Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Paramount

  • ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Breaks Records for Digital Sales

    ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Breaks Records for Digital Sales

    Top Gun: Maverick continues to exceed expectations. The Tom Cruise-led film finally hit digital on Aug. 23rd and has continued its streak of breaking records. According to Paramount, Top Gun: Maverick has become the No. 1 best-selling digital sell-through title ever in the U.S. in its first week of release.

    The studio has also revealed that Maverick is already one of the top 20 best-selling digital releases in history after being available for one week. While the film is still playing in theaters, Maverick has been the top-selling item on Amazon within the United States consistently since it was released. It has also been the top-selling title on Fandango’s Vudu service since its release, with the service’s Top Gun bundle – including both films – also remaining a top-seller.

    While the studio hasn’t revealed a dollar amount for the sales, the film’s digital performance shouldn’t be too surprising. After releasing in May, Maverick has earned $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office. It’s currently the 6th highest-grossing film in domestic box-office history, as well as the number one film this year.

    Top Gun: Maverick, which stars Cruise, will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on Nov. 1st. It is also still playing in theaters. Those eager to catch the movie before it leaves theaters can catch it for $3 tomorrow as part of the inaugural National Cinema Day.

    Source: Variety.

  • Matt Shakman Exits ‘Star Trek 4’ For ‘Fantastic 4’

    Matt Shakman Exits ‘Star Trek 4’ For ‘Fantastic 4’

    Matt Shakman is suddenly a director in high demand, but it seems he won’t be able to juggle every job that’s come his way. Shortly after news broke that the former WandaVision maestro had landed Marvel’s coveted Fantastic Four gig, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that he would no longer be helming Star Trek 4 for Paramount. Shakman had been announced as the man guiding Chris Pine’s Trek franchise towards its long-awaited fourth entry in the summer of 2021. THR reports the search for his replacement will begin immediately, and it’s not clear whether the creative change will impact the film’s planned release date of Dec. 22nd, 2023.

    Paramount Pictures released the following statement regarding Shakman’s exit:

    Matt Shakman is an incredibly talented filmmaker, and we regret the timing didn’t align for him to direct our upcoming Star Trek film. We are grateful for his many contributions, are excited about the creative vision of this next chapter and look forward to bringing it to audiences all around world.

    Paramount Pictures

    Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana and John Cho are still expected to reprise their roles alongside Pine as the crew of the famous Enterprise. They were last seen together in 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, which was directed by Justin Lin. Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires, working from a Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet draft, wrote the most recent version of the fourth film’s script.

    Source: THR

  • Paramount Sets Release Dates for ‘Sonic 3,’ ‘Smurfs’ Musical

    Paramount Sets Release Dates for ‘Sonic 3,’ ‘Smurfs’ Musical

    There’s a third Sonic the Hedgehog film on the way.

    Paramount announced a release date for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 late on Monday. The threequel will hit theaters on Dec. 20th, 2024. The studio also set a new release date for its newest Smurfs film, an animated musical, with the project slated to hit theaters on Feb. 14th, 2025.

    Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was officially announced as being in development back in February, before the second film even hit theaters. The movie is based on the classic Sega video game franchise of the same name. Despite controversy surrounding the first film, which led to the redesign of Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog managed to go on to earn $319.7 million worldwide back in 2020. Its sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, hit theaters this past April and managed to surpass the box office haul of its predecessor with an impressive $401.8 million at the worldwide box office.

    As for Smurfs, Sony found some success with 2011’s The Smurfs, its sequel The Smurfs 2 (2013) and Smurfs: The Lost Village in 2017. Now, Paramount is hoping to do the same with the launch of an animated Smurfs musical in 2025. Like with Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the Smurfs film was first announced in February of this year. The project is part of a new deal between Paramount and Nickelodeon. The new deal includes multiple animated films to be released through Paramount, as well as a second season of the animated series The Smurfs on Nickelodeon.

    Source: Deadline.

  • ‘Highfire’ Series Moving From Amazon to Paramount

    ‘Highfire’ Series Moving From Amazon to Paramount

    Nicolas Cage‘s oddity renaissance will continue on Paramount+. Highfire, a new series based on Eoin Colfer‘s novel of the same name, has officially moved from it’s originally announced home on Amazon Prime. The live-action adaptation is being described as “True Detective-meets-Pete’s Dragon“, and is set to star Cage as Lord Highfire, a once-mighty dragon who now lives in a shack in the swamps of Louisiana. Going by “Vern”, the beast spends it’s days as an alcohlic, drinking massive amounts of vodka and watching Flashdance on cable television. It’s not until Highfire meets Squib, a human teenager smuggling booze for the local mob, that he’s forced into another life-altering adventure.

    Highfire, a “gritty crime drama with doses of magical realism“, is only the latest in a recent string of high concept projects from Cage. The actor, whose image has become synonymous with over-the-top performances, has spent the past few years pumping out well-received indie flicks like Pig and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Next on his list are Renfield, in which he will appear as Count Dracula, and two separate Westerns, Butcher’s Crossing and The Old Way. The upcoming job with Paramount+ will be his first leading television role, after a previous attempt at bringing Joe Exotic to life at Amazon failed to materialize. Highfire will be adapted by Davey Holmes, the creator of Get Shorty on Epix, and will be produced by MGM. The project has been in development since 2020, when it was initially revealed by Deadline.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ and ‘A Quiet Place’ Spinoff Official Titles Revealed

    ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ and ‘A Quiet Place’ Spinoff Official Titles Revealed

    It’s Paramount’s turn at CinemaCon to announce a few projects. While they already had their own event that was chock-full of announcements, they used the opportunity to announce the official titles for two of their upcoming flagship franchises, Mission: Impossible and A Quiet Place. Not only did we get the title for the seventh entry in the franchise but also a good hint of what the spinoff is all about.

    Let’s start with the big announcement and that is that Tom Cruise appeared on screen to announce that his upcoming film is titled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Now, the name may have some major implications, as there have been some behind-the-scenes statements that hinted that the first film’s production isn’t officially ended as they push back the release dates and try to keep investments open for both parts. So, the title “Part One” may add that additional pressure on the executives.

    That’s not all, as the upcoming A Quiet Place spinoff also finally gets a name, which is simply A Quiet Place: Day One. As many suspected, the project will explore the early days of the invasion that would change the lives of many. Keep in mind, that this isn’t the actual third entry, which isn’t set to release until 2025. Day One will be directed by Pig‘s Michael Sarnoski, who took over from Jeff Nichols. So, it’s great to finally get the confirmation on what the film will focus on.

    Source: Variety, Yahoo

  • ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ Now the Highest Grossing Video Game Adaptation

    ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ Now the Highest Grossing Video Game Adaptation

    Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is on its way to passing $300M worldwide, but even before it has passed that landmark, it has already taken the top spot when it comes to live-action adaptations of video game franchises. To be fair, it only had to beat its own previous franchise installment, which had that spot at $146.1M. Uncharted was close on its tail, which currently stands at $145.9M. So, even with more competition on the horizon, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is still holding on strong with its second entry.

    Paramount is all-in with their new franchise, as they announced the third entry even before it was released as well as a Knuckles-focused spinoff for Paramount+. It is currently doing quite well in the United Kingdom and still hasn’t been released yet in the Middle East or Japan, the former being a big contender to push its box office numbers further. While it’s hard to say if it’ll pass the $400M mark, there’s still some potential.

    We also have to take into account that the film has only recently been released, which means it’ll continue to set a higher benchmark for future entries. It’s strange to think that Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, which also had an impressive $144M back in 2019, never received a sequel of any kind. Still, that franchise is moving to Netflix with no news of another film in any form of development currently.

    Source: VG247, Twitter

  • ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ is Paramount’s Best Opening Weekend Since 2014 With $71M

    ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ is Paramount’s Best Opening Weekend Since 2014 With $71M

    Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has beaten expectations by a longshot, as it now stands tall at a $71M opening weekend at the domestic box office. It’s a strong win not only for the family market, which has suffered the most during the pandemic, but it also is the biggest opening weekend for Paramount since 2014. Not just that, it now also holds the title of biggest opening for any video game adaptation.

    Paramount must’ve predicted how strong the film would perform, as they not only announced the sequel ahead of its release but even planned a spinoff series for Paramount+ focused on the newly introduced Knuckles. So, it seems that the company has quite the franchise on its hand that manages to find a distinct market within other cinematic universes going for all four quadrants.

    Globally, the film now stands at $141M, which isn’t too bad for a film that may have a stronger domestic audience. Its only challenger will be the next Fantastic Beasts that’ll open next weekend. For now, it looks like they definitely have another hit on their hand. Sadly, it seems Michael Bay‘s new Ambulance was struggling at the box office, as the film opened with $8.7M over the weekend. Globally it stands only at $31M.

    Morbius took a harsh drop with 74% in its second weekend, even if it still managed to hold on to the second spot. It now stands at $126.3M worldwide but a far cry from what Venom: Let There Be Carnage accomplished a few months prior. The Lost City stuck to the third spot with $9.2M over the weekend.

    The Batman is also noteworthy this weekend, as it currently stands at $735.1M worldwide for which it made $359M domestically. While a billion doesn’t seem realistic after all, it should still manage to near $800M once it ends its run in theaters. Of course, it is going to be available on HBO Max rather soon, which could also leave a dent in that.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Tom Cruise and Paramount Execs Clash Over ‘Mission Impossible 7’

    Tom Cruise and Paramount Execs Clash Over ‘Mission Impossible 7’

    Mission Impossible 7 and its sequel are still in active development, as both were postponed at the beginning of the year. Ever since many fans have been wondering why such a seasoned team is running into issues. Of course, COVID-19 protocols, environment hazards, and political events can be looked at as the obvious answers, it seems there may be more than meets the eye. According to reports, Tom Cruise lawyered up due to Paramount’s new release strategies for their films and shows, as they rolled out their new streaming service alongside an ever-growing budget due to COVID constraints and a changing development.

    The movie was originally filmed in Northern Italy, which got impacted hard during the early stages of the pandemic, with Tom Cruise contracting the virus. To add to the issues, Paramount+ is expected to get films 45 days after their theater debut, half of what the Hollywood norm is. As a result, the film’s star has reportedly gotten his lawyers involved due to the change. The argument is apparently on hold until MI:7 finished production, which has seemingly been purposefully been pushed out as they started work on the eighth entry.

    Add in the countless other issues like the film’s multiple shutdowns over COVID-19 infections, needing to move shooting locations multiple times, dealing with an insurance company due to those moves, and an inflating budget, MI:7 just can’t seem to catch a break. Hopefully, the dispute over the film’s runtime and budget are resolved and we get to see the film hit its new targeted release date, but we may need to wait three months to stream the movie because of it.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Paramount to Let it Rip With Live-Action ‘Beyblade’ Movie

    Paramount to Let it Rip With Live-Action ‘Beyblade’ Movie

    You never know what franchise is making its way to cinemas nowadays. Barbie is getting ready to offer an all-star cast revisiting Matell’s iconic doll with Greta Gerwig at the helm. Years ago, The LEGO Movie redefined what it meant to be a film based on a toy. Now, Paramount is ready to let it rip with a live-action film based on the toy franchise Beyblade. Not just that, but “Mr. Blockbuster” Jerry Bruckheimer is also attached to produce the film.

    The spinning tops were a collectible toy which is licensed by Hasbro. There have been countless manga, anime, and comic adaptations of the popular franchise that tended to focus on a tournament. Neil Widener and Gavin James are set to write the script, but it’s unclear if it’ll stick to the classic approach with the franchise or try something different. As you can guess, it’s still in early development but they already hope to turn it into a massive franchise like the Transformers.

    Bruckheimer is a fitting choice given how he turned the Pirates of The Caribbean into a massive franchise. The writers are also busy working on the script for the DC project Hourman and Now You See Me 3. Given its sales numbers, it’s no wonder that they see the potential in it. Makes you wonder when we’ll get the announcement for a live-action Yu-gi-oh! franchise at this point given the popularity of the card game and anime franchise.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Star Trek’ Cast Was Not Aware of the Fourth ‘Star Trek’ Film

    ‘Star Trek’ Cast Was Not Aware of the Fourth ‘Star Trek’ Film

    We were all excited when it was announced that the Kelvin timeline would continue with the upcoming fourth installment of the Star Trek franchise. Paramount was celebrating its rebranding in style with a batch of announcements during its investor day, which included the confirmation that the original cast is in talks to return. Well, it turns out that they may have fibbed a little, as in a new piece by The Hollywood Reporter we learn that the cast had no clue. Most of the USS Enterprise actors’ rep teams had not heard of an announcement for a fourth entry and that there were even talks for them to join.

    What makes this such a surprise is that the film is already eyeing a production start by the end of the year, which puts Paramount in a rather uncomfortable place to negotiate if they are trying to hit their theatrical release on December 22nd. They do reveal that the first negotiations will start with Chris Pine, as he’s the “lynchpin to the project.” The script isn’t even finalized and there’s no word on an actual green light or budget. It seems that they dropped their leverage to court Wall Steet investors. We’ll see if this hurts them in the long-term due to how giving up this leverage may inflate the film’s overall budget.

    It’s certainly a power move by Paramount to try and prioritize Wall Street investors over the talent for its film. They’ve been using the franchise to further develop Paramount+, as they try to make use of their existing IPs to compete with Netflix and Disney+. Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks have been instrumental in their strategy with more spinoffs already in development. So, it would seem strange that they’d not prioritize these negotiations in advance, but we’ll see what it might mean for the films moving forward.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter