🎬 Full Throttle

👋 Good morning! Over the weekend, the film world bid farewell to one of its greats, Jon Landau, the powerhouse producer behind blockbusters like ‘Titanic’ and the ‘Avatar’ series. Director James Cameron, along with stars Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Zoë Saldaña, led the tributes, sharing touching memories and emphasizing how Landau’s belief in the “ultimate human art form” of cinema helped forge a family both on and off the set.

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🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• Apple Goes Full Throttle

• YouTube Feels the Cord-Cutting

• Horror’s Unexpected Hot Season

• Germany’s Juicy Tax Rebate

• Last Looks: 👀 Bite-sized scoops on developing stories/projects

• Video Village: The latest trailers

• Martini Shot 🍸

But first, let’s take a look at what happened at the box office this past weekend!

LAST WEEKEND’S
🎟️ BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN 🎟️

1. 🦸‍♂️ Despicable Me 4: Universal’s latest hit opened with a solid $75M domestically over the 3-day weekend, expanding to $122.6M over 5 days, and raking in $230M globally. Gru’s back, baby!

2. 🎈 Inside Out 2: Despite dropping to second place, Pixar’s emotional sequel added $30M domestically, pushing its total to $533.8M domestically and a whopping $1.217B globally. It’s one of the fastest-growing films of all time.

3. 😱 A Quiet Place: Day One: The horror prequel plunged 60% in its second week to $21M domestically, totaling $94.4M domestically and $178.1M globally.

4. 🌟 MaXXXine: A24’s trilogy-ender starring Mia Goth opened to $6.7M domestically, outperforming its predecessors and promising a strong future in horror.

5. 🚔 Bad Boys: Ride or Die: Despite being in its fifth weekend, this action-packed sequel pulled in another $6.6M domestically, bringing its total to $177.4M. Still plenty of gas left in this tank!

6. 🌄 Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1: Despite no change in theater count, this epic western tumbled 50% to $5.48M domestically, with a total of $22.2M.

7. 🎸 Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot: Angel Studios’ faith-based film opened with $3.2M domestically over the 3-day weekend and $6.8M over 4 days, driven by community support and an A+ CinemaScore.

8. 🤖 Kalki 2898-AD: This sci-fi adventure continued to drop, earning $1.83M domestically for a total of $16.5M.

9. 🏍 The Bikeriders: The third weekend for this gritty drama brought in $1.3M, bringing its domestic total to $19.3M.

10. 🌼 Kinds of Kindness: This heartwarming drama added $860K in its third weekend, pushing its total to $3.8M domestically.

This weekend's domestic box office hit $156.5M, up a whopping 18.1% from last year. It's a clear sign that the post-pandemic cinema comeback is real.

The success of ‘Despicable Me 4’ and ‘Inside Out 2’ prove that nothing beats a good ol' family night at the movies. Sequels and established series continue to dominate, with studios sticking to the "if it ain't broke, make a sequel" mantra.

🏎️💰 Apple TV+ is going full throttle on Formula 1's skyrocketing popularity. With F1 fever at an all-time high thanks to ‘Drive to Survive,’ Apple's betting over $200M on a high-octane Brad Pitt-led film that's pulling out all the stops and cutting no corners: They've enlisted ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ director Joseph Kosinski and racing royalty Lewis Hamilton as producer. Hamilton even put Brad Pitt through a grueling three-month racing boot camp, ensuring authenticity down to the last gear shift. The cherry on top? The production had unprecedented access to film during the British Grand Prix, turning their production into a de facto 11th racing team. By embedding themselves in the heart of F1, from paddock to pit lane, Apple's not just making a movie – they're capturing the sport's essence. It's a bold strategy to convert F1's surge in popularity into streaming gold. Watch the trailer here. 👈👀

📺📉 Even YouTube TV's feeling the cord-cutting burn. The streaming giant's cable alternative just lost 150k subscribers in Q1 2024 - a first-ever dip. Why? Football fans ditching after NFL season. YouTube TV thought NFL Sunday Ticket would be a game-changer, but it's a double-edged sword. Fans sign up for football, then ghost faster than a bad Tinder date when it's over. The bigger picture? These internet-based TV services are struggling like old-school cable. With live viewing down and only sports keeping viewers tuned in, they're in a tough spot. The future might be bundling more streaming services. Because in today's binge-watching world, cable's old playbook just doesn't cut it anymore.

🍿👻 Turns out, Halloween isn't the only time to get your scare on. A new study from Parrot Analytics drops a bombshell: summer is actually prime time for horror flicks. While October sees a surge in spooky releases, these autumn screamfests are underperforming compared to their summer season siblings. June's horror premieres are slaying with 9x average movie demand, while October limps in at a measly 5.3x. This explains why we're seeing a killer lineup this summer, with ‘MaXXXine,’ ‘A Quiet Place,’ and ‘Longlegs’ ready to terrorize our beach days.

🇩🇪🎬 Germany's ready to join the A-list of film production hotspots! The government's planning a juicy 30% tax rebate starting in 2025, rolling out the red carpet for Hollywood. German studios have been feeling left out, watching neighbors snag cool projects - even their Oscar-winner 'All Quiet on the Western Front' shot elsewhere for better deals. This move could turn Germany into a serious contender for big-budget films and TV shows, potentially sparking an incentive arms race across Europe. Studio execs are probably eyeing those picturesque German locations already. The government still needs to finalize details, but by 2025, expect to see more "Made in Germany" tags in those end credits.

Development 🗒️

• DC’s Arkham Asylum series, overseen by Antonio Campos, is not moving forward at Max for now. (more)

• Dwayne Johnson announces that the live-action ‘Moana’ will begin production in August, aiming for a June 2025 release. (more)

✅ Renewed & Canceled ❌

• Prime Video cancels Josh Brolin’s sci-fi neo-Western ’Outer Range’ after S2 despite critical acclaim. (more)

• ‘The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin’ is renewed for S2 at Apple TV+. (more)

• ‘Make or Break’ is cancelled after S2 at Apple TV+. (more)

Business 🤝

• Skydance Media receives key approval for its proposed acquisition of Paramount Global’s controlling shareholder, National Amusements Inc., after seven months of negotiations. (more)

• James Dolan has signed three-year contract extensions with MSG Sports, MSG Entertainment, and Sphere Entertainment. (more)

Other News 🚨

• Minneapolis is making a strong bid to host the Sundance Film Festival starting in 2027, with significant backing from local CEOs and promises of financial support. (more)