Legendary/Warner Bros.’ Dune: Part Two hit three-week tracking and everyone is going nuts with projections in what's currently a barren marketplace.
Conservative estimates put the sequel to the Denis Villeneuve feature adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel north of $65M, which is 59%-83% higher than the opening of Dune back in 2021 ($41M). You’ll recall that movie’s ticket sales were siphoned by its day-and-date availability on HBO Max during the pandemic.
Dune: Part Two tickets went on sale on Jan. 26, that's 34 days out. Presales out of the gate indicate that Dune: Part Two is pacing ahead of the advance ticket sales of Universal’s Oppenheimer, which makes sense given that fanboys are the first to buy. However, some are careful not to comp the Villeneuve sequel to Oppenheimer since that 3-hour Christopher Nolan-directed biopic saw its early opening projections of $40M-$50M mushroom to $82.4M, largely due to Barbie halo effect. Then again, some think Dune: Part Two has a shot at $75M-$80M+ >>>Sandworm Scene Shown |
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Kevin Williamson Sets Up Shop - Kevin Williamson has set up shop at Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group. Under an overall deal for Williamson and his production banner Outerbanks Entertainment, which was finalized in December, he already has four high-profile projects in development >>>'Rear Window' Reimagining
New Politics Podcast - The Deadline ElectionLine podcast, hosted by Washington Editor Ted Johnson and Senior Editor Dominic Patten, has just launched as the 2024 election season kicks into gear. The guest on our kickoff podcast is Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who is leading in the polls in the race for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s old seat in the U.S. Senate this year. Serving in the House since 2001, Schiff’s district includes areas of Burbank and Hollywood, the home of many studios and the entertainment workforce. “I think the fight that the actors and the writers and others were engaged in is really a national struggle for working people everywhere,” Schiff says. “Making our economy work for people is really part and parcel of saving our democracy.” >>>Listen
Mission: Untenable - Director Christopher McQuarrie, known for his work on the Mission: Impossible franchise, has made a major change in his representation. He has left CAA, his longtime manager Ken Kamins at Key Creatives and his attorney David Fox. He will be represented by Matt Galsor at Greenberg Glusker, who is also the attorney for Tom Cruise. >>>Reverberating Around Town
Truman Capote's Boozy Swan Dive - In Ryan Murphy's Swans TV series, Truman Capote, hard-drinking and always tuxedo-clad, makes the rounds of glitzy parties, spinning gossipy stories to a worshipful band of wealthy women. In fact, Capote the working writer was direct and business-like. This was the Capote that Deadline's Peter Bart encountered when he was engaged to write the screenplay of The Great Gatsby – a challenge and a payday that Capote coveted. >>> Peter Bart's Column
The Making Of Richard Burton - Filming is due to get underway in late spring on Mr Burton, an upcoming biopic about the man who inspired screen legend, Richard Burton. The film will tell the true story of the relationship between Welsh schoolmaster Philip Burton and a wild young schoolboy called Richard Jenkins. Mr Burton recognised the raw talent in his pupil and eventually became his adoptive father. >>> Toby Jones To Star |
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Cillian Murphy, fresh off of the massive global success of Oppenheimer — and as he gets ready to debut Small Things Like These (in which he stars and which he produced) as the opening night gala of the Berlin Film Festival next week — has set his next starring and producing gig with Steve. Netflix has greenlighted the film.
The adaptation of Max Porter’s novel Shy also officially launches Murphy’s production company, Big Things Films, with longtime collaborator Alan Moloney.
Deadline recently caught up with the duo to talk about Big Things Films. >>>Read The Interview |
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Exclusive
Channing Tatum is set to star in true crime story Roofman for Oscar nominee Derek Cianfrance. Pic is based on the remarkable story of Jeffrey Manchester, an eccentric and charming serial robber who broke into more than 60 McDonald’s overnight.
Apple Original Films and A24 are partnering on High and Low, which reunites longtime collaborators Spike Lee and Denzel Washington with Washington starring and Lee directing.
Exclusive
Zac Efron is attached to star in Famous with Jody Hill directing and Sam Esmail producing. Efron will star in dual roles, playing both overzealous fan, Lance Dunkquist, and Hollywood heartthrob, James Jansen.
Exclusive
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the second installment of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s true-crime anthology series for Netflix, has rounded out its cast. Joining are Dallas Roberts, Jason Butler Harner and Enrique Murciano , along with 10 others. |
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BY THE NUMBERS
Up 12% - Disney stock after a quarterly earnings beat, solid outlook and deals with Epic Games and Taylor Swift. |
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More News 📉 Shares in AMC Networks plunged after the company reported shaky fourth-quarter earnings and outlined its strategic plans. CEO Kristin Dolan downplayed the notion of an M&A deal and said the company intends to "stick to our knitting" as "the marketplace sorts itself out." The stock fell 19% in the opening hour of the trading day.
📅 FX revealed its spring slate of new and returning series, including the second half of American Horror Story: Delicate; Welcome to Wrexham‘s third season; the new Elisabeth Moss-led spy thriller The Veil; documentary feature The New York Times Presents: Broken Horses; and limited series Clipped (formerly The Sterling Affairs).
✊ IATSE is ready to go on strike if upcoming contract negotiations with the studios don’t go their way. The guild will begin negotiating two major labor contracts with the AMPTP next month. IATSE is making it clear that there will either be an agreement, or the union will look to its members for a potential strike authorization vote.
🤦♂️ Tucker Carlson's new interview with Vladimir Putin shows the former Fox News host has left shamelessness behind for pure sycophancy.
🖥️ After a slow few months for streaming originals (with the exception of Amazon’s Reacher), several managed to crack Nielsen‘s overall Top 10 for the week of January 8 to 14. The top title this week was Netflix's Fool Me Once with nearly 2.4B viewing minutes.
😎 Joe Biden will return to Los Angeles later this month for a fundraising swing including a fundraiser hosted by Haim and Cheryl Saban and Casey Wasserman.
🤝 Paramount Pictures has renewed its first look development deal with Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort Productions for an additional three years.
🏆 Casting directors have finally got their Oscar. This will be the first new category added to the Oscars since Best Animated Feature Film was created in 2001. |
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On the Radar
Fri - Bob Costas on Maher
Sat - DGA Awards
Sun - Super Bowl LVIII
Mon - Jon Stewart returns to The Daily Show; NCIS S21 Premiere
Thu - EFM begins |
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The One - The Lakers unveiled a statue outside Crypto.com Arena honoring Kobe Bryant and his historic 82-point game. It's the first of three such tributes planned for the late Lakers legend. |
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