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This Week's Headlines:

• Disney scored a big win in the courtroom, as a federal jury found the studio's popular 2016 animated film, Moana, did not infringe upon an earlier copyright. Screenwriter Buck Woodall claimed the Disney film infringed on his 2011 work, "Bucky the Wave Warrior." The jury deliberated for only three hours before finding in favor of Disney. The jury found that Disney did not have access to the earlier screenplay, an essential element in a copyright infringement case. Woodall has also filed a second lawsuit, alleging that Disney's 2024 sequel, Moana 2, also infringed on his copyright. That case is still pending.

• Playing archvillains in superhero movies can be a big career boost; just ask Michael B. Jordan or Willem Dafoe. Or Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender, who both benefited from playing different versions of Magneto. However, Jesse Eisenberg feels his portrayal of Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice set back his career. The film did well at the box office but was critically panned, with Eisenberg earning a Worst Supporting Actor Razzy for his performance. Eisenberg said: "In the industry, if you’re in a huge, huge movie and not seen as good, the people who are choosing who to put next in their movie are just not gonna select you."  Eisenberg's career has recovered nicely, however; he's received critical acclaim as an actor and director for his latest project, A Real Pain. 

• Nikki Glaser will host the next Golden Globes Awards, scheduled for Sunday, January 5, 2025 on CBS, and will stream on Paramount+ as well. The Globes have suffered, both critically and ratings-wise, since 2021, the last time Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted. Glaser was effusive in her praise of the Awards show. Glaser said: "This is truly a dream job. Plus, I no longer have to feel guilty about every TV show and movie I've binged over the last year." 

• Horror grows up as Blumhouse and Atomic Monster announced they are developing Soulm8te, an erotic thriller to be released in 2026. If the peculiar spelling of the title seems familiar, it should. This movie is the next installment in the M3GAN universe. A man grieving over his recently deceased wife acquires an AI android companion to help him cope with his loss. What could possibly go wrong? Kate Dolan will direct.

• The summer season is starting out poorly at the movie box office but even worse for the iconic drafthouse chain, Alamo Cinema. One of their largest franchisees just declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy and closed six locations, five in the Dallas area and one in Minnesota. After the closings, 35 locations remain open, including 15 owned by other franchisees.

• The big-screen Green Lantern movie with Ryan Reynolds was a major flop, but that hasn't stopped DC Studios from developing new projects for the popular comic superhero. The latest version will be entitled Lanterns and will feature both popular embodiments of the superhero, Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Damon Lindelof, co-creator of Lost, will headline a production team that includes Chris Mundy, the showrunner of Netflix's Ozark, and veteran comic author Tom King.

• Disney's highly promoted live-action version of Snow White led the box office last weekend with a highly disappointing total of $43 million. Other films struggled to net a few leftover crumbs. The spy thriller, Black Bag, was second at $4.4 million. The week's other major release, the mob drama, The Alto Knights, featuring Robert de Niro in a dual role, only managed a sixth-place opening at $3.2 million.