Disney must make before it remakes
Disney must make before it remakes
And more Wes Anderson on the way this year
What to know
The Little Mermaid is heading for lukewarm break even or small profit… Ariel isn’t swimming well overseas which has led to the rare situation of a Disney tentpole doing better domestically. Deadline’s reported numbers indicate the movie will make money for Disney, but not as much as you’d expect considering this is one of their crown jewels and some of its predecessors broke $1B. Which leads to the bigger problem, Disney is running out of 1990s renaissance era animated hits to remake. Instead it will look to tap more recent favs like Moana, but the nostalgia for these newer movies isn’t at the same level, so we can’t expect them to do as well. (Except for Frozen, which will be a massive live-action hit whenever they decide to do it.) The Wrap speculates that Disney might look at live-action-ing Pixar movies, like Brave or The Incredibles, which isn’t a bad idea. But the bottom line is, the Mouse needs to continue making good, original animated films first so that it gives itself something to remake later. 🧜🏾♀️
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Wes Anderson is releasing another movie this year… Asteroid City is on its way to theaters this month, but the visually distinct director has another trick up his sleeve, a new anthology film based on 4 short stories by Roald Dahl called The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. Anderson previously adapted Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox in stop-motion animation, but this new work will be mostly live action with some animation mixed in featuring Rupert Friend, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, and Richard Ayoade. World of Reel reports that it’s coming to Netflix in the fall. As if that wasn’t enough, Anderson is already at work on his next movie starring Michael Cera. Sounds great, can’t wait, will take all the Wes Anderson I can get. 👏
Oppenheimer is rated R… All eyes are on July 21, when Oppenheimer opens up against Barbie and we see if there’s theatrical demand for two major releases. While Matt Damon doesn’t think there’s much rivalry between the two movies, it will be interesting to see which ends up on top. Now that we know the Christopher Nolan biopic is rated R, my money is even more so on Barbie winning the weekend. Also, Oppenheimer’s IMAX film print is 11 miles long and weighs 600 pounds, so my heart goes out to those projectionists. 💣
Taylor Swift fans claim “post-concert amnesia”… Imagining paying thousands of dollars to see Ms. Swift and then forgetting it happened. It turns out selective amnesia brought on by a heightened emotional state is real. So take some deep breaths before you head to the Eras tour. 🎸
How Dave landed Brad Pitt for its season 3 finale… Brad Pitt appeared on a small TV comedy you might have never heard of, but now that you are hearing of, you should check out. It’s called Dave, it’s on Hulu. 📺
Verizon is bundling Netflix and Paramount+ with Showtime for a slight discount… They did it! They reinvented the cable package! 🚠
Dwayne Johnson returning for standalone Fast and Furious film… The Rock is going back to the hits. 🚗
Alicia Keys musical to open off Broadway this fall… This theater’s on fire! 🔥
What’s new
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — June 2 | Animated film in theaters | 🍅 95%
The Boogeyman — June 2 | Stephen King adaptation in theaters | 🍅 65%
Past Lives — June 2 | Indie romantic drama in limited theaters | 🍅 96%
The Idol — June 4 | HBO/Max psychosexual drama series | 🍅 25%
Returning: I Think You Should Leave s3, iCarly s3, Manifest s4, The Eric Andre Show s6
What to watch
I’m a little late to Netflix’s Beef, which seemed, like many Netflix releases, to have a flash-in-the-pan moment upon its release but not much staying power thereafter. Also in the crush of all the shows trying to get in under the Emmys wire, it might have fallen down your list — it did for me. But it’s a wild ride and worth checking out. The show’s genre and tone is hard to nail down, but it follows in the footsteps established by Atlanta and Barry, in that it’s a comedy series that while a half hour isn’t always comedy. Like those shows, Beef goes to some pretty dark places—almost immediately but then much more so later on—as it explores interpersonal despair and misplaced vitriol among the children of immigrants and crushed American dreams set against late stage capitalism. Steve Yeun and Ali Wong give haunting, commanding performances that will stick with you long after the series finale. And speaking of the series finale, the show’s two-part climax is a shocking and deeply emotional gut punch that pays off 8 episodes of building tension in the most surprising and impactful ways. I almost didn’t write this recommendation, but those last two episodes make that whole thing worth it.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!