Today In Entertainment

MARCH 29, 2021

What's news: Godzilla vs. Kong is a global smash, while Bob Odenkirk leads the box office at home, Black Adam sets a 2022 release, NAACP Image Awards winners, Comic-Con controversy, News Corp.'s big book deal, Tribeca Film Festival details outdoor plans. Plus: CBS critiques itself over Woody Allen interview, and Hong Kong loses the Oscars. --Alex Weprin

 It's a Monster Smash

►Global box office: Godzilla vs. Kong opened to a pandemic-best $121.8 million at the foreign box office, giving Hollywood hope that tentpoles can make a comeback as theaters reopen. Christopher Nolan's Tenet previously had the biggest offshore start of the pandemic with $53 million. Legendary and Warner Bros.' monster mashup enjoyed an especially loud roar in China, where it grossed a huge $70.3 million. Legendary has sole distribution and marketing duties in the Middle Kingdom, while Warners is handling everywhere else. The story.

+Meanwhile, in North America: Bob Odenkirk's new action revenge-thriller Nobody was a somebody at the weekend box office, opening to a pleasing $6.7 million domestically as more theaters in Los Angeles and the rest of West Coast reopen. More.

+Coming next year: Black Adam has an official release date. Dwayne Johnson, who is starring as the titular character, shared on his Instagram Sunday that the DC superhero film will release on July 29, 2022. More.

►Tribeca reveals details about in-person, outdoor festival. The festival, which last August revealed that it was moving its annual event to June 9-20, almost two months later than its traditional April calendar spot, is planning safe, outdoor screenings across New York City's five boroughs, including in Brooklyn at The MetroTech Commons, in Staten Island at Empire Outlets and in Manhattan at Brookfield Place New York, the Pier 57 Rooftop, The Battery and Hudson Yards. The story.

 NAACP Image Awards

►NAACP Image Awards: The 2021 NAACP Image Awards crowned DJ D-Nice, who hosted hit socially distanced dance parties during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, with its top honor of Entertainer of the Year in an evening that featured numerous references to the coronavirus crisis.

--There were also numerous references to voter suppression and the role of Black people in the results of the 2020 election, including helping Democrats flip the Senate with the wins of Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in Georgia. Still, there was no mention of Georgia's recently passed restrictive voting law, which Gov. Brian Kemp signed on Thursday night. 

--Bad Boys for Life won best motion picture and LeBron James was also honored during the Anthony Anderson-hosted live show and Issa Rae and Bridgerton's Regé-Jean Page were among the award winners. The full list of winners.

+In the press room, THR's Christy Piña asked Issa Rae about steps awards shows should take with regard to diversity: "I just want the awards to feel like the NBA finals. There’s no question of who’s the best, there’s no question of the people who made it to the playoffs and the finalists deserve to be there. Nobody got paid off, nobody is fluff, you know that you’re being honored because you created a great piece of work, and I don’t think that’s too much to ask for," she said. "Regardless of race and whatever, I just want the awards and the people behind the scenes to vote based on merit, and it’s kind of hard to do that. I don’t think we’re there yet, but hopefully we’ll get there one day."

+In other awards news: Derek Tsang's youth drama Better Days, nominated this year for the best international film Oscar, has given Hong Kong its first shot at Academy Awards glory since Farewell My Concubine got the nod in 1993. But in a mysterious move, it appears that the Oscars ceremony is set to go unaired in Hong Kong for the first time in over 50 years. Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, which has carried the Oscars telecast since 1969, has opted not to renew the rights to the ceremony. The story.

 Comic-Con Controversy

►Comic-Con's in-person plans: San Diego Comic-Con will return this year with an in-person convention during Thanksgiving weekend. The pop culture event will host a "Comic-Con Special Edition" at the San Diego Convention Center from November 26-28. The announcement comes less than a month after Comic-Con International announced a virtual event would be held this summer due to uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic and the risk of large-scale gatherings. The three-day Comic-Con@Home virtual event is set for July 23-25.

--The announcement for an in-person Thanksgiving weekend event received immediate criticism across social media, with many noting the pandemic impacted the ability for many to be with their families during the holidays last year. The story.

►CBS critiques itself over "legitimizing" Woody Allen interview. CBS Sunday Morning ran a segment that was critical of an interview produced by CBS... but never aired by the network. Instead, the interview with Woody Allen, which was filmed last year, is running as part of a package on the Paramount+ streaming service. Here's the backstory.

►News Corp.'s new deal: The Murdoch-controlled company has agreed to acquire Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Books & Media consumer publishing unit for $349 million in cash. The deal, unveiled on Monday, covers 7,000 book titles, including such popular backlist titles as The Lord of the Rings trilogy and other books by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell, and All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren. It also includes such children’s and young adult classics as Curious George, The Polar Express and The Little Prince. The story.

►On Saturday Night Live: Host Maya Rudolph's Kamala Harris made a return to SNL for the March 27 episode, accompanied by Martin Short as the second gentleman of the United States, Doug Emhoff... the cold open began with a game show knocking on vacationers partying in Miami even as COVID-19 cases surge. The sketches...

►The Derek Chauvin murder trial: Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer caught on video kneeling on George Floyd's neck, will go to trial for Floyd's murder beginning today. Floyd's death sparked the wave of social justice protests last summer. TVNewser has a rundown on the coverage plans from the TV news outlets.

In other news...

--The Advanced Imaging Society today announced winners of the 11th Annual Entertainment Technology Lumiere Awards. The organization recognizes 12 “distinguished technical achievements” driving the entertainment industry forward with “impact through innovation.”

--Chinese movie mogul Wang Zhongjun, co-founder of Huayi Brothers Media, has stepped down as chairman of holding company Huayi Tencent Entertainment.

--British recording artist and actor ARLO has signed with Sony Music Entertainment's Arista Records.

--The drummer for Grammy Award-winning rock band Alabama Shakes is in custody on child abuse charges.

--Piers Morgan returned to slamming Meghan Markle in a lengthy newspaper article published Sunday that detailed his version of events in the aftermath of the Sussexes bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey that ultimately saw him exit Good Morning Britain.

--Australian broadcaster Channel Nine was the target of a cyberattack that saw the severe disruption of its live programming on Sunday, with the network now investigating whether the hack of its systems was "criminal sabotage or the work of a foreign nation."

What else we're reading...

--"The bloody and second act of Invincible and Robert Kirkman" [The Ringer]

--"Roku sells you TV dongles. So why is it making TV series?" [Bloomberg]

--"Inside America’s most interesting magazine, and media’s oddest workplace" [NY Times]

--Here's an explainer on why ViacomCBS and Discovery stock tumbled last week [Financial Times]

Today's birthdays: Lucy Lawless, 53, Jennifer Capriati, 45, Elle MacPherson, 57, Vangelis, 78, Michael Winterbottom, 60.

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MARCH 29, 2021

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