MOVIES

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Protagonist Pictures, the UK-based sales, finance, and production outfit behind independent films that have won awards, unveiled a boutique label, Protagonist Picks. The new label was launched shortly before the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and will introduce distinctive, globally relevant storytelling through a responsive, nimble strategy. Isabel Ivars, a seasoned industry executive, has been promoted to Director of Sales, overseeing both Protagonist Picks and the company’s extensive library.

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Pixar gold once more. The animation studio’s sequel Inside Out 2 is 2024’s highest-grossing movie, taking Deadline’s Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament for the year with a projected $650 million net profit. The movie’s record-breaking performance not only revitalized Pixar’s box office prospects but also redefined what success in the current theatrical landscape looks like.

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Ryan Coogler’s Southern Gothic horror film Sinners is performing strong legs at the box office, raking in $13 million on its second Friday. That positions the movie to take in an estimated $42 million second weekend, an 8% drop from its $48 million opening. That’s a performance that’s out of character for a genre defined by steep second-weekend falls.

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Director Guy Ritchie is set to direct Road House 2, the follow-up to Amazon MGM Studios’ breakout remake of the 1989 cult classic. Jake Gyllenhaal returns to reprise bouncer-turned-boxer Elwood Dalton’s explosive presence from the original movie. The follow-up tells the unlikely success story of a movie that courted controversy but went on to smash streaming records.

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Lionsgate revealed that Mckenna Grace will be playing the role of Maysilee Donner in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, the new chapter in the expanding world of Hunger Games. The movie will be out on November 20, 2026, and is an adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ same-named 2025 novel.

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Josh Holloway is officially back with J.J. Abrams, and Lost fans couldn’t be more thrilled. Holloway, who notoriously played Sawyer on the iconic ABC series, is re-teaming with Abrams for a new crime show titled Duster, which debuts on Max on May 15, 2025.

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Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts is already creating a stir ahead of its official release, with early responses praising the film for taking the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a different direction. The antihero ensemble film directed by Jake Schreier unites a talented group of misfits, with Florence Pugh playing Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan playing Bucky Barnes, David Harbour playing Red Guardian, and Wyatt Russell playing John Walker.