MOVIES

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Republic Film has joined forces with the Future Vision XPRIZE to launch a global competition aimed at supporting science fiction storytelling that imagines a positive and technology driven future for humanity. The initiative will award a total of 3.5 million dollars to filmmakers and creators, making it one of the more ambitious competitions designed to connect storytelling with emerging technology and public participation.

The competition invites filmmakers around the world to submit three minute trailers or short films that present an original science fiction concept focused on an optimistic view of the future. Submissions opened this week and will remain open until August 15. The grand prize winner will receive 2.5 million dollars in production funding, along with a

100000 dollar cash award. In addition to the financial support, the winning project will receive production assistance from Range Media and access to creative technology tools provided by Google.

Four finalists will also benefit from the competition. Each finalist will receive 100000 dollars, while another 500000 dollars in additional prize funding will be announced later in the competition process. The goal is to help promising science fiction concepts move beyond early ideas and into actual production.

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The specialty box office delivered a relatively quiet weekend, with a handful of independent titles holding steady while a few new releases tested the market ahead of the upcoming Oscars ceremony. Among the standouts was Neon’s documentary EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert, which continued to perform solidly in its third week of release.

The music documentary directed by Baz Luhrmann held the number nine spot at the domestic box office while playing on 1,965 screens across the United States. The film is expected to generate about $1.5 million during the weekend, pushing its total domestic earnings to roughly $10.9 million. While the broader independent film market remains calm at the moment, the documentary has managed to maintain consistent interest from audiences drawn to Elvis Presley’s enduring cultural influence.

Another new release entering theaters this weekend was the action thriller Protector, starring Milla Jovovich. The film opened to an estimated weekend gross of $744,000 across just over 1,000 screens. Directed by Adrian Grunberg and released by Magenta Light Studios, the movie entered the crowded action market with moderate results but still managed to attract viewers looking for a straightforward action offering during a slower theatrical period.

Meanwhile, the annual 2026 Oscar Nominated Shorts program continued its theatrical run through Roadside Attractions. The three part showcase, which includes animated, live action, and documentary short films nominated for Academy Awards, is expected to earn around $545,000 from 325 screens this weekend. That result brings the program’s cumulative total to approximately $2.98 million. As in previous years, the Oscar shorts collection typically sees its strongest interest during the awards season and will conclude its theatrical run after next Sunday’s ceremony.

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Ten time Grammy winner and two time Academy Award winning songwriter Billie Eilish is reportedly in advanced talks to make her movie acting debut in a new adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s classic novel The Bell Jar. The project is being developed with Oscar winning filmmaker Sarah Polley attached to direct, while Focus Features is expected to back and distribute the film in the United States.

The film will bring to the screen one of the most influential novels of the twentieth century. Originally published in 1963, The Bell Jar remains the only novel written by American poet and writer Sylvia Plath. The story is widely considered semi autobiographical and follows a young woman named Esther Greenwood as she struggles with identity, societal pressure, and a deepening mental health crisis. The novel drew strong parallels with Plath’s own life experiences and has continued to resonate with readers for decades.

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Pop singer Tiffany recently revealed that she had no idea her classic song “I Think We’re Alone Now” would appear in the fifth and final season of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things. The discovery came as a surprise to the singer, who said she only learned about the song’s inclusion when the new season premiered in November.

Tiffany, who became a major pop sensation in the late 1980s, recorded her version of “I Think We’re Alone Now” in 1987. The track was a cover of the original 1960s hit by Tommy James and the Shondells, but Tiffany’s version quickly became iconic in its own right. Released when she was still a teenager, the song climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and helped define the sound of late 1980s pop music.

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Disney Plus is moving forward with a new live action project centered on one of its most recognizable characters. The streaming platform is developing a new version of “Tink,” a series based on the iconic fairy Tinker Bell. According to recent reports, the project has become a high priority at Disney Plus after spending years in development in different forms.

The upcoming series is being written and executive produced by Liz Heldens and Bridget Carpenter, two writers who previously worked together on the popular television drama Friday Night Lights. Their involvement signals that Disney is aiming for a character driven story with a strong dramatic foundation rather than a simple retelling of the familiar fairy tale.

At the moment, Disney has not released an official story description for the project. However, the history of the “Tink” concept at the studio shows that the idea has been explored several times over the past decade. As far back as 2010, Disney announced a live action romantic comedy built around Tinker Bell. That earlier version had actress Elizabeth Banks attached to star, with producers Adam Shankman, Jennifer Gibgot, and McG involved in development.

A few years later, the project was reworked again. In 2015, Reese Witherspoon was reportedly attached to lead another version of “Tink.” That film was planned as a live action adaptation inspired by the beloved Peter Pan character. Despite the high profile talent attached, that version never moved forward into production.

Tinker Bell has continued to appear in other Disney projects during that time. Most recently, actress Yara Shahidi portrayed the character in the 2023 live action film Peter Pan and Wendy. The character has remained an enduring figure in Disney storytelling for decades, first appearing alongside Peter Pan and becoming a recognizable symbol of the company itself.

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The weekend box office is expected to be led by two very different films as Disney and Pixar’s Hoppers and Warner Bros’ The Bride! Arrive in theaters around the world. Early projections suggest that Hoppers will deliver a strong global debut of about $88 million, marking the best opening for a Pixar original film since Coco in 2017. Meanwhile, The Bride! Is projected to open to around $40 million worldwide.

Pixar’s Hoppers appears poised to give the studio a much needed boost for its original animated titles. The film is expected to collect between $36 million and $38 million in North America across about 4000 theaters. International markets are projected to add another $45 million to $50 million, pushing the global opening close to $88 million.

The strong early outlook places Hoppers among Pixar’s better launches for original films in recent years. Since the success of Coco, which opened to about $104.7 million worldwide in comparable markets, the studio has struggled to reach similar heights with original concepts. Onward debuted domestically with $39.1 million in 2020 but its theatrical run was quickly disrupted by the COVID pandemic, eventually finishing with $61.5 million in North America and $141.9 million globally.

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Project Hail Mary arrives as a grand science fiction spectacle that clearly aims to be the kind of uplifting blockbuster audiences gravitate toward during uncertain times. With Ryan Gosling in the lead role and directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller at the helm, the film presents a visually rich journey into deep space. It blends environmental themes, humor, and emotional connection, all wrapped in a large scale cinematic production. Yet despite its ambition and impressive visuals, the film often feels overly familiar and stretched beyond what its story can comfortably support.

The story centers on Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, a science teacher and former molecular biologist who unexpectedly becomes humanity’s last hope. Earth faces a catastrophic crisis as the sun begins to lose energy, threatening global cooling and the eventual collapse of life on the planet. Scientists discover a mysterious phenomenon known as the Petrova line stretching between Venus and the sun. This discovery leads to the identification of microscopic organisms called Astrophage, which can store enormous amounts of energy and be used as powerful rocket fuel. With this breakthrough, humanity launches a desperate mission to Tau Ceti, the only nearby star system that appears unaffected by the same problem.

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Paramount Skydance chief executive David Ellison has promised that CNN will maintain editorial independence even as his company moves closer to acquiring Warner Bros Discovery in a massive deal reportedly valued at $111 billion. The potential acquisition has sparked concern inside CNN about the network’s future direction, especially among staff members who fear that new leadership could shift its editorial stance.

Those concerns intensified after Ellison recently installed journalist and Free Press founder Bari Weiss as head of CBS News following Paramount’s acquisition of her media company. Weiss has frequently criticized what she describes as “woke” tendencies in mainstream journalism, and her appointment created turbulence within CBS News. Some media observers believe she could also play a role in overseeing CNN once the Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery transaction is finalized.