Charlie McBrearty’s West Hollywood-based independent firm Shortlist has taken on Los Angeles-headquartered Bruce Dowad Associates and New York-based Brand New School for representation on the West Coast and in Texas. Additionally, Shortlist is handling Texas for Elias Arts, bicoastal. And coming aboard Shortlist as a rep is Vanessa McLean, formerly of Plum Productions, Santa Monica….Connor Swegle has joined Click 3X, New York, as national broadcast sales representative….Rob Russo Promotions, New York, is handling East Coast sales for director Charles Oliver of Metropolis Productions, Salt Lake City….Cinematographer Ben Davis has signed with ICM in the United States. The Los Angeles-headquartered ICM will handle him in all areas, including features, TV, commercials and music videos. Davis recently wrapped work on the Sony Classics feature Layer Cake for Matthew Vaughan. The cinematographer is also no stranger to spots, having worked regularly with director Daniel Barber….Production designer Kenny Baird has signed with Innovative Artists, Santa Monica, for exclusive representation in features, commercials and music videos….
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” Tops Weekend Box Office
In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures' "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" sped past the Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" to take the top spot at the box office ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters.
"Sonic the Hedgehog 3" debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates. With strong reviews (86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a high score from audiences (an "A" on CinemaScore), "Sonic 3" is well positioned to be the top choice in cinemas during the busiest moviegoing period of the year.
It was telling of some wider trends that "Sonic 3" — made for $122 million — bested one of Disney's top properties. Videogame adaptations, once among the most derided movie genres, have emerged as one of the most dependable box office forces in recent years. The two previous "Sonic" movies together grossed more $700 million worldwide and the third installment appears likely to do better than both of them. A fourth "Sonic" movie is already in development.
"Mufasa," however, was humbled in its opening weekend, with its $35 million in domestic ticket sales coming in notably shy of expectations . The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel even opened wider than "Sonic 3," launching on 4,100 theaters and gobbling up most IMAX screens, compared with 3,761 locations for "Sonic 3."
Though "Mufasa's" reviews were poor (56% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave it an "A-" CinemaScore.
"Sonic 3" nearly doubled the haul for "Mufasa," which cost more than $200 million to make. Disney could look to $87.2 million in international sales to help make up the difference. The third "Sonic" will rollout in most overseas markets in the coming weeks.
In director Jeff... Read More