Keri Russell: Last News

J. Kim Murphy The box office can be an institution of simple pleasures. Hollywood releases the story of a rampaging bear drugged out of its mind and — what do you know? — the people roll out. “Cocaine Bear” drew a solid $8.6 million opening day gross from 3,534 theaters, a figure that includes $2 million in previews on Thursday. That places the Universal release ahead of projections heading into the weekend, which had the gory comedy pegged at a debut between $15 million and $17 million. But a fun online marketing campaign and a killer premise have given the film a strong position, with a debut north of $21 million now in the cards. That would mark an auspicious kick-off for “Cocaine Bear,” which carries a production budget of $35 million. Reviews have been a bit all over the place; the film carries a 51% approval rating from top critics on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences are also a bit lukewarm, as the comedy landed a “B-” grade through research firm Cinema Score, though a middling grade is fairly standard for a genre release with a horror slant. But, at the end of the day, “Cocaine Bear” is titled “Cocaine Bear”; the straightforward premise is now a proven winner and audiences can only see the film to believe it.

“Cocaine Bear” is barreling into theatres in a big way.

“Cocaine Bear” is barreling into theatres in a big way.

Bear hits cinemas today (February 24) – and is expected to scare up a storm at the box office.Based on the 1985 story about an American Black Bear that ingested a duffle bag’s worth of coke, Cocaine Bear doesn’t stick to the facts. Instead of being found dead by police shortly after its drug binge, the furry beast goes on a murderous rampage, attacking anyone who gets in its way.

Jordan Moreau “Cocaine Bear” is snorting up a solid opening weekend. The R-rated action-comedy earned $2 million in Thursday previews at the domestic box office. It opened in 3,000 North American theaters Thursday night and will expand to 3,534 on Friday. Universal’s bloody, real-life tale about a black bear on a cocaine-fueled rampage is projected to open with $15 million to $17 million this weekend. Some predictions have it opening with as much as $20 million, thanks to its positive word-of-mouth (or word-of-snout) and memeability online. The mid-budget film cost roughly $35 million, with much of it used on the CGI bear, so a launch in the upper teens would be a good sign.

Stretching the phrase “inspired by true events” to its bare limits, Cocaine Bear (★★★☆☆) takes off from the stranger-than-fiction real-life tale of a Kentucky drug runner who, in 1985, dumped bundles of cocaine from a plane over Georgia, then perished trying to parachute after the drugs, a large, expensive portion of which were found and somehow consumed by a 500-lb. black bear deep in the Georgia woods.Anyone interested in the dead-serious facts of the case can grab a copy of Sally Denton’s comprehensive chronicle The Bluegrass Conspiracy, originally published in 1990.This movie, on the other hand, takes a bold leap off that plane with Thornton’s duffel bags full of brown paper-wrapped bricks of blow, and never looks back.Directed by Pitch Perfect mogul Elizabeth Banks, and scripted by Jimmy Warden, Cocaine Bear leaves no gruesome gag unturned, no outrageous one-liner untold, serving up the sort of anything-goes big-screen comedy that comes along rarely.Mid-rampage, the coke-fueled bear snorts a line off someone’s severed leg.

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Cocaine Bear is a dark action-comedy film set in a small town in Georgia.READ MOREThe synopsis reads: “After ingesting a duffel bag full of cocaine, a 500 lb American black bear goes on a killing rampage in a small town of Georgia where a group of locals and tourists must join forces to survive the attack.”Directed and co-produced by Elizabeth Banks, Cocaine Bear features an ensemble cast that includes  Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Christian Convery, Alden Ehrenreich, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Brooklynn Prince, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Kristofer Hivju, Hannah Hoekstra, Margo Martindale, and Ray Liotta in one of his final performances before his death in 2022.Oh, absolutely. According to the official website, Cocaine Bear is “inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it.”Dubbed Pablo Eskobear (after “the king of cocaine” Pablo Escobar), the real life bear was a 150lb American black bear who was discovered on a hillside in Fannin County, Georgia next to a duffel bag and 40 half-consumed packs of cocaine.Well, rather than heading out “on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow and blood,” Pablo Eskobear overdosed on cocaine and was found dead on the scene.According to the Washington Post, an autopsy found the bear had around three to four grams of the drug in its blood stream. The narcotics investigators who made the discovery believe the drugs were ditched months earlier by trafficker Andrew Carter Thornton II who had planned to return.However, Thornton died after falling out of a plane in September 1985.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor “Cocaine Bear” director Elizabeth Banks is worried about her mother seeing the horror comedy when it opens on Friday. “I’m going to be honest with you, no one knows what to make of it when I tell them about it,” Banks told Variety at the movie’s premiere Tuesday night at Regal LA Live. “My poor mother is the least informed. She’s going to go with my aunts and they’re going to lose their minds. I told her she’s going to be mad. She will laugh and she’s going to love Margo Martindale and Isiah Whitlock Jr. and the dog. Not enough people talk about the dog, Rosette. She’ll love those parts, but she’ll close her eyes for a lot of it.”

Elizabeth Banks and O’Shea Jackson Jr. are stepping out for the premiere of their new movie!

Keri Russell's new action horror comedy has one impressive ensemble cast. It also serves as something of a reunion of actors — which Russell says might not have been an coincidence.The actress walked the red carpet at the premiere of her new action horror comedy in Los Angeles on Tuesday, and spoke with ET's Ash Crossan about the film's link to the universe — namely through a cast that includes her, Alden Ehrenreich and O'Shea Jackson Jr.«There's a lot, yeah!» Russell said with a smile. «Maybe that's what [director Elizabeth Banks] was going for it by casting us! Yeah.»Ehrenreich previously starred as a young Han Solo in 2018's , while Jackson played Kawlan Roken in the TV series  Russell, meanwhile, played an anti-hero outlaw Zorii Bliss in 2019's Russell's Bliss managed to avoid getting killed in her installment in the saga, leaving fans wondering if they may see her again in a future tale.The actress played coy, however, when asked about the possibility, and left the door open, simply sharing, "[It] could happen!«As for, it also serves as something of a reunion for, as it also stars Russell's real-life love and former TV co-star Matthew Rhys.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson's husband, Justin Mikita, is certainly looking out for him. In fact, the alum says his husband is the one responsible for his scene-stealing role in Cocaine Bear.Ferguson walked the red carpet at the premiere of the action horror comedy in Los Angeles on Tuesday, and he spoke with ET's Ash Crossan about how the gig came about thanks to a fortuitous social media post shared by director Elizabeth Banks.«It's very cool, he actually kind of got me this job,» Ferguson shared. «Because Liz is a friend of mine, I've known her for 20 years.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man is taking on his scariest adversary yet: a 500-pound black bear on cocaine. Universal’s gruesome action-comedy “Cocaine Bear” won’t come close to “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” in terms of weekend ticket sales, but the drugged-up animal adventure is expected to start strong at the domestic box office. “Cocaine Bear” hopes to take in $15 million to $17 million from 3,500 North American theaters, with a chance that positive buzz could propel initial returns to $20 million. The wild R-rated movie was budgeted at roughly $35 million, which was mostly dedicated to the CGI used to bring to life the coked-out grizzly alongside the human cast of Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Brooklynn Prince. Elizabeth Banks directed “Cocaine Bear,” which is one of today’s rare original theatrical comedies. (But viewers, beware, it’s not exactly a laugh-a-minute romp… unless you’re tickled by blood, blood and more blood.) Inspired by a stranger-than-fiction story about a drug runner’s plane crash, the film imagines the events that would have transpired if the American black bear that ingested a duffle bag full of blow had lived to tell the tale.

Naman Ramachandran Disney’s “Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania” debuted in pole position at the U.K. and Ireland box office with £8.8 million ($10.6 million), according to numbers released by Comscore. In its third weekend, Universal’s “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish” collected £3.1 million in second place for a total of £17.1 million. In third place, Warner Bros.’ “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” earned £888,435 in its second weekend for a total of £3.8 million. Disney blockbuster“Avatar: The Way Of Water” continued to chart with £531,213 in its 10th weekend in fourth place for a mighty total of £75.5 million.

Margo Martindale is one of the stars of Cocaine Bear, the dark comedy action film directed by Elizabeth Banks. The story is based on true events from 1985 when an American black bear ingested a duffel bag full of cocaine.

Elizabeth Banks is ready for another installment after Cocaine Bear.

Cocaine Bear: The Rise of Pablo Escobear.”“Here’s something to entertain you,” wrote the film’s Twitter account. “Play as me” — the titular Cocaine Bear — “and share your high scores.” Players assume the role of the coked-out bear in a “Pac-Man”-style game in which you must collect the small piles of — you guessed it — cocaine, eat several people and eventually chase down an ambulance.

Apple TV+ has just released the trailer for their new series “Extrapolations”.

Elizabeth Banks was pictured as she arrived at Today's studio in New York City on Wednesday morning.The 49-year-old performer, who posed for a trio of photos outside before heading into the talk show's shooting area, cut a stylish figure while wearing a nearly all-blue outfit.The actress, who recently spoke about her aversion to hard drugs, used her time on the program to promote the release of her soon-to-premiere movie Cocaine Bear. Banks wore a baby blue button-up coat and a matching crop top that showed off a slight portion of her toned midsection.The Hunger Games actress also wore a wide-legged pair of pants that nearly obscured a pair of silver platform shoes. Bright and early: Elizabeth Banks was pictured as she arrived at Today 's studio in New York City on Wednesday morningThe performer's bright blonde hair paired perfectly with the dominant tone of her outfit.Development on Cocaine Bear was initially announced in 2019, when Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were revealed to be producing the horror-comedy project.The movie is based on the true story of a black bear that consumed a nearly 200-pound bag of cocaine that had been dropped from a smuggler's plane in 1985.The body of the bear was later found, taxidermied and it is currently on display at the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall in Lexington, Kentucky.Banks eventually signed on to both helm and produce the project alongside the 21 Jump Street directors in 2021.Many of the film's sats, including Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson Jr.

EXCLUSIVE: C. Henry Chaisson, writer of Keri Russell-fronted film Antlers and Apple series Servant, is turning Nick Cutter’s underwater thriller The Deep into a series for Amazon.

The late Ray Liotta is seen in one of his final roles in the first preview released for the comedy Cocaine Bear, which showcases a drug-addled bear on a murderous rampage.The action comedy movie, directed by Elizabeth Banks, is based on the true story of a black bear in 1985 who found and consumed a multimillion dollar package of cocaine smugglers air-dropped into a forest in the state of Georgia.While the bear in real life died from an overdose near where officials found torn-up packages that contained the drug, the film takes artistic license with the premise, sending the bear on a bloody spree involving multiple people. The latest: The late Ray Liotta is seen in one of his final roles in the first preview released for the comedy Cocaine Bear, which showcases a drug-addled bear on a murderous rampageThe trailer, underscored to the 1983 song White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) from Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel, depicts the insanity that ensues when officials and  tourists encounter the frenetic bear.Liotta's character, a drug kingpin, dispatches two of his underlings (Alden Ehrenreich and O'Shea Jackson Jr.) to find and recover the missing contraband.