LAS VEGAS – Margot Robbie has her sights on another toy. The “ Barbie ” producer and star is making a Monopoly movie, with Hasbro and Lionsgate behind it, the companies announced Wednesday at the CinemaCon conference in Las Vegas.
Robbie, and her production company LuckyChap, were the ones who got “Barbie” to the finish line after many years in development stagnation. The film topped the box office in 2023 with over $1.4 billion in ticket sales worldwide. And now they’ll bring that vision to the classic board game.
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Lionsgate is also developing a new “The Blair Witch Project” with the horror experts at Blumhouse, the studio behind “The Purge” and “M3GAN.” It will be the first in a multi-year pact between Jason Blum’s company and Lionsgate, drawing on the studio’s library titles.
The first “Blair Witch” was released in 1999 and became a phenomenon at the box office. It earned $248 million, spawned two sequels and changed the look of many horror movies to follow.
“I’m a huge admirer of ‘The Blair Witch Project,’ which brought the idea of found footage horror to mainstream audiences and became a true cultural phenomenon,” Blum said in a statement. “I don’t think there would have been a ‘Paranormal Activity’ had there not first been a ‘Blair Witch,’ so this feels like a truly special opportunity and I’m excited to see where it leads.”
Lionsgate had a good 2023, with films like “John Wick 4,” “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” and “Saw X” and is optimistic about its upcoming theatrical releases, including the long-delayed “Borderlands,” Eli Roth’s adaptation of the popular video game series which is set for an August theatrical release.
Starring Kevin Hart, Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ariana Greenblatt, “Borderlands” was first announced in 2015 and wrapped shooting in 2021 but has faced behind- the-scenes issues and delays. But both Roth and Greenblatt were overwhelmingly positive about the experience on stage at Caesar’s Palace.
“We had the time of our lives making it and I think that audiences are going to love it,” Roth said. “It was this crazy, fun, weird, dysfunctional functional family.”
Greenblatt, who shot “Borderlands” before “Barbie,” took the stage with Roth and said it was the best time she’s ever had on a set.
The company also has a new version of “The Crow,” directed by “Snow White and the Huntsman” helmer Rupert Sanders and starring Bill Skarsgård and FKA twigs, which will open in theaters on Aug. 23.
Brandon Lee starred in the original film, based on the comic book series and released in 1994. Lee died during its filming after being shot with a prop gun that contained a makeshift bullet instead of blanks. The director of that film, Alex Proyas, has been critical of the idea of remaking it.
Henry Cavill also took the stage to talk about a new “Highlander” movie he's making with “John Wick” director Chad Stahelski, as well as a new Guy Ritchie action pic with Jake Gyllenhaal called “In the Grey” and set for 2025.
Aziz Ansari gave exhibitors a look at his new film “Good Fortune,” which he wrote, directed and stars in alongside Keanu Reeves, who plays an angel, and Seth Rogen.
“I have to thank all the exhibitors who left the strip club this morning to come to the Lionsgate presentation,” Ansari joked.
“Good Fortune” is about a guy who is down on his luck who switches lives with a more successful man, and learns the wrong lesson that money did solve all his problems. Ansari said he wanted to make a comedy for the big screen, specifically.
“It means the world to make a movie that’s going to be in theaters,” he said.
“Good Fortune” does not yet have a release date.
Fogelson closed the presentation with a look at Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic “Michael.” Producer Graham King, whose credits include “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “The Departed,” took the stage to talk about the movie, which is currently filming.
“I’m looking forward to giving the audience a thrill ride they’ve never seen before,” King said.
He said it was “an inside look into the most prolific artist that ever lived” and promised the movie will “get into all of it” including his public and private life. The movie will include 30 of Jackson’s songs and recreations of performances.
Jaafar Jackson stars in “Michael,” set for April 2025.
Other upcoming Lionsgate films include Ritchie's “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” out next week, the Renny Harlin horror film “The Strangers-Chapter 1," in May, the Halle Berry thriller “Never Let Go” in September and “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” in November.
The studio is also currently in production on Mel Gibson's Mark Wahlberg-starring action movie “Flight Risk" and finishing the John Wick spinoff “Ballerina,” starring Ana de Armas, which will be out next year.
“We’re sorry we asked you all to wait another year for it,” said Lionsgate’s Adam Fogelson. But he did give the audience a first look, teasing the Ballerina’s explosive entry into the world, with fire, swords and a Reeves appearance.
“I believe it will be worth waiting for.”