Fans of The Beatles might have to set aside eight days a week to see a collection of movies about the four members of the legendary band.
Here's a look at the recent news of four different Beatles movies being made to highlight the “Fab Four.”
What Happened: The Beatles are no strangers to movies, starring in several of their own films during their time as a quartet and recently getting the documentary treatment from filmmaker Peter Jackson for a series of original episodes on streaming platform Disney+ from Walt Disney Co DIS.
This time around it will be filmmaker Sam Mendes creating four separate movies to give each member of The Beatles a spotlight. Mendes will weave the stories together in the four films to be released in theaters by Sony Group Corp SONY unit Sony Pictures Entertainment, Deadline reported.
Mendes is best known as the man behind "American Beauty," "1917," "Road to Perdition" and the James Bond films "Spectre" and "Skyfall."
According to Deadline, Mendes will tell interconnected stories of the four members of The Beatles: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The members of the band and their families and the band's Apple Corps music company have granted full rights to their life stories and music for the films.
"I'm honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies," Mendes said in a statement, shared by Variety.
Related Link: The Beatles Get By ‘With A Little Help From’ AI, Band To Release One Final Song
Why It's Important: While music biopics are nothing new, the blessing of The Beatles on official biopics could make these four films among the most anticipated in years. The unique nature of four interconnected films could also become groundbreaking in their theatrical release.
Details of the theatrical release plans will be announced later with a promise from Sony that the strategy will be "innovative and groundbreaking."
Let the speculation begin as to whether all four movies could be released in the same week or month in movie theaters, which would be a huge event. There is no guarantee all four films will even be released in the same year, with the potential of one film released annually, potentially on a special date like the anniversary of the band or a key moment in Beatles history.
Movies that are trilogies from the start have debated whether it's best to release one movie annually or have two years between films. With four films to release but an interconnected story to tell, Sony will have an important decision to release the movies within the best time window possible.
Along with the tough task of figuring out how and when to release the movies, Sony and Mendes will also face the tall task of casting the legendary four musicians.
The biopic "Elvis,” which centered on legendary musician Elvis Presley, was released in 2022 and grossed $151.0 million domestically and $288.7 million globally.
In 2024, moviegoers will have the chance to see biopics of Bob Marley ("One Love") and Amy Winehouse ("Back to Black").
“One Love” recently opened in theaters with $28.7 million in its opening weekend. The movie grossed $51.5 million domestically and $80.5 million globally since its Feb. 14 release.
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