No. 1Live
Aerosmith ends retirement with two Hollywood Bowl shows
Aerosmith will play the Hollywood Bowl on October 29 and November 1 in a show called "California, Dream On: Aerosmith & Friends." Guests will change by night and include Run-D.M.C., Billy Idol, Eric Church, Slash, Sammy Hagar and Tom Morello. Don Was is music director, and more surprise names are promised. The band called it quits on touring in August 2024, saying Steven Tyler's vocal injury could not be recovered from. The 2023 farewell tour had been canceled over his fractured larynx. A Citi cardmember presale starts October 8 at 10 a.m. PT, and general sale opens October 10 at the same time.
Why it mattersYou should mark both presale dates now, because a lineup this stacked will move fast.
Full story at Variety →No. 2Box Office
'Resident Evil' about to become Zach Cregger's biggest global hit
Sony and Constantin's Resident Evil is set to pass Cregger's own Weapons, which finished at $270M worldwide, by the end of this week. The film had $245.4M globally through its third weekend. China opened Monday, took in $20M over two days, and is expected to reach $35M for the week. That should lift the worldwide total past $280M. The franchise has a big history there: The Final Chapter made $159.5M in China, over half of its $312.2M total. Cregger's next film is the original sci-fi project Flood, dated for August 11, 2028.
Why it mattersYou can see that a game-based horror brand still travels, and that Cregger is now a bankable name.
Full story at Deadline →No. 3Obituary
Former Paramount and MGM/UA chief Frank Mancuso Sr. dies at 93
Frank Mancuso Sr. died October 1 at his Los Angeles home from complications of cancer, his family said. He spent almost three decades at Paramount, rising from film buyer to chairman and CEO. Known as a distribution and marketing whiz, he bet on summer for An Officer and a Gentleman and November for Terms of Endearment. Both paid off. He later ran the struggling MGM/UA and helped orchestrate its $1.3 billion sale in 1996 to Kirk Kerkorian and Seven Network. He retired in 1999.
Why it mattersYou owe a nod to the man whose release-date instincts still shape how studios think about the calendar.
Full story at Variety →No. 4Charts
Taylor Swift's 'Patient Zero' debuts at No. 1 on Streaming Songs
Taylor Swift earns her 12th Streaming Songs No. 1 with "Patient Zero," one of four bonus tracks released September 25. It pulled 34.5 million U.S. streams in the week ending October 1. That is the biggest single week since two Drake songs in May. Swift holds four of the chart's top five spots. Only Drake has more No. 1s, with 22. The song also debuts atop the Hot 100, her 16th there, and The Life of a Showgirl returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Why it mattersYou get another reminder that bonus tracks can still reshape the charts weeks after an album's release.
Full story at Billboard →No. 5Streaming
Sony launches Crunchyroll Storyworks to adapt anime and global stories
Sony Pictures Entertainment has created Crunchyroll Storyworks, a new division of its anime arm. Tohru Iokibe, a 25-year Sony veteran, will lead it and report to Chief Content Officer Asa Suehira. It will turn global stories into anime and Japanese anime into live action, working with Japanese creators. It will also develop greenlight-ready projects for HAYATE, Crunchyroll's joint venture with Aniplex. The news came at Wednesday's Anime Future Forum in New York, the day before New York Comic Con. Crunchyroll has passed 21 million subscribers since Sony's $1.2 billion purchase closed in 2021.
Why it mattersYou should watch this if you track anime's push into live action and cross-border development.
Full story at Deadline →No. 6Casting
Regina Hall joins Jennifer Aniston in Olivia Wilde's holiday comedy 'Naughty'
Regina Hall is joining Jennifer Aniston and Peter Dinklage in Universal's Naughty, directed by Olivia Wilde from a Jimmy Warden script. Aniston plays a mother who must find Santa Claus (Dinklage) and get him to testify in her custody fight. Sources say Hall plays a friend on the North Pole trip, though that is unconfirmed. LuckyChap, Wilde and Warden produce. Universal opens it in theaters November 5, 2027. Hall is also set for Judgment Day with Will Ferrell and the Netflix series Rabbit, Rabbit.
Why it mattersYou can pencil in a star-heavy Christmas comedy for 2027, with Hall's busy run continuing.
Full story at Deadline →