Movie News

Streaming Newa

Entertainment News

Movie Box Office (North America)

October 17, 2025

1. Black Phone 2 - $26.5m

2. Tron: Ares - $11.1m

3. Good Fortune - $6.2m

4. One Battle After Another - $4m

5. Roofman - $3.7m

6. Truth & Treason - $2.7m

7. Gabby's Dollhouse - $1.7m

8. The Conjuring: Last Rites - $1.57m

9. After the Hunt - $1.55m

10. Soul on Fire - $1.3m

Lead Up To Current Rankings

October 12, 2025

1. Tron: Ares - $33.5m

2. Roofman - $8m

3. One Battle After Another - $6.7m

4. Gabby's Dollhouse - $3.4m

5. Soul On Fire - $3m

6. The Conjuring: Last Rites - $2.9m

7. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Infinity Castle - $2.3m

8. The Smashing Machine - $1.8m

9. The Strangers: Chapter 2 - $1.6m

10. Good Boy - $1.4m

Media Man People's (Sports Fans) Choices:

The Smashing Machine

Media Man People's (Arthouse Short Film) Choice:

Blue Evening (Killer Kross)

News

Lead Up

October 5, 2025

1. Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl - $33m

2. One Battle After Another - $11.1m

3. The Smashing Machine - $6m

4. Gabby's Dollhouse - $5.2m

5. The Conjuring: Last Rites - $4m

6. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Infinity Castle - $3.5m

7. Avatar: The Way of Water - $3.2m

8. The Strangers: Chapter 2 - $2.8m

9. Good Boy - $2.3m

10. The Long Walk - $1.7m

others...

Him
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
Spider-Man/Spider-Man 2/Spider-Man 3
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
The Senior
Toy Story
Sight & Sound Presents NOAH
Weapons

News

Weekend Before Lead Up

September 21, 2025

1. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Infinity Castle - $17.3m
2. Him - $14m
3. The Conjuring: Last Rites - $13m
4. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale - $6.3m
5. The Long Walk - $6.3m
6. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey - $3.5m
7. The Senior - $2.8m
8. Toy Story - $1.4m
9. Sight & Sound Presents NOAH - $1.4m
10. Weapons - $1.3m

others ...

Movie Time Machine Flashback Titles ...

Hamilton
Freakier Friday
Spinal Tap II
The Sound of Music
Caught Stealing
The Roses
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The Bad Guys 2
Light of the World
Superman
Nobody 2
The Naked Gun
Honey Don't
Jurassic World: Rebirth
F1: The Movie
Coolio
Together
Sketch
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Smurfs
How to Train Your Dragon
Eddington
Elio
Oh, Hi!
The Home
Lilo & Stitch
28 Years Later
Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
Materialists
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina

News

Gonzo Casino 'N Gaming Edition

Art Imitates Life and Visa Versa

Everything Is A Gamble

Casino was my last good role, says iconic actress Sharon Stone

Sharon Stone has said she never got a good part again after 1995's Casino and described herself as "the invisible actress".

The Basic Instinct star, now a stunning 66, has since appeared in films such as Catwoman, Lovelace and Basic Instinct 2.

Stone was passed over on snatching an Oscar for Martin Scorsese's crime thriller Casino to Susan Sarandon in Dead Man Walking.

Speaking on high profile Louis Theroux Podcast, Stone disclosed The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola warned her in advance that this would be the case.

She said: "Francis put his hand on my shoulder and he said: 'I need to talk to you.'

"He said: 'You're not going to win the Oscar.'

'I want you to feel like you're going to cry now. I don't want you to cry in the room, and that's why I'm doing this, and it feels so mean right now.

"'But I didn't win for The Godfather and Marty didn't win for Raging Bull, and you're not going to win for Casino."

Coppola said none of them won because the Academy couldn't "hear opera", she remembered.

"'This is not the level of films they want," she remembers him saying.

Discussing attending the Oscars when she knew she was going to lose, she said: "You have to pretend it's fantastic and it's not fantastic.

"And then I didn't get any good parts ever again for the rest of my entire life."

When Theroux replied: "That can't be true. I'm sure there were other movies you did that were good," she replied: "No, and guess what? I hate it."

She continued: "It's easier to say: 'She's cold', or: 'I don't like her', or: 'She's difficult', or: 'She must be sick', or: 'She's too old', or that 'she's hard to cast', or: 'We don't know what to do with her.'

Stone also touched on her experiences with disgraced and vulgar producer Harvey Weinstein, who is in the clink (jail) for sex offences and with whom she she crossed paths at events for the Aids charity Amfar.

She said: "I had a long time of dealing with Harvey and I'm really glad that he's in prison and I think he should stay there with the rest of the people who are like him. Harvey's a pig. He's an octopus and you're just always getting one of his tentacles off you."

Asked if she was too powerful for him to try to coerce into sex, she said: "He would say things to me like: 'You know, you think you're such a princess, Sharon,' as I would unwind him off me.

"And I'd say: 'Yeah, I think I'm the queen of France. F*** off.'

"But he was certainly comfortable with throwing me across the room. He was physically violent to me on more than one occasion because he was so angry at me because I wouldn't do what he wanted me to do."

Media Man

News

Can movie theatres and online streaming live side by side?

It’s been a tough time for movie theatres around the world with a number of factors contributing to the decline in the number of people heading to the cinema to watch movies. In a world that is embracing digital technologies, the movie industry is in danger of getting left behind unless they quickly embrace the technologies available that will get people excited to return to movie theatres and get the enjoyment of the cinema experience once again.

The rise of the video game industry

Whilst there are plenty of factors that are influencing people’s decision to visit the cinema, there is no doubt that the rapid rise of the online video game industry is a large contributing factor. People are starting to look elsewhere for their entertainment and online video gaming provides a lower-cost alternative to a trip to the cinema.

A report by MarketWatch in 2020 found that the video game industry is now bigger than the sports and movie industry combined. Just take a minute to digest that. Bigger than movies and sports - that’s big.

The news outlet reported that global video game revenue is expected to increase 20% in 2020, making $179.7 billion, according to data from IDC.

The biggest gain is expected to come from mobile gaming, according to the news outlet, which is expected to surge 24% to $87.7 billion. Part of this is due to China recently lifting a ban on gaming consoles.

Game console revenue is expected to soar to $52.5 billion this year, while PC and Mac games are expected to make $39.5 billion.

In their most recent report, MarketWatch reported that whilst overall revenue was expected to grow by 11% in 2021 to $251.39 billion, the forecast for 2022 is just a 2% growth and a flattening out of that rapid growth over the past two years.

Is this a potential opportunity for cinemas to reclaim some of that lost audience share?

Early signs look good for cinemas in 2022

If the latest movie releases in 2022 are anything to go by, it looks as though the movie theatre industry is not ready to give up just yet. Spider-Man: No Way Home became the biggest grossing movie of the past two years, grossing over $US1 billion ($1.38b) in the first two weekends. It is the second-fastest film ever to reach the $1 billion mark and suggests that this could be a big year for cinema-goers.

Following in its footsteps is another 2022 release, The Matrix Resurrections, a movie that grossed $US12 million in its opening weekend.

Whilst this is a great start to the New Year for movie theatres around the world, it remains to be seen whether this is a trend that continues throughout the year. With a number of high profile movies due for release in 2022, this could be a time for cinemas to really cash in.

The impact of streaming and long-form content

It is unlikely that cinemas will have it all their own way in 2022. Whilst it is great to see people returning to movie theatres to watch the latest releases on the big screen, there is no question that home viewing is here to stay.

As more studios and media distributors are developing their own direct-to-consumer streaming services, this starts to eat into the revenue of major studios.

Studios derive almost half of their revenues from theatrical releases. Although the average number of movie tickets purchased by Americans each year has declined from 4.2 in 2009 to 3.4 in 2019 (Source: Deloitte), studio revenues are driven more by box office tickets now than they were 20 years ago.

Streaming is having the biggest impact on people going to the movies. As televisions have improved, where you can now watch movies at home in 4K high-definition on screens with sizes up to 100”, with surround sound, people have become more willing to wait for the latest release movies to become available on streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Stan.

Another major impact on the cinema industry is the consumer switch to long-form content in the form of series. Many people feel there is more depth to a series that contains anywhere from six episodes upwards. Game of Thrones was one of the groundbreaking series to really capture the audience’s attention, however, there are so many amazing series now that it is becoming more difficult for movies to compete with the depth and the character development that a series can bring.

Huge series like Breaking Bad, The Sopranos and more recently, Succession, have really captured the attention of audiences around the world and this is something movie producers need to consider.

The entertainment factor

It’s not just video games and streaming that are competing for people’s attention. Another industry embracing technology is the online casino and betting sector. Here, we have seen huge advancements in the way people are able to game online. One company leading the way in the sector is Betway, “Developed by our exceptionally talented people, Betway creates market-leading, cutting-edge interactive gaming experiences. We bring people closer to the action – putting them at the centre, making them feel a part of it.”

From the introduction of in-game betting to the development of new and exciting interactive games, these online gaming sites are leading the way when it comes to embracing new technologies that can lead to better experiences for customers.

The movie industry is at a real crossroads. With competition coming from every direction within the entertainment industry, studios and distributors need to find a way to either a) get more people back into movie theatres or b) look at alternative ways to ensure that movies can compete with online gaming, live sports streaming and online casinos for a share of customer eyeballs.