Box Office: 'Birds of Prey' Grounded With $33.3M Bow - Hollywood Reporter

The Margot Robbie-led DC superhero pic opened almost $20 million behind expectations.

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn failed to gain altitude in its box office debut, earning a tepid $33.3 million from 4,236 theaters to mark one of the lowest domestic launches in modern times for a studio superhero pic.

The female-led film was never meant to score a mega-opening since it is a spinoff and sports an R rating. Still, the Warner Bros. and DC title had been tracking to start off with at least $50 million to $55 million in North America, a decent start.

Birds of Prey was the weekend's only new wide release and had no trouble placing No. 1, even if it disappointed.

Cathy Yan directed the Suicide Squad spinoff, which sees Margot Robbie reprise her role as Harley Quinn. DCEU newcomers Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Black Canary), Rosie Perez (Renee Montoya), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Huntress) and Ewan McGregor also star. Sue Kroll, Robbie and Bryan Unkeless produced.

The film faced challenges before getting to the big screen. Reshoots were ordered after the studio saw a first cut, with John Wick director Chad Stahelski enlisted to work alongside Yan and infuse Birds with more action.

Before now, the lowest opener in the DC Extended Universe was Shazam! with $53 million, not adjusted for inflation. Among other superhero titles with low openings, last year's X-Men installment Dark Phoenix debuted to $32.8 million domestically (that film cost far more to make than Birds of Prey).

The hope now is that Yan's moviewill make up ground over Presidents Day weekend and in subsequent weeks, particularly if females start to flock to the film in big numbers.

So far, Birds of Prey is skewing male (53 percent), according to leading exit polling service PostTrak. CinemaScore, which only surveys a smattering of cinemas on Friday, showed a different result, with females making up 51 percent of its respondents.

Birds of Prey earned strong reviews, while receiving a B+ CinemaScore. One dampener could be the film's R-rating, which automatically makes it difficult for teenagers to partake. On Friday, 73 percent of ticket buyers were 25 and under, according to PostTrak.

The pic, which cost $85 million to make before marketing, also came in behind expectations in its international launch, although full weekend numbers weren't immediately available. In parts of Asia — including South Korea, a haven for superhero fare— the film was impacted by fears over the coronavirus.

Birds of Prey is another blow for Warner Bros., which has suffered a string of misses or underperformers in recent months. The big exception is Joker, which is up for a leading 11 nominations at today's Academy Awards ceremony, with Joaquin Phoenix considered a shoo-in for best actor.

Elsewhere, Sony hit Bad Boys for Life fell to No. 2 in its fourth weekend with $12 million for a domestic cume of $166.3 million.

Best picture contender 1917 saw a nice boost on the eve of the Oscars, declining just 5 percent to $9 million for a domestic cume of $132.5 million. The Amblin and Unviersal release marched to another $15.2 million overseas for a foreign tally of $154.8 million and $287.3 million globally.

Specialty pics Parasite and Jojo Rabbit, which are also up for top honors at the Oscars, likewise saw nice bump. Parasite earned another $1.5 million, a gain of 9 percent from last weekend, for a domestic total of $35.5 million. Jojo, which was up 13 percent, likewise grossed $1.5 million for a domestic cume of $30.3 million and $74.3 million globally.

Dolittle placed fourth domestically with $6.7 million for a domestic cume of $64 million and $94.7 million globally.

Jumanji: The Next Level rounded out the top five with $5.5 million for a domestic total of $298.6 million.

Knives Out, which placed No. 8 in its eleventh weekend, all but jumped the $300 million mark globally after earning another $2.4 million domestically and $1.3 million overseas for a global tally through Sunday of $299.6 million.

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2020-02-09 15:32:26Z
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Oscars 2020: A two-way race, sure bet actors and other key storylines going into the big night - NBC News

The red carpet is rolling out early this year. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is holding the 92nd edition of the Oscars on Sunday (8 p.m. ET on ABC) after more than a decade of hosting the ceremony closer to March. But aside from that calendar shift, this year's Oscars race has been greeted by all the usual horse-race prognosticating and cultural chatter, from debates over the violence of "Joker" to consternation over the absence of female directing nominees. Here's a look at some of the top storylines heading into the host-free ceremony.

Two-way race?

What began as a relatively wide-open battle for best picture steadily turned into what many Oscars pundits consider a one-on-one fight between "1917," an intense portrait of the horrors of World War I, and "Parasite," a genre-bending tale of class warfare.

The top films each go into the night with hefty accolades that could prove to be bellwethers:

"1917," with its technical virtuosity and historical gravitas, is the more conventional Oscar contender. And yet the darkly comic "Parasite" taps into timely concerns about global economic inequality. "Parasite" also gives the academy a chance to make history: Bong’s film would become the first foreign-language film to win top honors at the Oscars.

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But there is still a possibility that one of three other movies vying for best picture emerges as a consensus choice. Martin Scorsese's sweeping mob saga "The Irishman," Todd Phillips' edgy supervillain origin story "Joker" and Quentin Tarantino's nostalgic buddy comedy "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood" all ride into the ceremony with at least 10 nods apiece.

James Mangold's "Ford v Ferrari," Taika Waititi's "Jojo Rabbit," Greta Gerwig's "Little Women" and Noah Baumbach's "Marriage Story" round out the list of best picture nominees.

Little suspense among actors

Joaquin Phoenix ("Joker"), Renée Zellweger ("Judy"), Brad Pitt ("Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood") and Laura Dern ("Marriage Story") might as well start fine-tuning their acceptance speeches.

The four performers are widely considered locks in their respective categories after cleaning up at other industry ceremonies and critics’ association events, including the Golden Globes. The sense of inevitability deprives the acting races of giddy suspense and could potentially sap the telecast of surprises that sometimes make for must-see TV.

"They’re locked and loaded," said Tom O’Neil, a veteran awards analyst of the website Gold Derby. "Phoenix and Zellweger, especially. They both give the ‘most’ performance — the biggest, the splashiest, the most bombastic — and Oscar voters often go for that style."

The acting competitions at major award shows have been fairly predictable in recent years. But unexpected wins — Adrien Brody ("The Pianist") beating out Jack Nicholson and Daniel Day-Lewis in 2003, Roberto Benigni ("Life Is Beautiful") toppling Tom Hanks and Edward Norton in 1999 — have led to some of the most rewatchable moments in the annals of the Academy Awards.

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O’Neil believes the performer with the best shot of staging an upset is Scarlett Johansson for her supporting turn as an anti-fascist single mother in "Jojo Rabbit," saying he "wouldn’t rule her out." Johansson is a double nominee this year, having also been recognized for her lead role in "Marriage Story."

Headline-grabbing moments

The academy is ditching a host for the second year in a row, apparently deciding last year’s format — Kevin Hart stepped aside after some of his old homophobic tweets resurfaced — worked just fine. The absence of an emcee means viewers will not be treated to a topical monologue, but that is not to say the ceremony itself will lack headline-grabbing moments. If previous editions are any guide, this year’s Oscars could feature buzzy one-liners and nods to real-world issues.

It’s possible a presenter will bring up the lack of gender equity in the best director category, just like Natalie Portman at the 2017 Golden Globes, when she pointedly introduced the "all-male nominees." Maybe another star will allude to the turmoil at the academy behind the Grammy Awards, nod to ex-mogul Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault trial in New York, or joke about President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.

It’s not inconceivable a winner will use their acceptance speech to push for action around major issues, such as climate change, or the 2020 presidential election. Patricia Arquette provides a model of how to carve out time for activism at awards shows, having decried the potential for war with Iran at this year’s Golden Globes and rallied for transgender equality at last fall’s Emmy Awards.

Daniel Arkin

Daniel Arkin is a reporter for NBC News.

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2020-02-09 14:15:00Z
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Oscars 2020: Yes, 'Parasite' Could Win Best Picture - NPR

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Lee Sun-kyun and Jo Yeo-jeong play the wealthy Parks in Parasite. Neon hide caption

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The idea that Bong Joon-ho's Parasite could win best picture is not only not original to me; it's been gaining ground since the cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for best ensemble cast. That win was notably predicted by Chris Feil in a piece at Vulture that now looks — of course — wildly prescient.

Chris also thinks it's going to win best picture at the Oscars on Sunday. Is that a statistical good bet, given past patterns? Of course not. Could it happen? Sure.

One of the things that makes statistical analysis of the Oscars, and especially the best picture race, so difficult is that they completely changed the best picture field beginning with the awards handed out in 2010, doubling the number of nominees from five to ten. Two years later, they changed it again, so there would be between five and ten nominees, depending on nomination voting. While the purpose of the expanded field was originally understood to be a desire to recognize high-quality "popular" films and maybe boost TV ratings for the ceremony (The Dark Knight was the spurned film most often mentioned as a potential beneficiary), what's happened certainly seems to be that smaller films have wiggled their way in. (That may be why there was a recent attempt to create a separate "best popular film" category — an idea that was quickly dumped.)

There's no control group that can tell you which five nominees in a nine-nominee year like this one would have been nominated under the old rules, so it's all speculation in good fun. But consider, for instance, that only eleven foreign language films have ever been nominated in 92 rounds of nominees, and three of those (Amour, Roma and now Parasite) have been nominated since the field was expanded 10 years ago. Does Parasite make it in a five-nominee year, given the likelihood of nominations for at least traditional Oscars-y movies like The Irishman (mob movie with previously-winning director), 1917 (war movie with previously-winning director), Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (auteur violence), Little Women (gorgeous and wonderful period piece by previously-nominated director) and Marriage Story (domestic drama with A-list actors)?

I think the likelihood is that until relatively recently, Parasite wouldn't have even been nominated, so there's not a very big group of wins to compare it to. Thus, not having won the Producers Guild Award (often considered a very powerful precursor to the Oscars) or not having its individual actors nominated is certainly noteworthy as to patterns, but making too much out of those things seems like a mistake.

This is going to be a weird year no matter what — 1917 is a solid pick for front-runner via conventional wisdom, but it would also be an unconventional winner, in that the two actors in its main cast had relatively low profiles previously and it didn't land a single SAG award nomination. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is on a lot of people's prediction ballots, but it just doesn't feel to me like it has momentum outside of Brad Pitt's performance, and it feels like a weird moment in industry history to go out of your way to honor such an old-fashioned, kind of retro vision of film. On the one hand, there's a long tradition of Hollywood loving movies about itself (Argo, The Artist, and so on). But on the other, the Oscars are how Hollywood tells itself a story about what it values, regardless of whether its collective behavior suggests it values anything of the kind. Do people really want to declare right now that what they think is most important is this particular violent fantasy?

The bottom line is that all of this stuff is both important and unimportant — the Oscars have tendencies, but they don't have rules that you can rely on.

The argument for Parasite is this: It has plenty of people who absolutely adore it, which is important, because to win best picture, you need enough people who have ranked your movie first — you can't win by being everybody's second choice. (How that works is explained elsewhere; please don't make me do it here, because it makes my head hurt.) But if you have a good chunk of first-place votes, it's important to have a lot of second- and third-place votes, too. That's why if you can combine people who love your movie with people who like your movie, that's a way to win. I have always suspected this might be how Moonlight won over La La Land. Even people who didn't love Moonlight generally really liked it, while people who didn't love La La Land might very well have ranked it low or last.

I haven't really talked to any hard-core Parasite-in-last-place people, even though I know they exist, and undoubtedly there will be those who simply won't vote for a foreign-language film. Still, I don't get the sense that there's a significant faction dragging it down, putting it last. I don't think that will hold true for Joker, or Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, or even The Irishman — the latter because I suspect a chunk of voters retain a little bit of Netflix resentment. Again, it's all speculation. But the Parasite theory would be that an Academy that's ready to nominate foreign-language films two years in a row is ready to give one the win. Bong Joon-ho seems to be hugely well-liked, the movie is fantastic (entertaining and artful), and it just ... it feels possible. That's my thesis. My thesis is that it feels possible — although Bong winning best director while something else wins best picture does, too. (I know, I know — I've got more hedges than the end of The Shining.)

With that said, I am a terrible prognosticator, so even though I stuck with this prediction during our Oscars preview show, if I had actual money on the line, I might bet against myself.

I'll still be hoping, though.

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2020-02-09 10:00:00Z
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Susan Rice tells Snoop Dogg to 'back the **** off' Gayle King after rapper's profane video; he later denies... - Fox News

Former national security adviser Susan Rice told Snoop Dogg to “back the **** off” from CBS News journalist Gayle King after the rapper slammed King for an interview she did about late NBA legend Kobe Bryant.

King came under attack on social media last week after a clip from a recent interview she did with former WNBA star Lisa Leslie that included a question about Bryant’s 2003 sexual assault allegation went viral.

“We expect more from you, Gayle,” Snoop Dogg said in an Instagram video last week. “Respect the family and back off, b---h, before we come get you," he added along with other disparaging remarks.

 “We expect more from you, Gayle. Respect the family and back off, b---h, before we come get you."

— Snoop Dogg

GAYLE KING ‘VERY ANGRY’ AT CBS NEWS OVER ‘OUT-OF-CONTEXT’ KOBE BRYANT CLIP

In response, Rice tweeted, “This is despicable. Gayle King is one of the most principled, fair and tough journalists alive. Snoop, back the **** off. You come for @GayleKing, you come against an army. You will lose, and it won’t be pretty.”

"Snoop, back the **** off. You come for @GayleKing, you come against an army. You will lose, and it won’t be pretty."

— Susan Rice

Oprah Winfrey said Friday that King has received death threats and is now traveling with security.

Susan Rice faced off against Snoop Dogg over Gayle King's recent interview regarding late NBA star Kobe Bryant.

In a later Instagram video, Snoop Dogg clarified that he is a “non-violent” person, adding he didn’t want any harm to come to King and he wasn’t threatening her. He said he just wants her to “have a little more respect for Vanessa, her babies and Kobe Bryant’s legacy."

CBS News President Susan Zirinsky on Saturday called any threats against King “despicable.”

“We fully support Gayle King and her integrity as a journalist. We find the threats against her or any journalist doing their job reprehensible,” she said.

Snoop Dogg had joined with others, including LeBron James, 50 Cent and even Bill Cosby, in criticizing King for asking Leslie whether Bryant's legacy had been complicated by the accusation that he raped a woman at a Colorado resort in 2003. Bryant said the two had consensual sex, and the case was thrown out when his accuser decided not to testify. Bryant later apologized for his behavior and settled a civil suit.

“CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King was absent Friday after she criticized her network.

King called the social media clip distributed by CBS from the wide-ranging interview “out of context," adding that she was "very angry" with the network.

Zirinsky said the interview was “comprehensive and thoughtful.”

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., also stood up for King.

“For those threatening her and inciting violence, stop it immediately,” he tweeted. “This is unacceptable. We must do better.”

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MSNBC’s Willie Geist tweeted that “the threats against Gayle King for asking a fair question in the course of a long interview are absolutely disgusting. Gayle is one of the most thoughtful people in our business.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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2020-02-09 08:43:59Z
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TV actor Robert Conrad, star of 'The Wild Wild West,' dead at 84 - NBCNews.com

Actor Robert Conrad, best known for 1960s and '70s television series "The Wild, Wild West," ""Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Hawaiian Eye," died Saturday in Malibu, California, of heart failure, a spokesman for his family said. He was 84.

"He lived a wonderfully long life and while the family is saddened by his passing, he will live forever in their hearts," spokesman Jeff Ballard said in a statement.

Conrad's star was catalyzed when he was cast as Tom Lopaka on the ABC hit "Hawaiian Eye" in 1959.

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Actor Robert Conrad died Saturday in Malibu, California, at age 84.

In 1965 he landed the lead role, that of Jim West, on CBS' "The Wild, Wild, West." The next decade he starred in "The D.A." and "Assignment: Vienna."

In 1978 he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his work on the NBC action series "Baa Baa Black Sheep." The previous year he won a People’s Choice Award for the role.

The disco era saw Conrad in TV commercials for Eveready, daring people to "knock this battery off my shoulder."

In the coming decades, he moved into directing movies and TV shows.

Born in Chicago on March 1, 1935, Conrad sang in a club at night while delivering milk during the day, according to Ballard. In 1958 he moved to Hollywood to pursue show business, he said.

He was signed to Warner Brothers, which put him to work on "Hawaiian Eye" through 1963.

Conrad's trophy shelf includes the Distinguished Service Award in Broadcasting and membership in the Stuntman's Hall of Fame, Ballard said.

Conrad, who was married twice, is survived by eight children and eighteen grandchildren, Ballard said.

Dennis Romero

Dennis Romero writes for NBC News and is based in Los Angeles.

Diana Dasrath

Diana Dasrath is entertainment producer and senior reporter for NBC News covering all platforms.

Michelle Acevedo and Joe Studley contributed.

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2020-02-09 01:11:00Z
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Adam Sandler Laughs Off All the ‘Motherf—-ers’ at the Oscars in Epic Spirit Awards Speech - Variety

Adam Sandler may have been snubbed by the Academy, but just like when he lost his high school yearbook superlative for “best looking” to some “feather-headed douchebag,” he’s taking it all in stride.

During his acceptance speech for best male lead at Saturday’s Independent Spirit Awards, the “Uncut Gems” star went full Sandman on stage, poking fun at everyone from directors Josh and Bennie Safdie to Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and producer Scott Rudin.

Read his full speech below:

Thank you, man, I know you guys all try to go quick and my speech is too long so I’ll try to breeze through it. And I love you. Just in case they cut me off, I love you to my wife and my kids and my family and I love you. Okay. I wrote a speech here we go, real quick. Hello my name is Adam Sandler.

Thank you. I stand before you trembling with glee as I receive your so-called best actor trophy independently speaking, of course.

First off, it’s great to see our host Aubrey Plaza again. Aubrey and I did a move entitled funny people 11 years ago. That was actually the last time critics pretended not to hate me for five f—ing minutes. Catch you in another 11 years, Aubrey.

I liked to also give a shout out to my fellow nominees, who will now and forever be known as the guys to lost to f—ing Adam Sandler. How did that happen? Independent movie Adam Sandler? To get my movie I had to live in my car outside of f—ing Ralph’s begging for nickels on f—ing Kickstarter, and all Sandler had to do was get Ted Sarandos stoned. 

A few weeks back when I was “snubbed” by the Academy, it reminded me when I briefly attended high school and was overlooked for the coveted yearbook superlative category best looking. That accolade was given to a jean-jacket wearing, feather-haired douchebag by name the of Skipper Jenkins. But my classmates did honor me with the allegedly less-prestiges designation of best personality. And tonight as I look around this room, I realize the Independent Spirit Awards are the best personality awards of Hollywood.

So let all of those feather-haired douchebag motherf—-ers get their Oscars tomorrow night. Their handsome good looks will fade in time, while our independent personalities will shine on forever.

I’ve got more, I’m sorry, I got cruise through this. But in all seriousness, independent films have been a big part of the Adam Sandler ecosystem. From my first film,  a fearless look in the American education system through the eyes of a privileged sociopath by the name of Billy f—ing Madison, to my searing exploration of American college foosball and it’s manipulation of socially challenged athletes like the Mr. Bobby Boucher. I have tried to sell my truths with a truly independent spirit, while also cashing some truly disturbingly large paychecks.

Tonight is about “Uncut Gems,” I want to thanks some people first off, of course, the person who shared my life, my home, my laughter, my tears — Scott Rudin. Two years ago, Scott said the words that would forever change my life. “No, those aren’t homeless rabbis, those are the Safdie brothers.”

Honestly, I do want to say thank you to the Safdie brothers for believing in me and thinking of me for this part. I really had the best time getting to know you guys, I love you guys and I am glad we are tight now.

I want to say thank you to anybody who ever working on any of the comedies I did over the years. I love you, and I am glad we did all of that work together. And the Safdies and Noah and everybody liked our stuff enough to put me their stuff.

I truly I want to thank my kids for reading “Uncut Gems” and saying, “Dad, you gotta f—ing do this movie. Fantastic stuff.” And my wife, I love you. Thank for running lines with me and thanks for hanging out with me, and we had some fun on this one, so I love you. And thanks to everybody for this — a great night, I appreciate it.

Watch the full speech above.

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2020-02-09 00:52:00Z
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Actor Robert Conrad, best known for 'The Wild Wild West,' dead at 84 - Page Six

Robert Conrad, the square-jawed actor best known for his role in the television show “The Wild, Wild West,” died Saturday in Malibu, California, of heart failure, a family spokesman said. He was 84.

Born in Chicago, Conrad worked as a milkman and a local nightclub singer before moving to Los Angeles in 1958. His first big recurring role was on “Hawaiian Eye” in 1959.

He went on to star as Secret Service agent James T. West in “The Wild Wild West,” which ran from 1965 to 1969.

From 1976 to 1978, he played World War II fighter Greg “Pappy” Boyington in “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” later renamed “Black Sheep Squadron.”

Conrad performed in multiple other television shows and movies, along with directing and producing in the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2008, he hosted a radio program on CRN Digital Talk Radio called “The PM Show with Robert Conrad.”

He also used his tough-guy image in commercials, including a classic series where he appeared with an Eveready battery on his shoulder and said, “I dare you to knock it off!”

He was married twice, to Joan Kenlay, with whom he had five children, from 1952 to 1977, and to LaVelda Ione Fann, with whom he had three children, from 1983 to 2010.

With Post wires

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2020-02-08 23:45:00Z
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