Anya Crittenton

Suicide Squad might come out on top for the third week in a row, but that’s the least interesting box office story here. Rather, will Sausage Party maintain its second spot, or will War Dogs ruin that? And will Ben-Hur be able to crack the top five?

20th Century Fox acquires the rights to book proposal The Hunger, a riff on the Donner Party tale with a zombie twist. The film will be written and directed by Luke Scott.

From the minds of Pumpkin directors Adam Larson Broder and Tony R. Abrams comes a brand new feature film, Spivak, which has found its first two cast members in actors Rob Kazinsky and Maggie Lawson. The film is in production at BN Films and Super Crispy Entertainment, with Broder and Abrams set to both write and direct.

Having successfully stepped away from Hamilton with a Tony Award under his belt, Leslie Odom, Jr. is currently in talks to join Murder on the Orient Express, a new film adaptation of the classic 1934 Agatha Christie story. Thespian Kenneth Branagh is helming the remake, as well as starring as detective Hercule Poirot.

After his eight-year run on The Office, which ended in 2013, John Krasinksi is returning to television — streaming television, that is. He will be taking on the lead role in Jack Ryan, based on the popular books by Tom Clancy, which has been picked up for a 10-episode order from Amazon.

Actors Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman are teaming up with their production companies, Pacific Standard and Blossom Films, respectively, to develop Truly Madly Guilty. They have optioned the film rights for the novel by Australian author Liane Moriarty.

Looking to continue the successful trend of their live-action remakes, Disney has officially added The Little Mermaid to the schedule and paired up Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda with long-time Disney composer Alan Menken to write the music for the film.

If all goes according to plan, actor Robert Downey, Jr. might soon be able to add TV star to his resume. He is currently in talks with the creator behind True Detective, Nic Pizzolatto, to develop a new drama series at cable giant HBO.

Suicide Squad may have taken spot number one as was predicted, but it wasn’t the winner of the weekend. Instead, it turned out to be the surprise hit of the weekend: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s R-rated food-based animated comedy, Sausage Party. It was predicted to make a modest $15-20 million in its opening weekend and ended Sunday evening with $34 million.

The newest film on Universal Pictures’ slate is Bodyguards, a pitch from comedy writer Laura Solon. The story details are being kept under wraps, but the story is said to be a female-driven action-comedy. It will be produced by Bluegrass Films, with Scott Stuber overseeing the project.

Last night at the Sundance Night Before Next event at the Ace Hotel, Nate Parker announced that the cast, crew, and producers of his upcoming film Birth of a Nation will be starting a fellowship with the Sundance Institute.

Coming off his adaptation of the YA novel The Maze Runner, Grant Myers is taking on a bold film for 20th Century Fox. Tides of War is a World War II film unlike any other and will undoubtedly get people talking.

TBS has greenlit a celebrity rap battle series called Drop the Mic from James Corden and Ben Winston, based on the segments Corden hosts on The Late Late Show.

Suicide Squad will easily take first place again in this weekend’s box office race, but if it falls too steeply, it could be a bad sign for the future. Plus, expect newcomers Pete’s Dragon and Sausage Party to make some waves.

Animation has been given a disservice in several ways throughout the years — thinking it’s a genre largely for children, and therefore just to serve as entertainment; not allowing other studios and artists to break into the general mainstream; and, for the most part, not being recognized as it should be.

Set to debut in 2017, Amazon has ordered a 13-episode documentary series on Hugh Hefner, chronicling his life and career. American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story will feature stories the public already knows, such as the founding of Playboy, as well as lesser known facts about Hefner’s life.

The high-flying trapeze duo of Lillian Leitzel and Alfredo Codona is getting the Hollywood treatment from Warner Bros. and the studio has found its Lillian in Margot Robbie.

Another name has been added to the upcoming Harry Potter spinoff film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, just a few months before the film is set for release: Zoe Kravitz.

Sony Pictures is developing a new feature film titled Lonesome When You Go and the studio has picked writer Jon Johnstone to pen the script. It will be produced by Jenette Kahn and Adam Richman of Double Nickel Entertainment.

C.S. Lewis’ classic literary series is getting a second chance in Hollywood as TriStar Pictures, The Mark Gordon Company, The C.S. Lewis Company, and Entertainment One team up to move forward on development with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair.

By creating an original story where a child learns about the story of The Little Prince, it props the book up and asks the audience to listen to one of its most memorable lines: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” By watching this film with one’s heart, there are boundless moments to enjoy and cherish.

The harrowing true story of the Battle of Takur Ghar — where a fallen Navy SEAL was rescued behind enemy lines — is told in the book Two Wars by Nate Self. Imprint Entertainment has optioned the rights to this book, as well as the script The Ridge by Joel Carpenter, which is based on the book.

When NBC’s sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live returns for Season 42 this fall, there will be three faces missing, including two veterans. The contracts for Taran Killam, Jay Pharoah, and Jon Rudnitsky have not been renewed for the upcoming season.

Yes, all the athletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics currently being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are amazing, but there’s someone else who’s been making waves ever since the Opening Ceremonies began last Friday night: none other than Saturday Night Live cast member and Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones.

Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment’s 2013 flick Man of Steel, which started the DC Extended Universe, is finally getting a sequel — but who knows when.

Mark your calendars for October 11, TV fans, because that’s when Fox’s sitcoms Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl will collide. The network announced the two-part crossover today at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.

Suicide Squad may have dominated the weekend, bringing this weekend to its biggest numbers yet, but the sharp drops it suffered from might indicate a larger problem for the film, and the DC Extended Universe at large, going forward.

Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords is re-teaming with Muppets director James Bobin for a fantasy film at Warner Bros. Pictures titled Moonland.

The popular HBO series Game of Thrones is coming to an end, but author George R.R. Martin gave solace to fans in a livejournal post where he revealed that the rights to his book series Wild Cards, has been sold to Universal Cable Productions (UCP).

As part of a brand new initiative, Disney Channel is launching 12 short films online over the course of two weeks, starting today, August 5. The movies will stream on their websites, mobile apps, and roll out across YouTube over the weeks.