News of the Week: Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Movie Is Headed For Box Office Bank

We’re charging into autumn, but even as the weather cools down, the movies aren’t. This week finds Taylor Swift potentially revolutionizing the way special events are done while dominating the box office, a promising Hellboy update – no, really, Tim Burton’s thoughts on AI, and more.

As always, Atom Insider brings you a few hand-picked stories we think you’ll like. Ready? Let’s dive in.

Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour Concert Movie Event Is Set To Make A Ton Of Money

With Taylor Swift bringing her Eras tour concert directly to the big screen, it’s set to be a huge boon for movie theaters. Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman-CEO Tony Vinciguerra estimates the concert theatrical release could gross $200 million at the box office, making it a “massive, unexpected rescue” for theaters during the shifting release dates during the ongoing Hollywood strikes. It certainly seems to be the case – the Eras tour movie is expected to make $100 in its opening weekend, a whopping number for a special event. It’s not impossible to think the Taylor Swift event can gross a solid $400 million at the box office by the time all is said and done, especially with theater chains going all out for it. Cinemark, for example, is offering private viewing parties for the Swifties out there.

In an interesting twist, Taylor Swift cut out the middle man to bring her tour to theaters. Rather than go through a studio, which would then negotiate with studios, Swift negotiated with AMC directly. With the studios not being involved, it’s estimated that theaters will be able to retain a full 43% of ticket sales, with Swift and AMC splitting the other 57%. If her tour proves to be a success – and let’s be honest, it’s Taylor Swift: it will – then her method of negotiating directly with a theater partner may very well be the way forward for future special events and musicians looking to take their tours the movies.

Wonka Director Praises Timotheé Chalamet’s Singing, Says He’s Like Bing Crosby

One of the biggest questions surrounding the prequel movie Wonka, which is set to have songs, was whether or not Timothée Chalamet could actually sing. Turns out, he can, at least according to director Paul King. In fact, to hear King talk about it, Chalamet’s musical talent is something to rave over, which is exactly what he did in an interview with Total Film: “[Chalamet]’s got a beautiful singing voice. The person it reminded me of was Bing Crosby. There’s quite a range, because it does go from a couple of bigger, showstopper-y sort of things, to moments of real, pure emotion and he can do it all… I’m going to sound like a crazed fan.”

That’s a big promise to compare Chalamet, who hasn’t previously been known for any singing talent, to the legendary crooner Bing Crosby. Still, don’t call Wonka a musical. “The Oompa Loompas sing a lot in the book, and Dahl always uses poetry. But I didn’t want it to just become a musical where people are singing dialogue to each other for no discernible reason,” King explained. “I felt like it was more like a movie with songs than a musical.” Whether he’ll be the only one singing is unknown, and with Wonka’s talented cast, there may be others flashing their pipes, including Keegan-Michael Key, Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawkins, Olivia Colman, Jim Carter, Matt Lucas, Natasha Rothwell, Tom Davis, Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, and Hugh Grant, who will be playing an Oompa Loompa.

Wonka will hit theaters on December 15th.

Tim Burton Is Not Down With AI Copying His Work

Artificial intelligence has been all over the news lately, and as the threats and ethical issues posed by the technology continue to pop up by the day, it’s only taking over more of the conversation. Plenty of people have raised concerns with the ability of AI to steal intelletual property or the creative work of humans. You can count iconic director Tim Burton as one of those people who is less than thrilled with the concept of AI ripping off original works – particularly his.

Earlier this year, BuzzFeed shared a piece where it ran Disney characters through AI with the prompt to “Burton-ize Disney movies.” The results were about what you might expect, but Burton himself was far from flattered. He did not hold back on his feelings in a recent interview with The Independent. “They had AI do my versions of Disney characters! I can’t describe the feeling it gives you. It reminded me of when other cultures say, ‘Don’t take my picture because it is taking away your soul…What it does is it sucks something from you. It takes something from your soul or psyche; that is very disturbing, especially if it has to do with you. It’s like a robot taking your humanity, your soul.”

Can’t say he’s wrong.

Third Time’s A Charm For Hellboy? Another Reboot On The Way

Whether we want it or not, we’re getting another Hellboy reboot. Yes, you read that right. Deadline broke the news that Ketchup Entertainment has acquired the rights to Millennium Media’s Hellboy: The Crooked Man movie. This time, Josh Kesy will be in the titular role and Brian Taylor is set to direct. As it was with the last reboot, The Crooked Man is said to be a reimagining of the world Mike Mignola created in his comics. The story is set to follow Hellboy and a rookie BPRD agent. The pair accidentally get stranded in 1950s Appalachia, where they discover a small town being tormented by a coven of witches being led by a malevolent being known as the Crooked Man.

There is room for hope with this newest reboot, however: Mike Mignola himself has penned the script alongside Chris Golden, his Dark Horse Comics creative partner. Along with Kesy, the cast also stars Jefferson White, Adeline Rudolph, Joseph Marcell, Leah McNamara, Hannah Margetson, and Martin Bassindale. There’s no confirmed release date yet, but right now, it’s being targeted for a late May 2024 release.