Dear Gossips,
Will Smith, Saniyya Sidney, and Demi Singleton, who play Venus and Serena Williams respectively, were in London last night for the UK premiere of King Richard, which opens tomorrow in theatres and will also stream on HBO Max. They also did a photo call at Wimbledon. The film has received solid reviews – currently 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and near universal praise for Will’s performance. Most experts are predicting that the film will contend for Best Picture at the Oscars and that Will should be one of the frontrunners for Best Actor.
King Richard has the full support of Venus and Serena and they have joined Will a few times on the press tour and were on Red Table Talk with him yesterday. You know who hasn’t yet made an in-person appearance though?
Beyoncé.
A lyric video for “Be Alive”, the song she wrote for the soundtrack and for which it’s been speculated that she’ll be nominated for an Oscar, was released last week. She posted it on her website. But other than that, the Queen has been quiet and it’s not up to mortals like us to know what her plans are, if she has any plans at all.
As for King Richard and the box office, it’s already a given that it will not be #1, not just because it will also be streaming on HBO Max but because Ghostbusters: Afterlife also opens tomorrow and should win the weekend. But as we head into American Thanksgiving week, when House of Gucci also opens, word of mouth will be key. Is King Richard the kind of holiday season crowd-pleaser that audiences will embrace and buzz about? Do people even react like that to movies anymore? Actually they did around this time of year for Knives Out two years ago. What’s the Knives Out of 2021?
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
