APRIL 20
QUICK BITES
HALLOWEEN 2018
We have a confirmed Carpenter sighting.

John Carpenter will provide the score for new Halloween movie
By Clark Collis
Blumhouse Productions founder Jason Blum has confirmed that director John Carpenter will provide the score for the new Halloween film, which Blumhouse is releasing Oct. 19. 

Continued at EW.

TRIVIA: Did you know that actor William Shatner has had an uncredited role in every HALLOWEEN movie made?

AND

Ash vs. Evil Dead' Canceled at Starz
by Lesley Goldberg
Starz has opted to cancel Ash vs. Evil Dead, its small-screen offshoot of the Evil Dead films. The Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert gore-filled comedy's April 29 season three finale will now serve as its series wrap-up.

Continued at THR.

PLUS

'The Hills Have Eyes' Director Alexandre Aja Goes VR With 'Campfire Creepers'
By Janko Roettgers
Longtime horror film director Alexandre Aja is getting ready to make his mark in virtual reality (VR) with "Campfire Creepers," a new mini series of scary campfire stories. The series is premiering at the Tribeca film festival this week, and will also come to the Oculus Rift and Gear VR headsets this weekend.

Continued at Variety.

APRIL 18
QUICK BITES
Bitter court battle over Mad Max: Fury Road blocks two new movies
By Gary Maddox
Is it the end of the road for Mad Max?
One of the country's most acclaimed filmmakers, George Miller, is locked in a bitter court battle with Hollywood studio Warner Bros that threatens plans to make two more movies in the celebrated action series.

Continued at The Sydney Morning Herald.

AND

'Maniac' First Look: Emma Stone and Jonah Hill Experience Cary Fukunaga's Psychological Experiment
By Zack Sharf
Netflix is already having an exceptional year when it comes to new original series thanks to titles like "Wild Wild Country," "On My Block," and "Lost In Space," but the greatest offering might still be yet to come. The streaming giant has debuted the first look at "Maniac," the upcoming limited series from "True Detective" and "Beasts of No Nation" director Cary Fukunaga. "Superbad" duo Emma Stone and Jonah Hill star in the lead roles.

Continued at IndieWire.

PLUS

'Genius': Mary Shelley, 'Frankenstein' Creator, Set as Season 3 Subject
by THR Staff
The news comes days before season two — exploring Pablo Picasso — premieres on National Geographic.
Days ahead of the second season bow of National Geographic's scripted anthology Genius, the cable network has effectively renewed the series for a third season and selected its subject: Frankenstein creator Mary Shelley.

Continued at The Hollywood Reporter.

ALSO

HOUSTON MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER
For most politicians, this would be half-wit pandering. Something one of their advisors told them would be good "PR". Maybe something they had to rehearse. But not Houston, Texas Mayor Sylvester Turner.

The dude is always an enthusiastically unabashed fan of Horror, Science Fiction, and Comic Books. Which is just one reason why he's got my vote!

APRIL 16
YOU DUG IT - YOU BURIED IT
By E.C. McMullen Jr.
YOU DUG IT
RAMPAGE
The arcade video game of the 1990s early 2000s becomes a movie and, because it stars Dwayne Johnson, it has some heat. That said, RAMPAGE grabbed the #1 spot by shear force of theater screens alone (4,101). Jury is out over whether or not you are Digging it, but it's still Number 1 at $35.7 million in its opening weekend.

RAMPAGE was written by Ryan Engle, Carlton Cuse, Ryan J. Condal, Adam Sztykiel. It's Directed by DJ's GoTo guy, Brad Peyton (INCARNATE) and stars Dwayne Johnson (THE MUMMY RETURNS, THE SCORPION KING, DOOM),
Naomie Harris (28 DAYS LATER, TRAUMA, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END, FRANKENSTEIN [2011]),
Malin Akerman (THE FRATERNITY, WATCHMEN),
Jeffrey Dean Morgan (WATCHMEN, THE RESIDENT, THE POSSESSION, THE WALKING DEAD [TV])

A QUIET PLACE
Slipped to #2 in its second weekend, but that's not because fans aren't digging it. With over 500 fewer screens than RAMPAGE, A QUIET PLACE at 3,589 screens still pulled in nearly $33 million. That means A QUIET PLACE made more ticket sales per screen than RAMPAGE. You are definitley Digging John Krasinski's Horror Thriller debut, which in only a single week has made more than 5 times its budget at the box office.

A QUIET PLACE is by the writing/producing team of Bryan Woods and Scott Beck and stars John Krasinski (MONSTERS VS ALIENS), Emily Blunt (THE WOLFMAN, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU), Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, and Leon Russom.

Produced by Michael Bay and Andrew Form (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE [2003], THE AMITYVILLE HORROR [2005], THE ISLAND, TRANSFORMERS [2007], THE UNBORN [2009]).

TRUTH OR DARE
Opened at #3 this weekend. With a $3.5 million budget and 3,000 plus screens, this latest Blumhouse entry's $18 million opening weekend is all good.

TRUTH OR DARE was Written, Directed, and Executive Produced by Jeff Wadlow (CRY WOLF, PREY, KICK-ASS 2, BATES MOTEL [TV], NON-STOP, THE STRAIN [TV]), Co-Wrote and Co-Executive Produced with Christopher Roach (NON-STOP), additional writers are Jillian Jacobs and Michael Reisz (also story pitch). and stars,
Lucy Hale (FEAR ISLAND, SCREAM 4), Tyler Posey (INSIDE OUT, SCARY MOVIE 5, TEEN WOLF [TV], SCREAM: THE TV SERIES [TV]), Violett Beane (THE LEFTOVERS, FLAY).

READY PLAYER ONE
In its third weekend, Steven Spielberg's latest, based on the NYT bestseller by Ernest Cline, slips to #4 bringing in an $11.5. You are digging READY PLAYER ONE, but not by much.

Co-wrote by Zak Penn (X-MEN 2, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND), READY PLAYER ONE is directed by Steven Spielberg (JAWS, POLTERGIEST, MINORITY REPORT, WAR OF THE WORLDS) and stars Tye Sheridan (X-MEN: APOCALYPSE), Olivia Cooke (THOROUGHBREDS) and features fan favorites like Simon Pegg (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, LAND OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, STAR TREK [2009]), Ben Mendelsohn (THE DARK KNIGHT RISES) and T.J. Miller (CLOVERFIELD).

BLACK PANTHER
In its 9th week, BLACK PANTHER steps from #4 to #6 with a world-wide cume of $1.315 billion dollars, making it one of the biggest grossing movies of all time.

BLACK PANTHER is Co-Wrote and Directed by Micheal B. Jordan's GoTo Guy, Ryan Coogler, with co-writing by Joe Robert Cole and Stars Chadwick Boseman (CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR), Michael B. Jordan (FANTASTIC FOUR), Martin Freeman (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, THE HOBBIT [2012 - all]), Angela Bassett (INNOCENT BLOOD, SUPERNOVA), Forest Whitaker (BODY SNATCHERS, SPECIES, BATTLEFIELD EARTH, PANIC ROOM, PHONE BOOTH, REPO MEN), and Andy Serkis (Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS [all], KING KONG [2005], THE PRESTIGE, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES [2011 - all], THE HOBBIT [2012 - all]).

YOU BURIED IT

PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING
In its 4th week of freefall since its release, PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING drops from #9 to #14.

Written by Steven S. DeKnight, Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, and T.S. Nowlin.
Directed by Steven S. DeKnight, and
Produced by John Boyega, Cale Boyter, Guillermo del Toro, Jon Jashni, Femi Oguns, Mary Parent, and Thomas Tull,
PCU stars John Boyega (ATTACK THE BLOCK).

TOMB RAIDER (2018)
This week, TOMB RAIDER (2018) went into freefall at the box office, falling from #7 to #14 right off the Top Ten. Warner Bros. posted the budget for TOMB RAIDER at $94 million, so it went into profit and sequels may follow depending on home video performance.

Stars Alicia Vikander (EX MACHINA). Dominic West (THE FORGOTTEN, 300, CENTURION, JOHN CARTER), Daniel Wu (2000 AD, EUROPA REPORT, GEOSTORM), Derek Jacobi (UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION). Directed by Roar Uthaug (COLD PREY, THE WAVE).

DIG IT UP
THE ENDLESS
added 2 extra screens for a total of 3 screens this weekend. This brought it up from its opening at 65 to 63. It has a long hard climb ahead of it, but its per screen average remains quite high. WHerever it's playing, the people are Digging it.

References:
BoxOfficeMojo -
IMDb -
IMPAwards -