🎬 As Nolan Intended

👋 Good morning! The internet is answering Christopher Nolan's 70mm evangelism with maximum irony. Nolan shot the entirety of 'The Odyssey' on IMAX cameras and has spent years preaching 70mm as the ultimate way to see a movie, so fans are jokingly posting the film "playing" on the worst screens they could find… smart refrigerator doors, a Nintendo DS, Apple Watches, all captioned "as Nolan intended." Finally, a use for the Peloton besides a coat rack. The wine-dark sea should pair nicely with a 45-minute climb ride.

Welcome back to The Dailies. The weekend's box office numbers are in, and we've got the full breakdown below. Let’s get into it. 👇

Up next: The big studios are staying out of Odysseus' way next weekend, so the only new arrivals are a couple of indies. The real fight comes July 31, when 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' shows up looking to take the year's biggest live-action opening crown that 'The Odyssey' just claimed.

"A film by Christopher Nolan"... that's the whole pitch, and the biggest billing on 'The Odyssey' poster. No actor's name comes close. Star directors are nothing new, but Nolan's $250M epic brought the latest test of whether audiences will leave the house for a storyteller they trust.

The verdict: a $264.1M global opening (including $124.5M domestic), his biggest worldwide debut ever, topping 'The Dark Knight Rises' ($249M). More moviegoers bought a ticket for Christopher Nolan than for any of its stars, a lineup featuring Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, and Robert Pattinson. Some data:

To Universal, Nolan is one of its most dependable franchises, and the studio treats him accordingly. His exact terms are under wraps, but some outlets estimate he's paid like a movie star: a $20M advance against 20% of gross, the kind of deal once reserved for Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, and Tom Hanks, which could net him $75M+ on this film alone. His movies also get a 120-day exclusive theatrical window, nearly triple the industry-standard 45 days. And, of course, few other directors could get a quarter-billion-dollar, R-rated adaptation of a 2,700-year-old poem greenlit at all.

All of it stands in stark contrast to the summer's actual franchises, which have mostly flopped. 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' is now the lowest-grossing live-action Star Wars film, 'Supergirl' fell 74% in weekend two, and 'Mortal Kombat II' stalled at $129M worldwide.

The bigger picture: for the past two decades or so, the studio model kept filmmakers secondary to the franchise, but 'The Odyssey' is the latest sign of studios treating a handful of directors like dependable IP. Warner Bros. gave Ryan Coogler a famously filmmaker-friendly 'Sinners' deal (ownership reportedly reverts to him after 25 years), Greta Gerwig got Netflix to break its theatrical rules for 'Narnia,’ and directors like Denis Villeneuve and Zach Cregger are stacking similar clout.

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Hollywood's biggest bidding war right now is over a 21-year-old who still lives with his mom. That would be Kane Parsons, the auteur behind this summer’s 'Backrooms,' A24's biggest hit ever ($364M on a $10M budget). That movie, along with the $430M 'Obsession,' kicked off a gold rush for internet-native creators that's produced a handful of studio deals in just the past few weeks.

Now Parsons is a free agent in the most literal sense (no agent, an inbox full of unread emails from ones who'd like the job), and the whole town is courting him:

A24, meanwhile, is reportedly offering the richest deal in its history: a three-year first-look worth around $65M, with bonuses if he makes two movies, one being a potential 'Backrooms' sequel. The one hangup is TV. A24 wants it folded into the deal, but Parsons's camp may hold those rights back to shop separately, which is exactly the opening Warners is hoping for.

The studio has extra motivation here. It took a big investment from Josh Kushner's Thrive Capital in 2024, which valued A24 at $3.5B, and it's been chasing bigger, more mainstream projects ever since. That leveling-up is still a work in progress (see: last year's string of underperformers).

The two sides will still have to square one thing, though. Parsons recently said he doesn't support A24's new AI deal with Google, which already didn't sit well with fans and plenty of industry folks.

Looking ahead… Parsons is expected to make a decision before the end of summer.

🎮 The 'Call of Duty' movie will be based on the 'Modern Warfare' games, Paramount and Activision confirmed Saturday. That's the shooter franchise's most popular storyline, following an elite special ops team. Taylor Sheridan's writing, Peter Berg's directing, and it opens June 30, 2028.

⚽ Tom Cruise kicked off the World Cup final yesterday with an opening speech before Spain-Argentina (while his new movie 'Digger' got heavy ad play). Chris Martin curated the first-ever halftime show with BTS, Justin Bieber, Madonna, and Shakira, and stars like Matt Damon filled the stands. Spain took home the trophy.

🏆 The Emmys are dropping five categories from the main telecast, part of a broader overhaul of September's NBC broadcast. Two acting, two writing, and one directing award will shift to the Creative Arts ceremonies. The DGA, WGA, and SAG-AFTRA quickly fired back, saying the move "devalues the contributions" of honorees.

🏛️ Paramount's pumping the brakes on the Warner Bros. Discovery deal, telling a federal judge Friday it'll voluntarily hold off closing the takeover until at least mid-August. The pledge is meant to head off a restraining order sought by 12 state AGs. The judge will decide on that order by Wednesday.

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