'Spider-Man' Soars Past $600M Domestically; Study: Number of Women Film Directors Down in 2021; Critic’s Appreciation of Betty White

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( January 03, 2022 What's news: Hollywood has been paying tribute to the late icon Betty White. Spider-Man: No Way Home continues its relentless quest to smash every pandemic era box office record. Alec {NAME} is looking to get his life back on track in 2022. Patton Oswalt has addressed his friend Dave Chappelle's views on trans rights. Plus: Will Arnett replaces scandal-plagued Armie Hammer in Taika Waititi's soccer comedy — [Abid Rahman]( Study: Share of Women Film Directors Down to 12 Percent in 2021 ►Going backward. Although women directors reached historic highs of inclusion for films that performed well at the U.S. box office in 2020, the trend did not continue upward in the past year, according to the 24th annual Celluloid Ceiling report from San Diego State’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film. Just 12 percent of the directors of 2021’s 100 highest-grossing films in the U.S. were women, down from 16 percent the year before. Slightly more women were represented when the field was widened to the top 250 movies – 17 percent – but not by much (18 percent in 2020). [The story.]( —"No one wants the truth more than I do." Alec {NAME} is offering somber contemplation about the coming year following the deadly October shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust. The actor posted a nearly 13-minute video to Instagram on Saturday in which he offered an update on his emotional state of mind and thanked fans for continuing to send him messages of support. [The story.]( —"I’m an LGBTQ ally. I’m a loyal friend. There’s friction in those traits." Patton Oswalt took to social media to talk about his long friendship with fellow comedian Dave Chappelle and address his friend's recent comments that have been seen as transphobic. Oswalt shared that though he is fully a trans ally and that he "100%" disagrees with Chappelle's views completely, yet noted that it would be "impossible to cut" his friend off. [The story.]( —Substitution. Will Arnett will be replacing Armie Hammer in Taika Waititi’s Searchlight Pictures soccer comedy, Next Goal Wins. Hammer’s exit came after the actor was accused by multiple women of sexual assault. Based on a British doc of the same name, the film is an underdog story that follows the American Samoa soccer team and their coach as they try to qualify for the World Cup. [The story.]( —Desperate times, desperate measures. Broadway's Mrs. Doubtfire is taking unusual measures to hopefully avoid a permanent closure amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. Producers behind the show, which opened Dec. 5 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, announced Sunday that the project would go on a nine-week hiatus. The break will run from Jan. 10 through March 14. [The story.]( 'Spider-Man' Soars Past $600M Domestically ►Marching on. Spider-Man: No Way Home rang in 2022 in style, earning another $52.7 million over New Year’s weekend to become the 10th biggest film in history at the domestic box office after collecting $609.9 million through Sunday, not adjusted for inflation. Universal and Illumination’s family Sing 2 was the other big Christmas winner. THR's [Pamela McClintock]( writes that now that kids ages 5 and older can be vaccinated, family films are picking up. Sing 2 stayed at No. 2 over New Year’s weekend with $19.6 million for a 14-day domestic gross of $89.8 million. Meanwhile, The Matrix Resurrections and The King’s Man both continued to disappoint after tepid Christmas openings. Resurrections, which is also available to stream on HBO Max, was especially mopey over New Year’s weekend as it got overtaken by both King’s Man and American Underdog, a Christian movie about NFL quarterback Kurt Warner. [The box office report.]( —Slow recovery. Domestic box office revenue rose to $4.5 billion in 2021 as the theatrical business struggled to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. While that was up more than 101 percent over 2020, moviegoing still lagged far behind pre-pandemic levels. According to Comscore, revenue for 2021 was nearly 60 percent behind 2019 ($11.4 billion). And the last time domestic revenue came in at $4.5 billion was in 1992. [The story.]( Critic's Appreciation: Betty White Was as Important as She Was Beloved ►An affection that seemed to cross every imaginable demographic. THR's chief TV critic [Dan Fienberg]( writes about the career and lasting impact of the late Betty White, a TV staple before most Americans knew what TV was, an icon from game shows, sitcoms, movies and more, and the rare entertainer to earn universal affection and respect. [The story.]( —"She lived the best life ever." A host of Hollywood figures, including Ryan Reynolds, Ellen DeGeneres, Henry Winkler, Bob Newhart, Don Cheadle, Bob Iger and more paid tribute to the late Betty White. [The reaction.]( —Fitting tribute. SNL is paying tribute to Betty White by re-airing the episode she hosted in 2010 which won the late actress an Emmy. The episode featured White in sketches including one in which she played the grandmother of a prisoner (Kenan Thompson) who brings her in to scare bullies straight and another in which she played a woman who makes a census taker (Tina Fey) really uncomfortable with her bizarre answers. [The story.]( —Making moves. Anderson Cooper will host two shows for CNN's forthcoming streaming service, CNN+. The streaming programs will be Parental Guidance, a new weekly parenting show, and the twice-weekly Anderson Cooper Full Circle, which debuted as a Facebook original in 2018 and shifted to CNN Digital the following year. [The story.]( —"I think it’s hopefully a visual statement about female agency and female creativity" As Apple TV+'s Dickinson wraps up, THR's [Hilary Lewis]( spoke to showrunner Alena Smith on how she arrived at the show's ending while star Hailee Steinfeld weighs in on whether her character ultimately believes poetry can provide hope and on Emily's strained relationship with her father. Warning spoilers. [The interview.]( Review: 'Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts' ►"Sentimental and superficial, but not without its moments." THR TV critic [Angie Han]( reviews HBO Max's Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts. The retrospective special brings together Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and many more in celebration of the franchise that first hit theaters in 2001. [The review.]( —From on-set crushes to nearly walking away. THR's resident Potter expert and committed Hufflepuff [Lexy Perez]( has the rundown on the biggest revelations and reflections from Radcliffe, Watson and Grint et al from the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special. Warning spoilers. [The story.]( —"Insufficiently fun to justify the full journey." THR's chief TV critic Dan Fienberg reviews PBS' Around the World in 80 Days. Jules Verne's beloved adventure yarn gets an eight-episode treatment featuring David Tennant as eccentric traveler Phileas Fogg. [The review.]( —"A bit of a chore." Angie reviews Fox's The Cleaning Lady. Élodie Yung leads the crime drama as a Cambodian doctor and mother who is forced to work as an undocumented cleaning lady in the U.S. — and then as a cleaner for the mob. [The review.]( In other news... —Janet Jackson documentary [sets release date, drops full trailer]( —Miley Cyrus [suffers wardrobe malfunction during New Year’s performance]( —Rapper Kodak Black [arrested on trespassing charge in Florida]( —[Jeanine Ann Roose]( young Violet in It’s a Wonderful Life, dies at 84 —[Stephen J. Lawrence]( Sesame Street composer, dies at 82 —[John Bowman]( Martin co-creator and In Living Color head writer, dies at 64 —Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, Paul Greengrass among names on [U.K.’s New Year’s honors list]( What else we're reading... —Clifton Collins Jr. Hopes Jockey Makes a Familiar Face a Familiar Name, Too [[New York Times]( —Peter Dinklage Is Craving "Anarchy" After Game of Thrones [[Daily Beast]( —Twenty Years With Trinity [[GQ]( —What’s New, Pussycat? How Feline Film Stars Are Trained To Perform [[The Guardian]( —A Few Predictions — and Questions — For Hollywood in the New Year [[Bloomberg]( Today... Today's birthdays: Thelma Schoonmaker (82), [Florence Pugh]( (26), Dan Harmon (49), Danica McKellar (47), Nicholas Gonzalez (46), Sarah Alexander (51), Matt Ross (52), Jisoo Kim (27), Joko Anwar (46), Stephen Stills (77), Greta Thunberg (19) Max Julien, who starred in the 1973 blaxploitation classic The Mack opposite a young Richard Pryor, has died. He was 88. [The obituary.]( 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 © 2022 The Hollywood Reporter, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. All rights reserved. 11175 Santa Monica Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90025 [View in Browser]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Your Privacy Rights]( | [Ad Choices]( | [Terms of Use]( | [Unsubscribe](