Thanksgiving's Big Box Office Feast, Deadpool's NSFW Joke Cut By Disney

Multiverse News

It was a record-breaking holiday weekend at the box office for theaters in the U.S., with a $420 million 5-Day Thanksgiving total, which smashed 2018’s previous record of $315.6 million. Lukewarm critic reviews for newcomer Moana 2 did little to dissuade families from attending in droves; by itself the animated sequel broke the record for a 5-Day Thanksgiving opening with its $221 million gross. Not to be left on the sidelines, last week’s contenders Wicked and Gladiator II continued to bring in impressive numbers, grossing $117.5 million and $44 million, for second and third place, respectively. In its second weekend, Wicked also became the highest grossing movie based on a Broadway musical and claimed the third best 5-day take for any film.

• Barry Keoghan is set to portray Ringo Starr in Sam Mendes’ Beatles movies, according to the Beatle himself. Mendes is planning to direct four biopics, each dedicated to a band member: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Starr. All of the movies will be released separately in theaters by Sony Pictures. While several stars have been rumored to be circling the splashy project, including Paul Mescal and Joseph Quinn, no deals have been made with any of the cast.

• On The Town podcast, Dune director Denis Villeneuve spoke on why he doesn’t want to direct a Star Wars film. Speaking on The Empire Strikes Back, he said “I was the target audience. I was 10 years old. It went to my brain like a silver bullet. I became obsessed with Star Wars. I mean, The Empire Strikes Back is the movie that I anticipated the most in my life. I saw the movie a billion times onscreen. I was traumatized by The Empire Strikes Back. I adore Star Wars. The problem is that it all derailed in 1983 with Return of the Jedi ... still today, the Ewoks. It turned out to be a comedy for kids. … Star Wars became crystallized in its own mythology, very dogmatic, it seemed like a recipe, no more surprises. So, I’m not dreaming to do a Star Wars because it feels like the code is very codified."

• Although Disney allowed Ryan Reynolds to exercise a high degree of creative control on this summer's Deadpool and Wolverine, the official script posted to Disney's FYC website has revealed the one joke that the company cut from the film. The line, spoken by Deadpool reads: "“F***! What, we can't even afford one more X-Man? Disney is so cheap. I can barely breathe with all this Mickey Mouse cock in my throat.” Although the majority of the line stayed, the last sentence was changed to: “I got Pinocchio jammed in my ass, and he’s lying like crazy.”

• Disney also released a new trailer for its $200 million live-action, Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot-led, reimagining of Snow White, due to hit theaters March 25, 2025.

• In heated competition, Netflix has optioned the rights to Callie Hart’s fantasy romance BookTok phenom novel Quicksilver. Deadline hears this is a 7-figure deal.

• During a tech media conference, Warner Bros. Discovery global streaming chief JB Perrette revealed some upcoming targeted dates for Max streaming properties, mentioning that season 3 of The White Lotus will debut in February and discussed a spring 2025 premiere for “The Last of Us” Season 2, a late 2025 launch for “Game of Thrones” prequel “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” and an anticipated 2026 debut for “Euphoria” Season 3. Perrette also revealed that the anticipated Harry Potter series is currently in the casting stage for its 3 lead characters and will target a 2027 release window, rather than a 2026 one.

• The CW’s Arrowverse of DC characters, which kicked off in 2012, has officially ended after Lois & Superman aired its finale, December 2.