‘The Franchise’ is canceled at HBO,’ Heidi Klum returns to ‘Project Runway,’ ‘The Wild Robot’ comes to streaming, and more of today’s top stories
Gold Derby’s top news stories for Jan. 3, 2025.
‘The Franchise’ is canceled at HBO after just a single season
HBO has decided against a second season greenlight for The Franchise, its original superhero movie satire from creator/executive producer Jon Brown and executive producers Sam Mendes and Armando Iannucci. It was originally reported by Gold Derby’s sister site Deadline. “We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the tremendously talented team behind The Franchise, especially Sam Mendes, Jon Brown, Armando Iannucci, and this hilarious ensemble of actors,” an HBO spokesperson said in a statement to Deadline. “While we won’t be moving forward with another season, we look forward to collaborating with all of them in the future.”
Himesh Patel, Aya Cash, Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, Lolly Adefope, Darren Goldstein and Isaac Powell starred in The Franchise, with Richard E. Grant and Daniel Brühl among the recurring cast. The comedy series followed the crew of an unloved franchise movie fighting for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe. It shone a light on “the secret chaos inside the world of superhero moviemaking, asking how exactly the cinematic sausage gets made,” to quote the official logline. The eight-episode series had its Season 1 finale in November, and while it had been generally well-received by critics, its streaming ratings ultimately didn’t justify a renewal.
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Heidi Klum returns to ‘Project Runway’ after more than seven years away
The German-born supermodel-turned-television personality and businesswoman Heidi Klum is returning to host the fashion reality competition series Project Runway a little more than seven years after leaving the show she had hosted and helped create. She and co-host Tim Gunn stepped away from the show together following the season 16 finale in November 2017, announcing their departure in September 2018. They had originally hosted the show from its inception in 2004 through ’17, with Klum nominated for Emmys 23 times and winning once (in 2013, along with Gunn).
Klum and Gunn eventually launched the global fashion show Making the Cut on Amazon in 2020, tracking a dozen entrepreneurs and designers competing for a $1 million prize to become “the next big global phenomenon.” Project Runway originally launched on Bravo before moving to Lifetime and then back to Bravo. It now has a new weekly home on Freeform, Disney+ and Hulu with a new 10-episode season launching later this year.
Peacock announces ‘The Wild Robot’ streaming date
The beloved DreamWorks animated feature The Wild Robot will exclusively stream over Peacock beginning Jan. 24. The film – which has been nominated for four Golden Globes, three Critics Choice Awards and 10 Annie Awards – features the voices of Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Bill Nighy, Kit Connor, Stephanie Hsu, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, Mark Hamill, and Catherine O’Hara and is directed by three-time Academy Award nominee Chris Sanders.
Wild Robot’s streaming debut comes following a successful theatrical run, one that found it crossed $323 million globally and became the number one non-sequel animated feature of 2024. It tells the story of Roz (Nyong’o), a robot shipwrecked on an uninhabited island that must adapt to the harsh surroundings. Gradually, Roz starts building relationships with the animals on the island, including a clever fox (Pascal), and becomes the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling named Brightbill (Connor). The movie has a 97 percent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
2024 U.S. Box Office slips to estimated $8.7 billion final tally, down from $9 billion in 2023
Despite an estimated drop of some $300 million from 2023, the film industry was celebrating the announcement that the U.S.-Canada box office slipped to an estimated $8.7 billion, or some 3 percent, from the $9 billion cume of 2023. This is according to calculations from Comscore and Gold Derby’s PMC sister site, Deadline. Why is this good news? Because it represented a sizeable financial rebound from the beginning of May when the tally was lagging some 20 percent behind the pace year to date in 2023. So, moviegoing clearly gained momentum as the year went along.
The number of movies opening at $20 million-plus in 2024 was down versus 2023, 34 films to 40. But the number of titles seeing $100 million-plus openings remained the same at 5: Deadpool and Wolverine ($211.4 million), Inside Out 2 ($154.2 million), Moana 2 ($139.7 million), Wicked ($112.5 million), and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice ($111 million).
Laverne Cox departs E!’s Golden Globes red carpet preshow after three years
Laverne Cox, the Orange is the New Black alumnus and transgender icon, has decided to step away from hosting E!’s red carpet preshow coverage of the Golden Globes after being part of the team for three years. In a statement shared on Instagram, she said, “With an incredible amount of gratitude I’ve decided not to return as host of #LiveFromE’s red carpet coverage. I’m so incredibly proud of the work we did over my three-year tenure. These moments are a reminder to me of what an incredible privilege it has been to talk to some of the world’s greatest artists about their work, navigating the pressures of success, etc.”
Cox’s statement continued, “I’m so excited to keep growing, evolving and exploring great opportunities as an actress, artist, host, and speaker.” She added that fans could see her next in the Prime Video comedy series Clean Slate.
AMC Networks drops Season 3 teaser trailer for hit noir thriller ‘Dark Winds’
AMC and AMC+ today released a creepy 30-second teaser trailer for its noir thriller Dark Winds, from executive producers Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin. The trailer promotes the show’s expanded third season, which debuts on March 9. New episodes air weekly on Sundays. The series stars Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon, Jessica Matten, and Deanna Allison.
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