MGM, once a Hollywood studio titan and king of the movie musical, has recently been seen as a companion distribution studio with other big names, like Sony and Warner Bros. But 2018 marks a re-vamp for MGM, which is back to sole distribution on major movies.
MGM’s “Death Wish”, the action remake starring Bruce Willis, opened in March and grossed more than $33 million in the U.S. According to Box Office Mojo, “Death Wish” was the first film since 2010’s “Hot Tub Time Machine” to have core distribution from MGM.
Coming this Summer: a modern take on “Valley Girl” (June 29) and an Untitled Anne Hathaway & Rebel Wilson Comedy (Aug. 10), and in September: Dwayne Johnson’s “Fighting with My Family” (9/14) and Oscar Isaac’s “Operation Finale” (9/21).
The most interesting title in their 2018 lineup is “Creed 2”, opening November 21. The first “Creed”, released in 2015, was a combined Warner Bros. and MGM effort, with WB handling the majority of the marketing and distribution. WB is not a part of this sequel, reverting things solely back to MGM, which distributed 2006’s “Rocky Balboa”.
And in October 2019, MGM will release a highly-anticipated animated “Addams Family” film… and now that theme song is stuck in my head.
MGM has also recently announced a partnership with Annapurna Pictures, the studio behind Kathryn Bigelow’s “Detroit”, which will include distribution of next year’s “Bond 25”.
Lights Camera Jackson (a.k.a. Jackson Murphy) began his career as a film critic/entertainment reporter in 2006 at the age of 7. Jackson has written nearly 1,000 reviews of new releases. All together he has seen more than 1,500 films. In 2010, Jackson became the youngest person to win a NY Emmy Award, for his on-air movie reviews on Time Warner TV station, Capital News 9.
Jackson is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. The BFCA’s annual Critics Choice Awards is one of the industry’s most respected awards shows. Jackson is also a member of SAG-AFTRA. He votes annually for the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
LCJ appears every Friday morning on WGNA-FM . His movie reviews are also posted on his website, his YouTube channel and the popular website Cultjer.com. He is also a contributing writer for Jerry Beck’s AnimationScoop.com. Jackson hosts the weekly internet pop culture news show “LCJ LIVE” (every Sunday at Noon ET). And “The LCJ Q&A Podcast” features interviews with celebrities and filmmakers.