Buddy the Elf is back…although not like anyone could imagine. Will Ferrell unexpectedly dressed up as his iconic character from Jon Favreau’s 2003 Christmas comedy “Elf” while attending the Dec. 29 hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers. Only this iteration of Buddy was looking quite disheveled with five o’clock shadow and […]

Leading Spanish production house Morena Films is teaming with A Contracorriente Films, one of Spain’s top indie distributors, and “The Beasts” French co-producer Noodle Productions to produce “Fairy Queen” (“Reina de las Hadas,” “Reina de les fades” in Catalan), a feature inspired by “Paris 70” which was shortlisted on Dec. 17 for the 97th Oscars. […]

Hit by last year’s Hollywood’s strikes, total box office in 2024 in Spain dipped 2% compared to 2023, breaking three consecutive years of recovery over 2021-23, Comscore Movies Spain announced Monday. At 71 million admissions, attendance edged down 5% compared to last year. At €477 million ($496.1 million), total box office in Spain was 29% […]

Michael Moore has joined the production team of “From Ground Zero” — the recently shortlisted Palestinian entry for the 97th Academy Awards’ best international film category — as executive producer. A collection of shorts made by 22 Palestinian filmmakers living through war in present day Gaza, “From Ground Zero” blends animation, documentary and fiction to “capture the […]

Woo Min-ho’s historical drama “Harbin” stormed to the top of the South Korean box office for the weekend of Dec. 27-29. The film, set in 1909, follows Korean independence activists plotting the assassination of Japan’s Prime Minister during their quest for independence. Starring Hyun Bin, Park Jeong-min and Jeon Yeo-been, “Harbin” earned $5.9 million over […]

Beta Fiction Spain, the No. 1 independent distributor in the country this year thanks to a barn-storming €8.0 million ($8.3 million) box office gross from Arantxa Echevarría’s “Undercover,” is set to produce new films from Marcel Barrena and Dani de la Orden, directors of two other big 2024 Spanish breakouts: “El 47” and “A House […]

Gal Gadot is opening up about her experience undergoing emergency surgery for a blood clot in her brain during pregnancy, which then resulted in the birth of her fourth daughter. In a post on social media on Sunday night, the “Wonder Woman” and “Fast and Furious” actor revealed that she was diagnosed with a “massive” […]

Linda Lavin, star of CBS’ long-running sitcom “Alice” and a Tony winner for Neil Simon’s play “Broadway Bound” who remained active in TV and on stage, died Sunday. She was 87. A representative for Lavin confirmed the actress died unexpectedly Sunday due to complications from lung cancer that had been recently discovered. As recently as […]

Abu Dhabi is stepping up efforts to lure more film and TV shoots to the United Arab Emirates’ capital by enhancing its new rebate, which is now set to reach up to 50% of qualified below-the-line spend starting in January. After becoming a prime Middle East hub for Hollywood and Bollywood productions over the past decade, […]

The final weekend of 2024 witnessed a significant upswing in China’s box office, with Gengxi Pictures’ “Big World” leading the charge by grossing $28.2 million (RMB200 million), according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. Directed by Yang Lina, the film stars Jackson Yee as Chunhu, a young man with cerebral palsy who assists his […]

SZA’s “SOS” returns to the top of the albums chart (it was at No. 15 in the previous week) following the release of its deluxe reissue, a 15-song extension dubbed “Lana.” This is the 11th total week at No. 1 for the Grammy-winning record that debuted in December 2022. Prior to “Lana,” “SOS'” final week […]

Kieran Turner, a documentary filmmaker who created the web series “Wallflowers,” died Dec. 23 in West Hollywood. He was 56. Turner’s death after a battle with cancer was confirmed by Christy Grosz, president of CLG3 Communications. In addition to creating “Wallflowers,” Turner wrote and produced the online web series which ran for two seasons from […]

A young Jimmy Carter was no stranger to gospel music growing up in the small rural town of Plains, Georgia during the ’20s and early ’30’. He heard it sung by Black tenant farmers working on his father’s land. He heard it too during 24-hour gospel sings that occurred every fifth Sunday, where quartets, local […]

Travis Kelce hosted “Saturday Night Live” in March 2023. Now, “SNL” cast member Heidi Gardner is giving the behind-the-scenes details on how she got him to host in the first place. On an episode of the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, Gardner said that “the biggest swing I ever did in that department, and […]

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, who may have left an even greater legacy with his efforts in his post-White House years, in which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in resolving international conflicts, died Sunday. He was 100. Carter had entered hospice care in 2023 after surviving […]

Marvel has released the first trailer for its new animated series “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.” The show follows a parallel timeline where Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, is mentored by Norman Osborn, the alter-ego of his archenemy the Green Goblin, instead of Tony Stark like in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cast members include Hudson Thames as […]

Universal’s “Wicked” is officially the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation in global box office history, overtaking 2008’s “Mamma Mia” to notch the harmonious milestone. “Wicked” has generated $634 million worldwide after six weeks of release while “Mamma Mia” amassed $611 million (not adjusted for inflation) by the end of its box office run. “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande […]

Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” and Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” are duking it out for first place at the North American box office with each of the family friendly films bringing in roughly $60 million over the five days since Christmas. Based on estimates, “Sonic 3” was ever-so-slightly ahead during the traditional weekend ($38 […]

Charles Dolan, a titan of the early cable industry who owned Cablevision, launched HBO and AMC Network and later branched out into iconic New York venues and sports teams, has died. He was 98. Dolan’s death was reported Saturday by Newsday, the Long Island newspaper owned by the Dolan family. Dolan’s influence in shaping the […]