'Eternals’ Opens to $71M; Adrien Brody Talks His 'Succession' Debut; Sarah Jessica Parker Slams "Misogynist Chatter" Around 'SATC' Cast

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( November 08, 2021 What's news: Eternals opened at No.1 at the global box office but the numbers were down on previous Marvel films. Vin Diesel wants a rapprochement with Dwayne Johnson. Disney is reducing the price of Disney+ to $1.99 for a month. Vera Dreams of the Sea wins best film at the Tokyo Film Festival. Plus: Wicked fans have started a petition to keep James Corden out of the movie adaptation — [Abid Rahman]( 'Eternals' Battles Its Way to $71M Opening, $161.7M Globally ►Uphill struggle. Marvel's Eternals battled its way to a $71 million debut from 4,090 theaters in North America, the low end of expectations, but fared better overseas for a worldwide start of $161.7 million, the second-biggest global opening of the pandemic era. THR's [Pamela McClintock]( writes that the domestic start for Chloé Zhao’s film is among the lowest of any of the 26 titles in the MCU, with the last film to open to less was Ant-Man in 2015. It is also lower than the two other Marvel movies released during the pandemic, Shang-Chi and Black Widow. Eternals' word-of-mouth was hampered by the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score and CinemaScore of any MCU film. Some good news for Eternals, the numbers were robust internationally, where it opened to a better-than-expected $90.7 million from 46 material markets, excluding China and Russia. Elsewhere, Pablo Larrain’s Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana, started off with a subdued $2.1 million from 996 theaters, underscoring the challenges facing adult-skewing dramas in the COVID-19 era. [The box office report.]( —The streak is over. On the subject of Eternals' CinemaScore, the film's B grade was the lowest grade of any film in the MCU, which now boasts 26 titles. Every other MCU title save for Thor, which received a B+ more than a decade ago, has earned some variation of an A, an enviable feat. But seasoned box office analysts don't think there's any cause for alarm. [The story.]( —Dividing audiences. With a muted critical response and lowish (for Marvel) opening at the domestic box office, Eternals clearly isn’t working for everyone. [Richard Newby]( looks at the reasons behind the film's mixed reaction, which may in part be down to director Chloé Zhao, like Zack Snyder before her, preferring to deconstruct her superheroes and forces them to question their purpose in the world. [The analysis.]( —Staying power. No Time to Die added $11.4 million in its second weekend in China, a 60 percent slide from its $28.2 million debut. The film has brought in $49.2 million from the Middle Kingdom so far, with ticketing app Maoyan projecting a $65 million finish. That will make China the Bond movie’s fourth-biggest market, behind the U.K., U.S. and Germany. Faring less well is Paramount's Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins. The film opened to just $1.5 million, failing to crack the weekend’s list of top-five titles. [The China box office report.]( Adrien Brody Talks His 'Succession' Debut ►"I had to come in and swim with the sharks." THR's [Katie Kilkenny]( speaks to Succession debutant Adrien Brody on the "collaborative" process that helped to form his activist investor character and what it was like to spar with Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong in the series' latest episode. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( —Renewal. Tamron Hall’s syndicated talk show has scored a two-season renewal that will take it through the 2023-24 season. Tamron Hall premiered in September 2019 and won a Daytime Emmy for outstanding informative talk show after its first season. ABC News took over production this season. [The story.]( —Rising star. Harkins Theatres exec Heather Morgan has been named president of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation, making her the first woman to assume the top role in the charity’s 85-year history. [The story.]( —"There are times to quote Martin Luther King, and this was not one of them." Aaron Rodgers on Sunday was skewered by Howie Long, Michael Strahan and the rest of the Fox NFL Sunday Crew over his COVID-19 situation. The Green Bay Packers QB has been in the hot seat after a Friday interview where he admitted he was not vaccinated after contracting the virus. [The story.]( —ICYMI. Saturday Night Live's cold open saw Cecily Strong's Judge Jeanine interviewing Pete Davidson's Aaron Rodgers about not getting the COVID-19 vaccine, even though the Green Bay Packers star had previously said he was "immunized." [The story.]( Vin Asks The Rock to Return to 'Fast' Franchise ►"My little brother Dwayne… the time has come." Vin Diesel kinda sorta extended the olive branch to fellow hulking Hollywood frontman Dwayne Johnson Sunday in a hard-to-forget Instagram post, in which Big Vin asked The Rock to squash their beef and rejoin the Fast franchise for the tenth and final film. The two superstars had an epic falling out in 2016 when they clashed for the last time on the set of The Fate of the Furious. They have been exchanging barbs in the media ever since, most famously Johnson's thinly-to-not-at-all veiled Instagram post in 2016 questioning Diesel's professionalism. But now it looks like Diesel at least is willing to forgive and forget for the sake of the Fast legacy. [The story.]( —Discount Disney. Disney is slashing the price of its Disney+ subscription to $1.99 for one month as part of a slew of promotions leading up to Disney+ Day on Nov. 12. New and eligible returning subscribers in eligible countries can sign up for one month of Disney+ at the discounted price through Nov. 14. [The story.]( —Educating consumers on the cinematic experience. Disney+ will release 13 Marvel films on Nov. 12 with IMAX enhanced, a at-home screening feature that will give users an expanded aspect ratio of 1:90:1 that will allow for more action to be seen on screen. [The story.]( —Take the box. An auction of most than 800 of Amy Winehouse’s dresses, shoes, jewelry and accessories that she wore on stage, in photo shoots and at various public events brought in $4 million over the weekend. [The story.]( —"It was kind of heavy." Ed Sheeran, who is out of his isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, spoke about his diagnosis and recent recovery in a new interview with Howard Stern. The singer-songwriter explained the timeline of his experience with COVID-19 and said that his young daughter, 1-year-old Lyra, also tested positive at the time. [The story.]( SJP Slams "Misogynist Chatter" Over 'SATC' Cast Growing Older ►"Everyone has something to say. 'She has too many wrinkles, she doesn’t have enough wrinkles.'" Sarah Jessica Parker is criticizing what she calls the “misogynist chatter” over the Sex and the City cast’s aging looks. The actress graces the cover of December’s Vogue as part of the promotion for HBO Max’s upcoming SATC reboot, And Just Like That. She says that the response to the show, which debuts in December, has been confounding. [The story.]( —"In no way shape or form." Fans are petitioning producers behind a movie adaptation of the hit musical Wicked to not cast James Corden. The petition, posted on Change.org and addressed directly to Universal which is producing the film, has racked up over 28,000 signatures already. [The story.]( —Winner. Kosovo filmmaker Kaltrina Krasniqi’s semi-autobiographical drama Vera Dreams of the Sea won the Tokyo International Film Festival’s Grand Prix Monday night local time at a virtual ceremony streamed from the Japanese capital. [The story.]( In other news... —Film review: Walt Becker's [Clifford the Big Red Dog]( —SNL: Host Kieran Culkin recalls appearing with brother [Macaulay on the show 30 years ago]( —[The Obama portraits]( make their west coast debut at LACMA —Moonlighting as a model: [Barry Jenkins appears in campaign for L.A. label]( —Eternals star [Don Lee on protecting Angelina Jolie]( and that CG baby costume —Oscars: South Africa selects Amy Jephta's [Barakat]( for international feature category —How Marvel brought Eternals and [its "big, dysfunctional family" to the screen]( —From Kristen Stewart to Catherine Oxenberg: [11 actresses who have played Princess Diana]( —[Brighton Way in Beverly Hills]( emerges as destination for luxury menswear —[Gal Gadot on Lynda Carter]( joining next Wonder Woman What else we're reading... —Inside the Trump Presidency’s Most Humiliating Moment [[Daily Beast]( —How Kristen Stewart Went From Object of Mockery to Best Actress Front-Runner [[Slate]( —Why Ruth Negga’s Passing Role Is “Still Haunting” Her [[Vanity Fair]( —Kenneth Branagh Is Finally Processing His Childhood Trauma [[New York Times]( —Instagram: A Blessing Or A Curse? [[BBC]( Today... ...in 1973, Disney unveiled its 83-minute animated adaptation Robin Hood, featuring music and songs from George Bruns, Roger Miller, Floyd Huddleston and Johnny Mercer. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Parker Posey (53), Tara Reid (46), Courtney Thorne-Smith (54), Gretchen Mol (49), Alfre Woodard (69), Matthew Rhys (47), Alain Delon (86), Jocelin Donahue (40), [Richard Curtis]( (65), Gordon Ramsay (55), Jack Osbourne (36), Leif Garrett (60) This email was sent to {EMAIL} by Penske Media Corporation. Please add email@email.hollywoodreporter.com to your address book to ensure delivery to your inbox. Visit the [Preferences Center]( to update your profile and customize what email alerts and newsletters you receive. Copyright © 2021 The Hollywood Reporter, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. 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