‘Scoob!’ Is Weekend Top Dog With $1.8M From 5 Overseas Markets; ‘Peninsula’ To Thrill Korea – International Box Office

Ethan Shanfeld A remake of Stephen King’s “Firestarter” starring Zac Efron debuted its official trailer and announced a day-and-date premiere on Peacock and in theaters on May 13.The film, based on King’s 1980 novel and the 1984 original movie, follows Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), a young girl who develops pyrokinetic superpowers and is captured by a government agency who wishes to use her gift as a weapon. Sydney Lemmon will play Charlie’s mother, while Efron plays her father. Michael Greyeyes, Gloria Reuben, Kurtwood Smith and John Beasley also star.The explosive trailer sees Armstrong’s Charlie taking on bad guys with fire as her parents try to protect her.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorWelcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.”Add Hannah Waddingham to the list of actors who would love to be in a superhero movie. “Why do you think I’ve done sci-fi things in the past?” says the “Ted Lasso” star, whose credits include the television adaptation of “12 Monkeys” and “Krypton,” a Syfy series about Superman’s grandfather.

Snoop Dogg has discussed his forthcoming performance at this year’s Super Bowl, which will see him team up with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar for the prestigious Halftime Show.“For me, when performing, I never let the moment get bigger than me,” he told the Associated Press.“I’m not going to understand it until it happens,” he continued.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAward winning film director and historian Mark Cousins (“The Story of Film: A New Generation”) is at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios making a doc titled “March on Rome” that will explore the roots of fascism by analyzing films, photographs, and other documents found in Italian archives.The high-profile documentary — pegged to the centennial of the infamous late October 1922 insurrection by which Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy — will take its cue from the Fascist propaganda film “A Noi” by director Umberto Paradisi, produced in 1923 as an official Fascist party document celebrating the March on Rome.Italian writer and director Tony Saccucci (“The Duce’s Boxer”), who originated the project and did meticulous research for it, serves as a co-writer with Cousins. Saccuci cross-checked Paradisi’s film with other sources of the time to reveal details of the pic that provide a completely new take on the history of those dramatic days, according to the synopsis.

Strictly Come Dancing partner, Nikita Kuzmin, 24, were pictured cosying up today.The former dance couple could be seen taking a nap in the back seat of a car following a day swimming at Spring Lakes.The pair reunited with their Strictly co-stars as they took a dip in the freezing lake.Professional dancer Neil Jones took to Instagram to share a snap of Tilly and Nikita sleeping on the way back from the leisure centre.In the picture, Tilly could be seen resting her head on Nikita’s lap as the pro dancer wrapped his arms around her.The post was captioned: “Too much for these two.”The pair were wrapped up in their jackets following their adventurous dip in the cold lake.Nikita and Tilly also braved the wintry temperatures last week, when they  enjoyed a swim in Sheffield ahead of their Strictly Come Dancing tour show.In a video uploaded to Instagram by fellow Strictly star and TV personality Sara Davies, the pair could be seen holding hands as prepared for their swim.Tilly could be heard screaming as they got deeper into the water and headed for the deep end.Sara captioned the clip: “@tillyramsay’s screaming was absolutely fantastic!“Her and @nikita_kuzmin are just the cutest!”The pair had been dealt a blow last month after Nikita was forced to pull out of the show's live tour dates after testing positive for coronavirus.The dancer took to his Instagram to confirm the news to his 109,000 followers.He confessed he was "so sad" to not be featuring in the live shows alongside Tilly due to the Covid isolation.He wrote: "So sad to be missing a portion of the Strictly Live Tour, but unfortunately I tested Positive for COVID-19."Lots of luck to all the amazing Strictly Cast."Will be back as soon as I can," he concluded his

Emily Longeretta SPOILER ALERT: This piece contains spoilers for “The Master Beta,” Episode 4 of “Pam & Tommy,” now streaming on Hulu.For Lake Bell, working on “Pam & Tommy” in the middle of a pandemic was a dream. “This was the job that gave me creative sustenance in a time where we were all locked down,” says the director and actor, who directed Episodes 4 and 7 of the Hulu show.More than that, she was moved by the traumatic experience that Pamela Anderson went through, and the way that “Pam & Tommy” respected that.

Courtney Howard When in a romantic relationship, it’s never a good time to break up, nor to be the one getting dumped. The hilarious cold open of director Jason Orley’s rom-com “I Want You Back” begins with much promise, highlighting the indignities of the separate but equally humiliating fracturing of our two protagonists’ long-term loves.

Generation Zero has added Soviet mechs to the game as the third anniversary of its release approaches.This free update, called the Landfall Update, introduces a new faction to Generation Zero, the Soviets. It’s a new faction that is hostile to both the Resistance (which are the players) and the FNIX machines.

K.J. Yossman Streamer BritBox has extended its production partnership with the Agatha Christie estate.BritBox, which is jointly owned by BBC Studios and ITV, has signed on for three more productions with Agatha Christie Limited and Mamoth Screen.The trio have already collaborated on an adaptation of Christie’s novel “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” (pictured above) starring Emma Thompson and Will Poulter, which will premiere on the platform in April.BritBox have not yet confirmed which of the author’s prolific output they will be working on next but they have said each of the three adaptations will be “steered by a distinctive voice – a director, a writer or auteur – bringing an entirely new perspective and style to Agatha Christie’s novels.” BritBox was set to make the announcement Wednesday during its portion of the Television Critics Association winter virtual press tour.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterLiane Moriarty’s novel “Apples Never Fall” is being adapted into a limited series at Peacock, Variety has learned exclusively.In a competitive situation, Peacock has won the rights to the book, which was published in September 2021, and given it a straight-to-series order. Since its debut, the book has sold over one million copies.The series centers on the Delaneys, who from the outside appear to be an enviably contented family.

Jordan Moreau Dotdash Meredith is ending the monthly print publications for Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, EatingWell, Health, Parents and People en Español, Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel said in a Wednesday memo to staff, obtained by Variety.The publications will go digital-only effective today, and the transition is expected to terminate roughly 200 positions on the print side, Vogel said. The April editions of the print magazines will be the brands’ last, and the 200 eliminated jobs represent less than 5% of Dotdash Meredith’s total staff, according to Wall Street Journal, which broke the news.“This is an important step in the evolution of Dotdash Meredith, and I want to be clear with everyone about what we are doing and what is ahead,” Vogel’s memo says.

K.J. Yossman Tara Reid is set to play an MI6 agent in upcoming espionage thriller “Cold Sun,” Variety can exclusively reveal.Reid will play an inexperienced British spy called Marsha Ravencourt in the film, which has been billed as “Cagney and Lacey with a difference.”Jason Figgis (“The Ecstasy of Isabel Mann”) will direct the feature, which is set to shoot this summer in the U.K.

Taylor Swift is set to feature on a new Record Store Day charity compilation titled ‘Portraits Of Her’.Launched back in 2008, RSD will return for its 15th anniversary event on April 23 after hosting two vinyl ‘drop’ dates in 2021.“For RSD 2022, we’re teaming up again with our friends at Vans for a compilation album,” organisers said of ‘Portraits Of Her’ in a statement, “and this one benefits WE ARE MOVING THE NEEDLE, an organization that supports female recording professionals, including audio engineers and producers.”In addition to Swift, the 16-track album will also feature Girl in Red, Julien Baker, Banks, Princess Nokia, Leyla Blue, Boyish, Bully, Alice Longyu Gao, Laura Jane Grace, Asiahn, Girl Ultra, K. Flay, Mariah The Scientist, Julia Michaels and Joy Oladokun.Whether Swift’s contribution will be a new track or not has yet to be confirmed.Featuring cover art by Sofia Enriquez, limited numbers of ‘Portraits Of Her’ will be available in participating record stores on Record Store Day (April 23).The news comes after Swift was announced last month as the first-ever global ambassador of Record Store Day.“I’m very proud to be this year’s Ambassador for Record Store Day.

The project has famously been through multiple iterations, but this is as far along as the casting has been at any stage.

Justin Kroll Senior Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: Veteran Cartoonist and director Tony Cervone has signed with CAA for representation.He most recently directed and voiced a handful of characters in Warner Bros. Animation’s Scooby-Doo pic Scoob, which became #1 on PVOD when Warner Bros.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorEXCLUSIVE: Lots of movement on the international box office front this past weekend, and into the beginning of the week. Korean zombie sequel Peninsula, as we reported Sunday, made a meal of five overseas markets with a $21M Wednesday-Sunday frame.

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorEXCLUSIVE: In a weekend where Warner Bros.’ Christopher Nolan’s Tenet was expected to reopen the major circuits, Disney’s reissue of 2017’s Beauty and the Beast led all titles with an estimated $467K at 527 locations. Disney/Marvel’s Iron Man was second with $430K at 462 sites. Beauty and the Beast ranked No.

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorWarner Bros. is taking Tenet off the theatrical release calendar for now, because the U.S.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorYeon Sang-ho’s Peninsula, the follow-up to his 2016 zombie smash, Train To Busan, made a meal of the international box office this weekend, in Korea and four other markets. The thriller sequel (aka Train To Busan Presents: Peninsula) already logged the biggest opening day score of the year in its home market on Wednesday and went on to rule the weekend with what Kobiz estimates is a $13.2M Korea bow.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorPeninsula, Yeon Sang-ho’s follow-up to his 2016 zombie smash, Train To Busan, is off to a thrilling start at the international box office where it kicked off in three markets beginning yesterday. In the home hub of Korea, Peninsula (aka Train To Busan Presents: Peninsula) had a Wednesday take of $2.4M on 2,338 screens to log the biggest opening score of the year.

Over the past year, we have written dozens of articles about Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet.” And though the film itself would have been written about quite a bit and definitely among our most anticipated of the year, the bulk of the discussion surrounding the action picture is the release date. More precisely, the discussion is about Warner Bros.’ continuing efforts to push for a summer release when the world is still reeling from the effects of COVID-19.