Category Archives: Movies

Exclusive: TEZUKA! God of Manga – Ada Palmer discusses Tezuka’s drive to prove that manga can tell every type of story

Posted on by

It’s hard to overstate Osamu Tezuka’s influence on manga and anime in Japan and comic book and animation storytelling around the world. Before there was Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Chainsaw Man, and Jujutsu Kaisen, there was Tezuka’s Astro Boy: the loveable, iconic, atomic-powered robot boy. Known in Japan as Tetsuwan Atom, this loveable hero sprang fully formed from the imagination of Tezuka-sensei, AKA the “God of Manga.” Tezuka broke new ground in 1963 when he introduced Astro Boy as Japan’s first weekly animated TV program. Now, Peabody Award-winning director Jason Andrew Cohn and the Bread & Butter Films production team — will spotlight Osamu Tezuka’s life and legacy with TEZUKA! God of Manga, an all-new, feature-length documentary. Support the film on Kickstarter today. 

TEZUKA! God of Manga will feature interviews with legendary manga and anime creators including Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira), Riyoko Ikeda (Rose of Versaille), Naoki Urasawa (Monster), Go Nagai (Devilman), Yoshiyuki Tomino (Gundam), MADHOUSE co-founder and anime producer Masao Maruyama (Tokyo Godfathers), anime director Rintaro (Metropolis), best-selling fantasy author Ada Palmer (Too Like the Lightning), Samuel Sattin (Unico Awakening), and Jorge R. Gutierrez (The Book of Life), to discuss how Tezuka’s trailblazing influenced their work and changed the mediums of manga, comics, and animation. 

The documentary will also include in-depth conversations with scholars Helen McCarthy (The Art of Osamu Tezuka), Natsu Onoda Power (God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the creation of post-World War II Manga), and the dean of English-language manga scholarship, Fred Schodt (Manga! Manga!) discussing his long working relationship with Tezuka. Once the film is funded, the producers will schedule additional interviews with artists including Paul Pope (THB) and Ron Wimberly (Prince of Cats). 

Cohn and Tezuka Productions are also teaming up with some of today’s hottest manga and comic artists to create Kickstarter-exclusive collectible art prints featuring beautiful tributes to beloved Tezuka stories and characters. Fans can collect an astonishing Acetylene Lamp print by Shinichi Ishizuka (Blue Giant), striking takes on Astro Boy by Dave Baker (Mary Tyler MooreHawk) and Jorge R. Gutierrez (Book of Life), bold looks at Black Jack by Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth) and Yuko Shimizu (Barbed Wire Baseball), a beautiful Buddha print from Jesse Lonergan (Dome), a fantastic look at Phoenix by Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT), a pitch-perfect Princess Knight print by Elsa Charretier (November), unbelievable Unico artwork by Gurihuru (Unico Awakening, and a vibrant take on Vampires by Nicole Goux (Punk’n Heads).

Though he’s often compared to Walt Disney, Tezuka was arguably a greater cultural force. His mind-bending storylines — including Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Princess Knight, and hundreds of others — ignited a post-war explosion of creativity that positioned Japan as a global leader in comics and animation to this day and influenced generations of creators around the world.

We have an exclusive clip of fantasy author, scholar, and Tezuka fan Ada Palmer discussing Tezuka’s drive to prove that manga can tell every type of story. Check out the clip above and support the project today!

Moana leads the Weekend Box Office facing Choppy Waters

Posted on by
Moana

Moana wasn’t likely the opening hit Disney was looking for. The latest animated film turned live-action remake opened with $43 million domestically. That’s far below the projected $75 million the movie was believed it’d open with. Other projections had $45 million to $55 million which is also didn’t achieve. Internationally, the movie grossed $52 million delivering a worldwide debut of $95 million. The belief is the film’s live-action adaptation was too soon. While other films had 20-plus years since their animated debuts, the original Moana opened just a decade ago. Those who originally enjoyed it are likely teenagers now, and not the parents with their own families like other remakes. Add in poor reviews and it all comes together for a film many will likely wait to watch on streaming.

Minions & Monsters slipped to second place with $20.5 million domestically, a 44.6% drop from the previous week. The movie has grossed $108.3 million domestically after two weeks. Internationally, the movie added $73.4 million over the week to bring that to $171.8 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed a little over $280 million.

Toy Story 5 slipped to third place with $18.5 million to bring its domestic gross to $403.8 million. Internationally, it added $77.3 million over the week to bring that to $475.3 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $879.1 million giving it a good chance to cross the billion dollar mark before it’s time in theaters is over.

Evil Dead Burn opened in fourth place with $13.7 million domestically and $27 million internationally for a worldwide debut of $40.7 million.

Young Washington rounded out the top five with $6.4 million domestically where it has grossed $33.1 million. There’s no international gross.

In comic related movies…

Supergirl came in eighth place. It grossed an estimated $3.6 domestically which is now a little above $66 million. Internationally, the movie grossed $7.4 million over a week to bring that up to $49.4 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $115.4 million after two weeks.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu grossed an estimated $257,000 over the weekend to bring its domestic gross to $177.4 million. Internationally, the movie gained about $10.9 million to bring that to $163.1 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $340.5 million after five weeks. The film will wind up slightly short of Solo: A Star Wars Story was when it ended its run.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity has grossed $4.3 million domestically. Internationally, the movie has grossed $666,183 which makes $4.9 million worldwide.

Masters of the Universe grossed $1.1 million domestically which is now $64.3 million and has also grossed $48.3 million internationally for $112.6 million worldwide.

Numbers have 62 movies grossing $127,920,333 from 31,743 theaters for an average of $4,029.88. That is compared to last week’s 61 movies grossing $156,243,872 from 33,042 theaters for an average of $4,728.65.

Minions & Monsters takes the Weekend Box Office as Supergirl sees a Sharp Drop

Posted on by
Minions & Monsters

Minions & Monsters was the top of the weekend box office, grossing $36.4 million domestically. The film opened earlier in the week and so far has grossed an estimated $61.4 million in its first half week. Internationally, the movie has grossed $98.4 million for a worldwide total of $159.9 million.

Minions debuted in 2015, spinning out of Despicable Me, and opened with $115.7 million domestically and went on to gross $1.159 billion. Minions: The Rise of Gru was released in 2022 with a $107 million domestic opening and grossing $940.4 million worldwide.

This film’s opening is a sharp drop from both of those and there could be multiple factors to the poor opening. The holiday weekend was the 250th birthday of the US making it an extra special July 4th that might have had families more focused on the holiday, it could be economic issues, or it could be the property having just lost interest. It could also be a combo of all of that.

Toy Story 5 dropped to second place with $31 million lifting its domestic gross to $366.3 million. Internationally, the movie grossed $110.2 million over the week to bring that total to $398 million. Worldwide, the gross is $764.3 million.

Young Washington debuted with $20.8 million domestically and no international return.

Supergirl dropped to fourth place from second the previous week. It grossed an estimated $9.6 million which was a 74.1% drop from the previous week. Blockbusters tend to have large drops but they tend to be 60% to 65% with 70% being the higher end of things, so 74.1% is extreme for this type of film. Domestically, the movie has grossed $58.5 million. Internationally, the movie grossed $12 million over a week to bring that up to $42 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $100.5 million after two weeks.

Disclosure Day remained in fifth place with $6 million to bring its domestic gross to $105.3 million. Over the week, it grossed $10.9 million internationally which is now $111.2 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $216.6 million.

In comic related movies…

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu grossed an estimated $600,000 over the weekend to bring its domestic gross to $176.8 million. Internationally, the movie gained about $2.2 million to bring that to $152.2 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $329 million after five weeks. The film will wind up slight short of Solo: A Star Wars Story was when it ended its run.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity added $177,073 to its domestic gross which is $4.3 million. Internationally, the movie has grossed $555,707 which makes $4.8 million worldwide.

Masters of the Universe grossed $1.3 million domestically which is now $63.2 million and has also grossed $47.4 million internationally for $110.5 million worldwide.

Numbers have 56 movies grossing $117,685,327 from 30,197 theaters for an average of $3,897.25. That is compared to last week’s 61 movies grossing $156,243,872 from 33,042 theaters for an average of $4,728.65.

Toy Story 5 Holds on to First while Supergirl Struggles to Take Flight

Posted on by
Toy Story 5

Toy Story 5 held on to first at the weekend box office with an estimated $70 million, a 56.20% drop from the previous weekend. That percentage drop is pretty solid as blockbusters can often see drops well over 60%. Domestically, the film has grossed $297.2 million. Internationally, the movie added $137.8 million over the week to bring that to $287.8 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed a little over $585 million after two weeks.

Supergirl had a rough debut with $38 million domestically and $30 million internationally for $68 million worldwide. The movie had estimates believing it’d open around $50 million domestically. It’s a rough second outing for the new DC Studios whose debut reboot film Superman opened with $125 million in 2025. Supergirl’s domestic opening is even below the much maligned comic based film Morbius which grossed $39 million in 2022.

The movie has taken a beating from rightwing clickbait reactionaries online which began well before the film’s debut. DC Studios likely knew there might be issues as it held early screenings for general audiences in hopes it’d build word of mouth. The film has a 55% critic review and 76% from audiences on Rottentomatoes so it’s not one audiences are overwhelmingly behind that potentially gives it legs. It’s hard to say what will happen to the film and if it’ll cause an adjustment to DC Studios’ plans or if it might cause potential new owners Paramount Skydance to rethink the strategy and leadership. Most likely, the film will be rushed through theaters and moved to streaming in an accelerated time frame. As a whole, there may be some shine that has rubbed off of comic based films, or blockbusters in general, with the “must see” attitude finally ending. With a new Spider-Man film and Avengers still coming, we’ll see how they fare to really determine if the gravy train has ended.

In third place was Obsession which added $9.8 million to its domestic gross which is $233.9 million. Internationally, it grossed $18.8 million over the week and stands at $136.2 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $370.1 million.

Jackass: Best and Last debuted in fourth place with $8.4 domestically and $1.9 internationally for $10.3 million worldwide. That’s rough for the property which last saw a film released in 2022. The first movie debuted in 2002 with $22.8 million which was the lowest domestic debut for the franchise. Based on that opening, this will likely really be the last for the franchise.

Disclosure Day rounded out the top five dropping from second place last week. The movie grossed $8.1 million to bring its domestic gross to $94.4 million. Internationally, it grossed $6 million and overall it has grossed $99.3 million there after two weeks. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $193.7 million.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity opened in eighth with $3 million domestically and no international gross reported.

In comic related movies…

Masters of the Universe grossed $2.2 million domestically where it now stands at $61.9 million domestically and has also grossed $47.4 million internationally for $109.3 million worldwide.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu grossed an estimated $1.6 million over the weekend to bring its domestic gross to $175.3 million. Internationally, the movie remained at $150 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $325.3 million after five weeks. The film will wind up slight short of Solo: A Star Wars Story was when it ended its run.

Numbers have 61 movies grossing $156,243,872 from 33,042 theaters for an average of $4,728.65. That is compared to last week’s 59 movies grossing $231,676,415 from 31,200 theaters for an average of $7,425.53.

DC’s Batman: Knightfall Trailer Revealed!

Posted on by

DC, Warner Bros. Animation, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment have released the official trailer for Batman: Knightfall, a three-part movie event bringing to life one of the most iconic and beloved sagas in the rich history of Batman comics.

Part One of the trilogy, Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall premiered at the 2026 edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival with an official release planned for later this year.

Batman: Knightfall stars Anson Mount as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Michael Mando as Bane, Pablo Schreiber as Jean-Paul Valley/Azrael.

When the mysterious behemoth known only as Bane frees Batman’s entire Rogue’s Gallery from Arkham Asylum, the Caped Crusader is pushed to his mental and physical breaking point. 

Batman: Knightfall is based on characters from DC and the DC Comic Book Event, Batman: Knightfall by Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon, Alan Grant, Dennis O’Neil, Peter David, Jo Duffy, Jim Aparo, Graham Nolan, Norm Breyfogle, and Jim Balent.

Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall is directed by Jeff Wamester and written by Jeremy Adams. Rick Morales serves as Supervising Producer alongside Producers Jim Krieg and Kimberly S. Moreau. Sam Register and Michael Uslan are Executive Producers.

Yehudi Mercado’s Freddy The 13th gets animated with Dan Trachtenberg and Paramount Animation

Posted on by
Freddy the 13th

Dan Trachtenberg is working an animated comedy horror with Paramount Animation based on Yehudi Mercado‘s graphic novel, Freddy the 13th.

Trachtenberg is the director of 10 Cloverfield Lane, Prey, Predator: Killer of Killers, Predator: Badlands, and more.

Trachtenberg will produce the animated project with Ben Rosenblatt.

Uncle Buck becomes the Boogey Man when a horror-obsessed, unlucky schlub accidentally kills the legendary slasher Nighty Night, he inherits the mantle of the monster—right as he’s stuck babysitting his niece and nephew for thirteen nights of terror. Now, as rival killers crawl out of the shadows to seize the throne, Freddy must drive cross-country to break the curse, protect his family… and prove he’s finally good at something, even if it’s being evil.

Paramount Animation has said the project is a PG-rated horror film.

(via Deadline)

Toy Story 5 Dominates the Weekend Box Office while Disclosure Day Stumbles

Posted on by
Colorful poster for 'Toy Story 5' featuring main characters like Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Jessie, with a playful tablet displaying 'Hi! Let's play!'

Toy Story 5 topped the weekend box office with an estimated $160 million domestically and $152 million internationally for a worldwide debut of $312 million. That’s the best opening of any movie this year so far and a best for the film franchise.

For an opening domestic weekend, the movie crushed the previous best which was Toy Story 4‘s $120.9 million which was released in 2019.

The film has gotten a very good response, beyond the box office numbers. It currently has a 94% positive review from critics and a 95% positive review from average folks. The good word of mouth should drive the film, especially as families look for something to do in the early summer. The competition is interesting as Supergirl opens this coming week and Minions & Monsters is on July 1. While there’s potential for both to make a dent in this film’s box office, the franchise is a beloved one and there’s the Disney/Pixar die-hards that should keep it successful for quite some time.

The success of the film shows there’s still a lot of life in these toys and it’s a franchise families have embraced. Will we see Toy Story 6?

Opening DomesticTotal DomesticWorldwide
Toy Story (1995)$29,140,617$229,947,062$401,157,969
Toy Story 2 (1999)$300,163$245,852,179$497,375,404
Toy Story 3 (2010)$110,307,189$415,004,880$1,067,316,101
Toy Story 4 (2019)$120,908,065$434,038,008$1,073,841,394

Disclosure Day came in second place $17 million domestically, a 61.8% drop for the film. Domestically, it has grossed $78.3 million after two weeks. The film has struggled with mixed reviews, 71% from audiences and 80% from critics as of this article, a rare bump from Steven Spielberg. Over the week, it grossed $33.3 million internationally to bring that to $82.2 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $160.4 million.

Obsession dropped one spot to third place with $14.2 million to bring its domestic gross to $215.8 million. Over the week, it grossed $25.6 million to bring its international gross to $117.4 million. The movie has grossed $333.3 million worldwide.

Backrooms also slipped one spot to come in fourth with $7.3 million domestically. It has now grossed $175.2 million there. Over the week, it grossed $9.1 million internationally where it’s now $97.5 million. Worldwide, it’s gross is $272.7 million.

Scary Movie rounds out the top five with $6.7 million domestically and it’s domestic gross is $97.6 million. Over the week, the movie grossed $15.8 million internationally and the total is now $104.4 million. Worldwide, the gross is just under $202 million.

In comic related movies…

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu grossed an estimated $3.9 million over the weekend to bring its domestic gross to $171.8 million. Internationally, the movie remained at $150 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $321.8 million after four weeks. The film will wind up around where Solo: A Star Wars Story was when it ended its run.

Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe remained at $1.2 million domestically and the international gross remained at $17.3 million for $18.4 million worldwide.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea remained at $1.4 million domestically and internationally it grossed $60,000 to lift its total to $8 million internationally. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $7.4 million.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie – Infinity Castle is at $137 million domestically. Internationally, the movie has grossed $606.3 million. Its worldwide gross is $743.3 million.

All You Need Is Kill remained at $695,290 domestically and internationally gained a little and is at $46,328 for a worldwide gross of $741,618.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution remained at $16.6 million domestically. Internationally, it also sits at $27.9 million for a worldwide gross of $44.6 million.

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc remained at $43.4 million domestically. Internationally, the movie added a little and has grossed $119.2 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $162.6 million.

Numbers have 59 movies grossing $231,676,415 from 31,200 theaters for an average of $7,425.53. That is compared to last week’s 61 movies grossing $125,260,393 from 37,042 theaters for an average of $3,381.58.

Amazon pulls out of releasing the Sam Altam biopic Artificial after a partnership with OpenAI

Posted on by
Logo design featuring the word 'mozon' with a stylized arrow underneath, resembling the Amazon logo.

Welcome to entertainment where one unrelated division’s interests and deals impact movies and television. Amazon will no longer release Luca Guadagnino‘s film Artificial, which is a biopic about OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The film stars Andrew Garfield as Altman and is currently in post-production.

A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed the change of plans:

We have the utmost respect and admiration for Luca Guadagnino as an award-winning filmmaker — not to mention a longstanding relationship that we hope to continue. We believe that Artificial will be better served if it were released by a different studio and are working closely with the filmmaking team to find the film a new home.

Amazon has said it’d “attempt to help” Guadagnino find another studio to release the project.

In February 2026, OpenAI and Amazon announced a strategic partnership that included an environment of OpenAI models available to AWS customers, AWS being the exclusive third-party cloud distribution provider for OpenAI Frontier, Amazon investing $50 billion OpenAI, and more.

Artificial explores Sam Altman’s OpenAI and its turbulent time in 2023 when Altman was fired and rehired over a couple of days.

The film was announced in 2025 and the ensemble includes Mark Rylance, Andrew Garfield, Yura Borisov, Monica Barbaro, Billie Lourd, Jason Schwartzman, Cooper Koch, Cooper Hoffman, and Ike Barinholtz.

Beyond the partnership witb OpenAI, Amazon’s chief Jeff Bezos has been bullish on artificial intelligence, stating more resources should be given to it and that it wouldn’t take jobs from humans but he believes it’ll create jobs.

Experts have warner AI will have a negative impact on the labor market and we’ve already seen its devastating impact on the environment and its sucking up utilities causing prices to soar.

The move by Amazon should be a concern for anyone when it comes to the consolidation of entertainment and news by large tech companies and their willingness to use both to benefit themselves.

Amazon’s move can easily be read as its unwillingness to criticize a partner of theirs, risking an investment. It should then extend to Bezos’ Washington Post and what stories they might be ignoring or suppressing due to similar concerns.

With the current acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance, we can question that marriage of technology company (Paramount Skydance’s owner David Ellison is the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison) and entertainment and whether the new Paramount Skydance/WBD would be willing to have its news division or entertainment criticize AI or even come out against it. DC Comics‘ leadership has stated AI would not be used in the production of their product as an example and we’ve seen Ellison’s choice for leadership of CBS News willing to spike stories to benefit the Ellison’s and their relationship with the Trump administration.

A bigger question needs to go to those in the entertainment industry, how much are they willing to go along with this “mandate” and how much are they willing to push back against it?

Disclosure Day topped the Weekend Box Office and Beats Expectations

Posted on by
Disclosure Day

Disclosure Day beat expectations to top the weekend box office. It was predicted to gross $35 million domestically and around $65 million worldwide but the film beat both with $44 million domestically and $48.9 million internationally for $92.9 million worldwide in its first weekend. With a budget of around $115 million to product and $80 to market, the film still has a bit until it’s profitable but overall, it’s not a bad start for Steven Spielberg’s latest.

Obsession moved up to second place with an estimated $19 million domestically to bring its gross to $188.4 million. Over the week, it grossed $25.4 million internationally where it has now brought in $98.1 million for a worldwide total of $286.5 million.

Scary Movie was one of two major drops this week. The film was first last weekend, but dropped 73.3% to come in third with $14.5 million to lift its domestic gross to $84.6 million. Over the week, it added $38.1 million to its international total which is now $88.6 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $173.2 million which has it in fourth place for highest grossing in the franchise and it’ll easily move into third this week.

Backrooms slipped one spot to come in fourth with $11.3 million domestically where it has now grossed $160 million since its debut. Over the week, it added $10.8 million to its international gross to bring that to $88.4 million. Worldwide, the hit indie movie stands at $248.5 million.

Masters of the Universe was the other movie to tumble, dropping 70.6% from the previous week to round out the top five. The movie added $8.7 million to its domestic total which stands at $46.7 million. Internationally, it added $14.4 million to bring that to $39.4 million. Worldwide, that’s just $86.1 million after two weeks. With a budget between $160 and $200 million, before marketing, it’s hard to call this anything but a failure, no matter how hard Amazon-MGM attempts to spin it.

In comic related movies…

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu held steady in sixth place this weekend. The movie grossed an estimated $4.7 million over the weekend to bring its domestic gross to $165.1 million. Internationally, the movie grossed about $12.2 million over the week to bring that to $150 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $315.1million after four weeks. The film will wind up around where Solo: A Star Wars Story was when it ended its run.

Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe remained at $1.2 million domestically and the international gross remained at $17.3 million for $18.4 million worldwide.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea remained at $1.4 million domestically and internationally it grossed $1.5 million to lift its total to $5.9 million internationally. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $7.4 million.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie – Infinity Castle is at $137 million domestically. Internationally, the movie has grossed $606.3 million. Its worldwide gross is $743.3 million.

All You Need Is Kill remained at $695,290 domestically and internationally gained a little and is at $46,328 for a worldwide gross of $741,618.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution remained at $16.6 million domestically. Internationally, it also sits at $27.9 million for a worldwide gross of $44.5 million.

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc remained at $43.4 million domestically. Internationally, the movie added a little and has grossed $119.1 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $162.6 million.

Numbers have 61 movies grossing $125,260,393 from 37,042 theaters for an average of $3,381.58. That is compared to last week’s 51 movies grossing $182,170,514 from 35,524 theaters for an average of $5,128.

« Older Entries Recent Entries »