Warner Bros: Last News

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” dominated the box office in China since its opening on Friday. But, with the country on high alert for COVID, the weekend’s cinema business remained close to recent lows.Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway shows “The Secrets of Dumbledore” earning RMB62.2 million ($9.7 million at current exchange rates) between Friday and Sunday. That gave it a huge 63% market share on a weekend worth just $15.5 million.In 2016, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find” them produced a $85.9 million total in China.

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp will kick off Monday in Virginia court — where the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star is suing his ex-wife for $50 million claiming she defamed him in a 2018 op-ed.The star-studded witness list for the Fairfax County trial includes everyone from Elon Musk to James Franco and the warring ex-couple themselves.At the center of the case is the piece that Heard, 35, wrote for the Washington Post, in which she spoke out about being a victim of “sexual violence.” While Depp is not named in the op-ed, the actor who once made upwards of $20 million per film, says it ruined his reputation and career after it was widely assumed Heard was writing about their five-year relationship.Defamation cases as high-profile as this one are usually litigated behind closed doors, but a jury of 12 Virginians will ultimately decide whether they find Heard’s allegations credible.Just days after Heard’s op-ed published, Disney dropped Depp from its “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, which collectively grossed more than $4.5 billion in the box office.

Refresh for latest…: Lots of moving parts at the international box office again this weekend as early rollout of another major studio title is kickstarting into business prior to its domestic debut. To wit: Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore made its first apparition in 22 offshore markets this frame, grossing $58M to lead overseas turnstiles before it heads to North America in the coming week. Meanwhile, Paramount’s Sonic The Hedgehog 2, which already had a strong launch in key offshore hubs last frame, is on a tear. The Jeff Fowler-directed sequel added $37M internationally this weekend, and with the $71M North America debut, landed as the global No. 1 movie this session. Factoring in last weekend, Sonic’s international cume is $70M for a $141M running global total.

Amber Heard is hoping she and her ex-husband Johnny Depp can eventually put the past behind them after their defamation trial comes to an end.

Two very different Fox shows each persevered against all odds to make it to air. The comedy Welcome to Flatch survived the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown and the drama The Cleaning Lady adapted its story when they cast Élodie Yung. Talent from each show spoke on a panel for Deadline’s Contenders TV on Saturday.

Hugh Everett III is widely credited for developing the theory at Princeton in the 1950s. The multiverse has cropped up in science fiction and comic books ever since, and it’s most often been employed in time-travel stories like “Back to the Future,” where a timeline has been split or changed and needs to be repaired.But the head-squeezing metaphysics of parallel timelines intersecting and influencing each other has largely kept the idea on the fringe of mainstream popular culture.Then, ’round about 2016, the idea that we are “living in the worst timeline” began to take a rather fearsome hold on social media, accelerating in 2020 with the COVID pandemic.

In one of the most head-scratching reporting changes under the new Warner Bros. Discovery leadership, Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network has moved from the Discovery to the Warner Bros. side of the company under HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys. Upon closer examination, the move, which could lead to a Magnolia-branded hub on HBO Max and the Gaines’ dipping their toe in scripted programming, is not that shocking. It just took the couple two mergers and three relationships to get there.

The final bow has been placed atop the $40 billion merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, forming one of the largest pure content players in the media business.

Discovery and WarnerMedia have closed their $43 billion merger, creating a top-scale media player and streaming contender and ending an ill-fated foray into entertainment by AT&T.

now officially merged WarnerMedia and Discovery will open for business as Warner Bros. Discovery Monday.While little is known about the future of the new company, it’s clear what valuable brands, IP, executives and customers they will each be bringing to the table on their first day as a combined entity.Founded in 1985, Discovery, Inc.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery completed its $43 billion acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T on Friday to form new company Warner Bros. Discovery.WarnerMedia owns HBO, HBO Max, CNN, Warner Bros., DC Films, New Line Cinema, TBS, TNT, TruTV, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, Turner Sports and Rooster Teeth, among other brands, and is part owner of the CW Network along with Paramount.Discovery is the parent of Discovery Plus, Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, Turbo/Velocity, Animal Planet, Science Channel and OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network).Here is the new leadership structure for Warner Bros.

Charlize Theron is getting into the superhero producing business.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterHBO Max is developing a series version of “You Brought Me the Ocean,” the YA graphic novel about the origins of DC’s Aqualad, Variety has learned from sources.The one-hour dramedy is based on characters from DC and the graphic novel by Alex Sanchez and Jul Maroh. The series will explore the life of Jackson “Jake” Hyde, a gay teenager living in New Mexico. All his life, he has had a strange attraction to the water and yearns to escape his desert surroundings for the ocean.

A sexual assault claim from an unknown woman against American rapper Snoop Dogg was withdrawn this week.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWarnerMedia and Discovery are on the cusp of officially closing their deal. With the change in leadership at the new Warner Bros. Discovery, will there be pricing changes for the new conglomerate’s flagship HBO Max streaming service?Insiders say there aren’t any immediate plans to alter HBO Max’s pricing scheme — in the U.S., it currently costs $14.99/month without ads, the same as it did when the service debuted in May 2020, and $9.99/month with ads.Similarly, it’s likely that Discovery Plus will remain at $6.99/month without ads and $4.99/month with ads for the time being.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterWarner Bros. Discovery is not going with the “initial wordmark” revealed last June as its official logo.Variety has obtained a low-res copy of a new logo that is being circulated on internal memos at Discovery and WarnerMedia Friday, ahead of the expected close of the merger transaction later today.Discovery did not immediately respond to request for comment on the Warner Bros.

Another high-profile daytime syndicated talk show, Warner Bros. Unscripted Television/Telepictures’ The Real, is ending its run. The program’s current eighth season will be its last after the show’s core station group, the Fox Stations, opted not to renew it for next season.

EXCLUSIVE: The long-gestating sequel to the hit comedy franchise looks to be gaining momentum as sources tell Deadline up-and-coming director Mark Molloy has been set to direct Beverly Hills Cop 4. Eddie Murphy is expected to reprise his role of Axel Foley with Netflix on board to distribute. Jerry Bruckheimer is back to produce.

Who is Mattea Roach? A three-day “Jeopardy!” champion, that’s who.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAs Discovery closes its deal for WarnerMedia, John Stankey, the AT&T chief who oversaw the telecom company’s abandoned foray into the media world, bid farewell to his soon-to-be former colleagues. Stankey led AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV and Time Warner in 2015 and 2018, before replacing Randall Stephenson as CEO role of AT&T in July 2020.“My respect and appreciation for those I have worked closely with is enduring, and I will miss continuing to learn and problem solve with you,” Stankey wrote.

AT&T CEO John Stankey, who decided last spring to spin off WarnerMedia into a $43 billion merged entity with Discovery, has sent a bouquet to WarnerMedia staff as the deal gets set to close.