Boxoffice - May 2019

abbit in his arms (representing his character Snowball) while
promoting Illumination Entertainment’s The Secret Life of Pets 2;
his co-star Tiffany Haddish fared much better with her designated
pet, a cute shih tzu.
Universal has several comedies on its slate. Producer Will Packer
touted his new body-switching comedy Little and made sure the
audience knew he had delivered for them before with Girls Trip.
The idea for Little, by the way, originated with its 14-year-old costar,
“Black-ish” actress Marsai Martin, whom Packer said is now
the youngest executive producer in movie history. “Don’t act all
brand new with me” when she has future projects to cast, co-star
Issa Rae warned her.
The irresistible Emma Thompson was effortlessly droll describing
the genesis of Last Christmas, the romantic comedy she wrote
based on the classic George Michael Christmas song. Director Paul
Feig (Bridesmaids, Spy) and co-star Henry Golding (Crazy Rich
Asians) joined her onstage; the other lead, Emilia Clarke, they said,
was off on “Game of Thrones” promotional duties. From the evidence
of the trailer, the film could become a Christmas perennial.
While Last Christmas taps into the George Michael catalog, director
Danny Boyle and writer Richard Curtis’s Yesterday imagines
a seismic event that erases everyone’s memory of The Beatles—
except for one man, a struggling musician who cashes in on his
ability to deliver hit after hit. Star Himesh Patel entertained the
audience with a lovely version of the title song.
CinemaCon always reveals potential hits that weren’t on anyone’s
radar, and that is the case with Good Boys, the latest irreverent
comedy written and produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
R-rated sixth graders (kind of a younger version of the duo in
Superbad) is a high concept that was just waiting to be plucked,
and the trailer was filled with outrageous laughs. Onstage, the
movie’s three young stars, Jacob Tremblay (Room), Keith Williams,
and Brady Noon, played along with the notion that they’re not old
enough to watch their own movie.
Other talent in Vegas included Octavia Spencer, director Tate
Taylor, and producer Jason Blum promoting Spencer’s changeof-pace
horror film Ma, with Spencer promising “disturbing and
freaky” acts much worse than her pie vengeance in The Help. And
writer Lena Waithe, director Melina Matsoukas, and stars Daniel
Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith unveiled a provocative trailer
from their lovers-on-the-run thriller Queen+Slim.
The Universal session ended with a behind-the-scenes look at
the making of the motion-capture adaptation of Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s long-running musical Cats, whose star roster includes
Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, Judi Dench, Idris Elba, Rebel
Wilson, and James Corden. Last year, Universal thrilled the
Colosseum audience with a performance of ABBA’s “Fernando”
by Cher; in that showman-like tradition, this year’s presentation
ended with Jennifer Hudson giving a powerful rendition of Cats’
most celebrated ballad, “Memory.” What will Universal do to top
that next year?
THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2’S TIFFANY HADDISH
HOBBS & SHAW’S DIRECTOR DAVID LEITCH AND STAR DWAYNE JOHNSON
PHOTO: ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ/GETTY IMAGES
PHOTO: ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ/GETTY IMAGES
MAY 2019
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