‘Fear The Walking Dead’ & ‘A Discovery Of Witches’ To Air On Max As AMC Networks Sets Streaming “Pop-Up” With Warner Bros. Discovery Platform

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Barbie” has conquered North America, and now, the world. Greta Gerwig’s fantasy-comedy has generated $1.36 billion at the global box office, overtaking Universal and Illumination’s animated adventure “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($1.35 billion globally) as the highest-grossing worldwide movie of the year.

Despite bad weather conditions, the crew of Warner Bros. series The Winchesters was instructed to keep filming. Shortly thereafter, lightning struck a crew member.

Disney has hit back at claims by Charter Communications execs that the media company declined to pursue innovative carriage deals and instead just wanted to ram through price increases.

If the debate a few years ago was the streaming glut age created an era of #TooMuchContent, we’ve got some good news for you: things are slowing down and the current SAG and WGA strikes likely aren’t helping. But the streaming age, and the Wall Street downturn that arrived last year have definitely caused a new epoch of disruption we’re still experiencing and aren’t sure where things will land.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Mexico’s foremost animation forum, Pixelatl, kicks off Sept. 5 in Guadalajara with an array of activities that includes screenings, conferences, panels, works-in-progress sessions, master classes and pitches amid a myriad of sections.

It is possible that in his search for CNN’s next boss, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav simply checked back through the news network’s archives. 

Glen Powell teamed up with his “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Devotion” co-stars on Wednesday as they hit the picket lines outside Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California in support of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

Max is adding an on-screen top 10 ranking of trending titles, joining Netflix and other streaming rivals that offer the feature.

California Treasurer Fiona Ma has sent letters to the CEOs of seven Hollywood studios urging a return to the bargaining table with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA to end a months-long double strike that’s shut down much of the entertainment industry and is taking a major toll on the California economy.

A swarm of Supernatural fans joined the picket line at Warner Bros. in Los Angeles on Thursday to catch a glimpse of series creator Eric Kripke as well as the cast and other writers who had reunited in solidarity with the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Max, taking a page from Netflix, is giving subscribers insight into daily top-trending movies and TV shows on the platform. Warner Bros. Discovery launched the new Max top 10 lists on Thursday, beginning in the U.S.

The CW and Sinclair Broadcast Group have reached an affiliate renewal deal spanning 35 markets, including the launch of the broadcast network on stations in Seattle and Pittsburgh.

Mortal Kombat fighters are in a Mortal Kombat 11 trailer that reveals his long-time love for the abundantly bloody series.This is one of two promotional trailers that Bautista appears in for the forthcoming game. The other features the actor recruiting students, baristas, musicians and more to answer the call of “Mortal Kombat” in anticipation of the reboot.“Obviously, my voice is gone now from screaming ‘Mortal Kombat‘ all day,” said Bautista in the second trailer while playing the game, with shots from the sets of the first trailer.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Production is under way on season two of “The Twelve,” a crime drama which follows a controversial murder trial as seen through the lens of the 12 jury members, ordinary members of the public with their own realities and struggles. On completion, it will screen on Foxtel’s Binge streaming service.

ongoing Writers Guild Of America (WGA) strike took place.Speaking on the newly launched Strike Force Five podcast on Spotify – featuring Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver – Kimmel spoke of his initial plans to retire from hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! earlier this year, though his perspective on the matter has since changed due to the ongoing writers’ strike.“I was very intent on retiring right around the time where the strike started,” Kimmel said on the premiere episode of the Strike Force Five podcast. “And now, I realize, Oh yeah, it’s kind of nice to work.”Seth Meyers quipped in response: “Kimmel, c’mon, you are the Tom Brady of late night… you have feigned retirement.” However, Kimmel insisted that he was serious about retiring: “I was serious, I was very, very serious.”In early May, the WGA announced that it was going on strike; Hollywood’s first in 15 years.

Selena Gomez has deleted an Instagram post about Only Murders In The Building after being accused of breaking strike rules.The singer and actor appears in the recently-released third season of the Hulu/Disney+ show alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short.Earlier today (August 30), a post appeared on the singer’s official Instagram account which tagged the show’s official account. As part of SAG-AFTRA strike rules, members aren’t allowed to promote their work via interviews or social media posts.The post has now ben deleted, and it hasn’t been confirmed whether the post in question constituted rule-breaking, but some online have accused the post of being “tone deaf” amid the ongoing strikes.Following a break down in negotiations between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the US actors’ union SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), the latter’s national board of directors voted unanimously on July 13 to join writers by going on strike.It will mark the first time in more than 60 years that actors and writers have gone on strike simultaneously.SAG-AFTRA – Hollywood’s largest union, which represents 160,000 actors and performers – and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are seeking an increase in base pay and residuals in the age of streaming, while other negotiations relate to safeguards against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence in the industry.The WGA strike, which began on May 2, occurred following unsuccessful negotiations with AMPTP, who represent major Hollywood studios like Netflix, Disney, Apple, Amazon, Paramount, Warner Bros.

EXCLUSIVE: Amid growing speculation of internal divisions within the C-suites and a lack of any apparent path forward to end the writers and actors strikes, the chiefs of Hollywood’s biggest studios are set to gather today.

Whitney Cinkala Variety returns with its annual Entertainment and Technology Summit, presented by City National Bank, on Sept. 21 in Los Angeles and streaming virtually. Recently added speakers include Ynon Kreiz, chairman and CEO of Mattel; and Charles D.

James Corden is to give his first industry interview since leaving the Late Late Show and returning to the UK at the RTS Cambridge Convention next month.

Mark Thompson, the former CEO of The New York Times Co. and director general of the BBC, is in line to be named the next head of CNN, according to multiple press reports.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Warner Bros. Discovery is widely expected to name Mark Thompson, the former New York Times Co. and BBC leader who has demonstrated a knack for guiding media into digital realms, as the latest executive to oversee CNN, according to a person familiar with the matter, putting in place the fifth executive structure around the news giant since early 2022.

EXCLUSIVE: DC’s The Flash, the Justice League spinoff movie starring Ezra Miller in the title role, pulled in1.1M US households in it’s Live+2 Day window on Max per Samba TV. The Andy Muschietti directed Warner Bros. title hit Warners streaming service on Aug. 25.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Zendaya is hoping to get evil in the near future. During a video interview for Elle magazine, the Emmy winner said she would like to play a villain role in the future. Zendaya noted that the majority of her output as been playing “the good guy,” which is a trend she wants to break.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In a cross-streamer promotion, Max subscribers will get a sampler platter of AMC+ programming in September and October — for no extra charge. Starting Sept. 1 and available through Oct.

AMC Networks television is coming to Max!

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Barbie” and “Gran Turismo” are both claiming victory at the box office in a showdown that has a lot to do with movie accounting and shifting definitions of the meaning of an opening weekend. Warner Bros., which backed “Barbie,” is claiming that the film won the weekend for the fifth time, earning $15.1 million over last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. However, Sony, which produced “Gran Turismo,” is claiming that its film topped box office charts with $17.4 million.

Denis Villeneuve has revealed that he is considering turning his Dune film series into a trilogy.Speaking to Empire, Villeneuve spoke of his hopes to make a third film in the sci-fi epic series: “If I succeed in making a trilogy, that would be a dream”. Currently, Villeneuve’s Dune and the yet-to-be-released Dune: Part Two films tell the story of author Frank Herbert’s original 1965 novel.While Villeneuve has yet to confirm if a third film has been green-lit, he hinted to Empire that he’s already working on a script: “I will say, there are words on paper.”A potential third Dune film from Villeneuve will see his retelling of Herbert’s ‘Dune Messiah’ novel, which was the direct sequel to the first Dune book.

SAG-AFTRA and the WGA have suspended picketing at multiple locations in Los Angeles on Monday and Tuesday as temperatures are expected to rise.

EXCLUSIVE: ITV may have balked at All3Media’s £1B ($1.3B) price tag last month, but Deadline hears that the British broadcaster is yet to fully walk away from a deal for The Traitors producer.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events.

New Line’s new animated movie, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, is moving from its April 12, 2024 release date to Dec. 13 next year.

This is Day 115 of the WGA strike and Day 42 of the SAG-AFTRA strike. 

It’s official: Deadline reports that Greta Gerwig‘s “Barbie” is now the highest-grossing domestic film of 2023. This comes to the surprise of no one who’s felt the Kenergy since the film hit theaters a little over a month ago with a $162 million opening weekend.

The Writers Guild said today that the AMPTP’s latest counteroffer for a new contract “is neither nothing, nor nearly enough.”

EXCLUSIVE: Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx has been tapped for the role of God in the forthcoming comedy, Deadline has learned. In the film from writer-director Johnny Mack, he appears opposite The Wrestler‘s Mickey Rourke, who inhabits the role of the Devil, as previously announced.

Barbie was already well its way to becoming the highest-grossing film of the year at the domestic box office, but its impressive haul is now set to get even bigger.Warner Bros. has announced that Greta Gerwig’s satirical comedy will be coming to IMAX screens for one week, starting from September 22.