Universal and Illumination‘s smash The Super Mario Bros Movie finishes No. 1 to make it a wrap on Deadline’s Most Valuable Blockbuster tournament for 2023. While the industry is still coming out of Covid and the aftermath of the strikes, there’s no question about the major motion picture studios’ embrace of the theatrical downstream model; steamers
Chris Meledandri
CinemaCon attendees got an extended clip from Illumination’s Despicable Me 4 at Universal’s presentation Wednesday in Las Vegas. In it, Gru (Steve Carell) teams with the villainess Poppy (Joey King) to steal a honey badger from a castle/private school. Two Minions and Gru’s baby son Junior are in tow. Calamity ensues as the honey badger
Chris Meledandri’s Illumination and video game giant Nintendo have partnered on a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros. with theatrical release set for April 3, 2026 in the U.S. and international markets. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic will direct from a screenplay by Matthew Fogel. The film will be co-financed
CinemaCon 2023 officially drew to a close this evening in Las Vegas, with NATO handing out its Big Screen Achievement Awards to such recipients as Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Zendaya, Chris Meledandri and Melissa McCarthy. The evening’s sentiment continued the running theme of the four-day conference: celebrating and preserving the theatrical experience. Nolan and Thomas
As part of the opening day here at CineEurope in Barcelona, Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri shed some light on everything from the upcoming Minions: The Rise of Gru to whether we’ll see a same-sex kiss in a future Illumination title and how one long-ago misfire helped inform his career. In a wide-ranging onstage