‘The Last of Us’ Season 1 Finale Scores 8.2 Million Viewers, Reaching Series High Despite Oscars Competition

Refresh for latest…: New Line/DC/Warner Bros’ Shazam! Fury of the Gods has had a less than heroic launch with $65.5M global, including $35M from the international box office. We always knew this sequel was going to come in lower than its predecessor, but the result is also far off where projections were ahead of the weekend.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Shazam wasn’t the magic word at the weekend box office. “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” opened to No. 1 in North America, but the Warner Bros. and DC Comics sequel fell short of expectations with its disappointing $30.5 million debut from 4,071 theaters. Heading into the weekend, the film was expected to collect $35 million to $40 million, which already wasn’t all that spectacular since it cost north of $110 million to make and another $100 millions more to market. It’s a substantial drop from 2019’s “Shazam,” the first comic book installment starring Zachary Levi’s quirky hero, which opened to $53.5 million and ended its box office run with $140 million domestically and $366 million globally. It’s also one of the worst starts in the DC Cinematic Universe, other than pandemic-era releases like “Wonder Woman 1984” ($16.7 million) and “The Suicide Squad” ($26 million), which both opened simultaneously on HBO Max.

When New Line/DC’s Shazam: Fury of the Gods hit tracking four weeks ago with a low $35M projection, it was shocking and not shocking to rival distributors. Shocking, because in a spring full of franchise tentpoles, many of which are seeing record opening domestic highs, how can a DC property like Shazam! not keep up with the pack? Not shocking in that — well, it’s a goofy, old Shazam!

New Line’s DC sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods got off the ground at 3 p.m. Thursday and posted $3.4M in previews at 3,400 theaters.

Jordan Moreau The “Fury of the Gods” may not be all that furious. Warner Bros. and DC’s “Shazam” sequel is taking flight with $3.4 million at the domestic box office in Thursday previews, behind the original movie’s preview haul in 2019. The sequel to Zachary Levi’s superhero movie will land with a smaller opening than its predecessor. The first “Shazam” movie had $5.9 million in Thursday previews before opening with $53.5 million in April 2019. It went on to gross $140 million domestically and $366 million globally. However, “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” is only expected to bring in $35 million to $40 million. Each of the “Shazam” movies cost $100 million to produce, but that’s a significant drop from the original.

EXCLUSIVE: Once again, All Rise is facing a possible cancellation. The cast of the courtroom drama series, led by Simone Missick, has been released by producing studio Warner Bros. Television.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Hispanic has partnered with GroupM and Cocina Media on “El Toque de Aarón.” The all-new original seriesfollows celebrity chef Aarón Sánchez and his team as they help Latino restaurants in the Los Angeles area reach new heights. Kimberly Clark’s VivaÒ Paper Towels Brand will be an integrated sponsor, with other GroupM clients featured throughout the series. Sánchez will also act as an executive producer. The six-part series unfolds in Latino restaurants with great potential, ready to seize the opportunity to optimize their business – from devising a more exciting menu to improving the overall aesthetics to streamlining their execution and raising their public profile. Sánchez will help reimagine these restaurants to bring out their true soul, with a revamped menu and a refreshed space. In each 30-minute episode, the culinary wizard will put his personal touch on each menu item, while mentoring each restaurant’s chef and sharing tips and tricks of the trade along the way. Helping to round out the renewals with much-needed renovations are designer Cris Mercado (“HGTV Star; Remodelaciones con Celebridades“) and project manager Ángel Riveros (“Hogar Star”). Complicating matters is the fact that they have only four days to achieve this mission. The clock is ticking.

EXCLUSIVE: Illumination/Universal/Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros Movie just landed on tracking this morning ahead of its Easter weekend release, and the animated film is shaping up to make at least $85M-$90M+ over its Wednesday through Sunday launch and that’s on the conservative side.

When Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav installed the new leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran at DC, heavy decisions were promptly made from the unplugging of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 3 to Henry Cavill losing his Superman cape.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior Correspondent When one door closes, another one opens — and for ABC contestant Charity Lawson, her “Bachelor” breakup with Shallcross that aired last night was the best thing to ever happen to her. Why? Because now she’s the star of her own show. Lawson has been cast as ABC’s newest leading lady for “The Bachelorette” Season 20, which will air this summer. The announcement was made on Tuesday night’s episode of “The Bachelor: Women Tell All” where host Jesse Palmer surprised Lawson with the news. “Women Tell All” taped on the Warner Bros. lot on February 24th, and when Lawson’s “Bachelorette” announcement was made, the set was cleared so members of the media who were present were not made privy to the news. Variety was at the taping of “Women Tell All,” and the scene with Lawson was the last piece filmed that day. It’s typical for “The Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” casting news to leak, so the franchise pulled off a rare feat with no leaks of Lawson’s big news.

New Line’s Covid-delayed DC sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods finally will hit theaters this weekend in 77 offshore territories and the U.S. with a global outlook between $80M-$85M — $35M of that coming from domestic.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods finally lands in a rainy windswept Los Angeles tonight for its premiere at the Regency Village. But the franchise’s filmmaker David F. Sandberg won’t be in attendance after testing positive for Covid.

Hoda Kotb recently experienced some turmoil in her family, after her daughter, Hope Catherine, three, was hospitalized, leading the host to be absent from the Today Show for over a week.Upon her return to the show on March 6th, and revealing the reason for her absence, she was promptly inundated with support from her co-stars, celebrities, and fans alike.That included a sweet gesture from none other than Jamie Lee Curtis, who though she has been busier than ever this award season with the success of Everything Everywhere All At Once – which earned her her first Oscar win – she took a moment to extend her support to Hoda. You can watch her discussing her daughter's health battle in the video below.WATCH: Hoda Kotb tears up as she discusses daughter Hope's health battleMORE: Hoda Kotb's change to look revealed on Today following daughter Hope's hospital scareDuring Tuesday's installment of the show, which featured an appearance from Jamie herself via video call, Hoda made sure to shout her out for her kindness."I was opening packages in my apartment last night, all the Amazon stuff that you get," she recalled, adding: "And Jamie Lee – I opened a package and inside I saw two teddy bears...

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” is expected to take the box office crown from “Scream VI” when the superhero sequel opens in theaters over the weekend. But don’t expect Billy Batson and company to break any DC franchise records. The “Shazam” sequel is aiming to collect a so-so $35 million to $40 million between Friday and Sunday, based on early estimates. Unless the Warner Bros. film seriously crushes expectations, inaugural ticket sales will fall significantly short of its pre-pandemic predecessor, 2019’s “Shazam.” The first film, which introduced the world to Zachary Levi’s comic book character who becomes a hero by saying the magic word “Shazam,” opened to $53.5 million and ended its box office run with $140 million domestically and $366 million globally.

A24, the scrappy indie studio that has built a brand for itself as a home for hip and cutting-edge movies, triumphed over its deeper-pocketed rivals at the Oscars on Sunday. It scored a leading nine wins, topping that of its closest competitor, Netflix, which had to settle for six trophies. Plus, A24 not only captured best picture for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” but also pulled off the incredibly rare feat of winning every major acting category, with three statuettes coming for the cast of the head-spinning adventure film and the other one recognizing Brendan Fraser’s work in “The Whale.” But don’t expect the studio to do a victory lap. Co-founders David Fenkel and Daniel Katz (who named their shop after the highway that connects Rome to Teramo) shun the spotlight and have done almost no interviews or profiles, though they have certainly been asked. Rather, the indie moguls say they prefer to let their films speak for themselves — an anomaly in Hollywood, where executives usually push one another aside to claim credit for successes.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “The Last of Us” has become the most-viewed title ever on HBO’s subscription streaming service in Europe. Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Tuesday that the first season of the nine-episode apocalyptic-drama has smashed HBO’s SVOD European viewer ratings. This result comes after the season one finale set another ratings high in the U.S. on Sunday night, delivering 8.2 million viewers across HBO Max and linear telecasts, based on Nielsen and first party data. The series, which is based on the critically acclaimed video game of the same name developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation, has been a hit from the get go. “The Last of Us” is now averaging 30.4 million viewers in the U.S. across its first six episodes, according to HBO, with the first episode approaching 40 million viewers in the U.S. Outside of the U.S.. The show is now also the most-watched show ever on HBO Max in Latin America.

Following Morgan Freeman’s onstage appearance at the 2023 Oscars, viewers took to Twitter sharing messages of concern over the actor’s glove worn on his left hand.

The 60th annual ICG Publicists Awards Luncheon is underway at the Beverly Hilton, and Deadline is posting the winners as they’re announced. Check out the list below. 

EXCLUSIVE: Fox is moving forward with The Flintstones spinoff series Bedrock.

Last year, as the industry was looking to lift itself out the pandemic’s purgatory at the box office, SXSW lit the wick on A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once, which wound up dynamiting the 18-34 hipster moviegoer set in what became the highest-grossing indie film of 2022, the best ever for the New York-based distributor, and now a potential Oscar Best Picture winner.

Jason Segel’s therapist Jimmy is set to give out some more interesting advice after Apple TV+ renewed comedy-drama series Shrinking for a second season.