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About 400 theaters have closed, which has sent the opening for Amazon MGM Studios‘ Chris Pratt movie to $11.2M, in addition to impacting other titles. Rivals might cry that for a $60M production, this isn’t the ideal start, but then again, they’re not Amazon which as a $2.55 trillion company has no stakes.

Oscar®-nominated actor Danielle Brooks and actor Lewis Pullman announced the 98th Oscars® nominations today (Thursday, January 22, 2026), live from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills via a global livestream on Oscars.org, Oscar.com and the Academy’s digital platforms, ABC’s Good Morning America and ABC News Live, Disney+, Hulu, broadcast media and an international satellite feed.

The Columbus Film Office is proud to announce the continuation and expansion of its Local Filmmaker Grant Program (LFMGP) for 2026. The program, designed to nurture local talent and support independent filmmakers in the Chattahoochee Valley, has demonstrated significant success in its inaugural year, fostering creative projects that showcase the region's storytelling talent and production capabilities.

James Cameron’s Na’Vi sent Sony’s Infected running away from the top spot at the box office as 20th Century Studios’ Avatar: Fire and Ash pulled in $17.2M over the four-day fifth weekend while 28 Days Years Later: The Bone Temple came in below its $20M+ tracking projections with a studio-reported $15M.

Southern Scares is the second feature film put on by director and screenwriter Paul Rowe’s Last Caress Productions, in partnership with producer Andy Carpenter and Trey Walker’s Mud Films. The project debuted on Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Springer Opera House in downtown Columbus, which also happens to be one of the locations featured in the project. 

 Backstage compiled a list of projects casting right now in Columbus, Georgia, nearby cities, and nationwide, and which roles they're looking to fill.

Even though James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash isn’t as strong as the first two films stateside with an anticipated running four weekend total tomorrow of $342.6M, about -34% behind Avatar: Way of Water, the movie is powerful enough to be the roux of the January box office.

Refresh for analysis It’s a very good start to the year with all movies grossing $134.7M this weekend; in fact that’s the best first weekend of a New Year post-Covid, besting 2023’s $104.2M.

The weekend opening for James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash is slightly higher both domestic and worldwide respectively with $89M and $347M. Sunday came in better stateside with an estimated $24.5M than the $23M Disney called it at; yesterday holding at -13% from Saturday.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) is deeply alarmed by President Trump’s Executive Order to sue and investigate state laws which regulate artificial intelligence (AI).