‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ Sees $3.8M Previews, ‘Imaginary’ $725K – Box Office

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer After canceling seven dates of her first North American tour in five years amid weak ticket sales, Jennifer Lopez has renamed it to apparently broaden its scope, changing it from “This Is Me… Now” to “This Is Me… Live | The Greatest Hits.” Lopez initially announced the trek in February to coincide with the release of her latest album “This Is Me… Now” and its accompanying two films. But she quietly canceled some of its dates last month in cities like Cleveland and Nashville, likely due to poor sales.

Angelique Jackson As Impact Network rebrands from a faith and gospel-focused multiplatform channel to include family-friendly lifestyle entertainment designed for Black audiences, Variety can exclusively reveal its first “Impact Original” movie, “The Life of Me.” Brian White (ABC’s “Scandal”), Brandon T. Jackson (BET’s “Family Business: New Orleans,” “Percy Jackson”) and Danielle Nicolet (CW’s “The Flash”) star in the film about a wealthy businessman, who “disillusioned by his family’s illicit business dealings, escapes to a small town and finds friendship, love, and a new focus on life until he must confront his past, reveal his identity, and redefine his future.” White plays Marcus Banks, a real estate mogul and heir to his family’s multi-billion dollar development business, who is described in the film’s official description as a “man with a conscience.” The film’s synopsis explains: Marcus becomes disgruntled with the family’s greedy tactics after learning his family would put the lives of innocent people in harm’s way to make a profit. He flees his big-time lifestyle to a small town where he assumes a new under-the-radar identity as a handyman named “Dom.” Nicolet plays Kennedy, a single mother, dance instructor and owner of the local cafe (and love interest to Marcus/Dom). Kennedy and her brother try to keep their small business, which was passed down by their late parents, alive despite the economic devastation experienced from the COVID-19 pandemic. Marcus faces a moral dilemma when his family’s company comes to his small-town hideout and tries to snatch land from his newfound friends. Jackson is Simon, the Banks family’s ruthless fixer, who informs Marcus of the plot.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Michael Keaton participated in a career retrospective interview for GQ magazine and admitted that his casting as Batman in Tim Burton’s 1989 superhero movie was “ballsy” considering he was more known for his comedic roles in films like “Mr. Mom” at that point in his career. Keaton’s casting was met with backlash among comic book fans at the time.

J. Kim Murphy Awards courting, auctioning among distributors and corporate-sponsored parties can really take the “film” out of “film festival,” with moviegoing sometimes becoming an afterthought to more market-oriented activities at the industry’s legacy gatherings.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Hunter Schafer said in a new GQ cover story that she has been strategic in trying to shift the public’s focus away from her gender identity as a transgender person. The “Euphoria” favorite does not want her identity to be the sole talking point about her and has at times tried to avoid saying the word “trans” during interviews in order to ensure her career is not solely defined by her gender identity. “It has not just happened naturally by any means.

A.D. Amorosi John Sinclair, the counterculture activist and former MC5 manager who helped define that proto-punk ensemble’s radical politics, died on Tuesday at 82.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Lizzo is not quitting music or social media. Days after the Grammy winner stirred up headlines for posting “I quit” on social media, she took to Instagram to clarify exactly what she meant and assure fans that she still plans to release new music in the future.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Minnie Driver said during a recent interview on Jameela Jamil’s “I Weigh” podcast that producers on her 1998 disaster movie “Hard Rain” allegedly told her not to wear a wetsuit while filming with rain machines because “they wanted to see my nipples” (via Entertainment Weekly). The film, directed by Mikael Salomon, opened a year after Driver’s breakthrough in “Good Will Hunting,” which earned her an Oscar nomination. Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater headlined “Hard Rain.” “It’s set during this massive storm, there were huge rain machines.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Grey’s Anatomy” has been renewed for Season 21 at ABC, Variety has learned. The renewal extends the series’ record-breaking run as the longest running primetime medical drama in TV history, which it first became in 2019. It is also the longest running primetime scripted series in ABC history.

Heart attack.Ann and Nancy Wilson’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group just added a second leg to their 2024 ‘Royal Flush Tour’ from September through December with special guests Cheap Trick, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin on select dates.Midway through the fall and winter run, the “Crazy On You” rockers will stop into New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Monday, Oct. 21.On the first leg of the ‘Royal Flush Tour,’ Heart is scheduled to deal the hits at Atlantic City’s Hard Rock Live on Friday, May 24, Albany’s MVP Arena on Saturday, Aug.

Kiernan Shipka is remembering her The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina co-star Chance Perdomo following his death.

No dart gun, or First Omen, or Monkey Man will put Legendary/Warner Bros’ Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire to sleep this weekend. The pic, after an unexpected $80 million Easter weekend start, will continue to rumble with a 55%-60% second-weekend drop to between $32M-$36M. Through four days, the Adam Wingard-directed Monsterverse title stands at $87.7M, fueled by 57% of K-12 schools out Monday and another 14% colleges. Expect more cash today as, per Comscore, there are 28% of K-12 school out, and 5% universities.

EXCLUSIVE: Teri Polo has joined the Season 3 cast of FBI: International, sources tell Deadline. Character details are being kept under wraps, but we hear she will appear in the final two episodes of the season and return for additional episodes in Season 4 if the series is renewed.

It’s one of Hollywood’s favorite screening venues and hosted the world premiere of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, but police today are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a person found at The Grove shopping mall in Mid- Wilshire.

Fox News topped its rivals in the March and first quarter ratings by a wide margin, but MSNBC and CNN showed the biggest growth versus the same period a year ago.

Even more updates about the cast of Criminal Minds: Evolution are being shared, including an exciting addition to the cast, an actor being promoted, and a shocking exit.

Harry Styles fans are flocking to his UK hometown, hoping it’s “As It Was” when the 30-year-old star was growing up. Over the past year, over 5,000 devotees — known as “Harries” — have visited Holmes Chapel, England, walking in One Direction to hit all the spots the singer has frequented.

“Saturday Night Live” has “never” hired a “hot” woman in its nearly 50-year run — and some of the show’s female cast members had hilarious reactions. “Am I the only person who’s ever noticed that ‘SNL’ has never hired a, like, hot woman?” the TikTok user, who goes by Jahelis on the platform, asked in a video uploaded March 21 and currently has more than 482,700 views.“I’m not saying that every single woman who has been a cast member on ‘SNL’ is ugly,” she continued.

One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery is coming!

David Lautman is engaged to Megan Li Wang and their proposal video is going viral on social media!

Sarah Paulson is back on Broadway after a short hiatus with her play Appropriate and she had a star-studded audience at a recent performance!

Hunter Schafer is opening up about being one of the most famous trans people in the world right now and how she feels guilt for “not being more of a spokesperson.”

Lopez Vs Lopez season two premieres TONIGHT (April 2) on NBC!

The stars of the series The Chosen are promoting the show in Brazil!

We’re still a little surprised director Sam Raimi decided to return to the world of Marvel Comics for “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.” Having already directed a trilogy of “Spider-Man” films and walking away from a fourth film, it had seemed that Raimi had exhausted himself with the genre. But Raimi apparently had a great time making the ‘Doctor Strange’ sequel, and he apparently is willing to do more in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

J.K. Rowling will not be prosecuted, police have said, following comments the author made about new hate crime laws online.Yesterday (April 1), Rowling dared police to arrest her as she expressed her opposition to new hate crime legislation that has just come into force in Scotland.The new laws came into force yesterday, making it a crime to “stir up hatred” on the basis of age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.

Lizzo is clarifying her comments after she went viral for saying “I quit,” which many had interpreted the video as the singer quitting the music industry.

One day after José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen confirmed that seven of its team providing food in Gaza were killed in an Israel Defense Forces strike, President Biden called Andrés personally to tell the celebrity chef he was “heartbroken” by the news.

EXCLUSIVE: Adriyan Rae lands recurring role on Netflix’s Forever created by Mara Brock Akil.  

EXCLUSIVE: Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, founded by Seth Green, Matthew Senreich, John Harvatine IV and Eric Towner, has brought on former Skydance Animation and Disney Television exec Jonathan Schneider as President.

Ghost of John McCain, the musical comedy set inside the brain of Donald Trump that got under the skin of Meghan McCain, will make its world premiere Off Broadway this fall, producers announced today.

A story that was widely shared by conservative politicos and right-wing media has been retracted by its publisher, the Daily Caller.

Former Gersh agent Emma Clarke is joining talent management company Currents Management.

An open letter from the Artists Rights Alliance and signed by more than 200 major figures in the music and entertainment industries is calling on AI companies and digital music service platforms to pledge that they won’t develop or use AI tools “that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work.”

Jared Padalecki is giving Supernatural fans some hope that a reunion with Jensen Ackles might come to fruition in the future.

Broadway box office soared last week, as five productions joined the roster, one returned and no fewer than 30 of the 32 shows saw attendance at 90% of capacity or more. Twenty productions were sell-outs.