Jordan Blum and Patton Oswalt’s adult stop-mo comedy M.O.D.O.K. has been canceled by Hulu after one season, Deadline reports. The irreverent supervillain series was one of a slate of Marvel animation projects projects greenlit as Hulu originals, alongside Howard the Duck and Tigra & Dazzler, which were scrapped in early 2020 when the Jeph Loeb-headed Marvel Television division shut down, and Hit Monkey, which premiered in November 2021.
Animated by the wizards at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. launched on Hulu nearly one year ago with 10 episodes. The serialized story finds the megalomaniacal supervillain (voiced by Oswalt), after years of trying to conquer the world, ousted as the leader of his evil organization. Not only that, but his marriage and family life are crumbling around him, leading the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing to confront his greatest challenge yet: a midlife crisis.
Toei Animation announced its earnings for the fiscal year ending March 2022, netting sales totalling 57 billion yen (about $440 million USD), +10% over the previous fiscal year (51.5B yen); this includes an operating income of 18.1B yen (+16.8%). Toei’s net income for the FY was 12.8B yen / ~$99M USD (+15.8%). The anime powerhouse saw record highs across all numbers.
The company noted that its overseas business, video distribution and copyright business were key contributors. Driven by hit properties like Dragon Ball, One Piece, Mobile Suit Gundam and Naruto, Toei’s copyright activities saw increased sales (32.9B yen, +13.8%) and operating income (15.9B yen, +11.9%). Dragon Ball remains the company’s top-performing property, raking in 127.6B yen (~$987.6B USD), up slightly from 127.4B.
With the highly anticipated movie Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero dropping worldwide this summer, the company has pinned a seemingly modest forecast of 133.5B on the IP for the current fiscal year. Toei also has One Piece Film Red and Slam Dunk: The Movie slated, and predicts a 70B yen in sales for FY 2022-2023.
Here we go again! Now that we’ve recovered from the dizzy, nail-biting days of awards season, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ABC have announced the key dates for the 95th Oscars, which will take place on Sunday, March 12, 2023. The show will air live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. (More info at oscars.org.)
Key dates:
- General entry categories submission deadline — Tuesday, November 15, 2022
- Governors Awards — Saturday, November 19, 2022
- Preliminary voting begins — 9 a.m. PT, Monday, December 12, 2022
- Preliminary voting ends — 5 p.m. PT, Thursday, December 15, 2022
- Oscar Shortlists Announcement — Wednesday, December 21, 2022
- Eligibility period ends — Saturday, December 31, 2022
- Nominations voting begins — 9 a.m. PT, Thursday, January 12, 2023
- Nominations voting ends — 5 p.m. PT, Tuesday, January 17, 2023
- Oscar Nominations Announcement — Tuesday, January 24, 2023
- Oscar Nominees Luncheon — Monday, February 13, 2023
- Final voting begins — 9 a.m. PT, Thursday, March 2, 2023
- Final voting ends — 5 p.m. PT, Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Wrapping up in step with ITFS and FMX in Stuttgart, Animation Production Days (APD) announced the top projects on offer this year. The event is a curated business platform for the German and international animation industry. In exclusive pre-planned one-to-one meetings producers present their fresh ideas for animated feature films, TV series, games or transmedia projects to broadcasters, streamers, investors, distributors and potential co-production partners.
A jury of German broadcasters (KIKA, SWR, Super RTL, Walt Disney Germany, WDR, ZDF) awarded two projects from Germany with a direct selection to Cartoon Forum (Sept. 19-22 in Toulouse, France):
- Dino Fino produced by German Film Partners. Based on a children’s book series, Dino Fino tells the adventures of two dinosaur friends, Dino and Ricky, who couldn’t be more different.
- Tiger & Bear produced by Wolkenlenker. A concept for a TV series for young children: Little Tiger and his best friend Bear live in a house at a lake where they experience little everyday life moments.
CARTOON also announced the winner of the Cartoon Springboard Award for a Young Author Series, with a direct selection to Cartoon Springboard (Oct. 25-27 in Madrid, Spain). The project was selected by the partners and juries of the 2022 National Animation Film Festival from AFCA:
- Pour une heure et demie (“For an Hour and a Half) by Marie Derambure & Paco Moccand. A gripping story that plays with the codes of love during a rather unusual train journey. A romantic comedy in a very colorful, joyful universe and a delicious little suspense.
DC has dropped a gameplay walkthrough for Gotham Knights, the new open-world, action RPG set in the most interactive Gotham City yet. The sneak peek, presented by Warner Bros. Games Montreal director Geoff Ellenor, sees Nightwing and Red Hood agreeing to work together to protect their metropolis.
