Showbiz Sandbox 464: Warner Bros. Gets the Last Laugh With “Joker”
October 7, 2019
After winning the top prize at the Venice Film Festival last month, “Joker” shattered October box office records around the world. This was despite mixed critical reviews and concerns about violence that led to heightened security at movie theaters. The question remains whether the movie will be too dark for Oscar voters come awards season.
The box office in China also made headlines over the past week as the country celebrated National Day by heading to the movies. China’s biggest release for the holiday week even made it onto the North American box office charts.
Meanwhile, one of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies was hoping to raise a lot of money by going public and ultimately change how agents do business. However, Endeavor wound up pulling its initial public offering at the last minute as market makers began raising doubts.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how who will be performing at next year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, Spider-Man rejoins Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and Apple will release (some of) its movies in theatres with a 90-day theatrical window.
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Comscore Worldwide Box Office Chart
https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Rankings#tab_worldwide_box_office
‘Joker’ Box Office: All the Records Broken
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/joker-box-office-all-records-broken-1245732
China Box Office: ‘My People’ and ‘The Captain’ Both Enjoy $100 Million Weekend Scores
https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/china-box-office-my-people-my-country-captain-1203360973/
‘Joker’ Hits Movie Theaters with Controversy and Extra Security
https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/04/entertainment/joker-movie-opening-night/index.html
Academy Museum Hires New Director; Project Moving Forward Again
https://deadline.com/2019/10/academy-museum-new-director-bill-kramer-los-angeles-1202751540/
Spider-Man Back In Action As Sony Agrees To Disney Co-Fi For New Movie
https://deadline.com/2019/09/sony-walt-disneys-marvel-team-on-third-spider-man-homecoming-title-with-superhero-to-appear-in-future-marvel-pics-1202746497/
Nielsen’s Expanded Ratings Liftoff Stuck On The Launch Pad On Day 1
https://deadline.com/2019/10/nielsen-tv-ratings-new-data-launch-fail-1202752726/
China’s Tencent Is Setting a Trend That Spotify May Have to Follow
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/tencent-paywall-model-spotify-894193/
Spotify Pivots on Global Cultures Initiative, Alarming Music Industry
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/spotify-global-cultures-initiative-892762/
Jennifer Lopez, Shakira to Headline 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jennifer-lopez-hints-at-2020-super-bowl-halftime-performance-1238650
Apple Sets Theatrical Release Dates for Original Films ‘The Banker,’ ‘Hala’ and ‘The Elephant Queen’
https://variety.com/2019/film/news/apple-theatrical-dates-anthony-mackie-hala-elephant-queen-1203352195/
Disney Parks Veteran Steps Down Amid Sluggish Star Wars Land Attendance
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-parks-veteran-steps-down-sluggish-star-wars-land-attendance-1242748
Disney’s US Theme Parks Are Going Vegan
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/disney-theme-parks-vegan/index.html
‘NYT’ Shifts Its Lists Again
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/81272-nyt-shifts-its-lists-again.html
Major Studios Face Sweeping Loss of Iconic ’80s Film Franchise Rights
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/real-life-terminator-major-studios-face-sweeping-loss-iconic-80s-film-franchise-rights-1244737
Endeavor Lowers Estimated Share Price Ahead of IPO
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/endeavor-lowers-estimated-share-price-ipo-1241851
Endeavor Pulls IPO Amid Investor Concerns, Market Instability
https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/endeavor-ipo-drop-investor-stock-1203350970/
Diahann Carroll, Pioneering Actress on ‘Julia’ and ‘Dynasty,’ Dies at 84
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/diahann-carroll-dead-pioneering-actress-julia-dynasty-was-84-1196051
Wayne Fitzgerald, Prolific Main Title Designer, Dies at 89
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wayne-fitzgerald-dead-main-title-designer-pillow-talk-godfather-part-ii-total-recall-was-89-1214053
Robert Hunter, Grateful Dead Collaborator and Lyricist, Dead at 78
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/robert-hunter-grateful-dead-dead-889788/
Ginger Baker, Powerhouse Jazz-Rock Drummer for Cream, Dies at 80
https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/obituary/8531402/ginger-baker-cream-dead
Eric Pleskow, Former President of United Artists and Orion Pictures, Dies at 95
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/eric-pleskow-dead-president-united-artists-orion-pictures-was-95-1244603
Rip Taylor, ‘King of Camp and Confetti’ Comedy Host, Dies at 88
https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/rip-taylor-dead-dies-1203360814/
José José, Iconic Mexican Crooner, Dies at 71
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jose-jose-dead-iconic-mexican-crooner-was-71-1134446
Jessye Norman, Regal American Soprano, Is Dead at 74
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/obituaries/jessye-norman-dead.html
Jessye Norman Was a Diva, in the Best Way
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/arts/music/jessye-norman-dead.html
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