Robbie sticks with toys, making Monopoly movie
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.
Lionsgate is also developing a new “The Blair Witch Project” with the horror experts at Blumhouse, the studio behind “The Purge” and “M3GAN.”
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 longdelayed “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 behindthe-scenes issues and delays.
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 theatres on Aug. 23.
Brandon Lee starred in the original film, based on the comic book series and released in 1994.
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.
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. Jaafar Jackson stars in “Michael,” set for April 2025.
Other upcoming Lionsgate films include Ritchie’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemenly 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.