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Friday afternoon : We’re hearing that New Line’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods is currently on its way to an $11M Friday, inclusive of last night’s $3.4M , for what’s looking like a $30M opening at 4,071 theaters. The pic cost $125M before P&A, $25M more than the first Shazam! While that’s nothing to scream “Shazam!” about in regards to that projected 3-day, note that we have to see how family matinees impact the pic’s ticket sales, given how younger skewing it is. Meaning, Batman fans aren’t making their way to this movie. According to Comscore, this Friday in March boasts the most for the month when it comes to K-12 schools (34% out) and colleges (42%) on break. Social media analytics firm RelishMix measured a social media universe across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok of 385.5M, +4% over Shazam!, but 27% off superhero genre norms. However, the campaign made ground on TikTok with over 80M views for studio-owned materials. Says … [Read more...] about ‘Shazam! Fury Of The Gods’ Seeing $30M Opening – Friday Box Office

Peter Werner , Emmy-nominated TV director who won a Best Short Film Oscar in 1977, died suddenly this morning in Wilmington, NC from heart complications following a torn aorta. He was 76. Born in New York City in January 1947, Werner graduated with Masters degrees in education and documentary filmmaking. He started off as a VISTA Volunteer in downtown Detroit before co-founding a Quaker high school in Deerfield, MA. While teaching in Vermont, he met Frances Flaherty, widow of Robert Flaherty, known as the father of the documentary film. She became Werner’s friend and mentor, and he made a documentary about her that aired on PBS. It was produced by Werner’s younger brother, Tom Werner, who went on to become a top TV comedy producer behind such hit series as The Cosby Show, That ’70s Show, Roseanne and The Conners as well as co-owner of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club. Peter Werner’s American Film Institute student film In the Region of Ice , which he … [Read more...] about Peter Werner Dies: Prolific TV Director & Oscar Winner Was 76

Peter Chenin’s North Road Company has struck its first international co-production deal – backing Euphoria creator Ron Leshem ’s latest drama Bad Bo y, which Leshem described as “the next Euphoria.” North Road will join with Israeli producer Sipur to co-finance the crime drama alongside original Euphoria backers Hot and Tedy Productions. Leshem is creating with Bosch director Hagar Ben-Asher. Bad Boy tells the story of Dean, who is imprisoned in a cruel juvenile detention facility. While in jail, Dean bonds with Zoro, a grim and mysterious teenage prisoner serving time for murder. He also learns to harness his unique intelligence and creativity and, 20 years later, these traits define Dean as a star comedian, while his time in jail is a secret threatening to resurface and tear his life apart. Leshem, whose Red Skies drama is in competition at this week’s Series Mania , is co-creating with Ben-Asher alongside Israeli comedian Daniel Chen, writers … [Read more...] about Peter Chernin’s North Road Backs “The Next ‘Euphoria’” In Debut International Co-Pro Deal