'Free Guy' Still No. 1 With $19M

►20th Century and Disney’s Free Guy seemingly can't be stopped. Despite the ongoing pandemic, and now the added bother of Hurricane Henri in the Northeast, the family-friendly action-comedy fell a mere 34 percent in its second frame for a $18.8 million weekend and a 10-day domestic total of $58.8 million. Needless to say, those numbers were more than enough to keep Shawn Levy's movie in top spot. 

THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Free Guy, which continues to benefit from strong word-of-mouth, has the lowest decline of any film opening north of $10 million in the pandemic era. Overseas too, the movie is pulling in the crowds and sailed past the $100 million mark. 

Free Guy's closest competitor over the weekend was Paramount’s PAW Patrol: The Movie, which opened to a better-than-expected $13 million domestically despite the fact that it also debuted day and date on Paramount+. The box office report.  

—Allora, non bene. No doubt ravaged by piracy, Disney and Pixar’s Luca, the first Hollywood movie to release in China in 10 weeks, opened to just $5.1 million over the weekend. Luca came in a distant second place behind local hit Raging Fire, which has been in cinemas since late July. The China box office report.

—11th hour clearance. Staying with Hollywood and China, Free Guy has locked down an increasingly rare China release on Aug. 27. The last-minute official clearance gives Disney’s China team just one week to mount a local marketing campaign for the movie. The story.  

—"The media has been disabled." Sony moved with lightning speed on Sunday as the studio tried to shut down what appeared to be a leaked trailer for the highly anticipated Spider-Man: No Way Home. The story. 

Maddow Signs New MSNBC Deal

►New deal. Rachel Maddow won’t be leaving MSNBC any time soon. The bedrock of the channel’s primetime lineup has signed a new multi-year deal with the NBCUniversal-owned cable channel.

THR's Alex Weprin writes that the news comes just a few weeks after contract negotiations had spilled into public view with the revelation that Maddow had enlisted Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and president Mark Shapiro to help represent her in talks with MSNBC. The story. 

—"Smirking golf bag." OK, this is Mike Richards news sort of. On Sunday’s episode Last Week Tonight, John Oliver took some shots at Richards' ignominious tenure as Jeopardy! host. The story.

—Not long now. The third season of HBO's hit comedy series Succession looks set to air in October. The Twitter account of the popular Emmy-winning show dropped the strong hint on the month but no further details, alas. The story. 

—First look. Netflix has released a first look at its live-action adaptation of the Cowboy Bebop anime series. The series stars John Cho, Mustafa Shakir and Daniella Pineda as three bounty hunters, aka 'cowboys,' all trying to outrun the past. The story. 

—Quibi lives on. Roku has ordered a second season of the thriller Most Dangerous Game, which began its life at defunct short-form streamer Quibi. Christoph Waltz will reprise his role as the head of the game, in which very wealthy people pay to hunt human prey. The story. 

Travolta Opens Up About Kelly Preston's Passing, Scientology

►"Death is part of life." John Travolta has opened up about a conversation he had about death with his youngest child after the passing of his wife Kelly Preston and eldest son Jett. During an episode of Peacock's Hart to Heart, host Kevin Hart sat down with Travolta for a wide-ranging conversation which also took in the actor's relationship to Scientology. The story. 

—"It comes up later in life." In an in-depth newspaper interview, Molly Shannon opened up about a tragic incident from her past and how it impacted her comedy career and the Saturday Night Live character Mary Katherine Gallagher. The story. 

—Back on stage. DaBaby hit the stage for the first time since stirring up controversy for homophobic remarks at a music festival last month and offered a mea culpa, telling the crowd at Hot97’s Summer Jam 2021 that he "never, ever meant to offend anybody." The story. 

—Next up. Jay Cutler’s post-NFL career continues to take shape with new representation and a new podcast series. The Chicago Bears' former star quarterback has signed with Hollywood talent agency Buchwald for representation and his podcast debuts Aug. 25 in partnership with PodcastOne. The story. 

—"We have wonderful news." Fox News shared today that it successfully evacuated three Afghan nationals who have worked alongside correspondents during their coverage of the region for the past two decades. The story. 

Jackie Chan Fans Flip Over 'Shang-Chi' Jacket Fight Move  

►Tribute? Jackie Chan was trending on Twitter over the weekend as fans spotted a similarity between a kinetic fight scene in a clip from Shang-Chi and Chan's cult hit Rumble in the Bronx and figured the filmmakers were paying homage. Well, it turns out, fans may not be far off. The story. 

—Tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow. Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth is set to close the 65th BFI London Film Festival. The A24 and Apple film, written and directed by Coen and starring Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, will receive its European premiere on Oct. 17. The story. 

—Expansion. Visual effects house DNEG, Christopher Nolan’s go-to VFX house whose work has earned Oscars for the director’s Inception, Interstellar and Tenet, plans to add a new base in Toronto. The story. 

In other news...

— TV review: We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert.

—Sending an email to Shawn Levy? Better check that address again.

—PAW Patrol: The Movie: Meet the voices behind the animated characters.

—Plastic surgeons sound the alarm against the new "alienized look."

—Hollywood's go-to specialists for "natural results," from lips to body contouring.

—Hollywood flashback: Harry Belafonte won a barrier-breaking Emmy in 1960.

—Why L.A. buyers are seeking New York City condos.

—Dead & Company fan falls to his death during concert at New York’s Citi Field.

—Eric Stonestreet engaged to longtime girlfriend Lindsay Schweitzer. 

What else we're reading...

—"Jude Law: "I Remember Being Told Not to Get Above Myself. Such Appalling British Advice"" [The Guardian]

—"Why Sundance Filmmaker Labs At 40 Should Be A Model For Studio Executives" [Los Angeles Times]

—"Jesse Armstrong: The Real C.E.O. of Succession" [New Yorker]

—"The Reintroduction of Lorde, Reluctant Royal" [Vulture]

—"The Chair Is Netflix’s Best Drama in Years" [The Atlantic]

Today... 

... in 1985, Michael J. Fox’s Teen Wolf took the court, going on to gross $33 million in late summer and becoming a film and TV franchise. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Park Chan-wook (58), Ray Park (47), Barbara Eden (90), Shelley Long (72), Scott Caan (45), Andrew Rannells (43), Jay Mohr (51), Alexandre Desplat (60), Joanne Froggatt (41), Clare Grant (42), Joey Cramer (48), Marty York (41)