Cypher, written and directed by Chris Moukarbel, took the best U.S. narrative feature prize at the Tribeca Festival. The pseudo-documentary about the rise of Tierra Whack world premiered here last week. The jury cited “its kaleidoscopic use of music, created imagery and found materials, in service of an interrogation of …

Utopia’s Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis) grossed an estimated $10k from one engagement at NYC’s Film Forum, where it was the top-ranking pic. Celebrated filmmaker and photographer Anton Corbijn’s first feature documentary is the story of Hipgnosis, the iconic album art design studio that was a force in …

WWE CEO Nick Khan said Wednesday the company isn’t imapcted by the WGA strike that started yesterday. “Our writers are not members of the guild, so there is no effect on us whatsoever. Of course we are supportive of the writers who are members of the guild and their efforts, …

Sideshow/Janus Films is estimating a $36k gross or $18k per theater average for The Eight Mountains on two NYC screens, the strongest opening weekend to date for the team behind Drive My Car and EO. The Cannes co-Jury Prize-winning film by Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeesch follows the profound …

AMC Entertainment chief executive Adam Aron said a booming box office and sharp pivot to theatrical by studios and streamers makes him “as relaxed and confident about AMC future as I possibly can be.” Speaking with Deadline at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Aron indicated the icing on the cake would …

After posting giant per screen numbers at four theaters last weekend, A24’s Beau Is Afraid  jumps to 926 for the distributor’s third outing with Ari Aster. It’s a very different film from his horror favorites Hereditary and Midsommar but one the distributor hopes will cement the director’s place as a …

Filmmakers and executives, creatives of music, theater and art remembered Tom Luddy as friend and mentor, tastemaker and cultural force who deployed an astonishingly vast network to nurture talent and bring people and projects together over decades. The co-founder of the Telluride Film Festival passed away in February.    “I …

Lionsgate continues to expand its production footprint, this time as anchor tenant with naming rights to the new 500,000 square-foot Lionsgate Studios Atlanta. The 40-acre, $200 million complex in Douglas County (the site of some location filming for The Hunger Games) will be up and running in late 2023. About …

Focus Features’ Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner A Thousand And One opened to a solid $1.8 million at 926 theaters — $1,942 per theater average — supported by a 96% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score and a B+ CinemaScore. It came no. 7 at the domestic box office, a strong showing …

National CineMedia said today it’s negotiated a second extension of the grace period on interest payments originally due Feb. 15. A one-month grace period for a payment said to be about $6.6 million ended March 15, when the company announced lenders had agreed to another 17 days. Big ratings agencies …

The pace of arthouse /smart-house releases accelerated this weekend as wide-for-specialty openings like A Good Person and The Lost King joined a handful of solid single-theater openings from distributors Greenwich Entertainment, Sideshow/Janus Films, Mubi, Abramorama and Cinema Guild – all set for some expansion. MGM released Killer Films and Elevation …

The much-maligned Richard III finally gets the royal treatment in Stephen Frears’ The Lost King as amateur historian Philippa Langley unearths the monarch’s five-century-old remains in a parking lot in Leicester, England, in 2012. Two books and a documentary later, IFC Films presents the feature film version in 750+ theaters. …