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Japan Today
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Now playing in movie theaters: 73 minutes of cat videos, for a good cause
By LINDSEY BAHR The best of the internet's cat videos are coming to the big screen this weekend. Cat Video Fest is a 73-minute, G-rated selection of all things feline —silly, cuddly, sentimental and comedic—that's playing in more than 500 independent theaters in the U.S. and Canada. A portion of ticket proceeds benefit cat-focused charities, shelters and animal welfare organization. Since 2019, it's raised over $1 million. The videos are curated by Will Braden, the Seattle-based creator of the comedically existential shorts, Henri, le Chat Noir. His business cards read: 'I watch cat videos.' And it's not a joke or an exaggeration. Braden watches thousands of hours of internet videos to make the annual compilation. 'I want to show how broad the idea of a cat video can be so there's animated things, music videos, little mini documentaries,' Braden said. 'It isn't all just, what I call, 'America's Funniest Home Cat Videos.' It's not all cats falling into a bathtub. That would get exhausting.' Now in its eighth year, Cat Video Fest is bigger than ever, with a global presence that's already extended to the UK and Denmark, and, for the first time, to France, Spain, Japan and Brazil. Last year, the screenings made over $1 million at the box office. In the early days, it was a bit of a process trying to convince independent movie theaters to program Cat Video Fest. But Braden, and indie distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories, have found that one year is all it takes to get past that hurdle. 'Everywhere that does it wants to do it again,' Braden said. Current theatrical partners include Alamo Drafthouse, IFC Center, Nitehawk, Vidiots, Laemmle and Music Box. The screenings attract all variety of audiences, from kids and cat ladies to hipsters and grandparents and everyone in between. 'It's one of the only things, maybe besides a Pixar movie or Taylor Swift concert, that just appeals to everybody,' Braden said. And the plan is to keep going. 'We're not going to run out of cat videos and we're not going to run out of people who want to see it,' Braden said. 'All I have to do is make sure that it's really funny and entertaining every year.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
27-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
‘Fantastic Four: First Steps' scores Marvel's first $100 million box office opening of 2025
This image released by Disney shows Pedro Pascal in a scene from "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." (Marvel/Disney via AP) By LINDSEY BAHR and ITZEL LUNA Marvel's first family has finally found box office gold. 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps,' the first film about the superheroes made under the guidance of Kevin Feige and the Walt Disney Co., earned $118 million in its first weekend in 4,125 North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. That makes it the fourth biggest opening of the year, behind 'A Minecraft Movie,' 'Lilo & Stitch' and 'Superman,' and the biggest Marvel opening since 'Deadpool & Wolverine' grossed $211 million out of the gate last summer. Internationally, 'Fantastic Four' made $100 million from 52 territories, adding up to a $218 million worldwide debut. The numbers were within the range the studio was expecting. The film arrived in the wake of another big superhero reboot, James Gunn's 'Superman,' which opened three weekends ago and has already crossed $500 million globally. That film, from the other main player in comic book films, DC Studios, took second place with $24.9 million domestically. The box office success of 'First Steps' and 'Superman' means 'the whole notion of superhero fatigue, which has been talked about a lot, can I think be put to rest. I always say it's bad movie fatigue, not superhero fatigue,' said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore. 'First Steps' is the latest attempt at bringing the superhuman family to the big screen, following lackluster performances for other versions. The film, based on the original Marvel comics, is set during the 1960s in a retro-futuristic world led by the Fantastic Four, a family of astronauts-turned-superhuman from exposure to cosmic rays during a space mission. The family is made up of Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), who can stretch his body to incredible lengths; Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), who can render herself invisible; Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), who transforms into a fiery human torch; and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who possesses tremendous superhuman strength with his stone-like flesh. The movie takes place four years after the family gained powers, during which Reed's inventions have transformed technology, and Sue's diplomacy has led to global peace. Both audiences and critics responded positively to the film, which currently has an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and promising exit poll responses from opening weekend ticket buyers. An estimated 46% of audiences chose to see it on premium screens, including IMAX and other large formats. The once towering Marvel is working to rebuild audience enthusiasm for its films and characters. Its two previous offerings this year did not reach the cosmic box office heights of 'Deadpool & Wolverine," which made over $1.3 billion, or those of the 'Avengers'-era. But critically, the films have been on an upswing since the poorly reviewed 'Captain America: Brave New World,' which ultimately grossed $415 million worldwide. 'Thunderbolts," which jumpstarted the summer movie season, was better received critically but financially is capping out at just over $382 million globally. Like Deadpool and Wolverine, the Fantastic Four characters had been under the banner of 20th Century Fox for years. The studio produced two critically loathed, but decently profitable attempts in the mid-2000s with future Captain America Chris Evans as the Human Torch. In 2015, it tried again (unsuccessfully) with Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller. They got another chance after Disney's $71 billion acquisition of Fox's entertainment assets in 2019. The 'Fantastic Four's' opening weekend results were a little less than some rival studio projections, Dergarabedian said. Nonetheless, the film is expected to carry movie theater earnings well into August. Holdovers dominated the top 10, but one other newcomer managed to make the chart. The dark romantic comedy 'Oh, Hi!' earned $1.1 million from 866 screens. 'Jurassic World Rebirth' landed in third place in its fourth weekend with $13 million, followed by 'F1' with $6.2 million. The Brad Pitt racing movie also passed $500 million globally. 'Smurfs' rounded out the top five with $5.4 million in its second weekend. The box office is currently up over 12% from last year. With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore: 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps,' $118 million. 'Superman,' $24.9 million. 'Jurassic World Rebirth,' $13 million. 'F1: The Movie,' $6.2 million. 'Smurfs,' $5.4 million. 'I Know What You Did Last Summer,' $5.1 million. 'How to Train Your Dragon,' $2.8 million. 'Eddington,' $1.7 million. 'Saiyaara,' $1.3 million. 'Oh, Hi!,' $1.1 million. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
'Lilo & Stitch' passes 'Sinners' to become 2nd highest grossing film of 2025
This image shows the character Stitch in a still from the film "Lilo & Stitch." (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures via AP) By LINDSEY BAHR 'Lilo & Stich' and 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning' dominated the box office charts again after fueling a record-breaking Memorial Day weekend. Theaters in the U.S. and Canada had several new films to offer this weekend as well, including Sony's family friendly 'Karate Kid: Legends' and the A24 horror movie 'Bring Her Back. ' According to studio estimates Sunday, it added up to a robust $149 million post-holiday weekend that's up over 120% from the same timeframe last year. Disney's live-action hybrid 'Lilo & Stitch' took first place again with $63 million from 4,410 locations in North America. It was enough to pass 'Sinners' to become the second-highest grossing movie of the year with $280.1 million in domestic ticket sales. Globally, its running total is $610.8 million. 'Sinners,' meanwhile, is still going strong in its seventh weekend with another $5.2 million, bumping it to $267.1 million domestically and $350.1 million globally. The eighth 'Mission: Impossible' movie also repeated in second place, with $27.3 million from 3,861 locations. As with 'Lilo & Stitch,' that's down 57% from its opening. With $122.6 million in domestic tickets sold, it's performing in line with the two previous installments. But with a reported production budget of $400 million, profitability is a ways off. Internationally, it added $76.1 million (including $25.2 million from China where it just opened), bringing its global total to $353.8 million. 'This is the year of longterm playability,' said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore's senior media analyst. 'The currency of word of mouth and the strong hold is more important than opening weekend dollars.' Leading the newcomers was Sony's 'Karate Kid: Legends,' with an estimated $21 million from 3,809 locations. The movie brings Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio together to train a new kid, the kung fu prodigy Li Fong ( Ben Wang ). Chan starred in a 2010 reboot of the 1984 original, while Macchio has found a new generation of fans in the series 'Cobra Kai,' which just concluded a six-season run. Reviews might have been mixed, but opening weekend audiences gave the PG-13 rated film a strong A- CinemaScore and 4.5 stars on PostTrak. It also only cost a reported $45 million to produce and has several weeks until a new family-friendly film arrives. 'Karate Kid: Legends' opened earlier internationally and has a worldwide total of $47 million. Fourth place went 'Final Destination: Bloodlines,' which earned $10.8 million in its third weekend. The movie is the highest-grossing in the franchise, not accounting for inflation, with $229.3 million globally. The weekend's other big newcomer, 'Bring Her Back' rounded out the top five with $7.1 million from 2,449 screens. Starring Sally Hawkins as a foster mother with some disturbing plans, the film is the sophomore feature of twin filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou, who made the 2023 horror breakout 'Talk to Me.' It earned a rare-for-horror B+ CinemaScore and is essentially the only new film in the genre until '28 Years Later' opens on June 20. A new Wes Anderson movie, 'The Phoenician Scheme,' also debuted in New York and Los Angeles this weekend, where it made $270,000. It expands nationwide next weekend. The summer box office forecast remains promising, though there's a long way to go to get to the $4 billion target (a pre-pandemic norm that only the 'Barbenheimer' summer has surpassed). The month of May is expected to close out with $973 million – up 75% from May 2024, according to data from Comscore. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
James Foley, ‘Glengarry Glen Ross' director, dies at 71
FILE - Director James Foley poses during a photocall for the world premiere of "Fifty Shades Freed" in Paris on Feb. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File) By LINDSEY BAHR James Foley, a journeyman director best known for 'Glengarry Glen Ross,' has died. He was 71. He died earlier this week after a yearlong battle with brain cancer, his representative, Taylor Lomax, said Friday. In his long and varied career, Foley directed Madonna music videos, 12 episodes of 'House of Cards' and the two 'Fifty Shades of Grey' sequels, but it was his 1992 adaptation of David Mamet's foulmouthed Pulitzer Prize winning play that stood above the rest. Although it wasn't a hit at the time, 'Glengarry Glen Ross' wormed its way into the culture and grew into an oft-quoted cult favorite, especially Alec Baldwin's made-for-the-film 'always be closing' monologue. Critic Tim Grierson wrote 20 years after its release that it remains 'one of the quintessential modern movies about masculinity.' He added, 'while there are many fine Mamet movies, it's interesting that the best of them was this one — the one he didn't direct.' Born on Dec. 28, 1953, in Brooklyn, Foley studied film in graduate school at the University of Southern California. Legend has it that Hal Ashby once wandered into a film school party where his short happened to be playing at the time and he took a liking to him. Foley would later attribute his ability to make his first feature, 'Reckless,' a 1984 romantic drama about mismatched teenagers in love starring Daryl Hannah, Aidan Quinn and Adam Baldwin, to the Ashby stamp of approval. It was also the first screenplay credited to Chris Columbus, though there were reports of creative differences. He followed it with the Sean Penn crime drama 'At Close Range,' the Madonna and Griffin Dunne screwball comedy 'Who's That Girl' and the neo-noir thriller 'After Dark, My Sweet," with Jason Patric. Critic Roger Ebert included 'After Dark, My Sweet' in his great movies list, calling it 'one of the purest and most uncompromising of modern film noir' despite having been 'almost forgotten.' He also directed several music videos for Madonna including 'Papa Don't Preach,' 'Live to Tell,' and 'Who's That Girl,' and an episode of 'Twin Peaks.' Foley adapted John Grisham and worked with Gene Hackman on 'The Chamber' and made the Reese Witherspoon and Mark Wahlberg teenage love-gone-scary thriller 'Fear,' as well as the largely derided Halle Berry and Bruce Willis psychological thriller 'Perfect Stranger,' which was released in 2007. It would be a decade before his next film was released, when he was given the reigns to the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' sequels, 'Fifty Shades Darker' and 'Fifty Shades Freed.' 'For me, what's most challenging is stuff that doesn't involve the actors, oddly enough — in three, there's a big car chase and there's different stunts and stuff and that stuff really bores me,' he told The Associated Press at the UK premiere of 'Fifty Shades Darker.' 'So when the actors aren't around, that's difficult because the actors give me so much energy and kind of engagement and a car driving by doesn't do the same thing.' Foley was not an easily definable director, but that was by design. In 2017, he told The Hollywood Reporter that he had no interest in repeating himself. 'I've always just followed my nose, for better or for worse, sometimes for worse,' Foley said. 'What's best and what's worst (about the industry) are almost the same to me. What's worst is you get pigeonholed and what's best is I haven't been. It means that I'm still making movies, despite hopping all over the place.' Foley is survived by his brother, Kevin Foley, and sisters Eileen and Jo Ann. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
This summer at the movies, superheroes, from ‘Superman' to ‘Fantastic Four,' return
By LINDSEY BAHR Superman already has a lot on his broad shoulders. It seems unfair to add the fate of Hollywood to his worries. But that's the kind of pressure that comes with being one of the biggest stars in the comic book universe, who is getting a grand reintroduction at a tumultuous time. Thankfully he's not doing it alone — Marvel Studios is also returning to theaters in a big way with two movies this summer, 'Thunderbolts' and 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps.' Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic brought movie business to a halt, and two years after the strikes, the industry has yet to fully recover. Critics may have complained of superhero fatigue, but after several summers of depleted offerings, it's clear that they're a vital part of the mix — especially when they're good. The $4 billion summer of 'Barbenheimer' may be most remembered for those two movies, but it didn't get to that number without the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Spider-Man ' movies, the second- and third-highest grossing of the season. The filmmakers behind some of the summer's biggest movies spoke to The Associated Press about what to expect in 2025. Summer begins early in Hollywood, on the first weekend in May. Kids might still be in school, and pools might still be closed, but that kickoff can make or break that pivotal 123-day corridor that has historically accounted for around 40% of the annual box office. Last year was the first in many that didn't launch with a Marvel movie and it showed — the business limped along for weeks until Disney came to the rescue with 'Inside Out 2' and 'Deadpool & Wolverine.' This year, the powerful studio is back in that familiar spot with 'Thunderbolts,' which brings together misfits and antiheroes like Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). 'It's a fun twist on what a movie like this could be,' said director Jake Schreier. 'There are some places we're gonna go that are different from what you would normally expect.' He added: 'It's trying to be a movie about something and the moment we're in — not in a political sense, but just where everybody's at and what everyone's been going through.' The Memorial Day weekend could also be a behemoth a few weeks later with the live action 'Lilo & Stitch' and 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' storming theaters. With a new 'Jurassic World,' a live-action 'How to Train Your Dragon' and a Formula One movie also on the schedule through June and July, the summer 2025 season has the potential to be the biggest in the post-COVID era. Before the pandemic, all but one summer since 2007 broke the $4 billion mark. Since 2020, only one has: 2023, led by 'Barbie.' After three 'Guardians' movies, James Gunn knows enough to know that he doesn't have much control over whether people buy tickets for his movies. His job is to make something good, entertaining and 'worthy' of the audience. But that's also possibly underplaying the pressure of taking on Superman and overseeing a unified DC universe that kicks off with 'Superman' on July 11. He considers it the first true superhero movie he's ever made. 'It's a personal journey for Superman that's entirely new,' Gunn said. 'It is, first and foremost, about what does Superman learn about himself. But it's also about the robots and the flying dogs and all that stuff. It's taking a very real person and putting them in the middle of this outrageous situation and outrageous world and playing with that. I think it's a lot of fun because of that.' The film introduces a new actor to the role of Superman/Clark Kent in David Corenswet, who stars alongside Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Gunn said to expect different things from both. 'It was a lot of fun making a Lex that is actually going to kill Superman,' he said. 'He's pretty scary.' The film is also 'seeding the rest of the DCU,' Gunn said. 'If it works as a movie in a basic way, that's what we need to happen, that's what I care about.' Superman as a brand has always trailed Batman at the box office. None of the Zack Snyder films crossed $1 billion, not accounting for inflation, while both Christopher Nolan 'Dark Knight' sequels did. But Gunn isn't thinking a lot about that. 'I just want to make a decent movie that makes a little money,' Gunn said. Superman's not the only legacy brand getting a splashy reintroduction this summer. A new Fantastic Four crew, assembled for the first time under umbrella of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Kevin Feige, is heading to theaters July 25. 'Fantastic Four is a comic I've loved since I was a kid,' said director Matt Shakman. 'They are the legendary heroes of the '60s that the Marvel silver age was built on.' Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, The Fantastic Four is among Marvel's longest-running comics series. But it has not had the most distinguished history on film, including two with Chris Evans and one with Michael B. Jordan. 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' is set in a retro-futuristic 1960s New York, where Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards is 'basically Steve Jobs meets Einstein who's creating technology that's changing the world' and Vanessa Kirby's Sue Storm is 'essentially the secretary-general of the U.N.,' Shakman said. A television veteran with directing credits on shows like 'WandaVision' and 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,' Shakman said he wants to do right by the characters, and audience. 'It's working on an incredibly large scale in terms of world building, but it's also no different from all of the great comedies and dramas that I've done,' Shakman said. 'In the end, it comes down to character, it comes down to relationships, it comes down to heart and humor.' Plus, he feels a responsibility to the idea of the big summer movie. 'It was the joy of my childhood. ... A lot of it has to do with building worlds and entering into a place of wonder,' he said. 'That's what I felt when I saw 'Indiana Jones' when I was a kid and it's what I hope people feel when they see 'Fantastic Four' this summer.' Studios know that superheroes alone don't make a robust theatrical marketplace and there are plenty of other options on the menu including franchises, event movies and independents: There are family pics ('Smurfs,' 'Elio,' 'The Bad Guys 2'); action and adventures ('Ballerina,' 'The Karate Kid: Legends'); horrors, thrillers and slashers ('28 Years Later,' 'I Know What You Did Last Summer,' 'M3GAN 2.0'); romances ('Materialists,' 'Jane Austen Wrecked My Life'); dramas ('Sorry, Baby,' 'The Life of Chuck'); a new Wes Anderson movie ('The Phoenician Scheme'); and comedies ('Freakier Friday,' 'Bride Hard,' 'The Naked Gun') — though one of the most anticipated, 'Happy Gilmore 2,' will be on Netflix. 'The frequency of movies, the cadence, the sheer number of them and the perceived quality and excitement surrounding this lineup is like almost like never before,' said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. 'Draw me a blueprint of a perfect summer lineup: 2025 is it.' One of the biggest movies of the season may be 'Jurassic World Rebirth,' the seventh movie in a $6 billion franchise. Even its poorly received predecessor made $1 billion. This time they enlisted a new filmmaker, self-proclaimed 'Jurassic Park' superfan Gareth Edwards, and the original's screenwriter for a new adventure with Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey. 'People say, like, do you feel pressure and the most pressure I feel is from myself as a fan and to Steven Spielberg, to not disappoint him,' Edwards said. 'Weirdly what's great about doing a 'Jurassic' movie is that everybody knows deep down that like half the reason they're in this business is because of that film and Steven's work.' It's fitting, in a way, that 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of what's considered the first summer blockbuster: 'Jaws.' Edwards said he was born into that world of big summer blockbusters that shaped his early love of movies. Directing one, he said, 'is kind of the dream. You get the chance to swing for the fences.' And the unstable economy might work in the industry's favor, at least when it comes to moviegoing. Even with increased ticket prices, theatrical movies remain the most affordable entertainment outside of the home and attendance tends to increase during recession years. The annual domestic box office crossed $10 billion for the first time in 2009. More recently, the week the tariffs were announced, 'A Minecraft Movie' doubled its opening weekend projections, and all of those ticket buyers saw trailers and posters for everything to come. It was, Dergarabedian noted, one of the only positive financial stories that week. 'Top Gun: Maverick' filmmaker Joseph Kosinski knows a few things about launching a pricey big screen spectacle into a turbulent marketplace. But he's feeling good about the summer and 'F1's' place within it. Warner Bros. will release 'F1' on June 27. 'This is the summer where all this product that we've all been working on for the last few years is finally coming into the marketplace, so I'm very optimistic,' Kosinski said. 'By the end of this summer, hopefully people aren't talking about being in a funk anymore and it feels like we got our mojo back and we're off to the races.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
