SSN ORIGINALS
SSN Box Office Trending Report for 4/15/16: ‘The Jungle Book’ Fires Up the Box Office While ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Readies for Battle
In our ongoing weekly series, SSN Insider will take a deep dive into the film ticket sales of the week leveraging data from the powerhouse ticketing website, MovieTickets.com. Not only will the infographic pinpoint which movies are claiming the largest piece of the pie from day to day in terms of sales but also which film had the biggest uptick in terms of a percentage variance surge and which had the biggest downtick or steepest dive between any two points. (SSN)
On the Set For 4/15/16: Idris Elba Starts Shooting ‘The Dark Tower’, James Cameron Rolls Cameras on ‘Avatar 2’, ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ Finishes Production
Also on this week’s docket, the National Lampoon film A Futile and Stupid Gesture gets rolling, as do Bikini Sunshine with Condola Rashad and Simon Baker’s directorial debut, Breath. Oh, and a little thing called Justice League, Part 1. Meanwhile, Paddy Considine’s latest directorial effort, Journeyman wraps up principal photography. As usual, there’s plenty more, so click the link to read on. (SSN)
OTHER HEADLINES
Everyone Can Relax, AMC Theaters Are Not Going To Allow Texting In Its Theaters After All
Yesterday, AMC Theatres floated the idea of possibly allowing audience members to text during designated screenings at various theaters. The suggested policy was a proposed method of accommodating guests who don’t want to part with their beloved technology. But people didn’t like the idea. In fact, they downright hated it, flooding the company with angry tweets. So AMC, in an effort to save face, quickly dropped the idea, announcing it with a tweet of its own. (CB)
Verizon Readies Next-Gen TV Service for Launch Later This Year
Company is quietly getting ready to launch its next-generation TV service in at least one of its Fios markets later this year. The service will be based on a new set-top box that incorporates some of the technology Verizon acquired from Intel a little over two years ago, and represents a bigger shift towards IP-based technology and a world where traditional pay TV isn’t the only game in town anymore. (VAR)
Marvel and Netflix Place ‘Daredevil’ Showrunners In Charge Of ‘The Defenders’
Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez are set to return as showrunners to the Marvel Universe for the Netflix Original Series Marvel’s The Defenders. Oscar-nominee Drew Goddard will also join the team as an Executive Producer. Show will star Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, and Finn Jones, all reprising their roles as Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, respectively. Production is set to begin at the end of the year. (SF)
AMC Does Not Fear the Walking Dead, Gives a Third Season To ‘Fear the Walking Dead’
Days after the show’s season two premiere, cable net has announced they’ve renewed the companion show for a third season. The second season premiered as the #2 show on cable (behind its sister series The Walking Dead) and the #7 show in all of television. The 16-episode third season will air in 2017. (CS)
Perfect Casting? Gary Oldman Will Play Winston Churchill In World War II Drama, ‘Darkest Hour’
Director Joe Wright is reuniting with his Atonement studio Working Title for the project, which is set in 1940, when Churchill was in his first days as PM. With Britain under serious threat from Germany and the tide looking likely to turn further, Churchill was under pressure to strike a deal with Hitler that would see Britain effectively become a Third Reich puppet stake. (EMP)
The End Is In Sight For ‘Game Of Thrones’, and the Final Two Seasons Might Be Shorter Than Usual
Show’s creators and executive producers, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, are considering shortening the final two seasons. The showrunners believe the iconic fantasy drama will bow with 13 final episodes once the sixth season is over: seven episodes for Season 7 and six for the eighth and final season. Until then, the upcoming — and highly anticipated — sixth season will debut on HBO on Sunday, April 24. (IW)
Trailer Buzz, Part One: ‘The Birth of a Nation’
Fox Searchlight has released the first official teaser trailer of the Sundance smash, written and directed by the film’s star, Nate Parker. The film hits theaters October 7th. (YT)
Trailer Buzz, Part Two: ‘Mr. Robot’
USA Network has dropped the first look at the Golden Globe-winning show’s second season. Starring Rami Malek and Christian Slater, the sensation returns to TV this summer. (LF)