Motion Picture: Comics, Harriet, and Disney+
Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Marvel released their plans for the MCU Phase 4 last weekend at San Diego’s Comic-Con. Their line-up includes introducing exciting new characters such as Blade being played by Mahershala Ali, Shang-Chi the first MCU film about a superhero of Asian descent played by Simu Liu, and finally The Eternals which boast an all-star cast including Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Salma Hayek as Ajak, and Don Lee as Gilgamesh. The Eternals is set to be directed by Chloe Zhao (The Rider). Audiences will also be getting some content allowing a few of the masses favorite characters, including Hawkeye, Black Widow, Loki, to finally step into the spotlight. Of course, fans can also expect Black Panther 2, Thor: Love and Thunder, Captain Marvel 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Dive deeper into phase 4 here.
The Cats trailer is here and the internet isn’t sure how it feels. The visually stunning and surreal world shown in the trailer had everyone’s ears perked up as audiences got the first glimpse of Jason Derulo, Jennifer Hudson, and Idris Alba as fully realized cats. Andrew Lloyd Weber and T.S. Elliot’s masterpiece is being adapted for the big screen with Les Misérables director Tom Hooper directing. The film is set to take on box offices in December 2019.
Paramount picture’s Terminator: Dark Fate is coming in hot with two new women leads alongside franchise staple Linda Hamilton, including Colombian actress Natalia Reyes. The film’s trailer was released at comic-con and took viewers on an action-packed ride. Coming to theaters November 1st, this film adds to the jam-packed release season at the end of the year.
Comedy: Knives Out is set to hit theaters November 27th. As Rian Johnsons take on the Agatha Christies murder mystery, the trailer is fun, fast, and names stars like Chris Evans, Lakeith Stanfield, and Raul Castillo. Daniel Craig and Lakeith Standield’s characters are brought into solve the case.
Covers a comedy starring Dakota Johnson and Tracee Ellis Ross has added to its cast with Diplo, Bill Pullman, and Eddie Lizzard. The movie is set in Hollywood’s music industry and is directed by Late Nights Nisha Ganatra.
Nina Dobrev will be staring and producing the comedy Sick Girl, written by Jennifer Cram. Not much info has been released but the indie film follows the storyline of a girl who tells small lie that tears her world apart.
Drama: The Harriet biopic released its first trailer alluding to a moving final piece coming to theaters November 1st. Powerful performances by British actress Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom, Jr. and Janelle Monáe. The film directed by Kasi Lemmons will be the first based on the life of American hero Harriet Tubman and is already creating quite an Oscar buzz.
Bella Thorne’s new crime drama Southland is set to start production in Oklahoma. The film follows a young couple as they rob their way through the south, becoming a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. The film is written and directed by Joshua Caldwell and stars Jake Manley of The Order, Amber Riley of Glee, and Michael Sirow.
With the release of the Toronto film festival line up audiances are seeing some amazing films step into the spotlight including the Safdies Brothers’ crime thriller Uncut Gems. The film will be taking both Adam Sandler and Canadian musician The Weekend, out of their comfort zones as they star in the film about a New York City jewelers next big score.
Disney+
Industry Update: The domestic box office was hit with a major upswing as Quentin Tarantino’s 9th film 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ hit theaters taking in $16.8 million its opening weekend. Sitting as the king of the box office, The Lion King brought in $192 million its opening weekend and is expected to bring in another $76 million its sophomore weekend. Spiderman: Far Far From Home is still raking in the ticket sales with its overall total is now set to be a whopping $334 million. Toy Story 4 comes in as number 4 in the lineup, with the top 5 grossing films of the weekend rounding out with Alexandre Aja’s Crawl.
Disney’s new streaming service Disney+ is set to launch November 12. With multiple shows and movies already being slated to appear on the latest in studios long migration from the big screen to online platforms, Disney has said that they plan to have 500 films available by the end of the first year. A rivalry with Netflix has already begun as the platform is slated to cost less than both at only $7 a month. Earlier in the year, Disney began holding back its films from releasing on it’s going to streaming platform, Netflix. After the accusation of Hulu and ESPN, the major media conglomerate is diving up its content to cater to the audience of each with Hulu said to still focus more on adult content and the new Disney+ to be more family-oriented.
