Movies
[TV] “The Walking Dead” Renewed For Fourth Season As Problems Persist…
In the most perplexing of breaking stories, AMC has announced the renewal of “The Walking Dead“ for a fourth season but has tied it to the news that Glen Mazzara is stepping down as showrunner. That’s two down in three seasons…
AMC jointly announces with Glen Mazzara today that for future seasons, the two parties have mutually decided to part ways. Glen guided the series creatively for seasons 2 and 3. “AMC is grateful for his hard work. We are both proud of our shared success,” explains the release.
“Both parties acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion about where the show should go moving forward, and conclude that it is best to part ways. This decision is amicable and Glen will remain on for post-production on season 3B as showrunner and executive producer.”
I’ve never seen a show that’s so incredibly successful, and so popular, yet has such obvious behind-the-scenes drama. You could almost go as far as to say the problems in making the hit series is more interesting than the show itself…
In May and June of 2011 we reported tension between showrunner Frank Darabont and AMC. This transpired to Darabont stepping down in July. By that same night AMC announced that Mazzara would run the series. We celebrated.
Since then, the adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s Image Comic series has thrived, but it’s been more about putting bandages on the problems than progressing the series. Some good fixes include the criss-crossing between the Rick Grimes camp and The Governor’s military operation, which has made the first half of season 3 move at a much quicker pace. And as I’ve stated multiple times, killing off annoying characters and finally giving Carl some balls has catapulted the drama to a new level. Still, as good as Season 3 has been, it should be even better. This is AMC, the cabler responsible for “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” – I expect award-winning television!
In the ongoing new season which has taken break until February, “Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his fellow survivors continue to seek refuge in a desolate and post-apocalyptic world and soon discover that there are greater forces to fear than just the walking dead. The struggle to survive has never been so perilous. Season 3 also introduces new characters, including the Governor (David Morrissey) and fan-favorite Michonne (Danai Gurira), along with her zombie pets.”
Movies
‘Abigail’ on Track for a Better Opening Weekend Than Universal’s Previous Two Vampire Attempts
In the wake of Leigh Whannell’s Invisible Man back in 2020, Universal has been struggling to achieve further box office success with their Universal Monsters brand. Even in the early days of the pandemic, Invisible Man scared up $144 million at the worldwide box office, while last year’s Universal Monsters: Dracula movies The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield didn’t even approach that number when you COMBINE their individual box office hauls.
The horror-comedy Renfield came along first in April 2023, ending its run with just $26 million. The period piece Last Voyage of the Demeter ended its own run with a mere $21 million.
But Universal is trying again with their ballerina vampire movie Abigail this weekend, the latest bloodbath directed by the filmmakers known as Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Scream).
Unlike Demeter and Renfield, the early reviews for Abigail are incredibly strong, with our own Meagan Navarro calling the film “savagely inventive in terms of its vampiric gore,” ultimately “offering a thrill ride with sharp, pointy teeth.” Read her full review here.
That early buzz – coupled with some excellent trailers – should drive Abigail to moderate box office success, the film already scaring up $1 million in Thursday previews last night. Variety notes that Abigail is currently on track to enjoy a $12 million – $15 million opening weekend, which would smash Renfield ($8 million) and Demeter’s ($6 million) opening weekends.
Working to Abigail‘s advantage is the film’s reported $28 million production budget, making it a more affordable box office bet for Universal than the two aforementioned movies.
Stay tuned for more box office reporting in the coming days.
In Abigail, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
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