Filmed Version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” Musical to Hit Theaters in September

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s biggest Broadway hit is heading to a movie theater near you.

The filmed version of the 45-year-old Puerto Rican Tony-winning multi-hyphenate’s period Broadway musical Hamilton will hit theaters on September 5.

Hamilton, Lin-Manuel MirandaMiranda spilled the beans on The Tonight Show recently.

Disney will have more details very soon the release, but the date is already on Comscore. You can also see a new trailer above.

In February 2020, Disney bought the filmed version of the stage show for $75M, planning a theatrical release for October 2021. COVID-19 sidetracked those plans and Hamilton dropped on Disney+ in July 2020 to great viewership success and ultimately two Emmy wins in a 12 nom count, including Outstanding Variety Special.00:00

Hamilton additionally will be released in theaters in Canada and Puerto Rico on September 5, the UK and Ireland on September 26, and Australia and New Zealand on November 13.

Among box office benchmarks for Hamilton, the staged musical in previews made $400M in Chicago, breaking the B.O. record for a theater in the Windy City.

Hamilton opened on Broadway in 2015, going on to win 11 Tony awards, including Best Musical, as well as a 2016 Pulitzer Prize for drama.

The original cast includes Miranda as Alexander Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson, Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; Jonathan Groff as King George; Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton; and Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton.

Hamilton is inspired by the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow and produced by Thomas Kail, Miranda, and Jeffrey Seller, with Sander Jacobs and Jill Furman serving as executive producers. Filming was produced by RadicalMedia.

“When we filmed Hamilton, we wanted to try to capture the feeling of being in the Richard Rodgers Theatre during that first year on Broadway,” says director/producer Kail, “and we’re thrilled that audiences will now have the opportunity to experience it on the big screen.”

Demi Lovato Set to Release “Celebratory Dance-Pop Album”

Demi Lovato is about to drop it like it’s pop

The 32-year-old Mexican American singer/actress is set to resurrect her mainstream influences on a dance-heavy new album, despite committing to a punk-rock pivot over the past few years, per the Rolling Stone.

Demi LovatoThough many details of the LP are still under wraps, the publication confirmed that Lovato has been hard at work on a “celebratory dance-pop album” with executive producer Zhone, who says that the former Disney star is a “master in the studio.”

“It’s been so inspiring working with Demi and experiencing her journey of continued leveling up,” he told RS.

“This album is about letting inhibitions go, and we had so much fun making this music!” Zhone added. “It really comes across throughout.”

Led by an EDM-tinged single titled “Fast” — which Lovato has been teasing via video snippets on social media — the upcoming full-length is expected to mark a return to the form of the Camp Rock alum’s past pop-focused Billboard Hot 100 hits (think: 2015’s “Cool for the Summer” or 2017’s “Sorry Not Sorry”).

It’ll follow 2022’s distinctly punk-rock effort Holy Fvck, which reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200.

Shortly before releasing Holy Fvck, Lovato commemorated the end of a pop-music era by posing solemnly in a photo with members of their team — including then-manager Scooter Braun — dressed all in black. “A funeral for my pop music,” Lovato wrote at the time on Instagram.

The star later doubled down on her pivot to rock music by releasing Revamped, an album of past Lovato pop hits reimagined in the edgier genre.

With the new album approaching, however, Lovato recently shared a video on TikTok poking fun at their past departure from the mainstream, writing, “my pop music coming back to life after we held a funeral for it.”

One major change in Lovato’s personal life that has informed her musical homecoming is the vocalist’s marriage to producer Jordan “Jutes” Lutes,” according to RS. The pair tied the knot this past May.

“Over the past few years, Demi has found love, joy, and newfound confidence, making the choice to approach life with much more lightness and fun,” one unnamed source reportedly told the publication. “She took this sentiment into the studio, which can be felt in every track on this celebratory dance-pop album.”

Though Lovato always had an edgier sound than many of their fellow Disney Channel-bred pop stars, the performer shined in the pop-music landscape before transitioning away to rock. From 2008’s debut LP Don’t Forget to 2021’s Dancing With the Devil, all seven of Lovato’s studio albums leading up to Holy Fvck charted in the top 5 of the Billboard 200.

Lovato has also scored a number of Hot 100 hits over the course of her pop career, including top 10 entries “Heart Attack” and “Skyscraper.”

Auliʻi Cravalho’s “Moana 2” Tops $1 Billion at the Global Box Office

Auliʻi Cravalho has a billion reasons to smile…

With this weekend’s box office performance, Disney’s Moana 2, with a voice cast by the 24-year-old part-Puerto Rican actress and singer, has topped $1B at the global box office, becoming the third release of 2024 to reach the mark.

Auliʻi CravalhoThis new milestone means Disney scored a hat trick of $1B worldwide grossers from 2024; the only studio with movies released during the year that crossed the coveted threshold.

In total, 56 movies have ever crossed $1B worldwide. Moana 2 is the 32nd from Disney (including three from the Fox acquisition) as well as being the 4th from Walt Disney Animation Studios (along with Frozen 2, Frozen and Zootopia).

Moana 2Breaking out Moana 2 details, the Dwayne Johnson/Auli’i Cravalho-starrer now counts $442.8M domestic through Sunday and $567.1M from the international box office for a running total of $1.01B worldwide.

The current weekend hooked $7.9M from 52 overseas markets; a 32% drop in the eighth frame.

Moana 2 — from directors David G. Derrick Jr, Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller — began rollout in late November, notching the highest-ever reported animated opening weekend at the global box office. It set myriad other records at the time of release and continued riding a wave throughout the holidays.

It also helped Disney become the only studio of 2024 to top $5B in worldwide box office, the first time that any studio has surpassed the five-century mark since 2019.

Moana 2 is the 2nd highest grossing animated release of all time in Brazil and France, and the highest grossing Walt Disney Animated Studios release ever in France, Australia, Brazil and Mexico as well as across the Latin American region, Greece, Slovakia, South Africa, Turkey, UAE, New Zealand, Peru, Chile, Central America, Ecuador, Bolivia and Uruguay.

The Top 5 international markets to date are: France ($61.2M), UK ($50.5M), Germany ($43.1M), Australia ($30.9M) and Japan ($30.7M).

Season Two of Diego Luna’s “Andor” to Premiere on Disney+ in April 2025

Diego Luna is returning to a galaxy far, far away next April…

Disney has revealed that Season 2 of the Disney+ Star Wars spin-off series  Andor, starring the 44-year-old Mexican actor, director, and producer, will premiere on April 22, 2025 on the streaming platform.

Diego Luna, Andor, The new season of Andor will premiere more than two years after Season 1 ended.

Andor stars Luna, reprising his role as the titular Rebel spy Cassian Andor after Rogue One (2016). Following his journey from thief to revolutionary during his formative years with the Rebel Alliance, Season 1 sees Andor take on difficult missions for the cause.

Ben Mendelsohn has joined the cast of Season 2, reprising his villainous Rogue One role as Orson Krennic. Luna has said in a teaser clip that the “stakes are greater” in the new season.

“This second part will follow Cassian over the period of four years as he grows into the hero we see make the ultimate sacrifice in Rogue One,” he explained.

Creator Tony Gilroy planned out the series as a two-season adventure with the second season leading up to the events in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, where audiences were first introduced to Luna’s Andor.

Season 2 comes after production was halted on the new episodes last July amid the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Gina Rodriguez to Appear on Season 3 of ABC’s “Will Trent”

Where there’s a will, there’s a way for Gina Rodriguez.

ABC’s Will Trent will have a new assistant district attorney in Season 3 to be played by the 40-year-old Puerto Rican Golden Globe-winning actress.

Gina Rodriguez

Based on Karin Slaughter’s New York Times bestselling Will Trent book series, the show follows the titular Special Agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (Ramón Rodriguez), who was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. Now, Will uses his unique point of view in the pursuit of justice and has the highest clearance rate in the GBI.

Rodriguez will portray Marion Alba, a charismatic, confident Assistant District Attorney new to Atlanta. After her first encounter with Will falls flat, the pair is surprised to learn that they must work together to investigate a crime in the world of Atlanta gangs.

Will and Angie (Erika Christensen) were pretty hot and cold in Season 2, could Marion be coming in to mix things up romantically? Please note, this is pure speculation on my behalf but wouldn’t a love triangle storyline be juicy? Maybe it could catalyze bringing Will and Angie closer or permanently end their love connection.

The series also stars Sonja Sohn as Amanda Wagner, Iantha Richardson as Faith Mitchell and Jake McLaughlin as Michael Ormewood.

The Jane the Virgin star’s casting expands her relationship with ABC/Disney following her co-hosting duties alongside Shaquille O’Neal in the game show Lucky 13, which is currently airing on the network.

Before, she was the star and executive producer of ABC’s Not Dead Yet and Disney+’s Diary of a Future President.

Matt Lopez to Serve as Executive Producer & Showrunner of CBS’ “Sheriff Country”

Matt Lopez has gone country…

The Latino television writer and producer has joined CBS’ recently picked up drama series Sheriff County as executive producer and showrunner.

Matt LopezThe Fire Country spinoff, headlined by Morena Baccarin, is slated to debut during the 2025-26 season, with a writers room expected to open in late summer.

Sheriff Country was introduced when Baccarin guest starred in an April episode of the mothership series

Like the Fire Country pilot, the planted spinoff was written by Joan Rater and Tony Phelan from a story the duo co-wrote with series’ star Max Thieriot, whose real-life experiences inspired Fire Country.

Thieriot also directed the backdoor pilot episode.

The offshoot also is following Fire Country‘s leadership pattern.

While Grey’s Anatomy alums Rater and Phelan are executive producers and a writers room fixtures on the mothership series, Tia Napolitano was brought in as day-to-day showrunner. Lopez is taking on the duties for Sheriff Country. He was already in negotiations when CBS in May announced a series pickup for the spinoff.

Sheriff Country stars Baccarin as straight-shooting sheriff Mickey Fox, the stepsister of Cal Fire’s division chief Sharon Leone (Diane Farr of Fire Country), who investigates criminal activity as she patrols the streets of small-town Edgewater.

The series, from CBS Studios, is executive produced by Thieriot, Phelan, Rater, Lopez as well as Jerry Bruckheimer and KristieAnne Reed for Jerry Bruckheimer Television.

Lopez created, executive produced and served as showrunner of ABC’s 2022 family drama series Promised Land.

His feature writing credits include Max’s top-rated original Father of the Bride, from Warner Bros., and several Disney movies, including The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

Lopez is a former entertainment lawyer and DreamWorks business affairs executive.

Disney & Pixar’s “Inside Out 2,” Featuring Lilimar Hernandez, Tops Weekend Box Office with $155 Million Haul

Lilimar Hernandez is celebrating a massive box office debut…

Disney and Pixar‘s expressive animated sequel Inside Out 2, which stars the 24-year-old Venezuela-born Cuban actress, scored a mighty $155 million in its first weekend of release, overtaking Dune: Part Two ($82.5 million) and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire ($80 million) as the biggest opening of the year.

Lilimar Hernandez,It’s also the first movie since last July’s Barbie ($162 million) to debut above $100 million.

Heading into the weekend, the follow-up film to 2015’s cerebral hit Inside Out was projected to collect $80 million to $90 million.

Inside Out 2 also connected at the international box office with $140 million, enough to surpass Frozen 2 ($135 million) as the biggest overseas animated opening of all time.

Turnout was especially strong across Latin America, where it landed the second-biggest opening of all time behind Disney’s Marvel epic Avengers: Endgame.

Globally, the movie has grossed $295 million to notch the title for biggest animated debut in like-for-like markets at current exchange rates. It carries a $200 million production budget.

Inside Out 2 marks a huge win for theaters, which have been nervously waiting for the dismal summer season to take off. It’s also a triumph for Pixar, which has struggled at the box office in recent years as Disney sent films like Turning Red, Soul and Luca directly to Disney+ during the pandemic.

Pixar chief Pete Docter, who directed 2015’s Inside Out, maintained that COVID-era strategy “trained” audiences to watch the studio’s movies at home — hence the comparatively less-embraced theatrical releases of 2022’s Lightyear and 2023’s Elemental.

Well, it looks like families have rediscovered the power of Pixar on the big screen.

This debut marks the second biggest in Pixar history, ahead of 2016’s Finding Dory ($135 million) and 2019’s Toy Story 4 ($120 million) and behind only 2018’s Incredibles 2 ($182 million).

Ticket sales for Inside Out 2 towered over the original, which opened to $90.5 million.

The first “Inside Out” became a runaway, Oscar-winning success, ending its theatrical run with $356 million in North America and $858.8 million globally.

“This is a sensational opening by Pixar’s own exceptional standard for a follow-up sequel,” says David A. Gross of movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. He adds, “Pixar sequels are in a league of their own.”

Valentina "Val" Ortiz, Lilimar Hernandez, Inside Out 2Hernandez voices the character of Valentina “Val” Ortiz in the film.

Her previous credits include Bella and the Bulldogs and Cleopatra in Space.

Olga Merediz to Star in A24’s Rom-Com “Eternity”

Olga Merediz isn’t waiting an eternity to lock in her next project.

The 68-year-old Cuban actress and singer has joined the cast alongside John Early of A24’s Eternity.

Olga MeredizThe romantic comedy, in which people must decide who they want to spend eternity with, also stars Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

David Freyne is directing the movie; Pat Cunnane wrote the script, which appeared on the 2022 Black List.

A24 is financing and distributing the rom-com, as well as producing with Star Thrower Entertainment and its founders Trevor White and Tim White. The film is currently in production.

Merediz is best known for originating the role of Abuela Claudia in the Broadway musical In the Heights. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance, and she reprised the role in Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation.

Merediz also voiced a role in Disney’s animated musical hit Encanto, and her television credits include Orange Is the New Black and Shades of Blue.

Selena Gomez Reveals Name of “Wizards of Waverly Place” Spinoff

Selena Gomez is going above and beyond Waverly Place

The 31-year-old has announced that the new Wizards of Waverly Place spinoff will be titled Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.

Selena Gomez, Wizards Beyond Waverly PlaceDuring Disney’s upfront on Tuesday, Gomez also shared two first-look images.

The photos give fans a glimpse at grownup Alex and Justin Russo, played by Gomez and David Henrie, who are reprising their roles.

A secondary image introduces the spinoff’s new characters: Billie, portrayed by Janice LeAnn Brown, and the Russo family, played by Mimi Gianopulos (Giada Russo), Alkaio Thiele (Roman Russo) and Max Matenko (Milo Russo).

Selena Gomez, Wizards Beyond Waverly PlaceIn addition, Taylor Cora will join the series’ regular cast in the role of Winter, Billie’s bubbly, quirky and oversharing best friend.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place follows an adult Justin Russo, who has chosen to lead a normal, mortal life with his family, Giada, Roman and Milo. When Justin’s sister Alex brings Billie to his home seeking help, Justin realizes he must dust off his magical skills to mentor the wizard-in-training while also juggling his everyday responsibilities — and safeguarding the future of the Wizard World.

From Disney Branded Television, the series is slated to premiere on Disney Channel and Disney+ later this year.

Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas serve as writers and executive producers, along with Gary Marsh, Gomez and Henrie. Andy Fickman directed and executive-produced the pilot and will direct multiple episodes.

Belissa Escobedo to Star in Reba McEntire’s Still-Untitled NBC Comedy Pilot

Belissa Escobedo has lined up her next project…

The 25-year-old Latina actress and Blue Beetle star has been cast in Reba McEntire in her as-yet-untitled NBC multi-cam comedy pilot.

Belissa Escobedo,The project is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

The pilot follows Bobbie (McEntire) who inherits her father’s restaurant and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had.

Escobedo stars as Bobbie’s sister Isabella, an enthusiastic 20-something, who has studied psychology and loves to analyze people. She is thrilled to start working at the tavern and is full of “great” ideas about how to bring it to life.

Escobedo’s star continues to rise following two major roles in DC Entertainment/Warner Bros’ Blue Beetle, where he portrayed the titular character’s (played by Xolo Maridueña) sister Milagro, and Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2 where she popped off the screen—no easy task when you’re starring opposite Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, who returned as the Sanderson sisters.

Additional credits include the ABC dramedy The Baker And The Beauty alongside Carlos Gomez, Lisa Vidal and Victor Rasuk; Ryan Murphy’s FX anthology series American Horror Stories, the Catherine Hardwicke-directed Quibi limited series Don’t Look Deeper and the American High films Sex Appeal (Hulu) and Sid Is Dead.