🎬 They Want Stars

👋 Good morning! We’re here to dig out your morning news from beneath the mountain of Madame Web memes. Word on the street is that it was bad…real bad. Yes… even worse than Morbius. 😬

Welcome aboard the Dailies. As you sip your morning brew, we’ll get you caught up with the fast-paced world of Hollywood - no need to chase down a newsstand, we’ve got everything you need right here.

🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• Berlinale Begins

• ICYMI BAFTA Awards Highlights

• U.K. Film Sector's Grand Revival

• Last Looks: 👀 Bite-sized scoops on developing stories/projects

• Video Village: The latest trailers

• Martini Shot 🍸

But first, let’s take a look at what happened at the box office this past weekend!

LAST WEEKEND’S
🎟️ BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN 🎟️

1. 🎸Bob Marley: One Love: Paramount's biopic tops with $27.7M domestically for the holiday weekend, despite mixed reviews.

2. 🕸 Madame Web: Sony's superhero flick stumbles with a $15.15M 3-day weekend opening, receiving poor critiques and a lukewarm audience response.

3. 🕵️ Argylle: Slides into third with $4.72M.

4. 🙏 The Chosen: Season 4 Episodes 4-6: The faith-based series collects $3.44M and proves niche appeal.

5. 🍫 Wonka: Crosses $600M total globally with a $3.4M weekend.

📽️ Berlinale & EFM Begin 🤝
What We’re Seeing in Film Deal Strategies

As the 74th Berlin Film Festival (a.k.a. the Berlinale) rolls out its red carpet, the film world turns its gaze to Germany for one of the most prestigious festivals on the circuit. Happening right now, the Berlinale and its distribution platform, the EFM, are a global platform where indie darlings rub elbows with blockbuster ambitions.

The real story, however, might just be the fascinating narrative we’re seeing unfold with international buyers in Berlin: International markets, especially Europe, aim for big, star-driven blockbusters, while the U.S. has been opting for smaller, strategic film deals post-strikes.

In Europe, titles like 'The Magic Faraway Tree' and thrillers featuring heavyweights such as Channing Tatum and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are the talk of the town, as buyers lean towards grand narrative that promise to captivate theater audiences. The European market, it seems, is betting big on the kind of cinematic experiences that fill seats and dazzle viewers, echoing a tradition of lavish productions and wide-screen storytelling.

Films like ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey,’ starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell, epitomize this trend, securing hefty deals in Europe based on their global appeal.

Across the pond, the current U.S. mantra seems to be "less is more." This was clear at Sundance, where the spotlight wasn't on high-budget films but on films like 'Dídi,' a heartfelt story set in the Bay Area, directed by an emerging talent outside the traditional Hollywood sphere.

With industry giants like Disney and Amazon MGM cutting corners and laying off staff (thanks, economy!), films like ‘Dídi,’ ‘Kneecap,’ and ‘Ghostlight’ have emerged as strategic plays, filling post-strike gaps in release calendars with quality content without breaking the bank.

The TLDR: As U.S. and international distributors chart their courses, we're seeing more variety in the kinds of stories being told and how they're paid for. Small-scale, intimate narratives have found a nurturing ground in the U.S., while Europe embraces star-studded, lavish productions.

🎬🏆 ICYMI BAFTA Awards Highlights: Last night, London's illustrious Royal Festival Hall rolled out the red carpet for the BAFTA Film Awards, an annual celebration that honors the best in film as determined by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Here are some highlights:

• David Tennant hosted succeeding Stephen Fry as the memorable BAFTA host.

• Oppenheimer bagged seven BAFTAs, including Best Film.

• Netflix, Apple, and other streamers left empty-handed, despite numerous nominations.

• American Fiction won Adapted Screenplay with its sole nomination, surprising many.

• Cillian Murphy secured Best Actor for Oppenheimer.

• Emma Stone won Best Actress for Poor Things.

• Robert Downey Jr. and Da’Vine Joy Randolph won for their supporting roles.

• This year's BAFTAs align closely with Oscar predictions, especially for Oppenheimer.

• See a full list of winners here. 👈

🎬🇬🇧 U.K. Film Sector's Grand Revival: After a brief intermission courtesy of the 2023 strikes, Britain’s film and TV production scene is ready for its close-up, surging past its previous blockbuster year in 2022. With a significant jump in production spend from £726M in 2016 to $7.8B in 2022, the U.K. has rolled out the red carpet for an influx of major U.S. productions, thanks to its expanded studio space, generous tax incentives, top-notch crews, and scenic versatility. New facilities like Edinburgh’s FirstStage Studios have emerged, enhancing the U.K.'s capacity to host major productions such as Marvel's ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and Netflix's ‘Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.’ Despite concerns over potential oversupply of studio space, the sector's leaders remain optimistic about maintaining a balance to ensure the U.K. remains a top choice for international filmmakers.

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Development 🗒️

• Dennis Quaid will play a notorious serial killer in the Paramount+ series ‘Happy Face.’ (more)

• Lionsgate acquires domestic rights to ‘Greedy People,’ a crime comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lily James, and Himesh Patel. (more)

• Celine Song's upcoming rom-com ‘Materialists’ has been sold to Sony for international distribution, with Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans in talks to star. (more)

• Gore Verbinski's ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die’ stars Sam Rockwell, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz, and Juno Temple. (more)

• Saban Films has secured the North American rights to the British thriller ‘Kill.’ (more)

• ‘Silk: Spider Society’ at Amazon undergoes major changes with its entire writers room dismissed. (more)

• RLJE Films acquires Nicolas Cage's survival thriller ‘Arcadian’ ahead of its SXSW premiere. (more)

• Denis Villeneuve will no longer direct ‘The Son’ with Jake Gyllenhaal. (more)

• Caleb Landry Jones and Christoph Waltz will star in Luc Besson's ‘Dracula – A Love Tale.’ (more)

• Scott Adkins joins the cast of ‘Kickboxer: Armageddon,’ the final installment of the reboot trilogy. (more)

• Bella Thorne is set to direct her second feature film, ‘Ash Beneath the Current.’ (more)

• Jordan Peele’s next film now sets a 2025 tentative release date. (more)

• Shailene Woodley and Jack Whitehall have been cast in the animated film ‘Girl in the Clouds,’ set for a Summer 2026 release. (more)

• ‘Foundation’ is set to resume its S3 production on Mar. 6 in Prague and Poland, following a delay due to budget and production issues. (more)

• Alfonso Cuarón shifts focus to a new film project, ‘Billy Please Call Home.’ (more)

Business 🤝

• NBCUniversal is rebranding its Vudu digital movie service as ‘Fandango at Home.’ (more)

• Comcast and Paramount Global explored a potential merger or partnership between their streaming services, Peacock and Paramount+. (more)

• Cinemark's Q4 revenue climbed to $638.9M, a 6.5% increase despite a sparse movie slate. (more)

• Jeff Zucker's Redbird IMI acquires All3Media for $1.45B from Warner Bros. Discovery and Liberty Global. (more)

• Jeffrey Greenstein, former Millennium President, launches A Higher Standard, a new production and sales company debuting with the action-comedy ‘Playdate’ at the EFM in Berlin. (more)

• Taylor Swift's concert film significantly boosted Cinemark's Q4 average ticket prices by 50 cents and concession sales. (more)

Other News 🚨

• Cinemark's CEO announced 95 wide release movies are slated for theaters in 2024, reaching 75% of the pre-pandemic movie volume. (more)

• ‘Young Sheldon’ kicked off its final season with a multi-year high in viewership. (more)

• The American Film Market organizers are considering relocating the 2024 event to Las Vegas. (more)