Charlize Theron is wishing one actress took home a golden statuette for their work.
Theron recently stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote her upcoming movie, The Old Guard 2, when the pair spoke about her co-star, Uma Thurman, and Theron’s recollection of the actress before working with her.
“We knew each other kind of offhand, but I knew her from being a massive fan, just watching her work and always wanted to do something with her,” Theron said. “Because when I came into the action world, she was really, to me, like, the sensei. She was the OG.”
Jimmy Kimmel added, “I agree. She should have won the Academy Award for Kill Bill, right?”
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Theron responded, “A hundred percent. I think men get a lot of credit for these movies.”
“What she did in that film was just so unbelievable. And to me, she’s just such a badass,” the Mad Max: Fury Road actress continued. “Since I’ve been in action movies, I’m like, ‘Who do I want to like work with and do an action sequence with?’ It’s always been Uma Thurman. Always.”
Theron then explained why she was nervous to work with the Pulp Fiction star. “I was definitely intimidated by her especially when she showed up and she was given one sword and we had worked out this whole sequence and she went, ‘I think I want two swords,’” the actress said.
Theron won her best actress Oscar in 2004 for Monster and was nominated in 2006 for North Country and in 2020 for Bombshell. For Thurman’s part, she received a nom for Pulp Fiction in 1995, but lost to Jessica Lange.
Taylor Swift has been subpoenaed by Justin Baldoni’s lawyers in the sprawling legal battle over the filming of It Ends With Us.
Swift’s involvement in the dueling lawsuits relates to suggestions from Blake Lively that Baldoni altered a rooftop scene at the beginning of the film. Lively invited the director to her New York City home in 2023 to discuss the script changes.
Once there, Baldoni was surprised to see Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and close friend, Swift, according to his lawsuit, which cites communications that include the name “Taylor.” The megastars praise Lively’s version of the scene, pressuring Baldoni to accept the revisions, he alleged.
In a text, Lively refers to Reynolds and Swift as her “dragons.” The message reads, “If you ever get around to watching Game of Thrones, you’ll appreciate that I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for.”
Baldoni was supportive of the changes. “I really love what you did. It really does help a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor),” he wrote with a wink emoji. “You really are a talent across the board. Really excited and grateful to do this together.”
Tensions over the rewrite lead Baldoni to send Lively a six-minute-plus voice message at 2 a.m. to apologize for anything he did to upset her, according to the complaint. At the end of the recording, Baldoni says, “You probably have kids all over you and a baby on your boob, and you’re listening to me ramble at 2 in the morning.”
A spokesperson for Swift said the subpoena is a bid to “draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.” The rep, who noted that the only connection the singer has with the film is permitting the use of “My Tears Ricochet,” added “Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history.”
Lively and Baldoni didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Francis Ford Coppola is sharing his opinions on Donald Trump’s proposed movie tariffs.
During a Friday profile with GQ, The Godfather director addressed the “uncertainty” surrounding the tariffs the president announced Sunday. He said that implementing these tariffs would be “like slamming the door closed” on potential monetary gain for the United States.
“All it does is create uncertainty. People don’t understand that the economy in the previous administration? There was world inflation, there wasn’t [just] inflation in America,” Coppola said. “The entire world was going through a serious inflationary trend. But the country that did the best with it — and which other countries were jealous of — was the United States. So, the United States really banked a lot of money previous to this new administration, and there’s a lot of money in the country, and these tariffs are like slamming the door closed on what was a very prosperous situation.”
Coppola revealed that since Trump’s reelection, “people are selling out screenings of Megalopolis,” his film which compares the fall of the Roman Republic to the future of the U.S. He said that when the movie released in September 2024, “it was so prophetic or prescient to say America is like Rome — it’s going to maybe lose its republic,” adding that its recent surge resembles that of the 1979 war film Apocalypse Now.
“It’s just like what happened with Apocalypse Now. Apocalypse Now was a big flop, it got terrible reviews, everyone said it was the worst movie ever made. And yet people never stopped going to see it,” Coppola explained. “The same thing is now happening with Megalopolis.”
Ahead of the film’s release, Coppola elaborated on his inspiration to create “a Roman epic set in modern America as Rome” at the New York Film Festival. “Today, America is Rome, and they’re about to go through the same experience, for the same reasons that Rome lost its republic and ended up with an emperor. It was very prescient to do a movie about America as Rome because it’s going to happen in a few months,” he said.
“And it was the same reason; the Rome of that time was so prosperous, Rome is making lots of money so the senators were actually very interested in their power and their own wealth, and they weren’t managing the country,” he added. “Well the same thing has happened here. Our senates and our representatives are all wealthy and manipulating their own power rather than running the country and then we’re in danger of losing it.”
Notably, Megalopolis is not available to stream online, with the director deciding to take the film on tour in theaters instead. An insider previously told The Hollywood Reporter that Megalopolis wasn’t streaming because “[Coppola] wants it to play in theaters, the way it was intended,” which he reiterated in the Friday interview.
The five-time Oscar winner said that his 2024 drama, which he poured $120 million into, isn’t streaming “because the film is still being shown in theaters” combined with the note that he doesn’t “want anyone to own it.”
Costume designer Rosanna Norton, who received an Oscar nomination for the sci-fi classic Tron and also worked on Badlands, Carrie, The Stunt Man and Frankie and Johnny during her four-decade career, has died. She was 80.
Norton died Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles of bladder cancer, her granddaughter Mira Gonzalez told The Hollywood Reporter.
Norton also collaborated with Joe Dante on Explorers (1985), Innerspace (1987), The ‘Burbs (1989) and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) and with Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker on Airplane! (1980) and Ruthless People (1986).
She worked with Terrence Malick on Badlands (1973), with Brian De Palma on Phantom of the Paradise (1974) and Carrie (1976), with Richard Rush on The Stunt Man (1980) and with Garry Marshall on Frankie and Johnny (1991).
She shared her Oscar nom for Steven Lisberger’s Tron (1982) with Elois Jenssen.
The oldest of four kids, Rosanna White was born in Los Angeles on Oct. 1, 1944. Her mother, Ann Stanford, was an acclaimed poet and founding member of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs, and her father, Roland, was an architect.
While attended UCLA as a painting major, she met future husband Bill Norton, then made her film debut as the costume designer on the 1971 film he co-wrote and directed, the Kris Kristofferson-starring Cisco Pike (1971).
“I would have been a painter,” she once said, “but was really lucky to get on some really good pictures through my friendships with directors Brian De Palma and Terry Malick.” She joined the Costume Directors Guild in 1975.
Her résumé included Messiah of Evil (1974), Outlaw Blues (1977), Robert Zemeckis’ I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), Joan Micklin Silver’s Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979), Airplane II (1982), RoboCop 2 (1990), The Flintstones (1994), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and Detroit Rock City (1999).
After costume designing — her last credit was Pool Boys (2009) — Norton returned to her first love, painting.
Survivors include her daughter, Lora; her grandchildren, Mira, Milo, Lola, Isaac and Kayla; and her sister, Pat. She also was briefly married to director James Bryan.
As has become annual tradition, the British Film Institute (BFI) has unveiled its 2025 crop of “Great 8” movies, eight features from the “most exciting first-time and early career filmmakers” that it will showcase to international distributors and festival programmers in the run-up to and during the Marché du Film market taking place during the Cannes Film Festival.
They include a movie directed by actor and creative Ashley Walters (Netflix hit Adolescence, Top Boy, Missing You) with Stephen Graham, a drama thriller starring George MacKay and Rosy McEwen, a drama featuring Rory Kinnear and Maria Bakalova, a thriller set in an isolated deaf community, and a Welsh alternative period drama with Rupert Everett.
“Now in its eighth year, the 2025 Great 8 showcase is funded and produced by the BFI and the British Council, with thanks to BBC Film and Film4,” the BFI said. “In preparation for the Marché, unseen footage from all of the titles will be introduced by their filmmakers and screened online exclusively to buyers and festival programmers” from Thursday, May 8.
Briony Hanson, the British Council’s director of film, said that the selection of new movies “shows once again that U.K. film is in rude health with an upcoming slate that we can be proud of. Again, this shows off the range of new U.K. talent, with hard-hitting social commentary sitting alongside broad comedy, with voices representing England, Scotland and Wales, and with a significant selection of stories exploring traditionally under-represented communities.”
Agnieszka Moody, BFI head of international relations, highlighted the “range of unique and original voices from across the U.K.” featured in the selection. “Great 8 gives that invaluable opportunity to help them be discovered by the international film community and by doing so rewards their creativity and accelerates their careers.”
Here is the 2025 crop of Great8 titles…
Animol U.K., drama Director: Ashley Walters Writer: Nick Love Producers: Thomas Hawkins, Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, Nick Love, Ashley Walters Cast: Tut Nyuot, Vladyslav Baliuk, Stephen Graham, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Sekou Diaby Production: Sky, Film4, BFI, Joi Productions, Rogue State Productions, SLNda Sales: Bankside Films
‘Animol’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Animol tells the story of 15-year-old Troy, who is remanded in custody for a murder he didn’t commit. Thrown into a notorious Young Offenders’ Institution, he tries to keep his head down and stay out of trouble—but survival isn’t easy when everyone wants something from you. Amid the chaos, Troy finds an unexpected ally in Krystiyan, another young inmate struggling to navigate the same volatile world. A powerful and tender coming-of-age drama, Animol explores the shattering of innocence, the grip of tribalism, and the courage it takes to be your true self in the harshest of environments.
More: Ashley Walters is a celebrated and award-winning actor, director, producer, and recording artist, known for his seismic role within Black London culture and the UK entertainment industry. He first rose to prominence as part of the pioneering U.K. Garage collective So Solid Crew, whose No.1 single “21 Seconds” earned them a BRIT Award. His breakthrough acting role came in Bullet Boy (2004), earning him a BIFA for Most Promising Newcomer. Ashley is best known for his portrayal of Dushane in Top Boy, a defining series in British television, with five seasons spanning Channel 4 and Netflix. In 2017, he founded his production company, SLNda, to champion new talent and culturally resonant stories, making his directorial debut with the short film Boys for Sky. Most recently, Ashley directed on Steven Knight’s A Thousand Blows for Disney+/Hulu and starred in Netflix hits Missing You and Adolescence, which broke U.K. viewing records.
Ish U.K., coming of age Director: Imran Perretta Writers: Imran Perretta, Enda Walsh Producers: Dhiraj Mahey, Bennett McGhee Cast: Farhan Hasnat, Yahya Kitana, Avin Shah, Sudha Bhuchar, Joy Crookes, Arman Mohammed, Is’haaq Hasan Haque, Hasnain Shah Production: Produced by Primal Pictures in association with Home Team, Good Chaos. Financiers: BBC Film, BFI. Additional support: Calculus Media, Out of Order Sales: Film Constellation
‘Ish’
Courtesy of Lara Cornell
Synopsis: Ish follows two best friends, Ish and Maram, on the cusp of being teenagers. In a society where racial profiling ensures brown boys are constantly under surveillance, their friendship is ended by a traumatic police stop-and-search. Ish soon discovers that ‘letting go’ can be the hardest part of growing up.
More: Imran Perretta is a writer, director, visual artist and composer from London. Achieving critical acclaim in the world of contemporary art, his sound and moving image work has been performed and shown at galleries and festivals internationally and is included in a number of public and private art collections including the Tate and the Arts Council England. Imran’s most recent film work The Destructors toured major institutions across the U.K. Following the debut of The Destructors, Imran was named a Turner Prize Bursary winner in 2020. His current exhibition, A Riot In Three Acts, is currently on tour and features a new suite of music for string quartet, A Requiem for the Dispossessed, and performed by the Manchester Camerata. In addition to the Turner Prize Bursary, Imran was named a Jarman Award nominee in 2019, and was a recipient of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Artist Award in 2023.
Learningto Breathe Under Water U.K./Ireland/Netherlands, drama Director: Rebekah Fortune Writer: Richard Brabin Cast: Rory Kinnear, Maria Bakalova, Ezra Carlisle Producers: Jack Tarling, Patrick O’Neill Cast: Zubin Varla, Sudha Bhuchar, Sarag Arya, Robert Ryan Production: A Shudder Films and Wildcard production in co-production with KeyFilm & One Wave Films and in association with Eiru Films. Financiers: Screen Ireland, UK Global Screen Fund, Ffilm Cymru Wales, WRAP Fund, Netherlands Film Fund, Dias Feld, Finite Films, Bankside Films and Three Point Capital. Sales: Bankside Films
‘Learning to Breathe Under Water’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Leo is eight, curious, wise and full of imagination. His best friend is a massive shark — half sculpture, half myth — that crashed through the roof of his house one night when his dad, Peter, gave shape to what he couldn’t say out loud. Leo’s world is full of questions: why do grown-ups act so strangely? Where did Mum go five years ago? And will Dad ever come down from the clouds — or at least remember to do the shopping? Peter’s either buried in big, bonkers art projects or barely speaking, so Leo daydreams vividly and shares his secrets with the shark, who might just be listening but can’t speak back. Then Anya bursts into their lives: a spirited au pair with her own questions to shatter the silence and answers more honest than Leo has ever heard before. Her fearless warmth and energy brings back colour to their world and uplifts their lives.
More: Rebekah Fortune is an autistic director based in Tamworth, currently in post on her second feature, Learning to Breathe Under Water, which stars BAFTA-nominated Rory Kinnear and Oscar-nominated Maria Bakalova, produced by Kneecap producers Jack Tarling and Patrick O’Neill. Rebekah’s micro-budget debut feature Just Charlie was released to critical acclaim in 2017 receiving many awards including the Audience Award at Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival Ecrans Junior Award, and was nominated for two BIFAs. Just Charlie secured distribution worldwide. Her portfolio of short films has won numerous Oscar and BAFTA qualifying festivals. She has mentored for BFI Network, sat on the BAFTA short film jury, and is an alumni of Network@LFF, Edinburgh Talent Lab, BIFA springboard, Screen Yorkshire Flex and Breaking Through the Lens, along with being a finalist for the Academy Gold Fellowship. Additionally, Rebekah works extensively with young actors with Disabilities.
Madfabulous Wales/U.K., alternative period drama Director: Celyn Jones Writer: Lisa Baker Producers: Sean Marley, Nadia Jaynes Cast: Callum Scott Howells, Ruby Stokes, Rupert Everett, Paul Rhys, Siobhán McSweeney Production: Mad as Birds, Ffilm Cymru Wales, Creative Wales Sales: Sean Marley sean@madasbirdsfilms.com
‘Madfabulous’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: A riotous, uncompromising celebration of otherness inspired by the unlikely British aristocrat who theatrically bankrupted his estate, lived fast and died young. When the flamboyant Henry Paget arrives in 1890s North Wales from France to claim his aristocratic inheritance, his theatrical flair and defiant eccentricities send shockwaves through the upper-class elite, much to the amusement of the local townspeople. Alongside his spirited cousin Lily and loyal butler Gelert, Henry tries to carve out his own identity as the Fifth Marquess, while contending with the cold ambition of his calculating cousin Neville and the looming threat of the ruthless Lord Penrhyn. Together, Henry and Lily navigate suffocating traditions, scheming relatives, and the long shadow cast by Henry’s estranged father. Madfabulous is inspired by Henry Paget, the fifth Marquis of Anglesey, who smashed society’s notions of class, gender and decorum, squandering a multimillion fortune before his untimely death. They left nothing behind but love… and a good story.
More: Celyn Jones is a critically acclaimed, award-winning actor and BAFTA-nominated writer from Wales, as well as creative director of production company Mad as Birds. The Times praised him as “the powerhouse writer/performer behind the greatest Dylan Thomas biopic yet.” He won a BAFTA Cymru Award in 2019 for his portrayal of a real-life serial killer in Manhunt, but in recent years has focused increasingly on writing and directing. Jones wrote and co-directed The Almond and the Seahorse, in which he also stars opposite Rebel Wilson and Charlotte Gainsbourg; the film premiered at the Zurich and Dinard film festivals, winning the Special Jury Prize. Madfabulous marks his debut as a solo director.
Mission U.K., drama thriller Director/writer: Paul Wright Producers: Kate Byers, Alex Thiele, Linn Waite, Marie-Elena Dyche, Lowri Roberts Cast: George MacKay, Rosy McEwen Production: Early Day Films, 65 Wilding Films, Meraki Films, Rapt, BBC Film, Screen Scotland, Ffilm Cymru Wales Sales: Blue Finch Films
‘Mission’
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Mission is a punk exploration of the psyche which follows alienated Dylan (George MacKay) as he throws off the shackles of his solitary life in an attempt to experience the highs and lows of existence at its most extreme. Estranged from his sister Claire (Rosy McEwen), he embarks on a thrilling journey of self-discovery that proves both inspiring and terrifying.
More: Paul Wright is a critically acclaimed BAFTA-winning Scottish writer/director whose work has played internationally at festivals such as Cannes, Berlin and Locarno. An NFTS graduate, his short films have received international acclaim and awards, including winning the BAFTA for Best Short Film, The Leopard of Tomorrow Award at Locarno, and screened in numerous prestige film festivals worldwide. His feature debut For Those In Peril premiered in the Cannes Critics’ Week, won the BAFTA Scotland Best Film award and the BIFA Douglas Hickox Award for Directorial Debut. Paul was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British writer/director. He has most recently completed Arcadia, a provocative and poetic documentary. The film screened at numerous festivals including BFI London Film Festival, Glasgow Film Festival, and MOMA in New York, before being released theatrically nationwide to critical acclaim.
On the Sea U.K., drama Director/writer: Helen Walsh Producers: David Moores, David A Hughes; Executive Producers: Mike Goodridge, Chris Clark Cast: Barry Ward, Lorne MacFadyen, Liz White, Henry Lawfull, Celyn Jones Production: Red Union Films Sales: David Moores dmoores@redunionfilms.com, Mike Goodridge mike@goodchaos.co.uk
‘On the Sea’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Jack has been married to Maggie for over half his life. He works as a Hand Raker on the mussel beds in North Wales alongside his younger brother, Dyfan, and Dyfan’s three sons. Jack has always assumed that his own boy, Tom, will join the family business on leaving school but Tom’s resistance to follow in his footsteps creates familial tension. Tensions are further inflamed by the arrival of an itinerant deckhand, Daniel, who makes known his feelings for Jack. In this remote, rural community where life revolves around Church and fishery, Jack is faced with an impossible dilemma. On The Sea is a beautiful, sensual and at times, tragic exploration of masculinity, place and desire.
More: Helen Walsh’s debut novel Brass won the Betty Trask Award and was the most widely reviewed book of 2004. Natasha Walters, writing in Vogue, called it, “One of the most striking coming of age stories I have ever read.” Her second novel Once Upon a Time in England won the Somerset Maugham Prize and The Lemon Grove, her most recent, was a critically acclaimed best-seller that she is currently adapting for TV. Helen wrote and directed her debut feature, The Violators, in 2016 and was awarded BAFTA’s breakthrough new director. Her recent Channel 4 show, The Gathering (2024), which she created and wrote was the recipient of three RTS Awards. On The Sea, is her sophomore feature and will be released in 2025.
Retreat U.K., thriller Director/writer: Ted Evans Producers: Michelle Stein, Jennifer Monks, Alex Usborne Cast: Anne Zander, James Boyle, Sophie Stone,Ace Mahbaz, Anna Seymour Production: BFI, BBC Film and Creative UK present a The Fold and 104 Films Production Sales: XYZ Films
‘Retreat’ film still 2
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Raised in an isolated deaf community, cracks begin to appear in Matt’s seemingly idyllic world when the arrival of enigmatic outsider Eva forces him to question the realities of his identity. Is Matt prepared to discover what lies beneath the surface of his supposedly utopian community and the costs demanded to maintain it?
More: Ted Evans is a writer-director is from Hackney, East London and communicates in both spoken English and British Sign Language. In 2012 he co-wrote and directed two films for the Paralympic Opening Ceremony – Look Up and Bird Gherl. Evans received international and critical acclaim for his award-winning shorts, The End and Retreat, the latter of which he has adapted as his debut feature film, with production company The Fold supported by the BFI and BBC Film. He directed a documentary, featuring Rose Ayling-Ellis, Signs for Change, which aired on BBC1 after being showcased at Sheffield Doc Fest (2023) and netted him an Emerging Talent: Factual BAFTA nomination. In 2018 he was selected as part of Creative England’s CE50 and his most recent short film To Know Him was nominated for Best Short Film at BIFA 2018.
THE SON AND THE SEA U.K., drama Director: Stroma Cairns Writers: Imogen West, Stroma Cairns Producers: Imogen West, Kelly Peck Cast: Jonah West, Stanley Brock, Connor Tompkins, Grant Lindsay Production: BBC Film, In The Company Of, Studio Cloy, Moment Film Group, Creativity Media, Creativity Capital Sales: Kelly Peck kelly@studiocloy.com, Imogen West imogen imogen@inthecompanyof.co
‘The Son and the Sea’ film still
Courtesy of BFI
Synopsis: Jonah (26), charismatically ADHD, is a man-child who keeps on slipping, whilst his best mate, Lee (26), nimbly climbs every ladder. After hitting yet another bump and under pressure to see his great-aunt, who is lost to dementia, Jonah contrives that he and Lee go visit, hoping it might also offer respite from himself and the mess he’s creating. Though the north-east coast of Scotland wasn’t quite what Lee envisioned, it holds a certain wildness and wonder. There, they meet Charlie (26), who is profoundly Deaf and attempting to clean up after his shady twin brother. Through a developing friendship that surpasses their language barriers, the three boys form a connection that encourages them to step out of their boyhood, discover the courage to be vulnerable, and that joy is possible despite loss.
More: Stroma Cairns is a BAFTA-winning director based in London. The Son and the Sea will be her debut feature. The film is an ode to her Scottish roots, her brother and his father/musician Gavin Clark. The film features music by Gavin Clark and the score is by Toydrum (former UNKLE members). Stroma directed the second block of the BAFTA winning TV series Mood. She was selected for BFI NETWORK x BAFTA Crew mentoring programme. Previously, her short film If You Knew premiered at Sheffield DocFest, and went on to receive the jury’s special commendation award at the BFI London Film Festival. It was also named Best Short Film at Open City Doc Festival and was shortlisted for a Grierson Award. The film was inspired by her own hearing loss and portrays a day in the life of two teenage twins who are profoundly Deaf.
A new, unlikely term has been added to the lexicon of stealth Hollywood marketing stunts — a pesky asterisk.
On Monday, after weeks plotting and planning, Disneys vast marketing machine at last answered the question of why Marvel Studios‘ early summer tentpole is titled Thunderbolts* instead of just Thunderbolts. It turns out the asterisk alludes to a secondary title or tag,*The New Avengers.
But don’t be confused — Disney and Marvel aren’t officially changing the title to Thunderbolts: The New Avengers. Rather, using *The New Avengers is a way to drum up post-opening interest in the film, which brings together a set of misfit MCU outsiders and lesser-known characters who discover their more heroic side when duped by the villainous CIA director Valentine Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). In particular, they want to protect newcomer Bob (Lewis Pullman), who suffers from a mental illness that has catastrophic consequences after he’s subjected to cruel experimentation.
The official OG Avengers superhero franchise is Marvel’s crown jewel, so it’s no wonder why Kevin Feige and Disney, which owns the studio, would want to connect the two. But the last thing they want is to create consumer chaos and have people thinking that next year’s Avengers: Doomsday is Thunderbolts 2 or, conversely, that the latter is part of the official Avengers series.
At the same time, it’s true that several actors from Thunderbolts* are in Doomsday, including Pugh, Pullman, Sebastian Stan (The Winter Soldier), Wyatt Russell (U.S. Agent), David Harbour (Red Guardian) and Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost). And there’s no saying beyond that what the future brings.
Disney marketing chief Asad Ayaz and his team thought long and hard about the timing of the *The New Avengers reveal, and ultimately decided to wait until the Monday after the pic’s opening so as to avoid spoilers as much as possible. In early screenings, they asked fanboys to go along with the ruse and not spoil for others.
The ensemble cast had plenty of fun being in on the gag and participated in a video revealing the payoff title that dropped mid-morning on Monday. Digital materials with the reveal are being dispatched to some theaters, highlighted on the film’s social handles and placed on outdoor billboard in select markets, including the much-sought after billboard known as the Sunset Wall high above West Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard close to Beverly Hills.
A flurry of marketing activities were scheduled for filmmaker Jake Schreier‘s project throughout the day, including a Sunset Wall billboard before-and-after reveal and a video of a new Wheaties popcorn box featuring *New Avengers instead of Thunderbolts* (the cereal giant is a promotional partner on the film). There will also be collectible one-sheet giveaways in certain cinemas.
There are also a number of theater circuits taking part in the marketing switch in the coming days. Imax, Dolby Cinema and other premium-large format screens will share revised displays, while there will be retitled one-sheets in more than 600 theaters. There will be also be updated digital standees in more than 40 theaters, including the digital marquee at the Regal E-Walk in New York City and the Disney-owned El Capitan in Hollywood.
And that’s just in the U.S. Overseas, there will be a number of promotions, including select graffiti stunts highlighting the new unofficial name.
Over the May 2-3 weekend, Thunderbolts* opened to $74.5 million from 4,330 theaters, a solid but not rip-roaring start (Sunday’s estimate was $76 million), according to weekend actuals. While Marvel and Disney would no doubt have liked north of $80 million, the biggest factor in its fate will be how the $180 million movie legs out.
On Monday, Stan himself got his hands dirty, putting up a new poster on a bus stop featuring his Winter Soldier character and the new title.
