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Fall TV's First Axing?; World Series Early Ratings; JLaw vs ScarJo; Sumner Sues the Girlfriends

October 26, 2016

What's news: Inferno will likely open the lowest of the three Dan Brown films, but how low? Plus: Disney plots a modern Oliver Twist, Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Lawrence plan dueling Zelda Fitzgerald projects and early World Series ratings look good. — Matthew Belloni, Erik Hayden and Jennifer Konerman.

Fox's World Series gets strong start. Michael O'Connell has early numbers:

Hopes for strong World Series ratings seem validated by Tuesday night's first showing, despite the Indians beating the Cubs 6-0. First numbers have the game up more than 30 percent from comparable stats last year, with Fox pulling a 12.8 rating in metered market households during primetime.

There will be adjustments as more numbers come in, since the game went on to nearly 12 p.m. E.T., but that first glimpse is much better than any recent Game 1 showing for the MLB event.

↱ And today's NBCUniversal earnings. Georg Szalai writes: Kicking off earnings season for big Hollywood players, NBCU's broadcast TV unit revenue jumped 56.6 percent to $3.1B, with ad revenue up 92.4 percent, primarily driven by the Olympics. Quarterly film revenue declined 7.9 percent to $1.8B. Theatrical revenue declined 21.1 percent.

Exec sound bite: "NBCUniversal reported operating cash flow growth of over 30 percent, benefiting from the Olympics, continued growth at our theme parks, and the theatrical success of The Secret Life of Pets this quarter," said Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts. ↲

Box Office: How Hot Is 'Inferno'?

Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code became a global box-office sensation. But with the third installment in the series opening more than a decade after the first film, how will it hold up? Pamela McClintock writes:

Inferno, starring Tom Hanks, opens this weekend at the North American box office, where moviegoers are growing weary of Hollywood's obsession with reviving long-dormant franchises. The Da Vinci Code was a box-office sensation in 2006, grossing $758.2M worldwide. Angels & Demons, released in 2009, did $486M globally.

Sony has already declared Inferno a success overseas, where the movie has crossed $100M. Prospects for North America are the bigger question mark. Prerelease tracking suggests Inferno will open anywhere between $20M and $30M, compared to $46.1M for Angels & Demons.

One prediction: "I think it will still have solid playability overseas, even with the competition. It should be enough to make this slightly profitable for the studio, although I bet it's the end of the line for the franchise," says box-office pundit Jeff Bock.

Elsewhere in film...

► Disney plans a modern take on Oliver Twist. Ice Cube and Thomas Kail, director of Hamilton, are teaming up for a musical take on Charles Dickens’ novel. Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz are writing the treatment, with Cube attached to play Fagin.

► Ben Stiller comedy adds A-list cast. Michael Sheen, Luke Wilson and Jenna Fischer have joined Brad's Status, the upcoming comedy directed by Mike White and starring Stiller. The title is currently shooting in Montreal.

► Jack O'Connell to play Alexander McQueen. Unbroken's O'Connell has been cast as the late fashion designer in a biopic to be directed by Andrew Haigh with Pathe producing. Principal photography is set for January for delivery at the end of 2017.

↱ Dueling Zelda Fitzgerald films planned. A Jennifer Lawrence project, titled Zelda, boasts Ron Howard, who is developing it with an eye to direct. Meanwhile, Scarlett Johansson's project, The Beautiful and the Damned, has secured the cooperation of the Fitzgerald estate. ↲

► Shawn Levy to direct Uncharted adaptation. Levy becomes the latest helmer on the long-gestating video game project that has seen Seth Gordon, David O. Russell and Neil Burger warm up the director’s chair.

► Charlie Hunnam, Lea Seydoux to star in romance. The Sons of Anarchy actor and Spectre actress have been cast in a romance, Zoe, set at a research lab. It's financed by IM Global, written by Rich Greenberg and to be directed by Drake Doremus.

↱ R.I.P., Janet Patterson. The costume designer, a four-time Oscar nominee for period films like Bright Star and The Piano, has died. Nicole Kidman's tribute: "she lives on through those beautiful clothes and images." Full obit. ↲

► Bond girl to star in Jane Millen. Olga Kurylenko will star as the titular character in a crime thriller written and directed by Cynthia Mort. The film, slated to begin production in April, will be introduced to buyers at the upcoming American Film Market.

► Disney's Moana to premiere at AFI Fest. Other films in the Special Screenings section of the fest, which runs Nov. 10-17, include Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, Lion, Paterson and Toni Erdmann.

Hillary Clinton's birthday with the stars. Adele endorsed the candidate at her concert in Miami on Tuesday night, which Clinton attended, and Katy Perry celebrated her own birthday (one day ahead) by casting an early vote and showing #ImWithHer.

Is This Redstone's Revenge?

Now that the Viacom-related lawsuits have been resolved, Sumner Redstone's legal team has set its sights on his two former companions, Ashley Cullins reports:

The media mogul filed an elder abuse lawsuit against Manuela Herzer and Sydney Holland, seeking to reclaim $150 million in gifts he had given them. "They manipulated and emotionally abused Redstone to get what they wanted — jewelry, designer clothing, real estate in Beverly Hills, New York, and Paris, and money, lots of it," writes attorney Robert Klieger.

This suit claims the women took advantage of the aging Redstone, using their feminine wiles to "commandeer" his life. They fired his doctors, nurses and household staff and isolated him from his family, telling the mogul that his daughter and grandchildren hated them and instructing security not to allow them near his Beverly Park mansion.

Sydney Holland issued a lengthy statement calling the suit part of a "vendetta" Redstone's daughter Shari has against her father's ex-companions. The full complaint.

Elsewhere in TV...

↱ R.I.P., Kevin Curran. The six-time Emmy-winning writer and producer who worked on Late Night With David Letterman and The Simpsons, died Tuesday. He was 59. Full obit. ↲

► Is ABC's Notorious the first canceled show of fall? The network trimmed the episode order for the first-year drama starring Piper Perabo and Daniel Sunjata from 13 to 10. Although it still has the option of ordering a second season, that appears unlikely.

► Tech dramedy Loaded Scores AMC series order. The cabler is reteaming with Channel 4 and Keshet for an eight-episode straight-to-series order about a group of tech entrepreneurs. Production will begin in November for a 2017 premiere on AMC and Channel 4 in the U.K.

In Trumpland...

► Law & Order: SVU reschedules Trump-inspired episode. The episode, titled "Unstoppable," is now scheduled for Nov. 16. The episode was set to air on Oct. 26, but NBC pulled it to be held until after the election.

► No Trump TV? Donald Trump told Cincinnati's WLW Tuesday he has no interest in a "Trump TV" venture should he lose the election. The idea of a network gained momentum this week after he launched a nightly Facebook series, Live From Trump Tower.

► Fox News' surreal segment of the day. Newt Gingrich went on the attack when Megyn Kelly brought up sexual assault allegations levied against Donald Trump, saying "You are fascinated with sex and you don't care about public policy." Watch here.

And more TV...

► Which show had the better cliffhanger? During a call with reporters on the morning after The Walking Dead season seven premiere, the episode's director Greg Nicotero compared negative reactions to the drama's string of violent killings to Game of Thrones.

► Gilmore Girls trailer finally arrives. Exactly one month away from the Netflix premiere, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel reappeared in the trailer for the revival, which will consist of four 90-minute episodes. Watch here.

On late-night...

► Will Ferrell is back as George W. Bush. For a segment on Chris Hardwick's @Midnight, the former SNL star returned as Bush to talk about "that disgraced pumpkin Donald Trump." Watch here.

► "Carpool Karaoke" goes Gaga. Lady Gaga joined James Corden to sing "Bad Romance," get road rage and talk about her plans for the Super Bowl. Watch here.

In THR, Esq: Bill Cosby asks the court to reject a pause to a California lawsuit ... Kevin Costner sues Shanghai Sojourners producer for fraud. ... Snap Interactive wants to stop Snapchat from changing its name to Snap Inc.

Today in '84: 'Terminator' Time

On Oct. 26, 1984, James Cameron's The Terminator hit theaters, launching a new sci-fi franchise that would churn out sequels over the course of three decades. An excerpt from THR's very positive original review:

"No doubt about it: Arnold Schwarzenegger was born to play The Terminator.

In this nail-biting Orion sci-fi adventure from Hemdale, the beefy Conan star, cast in his first villainous role, dishes out destruction with a fiendish relish certain to neutralize box-office competition.

The havoc makes for a genuine steel metal trap of a movie that may very well be the best picture of its kind since The Road Warrior...

...A remarkably spare script by James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd gives new dimension to this age-old morality play, working in plenty of pointed comment on our present overmechanization into its action-film context."

Today's Birthdays: Seth MacFarlane, 43, Rosemarie DeWitt, 45, Dylan McDermott, 55, Rita Wilson, 60, Hillary Clinton, 69, Pat Sajak, 70.