'Abominable' Win; Inside 'Joker' Premiere; 'SNL' Ratings Drop; 'Irishman' Oscar Hopes; Biden's Giuliani Letter

What's news: Abominable owns the box office, Saturday Night Live returns, inside the Joker and Irishman premieres, the Joe Biden campaign tells news networks to stop booking Rudy Giuliani, an interview with Twitch's CEO. Plus: iHeartMedia is bringing back its Podcast Awards, and a guide to the week ahead. --Alex Weprin [The Hollywood Reporter]( [The Hollywood Reporter]( Today In Entertainment SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 What's news: Abominable owns the box office, Saturday Night Live returns, inside the Joker and Irishman premieres, the Joe Biden campaign tells news networks to stop booking Rudy Giuliani, an interview with Twitch's CEO. Plus: iHeartMedia is bringing back its Podcast Awards, and a guide to the week ahead. --Alex Weprin What's news: Abominable owns the box office, Saturday Night Live returns, inside the Joker and Irishman premieres, the Joe Biden campaign tells news networks to stop booking Rudy Giuliani, an interview with Twitch's CEO. Plus: iHeartMedia is bringing back its Podcast Awards, and a guide to the week ahead. --Alex Weprin ['Abominable' Win] 'Abominable' Win ►Box office: Marking the first studio animated pic of the fall season, DreamWorks Animation's Abominable easily scaled the box office chart over the weekend with a winning $20.9 million from 4,242 theaters, Pamela McClintock reports. Elsewhere overseas, the family film earned $8.8 million from 30 markets for an early foreign total of $10.2 million and $31 million globally. It will open in China this week. Abominable scored the biggest opening of the year so far for an original animated movie; It also joins fellow Universal releases Us and Good Boys as the only original films of 2019 to open at No. 1. +Meanwhile: At the awards box office, Renee Zellweger-starrer Judy sang loudly in its debut, landing at No. 7 with $3.1 million from 461 theaters. Downtown Abbey, Hustlers, and It: Chapter Two continued to perform. [The numbers](. ►Joker asked to "speak for itself" at premiere. The scrutiny over the forthcoming Joker film from Warner Bros. was present at its premiere, held Saturday night at the TCL Chinese Theater, Aaron Couch reports. There was extra security at the Hollywood & Highland parking structure, while director Todd Phillips introduced the film by acknowledging its reception. "Enjoy the movie. Tell a friend, I feel like we have not gotten enough press and the word hasn’t gotten out about this film," Phillips said to laughs, before going on to praise Phoenix's work as the DC villain. "He gave it his all, and I just want to thank him one more time." [The report](. +Meanwhile: just a few miles away, at Westwood’s Regency Theater, Eddie Murphy's Netflix film Dolemite Is My Name had its premiere. "It's a great story, it's a great inspirational story about this man who did something incredible and people don't know about it," Murphy told THR on his project at the premiere. [More](. Awards Chatter: After attending the premiere in New York's Alice Tully Hall this weekend, THR awards columnist Scott Feinberg writes that Martin Scorsese's The Irishman "is the real deal." Quote: "[I]t will be hard for the male-dominated Academy to resist a film that is made this well by so many beloved legends, who, with the exception of Pesci, appear willing to beat the pavement in support of what could be their last rodeo together." [The column](. +About that three-and-a-half hour running time: "Get over it," actor Bobby Canavale, who plays Felix "Skinny Razor" DiTullio said. "It's a Martin Scorsese movie with Bob De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci — it's an incredible film. I didn't want it to end," he added. [More](. Elsewhere in film... --Imax has revealed a collaboration with Kanye West, in which they [will release the film]( Jesus Is King exclusively in Imax theaters around the world on Oct. 25. --20th Century Fox on Sunday released the[first full trailer]( for The King's Man. --The Fast and The Furious director Rob Cohen [has been accused]( of sexual assault. --The Irishman, Ad Astra, The Report [set for]( Mumbai Film Festival. 'Abominable' Win ►Box office: Marking the first studio animated pic of the fall season, DreamWorks Animation's Abominable easily scaled the box office chart over the weekend with a winning $20.9 million from 4,242 theaters, Pamela McClintock reports. Elsewhere overseas, the family film earned $8.8 million from 30 markets for an early foreign total of $10.2 million and $31 million globally. It will open in China this week. Abominable scored the biggest opening of the year so far for an original animated movie; It also joins fellow Universal releases Us and Good Boys as the only original films of 2019 to open at No. 1. +Meanwhile: At the awards box office, Renee Zellweger-starrer Judy sang loudly in its debut, landing at No. 7 with $3.1 million from 461 theaters. Downtown Abbey, Hustlers, and It: Chapter Two continued to perform. [The numbers](. ►Joker asked to "speak for itself" at premiere. The scrutiny over the forthcoming Joker film from Warner Bros. was present at its premiere, held Saturday night at the TCL Chinese Theater, Aaron Couch reports. There was extra security at the Hollywood & Highland parking structure, while director Todd Phillips introduced the film by acknowledging its reception. "Enjoy the movie. Tell a friend, I feel like we have not gotten enough press and the word hasn’t gotten out about this film," Phillips said to laughs, before going on to praise Phoenix's work as the DC villain. "He gave it his all, and I just want to thank him one more time." [The report](. +Meanwhile: just a few miles away, at Westwood’s Regency Theater, Eddie Murphy's Netflix film Dolemite Is My Name had its premiere. "It's a great story, it's a great inspirational story about this man who did something incredible and people don't know about it," Murphy told THR on his project at the premiere. [More](. Awards Chatter: After attending the premiere in New York's Alice Tully Hall this weekend, THR awards columnist Scott Feinberg writes that Martin Scorsese's The Irishman "is the real deal." Quote: "[I]t will be hard for the male-dominated Academy to resist a film that is made this well by so many beloved legends, who, with the exception of Pesci, appear willing to beat the pavement in support of what could be their last rodeo together." [The column](. +About that three-and-a-half hour running time: "Get over it," actor Bobby Canavale, who plays Felix "Skinny Razor" DiTullio said. "It's a Martin Scorsese movie with Bob De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci — it's an incredible film. I didn't want it to end," he added. [More](. Elsewhere in film... --Imax has revealed a collaboration with Kanye West, in which they [will release the film]( Jesus Is King exclusively in Imax theaters around the world on Oct. 25. --20th Century Fox on Sunday released the[first full trailer]( for The King's Man. --The Fast and The Furious director Rob Cohen [has been accused]( of sexual assault. --The Irishman, Ad Astra, The Report [set for]( Mumbai Film Festival. ['SNL' Returns] 'SNL' Returns ►Season 45 of NBC's Saturday Night Live kicked off with, what else? An impeachment-themed cold open, "in which a lot of castmembers did quickie impressions of people in Trump's sphere and Alec {NAME} remained on Emmy-winning cruise control," Daniel Fienberg writes in a critic's notebook. Quote: "It may be a nightmare that we still have over a year to go before the 2020 election, but that gives SNL a lot of time to find a meaningful angle on two or three of these [Democratic] candidates. Nothing so far! There were light jibes directed at 10 of the Democratic contenders, none of whom is likely to tweet in outrage about it later. Then again, neither is Trump, because we've reached the point at which even Trump's affection for Nazis hardly feels like it has teeth." [The notebook](. +The ratings: Saturday Night Live was not immune to the overall ratings declines in the first week of the 2019-20 TV season. The premiere, hosted by Woody Harrelson and featuring Billie Eilish as musical guest, drew a 4.1 household rating in overnight metered markets and a 1.6 among adults 18-49. That's down about 15 percent in households and 30 percent in adults 18-49 vs. last season's opener (4.8 and 2.3). [More](. +Also: Kamala Harris and Andrew Yang [respond to]( their Maya Rudolph and Bowen Yang impressions... The [story behind](host Woody Harrelson's "fashionista" look... Larry David, Rudolph [shine as]( Sanders and Harris in Democratic town hall sketch... Trump [seeks impeachment advice]( from Kanye, Kim Jong-un, and Judge Jeanine in the cold open... [The rest](of the sketches... Speaking of impeachment news... ►Joe Biden's campaign asks TV networks to stop booking Rudy Giuliani. Jeremy Barr reports that in a letter sent Sunday to top executives, producers and anchors at the broadcast and cable news networks, two key Biden advisors pressed the outlets to stop booking Giuliani, who has appeared frequently in the last few weeks to allege Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, of a pay-for-play in Ukraine. From the letter: "We write to demand that in service to the facts, you no longer book Rudy Giuliani, a surrogate for Donald Trump who has demonstrated that he will knowingly and willingly lie in order to advance his own narrative." [The story](. +Impeachment watch... --Robert De Niro [got heated]( on Sunday morning when addressing the criticism he receives from Fox News for speaking out against President Donald Trump during an interview with Brian Stelter on CNN's Reliable Sources. He dropped a pair of F-bombs as well. --What will Hillary Clinton's book tour bring? Clinton and her daughter Chelsea Clinton wrote The Book of Gutsy Women, and are booked on CBS' Late Show, ABC's The View and other shows to promote it, and to respond to the latest news. --HBO's John Oliver [dubs]( Trump's Ukraine scandal as the "stupidest Watergate." --Ana Navarro, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti [slam Trump]( at the 20th annual LGBTQ Equality Awards. --Oprah Winfrey [called Disney CEO Bob Iger]("The man I wish was running for president" ►Succession watch: In last night's episode of the HBO drama, there was a leadership surprise (no spoilers here), and a grand gesture that fell flat. Kieran Culkin, who plays Roman Roy in the show, spoke to Katie Kilkenny about the twist. [More](. ►Synergy watch: WWE Friday Night Smackdown will debut on Fox this week, and the company is launching a synergistic marketing campaign to promote it. Every day this week, WWE superstars like Roman Reigns, Kofi Kingston, Stephanie McMahon and Charlotte Flair will be guests on Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends, and FS1's First Things First. Reigns will also appear on Thursday Night Football. +In other Fox News, news: Fox Business Network, fresh off a new deal with Maria Bartiromo, is debuting a "refreshed" brand today, including new graphics and a new tagline: "Invested in you." FBN will also advertise on sister network Fox News. “If our viewers are going to watch business news, we want them to watch our business news,” Fox News media marketing chief Jason Klarman [tells Forbes](. Elsewhere in TV... --Tim Goodman reviews Fox's [new animated series Bless The Harts](. He also reviews [Epix's Godafther of Harlem](. --Jimmy Kimmel [jokes about]( losing the Emmy to John Oliver (again) on Last Week Tonight. --An alien invasion has struck England in [the first trailer](released Sunday for the BBC's upcoming reboot of H.G. Wells' sci-fi novel, The War of the Worlds. --Did Fear the Walking Dead [just kill one](of the franchise's most important characters? --Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a 60 Minutes interview [that he takes]( "full responsibility" for the grisly murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but denied allegations that he ordered it. 'SNL' Returns ►Season 45 of NBC's Saturday Night Live kicked off with, what else? An impeachment-themed cold open, "in which a lot of castmembers did quickie impressions of people in Trump's sphere and Alec {NAME} remained on Emmy-winning cruise control," Daniel Fienberg writes in a critic's notebook. Quote: "It may be a nightmare that we still have over a year to go before the 2020 election, but that gives SNL a lot of time to find a meaningful angle on two or three of these [Democratic] candidates. Nothing so far! There were light jibes directed at 10 of the Democratic contenders, none of whom is likely to tweet in outrage about it later. Then again, neither is Trump, because we've reached the point at which even Trump's affection for Nazis hardly feels like it has teeth." [The notebook](. +The ratings: Saturday Night Live was not immune to the overall ratings declines in the first week of the 2019-20 TV season. The premiere, hosted by Woody Harrelson and featuring Billie Eilish as musical guest, drew a 4.1 household rating in overnight metered markets and a 1.6 among adults 18-49. That's down about 15 percent in households and 30 percent in adults 18-49 vs. last season's opener (4.8 and 2.3). [More](. +Also: Kamala Harris and Andrew Yang [respond to]( their Maya Rudolph and Bowen Yang impressions... The [story behind](host Woody Harrelson's "fashionista" look... Larry David, Rudolph [shine as]( Sanders and Harris in Democratic town hall sketch... Trump [seeks impeachment advice]( from Kanye, Kim Jong-un, and Judge Jeanine in the cold open... [The rest](of the sketches... Speaking of impeachment news... ►Joe Biden's campaign asks TV networks to stop booking Rudy Giuliani. Jeremy Barr reports that in a letter sent Sunday to top executives, producers and anchors at the broadcast and cable news networks, two key Biden advisors pressed the outlets to stop booking Giuliani, who has appeared frequently in the last few weeks to allege Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, of a pay-for-play in Ukraine. From the letter: "We write to demand that in service to the facts, you no longer book Rudy Giuliani, a surrogate for Donald Trump who has demonstrated that he will knowingly and willingly lie in order to advance his own narrative." [The story](. +Impeachment watch... --Robert De Niro [got heated]( on Sunday morning when addressing the criticism he receives from Fox News for speaking out against President Donald Trump during an interview with Brian Stelter on CNN's Reliable Sources. He dropped a pair of F-bombs as well. --What will Hillary Clinton's book tour bring? Clinton and her daughter Chelsea Clinton wrote The Book of Gutsy Women, and are booked on CBS' Late Show, ABC's The View and other shows to promote it, and to respond to the latest news. --HBO's John Oliver [dubs]( Trump's Ukraine scandal as the "stupidest Watergate." --Ana Navarro, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti [slam Trump]( at the 20th annual LGBTQ Equality Awards. --Oprah Winfrey [called Disney CEO Bob Iger]("The man I wish was running for president" ►Succession watch: In last night's episode of the HBO drama, there was a leadership surprise (no spoilers here), and a grand gesture that fell flat. Kieran Culkin, who plays Roman Roy in the show, spoke to Katie Kilkenny about the twist. [More](. ►Synergy watch: WWE Friday Night Smackdown will debut on Fox this week, and the company is launching a synergistic marketing campaign to promote it. Every day this week, WWE superstars like Roman Reigns, Kofi Kingston, Stephanie McMahon and Charlotte Flair will be guests on Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends, and FS1's First Things First. Reigns will also appear on Thursday Night Football. +In other Fox News, news: Fox Business Network, fresh off a new deal with Maria Bartiromo, is debuting a "refreshed" brand today, including new graphics and a new tagline: "Invested in you." FBN will also advertise on sister network Fox News. “If our viewers are going to watch business news, we want them to watch our business news,” Fox News media marketing chief Jason Klarman [tells Forbes](. Elsewhere in TV... --Tim Goodman reviews Fox's [new animated series Bless The Harts](. He also reviews [Epix's Godafther of Harlem](. --Jimmy Kimmel [jokes about]( losing the Emmy to John Oliver (again) on Last Week Tonight. --An alien invasion has struck England in [the first trailer](released Sunday for the BBC's upcoming reboot of H.G. Wells' sci-fi novel, The War of the Worlds. --Did Fear the Walking Dead [just kill one](of the franchise's most important characters? --Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a 60 Minutes interview [that he takes]( "full responsibility" for the grisly murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but denied allegations that he ordered it. [Twitch CEO Speaks] Twitch CEO Speaks ►Twitch CEO on war for streaming talent, transparent moderation plans, and more. From the annual TwitchCon event, Patrick Shanley sits down with Emmett Shear, the CEO of the Amazon-owned streaming platform about the new competition the company faces, its efforts to stop inappropriate content, and new monetization efforts for its talent. Quote: "Any media community needs its stars, but I don’t think of it so much as having the ones that exist because neither Shroud nor Ninja were huge celebrity stars four years ago. They were Twitch streamers. What I’m excited about is the ability to build up tomorrow’s stars and to really figure out how Twitch can help people find their audience as streamers... If you asked me when I thought we’d be creating celebrities, I don’t know if we’d ever do that." [The interview](. ►iHeartRadio Podcast Awards to return in January. The show, which will take place Friday, Jan. 17, and will be broadcast and streamed across iHeartMedia stations nationwide, will feature 30 categories across the podcasting landscape. The company launches its first Podcast Awards show early this year. [More](. ►The agency drama expands beyond Endeavor. ICM Partners COO Justin Dearborn has resigned. His tenure was brief, having left the Tribune Publishing Co. in February to join ICM. In addition to Dearborn's exit, chief human resources officer Cindy Ballard also announced her resignation this week. She joined the talent agency in March, replacing longtime HR officer Karen Abrams. [More](. The week ahead... +In TV: AMC's The Walking Dead returns for its 10th season on Sunday, Oct. 6. Also happening that night: the fourth and final season premiere of USA's Mr. Robot. In wrestling news: WWE Friday Night Smackdown makes its Fox debut Friday, while TNT launches All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite on Wednesday. On broadcast: Almost Family debuts on Fox Wednesday, while Kids Say The Darndest Things debuts on ABC Sunday. +In Film: The weekend belongs to Warner Bros.' Joker, which opens Friday. Dolemite Is My Name and Lucy In The Sky open in limited release. Obituaries: [Busbee](, a Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer, has died. He was 43.... Mexican pop singer [José José](, considered to be one of the most prolific Latin balladeers of his generation, has died. He was 71... Actress [Linda Porter](has died. She was 86... [Robert Garrison](, best known for his work in Karate Kid, has died. He was 59. What else we're reading... --"From Hustlers to Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, journalists become fall film stars" [[LA Times](] --"The toll of Me Too: Assessing the costs for those who came forward" [[New York Magazine](] --"The most watched editor at Fashion Week" [[NY Times](] --Another woman says Al Franken groped her" [[The Cut](] --"TCG buys majority stake in Food52 for $83 Million" [[WSJ](] Today's birthdays: Chris Jackson, 44, Fran Drescher, 62, Jenna Elfman, 48, Marion Cotillard, 44, Tony Hale, 49, T-Pain, 34. Twitch CEO Speaks ►Twitch CEO on war for streaming talent, transparent moderation plans, and more. From the annual TwitchCon event, Patrick Shanley sits down with Emmett Shear, the CEO of the Amazon-owned streaming platform about the new competition the company faces, its efforts to stop inappropriate content, and new monetization efforts for its talent. Quote: "Any media community needs its stars, but I don’t think of it so much as having the ones that exist because neither Shroud nor Ninja were huge celebrity stars four years ago. They were Twitch streamers. What I’m excited about is the ability to build up tomorrow’s stars and to really figure out how Twitch can help people find their audience as streamers... If you asked me when I thought we’d be creating celebrities, I don’t know if we’d ever do that." [The interview](. ►iHeartRadio Podcast Awards to return in January. The show, which will take place Friday, Jan. 17, and will be broadcast and streamed across iHeartMedia stations nationwide, will feature 30 categories across the podcasting landscape. The company launches its first Podcast Awards show early this year. [More](. ►The agency drama expands beyond Endeavor. ICM Partners COO Justin Dearborn has resigned. His tenure was brief, having left the Tribune Publishing Co. in February to join ICM. In addition to Dearborn's exit, chief human resources officer Cindy Ballard also announced her resignation this week. She joined the talent agency in March, replacing longtime HR officer Karen Abrams. [More](. The week ahead... +In TV: AMC's The Walking Dead returns for its 10th season on Sunday, Oct. 6. Also happening that night: the fourth and final season premiere of USA's Mr. Robot. In wrestling news: WWE Friday Night Smackdown makes its Fox debut Friday, while TNT launches All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite on Wednesday. On broadcast: Almost Family debuts on Fox Wednesday, while Kids Say The Darndest Things debuts on ABC Sunday. +In Film: The weekend belongs to Warner Bros.' Joker, which opens Friday. Dolemite Is My Name and Lucy In The Sky open in limited release. Obituaries: [Busbee](, a Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer, has died. He was 43.... Mexican pop singer [José José](, considered to be one of the most prolific Latin balladeers of his generation, has died. He was 71... Actress [Linda Porter](has died. She was 86... [Robert Garrison](, best known for his work in Karate Kid, has died. He was 59. What else we're reading... --"From Hustlers to Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, journalists become fall film stars" [[LA Times](] --"The toll of Me Too: Assessing the costs for those who came forward" [[New York Magazine](] --"The most watched editor at Fashion Week" [[NY Times](] --Another woman says Al Franken groped her" [[The Cut](] --"TCG buys majority stake in Food52 for $83 Million" [[WSJ](] Today's birthdays: Chris Jackson, 44, Fran Drescher, 62, Jenna Elfman, 48, Marion Cotillard, 44, Tony Hale, 49, T-Pain, 34. [Image] [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( Is this e-mail not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( ©2019 The Hollywood Reporter. 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 All rights reserved. SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [MANAGE PREFERENCES]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [TERMS OF USE](