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The Sarajevo Film Festival has unveiled the films that will play in its Open Air Program, which include Joachim Trier’s Cannes Grand Prix winner “Sentimental Value,” Michel Franco’s Berlin competitor “Dreams,” Nadia Fall’s Sundance competition title “Brides,” Dominik Moll’s Cannes competitor “Case 137,” and Miguel Ángel Jiménez’s Locarno title “The Birthday Party.”

Some of the screenings will be attended by stars or directors of the films, who will be in Sarajevo to receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo, including Willem Dafoe with “The Birthday Party,” Stellan Skarsgård with “Sentimental Value,” Franco with “Dreams,” and Paolo Sorrentino with “The Great Beauty.”

The program is divided into two sections: Open Air is for festival favorites and cinematic classics, and Open Air Premiere will showcase films from the former Yugoslav region.

Open Air Program

The Pavilion – Opening Film

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, 2025, 100 min.

Director: Dino Mustafić

Cast: Rade Šerbedžija,...

The 31st edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for its Open Air Program, consisting of two sections, Open Air and Open Air Premiere.

The program set for the Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema will be “showcasing some of the most important arthouse films of the year, as well as cinematic classics,” organizers said. “Some of the films in this program will be presented by acclaimed directors, actors, and screenwriters, [2025] recipients of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo, including Paolo Sorrentino, Willem Dafoe, Ray Winstone, Stellan Skarsgård, and Michel Franco,” who received the honor several years ago.

Meanwhile, the new Open Air Premiere lineup will “showcase films from the former Yugoslav region in the unique setting of the Uniqa Open Air Cinema Stari Grad,” fest organizers highlighted.

Check out the full Sarajevo open air lineups below.

Open Air Program

The Pavilion (Paviljon) – opening film

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia,...

If you are looking for proof as to why Gerard Butler is the undisputed king of modern trash cinema, look no further than the "Has Fallen" franchise. The films -- "Olympus Has Fallen, "London Has Fallen," and "Angel Has Fallen" -- are modern-day throwbacks to the politically incorrect action fare of yesteryear, with Butler's Secret Service agent, Mike Banning, blasting and stabbing his way through terrorists while protecting the President of the United States. A fourth film, "Night Has Fallen," is currently in the works, but the franchise has also expanded into the world of small-screen entertainment with a spin-off set in France.

"Paris Has Fallen" doesn't feature Butler's one-man army, but it's still an entertaining, violent thriller that will appeal to fans of the film saga. The story follows Vincent Taleb (Tewfik Jallab), a protection officer to France's Defense Minister, and Zara Taylor (Ritu Arya), an MI6 agent,...

Every so often Amélie Bonnin’s first film bursts into song - not the kind of production numbers so beloved of Hollywood or the likes of Jacques Demy but pop standards that may mean a lot to generations of French music lovers but less so to anyone else.

She serves up a tale of a celebrity chef Cécile (played by the singer Juliette Armanet) who is based in Paris and is about to open her own restaurant but still feels drawn back to her roots in the country on occasions. Her parents run the roadside restaurant where Cécile learned to cook.

The visit coincides with her discovery that she is pregnant with her partner (Tewfik Jallab) in her new culinary pursuits and she’s not entirely sure how she will cope. First off she needs to create a signature dish although her cantankerous father (François Rollin), who has suffered three heart attacks,...

Joaquin Phoenix, Juliette Binoche, Pedro Pascal, Riz Ahmed and Guillermo del Toro are among a group of figures to have added their names to a letter condemning the film industry for its “silence” over the ongoing and deadly impact of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

The letter, published on the first day of Cannes and initially signed by more than 370 actors and filmmakers, also condemned Israel’s killing of Fatma Hassona, the protagonist of festival-bound doc “Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk.”

The new signatories also includes the likes of Rooney Mara, Jim Jarmusch, Omar Sy, Peter Straughan, Camille Cottin, Michael Moore, Boots Riley and Alice Rohrwacher.

The letter urged cinema — which it said was a “breeding ground for socially committed works” — to use its art form to “draw lessons from history, to make films that are committed” and to be “present to protect oppressed voices.”

The...

Sylvie Pialat (“Timbuktu”), the producer of Cannes’ opening night movie “Leave One Day” directed by Amelie Bonnin, is on the roll. The Cesar-winning producer, who runs the Paris-based banner Les Films du Worso, is currently developing a raft of new projects from renown European auteurs and up-and-comers, including Alain Gomis, Emmanuelle Bercot, Atiq Rahimi, Hu Wei and Felipe Gálvez.

Pialat will be working for the first time with Emmanuelle Bercot, the critically acclaimed French actress and filmmaker whose directorial effort “Leaving” world premiered at Cannes in 2021 and earned Benoit Magimel a best actor prize at the Cesar Awards in 2022. Bercot also had her 2015 movie “Standing Tall” open the Cannes Film Festival.

Bercot’s untitled next movie, which will reteam Pialat with Pathé Films, her partner on “Leave One Day,” is an adaptation of the book called “L’Enragé,” written by journalist Sorj Chalandon. The movie will tell the gripping true story...

Cannes film festival opening film

Dreadful songs add no flavour to dreary tale of a big-city gourmet returning to her home-cooked roots

The opening gala of Cannes can be such a gamble: a very exposed festival slot which few films need or want, and whose occupants so often turn out to be the squawking overfed turkeys of the big screen. Such a one, sadly, is this listless and supercilious musical – ostensibly on the theme of heartwarming home town values – which flatlines like a hedgehog run over by an 18-wheeler the moment the female lead opens her mouth to sing one of the film’s many terrible songs.

Cécile (played by French singer Juliette Armanet) is about to open a restaurant in the big city having recently won a top-rated TV cooking show, and she is dating her colleague Sofiane (Tewfik Jallab). But when she hears that her adorable, exasperating old...

With America not only spinning out of control but threatening to take the rest of the world with it, the Cannes Film Festival can be a place to play out that tumult, to see it writ large — on the big screen, where over the next two weeks it inevitably will be. It hardly matters that the films showing at Cannes were made before Trump took office. Movies are psychic, and always have been. It’s all but assured that a number of Cannes offerings this year — and, indeed, the very vibe of the festival — will channel the new world disorder.

But there’s another side to Cannes. Each year, the festival presents itself as a sanctuary, a ritzy oasis, a cinematic shelter from the storm. That’s the cozy bourgeois side of Cannes. Just look at the official poster for this year’s festival. You might have expected it to...

Opening Cannes, like closing it, has traditionally been a poisoned chalice. The festival has tried a few moves to address the latter, mostly predicated on the fact that, by the end of nearly two exhausting weeks, nobody cares anymore. But first night is still a tough nut to crack, and with the selection of a very local first-time film — a modest, low-key character study with no traditional red-carpet movie stars — festival chief Thierry Frémaux might seem, at first glance, to be giving into the idea that it’s a graveyard slot.

Leave One Day, however, is a smarter choice than it might first appear — a stealth charmer, if you like — and almost certainly a film to baffle the international festivalgoers who descend on Cannes for the meatier stuff, whether that’s the Hollywood A-list fare or the more punishing arthouse discoveries. It will mean much, much more to the French, evoking memories of a country that’s fast disappearing while, at the same time, being fully cognizant of its evolving, multicultural present.

Directed by first-timer Amélie Bonnin, Leave One Day isn’t so notable just for being a musical, since Leos Carax’s Annette filled the same slot just a few years ago. But it is rare to see a film that uses its music choices so playfully and so cleverly. It’s title song, for instance, is a deconstruction of boyband 2Be3’s cheesy 1996 hit; while another key sequence involves French rapper Yannick’s 2000 hit “Ces Soirées-là,” a hip-hop version of Claude Francoise’s 1976 hit “Cette Année-là,” itself a version of The Four Seasons’ 1975 hit “December, 1963” and one of the few songs recognizable to non-French audiences. It sounds fresh, maybe even new. But it’s not new — like K. Maro’s infectious “Femme Like U,” which also features — Yannick’s hit is over 20 years old, and the way pop music distracts us like that, creating a big, blurry disjunct between what was then and what is now, between nostalgia and reality, is central to Bonnin’s film.

The lead in her story is Cécile, played by singer Juliette Armanet, best known for performing John Lennon’s “Imagine” at the opening of the Paris Olympics last year. If you didn’t know that, you might not even guess she was a professional, since Leave One Day isn’t a showcase for slick, show-stopping numbers. Rather, it’s a film that wears its ragged edges with pride, matching music to the cast with a poignancy that will resonate with the French far more than others, who may balk at the clunky translations of songs such as Claude Nougaro’s “Cécile Ma Fille,” a soppy but affecting ’60s chanson sung by Cécile’s father. The same could be said of the story, which as old as time, or at least romantic fiction.

When we meet Cécile, she is just about to find out that she is pregnant. It’s the worst possible moment; she’s something of a foodie star (a regular on cooking show Top Chef) and getting ready to open her own restaurant in two weeks’ time. Her father has just been hospitalized, having suffered a heart attack (his third), and on top of that, she has yet to figure out her new eatery’s signature dish. Nevertheless, she takes to the road and goes home, leaving her business partner/lover Sofiane (Tewfik Jallab) to hold the fort.

Cécile’s backstory is a bit on the nose; her parents, Fanfan (Dominique Blanc) and Gérard (François Rollin), are the proprietors of a roadside diner called The Pitstop, serving the kind of food that Cécile has snootily dismissed as being to haute cuisine “what flip-flops are to haute couture.” Cécile knows she said this because Gérard has made a note of all her Top Chef witticisms, especially one that cut so deeply he knows it by heart: “Truck stops are by the road so you can make a fast getaway.” It’s an awkward homecoming, but Cécile reconnects with some old friends, notably hot grunge mechanic Raphaël (Bastien Bouillon), an old flame of sorts, albeit one she never hooked up with. “We live in a time warp,” his friend says. “Nothing moves.” Which is how Cécile comes to realize that Raphaël, despite his too-cool-for-school demeanor, is still in love with her.

The ensuing love triangle among Cécile, Sofiane and Raphael plays out much as you might expect, which may sound a little underwhelming for a film that’s been given such a high-profile slot at an international festival. This is Cannes, though, and the audiences there are less likely to dwell on the details of such a familiar story and respond more viscerally to the way that it’s being told, triggering memories of all kinds of inter-generational music, all kinds of food and so many things even they wouldn’t think they’d ever see anymore, like a dog having the run of a working kitchen.

Some may wonder why Cannes would open with such a film, but festivalgoers with longer memories will remember the olden days, when someone there thought that three whole hours of The Barber of Siberia would make an awesome curtain-raiser. Compared to that, Leave One Day is a joy; a very particular kind of crowd-pleaser that doesn’t do anything especially new, and, even then, doesn’t really do it in a very distinctive way.

Crucially, though, it has heart, capturing a sense of time having passed and an optimism for the time to come. The cheesy, stopped-clock setup of The Pitstop will be instantly recognizable to any tourist who’s ever found themselves in some backwater bar that’s all Johnny Hallyday this, Pernod that and lots of Gauloises cigarettes. But Bonnin’s film not only embraces those clichés, it celebrates them, and the unexpected, emotional strength of the film lies not in its nostalgia for the past but in its touching belief in our capacity to make peace with the things we have to lose in order to get on with our lives.

Title: Leave One Day

Festival: Cannes

Sales agent: Pathé

Director: Amélie Bonnin

Screenwriters: Amélie Bonnin, Dimitri Lucas

Cast: Juliette Armanet, Bastien Bouillon, Dominique Blanc, François Rollin

Running time: 1 hr 33 min...

Chalk it up to Cannes’ unique position that you’re reading this review.

Which isn’t to say that Amélie Bonnin’s locally flavored jukebox musical “Leave One Day” is anything close to a wash — nor does this year’s Cannes opening film dishonor the (at best) checkered legacy of recent predecessors such as Michel Hazanavicius’ “Final Cut,” Quentin Dupieux’s “The Second Act,” and the botched Johnny Depp comeback “Jeanne du Barry.” Hell, by way of pleasure and ambition, this slight-but-winsome dramedy offers a step-up from recent vintages; by way of international resonance, however, this latest opener seems unlikely for a world tour.

Taking a sturdy, mainstream premise — a big-city careerist reflecting on her life path during a trip back to the holler, in a setup that faintly echoes “Sweet Home Alabama,” among a hundred other rom-coms — and shading it with moral grays, natural light, and a more unvarnished turn from a well-known star,...

French film producer and cinema operator Pathé has sold a 20 percent stake as part of a “strategic partnership” with Merit France, the holding company of the family of French-Lebanese logistics magnate Rodolphe Saadé.

Financial details of the deal, unveiled on Monday, weren’t disclosed.

“Amid a rapidly evolving macroeconomic and industrial landscape rich with opportunity, this transaction is aimed at equipping Pathé with the resources needed to accelerate its growth — particularly in the production of internationally-oriented films and series, as well as the modernization of its cinema network to offer customers a premium, innovative experience unmatched in Europe,” the company said. “This long-term partnership enables Rodolphe Saadé and his family to continue diversifying their assets into the cultural sector.”

The Monday news of the deal came a day before the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival opens with Pathé’s Amélie Bonnin-directed movie Leave One Day, starring Juliette Armanet,...

"Should I do a wheelie just for you?" "Too late, man." Pathé Films has unveiled the first official trailer for the film titled Leave One Day, also known as Partir un jour in French. This already has lots of attention because it's the first time a feature debut film has been chosen for opening night in the entire history of the Cannes Film Festival. Quite an achievement! Filmmaker Amélie Bonnin adapts her own short film in this lively romantic tale of a Parisian woman returning to the village she grew up, where she runs into childhood sweetheart Raphaël. The uplifting musical stars singer / actress Juliette Armanet as Cécile, best known as the performing of John Lennon's "Imagine" at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics Games. Co-starring Bastien Bouillon as Raphaël. The film "features musical interludes woven into the narrative, blending French classics with hits by artists such as Stromae and Céline Dion.

With only one year under her belt as Studiocanal’s executive managing director of TV series, M-k Kennedy, who joined from Netflix, is leveling up the scripted ambitions of the French pay TV group’s production arm.

After spearheading Studiocanal’s first in-house international series, “Paris Has Fallen” — which broke rating records on Canal+ and topped the charts on Amazon U.K. and Hulu in the U.S. — Kennedy reveals to Variety that the highly anticipated second season of the anthology, “Apollo Has Fallen,” has started filming. Rather than taking place in a single location, the eight-part series will hop from country to country, unfolding everywhere from the Libyan coast to the streets of Madrid, with principal photography taking place across the U.K., Marta and Spain. The series is produced by Studiocanal, Urban Myth Films, Millenium and G-Base, who were also behind “Paris Has Fallen,” which sold to more than 170 territories worldwide.

Last year’s spin-off to one of Gerard Butler’s most beloved action thriller franchises, the Has Fallen saga, will return for more. Paris Has Fallenis a French and English-language action series which debuted on Canal+ before landing on both Prime Video and Hulu. Critically well-received, it has now been confirmed that the spin-off will return for a second season, with Paris Has Fallen Season 2 now in production and with filming now underway in the United Kingdom.

Released in the latter part of last year, Paris Has Fallen transports the action to the French capital, and follows Tewfik Jallab (Squad 36) as a protection officer who teams up with Ritu Arya’s (The Umbrella Academy) MI6 operative to stop a terrorist group led by Jacob Pearce, played by Mission: Impossible villain Sean Harris.

RelatedNetflix’s Gritty New Action Thriller Is a Streaming Hit (So Give It a Shot)

The thriller has...

A new action thriller has exploded onto Netflixand is finding huge success as audiences flock to stream this tale of a police officer who stumbles upon a conspiracy while investigating the suspicious deaths of two of his colleagues. Combining action and police procedural thrills, Squad 36has shot up the global Netflix top 10, and could be the gritty thriller you’ve been looking for.

Directed by Olivier Marchal and starring Victor Belmondo, Tewfik Jallab, and Yvan Attal, the French mystery action thriller Squad 36 drops audiences in present-day Paris, and centers on a rebellious former elite police officer, Antoine Cerda, who, after two of his former colleagues are killed and a third goes missing, begins his own investigation, discovering a bitter feud withing the police force. Squad 36 is now #2 on the Netflix worldwide chart, just behind another recent action thriller hit, Counterstrike, and you can check out the official synopsis below.

The Has Fallen series, which was spun off of the Gerard Butler movies — Olympia Has Fallen, London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen — will be getting a new season as confirmed by Canal+. The debut season, which was titled Paris Has Fallen, brings a lot of what made the movies successful to the show. Our own Alex Maidy says in his review, “Paris Has Fallen mines so much familiar territory covered in the feature films as well as countless other action shows on the small screen, but it does it with three charismatic leads who seem to be having a blast kicking ass through the City of Lights.”

According to Deadline, Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada confirmed the second season of the Has Fallen TV series in a statement made for Canal+’s preliminary full-year 2024 results. Saada said, “Studiocanal‘s first-ever global TV series Paris Has Fallen, based on the successful Has Fallen film franchise,...

Has Fallen will return for another high-stakes season on TV.

Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada today confirmed a second season of the action thriller series, which was spun out of the Has Fallen films, is in production in the UK on a second season. Season 1, Paris Has Fallen, was set in the French capital with some filming taking place in London.

Saada revealed the news in comments prepared for Canal+’s preliminary full-year 2024 results.

“Studiocanal’s first-ever global TV series Paris Has Fallen, based on the successful Has Fallen film franchise, was a smashing success in all Canal+ pay-tv territories, as well as on Amazon Prime in the UK and Hulu in the United States,” he said. “It will naturally be followed by a second season now shooting in the UK.”

No further details were given but Season 1 of the Canal+ original, which sold to the likes of Hulu and Prime Video,...

Director Olivier Marchal’s Squad 36 is a grounded, slow-paced thriller that meditates upon the very topical issue of police corruption. While the narrative focuses on the actions of individuals who abuse the powers they have been given to serve their own selfish means, the thematic significance of Squad 36 holds the rotting system and the seedy hierarchy of power accountable for creating an environment where such corruption festers. Characterization plays a key role in storylines such as this one, and it’s decent enough in the case of Squad 36. The issue is that the lead, whose Pov guides viewers through the narrative, is way less interesting than the characters who remain off-screen most of the time and yet affect the story the most. For a movie that is over two hours long, it is surprising the film doesn’t even have a fleshed-out roster of main characters—a...

Picture: Netflix

The latest movie from director Olivier Marchal, also creator of the show Blood Coast, stars Victor Belmondo investigating the gruesome murders of two of his former colleagues on his own.

For close to three decades, writer, actor, and director Olivier Marchal has enjoyed a steady career as one of the most in-demand talents for gritty crime dramas and thrillers in France. His newest movie, Squad 36, has been produced by his longtime studio, Gaumont, for Netflix and is his second movie produced directly for streamers, after Overdose, produced for Prime Video in 2022. A former police detective himself, Marchal is also fond of carrying gritty French novels to the screen, this time with the book Flic Requiem by Michel Tourscher. The movie is set in the elite anti-criminal unit Bri, and Marchal dedicates the movie to some of his acquaintances who have worked within the unit. This tale of corruption,...

“Squad 36” is a Netflix film starring Victor Belmondo, Tewfik Jallab, Yvan Attal and directed by Olivier Marchal.

Today marks the arrival of a French thriller that always pleases the audience while not leaving an excessive mark: a police story with a good plot, solid development, and characters with depth.

Directed by Olivier Marchal, “Squad 36” offers a raw and intense look into the world of Parisian law enforcement. Marchal, known for his gritty police thrillers like “Overdose” and “36th Precinct,” is no stranger to exploring the dark intricacies of police work. With “Squad 36,” he adapts Michel Tourscher’s novel “Flic Requiem” to the screen, creating a narrative that delves into the complexities and moral ambiguities of modern policing.

Plot

The story follows Antoine Cerda, a high-ranking police officer played by Victor Belmondo, grandson of the legendary Jean-Paul Belmondo. Cerda is transferred to the Anti-Crime Brigade after being sanctioned by the General Inspection.

Picture: IFC Midnight

The second month of the year is here, and the movie lineup for the month is actually looking strong, albeit less so on the Netflix Original side, with most of the big hitters saved for March onwards. Below, we’ll give our picks of the best new movies coming up throughout the month.

As always, we will split our picks up into two buckets. First, we’ll cover the Netflix Originals we’re most excited about throughout the month. For the most part, these will be arriving on Netflix globally. We’ll only cover two this month, as their lineup is a little underwhelming. We’ll then look into the licensed movies headed specifically to US Netflix, with other regions’ lineups varying.

You can find the complete list of everything coming up on Netflix throughout February 2025 here.

Most Anticipated Netflix Original Movies in February 2025 The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep...

Pathe has started sales on Amelie Bonnin’s debut feature Bye Bye (working title), a bittersweet comedy starring popular French singer and actress Juliette Armanet.

The film is about a woman on the cusp of fulfilling her dream of opening a gourmet restaurant when a family emergency brings her back to her hometown, where old memories and a reunion with her childhood sweetheart upend her plans.

Further cast includes Cesar-winning actor Bastien Bouillon alongside François Rollin, Tewfik Jallab and Dominique Blanc. It is produced by Sylvie Pialat’s Les Films du Worso and Topshot Films; Pathe Films and France 3 cinema co-produce.

In 2013, there were two high-profile Hollywood movies about terrorists invading the White House, and the brave Secret Service agents who stepped forward to protect a beleaguered President. On June 28, Roland Emmerich's excellent "White House Down" was released in theaters, and it starred Channing Tatum as the beleaguered agent, and Jamie Foxx as the president. The bad guy terrorist was played by Jason Clarke. "White House Down" also starred Maggie Gyllenhaal, Joey King, and Richard Jenkins. It was, for my money, one of the best films of 2013. 

A broader audience, however, better remembers Antoine Fuqua's "Olympus Has Fallen," which beat "White House Down" to theaters by about three months. "Olympus Has Fallen" starred Gerard Butler as the beleaguered agent and Aaron Eckhart as the President. The bad guy terrorist was played by Rick Yune. The cast of "Olympus" contained more uncut starpower than "White House," as Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd,...

When a disillusioned former soldier launches an attack on the French government, the specialists need to be called in. And that's the concept for Paris Has Fallen, a heart-pounding espionage thriller series that's just dropped on Hulu in the U.S. Set in the same universe as Gerard Butler's Olympus Has Fallen, the series follows protection officer Vincent Taleb (Tewfik Jallab) and MI6 operative Zara Taylor (Ritu Arya) as they head up the investigation into the attack. The unlikely duo is charged with the task of hunting down the former soldier Jacob Pearce (Sean Harris), whose own tragic past as a survivor of torture at the hands of the Taliban has emboldened him to take his revenge on the French government after a tragic loss.

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Ritu Arya is helping steer the ship in Paris Has Fallen. After holding guest star and supporting roles in everything from AMC's Humans to Doctor Who, the English actor found her breakout turn as Lila in the cast of Netflix's The Umbrella Academy, starring in seasons 2-4 of the well-received graphic novel adaptation. Arya has also worked on a number of major motion projects in the past decade, namely with her supporting roles in Red Notice and Barbie.

In the TV installment of the Gerard Butler-led action movie franchise, Arya stars in Paris Has Fallen's cast as Zara Taylor, a new MI6 agent stationed in France. There, she finds herself partnered with protection officer Vincent Taleb (Tewfik Jallab) in an effort to stop former French Foreign Legion soldier-turned-terrorist Jacob Pearce (Sean Harris) in his quest for vengeance against the French government.

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Ritu Arya is helping steer the ship in Paris Has Fallen. After holding guest star and supporting roles in everything from AMC's Humans to Doctor Who, the English actor found her breakout turn as Lila in the cast of Netflix's The Umbrella Academy, starring in seasons 2-4 of the well-received graphic novel adaptation. Arya has also worked on a number of major motion projects in the past decade, namely with her supporting roles in Red Notice and Barbie.

In the TV installment of the Gerard Butler-led action movie franchise, Arya stars in Paris Has Fallen's cast as Zara Taylor, a new MI6 agent stationed in France. There, she finds herself partnered with protection officer Vincent Taleb (Tewfik Jallab) in an effort to stop former French Foreign Legion soldier-turned-terrorist Jacob Pearce (Sean Harris) in his quest for vengeance against the French government.

Warning: Spoilers for Paris Has Fallen below!If Paris Has Fallen's second season wants to tie back into the movie series, then it should bring back newly minted action hero Aaron Eckhart as President Asher. The three Has Fallen movies have grossed over $520 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), but in a bold move, the TV spinoff has virtually zero connection to them. It has no cameos or references and instead focuses on new protagonists trying to stop terror attacks in Paris. While a cameo for Gerard Butler's Banning was rumored when it was announced, the star doesn't actually appear in the show.

Paris Has Fallen's ending leaves the door open for another series - and suggests the story will be moving to Africa. The show has received an impressive 88% on Rotten Tomatoes too, and appears to have been a streaming hit across the world. The next...

Paris Has Fallen, the Hulu television series spinoff of Gerald Butler's hit movies, sets a new record for the action franchise. Hulu landed the U.S. rights to Paris Has Fallen in October, with episodes debuting in December. The story centers on Vincent Taleb (played by Tewfik Jallab), a protection officer to a French Minister. The French official becomes the target of a terror group, causing Vincent to work with MI6 operative Zara (Ritu Arya) to keep the politician safe. But it's not long before a deeper conspiracy is uncovered, threatening the city of Paris itself.

Paris Has Fallen has the best Rotten Tomatoes score of any entry in the Has Fallen franchise, currently sitting at 86% based on 7 reviews. The score is likely to fluctuate as more reviews are added, though the score is relatively high with only one review leaning negative so far.

What The Rotten Tomatoes Score...

“Paris Has Fallen” immerses viewers in the sumptuous yet politically tense atmosphere of the British Embassy in Paris, contrasting diplomatic etiquette with the chaos of terrorism. This backdrop is more than just a stage; it represents the delicate ties between nations, particularly in a post-9/11 world when trust can be a façade.

The series is a spin-off from the blockbuster “Has Fallen” film franchise, which, although widely derided by reviewers, has carved itself a niche in contemporary action filmmaking by combining explosive thrills with a critique of world politics.

The narrative revolves around Jacob Pearce, a character-driven by a desire for vengeance after being betrayed by his country during a terrible service in Afghanistan. His motivations are complicated, grounded in themes of grief and betrayal that resonate with contemporary societal anxieties about loyalty and national identity.

The initial attack on the embassy, disguised as a celebratory gathering, quickly escalates into a tense siege,...

As the first installment of the evolving Has Fallen franchise made for television, Paris Has Fallen delivers a strong and promising foundation in its new medium. Series creator Howard Overman of Misfits acclaim takes the reins of the Gerard Butler-led movie franchise that collectively brought in $523 million at the worldwide box office across three films. While Butler plans to return for Night Has Fallen, the upcoming fourth feature film in the series, the Has Fallen franchise has proven its capacity to work in an episodic format with its latest offering.

Paris Has Fallen follows a protection officer and an MI6 operative as they join forces in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. Suspecting a mole, they race against time to uncover a larger conspiracy that threatens the safety of Paris.

Cast Karina Testa, Laurent Lucas, Paul Gorostidi, Clémentine Baert, Camille Rutherford, Damien Bellard, Michael Shelford, Fantine Harduin, Cameron Cook,...

Warning: Major spoilers for Paris Has Fallen below!Paris Has Fallen has made me intensely nostalgic for a certain real-time thriller series from the 2000s. I'm a fan of the Has Fallen movie franchise and was naturally intrigued when Paris Has Fallen was announced. I'm a little disappointed that the show didn't confirm my fan theory that Gerard Butler's Banning would become the U.S. President, but the first season is still a pulpy, well-paced thriller with a great villain performance by Sean Harris. It also reminds me of shows like Strike Back or 24 with its combination of action, procedural, and character drama.

Shows with that mixture are becoming rarer, and Paris Has Fallen gets the balance just right. Each episode has a race against the clock alongside plot twists and action scenes - but it still finds time to flesh out the characters too. While it doesn't...

Warning: Major spoilers for Paris Has Fallen below!It's easy to miss on first viewing, but Paris Has Fallen drops a big hint about where the next season could take place - and it's not France. Paris Has Fallen's ending sees protagonists Vincent (Tewfik Jallab) and Zara (Ritu Arya) taking down villain Pearce (Sean Harris) and saving the day. Still, the finale is a dark one, and despite Pearce getting the corrupt French President (Emmanuelle Bercot) to confess her part in the death of his family, some political spin frees her of the consequences. The finale also sees Pearce's financiers, Dcx Capital, setting up their next job.

Pearce needed money to finance his revenge campaign, with his backers Dcx then making money from the chaos he creates. They also gave Pearce a mercenary named Freja (Ana Ularu) for his mission - both as a henchwoman and insurance against Pearce going rogue.

Warning: Major spoilers for Paris Has Fallen's finale below!Paris Has Fallen's ending sees Vincent and Zara confront Pearce for the final time - with the entire city at stake. The finale opens with Vincent (Tewfik Jallab) agreeing to Pearce's (Sean Harris) demand to trade the President's (Emmanuelle Bercot) in exchange for not detonating his dirty bomb. Vincent manages to sneak President Levesque out of her bunker, with the plan being for her to shoot Pearce during the exchange. Of course, that plan goes awry, leading to a shootout between the heroes and Pearce's men; this buys the vengeful soldier all the time he needs the President.

Pearce gets the desperate Levesque to admit to her role in the killing of his girlfriend and her children before he's gunned down by Vincent and his partner Zara (Ritu Taylor). Things don't end so well for Paris Has Fallen's cast of characters,...

A spin-off to one of, if not the best Gerard Butler action franchise, the Fallen saga, is now available to stream in the United States. After originally debuting earlier this year in the U.K., all eight episodes of Paris Has Fallen Season 1 is now streaming on Hulu, and promises to deliver the same explosive action as Butler’s escapades as the intrepid Secret Service agent Mike Banning.

Starring Tewfik Jallab and Ritu Ary, Paris Has Fallen follows a protection officer teaming up with an MI6 operative to stop a terrorist group led by Jacob Pearce, played by Mission: Impossible villain Sean Harris. The cast also includes Ana Ularu, Camille Rutherford, Jérémie Covillault, Emmanuelle Bercor, and Karl Collins. Action fans already sang its praises when it premiered earlier this year, singling out the talented main cast members and exhilarating fight sequences. You can check out the official synopsis below:

"When...

Paris Has Fallen boasts an impressive cast of international stars, bringing humanity to the action-packed show. The series is the latest entry in the "Has Fallen" franchise. The show builds on the tone established by the Gerald Butler-led Olympus Has Fallen. Paris Has Fallen focuses on a series of attacks carried out in the French capital by an embittered former member of the French Foreign Legion named Jacob Pearce. Struggling to prevent further bloodshed are Vincent Taleb and Zara Taylor, a bodyguard and an Mi:6 agent both operating within the city.

Paris Has Fallen has plenty of intense action, but the real draw of the series is the compelling conspiracy that Pearce seeks to expose and how it impacts the people connected to it. The stars of the show hail from across Europe, bringing a natural diversity to a story that highlights the crimes and mistakes of the recent past.

Plot: When a terrorist group led by the villainous Jacob Pearce attacks a high-profile embassy reception, with the French Minister of Defence as their target, protection officer Vincent finds himself working with street-smart MI6 operative Zara to save the day. But when events take an increasingly dark turn, Vincent and Zara soon realize that the plan extends far beyond just one politician. With suspicions that one of their colleagues in the security services is feeding information to Pearce, Vincent and Zara soon come to rely on each other more than either would have ever imagined. Increasingly isolated and with Pearce always one step ahead, can this unlikely pair stop Paris from falling to a man hell-bent on vengeance?

Review: I’m not sure who asked for it, but the Gerard Butler Has Fallen film series has become the Has Fallen cinematic universe. After three movies, the same fictional world where...

“Paris Has Fallen” is a new live-action, eight-episode TV series, directed by Oded Ruskin and Hans Herbots, starring Tewfik Jallab, Ritu Arya, Sean Harris, Ana Ularu, Camille Rutherford, Jérémie Covillault, Emmanuelle Bercor and Karl Collins, streaming December 6, 2024 on Hulu:

“…when a terrorist group led by the villainous ‘Jacob Pearce’ attacks a high-profile embassy reception, with the ‘French Minister of Defence’ as their target, protection officer ‘Vincent’ finds himself working with street-smart ‘MI6’ operative ‘Zara’ to save the day.

‘But when events take an increasingly dark turn…

“…Vincent and Zara soon realize that the plan extends far beyond just one corrupt politician.

“With suspicions that one of their colleagues in the security services is feeding information to Pearce…

“…Vincent and Zara soon come to rely on each other…

“… more than either would have ever imagined…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

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Hulu is ready with an entertainment-packed December this year. The upcoming month will see the release of the brilliant action thriller series Paris Has Fallen and also horror thriller movies like Cuckoo. Just like every month, Hulu is ready to overload you with great content. So, we’re here to tell you about the 8 new movies and TV shows coming to Hulu in December 2024.

Paris Has Fallen Season 1 (December 6) Credit – StudioCanal

Paris Has Fallen is a French and English-language action thriller series created by Howard Overman. Based on the Has Fallen film franchise, the Canal+ series follows a French protection officer and an MI6 operative who must team up after a terrorist organization attacks Paris. Paris Has Fallen stars Tewfik Jallab, Ritu Arya, Sean Harris, Ana Ularu, Camille Rutherford, Jérémie Covillault, and Emmanuelle Bercot.

Summer Camp (December 6) Credit...

"Move fast, kill the bad guys." Which is usually the best strategy. Hulu has debuted a new official trailer for the French action series called Paris Has Fallen, which is streaming in the US in December. It already launched a few months ago in France. As the trailer directly points out, this is a TV continuation of the "Has Fallen" franchise of movies - which includes Olympus Has Fallen (2013), London Has Fallen (2016), Angel Has Fallen (2019). Did we really need more of these stories as a TV series? A protection officer and an MI6 operative team up after a terrorist attack strikes Paris. They suspect a mole as they race to thwart a larger conspiracy from a madman threatening Paris. The plot follows protection officer Vincent Taleb who finds himself working with street-smart MI6 agnet Zara Taylor to save the day. Starring Tewfik Jallab, Ritu Arya, Sean Harris as the main bad guy,...

“Paris Has Fallen” is a new live-action, eight-episode TV series, directed by Oded Ruskin and Hans Herbots, starring Tewfik Jallab, Ritu Arya, Sean Harris, Ana Ularu, Camille Rutherford, Jérémie Covillault, Emmanuelle Bercor and Karl Collins, streaming December 6, 2024 on Hulu:

“…when a terrorist group led by the villainous ‘Jacob Pearce’ attacks a high-profile embassy reception, with the ‘French Minister of Defence’ as their target, protection officer ‘Vincent’ finds himself working with street-smart ‘MI6’ operative ‘Zara’ to save the day.

‘But when events take an increasingly dark turn…

“…Vincent and Zara soon realize that the plan extends far beyond just one corrupt politician.

“With suspicions that one of their colleagues in the security services is feeding information to Pearce…

“…Vincent and Zara soon come to rely on each other…

“… more than either would have ever imagined…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

After originally debuting earlier this year in the U.K., Paris Has Fallen Season 1 is heading to Hulu this year, and it just got an action-packed trailer to go along with it. The spinoff to Gerard Butler's beloved Fallen action franchise received rave reviews when the eight-episode season premiered in September, but now Hulu subscribers will get access to the series next month. Additionally, they can get their first look at the villain, played by Mission Impossible veteran Sean Harris.

Hulu, which will be distributing Paris Has Fallen to the U.S. audience, debuted a new trailer teasing its release on the platform on December 6. Starring Tewfik Jallab and Ritu Ary, the series follows a protection officer teaming up with an MI6 operative to stop a terrorist group led by Jacob Pearce (Harris). Paris Has Fallen has dialogue in both English and French, appealing to the worldwide viewership derived from the movie franchise.

Fleetwood Mac will tell their story in their own words for the first time in an upcoming documentary from Apple Original Films.

Directed by five-time Academy Award nominee and Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Oscar winner Frank Marshall (The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart), the fully authorized doc will feature exclusive new interviews with band members Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, archival interviews of the late Christine McVie, and never-before-seen footage.

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After making three successful and action-packed films in the Has Fallen franchise, the political conspiracy thriller series is shaking things up by bringing the fight to the small screen. The latest installment of the Has Fallen franchise, Paris Has Fallen, is a TV series coming to Hulu, starring franchise newcomers Tewfik Jallab and Ritu Arya. Hulu debuted a Paris Has Fallen trailer on Tuesday, giving action fans something to look forward to before Thanksgiving madness finds the entertainment industry hitting the snooze button for a few days.

Here’s the official synopsis for Paris Has Fallen courtesy of Hulu:

“When a terrorist group led by the villainous Jacob Pearce (Sean Harris) attacks a high-profile embassy reception, with the French Minister of Defence as their target, protection officer Vincent (Tewfik Jallab) finds himself working with street-smart MI6 operative Zara (Ritu Arya) to save the day. But when events take an increasingly dark turn,...

Action enthusiasts will have a hard time watching the Has Fallen trilogy on Hulu. Only the first entry in the Gerard Butler-led film series will hit the streaming platform at the end of November.

Beginning Nov. 29, Olympus Has Fallen will become available to stream on Hulu. Unfortunately, its sequels, 2016's London Has Fallen and 2019's Angel Has Fallen, will not be joining the 2013 movie on the streaming platform which will no doubt frustrate fans of the franchise who subscribe to Hulu. Olympus Has Fallen introduces audiences to Butler's Mike Banning, a former Army Ranger and current Secret Service agent who finds himself in the midst of a national crisis. When North Korean terrorists seize the White House, Banning must use his skills and insider knowledge to rescue the President and reclaim the nation's symbol of power.

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One of, if not the best Gerard Butler action franchise, the Fallen saga, has expanded beyond Butler himself and onto the small screen in the StudioCanal series Paris Has Fallen, which is now available to stream in the U.K. and will soon land on Hulu in the U.S. Directed by Oded Ruskin and Hans Herbots, and starring Tewfik Jallab (Blood Coast), Ritu Arya (The Umbrella Academy), and Sean Harris (Mission: Impossible - Fallout), Paris Has Fallen has now received its first reactions and reviews and it sounds like the spin-off is a worthy follow-up to the action thriller series.

"Gerard Butler was the executive producer of Paris Has Fallen. No wonder it's so so good," declared X/Twitter user and action fan @Onahi_. @NiGhTVioLaToR adds, "Paris Has Fallen is a great series. #AmazonPrime," while @akinomoakiin says, "If you need an interesting TV series for the weekend go and see Paris Has Fallen.

StudioCanal’s series based on the Gerard Butler action franchise is making its way to American shores courtesy of Hulu. Paris Has Fallen is based on Butler’s Has Fallen movies, which include Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen. The show, Paris Has Fallen, is already one of France’s biggest hits on the Canal+ streaming app. Deadline is now reporting that audiences in America will be able to view the series on Hulu sometime later this year. StudioCanal has also made deals with other outlets for international streaming, including Amazon Prime Video in the UK and Ireland, and a service called Sbs in Australia.

The official synopsis for Paris Has Fallen: “When a terrorist group led by the villainous Jacob Pearce (Sean Harris) attacks a high-profile event, with the French Minister of Defence as their target, protection officer Vincent Taleb (Tewfik Jallab) finds himself...

The “Has Fallen” action franchise is expanding from movies to television with the new series “Paris Has Fallen.” Streaming service Hulu has acquired the rights to distribute the show in the United States later this year.

The series is produced by StudioCanal along with production companies Urban Myth Films, Millennium Media, G-Base, and Eclectic Pictures. It stars Tewfik Jallab as Vincent Taleb, a French protection officer tasked with guarding a government minister who becomes a terrorist target. Ritu Arya co-stars as Zara, a MI6 operative who helps Taleb investigate a conspiracy that may involve one of their own colleagues.

“Paris Has Fallen” launched earlier this year on Canal+, a French cable network. It has found success internationally as well, with Amazon Prime Video securing rights for viewers in the UK and Ireland. Australia’s Sbs will distribute the program, and German station Zdf, a co-producer of the series, will provide it domestically.

Hulu has picked up U.S. rights to Paris Has Fallen, the new action series spinoff of the Gerard Butler Has Fallen film franchise. StudioCanal is producing the TV drama together with War of the Worlds producer Urban Myth Films, Millennium Media, Butler’s G-Base and Eclectic Pictures. Paris Has Fallen recently premiered on its Canal+ series in France. Hulu will release the show in the U.S. later this year.

Paris Has Fallen features Spiral actor Tewfik Jallab as Vincent Taleb, a protection officer safeguarding a French Minister who is targeted by a terrorist group. Joined by MI6 operative Zara (Red Notice actress Ritu Arya) they work to unravel a conspiracy that may implicate one of their own.

The series is inspired by the Has Fallen film franchise, which stars Gerard Butler as United States Secret Service agent Mike Banning. The trio of Has Fallen features — Olympus Has Fallen...

Exclusive: Here’s an eye-catching deal to kick off Cannes: Hulu has taken U.S. rights to Paris Has Fallen, the StudioCanal series based on Gerard Butler‘s Has Fallen film franchise.

Hulu plans to premiere the drama, which stars Spiral actor Tewfik Jallab, later this year after it made a strong debut in France, where it has become a top-three original on Canal+.

StudioCanal has closed a string of other deals for Paris Has Fallen, including with Amazon Prime Video in the UK and Ireland, and Sbs in Australia. The eight-part series is a co-production with Zdf, which will house the show in Germany.

Paris Has Fallen is made by StudioCanal, War of the Worlds producer Urban Myth Films, and two companies behind the film franchise: Millennium Media and Butler’s G-base. Eclectic Pictures is also attached.

Jallab plays Vincent Taleb, a protection officer to a French Minister, who...

Exclusive: Lionsgate Play will provide free access to its entire content library for one week from October 18 to 24 as part of its “Gatecrash Lionsgate” campaign in India — just before the country’s major Diwali holiday.

This campaign will include complimentary access on Lionsgate Play to the Indian premiere of Paris Has Fallen, part of the Has Fallen franchise and starring Mehdi Meskar, Tewfik Jallab and Ritu Arya.

Now in its fourth year, the streaming service from Lionsgate India and Starz has focused on building a content library centered on Hollywood action films, with titles dubbed into four to five Indian languages.

Rohit Jain, President of Lionsgate Play (Asia), told Deadline that besides action, Lionsgate Play is seeing strong audience uptake in the horror genre — and he is also keenly tracking the popularity of Korean content.

“We are probably going to take some bets in the coming year on Korean content,...