Marrakech Film Festival Returns after Covid Cancellations

The Marrakech International Film Festival logo.
The Marrakech International Film Festival logo.
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Marrakech Film Festival Returns after Covid Cancellations

The Marrakech International Film Festival logo.
The Marrakech International Film Festival logo.

The Marrakech International Film Festival returns to the Moroccan tourist hub this month, with organizers hoping to woo star-struck fans after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

British actress Tilda Swinton is set to attend, with Italian director Paolo Sorrentino heading up the jury, AFP said.

The festival, running from November 11-19, features emerging directors from across the world who will "shape the cinema of tomorrow", according to Prince Moulay Rachid, who presides over the festival's foundation.

Sorrentino, whose film "The Great Beauty" won a foreign-language Oscar in 2014, is joined by French actor Tahar Rahim, Lebanese director Nadine Labaki and German-American actress Diane Kruger.

Fourteen feature films from across the world, including six by women, will be in the running for the festival's top prize, the Gold Star.

Artistic director Remi Bonhomme told AFP that the festival "brings together different cinematic worlds, through 76 films (representing) 33 countries covering all continents".

The opening film is "Pinocchio", a remake of Carlo Collodi's animated tale by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro.

Tributes will also be paid to American director James Gray and to Swinton, who headed the festival's jury in 2018 and 2019, as well as Moroccan director Farida Benlyazid and Bollywood star Ranveer Singh.

Known for its conversational side events, the festival will give the public the chance to question Iran's two-time Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi.

US independent director Jim Jarmusch is also on the line-up, with events set to take place at a string of venues across the city with its famous red buildings.

Marrakesh's iconic Jamaa El-Fna square will host outdoor screenings of science fiction epic "Dune" and James Gray's "Ad Astra".

The city's famous Yves Saint Laurent museum will also host the "11th continent" collection of recently restored archive films, including "Muna moto" (1975) by Cameroonian Jean-Pierre Dikongue-Pipa or "Beirut the Encounter" (1981) by Lebanon's Borhane Alaouie.

Other screenings will include films that have already debuted recently at top festivals, including "No Bears" by Iran's Jafar Panahi, who has been detained in Iran since July.

The film received the Special Jury Prize at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.

Legal drama and Venice Silver Lion winner "Saint Omer", by French director Alice Diop, will also be screened.

Alongside the festivities, organizers will hold the Atlas Workshops, a program supporting young filmmakers from Africa and the Middle East with development and post-production that also awards prizes.

A previous winner, Egyptian director Omar El Zohairy, was awarded a Grand Prize at the Semaine de la Critique in Cannes in July for his scathing "Feathers".



'Sonic 3' Bests 'Mufasa: The Lion King' at the Box Office

This image released by Paramount Pictures and Sega of America shows the character Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, in a scene from "Sonic the Hedgehog 3." (Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc. via AP)
This image released by Paramount Pictures and Sega of America shows the character Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, in a scene from "Sonic the Hedgehog 3." (Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc. via AP)
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'Sonic 3' Bests 'Mufasa: The Lion King' at the Box Office

This image released by Paramount Pictures and Sega of America shows the character Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, in a scene from "Sonic the Hedgehog 3." (Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc. via AP)
This image released by Paramount Pictures and Sega of America shows the character Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, in a scene from "Sonic the Hedgehog 3." (Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc. via AP)

In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” sped past the Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” to take the top spot at the box office ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters.

“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates. With strong reviews (86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a high score from audiences (an “A” on CinemaScore), “Sonic 3” is well positioned to be the top choice in cinemas during the busiest moviegoing period of the year.

It was telling of some wider trends that “Sonic 3” — made for $122 million — bested one of Disney’s top properties. Videogame adaptations, once among the most derided movie genres, have emerged as one of the most dependable box office forces in recent years. The two previous “Sonic” movies together grossed more $700 million worldwide and the third installment appears likely to do better than both of them. A fourth “Sonic” movie is already in development.
“Mufasa,” however, was humbled in its opening weekend, coming in notably shy of expectations with $35 million in domestic ticket sales. The photorealistic “Lion King” prequel even opened wider than “Sonic 3,” launching on 4,100 theaters and gobbling up most IMAX screens, compared with 3,761 locations for “Sonic 3.”
Yet “Sonic 3” nearly doubled the haul for “Mufasa,” which cost more than $200 million to make. Disney could look to $87.2 million in international sales to help make up the difference. The third “Sonic” will rollout in most overseas markets in the coming weeks.
In director Jeff Fowler’s “Sonic 3,” Ben Schwartz returns as the voice of the hedgehog, alongside Tails the Fox (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba) and Jim Carrey in scene-stealing dual roles as Dr. Robotnik and his grandfather.
“Moonlight” filmmaker Barry Jenkins directs “Mufasa's” voice cast, including Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Donald Glover, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Mads Mikkelsen and Blue Ivy Carter. It follows Jon Favreau’s 2019 photorealistic “The Lion King” remake, which made $1.66 billion globally despite mixed reviews. “Mufasa” didn’t come close to that film’s huge $191 million opening weekend.
Many of Disney’s live-action adaptations – including “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Jungle Book” – have been big hits. Others, such as “Dumbo,” “Mulan” and “The Little Mermaid,” have been less well received. More are on the way, including a new “Snow White” in March, “Lilo & Stitch” in May, and plans for “Moana” and “Tangled” to get the same live-action treatment.
Despite “Mufasa's” muted opening, Disney is still celebrating its strongest annual performance in years. The studio has accounted for more than $5 billion in ticket sales worldwide, including the year’s top two hits: “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool and Wolverine.” The animated “Moana 2” is poised to round out the top three films of the year. In four weeks of release, it has collected $790.2 million globally, including $13.1 million in US and Canadian theaters over this weekend.
Though Christmas often sees some of the biggest releases of the year, November movies released around Thanksgiving really drove the box office this year. That includes “Moana 2” and Universal Pictures’ “Wicked,” which managed third place in its fifth weekend.
“Wicked,” the hit musical adaption starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, added $13.5 million in North American theaters to push its domestic total to $383.9 million.
Those films, among others, have led a Hollywood rebound in 2024. After a significant deficit earlier in the year, overall sales are drawing close to those of 2023. According to Comscore, the gap has narrowed to 4.4% behind last year's results. While that’s still significantly less than pre-pandemic years, it’s enough to flip the script on what once looked like a rough year for the movies.
Family films like “Inside Out 2,” “Moana 2” and “Sonic 3” have played a major role. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, noted animated movies have accounted for 26% of this year's box office.
“The box office year was saved by the family audience being drawn to the multiplex,” said Dergarabedian.