“No one is really creating original sci-fi blockbusters anymore, it’s an endangered species," said director Gareth Edwards at the special screening of his latest movie The Creator last week.
In a weekend crowded with two other wide releases — Paramount/Spin Master’s Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie and Lionsgate’s Saw X — the $80 million New Regency-financed The Creator is hoping to break through.
How is that? Edwards' latest has had the loudest campaign in recent weeks. Disney amped up and pivoted its campaign for 20th Century Studios' The Creator after an excited response out of press screenings.
At CinemaCon in April, Disney dropped the first trailer for exhibitors, with marketing's aim to show off the provocative idea of humanity vs. AI and the beauty of the sci-fi backdrop. The official trailer dropped two months ago and earned 33 million views.
Then Disney began a viral campaign, releasing models dressed as AI robots into the stands at NFL and MLB games. The physical stunt caught attention, with organic videos of the robot models doing over 5 million views on TikTok. >>>B.O. Projections
Related:
‘The Creator’ Review: John David Washington Bonds With All-Powerful AI Child In Gareth Edward’s Remarkable Sci Fi Action Adventure
‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ Hits Tracking: Three-Hour-Plus Movie Eyes $24M Start |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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Hello, Mr. President - The 44th President of the United States was on the westside of LA Thursday for a sit-down at CAA with the agents for his and former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground production company. According to a source close to the uber-agency, Barack Obama met with his film, TV, and non-scripted team to discuss projects. >>>Heavy Secret Service Presence
Big Gaines - Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network has unveiled its slate of cable and streaming premieres for the month of October, including Season 4 of Ranch to Table, Season 2 of In the Kitchen with Abner and Amanda, Season 2 of Makeover by Monday and Season 9 of Maine Cabin Masters. >>>2 New Shows
Taking The North Road? - Amy Israel, the respected Showtime Scripted chief, might be headed to Peter Chernin's The North Road Company. There is increased speculation that Israel, whose departure from Showtime after 12 years was just announced at the Paramount Global network, may be reuniting with her former boss, David Nevins, who joined The North Road in July as CEO. >>>No Deal In Place...Yet
Auditions: To Pay Or Not To Pay - Former casting director Samantha Stiglitz, whose credits include Burn Notice, Pretty Little Liars and Final Destination 5, told her 34,000-plus Instagram followers that it would be “problematic” to pay actors for what is essentially “a job interview.” >>>Hurdles Remain
Sister Surging - Jane Featherstone and Liz Murdoch's Sister saw revenues skyrocket by $100M last year, although the This Is Going to Hurt and Chernobyl producer failed again to turn a profit. The transatlantic outfit’s turnover grew by a mammoth 273% to $134M for full-year 2022. >>>Pipeline Of Projects |
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Mary Ellen Coe was installed as YouTube‘s Chief Business Officer last fall, just as the activity level at the company was beginning to surge — even by the breakneck standards of a startup-turned-digital-behemoth. During a recent visit to YouTube’s New York City offices at Pier 57 for the company’s annual creators event, Coe sat down with Deadline to discuss a few of the many initiatives in her portfolio. >>> Read The Interview |
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More News
🕯️ Diane Feinstein, longtime Democratic Senator from California, has died at age 90. President Joe Biden praised her as a "pioneering American, true trailblazer and cherished friend."
🚦 Disney/Marvel’s The Marvels has secured a China release on November 10, day-and-date with North America. The sequel to the $1 billion+ worldwide grossing Captain Marvel is the latest major studio tentpole to be granted access to the market since Oppenheimer went out August 30.
🎙️ Late night is coming back and the guest lists are starting to be filled. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon will return on Monday with guests including Matthew McConaughey and pop star John Mayer. Seth Meyers is taking over his entire return episode with a show-length version of "A Closer Look."
🎬 Plan B Entertainment partners Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner play their cards close to their chests when it comes to strategy and upcoming plans. Co-president Kleiner gave a rare insight into the company’s inner workings this week at the San Sebastian Film Festival. “We’re drawn to things that maybe are a little hard to come by sometimes," he said. "We like things that have a personal dimension to them but try to combine things in new ways. What we don’t have is a quota."
🗣️ London Film Festival Director Kristy Matheson has her first go at building on the UK fest's legacy next week, and she sat down with Deadline to outline the challenge. Opening with the international premiere of Emerald Fennell's Saltburn and running for 11 days, the LFF marks Matheson's first year in charge after taking over from Tricia Tuttle in 2022. "A lot of very impressive people have led this festival and what connects them is a love for movies and culture and what that can achieve," she said. |
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Trending  The eight-episode series One Piece came in at No. 2 on the overall Nielsen streaming chart and No. 1 among originals with 1.3B minutes viewed. It's certainly a win for Netflix, which leaned heavily into the launch campaign for this series.
🔻 Netflix has been hit with a lawsuit for axing a game development contract based on Zack Snyder's widely anticipated Rebel Moon. In a federal court filing, Evil Genius Games claims it was working hand-in-hand with the streamer to put together a tabletop role-playing game that was intended to debut in conjunction with the first Rebel Moon film, set for a Christmas release. Then, according to the suit, Netflix accused Evil Genius of breaching a confidentiality agreement and terminated its licensing agreement. |
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On the Radar
Fri - Real Time returns; NY Film Fest opens; U2 plays first of 25 Achtung Baby Live at Sphere Las Vegas shows
Sat - Deadline for Congress to fund U.S. government
Sun - Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
returns; The Simpsons S35 debuts
Mon - SAG-AFTRA & AMPTP restart negotiations; Kimmel, Fallon, Colbert and Meyers return to late night
Tue - Only Murders in the Building S3 finale |
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By George - Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig are greeted by George Clooney at the the Clooney Foundation for Justice's 2023 Albie Awards at New York Public Library. |
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