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(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

"That's their stuff, their business. They have a film in mind. I've already done it. I've done my Batman." Those were the words uttered by TV's Batman Adam West when asked about the casting of Michael Keaton in a new "Batman" film being put together by Warner Bros. in the late '80s. "Do you want the classic Coke, or do you want the new stuff? Maybe both." West suggests his hammy take on the DC Comics hero was Coke while Keaton would become New Coke. The only problem with West's metaphor is that, in this scenario, New Coke won the battle handily.

It's easy to forget now but there was a time when the general public's only image of Batman was...

In 2005, Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" introduced a darker and moodier version of the iconic superhero than had ever been seen on-screen before, and that angst and violence was further embraced by Matt Reeves' "The Batman" in 2022. For the first time in a while, moviegoers were given raw and brutal street fights between The Dark Knight and Gotham goons, and wanted more.

The overwhelming success of Nolan and Reeves' films proved that Batman fans longed for the tortured and barbaric version of the character after years of being dragged through goofy and childish portrayals of the vigilante in films such as 1966's "Batman," starring Adam West, and 1997's "Batman & Robin," starring George Clooney. Nolan's trilogy often receives credit, rightfully so, for tossing the grit and dirt back into the vigilante's image and tugging the film version of Batman closer to his graphic novel roots. However, Nolan wasn't the first...

Taking down the Boston Celtics 103-90 in Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals in the Massachusetts metropolis last night, the Golden State Warriors cemented their dynasty with their fourth championship in the past decade.

Now well ensconced in the pantheon of basketball, the big win for Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and their teammates, plus coach Steve Kerr may be all the sweeter after the past two seasons when it looked like the shine was off the Bay Area team. Celebrating with trophy in hand on the floor of the Td Garden in Boston on Thursday, the Warriors and New England born team bosses Peter Gruber and Joe Lacob were gleaming with pride and exhilaration.

Having weathered rough ratings seas over the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, ABC must be feeling pretty victorious, at least in the short term. They had the most watched show of Thursday’s primetime,...

John Cena says the WWE is finally getting the attention it deserves by Hollywood and the professional sports world.

“I’m just glad that no longer are we looked down upon, not only by the sport industry, but by the performing arts industry,” Cena told Variety on Tuesday night in Beverly Hills at Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year Awards, where the “Bumblebee” star was the recipient of the Muhammad Ali Legacy Award.

Recognized by Sports Illustrated for his efforts that go beyond the WWE ring, Cena tirelessly involves himself with the Make-a-Wish Foundation (granting over 500 wishes), anti-bullying, equality, cancer awareness and support of the troops.

“I think nowadays, athletes are understanding that and literally it’s all just sports entertainment,” Cena said, “Which I am very grateful for because years ago I wouldn’t have been any way legitimized by sport.”

On hand to present the Performer of...

Michael Jordan has teamed up with Magic Johnson -- buying an ownership stake in aXiomatic ... the company that operates the prestigious eSports franchise, Team Liquid.  Jordan was part of a new $26 million funding round -- joining other prestigious co-owners including Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Gruber, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik, and Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis.  Team Liquid is a Force in eSports -- with teams competing in games like League of Legends,...

Mandalay Entertainment's Peter Gruber has sold a three-bedroom mid-century modern on Sarbonne Road in the Holmby Hills area for $13.8 million, reports the Los Angeles Times. The 4,324-square-foot, one-story mansion is nestled at the end of an ultra-private cul-de-sac and was one of three adjacent properties he owned there. The property, designed by architect A. Quincy Jones and built in 1959, offers panoramic views of the city and Pacific Ocean. The house sits on 2.19 flat acres – a significant amount of land in tony Holmby Hills, which is also

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Oliver Stone has signed on to produce and direct The Power Broker for HBO, based on the 1974 Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Robert Caro.  The book tells the story of Robert Moses, the man who designed New York: "At one time was dubbed the city's 'master builder,' [Moses] was among the most powerful men in 20th century urban planning and politics, having influenced New York's infrastructure as much as any other individual."  Nicholas Meyer will adapt the screenplay; THR lists James Gandolfini, Nancy Sanders, Mark Armstrong, and Peter Gruber as fellow producers.  Gandolfini now has a number of projects in development at his former Sopranos home, including Taxi 0-22, Eating with the Enemy, and Big Dead Place. I'll confess that I learned Moses' name tonight, but he sounds like a fascinating subject.  Stone has struggled in the last decade to earn the critical acclaim that marked the first half of his career.

His father has made a name for himself, both in the written world and the film world, by selling millions of copies of his works and having almost everything he’s written turned into some kind of film or television series. Some of them have been extremely good, while others have been just God awful. Now Joe Hill, son of Stephen King, will have his go with Hollywood. Hill’s newest book, Horns, has been picked up by Mandalay Pictures to be adapted into a major motion picture starring Shia Labeouf. The book was actually acquired back in 2009, but this marks the first actor cast as the lead in the film. Read more about Horns and Labeouf’s character after the jump.

In a script coming from Keith Bunin, Labeouf will play “Ig Perrish, a 26-year-old who awakens from a black-out hangover to find horns sprouting from his head. As his horns grow bigger,...

Variety is reporting that Mandalay Pictures has optioned film rights to a yet-to-be-released novel called Horns. No one would care, except that the novel is written by Joe Hill -- better known as Stephen King's son. The novel is described as "a love story driven by horror and vengeance". This sounds tacky, and -- once again -- no one would care, except that the horror and vengeance comes into play when some dude wakes up all hungover from partying, and apparently has gigantic horns growing out of his head and a dead girlfriend. Yes! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, folks. Murder? Hangovers? Dead girlfriends? Gigantic horns?! This story seems undeniably crazy/sexy/cool. And if Mandalay Pictures can make a decent film, or sell the rights to Universal, as they so often do -- it looks like we're in for a horny treat. Peter Gruber and Cathy Shulman will produce Horns, with...

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s baffled that a movie about the life of legendary Rat Pack singer Frank Sinatra hasn’t been made as of yet. Oh, I’m sure there’s been some TV movies (as well as a few stage plays), but I’m talking about a properly done, theatrically released biopic.

Well, the one and only Martin Scorsese is now set to make a movie on the life of the singer, simply titled Sinatra. Universal Pictures has acquired the rights (previously owned by Mandalay Pictures) to the project, as well as the permission of the Sinatra family (which, apparently, isn’t an easy thing to get), to not only make the project but use the actual music (including the voice) of the man himself within it, too.

Scorsese will be producing the movie as well as directing, Phil Alden Robinson (Field...

CANNES -- Peter Gruber's Mandalay Television and Stephanie Germain Prods. in association with Germany's Tandem Communication are extending the successful Nora Roberts franchise of telefilms.

The firms signed a deal with Lifetime Television for four new TV movies based on the best-selling author's romance novels.

Mandalay and Stephanie Germain will develop six of Roberts' novels and turn four of the resulting scripts into two-hour, $5 million telefilms. Shooting is set to begin in the fall for delivery in spring 2009.

Tandem again will handle worldwide sales for the four-film collection starting at the MIPTV market, which kicks off today in Cannes. Tandem sold the first Roberts telefilms -- "Montana Sky", "Angels Fall", "Blue Smoke" and "Carolina Moon" -- to about 160 territories worldwide.

The first Roberts series was a ratings smash for Lifetime, tripling the network's average primetime numbers. The films performed strongly in most territories, winning nights for ARD in Germany, TF1 in France and Antenna 3 in Spain. Antenna 3 already has picked up rights for the new series.