Entertainment

President Curtis Is a Refreshing Change of Pace From Rick and Morty

Published

1 minute ago

July 26, 2026

There’s a hopeful, almost comforting tone to “President Curtis,” the latest spinoff set in the “Rick and Morty” universe. That may be odd to hear about a show that features the president of the United States fighting werewolves and telling a child he keeps it “wrapped and strapped.”

That’s because “President Curtis” lacks the nihilistic streak that’s central to the DNA of “Rick and Morty.” Instead of following a man so brilliant and powerful that nothing matters, the series from co-creators Dan Harmon and James Siciliano zooms in on Keith David’s wonderfully voiced President Curtis, a global leader responsible for all the low-level sci-fi nonsense that Rick doesn’t care about all while caring about his approval ratings along the way.

“Culturally, I think the question ‘Why should the protagonist care?’ was a question that had a lot more appeal 10 to 15 years ago. So it actually is an advantage in the current marketplace of viewers’ experience to start with the question ‘Of course, the protagonist cares. What do we do about things?’” Harmon told TheWrap. “There’s a greater tradition of that in TV storytelling anyway. Plus, ‘Why does the president have to care about this?’ is not the question anyone wants to start with right now.”

Siciliano, who has worked on “Rick and Morty” since 2019, finds the more grounded stakes of “President Curtis “refreshing.” He’s written behind such beloved episodes as the Citadel-focused “The Rick, The Mort & The Ugly” and “Rattlestar Ricklactica,” which introduced the world to snake jazz. Both he and Harmon are intimately aware of how daunting it can be to write for a show where literally anything in the multiverse is possible.

“There was an experiment that we embarked on as early as Episode 2 of Season 1, which was ‘What if the fear of jumping a shark did not wag the dog or mix the metaphor?’” Harmon half joked, referring to the fact that “Rick and Morty” has always been unafraid to answer mysteries or resolve story arcs that would last multiple seasons on other shows. “That was a smart move because then your show would always have to be about character and not plot. If Rick can do anything and if life and death don’t matter that much, then the show is going to have to continue to be about whether or not someone’s jealous or feeling betrayed or angry.”

“Stakes for Rick are not always the easiest thing to come up with,” Siciliano told TheWrap. “‘Rick and Morty’ starts from a place of ‘What if nothing mattered?’ as a question. With the presidential role, so much matters. Everything matters to Curtis because if it didn’t, then he wouldn’t be good at his job. He’s a guy that truly believes that, as a soldier and a vampire hunter, it’s his job to keep people safe.”

President Curtis has been part of “Rick and Morty” since Season 2. The “Rick and Morty” team always loved writing stories that featured the president, particularly because Keith David does such a good job elevating the petty, overly cocky world leader into someone you want to root for. But this spinoff series has been in the works for five years, according to Siciliano. The idea came about after “Rick & Morty’s Thanksploitation Spectacular,” which was written by Siciliano and directed by Douglas Einar Olsen, an episode that follows yet another battle between Rick and President Curtis after Rick turns himself into a turkey in an attempt to get a presidential pardon.

“It’s also [the episode] where we started to explore more of ‘The X-Files.’ We got a little bit more dialed in on Spider FDR and and that element of the world, National Treasure and all that stuff,” Siciliano said. “We can expand this world out beyond ‘Rick and Morty,’ and it won’t really overlap a lot with the ‘Rick and Morty’ world.”

“[This show] has boundaries like death mattering and time and space being things that need to be traversed with effort. I think that’ll be a good thing for the time being because it doesn’t limit the show in terms of amount of content,” Harmon said. “If you zoom in on something smaller, you just increase the resolution. There’s still so much story to take place there.”

“President Curtis” premieres on Adult Swim July 26 at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT. New episodes will premiere on Adult Swim on Sundays and be available to stream the following day on HBO Max.

movies

‘Black Panther 3’: Winston Duke Talks David Jonsson Taking On Iconic Role

Published

14 minutes ago

July 26, 2026

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At San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, director Ryan Coogler took the stage to announce that not only will Black Panther 3 hit theaters on December 15, 2028, but David Jonsson will play T’Challa’s grown son who was introduced at the end of Wakanda Forever.

Jonsson had a role in last year’s The Long Walk, directed by Francis Lawrence. Coogler specifically mentioned that film as he introduced Jonsson onstage.

Black Panther cast members Letitia Wright and Winston Duke also joined Coogler, Kevin Feige and Jonsson onstage.

Duke later told Deadline that he had spoken with Jonsson for the first time earlier that day.

“I wanted to extend to him the grace that was extended to me. Black Panther was my very first film, and I was invited to create something really cool with a lot of grace, with a lot of safety. I wanted to just let him know that we’re here to support, we’re here to help, we’re here to augment, we’re here to be here for him and for him to do his best work,” the actor, who plays the fierce M’Baku in the films.

“I din’t want to say anything else but, ‘Come play,” Duke continued.

You can watch the whole thing below.

movies

Box Office Global: ‘Odyssey’ Clears $640M WW, ‘Toy Story 5’ $1B

Published

41 minutes ago

July 26, 2026

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Refresh for updates…Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is just laying siege and holding the box office fort at the domestic box office, but worldwide. OMG, the second global weekend was $215.3M, a -18% dip from the Universal pic’s opening which was $263.7M WW. Of that global total, Imax is driving $140M or 53%.

Soon, Universal can boast that they own three movies that have crossed $1 billion at the global box office, after Michael ($1.015B) and Super Mario Galaxy Movie ($1.011B).

(L-R): Bullseye, Jessie, and Lilypad in Disney and Pixar’s TOY STORY 5. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Speaking of movies that crossed $1 billion, Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 5 became the highest grossing movie of the year at $1.022B, and the third movie to cross a billion YTD. It’s also Disney’s first movie this year to cross $1B. Gotta say, the entire global year is looking fantastic. And we haven’t even gotten to Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day yet, which stateside, NRG has at $195M, I hear, with rivals predicting a $250M U.S./Canada start. 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home opened to $260.1M U.S, and $600.5M worldwide (the third highest opening at the global box office, unadjusted for inflation and currency swings).

The Odyssey‘s overseas second weekend also dipped -10% with $128.3M after a strong start in eight CIS markets at 270 screens, including 9 Imax hubs. Weekend was $2.3M, more than double Oppenheimer, led by Kazakhstan ($1.3M).

The movie which was shot in Imax collected $48M WW from the exhibitor’s screens, which makes it the highest grossing sophomore weekend in Imax history. It’s also Max’s third highest grossing global weekend of all-time. North America counted $24.1M in weekend 2 with a running total of $78M, while the second frame abroad is $24M with a running total of $62M. The 70MM Imax second frame made $5.2M worldwide for a running cume near $17M. Imax reports that most 70MM showtimes are sold out into September. The Odyssey in Imax posted the second-highest global weekend for the large format exhib in like-for-like markets of ex-China, Japan and South Korea, behind Odyssey’s opening weekend.

Second weekend holds include UK/Ireland, -11% with a near $15M, and running cume of $46.3M, above Oppenheimer and Dark Knight Rises, and already ahead of the lifetimes of Interstellar and Tenet.

France is $12.3M, still No. 1, with a running cume of $31.8M. The Odyssey already become the fourth-biggest film of the year. The cume has already surpassed the lifetimes of Dunkirk, Interstellar, and Tenet. Performance is above Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight Rises at the same point.

Odysseus is still No. 1 in Italia, with $10.5M, 88% of the weekend’s biz and a near $29M cume. That’s the biggest second weekend of all-time for a Hollywood movie with The Odyssey the country’s third biggest movie of the year and Nolan’s second biggest there of all-time. Of course, it’s ahead of Oppenheimer at the same point.

Australia’s second frame declined only -16% for a No. 1 of $7.9M and running total of $20.7M, ahead of the lifetime of Dunkirk and Interstellar, and ahead of Oppenheimer and Dark Knight Rises at the same point in time.

Germany’s second weekend No. 1 hold is -7% with $7.8M, and a cume of $20.5M, yes, besting the lifetimes of Interstellar and Tenet and above Oppenheimer and Dark Knight Rises at same point in time.

Mexico’s second frame is -2% with a No. 1 of $7.5M, cume of $19M, above Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight Rises at the same point, and ahead of the lifetimes of Tenet, Dunkirk and Interstellar.

Spain second weekend at No. 1 delivered close to $5M with a $15.5M cume, ahead of the lifetime of Dark Knight Rises and above Oppenheimer at the same point.

Brazil’s second frame at No. 1 delivered $4.6M and $11.1M cume, performing above Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight Rises at the same point.

With a $3.6M second weekend and $14.4M cume, The Odyssey is the biggest MPA title in India to date and Nolan’s second biggest there, well ahead of Oppenheimer.

Netherlands second weekend with Odysseus was also No. 1 with a near $3M, and $7.7M running cume, making it one of the top five pics there for the year and above Oppenheimer at the same point in time.

Saudi Arabia had an excellent hold, +3% from last weekend with $2.7M and a running total of $7.2M, a performance in line with Oppenheimer.

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Entertainment

‘The Odyssey’ Drops Just 30% From Opening Weekend As It Crosses $600 Million Globally

Published

1 hour ago

July 26, 2026

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Universal/Syncopy’s “The Odyssey” has followed up its $123.5 million domestic opening weekend with a historic follow-up.

Earning $87 million in its second weekend, it has held its weekend drop to just 30%. That stands among the top 3 lowest second weekend percentage drops ever for a film with a $100 million-plus opening, sitting behind only fellow Universal release “Wicked” with 27.9% and Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” with 28.9%. Combine that with an overseas second weekend of $128 million, and Christopher Nolan’s film stands at $639 million worldwide.

And that’s not the only encouraging sign for “The Odyssey.” According to PostTrak surveys taken this past Friday, the film had a gender split of 52% male and 48% female, evening out from the 59/41 opening day split skewing towards males. This suggests that “The Odyssey” is gradually expanding beyond its initial core demo of men under 35, which is a good sign as it prepares to compete against the four-quadrant mega blockbuster “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” next weekend.

Christopher Nolan and Hoyte van Hoytema on the set of "The Odyssey"

How “The Odyssey” does next weekend will go a long way in determining how well it legs out through the month of August. But even in the worst-case scenarios, the film is a lock to hit $1 billion worldwide. The question now is whether this strong start can withstand “Spider-Man” enough to allow it to pass “Deadpool & Wolverine” as the highest grossing R-rated film of all time.

In a distant second and third are Disney holdovers “Moana” and “Toy Story 5,” two films with very different fates.

“Moana” has crossed the $100 million domestic mark in its third weekend with $10.7 million, but is going nowhere in most overseas markets with a global total of just $228 million against a production budget of at least $200 million. While passing the worldwide total of “Snow White,” this remake will be left as one of the high-profile flops of the year.

“Toy Story 5,” on the other hand, now stands as the highest grossing film of the year so far, passing $1 billion worldwide as it added $10 million domestically in its sixth weekend. With $1.02 billion worldwide, it has passed the global totals of “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and “Michael” to take the top spot on the annual charts, though it is expected to be surpassed by “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” in the coming weeks.

Completing the top 5 are Universal/Illumination’s “Minions & Monsters” and Bleecker Street’s “Hadestown,” each with $9.6 million. “Minions & Monsters” is in its fourth weekend, giving it a domestic total of $155 million, while “Hadestown,” a filmed recording of the Tony-winning musical with its original cast, is the sole new release in the top 5, getting a limited engagement release in 1,949 locations.

Next weekend will be the final major release period of the summer, as “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” looks to match the spectacular $260 million domestic opening weekend of its acclaimed 2021 predecessor, “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” If it meets these sky-high projections, the global box office will have five $1 billion releases this year by the end of the summer, which would be the most in a single year this decade.