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Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA), a strategic arm of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), today announced that more than $3.5 million in competitive grant funding will be distributed to recipients across the state through its Bridge, Project, and Arts Education Program grants.

The numbers speak for themselves, at least at the domestic box office, as Sony/Marvel’s Venom: The Last Dance saw the franchise’s lowest domestic opening with $51M after a $22M Friday/previews and a $16.8M Saturday, -23%.

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

In one of the year’s second-best triumphs for indie genre cinema after NEON’s Longlegs, Cineverse’s under $5M investment, Terrifier 3, is screaming to an estimated $18.3M+ 3-day after an $8.2M Friday, $5.9M Saturday and $4.2M Sunday.

Making Columbus the third leg of Georgia’s film industry became a goal in 2019, but the pandemic — followed by strikes — made building a local workforce and bringing in productions difficult.

If anyone was betting on Joker: Folie à Deux as being a winning tentpole in their fantasy box office league a year out, well, sorry, you just lost a ton of cash.

While large productions filming in Georgia qualify for various incentives on the state and local levels, small companies in Columbus face challenges as officials hope new grants will help stimulate the industry locally.

Producers and filmmakers see potential in Columbus as a filming location because of its ability to appear as both a mid-size city or a small town and offer support from the local business community.

Wild Robot posted the third best opening for an animated movie in September with $35M after an $11.3M Friday (including near $2M previews) and $14.2M on Saturday.

In an upset nobody saw coming, the third weekend of Warner Bros’ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice stole No. 1 away from Paramount and Hasbro Entertainment’s Transformers One, $26M to $25M.