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Tag: Tom Cruise

  • Formula 1 races into record books with blockbuster first half of 2025

    Formula 1 races into record books with blockbuster first half of 2025

    MUMBAI: Full throttle, no pit stops! Formula 1’s 2025 season hasn’t just been about roaring engines and tight overtakes, it’s been a spectacle both on and off the track. From Brad Pitt’s F1: The Movie smashing box office records to sold-out Grands Prix pulling in millions of fans, the sport has hit top gear in its 75th anniversary year.

    The season opened with F1 75 Live at London’s O2, where 16,000 fans watched all ten teams unveil their new cars alongside live music from global stars like MGK, Tems and Take That. The livestream drew 7.5 million viewers worldwide, setting Youtube records and proving that F1 knows how to put on a show as much as a race.

    Hollywood soon joined the grid. Pitt’s racing blockbuster has already grossed more than 600 million dollars, making it the highest-earning sports film ever and his biggest box-office hit. Premieres in New York and London drew A-listers from Tom Cruise and Naomi Campbell to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, not to mention Formula 1’s biggest names behind the wheel.

    On track, the numbers are just as electrifying. More than 3.9 million fans attended the first 14 races, which is the highest ever mid-season tally, with Australia and Britain each topping 400,000. 11 of the 14 events sold out, while record-breaking crowds turned up in Spain, Canada and Belgium.

    Digital reach is also flying. Formula 1’s social media following has surged past 107 million, up 21 percent year-on-year, with Tiktok and YouTube highlights pulling in record views. Younger fans are driving the growth too: 43 percent of F1’s global fanbase is now under 35, and nearly half are women.

    Commercially, the grid is just as busy as the paddock. Partnerships with Disney, Pepsico, LEGO, Barilla and luxury powerhouse LVMH have broadened F1’s global appeal, while quirky activations such as LEGO driver parades and gourmet pasta pop-ups, have kept fans talking.

    And the best part? There’s still half a season left. With Zandvoort kicking things off this weekend, F1’s second act promises more drama, more speed and, if the first half is anything to go by, more records smashed.
     

  • Boom time at the box office as May grosses over Rs 1,100 crore

    Boom time at the box office as May grosses over Rs 1,100 crore

    MUMBAI: May-day magic as moviegoers power record box office collections.  When Ajay Devgn raids the screen and Tom Cruise races to the finish, you know it’s a blockbuster month. The report released by Omrax Media explains how India’s box office rang up a robust Rs 1,136 crore in May 2025, making it the second-highest-grossing month of the year so far just behind February. The cinematic surge was led by homegrown action thriller Raid 2 and Hollywood spectacle Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which together contributed a cool 28 per cent of the month’s takings.

    Raid 2 alone punched through the Rs 200 crore barrier, earning it the crown of May’s top earner and placing it just behind Chhaava in the year’s Hindi film rankings. Meanwhile, Ethan Hunt’s final outing delivered over Rs 115 crore at the Indian box office.

    Overall, 2025 is shaping up to be a stellar year for the big screen. The cumulative domestic box office from January to May now stands at Rs 4,812 crore 27 per cent higher than the same period last year.

    May was also a Hollywood high in India. With Final Destination: Bloodlines and Thunderbolts joining Mission: Impossible in the top 10, English-language films raked in Rs 262 crore marking the best month for Hollywood here since the Barbenheimer boom of July 2023.

    Interestingly, the top 10 films so far this year span languages and industries, with four Hindi films and two each from Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam cinema. The box office is proving to be one of India’s most multilingual success stories.

    With summer in full swing and June releases lining up to impress, the only question now is can the heatwave at the box office get any hotter?

  • Cruise control kicks In as Mission Impossible ignites summer box office

    Cruise control kicks In as Mission Impossible ignites summer box office

    MUMBAI: Theatre owners have one mission this May, pack in the crowds. And thanks to Tom Cruise, it looks like they’re already winning. With Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning just days away from its theatrical release, the high-octane franchise is already breaking ground. Over 11,000 tickets were sold within 24 hours of advance bookings, and as of Tuesday, that number has soared past 38,500 across national chains, setting the tone for what exhibitors are calling a “Hollywood summer revival.”

    Venkat Prasad of Prasad Multiplex (Hyderabad) shared his perspective on the current buzz, noting the shift in audience sentiment and said, “The numbers truly prove this, as does the incredible buzz and global response to the Tom Cruise film. The appetite for theatrical experiences in the South has been rejuvenated, and this high-octane offering is perfectly timed to tap into that demand. For us as exhibitors, and more importantly for audiences, 2025 is a blockbuster year for Hollywood in every sense, and we will see this unfolding as we now go along, starting with Mission: Impossible releasing on 17th May.”

    Echoing the sentiment AMB Cinemas director Sunil Narang emphasized the strength of the upcoming slate and its impact on local audiences, saying, “With Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning leading the charge, Hollywood’s May line-up is one of the best summer slates we have seen in a while offering a thrilling mix of nostalgia, action, and exhilaration this summer. The response from our audiences in the South has been phenomenal, with the region witnessing advance sales in good numbers solely for seeing Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in action; reaffirming the pull of such big-ticket releases for the big-screen experience.”

    Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, the film stars Cruise alongside an ensemble cast including Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, and Angela Bassett. The latest instalment promises heart-stopping action, emotional stakes, and high-speed stunts that have come to define the franchise.

    Releasing in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu on Saturday, 17 May, The Final Reckoning brings back Ethan Hunt for one last, dangerous mission across languages and generations.

    In a post-pandemic world where streaming had momentarily taken the front seat, Cruise’s return to cinemas isn’t just a movie moment, it’s a mission to reignite the magic of the big screen.

  • Five action heroes we’d love to see in the The Expendables 4 dream team

    Five action heroes we’d love to see in the The Expendables 4 dream team

    Mumbai: Track him, find him, kill him! In another action-packed, thrilling adventure The Expendables 4 is coming to Indian theaters on 22 September 2023. Swinging heavily with a star-studded cast like no other, the fourth installment of the cult franchise is stacked with the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Liam Neeson, Steven Seagal, and even 50 Cent! But this isn’t the first time the franchise has showcased an abundance of A-listers in one movie. The first three installments, namely, The Expendables, The Expendables 2, and The Expendables 3, boast stellar casts with impeccable storylines and can be watched on Lionsgate Play today!

    While The Expendables 4 already has an exhilarating cast, here are a few action heroes that could take things up to a whole new level!

    The Rock

    The Brahma Bull is all fired up and he’s ready to fight! As one of the most popular action heroes, The Rock seems a perfect fit for the indestructible squad of The Expendables. With a physique the size of a mountain, he’s sure to add a ton of firepower and fighting skills.

    Keanu Reeves

    With a wide range of fan-favorite cult classics to his name, Keanu Reeves comes with a heavy resume of amazing action and smooth fighting. Playing beloved characters like Neo and John Wick, Keanu has repeatedly displayed a propensity for success in the action genre.

    Henry Cavill

    Who better to add to the squad than the Man Of Steel himself? The charming, witty, and incredibly jacked Henry Cavill would be an extraordinary addition, especially considering his role in Mission Impossible – Fallout, playing a formidable foe.

    Tom Cruise

    Speaking of Mission Impossible, we have the legendary Tom Cruise. Needing no further elaborations after the enormously successful six Mission Impossible films, when you have Tom Cruise on your team, nothing is impossible.

    Daniel Craig

    The name’s Bond, James Bond! With his immense experience playing the world’s greatest spy, and a creative detective in Knives Out, Daniel Craig is someone who will add class and stealth to the Expendables, making them a dangerous combination.

    Catch the first three installments of The Expendables on Lionsgate Play today.

  • Stashfin’s all-in-one credit line card partners with ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

    Stashfin’s all-in-one credit line card partners with ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

    Mumbai: Stashfin has announced a 20 per cent cashback reward on movie tickets to ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, distributed by Viacom18 Studios in India, and directed by Joseph Kosinski, starring Tom Cruise.

    With a brand promise of ‘Nobody in India should be credit starved’, Stashfin said that it has been working towards the financial inclusion of various customer segments who find it hard to be accepted by traditional banking systems. The company also helps the underrepresented build their credit footprint to enable them to improve their quality of life.

    Hollywood star Tom Cruise returns as aviator Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Cardholders will get up to 20 per cent cashback while booking movie tickets using the Stashfin Credit Line Card on BookMyShow, PVRCinemas, and Inox.

    Stashfin co-founder Shruti Aggarwal said, “We, at Stashfin, are thrilled to be associated with Top Gun: Maverick starring Tom Cruise. I’m excited about this being our first Hollywood collaboration, and I hope there’ll be similar collaborations in the future. I also hope our customers make the most of this offer and enjoy their movie-watching experience.”

  • US Network NBC drops broadcast of 2022 Golden Globes

    US Network NBC drops broadcast of 2022 Golden Globes

    New Delhi: US television network NBC has announced that it will drop its broadcast of the Golden Globes ceremony in 2022. The decision comes after the Hollywood backlash over the lack of diversity and the ethics of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), whose members vote on the annual awards for film and television.

    It is for the first time since 1996 that NBC has decided not to broadcast the awards.

    Actor Tom Cruise joined a revolt led by a host of streaming platforms and top studios, and urged others to join the call for action. The Mission Impossible star also returned the three awards he won for his roles in the movies Jerry Maguire, Magnolia and Born on the Fourth of July to register his protest, Variety magazine reported on Tuesday.

    The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has been facing severe allegations of corruption and impropriety, and lack of diversity. The members have also been accused of making sexist and racist remarks

    Streaming giants Netflix, Amazon Studios, WarnerMedia and several top PR companies have earlier said they would no longer work with the HFPA unless it made far-reaching changes.

    WarnerMedia, which includes cable channel HBO and movie studio Warner Brothers, had even written to HFPA expressing concerns over “racially insensitive, sexist and homophobic questions” at press conferences and events during the nominations and awards process.

    In wake of the criticism, the HFPA had agreed to make some changes over the next year, which were initially welcomed by NBC. But later, the network said it would wait to see if the reforms worked.

    “Change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right. As such, NBC will not air the 2022 Golden Globes. Assuming the organisation executes on its plan, we are hopeful we will be in a position to air the show in January 2023,” NBC said in a statement, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

    Soon after the announcement, the HFPA said it is implementing “transformational change”  on priority and also reiterated that by August 2021, it would approve a new code of conduct and provide diversity and sexual harassment training among other steps.

    The annual Golden Globes ceremony has become one of the biggest Hollywood awards shows in the run-up to the Oscars. But it has been under close scrutiny following an investigation published in February by the Los Angeles Times that showed the group of 87 journalists had no Black members. The association has faced further criticism for this year’s slate of nominations, which did not include several Black-led Oscar contenders such as Da 5 Bloods, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Judas and the Black Messiah in the nominees for the group’s top award.

  • This Republic Day, &flix and &PrivéHD bring you a special movie line-up to give you the adrenaline rush like never before

    This Republic Day, &flix and &PrivéHD bring you a special movie line-up to give you the adrenaline rush like never before

    MUMBAI: For the movie buffs who want to celebrate this Republic Day their own way, Zee has an incredible line-up of films for their audience throughout the day. From a property that raises the bar, Stick to Flix will kick-start the Republic Day Binge at 11AM. For the audience who love more subdued content, &PrivéHD will premiere Thank you for your Service on Saturday, January 26 at 1PM and 9PM. &PrivéHD and &flix will be continuing its commitment on being the destination for excellent and varied cinema on TV.

    From a 90s classic, to the very best high-octane blockbusters, &flix covers all the audiences’ tastes and preferences.  Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible V will kick-start your Republic Day binge at 11AM on &flix. Oscar Award Winner Angelina Jolie will continue the line-up in the spy thriller Salt, playing a CIA agent on the run from her own government. The 90s classic Face/Off of Oscar Award Winner and Golden Globe award winner Nicolas Cage and Golden Globe and Emmy Award Winner John Travolta will take you a on action-filled ride, with a plot that is unapologetically ludicrous and intense. Eagle Eye will set the tone up with a captivating action thriller that plays on our growing fears about technology and surveillance. The movie has stars like Shia LaBeouf who played the role of Jerry Shaw and Golden Globe Nominee Michelle Monaghan who played the character of Rachel Holloman.

    For something more for our non-conformist crowd who is always on the lookout of something more than what meets the eye, &PrivéHD will be premiering Thank you for your Service at 1PM at 9PM. The film is directed by Oscar Nominee WJason Hall, a story surrounding thoughtful study of a soldier who is trying to return to civilian life after 15 months of combat in Iraq.

  • Movies Now to air ‘Edge of Tomorrow’

    Movies Now to air ‘Edge of Tomorrow’

    MUMBAI: Tom Cruise’s intense performance in the movie ‘Edge ofTomorrow’ as a soldier, who fights aliens, will air on MOVIES NOW and MOVIES NOW HD on Sunday, July 17, 2016 at 9PM. The science fiction action is also the super movie of the month on MOVIES NOW and stars Emily Blunt in the lead alongside Tom Cruise and Bill Paxton.

    Tom Cruise, who plays Major William Cage, is forced to fight a war against an alien race. In the very beginning of the war, Cage finds himself muddled in a mysterious time loop where his day restarts every time he dies; landing him back at the same point from where he started the battle. In his quest to defeat the aliens, he is joined by Warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), who helps him find a way to get closer to winning this battle.

    The movie is based on a screenplay of the Japanese novel All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The film is directed by Doug Liman, who is known for his popular genre of action thrillers like Bourne Identity and Mr and Mrs. Smith. Edge of Tomorrowwhich was well received by critics as well as the audiences, garnered a rating of 7.9/10 from IMDB. The film also got nominated for the Critics Choice Awards 2015, in three categories; Best Film, Best Actor in an Action Film and Best Actress in an Action Film, with Emily Blunt winning the latter in the year 2015.

    An interesting trivia about the film is that Tom Cruise recommended Emily Blunt to the makers of the film as he had long wished to work with her and believed this role to be best suited for her.

    Watch this action packed science fiction this Saturday on July 17, 2016

  • Movies Now to air ‘Edge of Tomorrow’

    Movies Now to air ‘Edge of Tomorrow’

    MUMBAI: Tom Cruise’s intense performance in the movie ‘Edge ofTomorrow’ as a soldier, who fights aliens, will air on MOVIES NOW and MOVIES NOW HD on Sunday, July 17, 2016 at 9PM. The science fiction action is also the super movie of the month on MOVIES NOW and stars Emily Blunt in the lead alongside Tom Cruise and Bill Paxton.

    Tom Cruise, who plays Major William Cage, is forced to fight a war against an alien race. In the very beginning of the war, Cage finds himself muddled in a mysterious time loop where his day restarts every time he dies; landing him back at the same point from where he started the battle. In his quest to defeat the aliens, he is joined by Warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), who helps him find a way to get closer to winning this battle.

    The movie is based on a screenplay of the Japanese novel All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The film is directed by Doug Liman, who is known for his popular genre of action thrillers like Bourne Identity and Mr and Mrs. Smith. Edge of Tomorrowwhich was well received by critics as well as the audiences, garnered a rating of 7.9/10 from IMDB. The film also got nominated for the Critics Choice Awards 2015, in three categories; Best Film, Best Actor in an Action Film and Best Actress in an Action Film, with Emily Blunt winning the latter in the year 2015.

    An interesting trivia about the film is that Tom Cruise recommended Emily Blunt to the makers of the film as he had long wished to work with her and believed this role to be best suited for her.

    Watch this action packed science fiction this Saturday on July 17, 2016

  • FX-FXHD to premiere TV sequel of Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report

    FX-FXHD to premiere TV sequel of Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report

    MUMBAI: A television sequel to the action-packed series of Minority Report adapted from filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s movie Minority Report starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton among others is premiering on FX and FX – HD on 7 March.

    To be telecast every Monday to Friday at 9.00 pm, the series is a sequel to what happened after Cruise shut down the pre crime programme, an experiment in justice that relied on the visions of three precogsto put bad guys behind bars in anticipation of the crimes they were hypothetically going to commit.

    The three precogs Agatha (Laura Regan), Arthur (Nick Zano) and his twin brother Dash (Stark Sands) integrate into society to live a normal life. However, flashes of murders yet to happen still enter their heads and Dash decides to ignore the abolishment of the pre crime unit to stop the murders and save lives. He decides to go vigilante with one of Washington DC’s detectives Lara Vega (Meagen Good).

    A one off concept redefining the ultimate Sci-Fi experience, the 2002 movie ‘Minority Report’ was extremely well-received by audiences and critics alike. Taking cue from the movie, the television series with the same name was introduced for television viewing audiences.

    This is the first ever Steven Spielberg movie to be adapted into a TV series, albeit as a sequel.