World Movie News: The Last 24 Hours
Jon Watts reportedly set to direct the next Skywalker Saga film; Avengers: Endgame Encore snaps back to number one with an $86 million worldwide weekend; London ramps up for the LFF; happy birthday to Naomi Watts, Ranbir Kapoor and Hilary Duff.
Morning all — a big franchise story to start the week, weekend numbers as usual, plus a tribute I should have written a fortnight ago. Here’s what happened in the world of movies during the last 24 hours.
Star Wars reportedly returns to the Skywalker Saga with Jon Watts: Deadline reports that Lucasfilm has tapped Jon Watts, the director of the three Tom Holland Spider-Man films and co-creator of Skeleton Crew, to helm the first film in a new trilogy continuing the Skywalker Saga, eight years after The Rise of Skywalker. Simon Kinberg is writing the trilogy, with Daisy Ridley reportedly eyed to return as Rey. Worth stressing that this is still a report rather than a confirmation: Lucasfilm declined to comment, and Disney is said not to have formally approved the project yet. It would sit behind Star Wars: Starfighter, the Ryan Gosling film due in May 2027.
Avengers: Endgame Encore returns to number one worldwide: Turning to the weekend numbers, Disney’s re-release of Avengers: Endgame took $26 million in the US from 3,060 locations and a further $60 million internationally, an $86 million worldwide weekend that ranks as the second-biggest re-release haul in history behind only 2012’s Titanic 3D. That lifts the film to roughly $2.88 billion worldwide, around $39 million short of Avatar‘s all-time record, with a US total of $884.4 million. The added footage teasing December’s Avengers: Doomsday clearly did its job.
Resident Evil holds well, and three newcomers land close together: Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil dropped 60% in its second weekend to $23.3 million in the US, taking its US total to $103.4 million and its worldwide total to $196.5 million, already more than the entire US run of any previous film in the franchise. Behind it, Paramount’s Heart of the Beast opened to $20 million in the US and $30.1 million overseas across 63 markets, a $50.1 million worldwide start off an $82 million budget, with an A- CinemaScore to help it along. France ($3.8 million) led its overseas markets, followed by the UK ($2.7 million) and Mexico ($2.4 million). A24’s Primetime was a whisker behind in the US with $19.2 million, the studio’s third-biggest opening ever after Backrooms and Civil War, while DreamWorks’ Forgotten Island opened to $12.8 million in the US and $20.6 million worldwide, below hopes despite an A CinemaScore. Further down, Spider-Man: Brand New Day stands at around $950.7 million in the US and $2.496 billion worldwide, and The Odyssey at $616.5 million in the US and $1.751 billion worldwide. All this has helped Universal to become the first studio past $5 billion worldwide this year.
London prepares for the 70th London Film Festival: On a more personal note, I’m delighted to again have gained press accreditation for the LFF, whose pre-event press week starts today. So be prepared for a deluge of brand new film reviews hitting this blog!
Happy birthday to Naomi Watts, Ranbir Kapoor and Hilary Duff: Rounding things off, happy birthday today to Mulholland Drive and The Ring star Naomi Watts, who turns 58, Bollywood’s Ranbir Kapoor, turning 44, and Lizzie McGuire actress Hilary Duff, turning 39.
That’s your lot for today — until next time.
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