SUNDAY UPDATE: Illumination Entertainment‘s and Universal‘s 3D sequel Despicable Me 2 opened this weekend as one of the top 4 films internationally for the weekend alongside Man Of Steel, World War Z and Monsters University. All its rivals are playing in 40+ territories against DM2‘s seven markets. Yet the new…

This is the first in a planned series of reports on the people, projects and polemics that have folks buzzing in various overseas territories. Each year following the Cannes Film Festival the French film industry falls into semi-hibernation as execs recover from months of build-up, the box office gives way to…

In a summer where internal studio battles are exploding, talent agencies are attacking each other, gun violence is rampant in real life and on screen, football teams are spawning accused murderers, teen idols are out of control, and people don’t talk — they just text — it’s nice to reflect on this Sunday before…

It’s still got a long way to go to profitability. But at least Brad Pitt’s zombie pic World War Z isn’t the dud everybody thought it would be. Paramount announced today it’s the #1 film worldwide this weekend with $100M international grosses and $263M global box office after just 10 days in release. The PG-13 film…

Warner Bros Pictures and co-financier Legendary Pictures said today that its Superman reboot earned more than $500 million worldwide Saturday with some international territories still to open. Warner Bros Pictures President of Domestic Distribution Dan Fellman and President of International Distribution Veronika Kwan…

Curb Your Enthusiasm fans know how Larry David pines for a serious head of hair. He gets his wish — for a while, at least — in his HBO Films comedy Clear History. Looking a little like Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski, David is a marketing exec at car maker. But an argument with his boss leaves him jobless, and he…

The martial arts grandmaster who starred alongside Bruce Lee in the iconic 1973 film Enter The Dragon died yesterday. He was 67. His ex-wife confirmed his death in a Facebook post. Jim Kelly was an international karate champion with his own school in LA when he was cast in the kung fu classic billed as “the first…

Brian Brooks is a Deadline contributor. Pedro Almodovar‘s boozy sex comedy I’m So Excited lead an otherwise unremarkable host of newbies in the Specialty Box Office. The feature, which opened the Los Angeles Film Festival earlier this month, bowed in 5 locations in New York and L.A., grossing over $100K for a…

SUNDAY 10:30 AM, 7H UPDATE: It’s already crowded at the pre-Fourth Of July domestic box office which will need to expand in time to accommodate so many movies playing during the holiday. True, total filmgoing this weekend went down -8.5% from a year ago for only $192M. But studios are scrambling to see when the last…

Apparently so, according to a Reuters report. The No. 2 cable operator has spoken to Cox and Cablevision about possible deals “in recent months” and continues to be interested in them, the news wire says. Execs recognize that the cable industry is mature and poised for consolidation. But they’re also cool to the idea…

EXCLUSIVE: It was a SAG-AFTRA coalition that ultimately wasn’t. Roberta Reardon‘s plan to run for both NY Local President and National Executive Vice President came only after coalition talks collapsed, union sources tell me. NY-based USAN and the current SAG-AFTRA Co-President’s then-unnamed slate were deep in…

Photographer and filmmaker Bert Stern, best known for shooting a collection of 2,500 images of Marilyn Monroe six weeks before her death, died Wednesday in NYC according to reports. He was 83. The commercial photog got his start at Look magazine, where he first befriended Stanley Kubrick; he’d later go on to shoot…