Film News Roundup: ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ Becomes Sony’s Top Animated Title
In today’s film news roundup, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” sets a Sony Pictures record, Chris O’Dowd is honored, “The Spongebob Movie” gets a date change, and arm-wrestling movie “Golden Arm” gets a director.
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“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” has topped $170 million at the domestic box office to become Sony Pictures’ biggest animated film, surpassing the lifetime total of “Hotel Transylvania 2.”
Sony’s eighth weekend of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is heading for another $4 million at 2,234 venues this weekend as it battles Warner Bros.’ seventh frame of “Aquaman” and Universal’s 12th weekend of “Green Book” for fourth place.
Sources said in November before “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” opened that Sony Pictures was developing a sequel and spinoffs. The film, with Shameik Moore voicing Miles Morales/Spider-Man, has also taken in nearly $170 million from international markets.
HONOR
Chris O’Dowd will be honored with an Oscar Wilde Award by the U.S.-Ireland Alliance at the 14th annual Oscar Wilde Awards.
The event will be held at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot in Santa Monica, Calif., on Feb. 21. He joins fellow honorees Glenn Close and Aidan Gillen.
O’Dowd stars opposite Ray Romano in the Epix series “Get Shorty” and in Sundance TV’s “State of the Union” opposite Rosamund Pike. He starred in “Molly’s Game” opposite Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, and Kevin Costner in 2017.
DATE CHANGE
Paramount Pictures has moved its animated “The Spongebob Movie” forward two months to May 22, 2020, from July 17, 2020.
It’s the second title to land on the date, following Warner Bros.’ fantasy “Godzilla vs. King Kong.”
The original Nickelodeon television series began airing in 1999, followed by “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” in 2004 and “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” in 2015.
DIRECTOR ATTACHMENT
Producers of the independent comedy feature “Golden Arm” have hired Maureen Bharoocha to helm the project.
Bharoocha is best known for her work on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in addition to shooting the Lifetime movies “I Am Watching You” and “Fatal Flip.”
“Golden Arm” is centered on a tough lady trucker who trains her girly best friend to compete in the National Ladies Arm Wrestling Championship. Ann Marie Allison and Jenna Milly wrote the script and are exec producing. Geeta Bajaj of the Unicorn is producing. Exec producers are Jane Fleming, Mark Ordesky, and Russell Wayne Groves.
Bharoocha is represented by CAA and Brandy Rivers at Industry Entertainment. Allison and Milly are represented by Jon Brown at Ensemble Entertainment and Linda Lichter of Lichter, Grossman, Nichols & Adler.
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