Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
New Line’s Mummy, Paramount’s legal action, and Mr. Burns.
Let’s go!
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Final Call - Sinners Virtual Live Panel
Move over, Brendan Fraser.
A new generation of The Mummy has risen.
From the bone-chilling teaser of New Line’s The Mummy, it’s clear we have a new vision of the Fraser franchise that grossed $1.26bn across three films in the 2000s.
The new Mummy is one of extreme horror, one revealed so far only in flashes of unsettling imagery of awakening the dead.
The plot:
The young daughter of a journalist disappears into the desert without a trace. Eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she is returned to them, as what should be a joyful reunion turns into a living nightmare.
This is right on brand for director Lee Cronin, whose horror films explore the weighty burden of parenting young children. We saw it in his directorial debut, A24’s The Hole in the Ground (2019), where a single mother believes her young son is possessed. And taken to extreme lengths in Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise (2023), where a semi-dead mother goes after her kids with a cheese grater.
Cronin stripped any vestige of fun-loving horror out of the Evil Dead series, first directed by Sam Raimi. And that matters, because the Brendan Fraser Mummy was fun. Remember the chemistry between Fraser and Rachel Weisz? His bravado swashbuckling, her sensitive and charming intelligence; they didn’t get along right up until the moment that they fell in love.
In Cronin’s The Mummy, there will be none of this.
Though given that New Line is riding high after the box-office success of Weapons and the Mummy IP to boot, this could be a surefire hit.
Produced by Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. Releasing April 17th.
For More:
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy teaser.
The Mummy (1999) trailer with Fraser.
Boris Karloff vs. Tom Cruise. Which Mummy trailer did we link?
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Paramount sues Warner Bros. Discovery and plans for a hostile board takeover.
Shane Gillis and John McKeever expand Netflix partnership with overall deal.
Netflix taps Cal McMau to direct true-crime feature The Brotherhood.
Apple TV saw a 36% YoY jump in December engagement, boosted by Pluribus.
Studiocanal adds Luke Thompson to Elsinore alongside Andrew Scott.
Horror-comedy Mother Maybe casts theater actor Lhorvie Nuevo-Tadioan.
Split Screen picks up Berlinale Generation KPlus doc The Fabulous Time Machine.
Boots Riley confirms his next film will adapt Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play.
Giuseppe Tornatore's (dir: Cinema Paradiso) new film is about Hollywood’s first banker.
Rafael Espinal is named NYC’s Media and Entertainment Commissioner.
Julianne Moore EPs short Two People Exchanging Saliva.
Producer Juliette Howell is named CEO of BBC Studios drama label Lookout Point.
2025 box office rebound: France gross +6% & Germany gross +9%.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS / THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
We’re in for an old-fashioned studio fight. Paramount is suing Warner Bros. Discovery in Delaware court, stating:
“WBD has failed to include any disclosure about how it valued the Global Networks stub equity, how it valued the overall Netflix transaction, how the purchase price reduction for debt works in the Netflix transaction, or even what the basis is for its “risk adjustment” of our $30 per share all-cash offer.”
TLDR: Why did WBD go with Netflix’s offer?
Second, Paramount is going to convince shareholders to nominate new board members in WBD at the next annual meeting, who can:
“Exercise WBD’s right under the Netflix Agreement to engage on Paramount’s offer and enter into a transaction with Paramount.”
Pretty much, instead of upping their $30/share deal, Paramount has chosen to sue.
Full lawsuit details here.
Tidbits:
Shane Gillis and writing partner John McKeever have signed a new overall deal with Netflix, expanding their partnership beyond Tires. The agreement covers new film, TV, and unscripted projects under Dad Sick, plus two additional Gillis stand-up specials, as production begins next month on Tires Season 3 in Pennsylvania.
Netflix has brought on Cal McMau to direct a new true story crime feature adaptation, The Brotherhood. Based on the acclaimed novel The Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia, this will be McMau’s sophomore directorial venture following his TIFF premiering crime thriller Wasteman (2025, trailer) starring David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus, The Long Walk). McMau’s Wasteman scribe Hunter Andrews will be penning the adaptation.
Apple TV saw a 36% increase in monthly engagement in December vs. the previous year. This was due, in part, to Apple TV’s biggest series to date, Pluribus. The star of the show, Rhea Seehorn, won the Golden Globe last night. Apple has never officially released its subscriber or engagement numbers, so hard to compare Pluribus apples to apples with a Netflix show.
Here’s our report on Apple’s TRUE sub count from last year:
https://theindustry.co/p/apples-sub-numbers
Actor Spotlight Tidbits:
StudioCanal adds Bridgerton’s Luke Thompson to its ensemble cast for the Ian Charleson biopic Elsinore. This casting news comes just weeks before the Netflix premiere of Thompson’s headlining season of Bridgerton (trailer). In Elsinore, he’ll star alongside Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman, with filming underway in the UK.
Horror-comedy, Mother Maybe finds its mother in Philippine theater actor Lhorvie Nuevo-Tadioan (Venice title Phantosmia). Mother Maybe follows a young man who discovers his long-lost mother transforms into something monstrous at night, marking just the second film role for Nuevo-Tadioan.
Mini Tidbits:
Entertainment manager Barbara Lawrence has died at 82. She’s repped everyone from The Golden Girls’ Rue McClanahan to Chris Evans (The Avengers) in his early years.
Oscar voting opened yesterday at 9 am PST. The voting window runs throughout the week, closing Friday, Jan 16th at 5pm PST.
Trailers:
Highland Film Group’s 3 Days Rising
Cast: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Peter Greene (Pulp Fiction) - final role
Release: 2026 (date TBA)
Cineverse’s Misdirection
Cast: Frank Grillo, Olga Kurylenko (Oblivion)
Release: Feb 10
Showmax’s Die Kantoor
The Office South African remake
Release: Jan 20
Yash Raj Films’ Mardaani 3
Release: Jan 30
Netflix’s One Piece Season 2
Cast: Iñaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, David Dastmalchian
Release: March 2026
First Look:
BritBox’s Tommy and Tuppence
Release: 2026 (date TBA)
Release Dates:
Watermelon Pictures’ Palestine 36
Cast: Hiam Abbass (Succession), Saleh Bakri (The Blue Caftan)
Release: Feb 13 (US theatrical)
Disney’s Pole to Pole with Will Smith
Cast: Will Smith
Release: Jan 13
FESTIVALS
Croatian Sales Rep Split Screen picks up upcoming Berlinale’s Generation KPlus’ doc The Fabulous Time Machine.
Synopsis: Brazil’s dry backlands, girls balance between their mothers’ hard lives and future dreams, transitioning to teens in a place where men still tower over women in status.
Cool first look above.
Singaporean auteur Anthony Chen’s new film We Are All Strangers has been boarded by Paradise City Sales (Drift, Chen’s Ilo Ilo) for international representation. Currently in post-production, We Are All Strangers is the third and final film in Chen’s Growing Up trilogy.
Sales agent MoreThan Films sells Locarno title Blue Heron to multiple territories, like Spain’s Flamingo Films (Driveways). This is the debut of Canadian filmmaker Sophy Romvari. The film explores the changing dynamics of a family of six as they move into a new home.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Simpsons did it: Boots Riley has confirmed his next film will be an adaptation of Anne Washburn’s off-Broadway play Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play.
Described as a dark comedy, the story is set nearly a century after a societal collapse, following a new civilization that treats fragments of old pop culture as live performance.
With a notable scene in the play being survivors gathered around a campfire attempt to reconstruct the Simpsons episode “Cape Feare” entirely from memory, using it as a way to preserve history.
Beautifully bat shit, cultural satire, exactly in Boot’s comfort zone.
And if you want a preview, here’s a copy of the full play script.
Banker Paradiso. Director Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso) will tell the story of the Bank of America founder, Amadeo Peter Giannini, in his upcoming film The First Dollar.
Giannini helped birth Hollywood, financing early films from Chaplin, Disney, and Capra. He also created the modern banking system.
This tracks as Tornatore has a fascination with every facet of cinema. It’s evident in the loving relationship in Cinema Paradiso and in the tragedy and joy of watching the cut kiss scenes. It’s a fascination that keeps him burning 30+ years later. Tornatore’s latest doc was on the composer Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Cinema Paradiso). Trailer.
RAI Cinema is producing The First Dollar. It will be in English, and Tornatore is writing the script.
Tidbits:
Rafael Espinal, who many New York filmmakers know as the Head of the Freelancers Union, has become NYC’s Media and Entertainment Commissioner. This is great for the city and for Espinal, who really believes in art, cinema, and supporting all filmmakers. On a personal note, I spoke with him a couple of times, and he was really helpful in helping me sort out a client issue back in the day.
Julianne Moore is now an EP on the provocative short Two People Exchanging Saliva from filmmaking duo Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh (2019’s The Appointment). The live-action Telluride premiering title is now streaming on The New Yorker. Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher) also EPs. Full short here.
All3Media-backed agency Little Dot Studios (Leaving Neverland) names Ben Arnold and Charles Wideska as co-Managing Directors for business and promotions for the U.S. Both Arnold and Wideska will work closely with the studio’s wider global leadership team.
Obit:
Ralph L. Thomas has passed away at 69. Thomas is best known for directing the Robert Duvall co-starring film, The Terry Fox Story (1983, trailer). Which centers on a man with one leg running a marathon. Amazingly, Thomas cast a man with a missing leg for this film based on a true story.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Conclave producer Juliette Howell has been tapped as the new CEO of BBC Studios’ drama label Lookout Point (Happy Valley). The co-founder of House Productions behind acclaimed films like The Iron Claw and Oscar-winning The Zone of Interest, Howell will be joining Lookout effective immediately. Lookout Point is gearing up for the Netflix premiere of its miniseries adaptation of Pride and Prejudice later this year.
Blue Ant Rights (Canada’s Drag Race) named Bryan Gabourie EVP of Content Monetization and Head of Americas. In addition to the new hire, exec Nick Solowski has been promoted to VP of International Sales in North America, and Jason Soh will be the VP of Distribution in Asia.
The viral comedic dating show UpDating is moving on from YouTube, with ITV America (Love Island USA) set to adapt it into a streaming series.
International box offices saw rebounds in 2025:
France box office:
$317M total
↑ 6%
38.4M ticket admissions
↑ 5%
Top local films:
Oscar-winning co-production Flow
Luc Besson’s Dracula: A Love Tale
German box office:
$1.01bn
↑ 9%
84.6M ticket admissions
↑ 4.5%
Top local films:
Local western Manitou’s Canoe (Das Kanu des Manitu)
The School of Magical Animals 4
ON THIS DAY
1961. Julia Louis-Dreyfus born in NYC.
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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