Melissa McCarthy must wonder what the heck is going on with her career. Earlier this year she was nominated for an Oscar in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” She’s a terrific actress and comedian. She won an Emmy for playing Sean Spicer so hilariously on “SNL.”

But her new movie, “The Kitchen,” is such a dud that Warner Bros. is pulling it almost completely from release on Friday. According to Exhibitor Relations, hey’re cutting its run from 2,700 theaters to just around 600. It’s over, dead, gone.

So far “The Kitchen” has earned just $11 million in its two and a half weeks. It’s been a big disappointment was Warners, as it co-stars Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss. They must also wonder what’s going on.

But no liked “The Kitchen.” Reviews were terrible. It has a very low 22 rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Warners is in the soup right now. “Blinded by the Light” is also DOA after 5 days in release. They’ve made around $6 million (rounding up), but it’s over. The Bruce Springsteen-scored movie was supposed to be a big hit. Only, no one did marketing or publicity. The audience was confused, since “Yesterday,” a similar movie, is just finishing its run and has made $70 million. What a mess.

Now Warners is grappling with “It,” Chapter 2. The first installment was a monster hit. But now there’s been very mixed to bad reaction to early screenings. “It” hits on September 6th, and reviews will be held up to the last minute. This sounds like strike 3 in a bad summer.

The good news for Warners is that they’ve got “The Goldfinch,” which everyone has high hopes for, and “The Joker,” which should be a smash. In December they’ll have Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell movie. I’ve also heard great things about “The Good Liar” with Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen. So the fall will exceed the summer, and then no one will remember the bad times.

In 2012, Miley Cyrus was hired to voice a character in the animated film “Hotel Transylvania.” She was going to play voice Mavis, the daughter of Dracula (Adam Sandler), in the Sony Picture Animation production.

But before shooting began, she left and was replaced by singer Selena Gomez. No reason was given.

Now on Twitter today Miley admits she was fired. She writes: “I got kicked off hotel Transylvania for buying Liam a penis cake for his birthday and licking it.”

Cyrus was 19 at the time. This, and other extreme acts regarding sex, don’t seem very balanced or well considered. I know she was reacting to “Hannah Montana,” but at some point all of this quite bizarre.

I got kicked off hotel Transylvania for buying Liam a penis cake for his birthday and licking it.

— Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) August 22, 2019

Fox Searchlight hedged their Oscar bets today.

Now functioning with Disney, the FS label– which has a host of Oscar winners and nominees in the past– has to prove itself this fall.

So they’ve picked up Armando Iannucci’s “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” which is debuting at the Toronto Film Festival and then opening the London Film Festival. The updating of Charles Dickens’ famous novel stars Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton,Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi, Ben Whishaw, and Gwendolyn Christie.

FS says they’re planning a 2020 release, but if reaction in the US is strong, this could be one of their Oscar contenders. Certainly, the momentum would be there to go for a December release and shoot for awards.

Right now, FS is depending on Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life” to propel them into awards season. They’ve also got “Jojo Rabbit,” a satire from Taika Waititi that looks like “Springtime for Hitler.” It could be big, or a mistake. No one knows yet. Malick’s film was a hit in Cannes, but that’s with reviewers. FS will have to wait and see how it plays to audiences before dancing an Oscar jig.

“David Copperfield,” however, has all the provenance for the Oscars. Plus, “Veep” is going to sweep at the Emmys, so Iannucci will be in the news. By the looks of it, “Copperfield” could have been a Miramax Oscar entry without question. Harvey would have loved that one (except he’d have put Judi Dench in it).

So here we go. Pulses are quickening. The season is about to begin.

Morgan Spurlock is back, and he’s going after fast food again. It’s 15 years since “Super Size Me” made him a star. Now “SS2: Holy Chicken” goes after the poultry world — the chickens that come through Drive Thru windows. I always worry about the Nuggets, and I guess now we’ll know why. “SS2” isn’t going to festivals, oddly. It’s just opening on September 6th in NY and LA from Samuel Goldwyn.

Super Size Me 2 – Official Trailer from Samuel Goldwyn Films on Vimeo.

The French have come to the rescue!

Woody Allen’s “A Rainy Day in New York” has been chosen to open the prestigious Deauville Film Festival on September 6th. This is great news for a film that’s been long delayed by lawsuits and other ridiculous impairments.

It won’t be hard for Woody to attend the opening. He’s right next door, in Spain, making a new film with Christoph Waltz and Gina Gershon.

“Rainy Day” stars Timothee Chalamet and Elle Fanning. It’s unclear if any of the cast will come to Deauville. But having Woody there will be enough star power.

This was the movie Amazon Studios was supposed to release. But then the #MeToo scandals broke, and Woody was incorrectly swept into the melee. His last film, “Wonder Wheel,” suffered because of it, and then Amazon just gave up on him. Woody has sued them for $68 million for breach of contract.

“Rainy Day” opens in France in mid September. It’s already started opening across Europe. We’re waiting for a smart American distributor to pick it up.

James Gray’s “Ad Astra” is coming, and fast, like a meteor about to hit Earth. We have now have a surprise second trailer for the Brad Pitt- Liv Tyler- Tommy Lee Jones- Donald Sutherland space opera. The space visuals are very, very cool, and now the trailer really delineates the father- son relationship. Can this be Brad Pitt’s Oscar time? Everyone hopes so. It’s important for “Ad Astra,” one of the last films from 20th Century Fox, to be a hit. But there is a fear that this will be “First Man” all over again– great reviews, highly respected, and then no audience. Cross fingers against that. (And watch “First Man,” a great movie.)