Movies
[TV] 12.3 Million People Watch “The Walking Dead” Rise Again
Even the Grammy Awards can’t slow the momentum of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” which resumed its third season Sunday with record ratings, Variety reported.
Write your season 3 reviews here.
Preliminary estimates from Nielsen show “The Walking Dead” averaging a whopping 12.3 million viewers in its regular 9 p.m. timeslot and then adding 4.1 million viewers for a quickie repeat at 10. The previous high for a single telecast of the drama was the 10.87 million who tuned in for the third-season premiere at 10.
Compared to the second-half launch of its second season at this time a year ago, Sunday’s episode was up by 45% in adults 18-49 (7.7 million vs. 4.3 million) and by 52% in total viewers (12.3 million vs. 8.1 million). The year-ago winter premiere also went up against the Grammys, with last year’s show drawing an audience of nearly 40 million.
AMC ordered 16 episodes of “The Walking Dead” this season, with the first eight airing in the fall and the current eight wrapping the show’s third season on March 31.
Brendan Fraser is back for the upcoming fourth installment in The Mummy franchise from directors Radio Silence, and Michael Johnston (Obsession) is now in talks to join him.
The Hollywood Reporter lets us know tonight that Michael Johnston is in “early talks” to join The Mummy 4, which will release in theaters on October 15, 2027 via Universal.
Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and John Hannah will reprise their iconic roles as Rick O’Connell, Evelyn O’Connell, and Jonathan Carnahan in the upcoming movie.
Radio Silence duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not, Scream 5-6) are directing from a script by David Coggeshall (Orphan: First Kill).
Plot details are being kept under wraps at this time, but the brand new sequel is expected to disregard the events of the third movie, in which Rachel Weisz did not appear.
“It’s just really beautiful and scary and sweeping, and it’s awesome,” Gillet teases. Bettinelli-Olpin adds that the film “has all of the heart and the character that you could hope for.”
A remake of the classic Universal monster movie that took an action-adventure approach, The Mummy was released in 1999 and grossed $417 million worldwide. It was followed by The Mummy Returns in 2001 and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008.