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After making the highest-grossing live-action William Shakespeare adaptation of all time with his steamy flick Anyone But You starring Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney, director Will Gluck is going back to what worked for his next film. He's landed yet another Top Gun: Maverick star, Monica Barbaro, alongside Masters of the Air alum Callum Turner to lead the new romantic feature One Night Only for Universal, per a new report by Deadline. The project comes at the end of a long search for Gluck's big follow-up to his $220.3 million success, which premiered back in 2023 and helped launch both its leads into new levels of superstardom. In addition to the hot new couple, it was also announced that the film will hit theaters in just under a year on August 7, 2026.

One Night Only is not another Shakespeare adaptation, but it is based on a script by Travis Braun that topped the 2024 Black List.

There has been much written about CBS’ decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert but there’s been little word out of the company itself.

But after Skydance’s deal to take over Paramount became official this morning, George Cheeks, who is Chair of TV Media at the company, put his head above the parapet.

“The challenge in late night is that the advertising marketplace is in significant secular decline,” Cheeks said at a press conference after the deal closed. “We are huge fans of Colbert, we love the show, unfortunately the economics made it a challenge for us to keep going.”

He added that as soon as Taylor Tomlinson nixed the idea of continuing to host After Midnight, which was in slot formerly housing The Late Late Show with James Corden, it became clear the network “couldn’t stay in that daypart”.

“I know [Skydance] is going to invest,...

Grammy winner Kid Harpoon will create original music for the upcoming Broadway revival of “Art.” The Tony Award-winning show — about three friends who debate the merits of a ridiculously expensive painting — was written by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton.

The new production stars Tony nominee and Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale, Tony winner and Emmy winner James Corden and Tony winner and Emmy winner Neil Patrick Harris. Tony nominee Scott Ellis (“Take Me Out”) will direct the show.

Kid Harpoon, a songwriter and producer, won his first Grammy for his work on “Harry’s House” by Harry Styles in 2023, the same year he produced Miley Cyrus’ hit record “Flowers,” which took home the record of the year trophy. He is known for collaborating with prominent artists spanning all genres such as Lizzo, Florence + the Machine, Inhaler, King of Leon, Jessie Ware and David Byrne.

Previews of “Art” begin on Aug.

The first-ever Broadway revival of the Tony Award-winning Art by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton, is coming soon! Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Bobby Cannavale , Tony Award winner and Emmy Award winner James Corden and Tony Award winner and Emmy Award winner Neil Patrick Harris will make their highly anticipated returns to Broadway this fall under the direction of Tony Award nominee Scott Ellis. Previews begin on Thursday, August 28th with an official opening night on Tuesday, September 16th at Broadway’s Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street), New York City. The production will play a limited 17-week engagement through December 21, 2025. Taste. Money. Ego. And other fine arts. This sleek, sophisticated comedy is about, well, art. Come see what all the debate is about – don’t miss Art on Broadway for a strictly limited engagement...

P Diddy has had tons of close celebrity friends, having been one of the greatest names in the entertainment industry. Yet, one of his most bizarre friendships continues to be with the renowned Two and a Half Men alum, Ashton Kutcher, which raised a lot of questionable glances from fans and netizens worldwide. Turns out, this friendship started with the MTV show Punk’d.

In a 2018 appearance on The Late Show With James Corden, Diddy and his then-best pal answered the same as they talked about their first phone call that took place before their initial meeting. The rapper shared that he called Kutcher to say, “I heard that you’re gonna Punk me and I just don’t think that’s a good idea.”

This had the What Happens in Vegas? actor jokingly replying to his friend’s comments,

I think it was some version of ‘If you do that,...

It's not news that "Cats" is a bad movie. Directed by Tom Hooper, the movie uses Andrew Lloyd Webber's inscrutable and mostly plotless Broadway musical as its source material, and to say it's jarring, bizarre, and outright terrible is an understatement. Also, Taylor Swift is in it.

Let me backtrack for a moment and say this: The Broadway musical "Cats" is not my personal cup of tea, but I'm not here to crap all over it. It's one of the highest-grossing musicals in history, and to be absolutely fair, the fact that the stage version is plotless isn't a technically bad thing. Making it into a movie, though, was a patently terrible idea, and I say that with no due respect to Hooper ... and unfortunately for Swift and her co-stars Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson, and, uh, James Corden, it's a part of their creative histories now.

You may think it’s cute, but NFL players only shuffle like that when they’re distressed.

14 Damnocracy

A band based on TV ratings and wordplay is doomed to fail from the start. The short-lived VH1 show Supergroup stuffed Sebastian Bach, Jason Bonham, Scott Ian, Ted Nugent and Evan Seinfeld into a Las Vegas mansion. They produced seven episodes of television and exactly zero albums, despite staying together for four years.

13 Andrew W.K. x Glenn Beck

The rock-n-roller had a radio show on the perpetual fascist pedophile apologist’s radio network in 2015. Their little odd couple routine was intended partly to highlight conversations between folks with opposing viewpoints, and partly to launder TheBlaze’s dogshit reputation.

12 ‘The Counselor’

Written by Cormac McCarthy. Directed by Ridley Scott. Starring Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Brad Pitt. This is 2013 pop culture in a bottle, but they made Diaz hump a...

James Corden is a British comedy actor, known for his role on Gavin and Stacey.

In March 2010, he presented the Sport Relief 2010 TV special. He also took part in Channel 4’s Comedy Gala, a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London on 30 March.

Charities & foundations supported

James Corden has supported the following charities:

American Foundation for AIDS ResearchChildren in NeedComic ReliefGenesis Research TrustGreat Ormond Street HospitalPETASport ReliefTeenage Cancer TrustTrekstockUNICEF Read more about James Corden's charity work and events. Related articles Kasabian To Headline Teenage Cancer Trust GigsTake That And Friends To Rock Children In Need TonightDavid Beckham To Get Oiled Up For CharityBeckhams Design T-Shirts For Sport Relief Charity CampaignSport Relief Brings In The Charity Cash

Explore celebrities by social reach, cause, location, field and more with Insider Access →

Copyright © 2025 Look To The Stars. This article may not...

The struggling Paramount simply can’t catch a break. After the underperformance of its biggest release of the year, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, the studio debuted the children’s film Smurfs in theaters worldwide last week. The animated film had a poor opening, but is counting on overseas markets to make up for its underwhelming performance at the domestic box office. Poor reviews normally don’t matter for movies aimed at kids, but the Smurfs perhaps aren’t as popular now as Hollywood might have been led to believe a decade or so ago.

With just over $20 million domestically and another $24 million from overseas markets, Smurfs has now grossed a combined total of $47 million worldwide. The movie was produced on a reported budget of $60 million, which is roughly around the same amount that was spent on 2017’s Smurfs: The Lost Village. The movie made nearly $200 million worldwide, which sounds incredible,...

In Chris Miller’s new film, a Smurf is told to ‘believe you were born great’. But does this approach contradict what Peyo’s original Smurfs stood for?

Smurfs, a new Paramount Pictures CGI-spectacle directed by Chris Miller, has received an all-round critical panning and faltered at the box office. But it does a serviceable job reminding viewers of the utter strangeness of the three-apples-tall characters originally conceived of by Belgian comic artist Pierre “Peyo” Culliford in 1958.

In the film, James Corden voices No Name Smurf, who experiences existential angst because unlike the other inhabitants of Smurf Village – Brainy, Grouchy, Hefty etc – he does not “have his own thing”, a skill or character trait that makes him stand out. This special trait is eventually identified as “magic” and No Name is pressed – by a serenading Rihanna-voiced Smurfette – to realise his inner Usp and “don’t let anyone ever say...

The design team has been announced for the first-ever Broadway revival of the Tony Award-winning Art by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton. The team includes David Rockwell (Set Design), Linda Cho (Costume Design), Jen Schriever (Lighting Design), and Mikaal Sulaiman (Sound Design). Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Bobby Cannavale, Tony Award winner and Emmy Award winner James Corden and Tony Award winner and Emmy Award winner Neil Patrick Harris will make their highly anticipated returns to Broadway this fall under the direction of Tony Award nominee Scott Ellis. Previews begin on Thursday, August 28th with an official opening night on Tuesday, September 16th at...

Exclusive: Dragon Studios is facing the threat of closure as the UK tax authority chases the Welsh film and TV studio facility for an unpaid bill.

Dragon Studios, based in Bridgend, has provided a home to titles including Disney+ series Willow and Havoc, the Tom Hardy action movie for Netflix.

Hm Revenue & Customs (Hmrc) has issued the company with a “winding-up petition,” which in the UK is often the last resort taken by a creditor when attempting to recover debt.

Hmrc is essentially seeking a court order to put Dragon Studios into liquidation. The petition alone could trigger the freezing of Dragon’s bank accounts.

When contacted by Deadline on Tuesday, Dragon Studios said it had yet to receive the petition and business operations continue. The company has since contacted Hmrc.

UK studio facilities have suffered a difficult period following the Hollywood strikes, while the spectre of protectionism looms in America,...

Natasha Lyonne brought her signature quirky charm to the streets of New York, illuminating the Empire State Building in a flirty Shushu/Tong ensemble as she celebrated the premiere of the animated musical fantasy comedy Smurfs.

Natasha Lyonne lights the Empire State Building in partnership with the Lollipop Theater Network to celebrate the premiere of Paramount Animation’s Smurfs on July 16, 2025, in New York City (Credit: mpi099 / MediaPunch / INSTARimages)

Lyonne provides the voice of Mama Poot, the leader of the Snooterpoots, in the movie, joining a star-studded cast that includes Rihanna as Smurfette, James Corden as No Name Surf, and John Goodman as Papa Smurf. Now showing in theaters, the movie has unfortunately received mostly negative reviews from critics.

Jump to a Look:

1. Flirty in Florals: Natasha Lyonne Stuns in Shushu/Tong Mini Dress 2. Bold Blue Heels: Natasha Lyonne Rocks Paris Texas Lidia Slingbacks 3. Color-Coordinated Style: Bold Jewelry & 3D Rose...

Steven Soderbergh’s next filmThe Christophers is already making waves — and we now have our first look. The newly released image shows Michaela Coel and Ian McKellen in character as Lori Butler and Julian Sklar, respectively. McKellen, 86, appears to be embracing full “grizzled legend” mode, leaning against a battered doorframe in a rainbow-striped sweater, while Coel’s Lori watches him warily, suitcase in hand. The film, currently in post-production, marks Soderbergh’s follow-up to Black Bag and reunites him with longtime screenwriter Ed Solomon.

Described as a dark comedy, The Christophers centres on the estranged children of a once-famous artist who hatch a morally flexible plan: hire a forger to complete their father’s unfinished work and pass it off as discovered originals after his death. Yes, it’s art fraud with a Soderbergh twist — which means expect stylish plotting, morally compromised characters, and at least one monologue about capitalism.

Update July 20, 2025: Superman is still flying high at the box office.

DC Studios and Warner Bros.' James Gunn-led reboot soared to another box-office victory over the July 18-20 weekend, earning $57.3 million domestically — marking a 54 percent drop from its opening weekend. Universal's Jurassic World Rebirth roared into second place with $23.4 million in its third week, while new releases from Sony's I Know What You Did Last Summer ($13 million) and Paramount's Smurfs ($11 million) struggled with underwhelming openings. Warner Bros.' F1: The Movie rounded out the top five with $9.6 million.

Superman is just the latest success story for Warner Bros. this year — the studio's sixth number-one movie following Mickey 17, A Minecraft Movie, Sinners, Final Destination: Bloodlines, and F1. Warner Bros. currently ranks as the top studio of 2025, with $1.32 billion in domestic receipts. However, that position may shift as Disney's highly anticipated Fantastic Four: First Steps is...

“Superman” continues to rule the worldwide box office, powering to $406 million after two weekends of release.

Those ticket sales include $171.8 million overseas and $235 million from the North American market. Turnout remains softer than expected at the international box office, where “Superman” added $45.2 million in its second weekend. Outsized global appeal is vital because the comic book reboot, starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, has the lofty goal of launching a new phase of superhero movies for the Warner Bros.-backed DC Studios. Two interconnected spinoffs, “Supergirl” and “Clayface,” will land in 2026, while a new “Wonder Woman” movie is in the works. Plus, “Superman” will face steep competition next weekend as another comic book adventure, Disney and Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four,” opens in theaters.

Meanwhile, Universal’s “Jurassic World Rebirth” had another huge showing with $40.2 million from 82 overseas territories in its third weekend of release. So far, the...

Following the surprise failure of Transformers One last year, the struggling Paramount is turning to an equally trusted property to turn its fortunes around amid reports of a takeover. But Smurfsunderperformed in its box office debut, falling short of even the low bar for success established by the franchise’s last installment, Smurfs: The Lost Village. The movie opened to poor reviews and a mixed audience response this week, clashing with two fellow debutantes — Ari Aster’s Eddingtonand Jennifer Kaytin Robertson’s I Know What You Did Last Summer.

While it’s targeting an entirely different demographic from those films, Smurfscouldn’t capitalize on the lack of competition at the box office following the success of the Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon remakes. Combined, those two films have grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide. And there was a time when the Smurfs was just as lucrative a franchise. Hollywood...

“Superman” remains up, up and away at the box office. The superhero reboot retained its crown as three new releases, “Smurfs,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and Ari Aster’s “Eddington,” failed to pack a punch in theaters.

In its second weekend of release, “Superman” collected $57.3 million from 4,774 venues — a standard 54% decline from its $125 million debut. After strong weekday holds, the Warner Bros. comic book adventure has earned $236 million domestically and $406 million globally.

“A 54% second weekend drop is indicative of a marketplace that’s embracing the film,” says senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

The studio needs the well-reviewed “Superman” to keep flying high during the competitive summer movie season, especially since there are just days to go until Disney’s Marvel comic cook adventure “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” touches down on the big screen. Beyond earning back the $225 million production budget, “Superman” is intended to launch a...

Smurfs North America Box Office Day 1(Photo Credit –Facebook)

The Paramount Pictures animated musical Smurfs has been released in theaters and is reportedly the reboot of the Smurfs film series. Sony previously produced four live-action animated films, which gained a lot of popularity among the audience. However, this latest addition did not land so hot in the theaters, earning the lowest opening day collection at the North American box office. Read on for more box office deets.

It received mixed to negative reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes platform. The critics gave it just 21% on Tomatometer, stating, “Antic and zany without being particularly fun, this incarnation of Smurfs just isn’t the smurfest tool in the shed.” The audience rating is also not too flashy, as they gave it an average of 68% on the popcorn meter.

Smurfs’ box office collection on day 1 in North America

According to the data provided by Box Office Mojo,...

The new Smurfs movie isn't having the best success, coming up short with its reviews from critics and box office return. However, there's still a key win that the film managed to earn.

At the box office, James Gunn's Superman is flying high at the top, holding onto the No. 1 spot with around $57 million earned in its second weekend. Jurassic World Rebirth will take the No. 2 spot with $23 million, per The Numbers. This leaves the Smurfs reboot competing with the horror legacy sequel I Know What You Did Last Summer for No. 3, and the latter has the edge after a $5.8 million opening day, compared to $3.9 million for the former.

By the end of the weekend, Smurfs is estimated to earn about $12 million. That's a far cry from its hefty budget, which was reportedly around $58 million. Earning a profit looks to be an uphill battle at this point. Complicating that...

It's rare these days when a music video completely captures the public's attention in the ways they used to. While the 2000s still saw MTV as a kingpin of music video distribution, the advent of YouTube and Internet streaming completely changed the game, allowing for independent artists to self-produce music videos or for music fans to contribute to a song's lifespan via their own visuals. 

Nowadays, there are lots of popular artists who don't even bother to make music videos for their hit songs, but every so often, there's still the occasional music video that dominates the conversation, like Cardi B's "Wap" or Lil Nas X's "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)." Because the ability to create music videos has gotten so accessible for the common fan, artists have over the years gotten more ambitious with their efforts, churning out videos that draw from some of the very...

The Smurfs have inspired comic books, T-shirts, TV shows and, unofficially, James Cameron’s entire Avatar franchise. Now the tiny blue alleged communist propagandists are back with a brand new movie that’s simply called Smurfs.

This latest parental endurance test features the voice of Rihanna as the Smurf community’s lone female member, and also James Corden as the village’s lone insufferable British member. Also, Nick Offerman plays a Smurf who just looks like Nick Offerman.

The reviews for 2025’s Smurfs haven’t exactly been great. Critics have claimed that the movie “Smurfing Smurfs,” calling it “a colossal pile of Smurf” and proclaiming, “I Smurf-ing hated it!”

Holy Smurf, that’s bad.

Okay, obviously they’re using “Smurf” as a substitute for “Fuck” and/or “Shit.” This is something that the Smurfs themselves do, which is weird because they’re literally named the “Smurfs.” That would be like...

“Superman” is still atop the hierarchy of power at the box office in its second weekend, flying above new wide releases “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Smurfs” and “Eddington.”

The DC Studios universe-rebooter earned $16.6 million on its second Friday to boost its domestic total to $194.4 million. Factoring out preview screenings from last week’s opening day gross, that’s a 50% drop. The Warner Bros. release has pushed ahead of fellow superhero feature “Thunderbolts*” ($189 million) to now rank as the eighth-highest grossing North American release of the calendar year.

“Superman” should fly to a $235 million domestic total through its first 10 days. Comic book adaptations have become susceptible to hard plummets, given how fans can front-load sales by flocking to opening weekend screenings. The James Gunn-directed “Superman” looks to avoid that fate and resonate beyond its property’s built-in groupies. As comps, Gunn’s three “Guardians of the Galaxy” films had second-weekend drops,...

Feeling a little blue? “Smurfs” might be able to help you there — or at least empathize with the feeling.

Directed by Chris Miller, the latest take on the little blue creatures has arrived, and this time, there’s not just Gargamel to worry about. In this movie, the little blue creatures have to worry about Gargamel and Razamel.

It’s the latest family movie offering this summer, though it is rated PG. Here’s everything you need to know.

What’s the release date?

“Smurfs” hits theaters everywhere on July 18.

Is “Smurfs” streaming?

It is not. For now, you’ll only be able to catch “Smurfs” in theaters. After its theatrical run, it’ll likely head to Paramount+. We’ll keep you posted on when that’ll be.

Who voices the Smurfs this time?

This “Smurfs” cast includes Rihanna, James Corden, Nick Offerman, Jp Karliak, Daniel Levy, Amy Sedaris, Natasha Lyonne,...

With Natasha Lyonne joining a franchise based on a beloved ’80s childhood classic, the Smurfs star was up for any role.

The 2x Golden Globe nominee revealed how she got the voice role of Mama Poot in the new animated feature adaptation, which is now in theaters, and how she feels about comparisons to the character.

“So, they said, ‘You wanna be a Smurf in a Smurfs picture?’ It’s an email, I say, reply all, ‘Sure, who doesn’t?’ I mean, it’s not Strawberry Shortcake, but I’ll take it,” she recounted on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Fallon confirmed, “Oh, Rihanna is Smurfette?”

Lyonne quipped, “Turns out, I’m not. I’m a character called Mama Poot. Well, it’s okay. I’m older now, and that’s what they mean. ‘Women, don’t age in Hollywood or you’ll become Mama Poot.’ The character they...

Is Stephen Colbert's just-announced cancellation the proverbial canary in the coal mine for late-night television? That question is top of mind after CBS announced its shocking decision to bring The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — and the entire Late Show franchise — to an end in May 2026. The host broke the news during Thursday night's episode, remarking: "I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away."

In a joint statement, CBS execs George Cheeks, Amy Reisenbach and David Stapf said the decision to get out of late-night television was a financial one. "It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount," they emphasized. But that sentiment didn't sway others from connecting Late Show's cancellation to CBS parent Paramount's controversial decision to settle a defamation suit brought by President Donald Trump ahead of the studio's long-planned merger with Skydance Media.

Stephen Colbert was struggling to get through the opening line of his telecast on Thursday, announcing that his turn behind the desk of The Late Show was coming to an end, as well as the fact that CBS was ignominiously axing its storied late-night franchise altogether.

His wife, Evie Colbert, who was watching the taping, was visibly emotional, according to audience members, a group that erupted into boos as the comedian revealed the news that left the fans of his show, the 200 people that work on it and the wider late-night community in a state of shock.

Colbert was told of the cancelation on Wednesday and informed his staff ahead of the taping.

It was a stunning reversal from May when George Cheeks, Co-CEO Paramount Global and President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS, told Deadline that he “really likes our hand” at 11:30pm. Cheeks, who came up in...

It didn’t take long for Donald Trump to claim victory. “I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired,” the President of the United States posted on Truth Social at 6:16 a.m. Et, less than 12 hours after CBS announced it was canceling “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Legal scholars will point out that Trump didn’t actually take credit for the sudden termination; he merely stated his opinion. Colbert has long been an outspoken critic of Trump, so it’s only fair for Trump to savor a bit of bad news that’s befallen Colbert.

But he didn’t have to say he won for everyone to know he had. Why? Because CBS and Paramount did that for him.

In the second paragraph of the press release announcing the end of “The Late Show’s” 33-year run on CBS, the powers that be — in this case, George Cheeks, co-ceo...

The state of late-night TV is keeping media executives from sleeping well.

CBS’ decision to cut ties with Stephen Colbert and its decades-old “Late Show” franchise come next May will leave a major hole in the format — but one that has been widening. TV networks have been cutting costs at their late-night mainstays for the past few years. NBC in 2021 parted ways with Lilly Singh, a young comic who was the latest personality to host an original hour of comedy and talk at 1:30 a.m., and subsequently decided to stop producing new content for the time slot. The network also took the live band from Seth Meyers “Late Night” and recently cut Friday broadcasts from Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show.” CBS is replacing a nascent 12:30 a.m. program, “After Midnight” with old repeats of the syndicated “Comics Unleashed.” Jimmy Kimmel goes on a vacation every summer long enough...

CBS made the shocking decision yesterday to pull the plug on The Late Show after over 30 seasons on-air, citing a "financial decision" amid the tenuous late-night landscape. This doesn't just mean the end of Stephen Colbert's time at the desk, but the end of a late-night institution powered by dedicated crew members and originated by the legendary David Letterman in 1993. It was hard to envision anyone carrying the torch after Letterman's departure, but Colbert managed to keep the fire burning for over ten years now, and he's on track to go out on top as the highest-rated of all late-night programs. As his and the show's successful run prepares to draw to a close in May 2026, his fellow hosts have spoken out in support of the former Colbert Report mastermind.

Among the first to chime in was Colbert's fellow former Strike Force Five member and ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

The era of late night TV is currently gasping for air, lying in a hospital bed, and waiting to die. That may sound grim, but it's no less true. We recently learned that CBS is canceling "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in May 2026. What's more, Colbert isn't merely being replaced. Rather, CBS' parent company Paramount is simply ending the "Late Show" franchise, one of the pillars of late night TV for more than three decades. With that, not only is late night on life support, but TV as we used to know it is also on its deathbed.

When Colbert took over "The Late Show" from David Letterman in 2015, it was a very different time. Traditional television still had a lot of relevance, with Colbert having become a star on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" before getting the highly-coveted gig succeeding Letterman. Meanwhile, Netflix was, more or less,...

With apologies to Papa Smurf, it's been a rough smurfin' year for theatrical animation. The first half of 2025 has seen a box-office resurgence for family fare with A Minecraft Movie, How to Train Your Dragon and the billion-dollar-grossing Lilo & Stitch all racking up massive numbers. But all three of those movies were live-action features — albeit live-action features that used extensive amounts of computer animation. Stranger still, Lilo and Dragon were remakes of animated movies released by their respective studios, Disney and Universal, over a decade ago.

Meanwhile, the animated films that have been released in U.S. theaters in the past seven months are mostly a distant afterthought with audiences and critics. With a 20 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and dismal tracking numbers, Paramount's attempt to relaunch the Smurfs franchise is unlikely to change 2025's unfortunate trajectory when it opens in theaters this weekend — even with Rihanna onboard as...

When CBS pulled the plug on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert yesterday, the network claimed the move was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.” While few believe that finances were the only factor, Puck’s Matt Belloni reported that the show was indeed bleeding prodigious amounts of cash.

Late Show has been losing more than $40 million a year, a significant amount of dough even for a show that leads the traditional late-night talk shows in the ratings. Colbert’s 2.47 million viewers are more than either of the Jimmys can manage, but the number isn’t big enough to keep ad dollars from plummeting.

As recently as 2018, late-night talk shows collectively raked in $439 million in ad revenue, reports The New York Times. That number has dropped by half, making the $15 million-ish salaries enjoyed by Colbert, Fallon and Kimmel increasingly challenging to justify.

More problems for...

“I Know What You Did Last Summer” slashed its way to $2.2 million in Thursday previews, while A24’s “Eddington,” a satire set during the height of the pandemic, picked up $625,000. Paramount’s “Smurfs,” the weekend’s other major new release, didn’t hold preview screenings.

The three films, which are aimed at vastly different age groups and demographics, are unlikely to unseat “Superman” from its throne. The superhero reboot dominated the domestic box office last weekend, earning $125 million and is expected to repeat as champ, earning $55 million to $62 million in its second weekend of release. That would be a 50% to 55% drop, a respectable result that “Superman,” which was well-liked by critics and audiences, should pull off. The film needs to keep packing in crowds as it cost $225 million to produce and is intended to launch a new phase of superhero films for DC Studios and its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

While you wait for Rihanna’s role in the Smurf Movie, here is another animated voice-over role that you need to check out! (Photo Credit – Netflix)

Rihanna is currently making waves, not necessarily for her new album, but for her latest voice-over role in the new Smurfs Movie. In addition to playing the character, Rihanna has also sung a new song for the film. This role also marks the singer’s comeback to entertainment, following a brief hiatus from music. Smurfs Movie has released in India and globally on July 18, 2025. It also stars James Corden, Nick Offerman, Jp Karliak, Daniel Levy, Sandra Oh, among others.

The Diamonds hitmaker was last seen on the Met Gala carpet in May, where she also announced her third pregnancy. Her role as Smurfette comes as a breath of fresh air and a new wave of excitement for he fans who have long been waiting to listen to the singer.

The news of “The Late Show’s” cancellation by CBS doesn’t just end a franchise that had, to this point, lasted more than 30 years. It looks like the beginning of the end of an entire category of television. With one network now opting out of late-night talk entirely, how long will it be before the genre just goes away?

CBS announced the cancellation nearly a full year before it is to take effect, making current host Stephen Colbert a lame duck of sorts; he will continue hosting the show through May 2026, at which point it will simply disappear. Observers have noted with interest that Colbert has, lately, been especially critical of CBS’s parent company, Paramount; while this may have made him less beloved internally, the trendlines on late night have been moving in the wrong direction for some time.

Taylor Tomlinson, whose “After Midnight,” also on CBS, was...

The latest big screen outing for the lovable Blue-hued Sumurfs is out in cinemas today, and we had the chance to sit down with the film’s director and main cast to talk all this Smurf. Directed by Chris Miller; starring Rihanna (Smurfette), John Goodman (Papa Smurf), James Corden (No Name), Nick Offerman, Jp Karliak, Dan Levy, Amy Sedaris, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Octavia Spencer, Nick Kroll, Hannah Waddingham, Alex Winter, Maya Ersine, Billie Lourd, Xolo Maridueña, and Kurt Russell.

Enough yakking! Here are the smurfing interviews.

The wonderful DaniElle DeLaite sat down with legends John Goodman and Nick Offerman as they bring their iconic voices (and a good dose of mischief) to the colourful world of the Smurfs in this hilarious and heartwarming interview. From their unique voice acting methods to why the Smurfs have stood the test of time, this conversation is as charming as it is unexpected.

CBS has announced it will end “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” after the next TV season, calling it a “financial decision.” This marks the end of decades of original late-night programming on CBS, which began when David Letterman moved from NBC in 1993. The network says the decision is about money, as producing late-night shows has become more expensive, and younger viewers increasingly watch content online instead of live TV.

In a statement, CBS executives said, “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire ‘The Late Show’ franchise in May of 2026. We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television. This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

Colbert learned...

Smurfs Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Rihanna, James Corden, Nick Offerman, Jp Karliak, and Dan Levy.

Director: Chris Miller

Smurfs Movie Review: The Gang Is Back To The Big Screen Accompanied By Some Of The Dumbest Jokes Ever ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

What’s Good: Some of the animation bits in the Smurf world are quite fun.

What’s Bad: The plot, the characters, and the overall humor will be a miss for most people.

Loo Break: There are several moments to take a break, even if the film is quite short.

Watch or Not?: This is pass. There are better offerings out there, including Transformers One, which comes from Paramount Animation itself.

Language: English (with subtitles).

Available On: Theaters

Runtime: 92 Minutes

User Rating:

The animated film scene is quite brutal, the competition is harsh, and there are just too many offerings out there, which makes each entry need to...

Stephen Colbert is saying a reluctant goodnight to late night.

In a shocking announcement during Thursday's taping at the Ed Sullivan Theater, Colbert announced that The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will conclude its run in May 2026, marking the end of an era and further diminishing the late-night landscape.

“Before I start the show, I want to announce something I found out just last night: Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending the Late Show in May," he said. Several boos can then be heard from the crowd to which Colbert said, “Yeah, I share your feelings.”

He went on to thank CBS for the opportunity, saying he was grateful for them “giving me this chair and giving me this theater to call home.”

He also thanked the 200 people who worked on the show. “It is a fantastic job. I wish someone else was getting it,...

TV’s ongoing problems with late night have come for Stephen Colbert, with CBS announcing Thursday that it plans to end his “Late Show” after the next TV season, citing a “financial decision.”

The maneuver — which ends years of original late-night programming at CBS that started when the network lured David Letterman from NBC in 1993 — comes as the economics of wee-hours TV have been deteriorating, with media companies growing wary of the high price tags involved in producing the shows while the young viewers they try to attract watch more of them via digital video.

“We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire ‘The Late Show’ franchise” in May of 2026, CBS executives said in a statement. “We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television. This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.

In a shocking move, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end in May.

“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season,” CBS brass said in a statement. “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time. We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television.”

The statement was made by George Cheeks, Co-CEO Paramount Global and President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS; Amy Reisenbach, President of CBS Entertainment; and David Stapf, President of CBS Studios.

Colbert, who announced the news during tonight’s taping, said that he was grateful to CBS for giving him the chair. “I’m not being replaced, this is all just going away,” Colbert said.

The CBS execs said this...

The stars of Smurfs are stepping out in New York City!

Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, and John Goodman posed for photos together on the top of the Empire State Building on Wednesday afternoon (July 16).

The stars also helped light up while they promoted their new animated movie.

Here’s a synopsis of the new movie, in theaters July 18: When Papa Smurf (Goodman) is mysteriously taken by evil wizards, Razamel and Gargamel, Smurfette (Rihanna) leads the Smurfs on a mission into the real world to save him. With the help of new friends, the Smurfs must discover what defines their destiny to save the universe.

The voice cast also includes James Corden, Jp Karliak, Dan Levy, Amy Sedaris, Sandra Oh, Octavia Spencer, Nick Kroll, Hannah Waddingham, Alex Winter, Maya Erskine, Billie Lourd, Xolo Maridueña, and Kurt Russell.

Smurfs hits theaters on Friday, July 18. Watch the trailer here!

Click through the...

If you look at the two films that are owning the box office this year, “A Minecraft Movie” and “Lilo & Stitch,” it’s clear that we’re in a moment where a lot of parents are taking a lot of children who are not very old to the movies. Suddenly, we’re in a universe where PG is king. Eras where super-wholesome kiddie fare rules the roost tend to come in cycles — there was a famous one back in 1990, when the first “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” film jolted Hollywood by opening at $25 million, an insane amount of money back then. Given the general dire straits the movie industry is facing today, it should be happy to find success wherever it can, and if that means that energized fodder for children is what’s hot, so be it.

So it feels poetically right that we’re now getting the first Smurfs movie in eight years.

With James Gunn’s Superman and Universal’s dinosaurs roaming Earth, counter-programming — read Paramount Animation’s reboot of Smurfs with Rihanna as Smurfette, and Sony’s reboot of late-’90s franchise I Know What You Did Last Summer — will have a hard time overperforming.

That said, as we’ve said all summer, let’s not knock any depth at the box office. It’s still money for exhibition in some shape or form.

James Gunn’s Superman looks to dip around 52% for roughly $60M in its second weekend. Monday and Tuesday were strong with $12.9M and $17.1M, respectively, and a running five-day total of $155M. Among Tuesdays for a superhero movie in July, Superman is sixth behind 2019’s Far From Home ($39.2M opening day), 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man ($35M), last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine ($25.3M), 2008’s The Dark Knight ($20.8M) and 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises ($17.7M). Superman keeps...

The past two years have been great for animation. Last year, half of the top 10 highest-grossing movies of 2024 were animated: Inside Out 2, Moana 2, Despicable Me 4, Mufasa: The Lion King, and Kung Fu Panda 4,with all but two earning Fresh scores on Rotten Tomatoes, with Despicable Me 4 and Mufasa just narrowly missing the mark at 56%.

Animation has reigned supreme once again in 2025, with China's animated movie Ne Zha 2 ranking as the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide with over $2 billion at the box office. Meanwhile, KPop Demon Hunters is dominating Netflix. Dreamworks' Dog Man, which debuted in January, was a modest success that earned an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score and made over $145 million at the box office.

Elio, despite its 82% Rotten Tomatoes score, debuted to only $20 million at the box office, the lowest opening weekend ever for a Pixar movie. Now, a new animated movie has...

While Superman will quite easily remain at #1 heading into its second weekend in theaters, the Dcu movie is set to face competition from new releases, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Smurfs.

All three movies will attract vastly different audiences, and Jurassic World Rebirth should continue to pose a problem for all of the above. Still, helping Superman is the largely negative critical reception to I Know What You Did Last Summer and Smurfs.

Despite glowing social media reactions, the horror reboot has arrived on Rotten Tomatoes with a "Rotten" 46% score. The reviews are all over the place; Deadline, for example, writes, "A vapid, utterly hollow husk of revival. And when it isn’t copy-pasting lines straight out of Hewitt’s mouth it resorts to an almost impressively high level of pandering to its Gen Z audience."

Nerdist countered that with, "I Know What You Did Last Summer carves up laughs,...

The new Smurfs film might boast a star-studded cast led by Rihanna, James Corden, and John Goodman, but it appears that critics are not smurfing with the latest reboot. While the new animated musical tries to leverage the strength of its cast and its eye-popping visuals, Smurfs is being lambasted for another tonally messy ride to the Smurfs' village.

As of this writing, Smurfs has a 25% rating based on 32 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The low rating is not entirely shocking, as the previous live-action films have scored equally low, with The Smurfs and The Smurfs 2 sporting 21% and 14%, respectively. Of course, the score for the 2025 film will likely continue to fluctuate throughout the week after its theatrical debut in theaters. The Smurfs' fortunes could turn as families take their kids to the theaters, possibly contributing to a higher-than-average audience score. However, all signs point to another disappointing take on the Smurfs,...

Ken (Nick Offerman), Hefty Smurf (Alex Winter), Smurfette (Rihanna), No Name (James Corden), and Brainy Smurf (Xolo Mariduena) in ‘Smurfs’ (Smurfs & © Peyo – 2025 Lic. Lafig B./Imps © 2025 Par. Pics)

Those cute little blue creatures, the Smurfs, are back for another big-screen adventure in Smurfs, the 2025 film that serves as a reboot of the franchise.

Smurfs opens with a big musical production number set to the new song “Everything Goes with Blue,” with all the Smurfs dancing while paying close attention to Smurfette (voiced by Rihanna), who always steals the show. The Smurfs are happy and enjoying themselves, all except for a newbie called No Name (voiced by James Corden), who still doesn’t have his thing—the way Grouchy Smurf is grouchy and Clumsy Smurf is…well…clumsy. Papa Smurf (voiced by John Goodman) assures No Name he just needs more time to find his thing.

Noticing No Name is still feeling down,...

Plot: When Papa Smurf is taken by evil wizards Razamel and Gargamel, Smurfette leads the Smurfs on a mission to the real world to save him.

Review: Back in the early 1980s, animated series like Heathcliff, Shirt Tales, and Muppet Babies occupied my weekday afternoons. But on Saturdays, I always looked forward to visiting Smurf Village, where little blue mischief makers made life miserable for a crotchety wizard, and being part of a community carried a specific point of pride. When you’re 44, the Smurfs hit different.

While audiences count the days until the next chapter of James Cameron’s Avatar franchise, Paramount Animation is betting big with a different kind of blue people at the box office this summer with Smurfs, an animated adventure, based on the beloved characters created by Belgian comics artist Peyo. Shrek the Third and Puss in Boots director Chris Miller gets behind the camera...