BBC, Fremantle, ITV, Prime Video, Sky and TV Collective’s 2024 U.K. Breakthrough Leaders Unveiled (EXCLUSIVE)

Jenelle Evans won’t be having to worry about her scary ex popping up anywhere near her… At least not for a while!

Michaela Zee A24 is closing an eight-figure deal to acquire the U.S. rights to Ruben Östlund’s “The Entertainment System Is Down,” Variety has confirmed.

Tim Chan If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The latest winner of “American Idol” will be crowned tonight as the long-running singing competition show bids farewell to judge Katy Perry. Want to watch the “American Idol” finale live? The episode airs tonight, Sunday, May 19, at 8 p.m.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Disney and 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” conquered the international box office again with $40.6 million in its second weekend of release. So far, the fourth chapter in the “Apes” reboot franchise has generated $136 million overseas and $237 million globally. It currently stands as the fourth-highest grossing movie of the year, behind “Kung Fu Panda 4” ($533 million), “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” ($561 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($710 million).

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Atoms & Void, the Netherlands-based production and sales company run by Sergei Loznitsa and Maria Choustova, has closed a French sale on Loznitsa’s most recent feature documentary “The Invasion,” which premiered on Thursday as a Special Screening in Cannes. Potemkine Films has taken all rights for France, while the film’s French co-producer ARTE France maintains its exclusive TV/VOD window.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot six years ago today, with, Harry marrying his American bride Meghan after going public with their engagement just months before.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is set for a well-deserved break after an illustrious near-decade at Anfield, having clinched both Premier League and Champions League glory.

season three… On May 19, Bella Hadid incorporated multiple romance novel-worthy details into her teeny-tiny summer 'fit.Marking her arrival at the , the was photographed at the Hôtel Martinez wearing an ensemble full of ‘90s and Y2K influences, starting with the semi-sheer slip dress featuring a sculpted corset panel. She paired the second-skin design with an equally dainty pair of pink suede kitten heels with coquette bow details and silver grommets.

Cassie’s legal team is speaking out.

Taylor Swift’s reign is unending!

diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.The monarch, 75, will be traveling to France next month to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.He will be joined by his wife, Queen Camilla, 76, and his son, Prince William, 41, Buckingham Palace confirmed to the BBC.The trio will visit Portsmouth on June 5 to mark 80 years since the infamous Allied landings in 1944, which were a huge turning point in World War 2. On June 6, Charles and Camilla will visit the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer to honor all 22,422 British unit casualties from the Battle of Normandy.

Harrison Butker said A LOT of awful things, but don’t be fooled by one viral quote circulating around the web!

Ben Affleck is back to wearing his wedding band… What does it all mean?!

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has broken his silence after CCTV footage from 2016 emerged which appeared to show the rapper allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura. In a video uploaded to his Instagram account on Sunday, 19 May, Diddy said that he took “full responsibility” for his actions in the footage and explained that he was “disgusted” by how he’d behaved and that his behaviour was “inexcusable”. “It's so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” he said in the video as he spoke directly to the camera while looking sombre and wearing a beige T-shirt.

Former This Morning star Dr Ranj Singh has shared an exciting career announcement, revealing that his next role is an “absolute dream come true”. Dr Ranj, 44, who looked sensational at the Gaydio Pride Awards earlier this year, has revealed that he is set to take to the stage in the musical & Juliet as part of its upcoming UK and Ireland tour, where he will play the role of Lance.

Manchester City's social media account aimed a dig at Liverpool following their Premier League title triumph.

Multiple roads were closed off by police after a 'horrific' crash near Bolton on Sunday afternoon (May 19). Police, paramedics and fire crews attended the scene of the serious collision at the crossroad, between Hawkshaw and Edgworth.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have established a new 'non-royal' family after leaving the Royal Family, despite still "flaunting their titles", according to a Royal expert.

Max Johnston helped Sturm Graz to lift the Austrian Bundesliga.

Strictly Come Dancing's makeup maestro Lisa Armstrong has seemingly thrown her support behind professional dancer Giovanni Pernice following his denial of claims that he was "threatening or abusive" in training sessions with celebrity partner Amanda Abbington.

The late Queen Elizabeth was full of surprises throughout her reign - from having tea with Paddington Bear to shouting “cows!” at unsuspecting bovine subjects, Her Majesty knew how to work her particular brand of magic.

A golf spectator stunned fellow fans at the PGA Championship after picking up a SNAKE and disposing of it.

Ross McCausland has fired himself into contention for a Rangers Scottish Cup final starting slot on the right - but it could hinge on Dujon Sterling’s position at Hampden.

As ever, it’s all drama on TOWIE – and now cast member Chloe Meadows speaks exclusively to new about the latest explosive series of the Essex-based reality show. Revealing how “nice guy” Harry Derbidge is back in her group, Girlband, Chloe, who is an interior designer away from the ITVBe show, also opens up about her BFF Amber Turner and how she’s really feeling since her ex, Dan Edgar, hooked up with Ella Rae Wise. Admitting that “there’s no smoke without fire”, Chloe is happily loved-up with her City trader boyfriend George Wales, who largely stays out of the limelight.

Lexi Carson The 50th Annual Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) wrapped up on Sunday and announced the winners of the 2024 Golden Space Needle Audience and Juried Competition Awards. The festival began on May 9 and screened 261 films representing 84 countries with “62% of the feature films were created by first or second-time filmmakers; 43% were created by women or nonbinary filmmakers; 35% of filmmakers identify as a BIPOC director; and nearly 60% are currently without U.S. distribution and may not screen commercially in the United States,” according to SIFF.

Tim Chan If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Travel season is in full swing and there are a few essentials you’ll need if you’re heading onto an airplane. Aside from things like a good travel pillow and a portable charger, one of the new must-haves for air travel is a wireless audio transmitter, like this one from Twelve South.

graduation speech at Benedictine College stirred up controversy.The “Everybody Loves Raymond” actress, 66, posted an Instagram video Saturday where she defended Butker, 28, and declared that everybody who is upset about his comments needs to “relax.”“I don’t understand why everyone’s knickers are in a twist,” Heaton said at the start of her video. “He gave a commencement speech, the audience applauded twice during the speech and gave him a standing ovation at the end. So clearly, they enjoyed what he was saying.”Butker, the kicker for the Kanas City Chiefs, gave a 20-minute address at the graduation ceremony in Atchison, Kansas on May 11 where he railed against working women, Pride Month, abortion and other issues, leading to swift backlash on social media.But Heaton explained that Butker was merely “espousing his own opinions and Catholic doctrine.”“So what? It’s his opinion,” she said.

Prince Archie, 5, is marrying Olivia Henson, 31, at Chester Cathedral in England on June 7.William, 41, will be an usher at the ceremony, The Sunday Times reported on May 18. Harry, meanwhile, is not going to the 400-person wedding “to avoid royal tensions overshadowing the day,” per the UK outlet.Back in December, The Times reported that Grosvenor initially wanted to invite Harry, 39, and Meghan Markle, 42, but later decided against it after realizing their presence might overshadow his nuptials.

imaginary friends movie “IF” claimed the top spot at the box office this weekend according to studio estimates Sunday. Its $35 million North American debut was also a bit lower than some projections.Is that a disappointment? An ominous sign of the box office times? Or is the final story on “ IF ” yet to be written? It’s not just your imagination: In these bumpy early weeks of the 2024 summer box office season, in which nothing has been a runaway hit and every new movie has more and more pressure to succeed, “IF” hit a nerve.Starring Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, and an army of A-list voices including Steve Carell, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Louis Gossett Jr., Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Maya Rudolph, “IF” was an original idea from Krasinski, who wrote, directed and co-stars.Paramount debuted the film, which cost a reported $110 million to produce, in 4,041 locations in North America.

GOP nominee Donald Trump is going to be a dictator bored him.“When people come up to me and say, ‘What are we going to do?’ I’m like, ‘It doesn’t look to me like the world is just falling apart. Maybe it will tomorrow,’” he told the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd in an interview. “Look, I lost my nervous system under Trump once.

Cannes Film Festival. The actress and singer, 31, was moved to tears after her new film, “Emilia Perez” received a 9 minute-long standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday. This marked the longest standing ovation for any movie premiere at the France-based cinema bash so far this year.A Variety video shows Gomez smiling and tearing up as the crowd cheers after watching her performance in the film.Directed by Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Perez” is about a Mexican cartel leader, played by Karla Sofía Gascón, who is seeking gender-affirming surgery.

a weighted vest a few times a week.Prolific Food Network host and restaurateur Guy Fieri revealed that he has lost more than 30 pounds in the last four years thanks to a combination of intermittent fasting; high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts with a trainer; and frequent rucks of the hills of his California estate.“Once I started getting more serious about [intermittent fasting], the quantity of food I was eating, and exercise, it really changed the whole thing,” Fieri, 56, told Men’s Health last week.Inspired by military training, rucking is walking with a weighted pack. A rucker can burn 30% to 45% more calories doing the low-impact exercise than completing the workout without the extra weight, a former US Navy SEAL and fitness instructor explained to CNN last year.Research has also shown that rucking can improve muscle strength, aerobic conditioning, and endurance.Experts recommend starting with 10 pounds for 15 to 20 minutes and increasing the weight and distance by 10% every three to four weeks, making sure to take rest days between hikes.“Rucking provides a great external stimulus on your body that if done correctly with proper weight burns more calories than just walking, builds your core, and assists in having better posture,” certified personal trainer Christian Rivas told Health.com last year.

Horizon: An American Saga,” Kevin Costner‘s risk-it-all Western epic, rode into Cannes on Sunday, earning a seven-minute standing ovation. Costner was visibly emotional as the film received huge applause and chants of “Kevin! Kevin! Kevin!” During his speech, Costner thanked the audience and promised “three more” installments of the “Horizon” franchise, which is already due to get a sequel in August. “I’m sorry you had to clap that long for me to understand that I should speak,” Costner said to laughter.

Christopher Vourlias Urban Sales has closed a raft of deals on the upcoming animated feature “Into the Wonderwoods” ahead of its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the Special Screenings section. The film, which bows with a special screening May 22 at the prestigious French fest, has sold to 45 territories, the Paris-based sales outfit announced during the Cannes Market. Pic has sold to Volga for the CIS territories and the Baltics; Selim Ramia & Co.

Catherine Bray Some films prioritize a strident political cause, others set out to terrify or thrill. This touching and simple story from Japanese filmmaker Hiroshi Okuyama, premiering in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, is a gentler affair, with modest ambitions that it realizes effectively. Set on a small Japanese island, the film’s slight but sweet narrative follows a quartet of characters — young hockey player Takuya (Keitatsu Koshiyama), proficient skater Sakura (Kiara Nakanishi), figure-skating tutor Arakawa (Sōsuke Ikematsu) and his boyfriend (Ryûya Wakaba) — as they navigate subtly shifting interpersonal dynamics while a cold but beautiful winter waxes and wanes around them.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Michel Hazanavicius, the Oscar-winning director of “The Artist,” makes a first foray into animation with “The Most Precious of Cargoes” which world premieres at the Cannes Film Festival on May 24. Adapted from Jean-Claude Grumberg’s bestselling novel, “The Most Precious of Cargoes” is the first animated feature to vie for a Palme d’Or since Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir” in 2008; and it will be the last movie watched by the competition jury, presided over by Greta Gerwig, before the closing ceremony. Hazanavicius developed the project for years and wrote the script with Grumberg, as well as created the drawings.