s note tonight to Universal Studios Chairman Donna Langley in which he told the studio that the chain won’t be playing their titles at their global venues. Essentially Uni says they “absolutely believe in the theatrical experience and made no statement to the contrary.” But… “As we stated
In the wake of the Wall Street Journal’s report that Trolls World Tour minted $95M off their domestic PVOD rental in its first 19 days, the National Association of Theatre Owners sent out a statement today exclaiming: “This performance is indicative of hundreds of millions of people isolated in their homes seeking entertainment, not a shift in
When it comes to evaluating the financial performance of top movies, it isn’t about what a film grosses at the box office. The true tale is told when production budgets, P&A, talent participations and other costs collide with box office grosses and ancillary revenues from VOD to DVD and TV. To get close to that
Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi said Hollywood studios “are anxious to get back in this business once safety is no longer a concern,” shrugging off Universal/Dreamworks Animation’s Trolls World Tour going directly to PVOD as a blip in the road. It was a highly successful one for Universal, however, with Trolls bringing in about $50 million, according
Drive-ins continued to hang on stateside as we weathered our fourth weekend of a coast-to-coast — let’s be honest, global — theatrical shutdown. About 25 drive-ins booked DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour, and among the grosses we could get our hands on (as Universal isn’t reporting numbers), the weekend looked to be north of $60K led
With theaters largely closed due to COVID-19 nationwide (except for a handful of drive-ins), there are many things that make sense financially for major studios when it comes to the distribution of their movies right now. It made sense that current theatrical releases such as Bloodshot, The Invisible Man, The Hunt, Onward, etc. would quickly
EXCLUSIVE: As movie theaters have shuttered around the globe due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, exhibition is among the front line of industry sectors feeling the crisis. Cineworld Group, which owns Regal Entertainment in the U.S. and is the world’s second biggest circuit, has faced challenges recently, including closing cinemas until further notice, a share
With movie theaters closed to hopefully no later than early June, the major studios have a permission slip to test out big pic releases in the home. Now, they’re not so insane that they’ll burn down the house to keep warm. Major movies like Disney’s Mulan and Black Widow which have the potential to do $1 billion at
In what is considered an anomaly in the industry for an on-demand rental title (not sellthrough): Dreamworks Animation/Universal’s Trolls World Tour is now available for pre-order on FandangoNOW in advance of the pic’s April 10 availability date. While pre-orders for sell-through titles like Bad Boys for Life are quite common, that’s not the case with VOD rental titles. In
EXCLUSIVE: A24’s religious horror movie Saint Maud is flying from April 3 to April 10 after MGM/Eon/Universal’s No Time to Die departed this morning to Thanksgiving. Saint Maud is the second wide entry today after Dreamworks Animation’s Trolls World Tour (which was originally scheduled for April 17) to fill the vacancy left behind by Bond 25.
Dreamworks Animation’s Trolls World Tour is going where No Time to Die vacated: April 10. Originally the DWA pic, released via Universal, was to go April 17. This is the first major studio move in the wake of MGM/Eon/Universal moving the global day and date release of the 25th 007 pic this morning, which Deadline exclusively broke. It also