F9: The Fast Saga Races to the Top
The ninth installment in the long-running Fast & Furious series roared into cinemas, bringing the summer blockbuster back after a long and miserable year. Grossing $70 million in its inaugural weekend, F9: The Fast Saga surpassed the record not only for the biggest opening of the pandemic era but the biggest opening since at least Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – which came out over eighteen months ago! F9: The Fast Saga was to come out in May 2020. However, with the pandemic raging, the studio pushed it for over a year. While that decision may have looked like an overreaction at the time, it turned out to be a correct one.
Looking at the last weekend’s box office results by Box Office Mojo shows an almost surreal difference in returns between F9 and other movies. Most of the audience is still wary of the pandemic – and who could blame them? A Quiet Place Part II grossed $6,2 million, landing at second place and bringing its domestic earnings up to $136,4 million. An impressive result for the pandemic era seems almost laughable compared to F9. In third place is the action-comedy The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard with $4,9 million and a total domestic gross of $25,8 million. Live-action/CGI-animated film Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway is in fourth place with $4,8 million. And in fifth place is Cruella with $3,8 million, bringing its gross up to $71,4 million.
Chapelwaite Gets a Release Date
BloodyDisgusting reports that Chapelwaite, a new gothic horror series starring Academy Award winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist) will premiere on EPIX on August 22. In addition, the article reports the series will also feature Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek).
Set in the 1850s, Chapelwaite tells a story of a recently widowed captain Charles Boone (played by Brody) who returns to Maine and moves with his children into the Boone ancestral home – Chapelwaite manor. An ambitious journalist and budding writer Rebecca Morgan (Hampshire) applies for a job as a governess for Brody’s children in hopes of uncovering the family’s dark and sordid history.
Chapelwaite is loosely based on Stephen King’s short story Jerusalem’s Lot. First published in 1979, it takes place in the same town later haunted by a vampire Barlow in King’s novel ‘Salem’s Lot, but a century earlier. However, it is unclear will the series have anything to do with that novel. EPIX first announced Chapelwaite in December 2019. While the production was initially set for April 2020, it had to be postponed for three months due to the pandemic. Peter and Jason Filardi are serving as showrunners, screenwriters, and executive producers.
Dracula Horror Film Last Voyage of Demeter Adds to Its Cast
Dracula horror movie Last Voyage of Demeter just added more names to its cast. According to an article by SlashFilm, Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) will portray the captain of a sailing ship transporting Dracula to England, and David Dastmalchian (Ant-Man, The Dark Knight) will play the first mate. Possibly more interesting is the casting of the vampire. Count Dracula will be portrayed by Javier Botet, whose tall, gangly features made him perfect for embodying monsters in movies like It Chapter Two and His House.
First announced back in October 2019, Last Voyage of Demeter is a twist on Bram Stoker’s classic vampire novel Dracula. Instead of retelling the familiar story about the undead Transylvanian nobleman, it focuses on a single chapter describing a fateful journey of the sailing ship Demeter. The crew doesn’t realize they are carrying a monster across the sea to England. During the voyage, Dracula starts stalking and killing crew members one by one. And even though we know the end of the story already, this horror movie nevertheless sounds quite promising. Screenwriters Zak Olkewicz (Bullet Train) and Bragi F. Schut (Escape Room) expanded the chapter into a feature-length script. André Øvredal (Troll Hunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe) will direct the film. The production of the Last Voyage of Demeter will take place this year.
