Out of time: ‘Back to the Future – The Musical’ closing on Broadway in January
Universal Theatre Group
This is heavy: Back to the Future: The Musical will officially close on Broadway on Jan. 5, 2025.
The musical won an Olivier Award in the U.K. — where it has been playing for four years — and sold $80 million in tickets over its 18 months and over 500 performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City. After it pulls up stakes on the Great White Way, it will be headed to Germany in the 2025-26 season.
Back to the Future: The Musical currently stars Tony Award winner Roger Bart as Doc Brown, Casey Likes playing Marty McFly, Evan Alexander Smith as George McFly, Liana Hunt as Lorraine Baines, Nathaniel Hackmann as Biff Tannen and Jelani Remy as Goldie Wilson/Marvin Berry.
Prime Video has announced that the pilot of a spin-off from its hit Reacher is going to become its own series.
The Untitled Neagley Project will star Reacher‘s Maria Sten as Frances Neagley, a former member of Jack Reacher’s 110 Special Investigators unit turned private investigator in Chicago.
“When she learns that a beloved friend from her past has been killed in a suspicious accident, she becomes hell-bent on justice,” Prime Video teases. “Using everything she’s learned from Jack Reacher and her time as a member of the [110th], Neagley puts herself on a dangerous path to uncover a menacing evil.”
The series will be executive produced by Reacher vet Nick Santora and his fellow Law & Order alum Nicholas Wootton.
“Lee Child created an immensely rich character with Neagley, and Maria Sten brought her to life in such a vivid, authentic way in Reacher,” said Santora and Wootton. “Amazon, Skydance Television, and CBS Studios have been tremendous partners from the start, and we are excited to explore Neagley’s story further and dive into what makes her so unique.”
For her part, Sten said, “I’m beyond thrilled to further explore the world of Neagley and her somewhat mysterious background. She’s such a wonderful character to play and I’m very excited for everyone to get to know her a little better.”
Meanwhile, production of the third season of Alan Ritchson-led Reacher wrapped in July, and will debut on Prime Video in 2025.
Netflix has officially greenlit a series adaptation of author John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. As previously announced, Florence Pugh will lead the cast, which also includes Poor Things‘ Christopher Abbott, Challengers’Mike Faist and Warrior‘s Hoon Lee. Zoe Kazan, the granddaughter of director Elia Kazan, who previously adapted the novel into a 1955 film that launched James Dean‘s career, will executive produce and write for the seven-episode limited series …
Variety reports Jennifer Hudson and comedian Fortune Feimster have been added to the voice cast of the third Paw Patrol movie, joining McKenna Grace, who reprises her lead role as Skye. Plot details and specifics on Hudson and Feimster’s characters have not been revealed. The first two Paw Patrol movies have collectively grossed over $345 million worldwide, per the outlet …
The Critics Choice Association has announced the honorees for its fall 2024 Critics Choice Association’s celebration series. Zoe Saldaña will be honored with the Groundbreaker Award at the fourth annual Celebration of Latino Cinema & Television for her starring role in Netflix’s Emilia Pérez. The third annual Celebration of AAPI Cinema & Television will recognize actress Joan Chen with the Career Achievement Award for her performance in Dìdi; and filmmaker Tyler Perry will receive the seventh annual Celebration of Black Cinema & Television’s Icon Award for his incredible body of work and achievements throughout the years …
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice dominated the North American box office for the second straight week, delivering an estimated $51.6 million, for a two week total of $188 million.
Overseas, the sequel to Tim Burton‘s 1988 horror comedy Beetlejuice — starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe — tacked on an estimated $28.7 million, for a global tally of $246.3 million.
Speak No Evil opened in second place, earning an estimated $11.5 million at the domestic box office. The black comedy, starring James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis, collected an estimated $9.3 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $20.8 million.
Third place went to Deadpool and Wolverine, grabbing an estimated $5.2 million at the North American box office, bringing its eight-week tally to $621.5 million. Globally, the film has grossed $1.3 billion to date.
Am I Racist?, starring Veep alum Matt Walsh, logged the top debut for a documentary film released in the past decade, according to Entertainment Weekly, opening in fourth place with an estimated $4.8 million at the North American box office.
Rounding out the top five was Reagan, the biopic starring Dennis Quaid, earning an estimated $3 million at the domestic box office in its third week of release.
