Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on MONDAY May 16, 2022.
Where the CELTICS and the NY RANGERS both came back from 2 and 3 games down respectively to each win their playoff series yesterday… so guessing there are probably some pretty nice select payouts being made on DRAFT KINGS today. Including to DKNG stockholders (its +4% this morning).
AND: NBC and FOX take the stage to kick off 2022 Upfronts today. Err separately. DEADLINE has your times and locations here for the week ahead.
ALSO: The OSCARS will be 2 weekends earlier next year, on March 12, 2023 🏅.
PLUS: Sad and happy news from the weekend – Britney suffered a miscarriage this weekend according to a post she made to her IG, and Bachelorette couple JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers got married. 6 years after the engagement.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
BOX OFFICE
“Doctor Strange…” : $61 Million ($668 Million global)
An… inauspicious 67% drop from week 1, showing that the ‘confusing’ word of mouth likely has taken hold, especially since the movie had no new competition this weekend.
Same % drop as “Spider-Man: Far from Home” week 2 but:
Spidey’s 2nd weekend was Christmas Eve & Christmas
It also had far greater 2nd weekend competition
Global total already surpassed the original “Doctor Strange” #fwiw (and is sans RUSSIA and CHINA on this one).
“The Bad Guys” : $7 Million ($66 Million US)
“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” : $4.5 Million ($175 Million US)
Both “Sonic” & “Bad Guys” had just 28% weekend-to-weekend drops. “Bad Guys” was also available for $20 home rental this weekend.
“Firestarter” : $3.8 Million
The 1982 original movie literally had a bigger opening… not even adjusted for inflation 🔥.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” : $3.3 Million ($47 Million US)
Movie stayed even from last week.
“Fantastic Beasts… Dumbledore” : $2.4 Million ($90 Million US)
Ok maybe this movie won’t even see $100 Million US after all…
ALSO IN MOVIES
Lebron sets AZ’s top ranking high school basketball player Marquis “Mookie” Cook to play him in his “Shooting Time” biopic at UNI. Currently in production ⛹🏽♂️. /THR
AMAZON’s “Jack Reacher” star Alan Ritchman’s stock continues to rise… just added to “Fast X” at UNI, officially eliminating the chance of any guests at the cast’s hotel being able to get in a workout at the hotel gym 🏋️♂️. /Deadline
LIONSGATE sets Sam Claflin to star in supernatural thriller “Bagman”. About a dad who has to defend his family when a monster he vanquished in his childhood returns to haunt him as an adult. Int’l rights for sale at CANNES. /THR
Kevin Spacey adds movie project #2 for sale at CANNES this week – a completed film called “Peter Five Eight”, co-starring Rebecca DeMornay and shot last year in north CA. Spacey plays a “charismatic” stranger who arrives in a small mountain town on orders from a shadowy boss 👻. /Deadline
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📝 IN OTHER WORDS…
“I couldn’t believe it, it was so inaccurate.”
– Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, director of the docu “The Staircase” after seeing how his documentary & its staff are portrayed in the new HBOMAX limited series.
📺 THE TV SET
ABC FALL TV plans (Wednesday Upfronts)
ORDERED:
“Alaska” – Hilary Swank drama, a disgraced NYC reporter moves to a newspaper in Anchorage. From Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight”, “Stillwater”)
“The Rookie: Feds” – spinoff starring Niecy Nash
“Not Dead Yet” – Gina Rodriguez single-camera comedy, a broke & newly-single woman revives old journalism career aspirations… by writing obits. Pilot is being retooled with some re-casting ahead.
RENEWED:
COMEDIES: “The Wonder Years”, “The Conners”, “Home Economics”
“The Goldbergs”, “Abbott Elementary” already renewed
DRAMAS: “Big Sky”, “A Million Little Things”
“Grey’s Anatomy”, “Station 19”, “The Rookie”, “The Good Doctor” already renewed
UNSCRIPTED: “American Idol”, “Celeb Wheel of Fortune”, “Shark Tank”, “AFHV”, “Judge Steve Harvey”, and the“Bachelor” franchise although “Bachelorette” does not have a specific renewal.
ELSEWHERE IN FALL BROADCAST TV:
NBC adds CAMILA CABELLO to “The Voice”, replacing Clarkson. Blake, Gwen and Legend all returning for the Fall. /Deadline
FOX cancels Pivoting” and “Our Kind of People” after 1 season. /THR
CBS officially ordered “True Lies” based on the Arnold pic. /Deadline
HULU / ONYX orders 8 episode comedy series with Kerry Washington & Delroy Lindo
Called “Unprisoned”, about a perfectionist therapist & single mom whose life gets thrown a curve when her ex-con father comes to live with them.
Created by Tracy McMillan (”Mad Men”), Yvette Lee Bowser (“Living Single”) will be the showrunner. /Variety
ALSO IN TV
NETFLIX orders a Season 6 of “Black Mirror”, likely 3 longer, feature-like episodes. /Deadline
“Bridgerton” season 3 will center on #Polin… which I of course totally know means the relationship between Penelope & Colin. Apparently this was the story of the 4th book for anyone keeping score at home. /Deadline
HULU cancels MARVEL animated series “M.O.D.O.K.” after 1 season. /Variety
HULU is close to a renewal of “Nine Perfect Strangers”. David E. Kelly not likely to return as showrunner and it’s unclear on the creative approach it’ll take (anthology, etc). /THR
John Cho joins Season 2 of “The Afterparty” at APPLE TV+, set at a wedding this time. /Deadline
APPLE TV+ adds Leslie Bibb to Kristen Wiig series “Mrs. American Pie”, set in 1970’s Palm Beach high society 👒. /Deadline
IN THE HOLLYWOOD EXECUTIVE SUITE
WBD sets DISCOVERY & ANIMAL PLANET lead Nancy Daniels to also lead content for TURNER Networks, as WBD further “Discovery-izes” the WARNER MEDIA basic cable business. Other org chart stuff in the link. /Deadline
📝 IN OTHER OTHER WORDS…
“Who doesn’t say they’re going to quit their job when they’re at their other job?”
– MICHAEL CHE in a NY Times profile, responding to the chatter that arose after he made jokes in a standup set about leaving SNL. Something he still may do… but Lorne says he hopes Che doesn’t.
💻 THE MEDIA BIZ
Add “Live Streaming Events” to the list of new capabilities NETFLIX is developing
No time horizon given, but think – live reunion specials for Reality shows and maybe for NETFLIX IS A JOKE if it comes back etc. /Deadline
ALSO IN MEDIA
NBC SPORTS wisely decides it’s one and done for former SAINTS QB Drew Brees and his revised hairline on their NFL coverage team. Wonder if the Brady deal has this kinda clause… /NY Post
🏦 STOCK NOTES:
AMC THEATERS +5% ($11.81)
ENDEAVOR +5% ($19.30)
AMAZON +6% ($2,261.10)
WBD +6% ($18.10)
NETFLIX +7% ($187.64)
SNAP +8% ($24.75)
SPOTIFY +9% ($106.09)
CINEMARK +10% ($16.25)
ROKU +12% ($97.84)
ROBLOX +15% ($32.97)
and… TWITTER -9% ($40.72)
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👩💻 NEW TO WATCH:
Yeah my Sunday calendar was not very dialed in on Friday…
HBO “Time Travelers Wife” started last night (on HBOMAX now), as did
HULU’s “Conversations with Friends” – STREAM HERE
🕵️♀️ THE WEEK AHEAD
TUE – ABC’s turn at Upfronts, YOUTUBE doing a thing in the evening
CANNES FILM FEST begins 🎞
WED – CBS and WBD wrap up the Upfronts
THU – “Angelyne” hits PEACOCK
Ok yes TheCW also does their Upfronts this morning.
FRI – ”Downton Abbey” tests whether older audiences are ready to come back to the theater en-masse
SAT – SNL season finale is Natasha Lyonne and JAPANESE BREAKFAST
PREAKNESS Triple Crown race around dinnertime
🎥 TRAILER HOUSE
SNL “A Peek at Pico”, this sketch just made me laugh – could definitely see this one returning.
APPLE TV+ “Luck” teaser trailer – A human unexpectedly enters the headquarters of where good & bad luck are controlled in life. This really feels like a PIXAR movie… then again it’s from SKYDANCE whose Animation group is led by former PIXAR head John Lasseter, who retired in 2018 after misconduct allegations came to light there. In Theaters August 5
APPLE TV+ “Carpool Karaoke” Season 5 trailer – Remember way back when APPLE announced this as their first series along with a show about apps? Ah 5 years ago… Premieres Fri May 27
🎧 PLAYING ME OFF
ONE REPUBLIC “I Ain’t Worried” new song from “Top Gun: Maverick” soundtrack.
AND: A Rest In Peace goes out to Fred Ward, who died at age 79 on Friday, a great actor maybe best known for “Tremors”, but personally I loved his role playing the memorable head of security in “The Player”, and Kelly Preston’s dad in an 80’s movie I’ve seen way too many times, “Secret Admirer”.
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-SEAN MCNULTY
@theseanmac on TWITTER
@TheWakeupNews on INSTAGRAM
