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As the format continues to gain traction, here’s our regularly-updated list of upcoming 4K Ultra HD disc releases in the UK.

Sitting alongside our list of upcoming DVD and Blu-ray releases (that you can find here), we’re also keeping a calendar for those who support the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc format. As we learn of new UK releases, we’ll add them to this list.

We have started adding shopping links too. We’d be obliged if you clicked on them, as it really helps us in our quest to make the Film Stories project of magazines, website and podcast profitable. We’re a 100% independent publisher, and we quite like drinking coffee. It’d be lovely to afford some more.

Without further ado, here are the titles we know about…

Out now

7th October: The Boy And The Heron (Steelbook)

7th October: The Sword And The Sorcerer...

Emilia Pérez leads the 2024 nominees for the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, which honor scores and songs in film and other visual media categories. Blitz is next with three, followed by The Wild Robot, Moana 2, and Wicked with two each. See the full list below.

Among the nominees are such hitmakers and composers as Elton John and Brandi Carlile, Miley Cyrus, Diane Warren, Pharrell Williams, A.R. Rahman and Linda Perry, among others.

The hardware will be handed out at the 15th annual Hollywood Music in Media Awards on November 20 at The Avalon in Hollywood. Several of the nominated songs will be performed live during the ceremony.

The HMMAs will present this year’s Outstanding Career Achievement Award to legendary lyricist Bernie Taupin, who collaborations with Elton John produced some of the greatest pop songs and albums on the 1970s. The duo scored 10 No. 1 singles in the UK and seven in the U.

10 top action movie franchises to catch now (Photo Credit – Facebook)

Hollywood action movies have captivated audiences for decades. With its thrilling stunts, intense storylines, and explosive visuals, the action films have appealed to global audiences and dominated the box office, spawning into successful franchises. Iconic films like Die Hard, Fast & Furious, and Mission Impossible have evolved into multi-film series as their loyal fans demand more thrilling content. These franchises often expand into sequels, spin-offs, and prequels and continue to grow with each installment. When discussing the most significant action franchise of all time, it is crucial to consider the box office’s success, impact, and longevity. Here are the top 10 best action franchises of all time.

Lethal Weapon

Lethal Weapon is a 1980s and 1990s action blockbuster that didn’t create the buddy cop genre, but the dynamic duo of Riggs and Murtaugh perfected it. On top of it,...

“Longlegs” had the longest legs at the box office of any indie film in 2024, a triumph for the Neon marketing team.

Neon marketing executive Christian Parkes told The Hollywood Reporter that his campaign for the horror film focused on appealing to the genre audience as opposed to relying on the star power of actor Nicolas Cage, or showing any of its thrills in trailers.

“From the jump, we said we need to respect the horror audience, the genre audience, because they’re largely underserved, I think, by distributors and studios,” Parkes said. “If we treat them with respect, if we talk to them on their terms and on their level and bring them along, they will invest in this film, carry this film and make it their own.”

And that’s exactly what horror fans did: “Longlegs” went on to gross $22 million its opening weekend and ultimately made $75 million domestic...

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ newest movie, “Heretic,” out Nov. 8 via A24, is filled with thought-provoking discussions about faith and humanity. But eagle-eyed viewers will notice something unconventional in the credits: A message stating that “No generative AI was used in the making of this film.”

While “Heretic” — which tells the story of two Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who get trapped in the house of a mysterious man (Hugh Grant) — has limited visual effects, Woods says they felt compelled to send audiences home with this discussion point.

“We have no illusions that when people watch ‘Heretic’ they’re going to go, ‘Wait, did they use generative AI?'” he says. “It doesn’t feel like that at all, but it was important for us to put that out there because we think it’s something people need to start talking about.”

Generative AI is artificial intelligence that can build images,...

Despite his contribution to showbiz throughout his decades-long venture in the realm of cinema, Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood is seemingly facing an uphill battle against the WB executives over Juror No. 2. While the actor has been loyal to the Industry giant for five decades, and has earned them billions in box-office grosses, on top of critical glory, his potential last film has received little to no push from the studio.

Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

However, it appears WB might backtrack on its stance on Juror No.2, as reports suggest the top brass might give the film an Awards push, which might be a result of its strong critical reception.

Clint Eastwood’s Juror No. 2 Is Reportedly Being Pushed for Awards Consideration Juror No. 2 | Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Considering Clint Eastwood is one of the last remnants of old-school Hollywood, who still bears a commercial appeal,...

Over the past few years, we've seen several big screen franchises brought to television, whether it's the MCU, Star Wars, or even The Batman thanks to HBO's new mega-hit, The Penguin.

Now, it looks like Game of Thrones is going the other way by heading to theaters. The Hollywood Reporter (via SFFGazette.com) reveals that Warner Bros. is developing at least one feature set in the world created by author George R.R. Martin.

According to the trade, it's only in a very early stage of development and no director, writer, or actors are currently attached. However, the studio is eager to explore Westeros in on the big screen, a decision which has surely been influenced by a year that's seen them deliver box office disappointments like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Joker: Folie à Deux.

It's no secret that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss wanted...

Tiffany ambassador, actress Anya Taylor-Joy (“Furiosa”) stars in the jewelry brand’s 2024 holiday campaign:

After small TV roles, Taylor-Joy made her film debut as ‘Thomasin’ in the horror feature ‘The Witch’ (2015). She followed that with a starring role in the horror feature “Split” (2016), its sequel “Glass” (2019) and the black comedy “Thoroughbreds” (2017).

She then appeared in more TV roles including drama miniseries “The Miniaturist” (2017), the fifth and sixth series of “Peaky Blinders” (2019–2022) and “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” (2019).

Taylor-Joy also played the lead ‘Emma Woodhouse’ in the Jane Austen adaptation “Emma” (2020) and ‘Beth Harmon’ in the Netflix miniseries “The Queen's Gambit” (2020).

She voiced ‘Princess Peach’ in "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" (2023), co-stars in “The Northman” (2022) and plays the title character in director George Miller’s “Furiosa” (2024).

Click the images to enlarge…...

It looks like Hollywood and movie theaters are going to have a lot to be thankful for very soon. That's because the Thanksgiving frame is shaping up to be an absolute juggernaut, with not one, not two, but three different films looking to sell a lot of tickets as we head into the holiday season, with Universal's musical "Wicked" and Paramount's long-awaited sequel "Gladiator II" leading the way. While the films couldn't be more different on paper, early box office tracking suggests they have something in common. Namely, general audiences are very interested in both of them.

"Wicked" is currently tracking for an opening weekend of $80 million or more domestically, while "Gladiator II" is eyeing an opening in the $65 million range, per early tracking numbers provided by Deadline. It's very early to start getting hyperbolic, but we could be looking at another Barbenheimer situation here. Last year, Greta Gerwig...

We have been getting a lot of prequels in recent years. Some have turned out well, like Furiosa, Orphan: First Kill, Prey, and Pearl. Sometimes they don’t turn out very well, like Leatherface, and sometimes they can be quite divisive, like Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Good or bad, prequels are here to stay, so we have put together a list of Horror Prequels We Want to See.

Alien Lv-426

Set between the events of Alien and Aliens, this film would explore the lives of the colonists sent to terraform Lv-426. The movie could showcase their daily lives, paying homage to the brief glimpse of their existence seen in Aliens. Then Weyland-Yutani makes the call with the order to investigate the co-ordinates provided by Ripley, the location of the derelict Engineer spacecraft. As we know from Aliens, the investigation goes terribly wrong – and this movie could show exactly how things...

Variety leads the field in nominations for the 17th annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards. The list includes a bid for best entertainment website, four contenders for journalist of the year honors, a photo journalist of the year mention for veteran staffer Dan Doperalski and a nonfiction book of the year nom for co-Editor in Chief Ramin Setoodeh.

Variety nominations are spread widely across the masthead, recognizing a range of journalists as well as the photography, illustration and design of the weekly print magazine and social media efforts.

Nominated for print journalist of the year are executive editor Brent Lang, Tatiana Siegel, executive editor of film and media, and Chris Willman, chief music critic and senior music writer. Clayton Davis, senior awards editor, is up for online journalist of the year. The eligibility period for the kudos administered by the Los Angeles Press Club is July 1, 2023 through June 30.

Willman is...

It’s a unique year for sequels and prequels at the Oscars. There are three films whose preceding installments won five or more trophies from the academy: “Dune: Part II,” “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” and “Gladiator II.” That opens the door for history to be made. If one or more of those films wins five times, it will be the first time in history that two films in the same franchise have won that many competitive prizes. For which film is that likeliest to happen? Scroll down to vote in our poll at the bottom of this post.

SEEExperts slugfest: ‘Gladiator II’ reactions, ‘Conclave’s’ Oscar hopes, and ‘The Substance’ in comedy

Even when you consider some of the most successful franchises of all time, none have accomplished the feat. “The Godfather” and “The Godfather: Part II” are the only film and sequel to both win Best Picture, but...

There is little doubt that Ryan Reynolds is one of the biggest stars that Hollywood has on offer. The Marvel’s Deadpool and Wrexham AFC owner has starred in a plethora of hit projects such as Free Guy and Detective Pikachu, but is currently facing a bit of a stutter, with the release of Paramount Pictures’ If, which has till date made just over $104 million, against a budget of $110 million.

The John Krasinski offering has thus far failed to make an impact and boasts of a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While there may be plenty of reasons why the movie has failed to even break even thus far, one fan recently claimed on Twitter that it might have something to do with the ‘movie fatigue’ that is currently afflicting theatre audiences. The fan suggested that the performance of If at the box office might simply be down to the fact...

Es.TV is gearing up for an exciting episode this Thursday, October 31, 2024, at 5:30 Am on Talk. This week, the show features a star-studded lineup that promises to entertain and engage. Helen Mirren, known for her powerful performances in films like “White Bird,” will be sharing her insights and experiences. Her presence is sure to add a touch of elegance and depth to the conversation.

Bobby Moynihan, famous for his work in “Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy,” brings his unique humor to the show. Fans can expect plenty of laughs as he shares stories from his career and perhaps even some behind-the-scenes moments from his latest projects. Colman Domingo, who has been making waves in “It’s What’s Inside,” will also be a guest, adding his dynamic energy and perspective to the mix.

Anya Taylor-Joy, known for her role in the upcoming “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” will likely discuss her...

What to Watch This Weekend: October 25th to 27th (Photo Credit – Instagram)

This weekend, we’ve chosen just two movies hitting the big screen, but don’t worry—there are plenty of options to stream at home! Over on Prime Video, you can catch a crime investigation about a serial killer, a spy thriller, and a touching story about life’s ups and downs. Netflix is bringing you five new picks, starting with a horror flick, a murder mystery, a soap opera, a film focused on some real talk, and an Australian series about a family power struggle. Plus, there are additional titles on Jio Cinema, Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, and Apple TV. So, scroll down for all the titles, watch the trailers, and check out the overviews. It’ll make things much easier for you.

On The Big Screen

Venom: The Last Dance (English)

Written and directed by Kelly Marcel,...

He's played warlord Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the God of Thunder in the MCU, actual Optimus Prime in Josh Cooley's Transformers One, and Kevin in 2016's Ghostbusters. Now, having long since proven himself one of Hollywood's most charming guys, Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth is in the frame to play Disney's very own Charming guy — Prince Charming, that is. Per Deadline's reporting, the Extraction man is in talks to lead a live-action movie about Disney's quintessential royal suitor from Paddington and Wonka director Paul King.

First confirmed to be in development just last week, King's Prince Charming movie is set to see the British filmmaker reteam with regular writing collaborators Simon Farnaby and Jon Croker to offer a new angle on one of cinema and literature's most iconic — and arguably most two-dimensional — characters. Whilst plot details on this one aren't forthcoming just yet, we do at least...

Lionsgate’s genre-spanning 2024 slate of heist comedies, weepy coming-of-age tales, cheeky video game adaptations and horror stories was aiming to fill a void. Most of these were the kinds of movies that major Hollywood studios have either stopped making entirely or largely relegated to streaming services.

And yet, instead of packing seats at multiplexes due to pent-up demand, everything from director Eli Roth’s irreverent console-to-screen adventure “Borderlands” ($32 million globally), the “Crow” reboot ($23.7 million) and historical crime drama “1992” ($2.9 million) to Halle Berry’s post-apocalyptic horror story “Never Let Go” ($16.2 million), Dave Bautista-led action-comedy “The Killer’s Game” ($5.9 million), Francis Ford Coppola’s sci-fi epic “Megalopolis” ($11.2 million) and “Wonder” prequel “White Bird” ($6.8 million) has sputtered at the box office. That’s a string of seven consecutive flops — each with paltry single-digit debuts — in the nine weeks between early August and mid-October.

“It was a pretty diverse slate and certainly wasn’t cannibalization of films,...

It looks like Disney has found its “Prince Charming.”

Chris Hemsworth is in talks for the new live-action film from “Wonka” and “Paddington” filmmaker Paul King. The project, ostensibly about the prince from “Cinderella” who goes on a quest to find her after she leaves a single glass slipper behind, is based on a script that King wrote with Jon Croker and frequent collaborator Simon Farnaby.

Disney had no comment.

Hemsworth is obviously a part of the larger Disney family, having essayed the role of Thor in many Marvel Studios movies beginning with 2011’s “Thor” and, most recently, in Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” in 2022. Earlier this year, Hemsworth played wasteland maniac Dementus in George Miller’s “Furiosa” and took on the role of Optimus Prime in Josh Cooley’s “Transformers One.”

Disney has already adapted “Cinderella” for live-action with the 2015 Kenneth Branagh-directed film that starred Lily James...

We recently learned that Paddington and Paddington 2 director Paul King is on board to direct a Prince Charming movie for Disney. Whether it's a prequel or sequel remains unclear, though the latter seems more likely with the addition of Chris Hemsworth.

According to Deadline, the Avengers: Endgame and Thor star is in talks to play the iconic character. It's an intriguing role for Hemsworth in a year that's seen him widely praised for his work in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Transformers One. 

Prince Charming plot details are being kept a secret but King is co-writing the movie alongside Simon Farnaby and Jon Croker. As a result, it will likely be his next feature following last year's Wonka. 

Disney's Prince Charming is the love interest of Cinderella in the 1950 animated classic. Unlike many other Disney princes, Prince Charming's character is not deeply developed in the original film. He's simply...

Disney is continuing to explore its classic characters with new live-action takes on its animated films, as this has been a lucrative business for the studio for some time. We recently learned that Paul King ("Paddington") is now set to direct a "Prince Charming" movie for the Mouse House which, on the surface, seems like a purely money-driven idea. Today, however, we also learned that none other than Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, is in talks to star in the lead role, which changes the game.

According to Deadline, Hemsworth is being eyed to place the titular character in the "Prince Charming" movie. Hemsworth is coming off of "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" and the animated "Transformers One." He is, however, best known for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Thor, having most recently appeared in the relatively disappointing "Thor: Love and Thunder" in 2022 (his "cameo" in "Deadpool & Wolverine...

Chris Hemsworth is headed to the steps of the palace.

The “Thor” actor is in talks to play the iconic fairy tale love interest in Disney’s upcoming “Prince Charming” film. Plot details for the picture are under wraps, and it’s not clear yet if the film will be live-action or animated. “Wonka” filmmaker Paul King will direct. King, Simon Farnaby and Jon Croker are co-writing the screenplay.

Aussie actor Hemsworth most recently voiced Optimus Prime in the animated sci-fi film “Transformers One” and earlier this year appeared as deranged warlord Dementus in George Miller’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” opposite Anya Taylor-Joy.

He’s next set to star in Amazon MGM Studios’ upcoming thriller “Crime 101,” also featuring Halle Berry, Barry Keoghan” and his “Avengers” pal Mark Ruffalo. The film is based on a short story by Don Winslow, with Bart Layton directing. Winslow’s original story...

As the film’s US theatrical rollout continues to shrink, it looks like Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2 won’t get an awards push either.

Last week we covered the story that Warner Bros isn’t giving Clint Eastwood’s latest film, Juror #2, much of a release in the United States. Given that Eastwood’s name is still held in high regard in his native country, it felt like an odd move by the studio to not push it wider and make more noise about what could be the filmmaker’s final film.

While Eastwood is now rumoured to be setting up another project after Juror #2, he’s 94 years old and while we’re sure that his gaze is as steely as ever, there’s always the chance that this courtroom drama could be his final film. Given his decades-long partnership with Warner Bros, and the film picking up plenty of...

The last five years have been transformative for cinema, between the impact of Covid, the streaming revolution, and the rise of AI technology. Which is exactly why Empire decided to poll an array of top filmmakers in Hollywood – and beyond – on what exactly is going on in the industry, and what it all means for the movies. The result is a major new article – available to read in full in our Mickey 17 issue (order here).

One of the hottest topics is the encroachment of AI, with the industry still figuring out how it could, should – or should not – be used in moviemaking. “It is not creative,” says Gina Prince-Bythewood, director of The Woman King. “It just takes from others’ creativity.” Sofia Coppola – director of Priscilla and Lost In Translation – questions its capabilities beyond creating mere imagery: “It can be helpful, but I think you need a heart and soul to make art.

Need something new to watch on Hulu this October? Naturally, it’s a horror-heavy month with Halloween just around the corner, but Hulu doesn’t just have a library full of spooky season classics; it’s also got a handful of fresh 2024 horror movies in the crop, from the celebrated indie possession film “Late Night With the Devil” to a brand-new, ooey-gooey original Halloween horror-comedy, “Carved.”

There’s always an endless amount to scroll through, so we’ve put together a curated list of the best new movies streaming on Hulu this month. And don’t worry, you don’t need the Disney+ bundle to watch any of these.

(20th Century Fox) “Edward Scissorhands” (1990)

Streaming On: Oct. 1

If “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” has you in the mood for more Tim Burton, you can’t go wrong with his 1990 classic “Edward Scissorhands,” which the filmmaker made coming off of “Beetlejuice” 1998 and “Batman” in...

Filmmakers and distributors of awards-hopefuls have until Nov. 4 to submit their category preference — drama versus musical or comedy — to the Golden Globes organization, which reserves the right to overturn any classification that it finds egregiously inaccurate.

Some of this year’s cases are inarguable — for instance, Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, in which characters spontaneously burst into song, is clearly a musical (if not a comedy), and A24’s The Brutalist, in which an immigrant faces all sorts of harrowing hurdles, is clearly a drama. There are, however, also plenty of close-calls, about which many have made assumptions, but, in most cases, not confirmed.

The Hollywood Reporter has been working the phones and can now report which way almost every contender is breaking. This intel is, of course, subject to change prior to Nov. 4, and to being overturned by the Globes thereafter — but it is current as of this writing.

Joining...

Is there room at the best picture table for more than one “part two?”

This year, several installments in established franchises are banging on the Academy’s door, hoping for a coveted slot in the category. With no clear frontrunner, this could be the season that more than one sequel secures a place in the race. That has happened only once, in 2022 (“Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Top Gun: Maverick”).

The Oscars have long hesitated to embrace anything with a Roman numeral affixed to it. Historically, only nine sequels have been nominated for best picture: “The Bells of St. Mary’s” (1945), “The Godfather Part II” (1974), “The Godfather Part III” (1990), “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002), “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003), “Toy Story 3” (2010), “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015), “Avatar: The Way of Water” (2022) and “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022). Just two — “Godfather 2” and “Return of the King” — won.

2024 has been a remarkable year for blockbuster films, with studios pouring significant resources into bringing ambitious projects to the big screen. Here are the 10 most expensive movies of 2024, ranked by their production budgets. These films not only boast massive financial investments but also delivered some of the year’s most impressive box office numbers.

From animated adventures like Inside Out 2 to superhero team-ups like Deadpool & Wolverine, studios have spared no expense to bring these stories to life. While not all high-budget films have matched their investments, the top contenders have certainly made their mark on the box office. The rankings below are based on statistics from The Numbers.

1. Inside Out 2 – $200 million A still from Inside Out 2 | Walt Disney Pictures

Inside Out 2 is the long-awaited sequel to Pixar’s 2015 hit film. The movie dives deeper into Riley’s mind, introducing new emotions and expanding on the emotional...

Following a disastrous second weekend in theaters, this Monday saw Joker: Folie à Deux leave the $1 million club by grossing a mere $930,000. That took its current domestic cume to $52 million, an unprecedented disaster for a sequel to a move that made over $1 billion worldwide in 2019.

The negative critic reviews and poor word of mouth - it received a D CinemaScore, the worst ever for a comic book movie - doomed Joker: Folie à Deux, as did the fact it's a (bad) musical.

Some will argue that the Joker follow-up's themes are too "deep" for regular moviegoers to fully comprehend what filmmaker Todd Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix set out to do. The consensus, however, seems to be that it was just a bad movie.

When does Joker: Folie à Deux debut on Digital?

Likely as a result of the movie's poor critical and commercial performance, Warner Bros. is wasting no...

The Oscar for Best Visual Effects is particularly tough to predict because of the complicated system by which the nominees are determined in three stages. The members of the executive committee of the branch cast preferential ballots to determine 20 films for further consideration. These are then winnowed down to 10 semi-finalists, which will be announced on December 17, 2024. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Visual Effects.)

All members of the branch are invited to a virtual screening of excerpts from these 10 films in January at which potential nominees may discuss their work. Ballots are counted using a system of re-weighted range voting to determine the five nominees, which will be revealed on January 17. The entire voting membership of the academy will then vote for the winners, which will be revealed during the 97th Academy Awards ceremony on March 2.

When it comes to picking the winner of Best Visual Effects,...

The motion picture academy made it a little easier in 2021 to predict the winners by combining Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing into one category: Best Sound. Both sound mixers and sound editors are recognized in the combined category. Up to six statuettes will be awarded to one production sound mixer, two supervising sound editors and three re-recording mixers. The inaugural winner of Best Sound was, appropriately enough “Sound of Metal.” In 2022 this prize went to “Dune” while “Top Gun: Maverick” won in 2023. The reigning champ is “The Zone of Interest.” (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Sound.)

The sound branch determines the nominees in two stages. First, members of the branch cast preferential ballots with the top 10 vote-getters, announced on December 17, moving on to the second stage. Members who attend screenings of excerpts from these 10 semi-finalists or attest that they have seen them cast...

The Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling is particularly tough to predict early on because of the complicated system by which the nominees are determined in two stages. First, upwards of 15 members of the branch who attend special screenings cast preferential ballots with the top 10 vote-getters moving on to the second stage (it was a lucky seven till 2021). Those members from the first stage and any other members who either attend screenings of excerpts from these semi-finalists or attest that they have seen them cast preferential ballots and the top five films are nominated; that is up from three in years past. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.)

The award for Best Makeup was introduced in 1981, following an outcry over the lack of recognition for Christopher Tucker‘s groundbreaking work on “The Elephant Man” (1980). Hairstylists began sharing the award with makeup artists in 1993 when “Mrs. Doubtfire” won.

As is the case with most below-the-line Oscar categories, bigger equals better when it comes to Best Production Design. The more lavish the sets, the more accurate the period detail, the more extravagant the designs, the more likely your film will win an Academy Award. Formerly known as Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, this prize goes to the production designer and set decorator, leaving the poor art directors on the outside looking in; perhaps that accounts for the title change. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Production Design.)

Like Best Costume Design, this award rarely corresponds with Best Picture. Before “The Shape of Water” prevailed in both categories in 2018, the last to line-up was “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” in 2004. Often, the winner of this race hasn’t even been nominated for the top prize, as was the case with “Memoirs of a Geisha...

If you want to win an Oscar for Best Costume Design, it’s best to pick a project for which you can create frilly dresses from a bygone era. Since its introduction at the 1948 Academy Awards, this category has favored period pictures, including the 2024 winner “Poor Things.” (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Costume Design.)

Voters love to reward the creative forces behind such films, especially those that are about the aristocracy including recent champs “Marie Antoinette” (2007), “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (2008), “The Duchess” (2009), “The Young Victoria” (2010), and “Anna Karenina” (2013). By the way, none of those films even competed for Best Picture. Indeed, only 20 Best Picture champs also won this award; the last to do so was “The Artist” in 2012.

Among the other double dippers was “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2004). Fantasy films such as this often boast Oscar-winning costumes, including 2022 champ “Cruella,...

It’s spooky-season which means it’s time for chilly weather, falling leaves and, of course, horror movies. We’re celebrating the genre by honoring those that make it so special with a countdown of the greatest scream queens working today.

7. Anya Taylor-Joy Robert Eggers hates his debut film The Witch starring Anya Taylor-Joy

Anya Taylor-Joy took over the high-octane, adrenaline-fueled world of Mad Max with this year’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, but its her work in the terrifying world of horror that gets her on this list. Starting with Robert Eggers The Witch, the talented young actress went on to showcase her skillset in the genre through a wide range of films while working with some of the most talented filmmakers in the business. Split, Last Night in Soho and The Menu are prime examples of what makes Anya Taylor-Joy a true scream queen.

Related 9 Horror Games...

Of all the below-the-line categories at the Oscars, Best Original Score is the most difficult to predict early on due to the finicky nature of the music branch of the academy. Scores that sound like frontrunners are disqualified for a variety of reasons, from the number of credited composers to the amount of previously recorded music used. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Original Score.)

Starting with the 2019 Oscars, the academy released a shortlist of 15 contenders. We got this year’s roster of semi-finalists on December 17, 2024. A second round of voting by the members of the music branch, again using preferential voting, will cut these 15 down to the final five nominees. These will be announced, along with the final contenders in all of the other competitive categories on January 17. The entire voting membership of the academy will then vote for the winners, which will be revealed...

The Environmental Media Association has unveiled its list of nominated productions for this year’s awards gala, in addition to honoring “Abbott Elementary” creator and star Quinta Brunson for her environmental leadership.

“I’m truly honored to receive the Ema Futures Award,” said Brunson. “As someone who deeply cares about the environment, it means a lot to be recognized for using both my platform and my comedy to inspire change. I’m proud to be part of a community that values sustainability, and I’m excited to keep moving forward on a path toward a greener planet.”

The Ema Awards gala, presented by Toyota, will be hosted by Malin Akerman and Dermot Mulroney on Oct. 26 at the Radford Studio Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony brings together environmental trailblazers in television and film to celebrate sustainable achievements on set and on screen.

“I’m so excited to return to the...

When it comes to predicting the Oscar winner for Best Film Editing, you can’t go wrong by looking for the movie with the most cuts. Past winners “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2008), “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2016), “Ford v Ferrari” (2020), “Dune” (2022) and 2023’s champ “Everything Everywhere All at Once” included high-octane action sequences with frenetic cutting. A slew of winners — including “Saving Private Ryan” in 1999, “Black Hawk Down” (2002), “The Hurt Locker” (2010), “Hacksaw Ridge” (2017), “Dunkirk” (2018) and, to some extent, “Oppenheimer” (2024) — have been war pictures. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Film Editing.)

Oscar voters also embrace film editors who skillfully juggle multiple storylines, as was the case with “Traffic” (2001) and “Crash” (2006). And they like films that expertly inter-cut music with images, such as “Cabaret” (1973), “Chicago” (2003), “Whiplash” (2015), “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2019) and 2021 winner “Sound of Metal.” Special effects extravaganzas like “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2004) and “Gravity...

At six of the last 11 Oscars, Best Cinematography has gone hand-in-hand with Best Director: Emmanuel Lubezki and Alfonso Cuaron for “Gravity” (2014); Lubezki and Alejandro G. Inarritu for both “Birdman” (2015) and “The Revenant” (2016); Linus Sandgren and Damien Chazelle for “La La Land” (2017); Cuaron doing double duty on “Roma” (2019) and Hoyte van Hoytema and Christopher Nolan for “Oppenheimer” (2024). Will that trend hold true this year? (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Cinematography.)

The academy usually regards award-winning cinematography as pretty pictures within an epic technical feat of filmmaking. While great lighting and framing are laudable on their own, having a movie that looks like it was difficult to shoot goes a long way to snagging an Oscar. Recent lensing winners “Avatar” (2009), “Inception” (2010), “Hugo” (2011), “Life of Pi” (2012), “Gravity” (2013), “Blade Runner 2049” (2018) and “1917” (2020) also took home the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

While the lensers of “Oppenheimer,” “Inception” and...

Riley Keough will be in the national spotlight this week amid the release of her late mother Lisa Marie Presley‘s posthumous memoir, which she helped complete after her mom passed away. The actress is sitting down with Oprah Winfrey for an interview special, airing on CBS.

Audiences who aren’t familiar with Riley might be curious to know more about her, including details on her husband Ben Smith-Petersen.

Let’s fill you in!

Keep reading to find out more…

Riley and Ben were first linked as a couple back in January 2014 and we actually broke the news right here on JustJared.com.

“Ben worked as a stuntman alongside Riley on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road. They’ve become inseparable,” a source told us at the time.

Ben has continued his work as a stunt performer throughout the years, most recently appearing in the FX series Grotesquerie and movies like Furiosa,...

Scarlett Johansson, Taylor Swift and Johnny Depp are among the celebrities whose identities are most often exploited for online scams.

Computer security company McAfee released its annual list (below) of the top 10 celebrity names with search results that tend to get compromised by hackers trying to rip off unsuspecting fans.

The actors’ likenesses are being used without permission on fraudulent schemes that peddle movie or song downloads, deals on celebrity-backed products, cryptocurrency investments or tickets to high-demand concerts. The scammers also sometimes use convincing-looking deepfake videos of the actors to get a fan’s bank account information or to install malware on their devices that could result in identity theft.

“With cybercriminals using advanced AI tools to create more convincing scams, the risks are growing, and celebrity names are the perfect bait for curious consumers,” said Abhishek Karnik, McAfee’s head of threat research, whose company sells protection software and a deepfake detector.

Canada’s Bell Media and Warner Bros Discovery have extended their pact for HBO and Max content, and at the same time ended their legal dispute related to Bell rival Rogers.

The multi-year extension comes just 17 months after the previous licensing pact between the Canadian network and the U.S. studio was struck. The new agreement will see subscribers to Bell streamer Crave “have continued access to a vast library of premium content for the foreseeable future,” according to the network.

At the same time, Bell and Wbd also confirmed they have settled “all matters” in their recent dispute regarding Bell’s suite of Discovery-branded channels.

Wbd had struck a deal with Bell rival Rogers for English-language lifestyle fare, which had previously run on Bell for 30 years. This led to legal action being taken in July, but that has now ended. Details regarding changes to Bell-owned Discovery channels will...

You don’t realize you’re at the end of an era when you’re living in the moment. It is only when some water goes under the bridge and you get the opportunity to reflect on everything that has gone down that you realize what has transpired. But we all realize that we are standing on the cusp of one, as fears around Elton John’s health flare up.

With the Rocketman singer’s health hiccups increasing, the future remains highly uncertain. Having gone under the knife many times over the past few years, he’s not the same he used to be. And he knows it better than anyone else.

Elton John reveals the shocking truth behind what surgeries have done to him Elton John reveals that he isn’t the same anymore || Image by Library of Congress Life, via Wikimedia Commons

Elton John: Never Too Late was just released last month,...

Despite being a sequel to a movie that made a billion dollars worldwide, Joker: Folie à Deux has posted a truly disastrous opening. According to Deadline, the film didn’t even crack $40 million this weekend, with them estimating a horrible $39 million finish. That’s over $20 million less than we expected in our box office predictions, which is crazy as just a few months ago, no one would have thought it conceivable that the film would open to anything less than $90 or so million. The $39 million opening is even worse than the $55 million opening posted by The Flash, and The Marvels, which opened with $46 million. Both openings were considered disastrous, and Joker: Folie à Deux looks like it might not even cross $100 million domestically.

So what happened? It seems fans didn’t go for Todd Phillips’s rather ambitious idea to make this a musical, with it peppered with fantasy musical...

The negative word-of-mouth around Warner Bros.’ “Joker: Folie à Deux” is already dealing big blows to its box office fortunes. After making just $11.1 million on Saturday — a drop from the $20.1 million earned Friday even after the $7 million from Thursday previews are removed — opening weekend estimates for this $190 million budget tentpole have now fallen to $39 million.

Not only is that below the $50-55 million pre-weekend projections and just 40% of the October record $96 million opening of the first “Joker” in 2019, but it is now nearly matching the $39 million opening of Sony’s maligned 2022 Marvel film “Morbius” and could slip even below that should walk-up ticket sales continue to sag.

Todd Phillips’ film, a courthouse drama with dream musical sequences, has seen its Rotten Tomatoes score fall to 33% critics and 31% audience. CinemaScore polls yielded a D, the lowest grade ever for a comic book film.

At this rate, it would not be surprising...

Actor Chris Evans is best known for his time as Steve Rogers / Captain America in the MCU. However, after the highs of his MCU stint, Evans has failed to replicate the strong critical and commercial success in his career. The actor stepped away from his most famous role following Avengers: Endgame, but his string of critically panned recent projects have fans concerned.

Chris Evans played Captain America in the MCU (Credit: Marvel Studios).

On social media, fans of the actor discussed his post-mcu career and noted the terrible choices he has made in the recent past. With promotional material for Evans’ next outing co-starring Dwayne Johnson making rounds fans feel the actor needs to shake up the formula. Fans also compared him to the likes of Chris Pratt, who has had a decent career outside the MCU, and here is what they had to say.

Fans Discuss Chris Evans’ Awful...

Kodi Smit-McPhee and Emma Corrin will be adding some extra star power to an upcoming London stage production of the classic play The Seagull, starring Cate Blanchett.

Cate will be playing the role of Irina Arkadina with Kodi as her son Konstantin and Emma as Nina.

“Konstantin’s in love with Nina. However, the ambitious ingenue sees Trigorin, Arkadina’s lover, as a more useful stepping stone,” Deadline reports.

Furiosa star Tom Burke will play Trigorin.

Preview performances begin on February 26 ahead of an official opening night on March 6. The limited engagement will end on April 5 after a quick six-week run.

Cate and Kodi can be seen in the new Apple TV+ drama series Disclaimer, in which they also play mother and son. The show begins streaming on October 11.

“Dune: Part Two,” “Inside Out 2” and “The Creator” lead the feature nominations for this year’s Hollywood Professional Association (Hpa) Awards with three apiece. The awards will be presented during a Nov. 7 gala at the Television Academy in North Hollywood.

“Dune: Part Two” was nominated in the categories for color grading, editing and sound; “The Creator,” for color grading, sound and visual effects; and “Inside Out 2” for color grading in an animation feature, sound, and VFX in an animated feature. The eligibility period runs from September to September.

As previously announced, during the ceremony FotoKem will receive the Charles S. Swartz Award for industry contributions. Adobe, Disguise, Cuebric and Evercast will be honored for engineering excellence.

The list of nominees follows:

Outstanding Color Grading – Live Action Theatrical Feature

“Blink Twice” — Damien Vandercruyssen // Harbor

“The Creator” — David Cole // FotoKem

“Dune: Part Two” — David Cole // FotoKem

“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga...

By this weekend, we’ll know whether October will be a hit or a bust. “Joker: Folie à Deux” (Warner Bros.), a $190 million-plus production before marketing, opens worldwide Friday against real concerns: It may not come anywhere close to the 2019 original.

With Joaquin Phoenix returning in the role that won him an Oscar, Lady Gaga joining with a musical touch, and Todd Phillips repeating as director, what could go wrong?

“Joker” had the benefit of a more-modest budget — $75 million plus marketing — but in 2019, foreign business was surging and international contributed 69 percent of its nearly $1.1 billion worldwide gross. Today, most studio titles gross about 50-50 domestic and foreign.

And while “Joker” won the Golden Lion at the 2019 Venice Film Festival, last month’s Lido launch of “Folie à Deux” generated a muted response.

No one expects “Joker: Folie à Deux” to come close to the original’s $96 million opening. Industry consensus is closer to $55 million-$60 million,...

Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, the production and finance company that has backed the Matrix and Ocean’s franchises, is undergoing a small round of layoffs.

The banner, led by CEO Steve Mosko, has cut eight staffers in business affairs, administration, as well as film and TV roles over the course of the past couple of weeks, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The pink slips arrive as the company is exploring strategic options, including taking on more investors.

On the deals front, Village Roadshow has been relatively quiet this year. The company, which has produced more than 90 features with Warner Bros. over the past several decades including Mad Max: Fury Road, Joker and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, has been locked in arbitration with the studio since it filed a lawsuit in February 2022.

At the time, Village Roadshow claimed in part that Warners devalued the Matrix franchise by releasing Resurrections day-and-date...

Robert Eggers is continuing his cult films of the occult.

The “Witch” and “The Northman” auteur takes on his long-gestating reimagining of “Nosferatu,” with Bill Skarsgård playing the titular vampire. “The Idol” breakout Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen Hutter, a woman whose soul is seduced by Count Orlok (Skarsgård) while her husband Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) fights to save her.

Eggers writes and directs the remake of F. W. Murnau’s 1922 film, which was later adapted by Werner Herzog in 1979. The official description for Eggers’ “Nosferatu” reads: “Robert Eggers’ ‘Nosferatu’ is a Gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.”

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, and Eggers’ longtime “The Lighthouse” and “The Northman” collaborator Willem Dafoe also star.

Lead actor Skarsgård told Esquire that the titular role “took its toll” on him, in...