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Freedom is a fleeting illusion, a brief gasp of air before the inevitable plunge. For Ava, released from a two-year prison sentence, the world she re-enters is not a clean slate but the same cage, just with wider bars. Her return to Ponoka, a town etched into the rugged Alberta landscape, feels less like a homecoming and more like a surrender to gravity.

Here, amidst the dust of the rodeo and the ghosts of past glories, the criminal life she sought to shed clings to her like a second skin. The film wastes no time in re-submerging her, where a violent rupture—the swift, brutal murder of her twin brother—catapults her from the purgatory of parole into the hell of being hunted.

Her existence is immediately compressed into a singular, desperate objective: survival. The presence of her father, Will, a former rodeo champion locked in a world of silence and stern judgment,...

We were hearing buzz that it was a huge box office day yesterday, and indeed it was with Disney’s Lilo & Stitch collecting $15.2M, which makes it the best Tuesday in May for a PG rated film. The pic’s running total stands at $197.8M and will cross $200M today, it’s sixth day in release.

Lilo & Stitch was -58% from Memorial Day Monday’s $36.5M haul.

Among all Tuesdays in May, Lilo & Stitch ranks fourth after Avengers: Infinity War, The Avengers and Top Gun: Maverick.

Among all PG movies on a Tuesday, Lilo & Stitch is further down, the top three alone being The Lion King ($30.3M), Inside Out 2 ($28.8M) and Incredibles 2 ($27M).

As we told you very early this morning, Lilo & Stitch will keep its teeth sunk into No. 1 with an estimated $60M second frame, -59%, while Sony’s The Karate:...

Sometimes you hear the hyperbole from box office pundits that this is the biggest weekend in seemingly ever, and the numbers don’t necessarily mean much. Factor in inflation and anything will look a little less impressive. And everyone is trying to spin anyway. But with the combined totals of “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,” this really was the Best Memorial Day weekend at the box office ever, and that’s really saying something for the overall health of the box office.

It was strong enough that each of the three major theater chains in North America, AMC, Regal, and Cinemark, all put out glowing statements of record-breaking attendance and concession sales. Cinema United president and CEO Michael O’Leary also sang the industry’s collective praises, saying, “It’s clear that movie theaters are cultural and economic hubs in cities and towns of all sizes, uniting communities across the country.

Update: 2025/05/25 08:07 Est By Brennan Klein

Lilo & Stitch Soars Past Initial $175-$180M Projections, Mission: Impossible Still On Track For Franchise-Best Debut

This article was originally written Saturday Am and has been updated Sunday Am with up-to-date box office projections (in bold), a full chart, and further analysis.

The combined might of Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is setting records over Memorial Day weekend. The former is a live-action remake of the 2002 Disney animated movie of the same name, following latchkey kid Lilo (Maia Kealoha) befriending the mischievous alien Stitch (Chris Sanders) after he escapes captivity and crash lands in Hawai'i. The latter is the eighth installment in the Mission: Impossible movie franchise, directly following the ending of 2023's Dead Reckoning as Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team continue to work to stop the rogue AI The Entity from destroying the world.

Per Variety, as of Sunday morning,...

Cinema United CEO Michael O’Leary says he is “encouraged” by efforts to bolster the United States film industry and is committed to working with President Trump and Congress.

“It is important to recognize that theatrical exhibition is not a Hollywood industry, but a Main Street industry,” O’Leary said in a statement.

Read O’Leary’s statement in full below:

“We are encouraged by recent efforts to bolster the American filmed entertainment industry, including proposals to assist the people who operate theatres in towns of all sizes across the country to create the great movie houses of the next generation. It is important to recognize that theatrical exhibition is not a Hollywood industry, but a Main Street industry, and proposals that support and promote the hard work being done by theatre owners will have a positive and meaningful impact in communities across this nation. We are committed to working with the administration,...

On Tuesday 15 April 2025, London TV broadcasts Britain’s Countryside Killers!

Dark Deceit Season 1 Episode 8 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “Britain’s Countryside Killers,” titled “Dark Deceit,” promises to be a gripping tale of betrayal and murder. Set to air on London TV, this episode dives deep into the dark side of friendship and love gone wrong.

The story centers around Michael O’Leary, a man whose life takes a tragic turn when he becomes involved with his best friend’s wife. Andrew Jones, Michael’s closest friend, finds out about the affair, leading to a devastating confrontation. The tension builds as Michael is lured to Andrew’s farm under false pretenses, unaware of the deadly trap that awaits him.

As the episode unfolds, viewers will witness the shocking events that lead to Michael’s execution at the hands of Andrew. The narrative explores themes of trust, loyalty, and the consequences of deceit,...

On Tuesday 15 April 2025, True Crime broadcasts Britain’s Countryside Killers!

Dark Deceit Season 1 Episode 8 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “Britain’s Countryside Killers,” titled “Dark Deceit,” promises to deliver a gripping story of betrayal and tragedy. This episode focuses on the shocking murder of Michael O’Leary, who is killed by his best friend, Andrew Jones. The tension builds as viewers learn about the affair between Michael and Andrew’s wife, which sets the stage for a devastating act of violence.

In “Dark Deceit,” Michael is lured to Andrew’s farm under false pretenses. Trusting his friend, he has no idea of the danger that awaits him. The episode explores the dark motivations behind Andrew’s actions and the emotional fallout of betrayal. As the story unfolds, it reveals how friendships can be shattered by secrets and lies.

This episode delves into the complexities of human relationships, showcasing how love...

The upcoming episode of “Britain’s Countryside Killers,” titled “Dark Deceit,” promises to be a gripping tale of betrayal and tragedy. Set to air at 10:00 Pm on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, on True Crime, this episode dives deep into the dark side of friendship and the devastating consequences of infidelity.

In this intense installment, viewers will learn about Michael O’Leary, a man whose life is tragically cut short by his closest friend, Andrew Jones. The episode reveals how a secret affair between Michael and Andrew’s wife leads to a shocking act of violence. Lured to Andrew’s farm under false pretenses, Michael finds himself in a deadly trap, unaware of the danger that awaits him.

As the story unfolds, the chilling details of the murder will be explored. The episode will examine the motivations behind Andrew’s actions and the impact of betrayal on their once strong friendship. “Dark Deceit...

In the gripping eighth episode of “Britain’s Countryside Killers,” titled “Dark Deceit,” viewers are in for a shocking tale of betrayal and murder. The episode centers around Michael O’Leary, a man whose life takes a tragic turn due to a secret affair with his best friend Andrew Jones’ wife. The tension builds as Michael is lured to Andrew’s farm under false pretenses, setting the stage for a devastating confrontation.

As the story unfolds, the deep bond between the two friends is tested in the most unimaginable way. Andrew’s feelings of betrayal lead him to make a chilling decision, ultimately resulting in Michael’s execution. The episode promises to explore themes of friendship, jealousy, and the dark side of human nature, leaving audiences on the edge of their seats.

“Dark Deceit” airs on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, at 9:00 Pm on London TV. This episode is sure to be a standout,...

The talk of the week at CinemaCon may have been Sony’s bombshell announcement about its four planned movies about The Beatles. Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan, and Harris Dickinson are your Fab Four. And how these movies will look, the order they’re meant to be watched in, and most notably, Sony’s ambitious plan to release all four films in the same month, opens up a world of questions.

But there was one other thing that raised an eyebrow: the date — April 2028.

The teasing of movies three years down the road was the longest any studio asked exhibitors to wait to get excited for their product (the movies should be worth it), but they were hardly the only studio playing the long game at this year’s CinemaCon. A number of studios’ heavily touted films opening in 2026 or being announced for 2027 while only showing a smattering of...

CinemaCon is supposed to celebrate the magic of the big screen and the power of the cinematic experience. Instead, this year’s Las Vegas gathering was a tense, testy affair that threatened to resurface old tensions between studios and exhibitors. All the frustrations of the past five years, during which a pandemic and two labor strikes left the movie theater business a pale shadow of itself, nearly boiled over.

2025 has been positioned as the movie theater industry’s grand return to the glory days, with cinema operators and Hollywood promising that a wave of superhero sagas, star-driven vehicles and fantasy adventures would reinvigorate ticket sales. Instead, revenues are down 10% from 2024, as the likes of “Snow White” and “Mickey 17” flopped at the box office. Whose fault is it?

Studios believe that exhibitors haven’t done enough to innovate. They think too many venues are outdated, and cinema operators haven’t...

Disney executives delivered a tidy CinemaCon session in Las Vegas packed with sequels, reboots and spin-offs like Avatar: Fire & Ash, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Tron: Ares. Executivesnoted – unsurprisingly – that the studio and its labels has ranked number one in Hollywood for eight out of the past nine years and keeps films exclusively in cinemas longer than any of its rivals.

Judging from the steady stream of whoops and applause from the crowd of exhibitors at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace on Thursday, the formula works, and Disney’s appetite for revisiting familiar territory well into 2028 and beyond suits them well.

Disney executives delivered a tidy CinemaCon session in Las Vegas packed with sequels, reboots and spin-offs like Avatar: Fire & Ash, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Tron: Ares and noted – unsurprisingly – that the studio and its labels has ranked number one in Hollywood for eight out of the past nine years and keeps films exclusively in cinemas longer than any of its rivals.

Judging from the steady stream of whoops and applause from the crowd of exhibitors at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace on Thursday, the formula works, and Disney’s appetite for revisiting familiar territory well into 2028 and beyond suits them well.

As CinemaCon got underway this week in Las Vegas, Cinema United president and CEO Michael O’Leary called on exhibitors and distributors to “come together” to transform the industry. “The world is different today than it was yesterday, and we must not just adapt, but evolve if we want to realize our future potential.”

Some of that, he said in his remarks, includes investment by exhibitors. “We must continue to invest in all aspects of the moviegoing experience, from projection, sound and lighting to concessions, food and beverage, lobby and parking areas. All the pieces matter,” he said.

Underscoring that part of his message, the CinemaCon exhibition space was buzzing this week with new projection and sound developments, including moves in the direction of high dynamic range (Hdr) imagery, which brings a greater range of colors from the brightest whites to the deepest blacks.

Barco announced roughly a dozen supported 2025 titles...

A lot of the conversation at CinemaCon 2025 has been about trying to find the elusive answer to the question of how to get audiences back in theaters for films that aren’t franchises and horror…the sort of offerings that made up the vast majority of Universal’s CinemaCon presentation on Wednesday afternoon.

The presentation, which kicked off with an elegant, 50-piece live orchestra playing iconic Universal film scores and showcased everything from “Wicked: For Good” to “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” was a notable departure from Warner Bros.’ focus on risky original titles and Lionsgate’s attempts to strike a balance on expanding their franchises and offering some low budget originality. Universal’s message was about stability, offering titles that audiences know and which will likely provide reliable box office while the industry as a whole tries to figure out how to effectively bring variety back to the big screen in...

Exclusive: Adam Aron, chief executive of AMC Entertainment, said there’s more agreement around extending exclusive theatrical windows than one might think given the tensions bubbling among the exhibitor community and pretty much exploding at CinemaCon this year.

“I have at least three of the six major studios who are completely in agreement that we need to bring back the 45-day window,” he told Deadline on Wednesday as the biggest annual event for theater owners and studios kicks into high gear in Vegas. “And that’s a good start.”

AMC is the largest theater chain in the U.S and globally.

“Now, if you look at every studio except for Disney, the window is 18 to 36 days. For Disney, the window is 60 days. Good for Disney … and Disney’s been a very successful studio. So we shall see. But the largest exhibitor in the United States is in serious dialogue with...

As CinemaCon entered its second day, the conversation about windows was so prevalent that attendees would be forgiven for thinking they stumbled into a trade show for household glass cleaners.

“We are reaching the point … where we’re starting to say, ‘Hey, we need some clarity. We need some stability in terms of what the windows are,’” Cinema United President and CEO Michael O’Leary told Deadline in an interview published on Tuesday. “From the exhibition perspective, we believe that you have to have a meaningful window in order for movies to be successful. We have concerns about some of the shorter windows not allowing enough time for a movie to kind of take hold and build an audience.”

During his state of the industry opening remarks, O’Leary doubled down on the windows push. “A clear, consistent period of exclusivity, supported by meaningful nationwide marketing from both distribution and exhibition,...

The gloves have come off.

For the first time since taking over as chief of the world’s largest trade organization for theater owners, Cinema United president-ceo Michael O’Leary ended a relatively long period of détente over the issue of theatrical windows when delivering his second annual state-of-the-union speech at CinemaCon.

O’Leary called for studios and exhibitors to play a movie exclusively in theaters for 45 days before being available in the home. That’s instead of windows as short as 17 days or 31 days for bigger titles, a practice that arose during the pandemic.

“Everyone feels the pressures of today’s marketplace – from the biggest studios to the one-screen independents. But clinging to the norms of a pre-pandemic world or to the temporary adjustments made during that time, threatens the overall health of this great industry,” he told the assembled group of theater owners to applause. “We need a system...

At the theater owners confab CinemaCon, Motion Picture Association chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin asserted that the U.S. needs to increase production incentives on the federal level.

“Together with our union and guild partners, we will be pushing for more incentives at the federal level this year,” he told delegates gathered at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace. “We will keep fighting to extend tax measures that encourage investments by studios. We will explore new policies designed with a singular goal in mind: to ramp up filmmaking and create jobs for our workforce.

“Incentives bring production. Production brings jobs,” he emphasized, saying production of a major motion picture can bring on average $1.3 million per day into the local economy, while paying over $17 million in wages.

Noting that incentives are already finding success on the state levels, he suggested that “more can be done to bring production to our hometowns and reinforce...

Cinema United CEO Michael O’Leary called on movie theaters and studios alike to build a new future together for their shared industry in his keynote speech at CinemaCon on Tuesday, and that includes finding common ground on the constantly thorny issue of theatrical windowing.

“Clinging to the norms of a pre-pandemic world or to the temporary adjustments made during that time, threatens the overall health of this great industry,” O’Leary said to the attendees in Las Vegas. “We need a system that recognizes our common goals and does not pit one sector against another in a short-sighted quest for immediate financial return at the cost of long- term success.”

O’Leary tackled a wide range of issues facing theaters as they fight to get the box office back to the consistency it once had before the pandemic, from marketing to showtime scheduling to the ongoing push for refurbishment of auditoriums and concessions.

Exhibition and distribution must work together to usher in “the next great era of cinema”, urged Cinema United president & CEO Michael O’Leary in his state of the industry speech at CinemaCon on Tuesday.

In an emotive address at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, O’Leary underscored a commitment to a theatrical-first cinema ecosystem. He asserted the need for a minimum 45-day exclusive theatrical window, better marketing and outreach, and refurbished locations. “We are recovering,” he said of the turbulent last few years, “but we are not recovered.”

Warning against ”clinging to the norms of a pre-pandemic world or...

"We have the ability to give the experience of 35mm, 70mm, 16mm... We care about it." Theater association Cinema United has revealed the first of their 2025 videos in their Behind the Screens series, taking a quick look at some iconic movie theaters around the US. This video was launched at the CinemaCon expo for movie theaters in Las Vegas this week. "This series shines a long overdue light on people who embody what is really special about theatrical exhibition," states Michael O’Leary, President and CEO of Cinema United. "[The series] puts a human face on why going to the theatre is an incredible experience. Their passion and commitment to movie fans shines through in every video. It is no wonder that people from across the [film] industry have reacted so positively to their stories." The first of their new videos highlights the landmark Music Box Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. A world famous cinema,...

The major story in Hollywood, says Jeff Goldstein, president of Global Distribution for Warner Bros. Pictures, is how expensive it’s getting to make movies and to market them to a fragmented audience even as technology sends first reactions to a film around the world in a “nanosecond.”

“That’s the bigger story here,” he said on a CinemaCon panel Monday as the Las Vegas confab kicked off with talk of windows, marketing, cinema advertising and international markets. “The economics of making motion pictures” are more problematic now than ever. “What’s that value proposition? he said. “How do you make movies that net a studio money in today’s economy, and particularly from legacy studios? It’s much different than streaming companies that have different kind of funding.”

“We have to figure out how we can right the ship,” he said, adding, “I think that we’ll get there...

Every major motion picture studio, including streamer and theatrical embracer Amazon MGM Studios, will be accounted for at this week’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas, with all making onstage presentations inside the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

However, it comes at a time when the domestic box office really stinks — and that’s an understatement.

At a current year-to-date gross of $1.44 billion stateside per Comscore, we’re 11% behind last year for the period of January 1-March 31. We’re also roughly $1.4 billion behind the same point in Q1 2018, which had cleared $2.8 billion by now.

The box office will not hit $10 billion this year, a significant disappointment after last year’s industry mantra “Survive till ’25.”

Despite boom times last year with movies like Deadpool & Wolverine, Moana 2 and Wicked, and movies like Barbie in 2023, it’s clear that the pre-pandemic audience hasn’t returned. The question is, will they ever? In a 2024 Nrg industry study,...

Keeping movies in theaters longer is key to the health of a still recovering exhibition industry, according to Michael O’Leary, President and CEO of Cinema United, the trade group that’s just rebranded (from NATO), as the curtain is set to go up on CinemaCon.

The world’s largest annual gathering of theater owners and studio partners runs Monday-Thursday in Las Vegas. On windows, there’s been all kinds of experimentation since Covid and, yes, debate continues, differences of opinion remain. But enough is enough, he said, and 45 days should be the minimum.

“We are reaching the point … where we’re starting to say, ‘Hey, we need some clarity. We need some stability in terms of what the windows are,'” he told Deadline ahead of prepared remarks he’ll deliver at his keynote on Tuesday.

“From the exhibition perspective, we believe that you have to have a meaningful window...

On Monday, top executives from several major Hollywood studios will converge on Las Vegas for CinemaCon, the group formerly known as the National Association of Theatre Owners’ annual trade show. NATO, now known as Cinema United, hosts the week-long event at Caesars Palace, where executives from Sony, Warner Bros., Paramount, Lionsgate, Universal, and Amazon MGM Studios are expected to tease their upcoming slate of films and entice theater owners with the prospect of future blockbusters and awards contenders.

“Our members feel good about the future and the direction we’re heading,” Cinema United boss Michael O’Leary recently told The Hollywood Reporter. With several top filmmakers readying movies for this year, including Paul Thomas Anderson, James Cameron, and many others, how could they not? Ahead, the potential Oscar contenders with the most to gain during CinemaCon next week.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (Sony/Tristar)

Why it matters: Sony kicks off...

Krazy House: "When Russian workers in Bernie’s (Shawn Of The Dead’S Nick Frost) house turn out to be wanted criminals, Bernie must man up and save his wife (Alicia Silverstone) and the rest of his studio audience approved sitcom family."

The film is written and directed by Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil, and stars Nick Frost, Alicia Silverstone, Kevin Connolly, Gaite Jansen, and Walt Klink.

XYZ Films will be releasing the film on VOD on October 4th. The week prior, on September 28th, filmmaker and podcaster Kevin Smith will host a special theatrical screening of the film at his Smodcastle Cinemas in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, with stars Nick Frost and co-director Steffen Haars in attendance.

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Rumours: "Ricocheting between comedy, apocalyptic horror, and swooning soap opera, Rumours follows the seven leaders of the world’s wealthiest democracies at the annual G7 summit, where they...

Jamie Lee Curtis‘s character Laurie Strode is set to have her final showdown with Michael Myers in the new Halloween sequel Halloween Ends, which is getting a theatrical release on October 14th, but will also be available to watch on the Peacock streaming service on that day. (For viewers with a paid subscription to Peacock Premium or Premium Plus.) And while we still have a couple weeks to wait until we reach that release date, fans can put themselves in Laurie’s shoes right now by playing the web-based video game Escape Michael Myers! The game is free to play, and you can do so Right Here.

It’s a simple game, one long chase with Michael Myers close on Laurie Strode’s heels while she tries to dodge obstacles and grab weapons to fight back with.

Halloween 2018 and Halloween Kills director David Gordon Green directed Halloween Ends from...