‘Michael’ is now the highest-grossing biopic of all time
‘Michael’ (Courtesy of Lionsgate)
The Michael Jackson movie has moonwalked into the record books once again.
Michael has taken in $977 million worldwide. That surpasses the Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer, which raked in $975 million globally. Michael had already become the highest-grossing musical biopic of all time, out-earning the Queen movie Bohemian Rhapsody — but now it’s tops among all biographical films.
Michael opened in April with an impressive $217 million globally. As per Variety, it’s now become Lionsgate’s biggest movie of all time, surpassing 2013’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which earned $865 million.
Lionsgate is reportedly planning on at least one more movie about Jackson’s life, since Michael ends in 1988. The King of Pop died in June 2009.
Brendan Fraser as General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Andrew Scott as Captain James Stagg in ‘Pressure.’ (Alex Bailey/Focus Features/STUDIOCANAL)
We all know bad weather has the power to wreck plans, but it’s a little different when those plans involve the most pivotal operation in World War II.
The new film Pressure, out Friday, recounts this little-known piece of WWII history.
Andrew Scott stars as Capt. James Stagg, the meteorologist tasked with forecasting the weather for D-Day. When he realizes that a storm is on its way to derail the Allied Forces’ plans for the massive seaborne invasion, he must deliver the bad news to Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, played by Oscar winner Brendan Fraser. Together, they need to find a way forward or risk losing the war — and with just 72 hours to make a crucial decision, the pressure is a lot more than barometric.
“Who doesn’t want Brendan Fraser yelling in your face?” Scott jokes of their tense scenes together.
“I love the fact that they’re two quite formidable characters, but in very, very different ways, from very, very different cultures, who ultimately have a great deal of respect for each other, and a great deal of humility about their position in the world and what their duty is,” he tells ABC Audio.
Scott adds that it’s moving to see two people who wanted to do the right thing by the world rather than peacock their own achievements.
It was a quality Fraser came to admire about future U.S. president Eisenhower and how he ultimately humanized such an imposing historical figure for the film.
“The things that were important to me that I grew to admire about Eisenhower were his ability to listen to people rather than just hear them and also that he took accountability for the choices that he made,” Fraser says.
Nicole Kidman as Gillian Owens and Sandra Bullock as Sally Owens in ‘Practical Magic 2.’ (Warner Bros. Pictures)
We come to this teaser trailer for magic.
Warner Bros. Pictures has released the official teaser trailer for Practical Magic 2. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman once again star as the magical Owens sisters in this highly anticipated sequel to the 1998 film Practical Magic.
Along with Bullock and Kidman, who are both producing the project, the film stars Joey King, Lee Pace, Maisie Williams, Xolo Maridueña, Solly McLeod, Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest.
Practical Magic 2 follows the Owens sisters as they “must confront the dark curse that threatens to unravel their family once and for all in a must-see cinematic event of fun, magic and mayhem,” according to an official description from Warner Bros.
The trailer finds all of the Owens women living in the same picturesque white home by the water from the first film, going about their daily tasks and using a bit of magic along the way.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of the Owens family. The ones from Massachusetts. The ones their neighbors whisper are witches,” Bullock says through voice-over in the trailer.
“I’ve waited such a long time for this,” Kidman says, before she jumps off the home’s roof while holding an open umbrella.
“Yes, she has,” Bullock says, as she opens up an umbrella herself.
Susanne Bier directed the film from a script by Akiva Goldsman and Georgia Pritchett. It’s based on the novel The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman.
Practical Magic 2 arrives in theaters on Sept. 11.
Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2.’ (Macall Polay/20th Century Studios)
After 20 years, Andy Sachs, Miranda Priestly and the gang at Runway magazine are still in fashion.
According to Box Office Mojo, The Devil Wears Prada 2 — featuring Anne Hathaway, Meryl Street, Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt —launches at #1 at the box office with $77 million in its opening weekend. As Varietynotes, the original only took in $27.5 million in its first weekend back in 2006.
The sequel’s debut is the fourth-biggest one of the year, as per Variety, behind only The Super Mario Galaxy Movie with $131 million; Michael, with $97.5 million; and Project Hail Mary, with $80 million.
Last week’s number one, the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, dropped to #2 but still took in $54 million. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie slid from #2 to #3 with $12 million, while Project Hail Mary dropped one spot to #4 with $8.5 million.
There were four new entries in the top 10: the horror film Hokum, starring Adam Scott, in at #5; a new take on George Orwell’s Animal Farm at #6; the survival thriller Deep Water at #8; and in at #9 is what must surely take the prize for the longest film title of the year, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea. That last one is the second installment of an anime franchise based on a series of Japanese young adult novels.
Here are the top 10 films at the box office:
1. The Devil Wears Prada 2 — $77 million 2. Michael — $54 million 3. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie — $12.1 million 4. Project Hail Mary — $8.5 million 5. Hokum — $6.4 million 6. Animal Farm –– $3.4 million 7. Lee Cronin’s The Mummy –– $2.23 million 8. Deep Water — $2.15 million 9. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea — $1 million 10. The Drama — $908,000
