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Business News Wales
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business News Wales
Wales Leads UK Nations in Into Film Awards Nominations
Wales has received a record-breaking seven nominations for this year's Into Film Awards – the highest number of nominations of any Celtic nation across the UK. Nominees from Cardiff, Conwy, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, and Swansea will now attend a red-carpet event at the ODEON Luxe Leicester Square in London on Tuesday 24 June, hosted by actor, presenter and author, Rose Ayling-Ellis MBE. Minister for Culture Jack Sargeant, said: 'Wales is showing itself to be a powerhouse of young creative talent, as can clearly be seen by the record-breaking number of Welsh nominees this year. 'Creative Wales is committed to building on the momentum of productions like Havoc or Mr Burton to secure a bright future for Welsh filmmaking, developing sustainable pathways from school projects to international productions. The exceptional stories these young people are telling today represent the next generation of talent who will continue to build Wales' growing influence in global creative industries. Pob lwc bawb.' This recognition comes at a pivotal moment for Wales' film industry, following the recent success of Havoc (the Netflix action thriller starring Tom Hardy and the largest feature film ever shot entirely within Wales) and Mr Burton, produced with financial support from BBC Wales and Ffilm Cymru Wales, in partnership with Creative Wales. Animated Voices, created by young people from ethnic minority backgrounds in Cardiff, explores their personal experiences of life in the UK, while Mariupol offers a powerful perspective on the war in Ukraine through the eyes of a displaced individual. Non Stevens, Head of Into Film Cymru, who wants to work more with Creative Wales to support a thriving film ecosystem extended from major international productions to nurturing young grassroots talent, said: 'We're thrilled to see diverse young Welsh voices achieving record-breaking recognition at this year's Into Film Awards. These nominations represent communities across Wales and tell stories that reflect the rich cultural tapestry of our nation. At Into Film Cymru, we believe in creating opportunities for all young people, regardless of background, and these nominations demonstrate the power of inclusive filmmaking. 'From Penygroes to Cardiff, from animation to documentary, these young creators are telling authentic stories with exceptional creativity and technical skill. The record number of nominations this year not only reflects growing confidence and talent but also shows how film education can inspire the next generation of Welsh storytellers who will build on our current industry success.' Best Animation – 5 to 11 years – (Sponsored by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, UK) Cae yr Arth (Cae the Bear) – Made by a class of 30 young people aged 9-10 from Caedraw Primary School, Merthyr Tydfil Best Animation – 12 to 19 years – (Sponsored by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, UK) Animated Voices – Made by 10 young people aged 13-14 from Cardiff, working with Gritty Realism Productions, Diverse Cymru and EYST. Best Documentary – (Sponsored by IMDb) Mariupol – Made by Daria Savchenko, aged 18, from Gower College – Swansea Time for Action- (Sponsored by Swatch) Tipping Point – Made by Araminta, aged 16 – Conwy Best Film – 5 to 11 years – (Sponsored by Working Title Films) Ynyr yr Ysbryd (Ynyr the Ghost) – Made by Briall (aged 10), Celt (10), Elai (9) and Fflur (10), from Clwb Ffilm Dyffryn Nantlle – Penygroes, Gwynedd Best Film – 16 to 19 years – (Sponsored by Warner Bros. Discovery) Beware the Zoomies – Made by Araminta, Cole, Micah, and Ethan – Conwy Filmmaking Champion – (Sponsored by Lucasfilm Ltd.) Steve Swindon from TAPE Community Music and Film – Llandudno Working with 16- to 19-year-olds with a wide range of additional needs, Steve strives to be a creative advocate. He has supported pupils to set up their own production company, Hope Productions, with their film Battery – a perfect example of Steve's work in action (nominated for Best Film – 16-19 at the Into Film Awards 2024). The Awards, sponsored by the UK film industry celebrate young people's creativity in film, showcasing and highlighting the wealth of tomorrow's creative talent. Other categories include Best Film – 12 to 15 years (Sponsored by Paramount Pictures); Best Story (Sponsored by Amazon MGM Studios); the Audience Choice Award (Sponsored by Universal Pictures International); and Ones to Watch – (Sponsored by EON Productions). This year's Awards received an unprecedented number of film entries from every corner of the UK, with compelling and timely stories for young people including mental health, the war in Ukraine, gender identity, neurodivergence, multiculturism, the potential harms of AI, feeling disconnected and isolated in modern society, nature conservation, immigration and identity, looking after an unwell parent, the need to stop scrolling on social media, and much more.
Japan Today
4 days ago
- 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.
Toronto Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
'Lilo & Stitch' passes 'Sinners' to become 2nd highest grossing film of 2025
Published Jun 01, 2025 • 2 minute read This image shows the character Stitch in a still from the film "Lilo & Stitch." (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures via AP) AP Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. 'Lilo & Stich' and 'Mission: Impossible_The Final Reckoning' dominated the box office charts again after fueling a record-breaking Memorial Day weekend. Theatres 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 $145 million post-holiday weekend that's up over 115% from the same timeframe last year. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 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, it's 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. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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. 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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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. Sports Columnists Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Columnists
Japan Today
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
'Lilo & Stich' teams with Tom Cruise and 'Mission Impossible' for monster Memorial Day weekend
This image shows Maia Kealoha, left, and Sydney Agudong in a still from the film "Lilo & Stitch." (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures via AP) By ANDREW DALTON 'Lilo & Stich' teamed with Tom Cruise for a monster Memorial Day box office weekend. Disney's live action version of 'Lilo & Stich' earned a staggering $145.5 million in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday, the second biggest domestic opening of the year after 'A Minecraft Movie.' The movie is a faithful remake of the 2002 original's story of a six-legged alien and a Hawaiian girl that has created a big cult following in the decades since. But the duo was no little brother and sister to the better-known figures in Disney's parade of live-action remakes. It was second only to the $185 million opening of 'The Lion King' in 2019 and outshot all projections, wowing box office observers. 'This overperformed by a huge margin,' said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. 'Lilo & Stich' surpassed Cruise's 2022 'Top Gun: Maverick' as the biggest domestic Memorial Day weekend earner ever, and global estimates put it past $300 million. Paramount Pictures' 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,' the eighth and (probably) last appearance of Cruise as Ethan Hunt in a nearly three-decade run, was a distant second, but still brought in a franchise record $63 million through Sunday, outearning 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout,' which opened domestically to $61 million in 2018. And the spy thriller with Cruise's frequent partner Christopher McQuarrie in the director's chair for the fourth time in the franchise was the top global earner with $127 million. Cruise has been a relentless global promoter of his movies, and he's been the industry's loudest cheerleader for going to theaters. This film, like its predecessor in the series, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. 'The spectacle of what Tom and McQ put on the screen, it screams theatrical,' said Chris Aronson, Paramount's president of domestic distribution. 'The product they put out just screams, 'This has to be in theaters.'' The previous film, 2023's 'Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One' launched with a franchise-best $80 million over five days in a July opening, though it came in shy of industry expectations with a $56.2 million haul over a three-day weekend. This weekend as a whole blasted past last year, when the Memorial Day box office saw just $132 million for all films in the Friday-through-Monday span. And it appears that it will top 2013 as the best Memorial Day the industry has had, with an estimated overall total of $325 million. Critics were wearying of Disney's live action and CGI remakes of its animated classics. Mark Kennedy of The Associated Press called this 'Lilo & Stich' 'utterly unnecessary.' There were signs audiences were agreeing. 'Snow White' opened to a sleepy $43 million in March, and several similar releases were tepid. But this film tapped into a latent love for oddball pairing. It also furthered a trend that includes 'A Minecraft Movie' of PG-rated films outpacing the PG-13 movies that usually dominate, made all the more impressive by the lower kids' ticket prices the more family-oriented films bring. Dergarabedian credits a strong lead-up of films that have put people in theaters and remain the box office top 10, including 'Minecraft,' 'Sinners," 'Thunderbolts' and 'Final Destination: Bloodlines.' 'I can't think of a better lineup of films to ignite leading up to Memorial weekend to ignite the spark that got us this record-breaking holiday frame,' he said. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Muscat Daily
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Muscat Daily
Hollywood movie review: Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts is a 2025 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the team Thunderbolts. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Jake Schreier from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo. The movie had premiered on April 22 at the Cineworld Leicester Square in London, England, and was released in the United States on May 2, as the final film of Phase Five of the MCU. The film's ending reveals that the Thunderbolts team is rebranded as 'The New Avengers' following the film's opening weekend, Marvel Studios implemented a rebranding of the film itself as The New Avengers in alignment with the narrative development. The plot follows Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) one of the Black Widows and sister to Natasha Romanoff. Burnt out in her job as a 'cleaner' for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) she seeks a more formidable role, inspired partly by her father, Alexei Shostakov aka Red Guardian (David Harbour) who dreams of bigger things. When she poses this idea to de Fontaine, her shadowy boss agrees, so long as she'll complete one final mission. De Fontaine has other ideas. She's busy cleaning house while under a congressional investigation and wants all evidence of her misdeeds scrubbed, including her special operatives, who she pits against one another in a remote lab deep underground. Things don't go her way, and our rag-tag band of heroes escapes with a mysterious man named Bob (Lewis Pullan) with equally mysterious powers and an adorably affable demeanor. One thing leads to another, and the reluctant band of anti-heroes ends up teaming up to take down de Fontaine. In Malaysia, Yelena Belova destroys a laboratory on behalf of CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine to conceal her involvement with the OXE Group's 'Sentry' superhuman project. As de Fontaine faces imminent impeachment for her work with the group, she dispatches Yelena, John Walker, Ava Starr, and Taskmaster to a covert OXE facility under the pretense of a mission. Once there, the operatives are pitted against one another in a deadly confrontation where Ava kills Taskmaster before they unexpectedly discover a mysterious man named Bob. Where the film stumbles, rather badly, is in its third act. When things take a terrible turn for the worse, our heroes have to face off against Sentry, a superhero more powerful than all the original Avengers combined (according to de Fontaine). Get into the world of superheroes, if such action keeps your adrenalin flowing. Rating – ***Genre: Superhero action Starring: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman
