ENTERTAINMENT

Adult Swim has green-lit a new original series by Shinichiro Watanabe, the renowned director behind the hugely successful Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo anime. Titled Lazarus, the new series in development will be produced by Sola Entertainment for Toonami, and entirely animated by Studio MAPPA.Set in the near future of 2052, the world is now in a utopic era where mankind is finally freed from all forms of sickness and pain — a result of a miracle cure-all drug called Hapuna developed by Dr. Skinner, a Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist. The doctor vanished shortly after the drug was officially introduced, only to return three years later with an ominous threat — everyone who has taken Hapuna will die in around three years, and that “death is coming for this sinful world.” In an attemp...

In the last three months, Netflix has surpassed analyst expectations by almost three times following its clampdown on password sharing.According to reports, the streaming service's latest quarterly results saw it gain 5.9 million new subscribers after it cracked down on password sharing between households — overcoming analysts projections of around 2 million new households and increasing its total global subscribers to 238 million. Netflix also posted a $1.8 billion USD profit over the quarter on $8.3 billion USD revenues.The number was released in the midst of the ongoing writers and actors strike, with co-chief executive Ted Sarandos stating that Netflix hopes that an agreement will be reached “as soon as possible.” He added, “This strike is not the outcome that we wanted."In related new...

Netflix is doing away with its Basic plan in the United States and the United Kingdom. The plan is currently the cheapest subscription option that allows for ad-free streaming at just $10 USD per month.The streaming service had already removed the option to sign up for the plan in Canada. In a weird twist, however, those who are already subscribed to the Basic Plan will be able to continue paying $10 a month, yet no new or rejoining members will be able to subscribe to the tier.In tandem with cracking down on password sharing, the move comes as part of Netflix’s efforts to steer new and old users to opt for the Standard Plan. That tier costs $15.49 USD each month and supports streaming on two devices simultaneously and the ability to download content for offline viewing. It also allows sub...

Historical biopic Oppenheimer is expected to see a $50 million USD box office debut this weekend.The Christopher Nolan film – which follows the life of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer as he crafts the atomic bomb – hits theaters this Friday, July 21, the same day as Greta Gerwig's Barbie, which is slated for a $100 million USD opening weekend.An adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “American Prometheus,” Nolan's Oppenheimer clocks in at three hours in length (thus limiting the number of screenings per day) while Barbie is just under two hours, possibly potentially attributing to the $50 million USD difference in debuts. Nolan's Universal-backed drama cost approximately $100 million USD to produce and will see its weekend debut across 3,600 North American theaters, with an...

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is expected to open with around $100 million USD at the box office.According to reports, the Margot Robbie-led film is looking to earn somewhere between $95 million USD to $110 million USD from 4,200 North American theaters at the weekend box office. Warner Bros. is projecting a minimum of $75 million USD, however some are pointing to as much as $140 million USD.The movie has a $145 million USD budget and also stars Ryan Gosling, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Scott Evans and Ncuti Gatwa as different versions of Ken and Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Sharon Rooney, Dua Lipa, Nicola Coughlan, Ana Cruz Kayne and Ritu Arya as different versions of Barbie, as well as John Cena as Kenmaid and Michael Cera as Allan.In other Barbie news, Burge...

Two SpongeBob SquarePants episodes that were previously banned are now available to watch once again.As per ComicBook, Nickelodeon has re-added the "Kwarantined Crab" and "Mid-Life Crustacean" episodes back to streaming rotation after its removal in 2021 and 2018, respectively. "Kwarantined Crab" was initially part of the show's 12th season and featured a virus-focused storyline that saw the staff and guests of the Krusty Krab undergo quarantine due to the Clam Flu, which prompted Nickelodeon to pull the episode "due to sensitivities surrounding the global, real-world pandemic."Meanwhile, "Mid-Life Crustacean" originally aired in 2003 as part of the show's third season and was removed from rotation as "some story elements were not kid-appropriate." It followed SpongeBob and Patrick's attem...

This past weekend, the seventh installment of Tom Cruise's action-packed franchise, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One premiered in theaters worldwide. Despite it topping domestic box office charts, the film fell short of expectations. For opening weekend, the blockbuster collected just $56.2 million USD between Friday and Sunday. The number is quite minimal in comparison to the almost $300 million USD production budget, before marketing. Going into this past weekend, the studios Paramount and Skydance were hoping Cruise's film would help them to land a new franchise record of at least $60 million USD or more. To put it in comparison, in 2018, the ticket sales for Mission: Impossible - Fallout were $61 million USD while the 2000's Mission: Impossible II at $57.8 million USD. Bot...

With July halfway over, Disney+ has unveiled its slate of new programming for August 2023.Next month's list is led by the premiere of Star Wars: Ahsoka, which sees Rosario Dawson play the titular character. August will also mark the streaming premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as well as season four of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.Check out the full slate below.Coming To Disney+August 2ndFarm Dreams (S1, 6 episodes)How Not to Draw Shorts (S1, 5 episodes)Kiff (S1, 4 episodes)Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures – New Episodes Streaming"Set during The High Republic, in Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures we follow Jedi younglings Kai, Lys, & Nubs as they are sent by Master Yoda to train at a Jedi temple on the beautiful world of Tenoo under...

Before the Oppenheimer began at the London premiere, Christopher Nolan confirmed that the cast left in solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA Strike, but also revealed to Variety the budget was a lot greater than expected. It was reported that the film surrounding the Cillian Murphy-led film cost around $100 million USD, making it the director's fourth most expensive film after Batman Begins ($150 million USD), Interstellar ($165 million USD), The Dark Knight ($185 million USD), Tenet ($200 million USD) and The Dark Knight Rises ($250 million USD). With the added budget, films now face pressure of performing well at the box office to make up for production and marketing costs. To cover all the costs and break-even, Oppenheimer must earn a minimum of $200 million USD, which would require the movie t...

Hayao Miyazaki's final film, Kimitachi wa Do Ikiruka, has been acquired by Gkids for a North American distribution under the title The Boy and the Heron.Informally known internationally as How Do You Live, Variety reports that the movie will receive a Stateside release some time this year. Just like its release in Japan, the US distributor did not reveal any more details about the film aside from its title. It did confirm, however, that The Boy and the Heron is not based on Genzaburo Yoshino 1937 book Kimitachi wa Do Ikiruka, but rather "an original story written and directed by Miyazaki."Miyazaki will write and direct the film, while Studio Ghibli co-founder Suzuki Toshio will serve as producer and Joe Hisaishi will score.“Miyazaki is a living legend in filmmaking, as evidenced by his Aca...

Netflix just released the first official trailer for the live-action film Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead. Based on Haro Aso and Kotaro Takata’s hit comedy-horror manga, the plot revolves around Akira Tendo, a jaded office worker who suffers from constant harassment and endless overtime at an exploitative company. Just like any day of the week, Akira wakes up for his morning commute, only to realize that his town has been overtaken by zombies. Instead of fear or panic, Akira is brimming with excitement about not needing to go to work anymore. He then decides to live life to the fullest by completing his bucket list before being turned into a zombie.The series is known for its satirical and comically disastrous take on the zombie apocalypse genre, which has already been faithfully adapted ...