'Woman King' Wows With $19M Opening 

►Viola Davis, action star. Gina Prince-Bythewood's The Woman King, starring Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis, conquered the domestic box with an opening of $19m plus after earning a coveted A+ CinemaScore from audiences. 

THR's Pamela McClintock writes that Woman King came in ahead of expectations (tracking had suggested it would open with $15m to $18m, although Sony had said only $12m). The all-female and Black-led movie started off with $6.85m on Friday, including $1.7m in Thursday previews. The film received rave reviews from its world premiere at TIFF on Sept. 9. It presently boasts a 93 percent critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Elsewhere, two specialty movies opted to open wide due to a dearth of event pics aside from Woman King: A24 and Ti West’s horror-slasher prequel Pearl, in which Mia Goth reprises the role as the titular character, and Searchlight’s whodunit See How They Run, starring Adrian Brody, David Oyelowo, Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan and Ruth Wilson.

Pearl grossed $3.1m from 2,935 theaters to tie with See How They Run, which likewise grossed $3.1m. Both received a so-so B- CinemaScore. The box office report. 

—"Honoring all crafts and disciplines on air." Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner will produce the 95th Oscars, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer announced on Saturday.  The hiring of Weiss and Kirshner, who are veterans of many award shows, is a reflection of the Academy’s understanding that it needs to return to having telecast producers with “live TV expertise” after several disappointing Oscars telecasts, Kramer said. The story. 

—Problems again. DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket package malfunctioned for the second straight week, causing fans trying to watch through the app or online to miss entire games. A DirecTV spokesman said the company will continue to monitor for server problems and apologized to customers for the inconvenience. This is the final season that DirecTV will be the exclusive carrier of Sunday Ticket. The story.

Inside the Academy Celebration Honoring Sacheen Littlefeather

►"Tonight is her vision of what the path forward might look like." On Saturday, the Academy welcomed Sacheen Littlefeather to its museum for an evening curated in her honor. THR's Rebecca Sun goes inside the event that was both a culmination and continuation of its efforts to apologize to and reconcile with the actress and activist who was blacklisted from the industry for speaking up in protest of the treatment of Native Americans on and offscreen. The story. 

—"My idea, in principle, is not to make more movies." Woody Allen says he is planning to walk away from filmmaking. The scandal-plagued Oscar-winning director and screenwriter told Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia that he intends for his next film to be his last, and that he’ll then focus more on writing, as he would like to work on a novel. He said his 50th and final film, one which he previously has said will film in France later this year, will be similar in tone to his 2005 thriller Match Point. The story. 

—"Precautionary measure." Kate Winslet is ready to get back to work after a hospital visit following a mishap while filming an upcoming project in Croatia. The actress was shooting her titular role in the historical drama film Lee when an on-set accident led to her being taken to a nearby hospital to ensure that she was fine. The story.

—"There was a big ass hole in the stage." Post Malone took a nasty spill during his Missouri concert on Saturday. Midway through his show at St. Louis’ Enterprise Center, the rapper accidentally fell into an open trap door in the stage. The singer was later taken to the hospital and given a clean bill of health. The story.

Chrissy Teigen Responds to Backlash to Abortion Story

►"I’ve already seen you do your worst." After sharing her abortion story last week, Chrissy Teigen is fending off social media users who have criticized and attacked her decision to publicly clarify her pregnancy loss wasn’t a miscarriage as she had previously described it. Teigen shared screenshots of the comments to her Twitter, along with the message: "I knew this would happen, and honestly I’ve already seen you do your worst so if this makes you feel better, great. It doesn’t make me feel worse though." The story.

—No injuries. A number of trees caught fire near the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday night, just as guests were exiting the evening’s program. The fire was first reported shortly after 11 p.m. involving 10 trees at the location of Highland Avenue and the Hollywood Freeway, near the storied outdoor concert venue. Three fire companies were deployed and extinguished the blaze, with no injuries or damage to the Hollywood Bowl reported. The story. 

—"You freak me and my kids out." Blake Lively confirmed that she and Ryan Reynolds are expecting baby number four and called out paparazzi in the process. The actress took to Instagram to share photos of her with her friends and family, where her baby bump shows. In the caption, she explained that she hopes these photos will get the paparazzi to stop waiting outside of her home to get a photo of her. The story.

—"I was actually grateful." Sarah Michelle Gellar is “grateful” that the NBC TV reboot of Cruel Intentions never got off the ground, sharing that she believes it’s better suited for streaming than a broadcast network. In a new interview, Gellar said the network and concept weren’t a good fit. The story. 

THR Critics' Picks: 15 Best Films of the Fall Festivals  

►Strong year. Career highs from Cate Blanchett and Colin Farrell, new docs by Laura Poitras and Werner Herzog, and Steven Spielberg's moving cine-memoir are among THR critics’ 15 favorites from the Venice, Telluride and Toronto film festivals. The selection. 

—Frontrunner status. Spielberg’s The Fabelmans picked up the top People’s Choice honor Sunday at the Toronto Film Festival, which wrapped up its 47th edition. The semi-autobiographical film grabbed TIFF’s top audience award, which is often a barometer of future Academy Award nominations. The story. 

—Low-profile gems shine. In his third and final dispatch from the Toronto Film Festival, THR's executive editor of awards Scott Feinberg offers his thoughts after TIFF's awards ceremony on Sunday. Scott writes that the end of the festival was a time for smaller films to make their mark but the awards ceremony gave some early insight into the Oscars race. The analysis. 

Film Review: 'Dalíland' 

►"Entertaining and genuinely eye-opening." THR's John DeFore reviews Mary Harron's Dalíland. Ben Kingsley and Ezra Miller star in this biopic of the Salvador Dalí, but the real subject is the Spanish artist's unconventional marriage to Barbara Sukowa's Gala, a woman who built the foundations of his career while adding a string of beautiful boys to their entourage. The review. 

—"Complex and riveting." THR critic Sheri Linden reviews Sébastien Lifshitz's Casa Susanna. The documentary, which premiered in Venice and takes its North American bow at TIFF, looks at a midcentury New York oasis for cross-dressing men and trans women. The review.

In other news...

—THR fall style: Mugler’s creative director on inspired designs for Beyonce’s Renaissance

—A private members club opens in L.A.’s historically Black West Adams neighborhood

—NYFW: Madonna, Chris Rock and Ciara hit the front row for Tom Ford’s ode to ‘80s glitz

—Mariah Carey debuts Chopard collaboration, says butterflies still represent emancipation

What else we're reading...

—Julie Miller goes inside the fall of Ezra Miller, unpacking all the allegations of guns, drugs, alleged assaults and grooming [VF]

—Joanna Ossinger and Jim Silver report on the whereabouts of fugitive crypto fraudster Do Kwon [Bloomberg]

—Vanessa Thorpe writes that with films like Triangle of Sadness and The Maid audiences are revelling in tales of inter-class violence that draw on growing discontent at inequality [Guardian]

—Corbin Smith writes that he is a loud and proud fan of Rick & Morty fan even though it's a "natural magnet for the most irritating people on the planet" [Daily Beast]

—Michael Paulson talks to producer Cameron Mackintosh about why he decided to close The Phantom of the Opera after 35 years [NYT]

Today...  

...in 1963, MGM unveiled The V.I.P.s, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, in theaters. The film went on to win an Oscar at the 36th Academy Awards ceremony for Margaret Rutherford in the best supporting actress category. The original review.

Today's birthdays: Jeremy Irons (74), Jimmy Fallon (48), Sanaa Lathan (51), Danielle Panabaker (35), Kim Richards (58), Lorenza Izzo (33), Rachel Sennott (27), Kevin Zegers (38), Edi Patterson (48), Alison Sweeney (46), Omar Elba (39), Rosemary Harris (95), Paul Williams (82), Carolyn McCormick (63), Stephanie Allynne (36), Peter Vack (36), Columbus Short (40), Spencer Garrett (59), Kristoffer Joner (50), Twiggy (73), Victoria Silvstedt (48), Lydia Hearst (38), Erica Ash (45)