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Focus Features has bought international rights to “Lurker,” Alex Russell’s directorial debut about clout-chasing and the dark side of fame that became one of the standouts hits from this year’s Sundance, Variety has learned.

Arthouse distributor Mubi had already picked up the film for the U.S. out of the festival in a rumored mid-seven-figure deal, as Variety reported.

A tense feature about an ambitious hipster and the rising pop star he exploits, “Lurker” stars Théodore Pellerin as Matty, a lowly clerk at a high-end sneaker and apparel store in Los Angeles. When his favorite singer (“Saltburn” star Archie Madekwe) saunters in, Matty starts cozying up to the social media star. Before long, he’s installed himself in a world of hedonism and opportunity — and he can stay, as long as he manages the pecking order of the entourage and the fickle demands of celebrity. Everything that can go wrong does,...

Chris Pine appears to be heading back into “Hell or High Water” waters with a role in a new crime thriller.

The “Star Trek” and “Don’t Worry Darling” star will take the lead in “Nowhere Fast,” a Texas crime thriller following a small-town criminal who inadvertently kills the nephew of his boss. The film is being written and directed by Noah Hawley, who created the FX series “Fargo” and “Legion” and most recently created — and directed — the upcoming series “Alien: Earth.”

26 Keys Productions, Hawley’s Austin-based film and TV production company, is producing.

30West, which exec produced and financed Pine’s “The Contractor,” is financing and will co-represent the U.S. rights for “Nowhere Fast” alongside CAA Media Finance. AGC International, the international sales arm of thriving independent studio AGC Studios, will represent the foreign rights. Additional casting is currently underway.

30West’s recent projects include Michael Shanks’ “Together,...

The democratization of celebrity in the 21st century has accelerated the process of audience capture: Tell fans what they want to hear and reap the rewards. Lurker portrays an even more contemporary permutation of this feedback loop by dismantling the presumed hierarchy of its participants. The artist and audience member are coequal—and codependent—in this perceptive drama about a parasocial relationship that enters the realm of reality.

The value exchange is clear from the moment in Alex Russell’s film where Matthew (Théodore Pellerin) steals an Av jack at the clothing store where he works to blast a song meant to resonate with rising music star Oliver (Archie Madekwe). Instead of professing his deep knowledge of Oliver’s work, Matthew plays dumb and lies that his selection of the song, which inspired the artist, was just pure coincidence. Mistaking the artificial meet-cute for an authentically serendipitous connection, Oliver invites...

Tory Burch brought out many stars for its New York Fashion Week show this season!

Amanda Seyfried, Martha Stewart, and Jodie Turner-Smith were among the celebs spotted sitting in the front row at the fashion event on Monday (February 10) in New York City.

Ciara, Alexandra Daddario, Lana Condor, Chloe Fineman, and many others were also in attendance.

Here is how Tory described her Fall/Winter 2025 collection: “Twisted American sportswear. A second glance at classics: prim cardigans are slashed through the sleeves; sweatpants are knit in Japanese brushed jersey; sweaters are embroidered to look like tweed. A wardrobe collected over time, where each piece becomes irreplaceable: the perfect blazer, a favorite dress, a worn-in sweatshirt. Women are defining ‘classic’ for themselves.”

Head inside to see all of the celebs who attended the show…

Keep scrolling to see all of the celebs at the show…

Martha Stewart

Jodie Turner-Smith

Amanda Seyfried

Ciara...

“The Substance” distributor Mubi has acquired Sundance favorite “Lurker” following a highly competitive bidding war and will release the movie in theaters later this year. The film will receive its international premiere at the 2025 Berlinale.

The film, which made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this year, tells the story of a retail employee who infiltrates the inner circle of a music artist on the verge of stardom. But, “as he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.”

Writer and director Alex Russell has been part of major shows like “Dave” and “The Bear,” but “Lurker” marks his feature directorial debut.

“It was already such a privilege to show our movie at Sundance last week. I’m honestly still reeling and recovering from that experience” said director Russell in an official statement. “To have found such an ideal...

Riding momentum from its five Academy Award nominations for “The Substance,” boutique movie distributor Mubi has picked up another buzzy indie film for the U.S. market.

“Lurker,” a tense feature about an ambitious hipster and the rising pop star he exploits for fame and community, has been snapped up by Mubi following this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Screening in the fest’s premiere section, Mubi took “Lurker,” written and directed by Alex Russell, in a competitive situation for a mid-seven-figure price tag.

Exact numbers weren’t disclosed but one person with knowledge of the deal told Variety that the sale represents a significant domestic theatrical release commitment from Mubi. The indie distributor previously released “The Substance” and “Decision to Leave.”

Rising star Théodore Pellerin plays Matty, a lowly clerk at a high-end sneaker and apparel store in Los Angeles. When his favorite singer (Archie Madekwe of “Saltburn”) saunters in,...

Filmmaker Cooper Raiff is a low-key indie darling, thanks to his charming leading and directing films like the SXSW Film Festival award winner "S#!thouse" and "Cha Cha Real Smooth," the latter of which won the Audience Award at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. If you haven't seen either of those movies, they're both worth your time, if only because both films feature Raiff as such a likable, lost twenty-something stuck in arrested development.

At the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, Raiff is staying in similar, familiar territory as one-half of the titular duo in "Hal & Harper," but he enters a new arena by writing and directing this project as an eight-episode TV series that he spent six years writing before getting it financed and shooting the 300-page project in just 50 days. The labor of love comes with all the hearty laughs and heartstring-pulling emotions that made Raiff previous cinematic entries such wonderful experiences.

Cooper Raiff’s latest work, “Hal & Harper,” delves into the intricate emotional world of two siblings. The story tracks Hal (Raiff) and Harper (Lili Reinhart), whose lives remain deeply impacted by their mother’s death. Raiff, serving as writer, director, and lead actor, examines their complex relationship with nuanced storytelling.

The eight-episode series probes the siblings’ interconnected experiences after their mother’s passing. Their father (Mark Ruffalo) retreats into emotional isolation, leaving Hal and Harper to wrestle with their shared grief during early adulthood. Each scene explores how personal loss can profoundly shape individual paths and familial connections.

The narrative moves between moments of lightness and profound sadness, revealing the complicated spectrum of human emotions. By presenting raw, unfiltered interactions, the series creates a deeply personal portrait of two individuals struggling to understand themselves through their collective pain.

Threads of Codependency: An Exploration of Hal & Harper’s Characters

“Hal...

Sometimes, the first interaction between two characters tells you everything you need to know about their dynamic. When Hal (Cooper Raiff) clambers in through his sister Harper’s (Lili Reinhart) bedroom window at 3 a.m. so that they can go to McDonald’s, it’s clear that this isn’t your average sibling relationship. They have almost no boundaries, they talk constantly, and are more or less the center of each other’s lives. It’s endearing and obviously unhealthy, and Hal & Harper—which Raiff also created, wrote, and directed—spends eight funny, fraught episodes exploring how they ended up this way, and where they go from here.

The story picks up as Hal is fumbling his way through a college course that he doesn’t really care about while Harper is stuck in a soulless office job and a long-term relationship that she’s no longer fully invested in but...

“I’m not a fan,” snaps Matthew, the master manipulator in the guise of a harmless nobody eager to soak up some of the refracted rays of celebrity in Lurker. Once he has penetrated the inner circle of emerging pop star Oliver, a fan is the most insulting thing you could call him. Proximity gives Matthew — played by Théodore Pellerin with an evil innocence from which you can’t look away — the illusion of being a best friend, a bro, a creative collaborator to the mononymous singer. Everyone in his entourage wants to bask in Oliver’s glow, but nobody wants it as badly as Matt.

Alex Russell, a writer on The Bear, Beef and Dave making an assured feature directing debut, clearly knows the Los Angeles music scene, with its aspirational strivers and anointed supernovas, its hangers-on, its calculating opportunists and, yes, its lowly fans for whom an all-access...

Alex Russell is already an Emmy-winning writer and producer, but with “Lurker,” he steps into the director’s chair — and he got some advice from Baz Luhrmann before he did it.

The film, which made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this year, tells the story of a retail employee who infiltrates the inner circle of a music artist on the verge of stardom. But, “as he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.”

Russell has been part of major shows like “Dave” and “The Bear,” but “Lurkers” marks his feature directorial debut. Sitting down at TheWrap’s Sundance Studio presented by World of Hyatt, he revealed that Luhrmann actually gave him some lasting writing advice that he put to work in the project.

“He wrote it in my notebook, and it said something like, when you’re...

Plot: A retail employee (Théodore Pellerin) worms his way into the inner circle of a rising pop star, Oliver (Archie Madekwe) and will do whatever he needs to in order to stay there.

Review: Lurker is exactly the kind of movie I want to see when I hit Sundance. I went in knowing next to nothing about it other than the fact that some folks involved with The Bear had a hand in it. Days before its premiere, it screened for many of the Sundance volunteers, which is usually something they do when they know they have a real winner on their hands.

Sure enough, Lurker is a terrific blend of black comedy and psychological thriller, with it playing out as almost an evil, demented version of Almost Famous. Like that Cameron Crowe classic, this follows the entree of a young man into the inner circle of pop stars, although...

Finding ways to take creative risks in the tricky environment of corporate studio financing was a major talking point at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

As a mixed Indigenous woman, Kali Reis, who’s featured in the drama “Rebuilding” alongside Josh O’Connor, often reflects on her own values before signing onto a role or agreeing to a new project.

“I look like a lot of misrepresented and underrepresented communities and if they see me speaking up and staying true to myself, that means more to me than getting cast in a major project,” Reis explained.

Havana Rose Liu, Logan Lerman, Cooper Raiff and Sophie Nélisse joined Reis at the “Risk Takers” panel moderated by Matt Donnelly, Variety‘s Senior Entertainment and Media Writer. The panel was presented by Variety & Acura Cocktails and Conversations at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

“Yellowjackets” star Nélisse, who was at Sundance this year...

Cooper Raiff is back at Sundance and joined the Variety Studio presented by Audible to talk about his big return to the Park City festival. The director is world premiering his first television series “Hal & Harper” at Sundance. The project was made independently, which surprised some considering his last movie, “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” became one of the biggest breakouts of the 2022 fest with a huge $15 million sale to Apple. So what does a deal of that size actually lead to?

“It makes you too confident,” Cooper told Variety‘s Angelique Jackson. “Because of that deal, I thought, ‘Let’s just do it with television.’ That’s what I told everyone. We’re really braving the storm with the series. ‘Cha Cha’ was sold on the backs of so many indie movies. With this, we’re trying to sell this show…so it has to be this undeniable thing...

Cooper Raiff has made a name for himself in just a few short years with his indie dramedies Shithouse and Cha Cha Real Smooth, achieving acclaim from critics and audiences alike. His latest project, Hal & Harper, an independent television project produced in full — a rarity these days — sees Raiff make his biggest swing yet without losing sight of the core humanity that makes his work so special.

Hal & Harper Review

Hal & Harper tells the story of two codependent siblings who grow up with their single father, through the years from their childhood into their adulthood. We see their upbringing and how their relationships with one another and their father affect their individual relationships as adults, resulting in an exploration of how the messiness of our childhood can translate into messiness in adulthood.

With each project, Raiff has gotten more confident behind the camera — and presumably better funded.

Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars are stopping by IMDb’s portrait studio at Acura House of Energy during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and we’ve got all the photos!

On Friday and Saturday (January 24 and 25), the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Dave Franco, Olivia Colman, Lili Reinhart, Jesse Williams and Callum Turner stopped by to post for celebrity photographer Mat Hayward with their castmates.

Keep reading to find out more…

Benedict was joined by Grief is a Thing With Feathers director Dylan Southern. Callum attended with Atropia costar Alia Shawkat and director Hailey Gates.

Dave was there with Bubble & Squeak costars Himesh Patel and Sarah Goldberg and director Evan Twohy.

Olivia was with Jimpa costars Eamon Farren, John Lithgow, Daniel Henshall and Aud Mason-Hyde and director Sophie Hyde.

Lili was joined by with Hal & Harper creator Cooper Raiff and costars Alyah Chanelle Scott, Addison Timlin, Havana Rose Liu and Christopher Meyer.

Hollywood is heading up the mountain for what’s possibly one of the final Sundance Film Festivals to be held in the posh ski-resort town of Park City. It’s a place that’s hosted its fair share of all-night bidding wars, where films ranging from “Reservoir Dogs” and “Napoleon Dynamite” to “Brooklyn” and “The Big Sick” landed massive deals before going on to box office, and in some cases, Oscar glory. But it’s also been the setting of some frenzied sales that didn’t always pay off, like “Happy, Texas”or “Blinded by the Light.”

Sundance has already announced the festival is considering decamping Utah for Ohio or Colorado in 2027. Even if it does stay in the state, the focus of the festival will shift to Salt Lake City, which is better positioned than Park City to host the crowds that the celebration of movies attracts. So will...

While we were eager to tell you last year about Sundance premieres starring Kristen Stewart and Pedro Pascal, the unlikely “Thelma” became the true indie success story of 2024. Unexpected buyer Magnolia Pictures turned the June Squibb film into a hit, opening the doors for other buyers to take their own risks this year.

Heading into 2025, uniqueness is the name of the game, as is picking out the discovery that you won’t see coming, and not necessarily the movie with the big cast, commercial pedigree, or crowdpleaser premise. Last year, we were pretty spot on with “A Real Pain” and “My Old Ass” surviving the long haul, and we were among the few to tell you about “It’s What’s Inside” before Netflix plunked down $17 million to buy it; we were way off on a few others.

The below list is not a collection of movies certain to sell or do so for eight figures,...

Following last week’s lineup announcement, the Berlinale 2025 has now fleshed out its slate with the Competition, Special, and Perspectives sections. Highlights include the world premieres of Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, and Andrew Scott; Radu Jude’s Kontinental ’25; Hong Sangsoo’s What Does that Nature Say to You; Michel Franco’s Dreams starring Jessica Chastain; Lucile Hadžihalilović’s The Ice Tower starring Marion Cotillard; and Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s Hot Milk with Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw, and Vicky Krieps.

The festival will also include international premieres from Julia Loktev, Mary Bronstein, Kahlil Joseph, and more. In terms of omissions for films that potentially could have been a strong fit: there’s no Steven Soderberg’s Black Bag, Wes Anderson’s German production The Phoenician Scheme, nor Berlinale regular Christian Petzold, who wrapped Miroirs No. 3 only a few months ago.

Check out the lineup...

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The comedy genre has been under attack for quite some time now as the studios have stopped making mid-budget comedy movies and refocused all their attention on big-budget blockbusters. Amidst all this, a niche sub-genre in comedy, like raunchy comedy films, has been forgotten. If it’s not a classic like American Pie or Road Trip, people don’t even remember most of the fantastic raunchy comedies that came out. So, we compiled a list of the best underrated raunchy comedies you might have missed out on.

The Girl Next Door (Netflix & Prime Video) Credit – 20th Century Studios

The Girl Next Door is a raunchy comedy film directed by Luke Greenfield from a screenplay co-written by Stuart Blumberg, David T. Wagner, and Brent Goldberg. The 2004 film follows Matthew, a high school senior who thinks that he has found his dream girl,...

Five of Hollywood’s brightest rising stars have joined the cast of the upcoming off-Broadway play All Nighter.

Looking for Alaska‘s Kristine Froseth, Woman of the Hour‘s Kathryn Gallagher, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series‘ Julia Lester, Bottoms‘ Havana Rose Liu, and The Sex Lives of College Girls‘ Alyah Chanelle Scott will star in the upcoming production of Natalie Margolin‘s new play, which will have a 12-week limited engagement in New York City in spring 2025.

The play will be performed at the Newman Mills Theater in the Robert W. Wilson McC Theater Space from February 25 to May 18.

Here’s the synopsis: “It’s finals week at a small liberal arts college in rural Pennsylvania. A tight-knit group of roommates pull one last all-nighter to complete their final assignments. Holed up in an old ballroom, the hours pass, the pressure mounts, the Adderall flows, and the truths...

Ariana Grande really wants to get to know Selena Gomez more.

So much so that she asked to sit with the “Emilia Pérez” star at the Academy Women’s Luncheon on Tuesday at the Academy Museum.

“I respect her so much, and I’ve always adored her,” the “Wicked” star told me. “I was really happy for her to see us on that list together. It was very special.”

That list is the Golden Globe list of nominees for best performance by a female actor in a supporting role in any motion picture. Grande and Gomez were nominated alongside Felicity Jones (“The Brutalist”), Margaret Qualley (“The Substance”), Isabella Rossellini (“Conclave”) and Zoe Saldaña (“Emilia Pérez”).

Grande was one of the first people Gomez heard from after the nominations were announced on Monday. “Ariana texted me and it was the sweetest note and it was about six in the morning,” Gomez told me,...

The end of the year is the perfect time to catch up on movie watching. Whether it's the latest new releases or those movies you missed out on when they were originally released, the cold days of December are best spent indoors, under a warm blanket, and having a movie marathon.

We can always count on Netflix to have a wide selection of movies, from its own original titles to the hit or underrated movies the streamer acquires. While you might be working your way through Netflix's new Christmas rom-coms or checking out other originals like Spellbound or The Piano Lesson, the top 10 most popular movies ranking is full of must-watch titles.

Looking for some good movies to watch on Netflix? Here are the currently most popular movies on the streaming service in December 2024 you should add to your watch list!

AfraidRelease Year: 2024Director: Chris WeitzCast: John Cho, Katherine Waterston,...

After it failed to garner any traction at the box office, a 2024 Blumhouse movie is finding renewed success on Netflix. The indie studio best known for their horror output has enjoyed something of a mixed bag in the past couple of years when it's come to both the critical and commercial reception to their movies. For every record-breaking M3GAN and Five Nights at Freddy's, there's also been a near-franchise-destroying The Exorcist: Believer and lackluster Halloween Ends.

2024, in particular, has been something of a rockier year for Blumhouse. Having hoped to recapture the January release success of M3GAN, the horror short adaptation of Night Swim proved to be a critical misfire, albeit a modest box office success. The studio followed it up with four other releases, including the similarly panned Imaginary and the James McAvoy-starring English-language remake of Speak No Evil, which was a critical and commercial hit. There was...

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Don’t Move is a crime thriller film co-directed by Adam Schindler and Brian Netto from a screenplay co-written by Tj Cimfel and David White. The Netflix film follows the story of a grieving young woman who recently lost her son. One day she is kidnapped by a seasoned serial killer and given a paralytic agent which will soon render her paralyzed but until then she has to do everything she can to save her life. Don’t Move stars Kelsey Asbille and Finn Wittrock in the lead roles with Moray Treadwell and Daniel Francis starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the intensely thrilling experience, heart-pumping horror, and compelling characters in Don’t Move here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Run Sweetheart Run (Prime Video) Credit – Prime Video

Run Sweetheart Run is a mystery horror...

Gersh has signed actor Ruby Cruz for representation.

Cruz is best known for her performance as the timid outsider Hazel in Emma Seligman’s acclaimed comedy “Bottoms,” also starring Rachel Sennott, Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber and Nicholas Galitzine. The film follows two unpopular students who start a fight club as a way to sleep with cheerleaders before their graduation.

She also appeared as Jess in the crime drama miniseries “Mare of Easttown” with Kate Winslet, Jean Smart, Sosie Bacon and Cailee Spaeny.

Cruz made history as Disney’s first openly LGBTQ+ princess, Kit Tanthalos, in the Disney+ fantasy series “Willow,” produced by Imagine Entertainment and Lucas Television. The series was a sequel to the 1988 film of the same name starring Warwick Davis, and followed six heroes as they came together to save their world from evil forces known as the Gales.

Other television credits include Hulu’s “Castle Rock,...

Exclusive: Fauda and Gladiator II star Lior Raz is set along with Havana Rose Liu, Jean Reno, and 2x Emmy nominee Tovah Feldshuh for Daniel Roher’s upcoming crime thriller Tuner from Black Bear.

Leo Woodall and Dustin Hoffman were previously announced to lead the feature, based on a script from Roher and Robert Ramsey. Production started this past week in Toronto.

Tuner tells the story of a talented piano tuner (Woodall), whose life is turned upside down when he discovers that his meticulous skills for tuning pianos can equally be applied to cracking safes in this jazz-infused crime drama about love, loss and the lengths we’ll go to for the people who matter most. The film is being produced by JoAnne Sellar and Lila Yacoub, with Black Bear representing international rights. Elevation Pictures is co-producing and will also release the film in Canada. Debra Zane is casting the picture.

The Halloween season is most definitely in full swing, with a whopping Ten brand new horror movies released this week across theaters, streamers including Netflix, and VOD outlets.

Here’s all the new horror that released September 16 – September 22, 2024!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

The latest movie from Indonesian master of horror Joko Anwar (Satan’s Slaves, Impetigore, Nightmares & Daydreams), Grave Torture is now streaming on Netflix.

In Joko Anwar’s Grave Torture, “When a violent act kills her parents, Sita vows to debunk the idea of supernatural torment after death — a fixation that leads her on a dark quest.”

Here’s the full plot synopsis from the film’s Wikipedia page: “After both of her parents became victims of suicide bombings, Sita became distrustful of religion. Since then, Sita’s goal in life has been only one: to find the most sinful person and when that person dies,...

Olivia Wilde and Beanie Feldstein had a mini “Booksmart” reunion Tuesday at Chanel and Tribeca Film Festival’s Through Her Lens luncheon in New York City.

Wilde and Feldstein are jurors for this year’s Tribeca Chanel women’s filmmaker program, which provides industry support and artistic development to 10 self-identifying women and non-binary filmmakers. The jury will decide which of these emerging filmmakers will receive full funding and support from Tribeca Studios to create a short film.

“I’m thrilled that I get to be on this jury with Beanie and to deliberate together because her taste is unmatched,” Wilde told Variety on the carpet for the Through Her Lens luncheon at Locanda Verde, the Italian restaurant in Tribeca. “She is so empathetic in the way she consumes materials with such thoughtful, emotional intelligence. So I feel very lucky.”

Wilde then reflected on her directorial debut “Booksmart,” saying that the...

The stars are stepping out for Tribeca and Chanel‘s big event!

Leslie Mann and daughter Maude Apatow posed for photos as they arrived at Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program Annual Luncheon held on Tuesday (Sept. 17) at the Locanda Verde in New York City.

Other stars in attendance included Olivia Wilde, Beanie Feldstein, Rosanna Arquette, Chloe Fineman, Gayle King, AnnaSophia Robb, singer Maggie Rogers, Gossip Girl actress Whitney Peak, Dickinson actress Ella Hunt, Bodies Bodies Bodies actress Chase Sui Wonders, influencer Francesca Scorsese, White Men Can’t Jump actress Rosie Perez, Assassination Nation actress Odessa Young, ballerina Misty Copeland, House of the Dragon actress Gayle Rankin, Bottoms actress Havana Rose Liu, and The Vampire Diaries actress Phoebe Tonkin.

The event is held annually to support and celebrate women in film.

“I’m thrilled by what I’m seeing with female filmmakers right now—programs like this...

Three brand new horror movies that were each released in theaters across the past month have made their way home today, a couple of them catching us totally by surprise this week.

Here are three straight-from-theaters frights you can watch at home now…

Cuckoo

After scaring up $6 million in theaters last month, Neon’s horror movie Cuckoo starring Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens is now available at home via Digital outlets.

You can rent the film for $9.99 or purchase it for $19.99.

Cuckoo will be also available on Blu-ray and DVD starting October 22.

Following his festival sensation Luz, German director Tilman Singer has once again succeeded in creating an atmospheric and visually outstanding horror trip with an original plot and perfidious twists. Cuckoo features Euphoria star Hunter Schafer in her first leading role, hailed as a “terrific final girl performance” alongside exhilarating performances from Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), Jessica Henwick (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery...

Sony had been planning to give director Chris Weitz’s horror film They Listen a theatrical release on August 25th of 2023, but in May of last year they decided to delay the release an entire year, pushing They Listen to August 30, 2024. By the time that date rolled around, the movie had been given the new title Afraid (or AfrAId)… and neither the new title nor the new release date worked out for the movie at the box office, because it only ended up making $9 million at the global box office. Just two weeks after its theatrical release, Afraid has now been given a digital release and is available for rent on Amazon’s Prime Video for $9.99. It can also be purchased for the price of $14.99.

Afraid‘s physical media release will follow on November 5th, when it comes to Blu-ray and DVD with the following extras: – 5 Deleted & Extended Scenes including...

There were so many stars in attendance at Thom Browne‘s event held during New York Fashion Week!

Instead of throwing a regular fashion show, the brand opted for a dinner party co-hosted by Oh, Mary! actor Cole Escola on Monday night (September 9) at The Commerce Inn in New York City.

Cole told Vogue at the event, “I still can’t wrap my head around why people want me to wear their clothes. It means a lot that this is coming from my play; I wrote this play and this character that is very much my voice and that other artists whose work I admire are responding to it and wanting to include me in their world, it’s everything.”

Newly engaged couple Justin Theroux and Nicole Brydon Bloom wore matching outfits at the event, which was also attended by Patti LuPone, Martha Stewart, Issa Rae, and The Gilded Age...

Afraid is set to earn one of Blumhouse's worst wide release opening weekends in many years. The 2024 horror movie, which follows a family who beta tests a new AI assistant whose desire to help them turns deadly, was written and directed by Chris Weitz and stars John Cho, Katherine Waterston, Havana Rose Liu, and David Dastmalchian. The Afraid movie debuted the same weekend as a variety of new releases, including the political biopic Reagan, the L.A. riots thriller 1992, and the human trafficking drama City of Dreams.

Per Variety, as of Sunday morning, Afraid is projected to debut with a 3-day domestic opening weekend of $3.7 million and a 4-day Labor Day holiday weekend gross of $4.4 million. The movie, which comes with a $12 million price tag, landed at No. 9 on the chart for the weekend, just ahead of weekend 3 of the 15th anniversary re-release of Coraline. That 3-day total is Blumhouse's...

This week has already seen the theatrical re-release of Shaun of the Dead and the Digital debut of Mike Flanagan’s Hush, and that’s only the beginning of this week’s horror releases.

Here’s all the new horror that released Friday, August 30, 2024!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

M. Night Shyamalan’s sixteenth movie Trap was released into theaters by Warner Bros. less than a month ago, and the film has already been released at home today, August 30.

You can rent ($19.99) or purchase ($24.99) Trap on Digital now.

Saleka Shyamalan, Josh Hartnett and Ariel Donoghue star. “A father and teen daughter attend a pop concert, where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Meagan Navarro wrote in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “It’s a simple thriller in terms of plotting, but the film’s complexities lie within its deeply complicated characters.

The use of prominent virtual assistants, such as Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, Samsung’s Bixby, and Ibm’s Watson, is a popular subject. Popular and prominent home service devices have become so commonplace in society that they have recently found their way into the lexicon of worldwide storytelling. The new Blumhouse film, AfrAId, is no exception.

Many of these movies, like the acclaimed film Her (and you can even go farther back to 2001: A Space Odyssey), can be seen in cinemas, on televisions, and on phones via streaming services near you. They have become such staples that I still hope Ask Jeeves will return. These films can be thoughtful, enlightening, and even entertaining.

However, AfrAId is not one of them.

John Cho in AfrAId (2024) | Image via Sony Entertainment Related“We can do something good”: John Wick 4 Star Keanu Reeves Was Cast in Cowboy...

It’s extremely tempting to joke that AfrAId feels as though it is written and directed by artificial intelligence. Riddled with plot threads that go nowhere, characters whose arcs happen off-screen between scenes, and enough holes in its strained internal logic that it’s charitable to even say it retains...

Though it was hardly the first thriller to portray domesticity imperiled by an artificially intelligent “helper”, the runaway success of 2022’s “M3GAN” certainly lent that concept new commercial appeal. Unsurprisingly, Blumhouse isn’t waiting for next summer’s “M3GAN 2.0” to capitalize on its own success. Writer-director Chris Weitz’s “Afraid” (recently retitled with an “AI” spin from the previously announced “They Listen”) stars John Cho and Katherine Waterston as a married couple whose home is selected to test a new “digital family assistant.” Needless to say, it soon develops a dangerous mind of its own.

This less tongue-in-cheek traipse through formulaic sci-fi horror terrain works well enough to a point, its setup nicely handled by Weitz and his cast. But when crises start occurring at the halfway mark, they pile on too quickly to underwhelming effect, sacrificing credibility for excitement that never really materializes. Opening without press screenings, the...

This week’s movie lineup is packed with excitement, from spine-chilling horrors to nostalgic favourites. With a strong focus on horror, it’s clear that scares and throwbacks are taking center stage! The Crow makes a dramatic return, with Bill Skarsgård as Eric Draven, a musician resurrected for revenge, directed by Rupert Sanders. Afraid, a sci-fi horror from Blumhouse, delves into the dangers of technology as a smart home assistant turns deadly.

Anime fans can enjoy Blue Lock: Episode Nagi, an exciting sports drama about a high school soccer prodigy’s journey in the Blue Lock Project. Adding action, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram stars Nani as a vigilante fighting for justice, mixing action and drama. The comedy-drama Pad Gaye Pange offers laughs and life lessons as two men navigate the chaos of an unexpected cancer diagnosis. For a more heartwarming experience, Sensory-Friendly Screening of Inside Out 2, offering a comfortable and inclusive...

Labor Day weekend has always been hit or miss for movie theaters, and the odds and ends released this weekend do not bode particularly well for the final holiday weekend of the summer. Essentially, this is another weekend where we have one bigger release and a bunch of smaller films, with many arriving into a vague number of theaters nationwide. Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.

Opening the widest in 3,000 theaters is the new high-concept horror movie “Afraid” from Sony and Blumhouse, written and directed by Chris Weitz (“About a Boy”) and starring John Cho, Katherine Waterston and Havana Rose Liu (“Bottoms”). It’s about a family selected to test out a Siri-like device called “Aia” which is meant to provide the family with anything it can possibly need … and it won’t let anything get in that family’s way either.

Being so high concept and...

Incoming is a teen comedy film written and directed by Dave and John Chernin. The Netflix film follows the story of four teen friends as they go to their first high school party, which turns out to be one of the most memorable nights of their lives. Incoming stars Mason Thames, Raphael Alejandro, Bardia Seiri, Ramon Reed, Bobby Cannavale, Kaitlin Olson, Isabella Ferreira, and Ali Gallo. So, if you loved the carefree vibes, hilarious comedy, and the insane story in Incoming here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Project X (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Warner Bros.

Project X is a found-footage teen comedy film directed by Nima Nourizadeh from a screenplay co-written by Matt Drake and Michael Bacall. The 2012 film follows the story of three high school seniors who decide to throw a party to gain popularity amongst their peers but their plans to throw a...

Blumhouse Productions, the powerhouse of modern horror, continues to expand its terrifying empire with a series of new releases and the launch of a dedicated website for Atomic Monster, the production company helmed by acclaimed director and producer James Wan. As a long-time collaborator and friend of Blumhouse, Wan has made his mark in the horror genre with films that blend supernatural elements with visceral scares, and now, fans can explore his work more deeply with the launch of Atomic Monster’s new official site.

The Atomic Monster website is designed to be the ultimate destination for horror enthusiasts, offering insights into the studio’s past successes, current projects, and the creative minds behind them. With the launch, Blumhouse and Atomic Monster bring fans closer to the action, providing sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes content that will thrill and terrify in equal measure.

Speak No Evil

Among the many upcoming releases,...

It’s almost August, which means two things: It’s the last month of the summer movie season, and we’re into the traditional “Dog Days of Summer” when studios often dump a lot of crap in hopes that moviegoers, at least those not taking their last-minute vacations, might go see them. Oddly, this month we also have a number of original films with just two franchise reboots, and a couple movies based on popular books and one video game. Read on for Gold Derby’s August 2024 box office preview.

“Alien: Romulus” (20th Century – Aug. 16)

Uruguyan filmmaker Fede Alvarez (“Don’t Breathe”) is the latest director to take over this long-running horror sci-fi franchise that began all the way back in 1979 with Ridley Scott‘s “Alien.” Scott is still involved as a producer after directing “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant” in 2012 and 2017, respectively, the former being the highest-grossing movie in the franchise with $402.4 million worldwide.

Formerly titled They Listen, Blumhouse’s upcoming horror movie Afraid tackles the threat of AI later this summer, and the official MPA rating for the film has arrived this week.

Like many other Blumhouse horror movies before it, Afraid is rated “PG-13” for “Sexual material, some strong violence, some strong language, and thematic material.”

John Cho (Searching) and Katherine Waterston (Alien: Covenant) star in Afraid from Sony, Blumhouse, and Depth of Field. The film releases in theaters on August 30.

In Afraid, “Curtis (Cho) and his family are selected to test a revolutionary new home device: a digital family assistant called Aia. Taking smart home to the next level, once the unit and all its sensors and cameras are installed in their home, Aia seems able to do it all.

“She learns the family’s behaviors and begins to anticipate their needs. And she can make sure nothing — and no one...

Un asistente digital que anticipa tus necesidades… © Sony Pictures

Sony Pictures ha publicado el primer tráiler y el póster de su nueva película de terror y ciencia ficción “Afraid”, traducida en España como “Diabólica”, de Blumhouse.

En “Diabólica”, Curtis (Cho) y su familia son seleccionados para probar un nuevo y revolucionario dispositivo doméstico: un asistente familiar digital llamado Aia. Una vez que la unidad y todos sus sensores y cámaras están instalados en su casa, Aia parece capaz de hacerlo todo. Aprende los comportamientos de la familia y empieza a anticiparse a sus necesidades. Y puede asegurarse de que nada – ni nadie – se interponga en el camino de su familia.

“Diabólica” está escrita y dirigida por Chris Weitz (“La Brújula Dorada”) y protagonizada por John Cho (“Searching…”), Katherine Waterston (“Slow Horses”), Riki Lindhome (“Navidad en Candy Cane Lane”), Havana Rose Liu (“Bottoms”) y David Dastmalchian (“Oppenheimer”).

“Diabólica” se estrena en cines el 30 de agosto.

Sony Pictures has debuted the brand new trailer for Afraid, an upcoming sci-fi horror film from Academy Award-nominated writer/director Chris Weitz (Operation Finale; About a Boy; American Pie) that introduces a whole new kind of terror to the world with Aia, who is basically a Siri-like family assistant that takes her job way, way too seriously.

The film's synopsis reveals, "Curtis (John Cho) and his family are selected to test a revolutionary new home device: a digital family assistant called Aia. Taking smart home to the next level, once the unit and all its sensors and cameras are installed in their home, Aia seems able to do it all. She learns the family's behaviors and begins to anticipate their needs. And she can make sure nothing – and no one – gets in her family’s way."

The cast features John Cho (Star Trek; Searching; Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle...

It’s John Cho versus technology again in Afraid. Here’s the trailer for Blumhouse’s latest high-tech horror flick.

John Cho is no stranger to grappling with technology in high-stakes scenarios. Cho was the star of 2018’s Searching, one of the most successful film’s in the screenlife format. That film took place within the confines of a laptop screen, and throughout its runtime we saw Cho play a terrified parent grappling with his missing daughter’s laptop as he raced against time to uncover its hidden secrets and find out where she was. The film spawned a sequel (that Cho was not part of) called Missing, which released last year.

Having taken on the might of a Macbook, Cho is returning to duel with technology once again, this time in Afraid. Blumhouse Productions and Sony Pictures have released the trailer for the film, which sees Cho and his...

What if your Amazon Alexa or Siri had evil intentions? Given the accelerated evolution of artificial intelligence, that's not even a radical thought anymore. It's a concept that has been toyed with in countless horror and science fiction films throughout the decades. The latest to tackle destructive AI is the upcoming Blumhouse and Colombia Pictures film Afraid, formerly titled They Listen.

When Curtis (John Cho) and his family are specially selected to test out a new digital assistant named Aia, they're in for a treat—at first. Aia uses cameras and special censors throughout the house to monitor Curtis, his wife, and their children.

Slowly, Aia starts to learn everything about her new family, including their likes, dislikes, and secrets. Aia takes it upon herself to act like "another mom," and she won't let anyone or anything harm her family. One moment in the newly released trailer teases Aia getting...

When done right, AI seems cool and harmless — right? At least that’s what the family in the upcoming thriller “Afraid” believed. Columbia Pictures and Blumhouse released the official trailer on Wednesday — it paints an eerie picture of a future those afraid of artificial intelligence fear may come true.

“In Afraid, Curtis (John Cho) and his family are selected to test a revolutionary new home device: a digital family assistant called Aia. Taking smart home to the next level, once the unit and all its sensors and cameras are installed in their home, Aia seems able to do it all. She learns the family’s behaviors and begins to anticipate their needs. And she can make sure nothing – and no one – gets in her family’s way,” the official synopsis states.

The trailer starts off rather pleasant —keeping viewers unaware of the dark twist to come. The family installs an...

Sony Pictures has released the official trailer and poster for Afraid, the new thriller from Blumhouse that was previously titled “They Listen.”

Written and directed by Chris Weitz, the film centers on Curtis (John Cho) and his family, who are selected to test a revolutionary new home device: a digital family assistant called Aia.

Taking smart home to the next level, once the unit and all its sensors and cameras are installed in their home, Aia seems able to do it all. She learns the family’s behaviors and begins to anticipate their needs.

And she can make sure nothing – and no one – gets in her family’s way.

In addition to John Cho, the film stars Katherine Waterston, Havana Rose Liu, and Lukita Maxwell, with David Dastmalchian and Keith Carradine.

Jason Blum, Chris Weitz, and Andrew Miano produced the film, which the Motion Picture Association has not yet rated.