🎬 Marvel Goes Arthouse

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🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• Box Office Breakdown

• Amazon Doubles Down on Theaters

• Marvel Goes Arthouse

• Michael Bay Goes Indie

• Streaming Syndication Revival

• 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!

BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN
🎟️ ‘Mickey 17’ dies, box office doesn’t regenerate…

1. 🧬 Mickey 17: $19.1M domestic opening, $53.3M global total. Bong Joon-ho's sci-fi comedy starring Robert Pattinson lands at #1 but struggles to justify its hefty $118M budget and $80M marketing spend.

2. 🛡️ Captain America: Brave New World: $8.5M domestic weekend (-43%), $176.6M domestic total, $370.8M global. Slips to second place after three weeks on top.

3. 🤿 Last Breath: $4.2M domestic weekend (-47%), $14.7M domestic total. Woody Harrelson survival thriller hangs on in third place despite steep second-weekend drop.

4. 🐵 The Monkey: $3.9M domestic weekend (-39%), $31M domestic total. Neon's gory thriller shows staying power in its third frame, already profitable on $10M budget.

5. 🐻 Paddington in Peru: $3.85M domestic weekend (-15%), $36.9M domestic total, $175.8M global. Holding steady domestically but nowhere near the heights of previous installments.

6. 🐶 Dog Man: $3.5M domestic weekend (-18%), $88.7M domestic total.

7. 💃 Anora: $1.86M domestic weekend (+595%), $18.4M domestic total. Fresh off its Oscar wins, Sean Baker's drama expands significantly to nearly 2,000 theaters.

8. 🦁 Mufasa: The Lion King: $1.7M domestic weekend (-14%), $250.5M domestic total, $700M+ global.

9. 🤖 Rule Breakers: $1.59M domestic opening. Angel Studios' Afghanistan robotics team drama earns an "A" CinemaScore despite modest debut.

10. 🐉 In the Lost Lands: $1.04M domestic opening. Vertical's post-apocalyptic actioner starring Dave Bautista and Milla Jovovich gets scorched by critics with just 17% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Big Picture: Hollywood's slump continues with a dismal $55.7M overall haul, down nearly 60% from the same weekend last year when 'Kung Fu Panda 4' opened to $58.3M alone. Despite claiming the top spot, 'Mickey 17' exemplifies the struggles of big-budget original sci-fi. With its $118M production cost and $80M marketing spend, Warner Bros' auteur gamble needs $275-300M globally to break even—a steep climb from its current $53.3M worldwide total.

CLOSEUP
🍿 Amazon’s betting big on theaters…

Amazon MGM Studios is going old school in a big way. At SXSW, the streaming giant announced plans to drop 12-14 films in theaters in 2026, ramping up to a potential 16 in 2027. Studio execs are calling it a commitment that's both "financial and philosophical"—pretty big plot twist after years of the streaming-first strategy that tech giants like Amazon championed during the streaming wars.

What’s driving the theatrical pivot?

• Streaming + theaters = winning combo: Once viewed as rivals, theatrical and streaming are now recognized as complementary channels. Films like ‘Air,’ ‘The Beekeeper,’ and ‘Red One’ got a serious streaming boost after their theatrical runs.

• In-house distribution: Amazon’s building its own international distribution and marketing arm—meaning they'll handle global theatrical releases themselves rather than licensing to third-party distributors who take a cut of those theatrical dollars.

• Industry legitimacy: Amazon MGM just scored its membership card to the Motion Picture Association, joining the old-guard studios like Disney, Warner Bros., and Universal—a clear signal that they’re committed to theatrical exhibition and industry standards.

• Audience expansion: The studio's largely female leadership team is crafting a theatrical slate that isn't just for the "dudes" and "the Jacks"—Ryan and Reacher that is.

Exhibitors rejoice: Theater owners are practically popping champagne on recent earnings calls over Amazon's renewed commitment to theatrical, though AMC's CEO Adam Aron is still expressing concerns about the industry trend toward shorter theatrical windows before films move to streaming.

Looking ahead… After years of tech companies disrupting traditional distribution models, we're seeing a pendulum swing back toward theaters—with a tech-company twist, of course. We’ll see whether Amazon MGM's theatrical strategy lights a fire under other streamers to follow their lead.

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WIDESHOT
🎬 Marvel, Michael Bay, and licensing…

🎬🎭 Marvel’s going arthouse with ‘Thunderbolts.’ The just-released teaser proudly showcases the film's indie pedigree—highlighting creatives who've worked on A24 films and indie darlings—a striking departure from cookie-cutter superhero marketing. Florence Pugh describes it as a "badass indie, A24-feeling assassin movie," an interesting pivot as ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ simultaneously struggles to pack theaters. Director Jake Schreier was specifically tasked with infusing Marvel's formula with the "emotional darkness" from his previous work while maintaining comedy. This artsy repositioning lands after indie darling ‘Anora’ swept the Oscars with five wins including Best Picture. The May release will be a litmus test for whether this approach can reinvigorate Marvel's fading mojo or if superhero fatigue has truly set in. Either way, it represents a fascinating admission that the studio's tried-and-true playbook might need a serious creative refresh.

🎬💥 Even Michael Bay has gone indie. The ‘Transformers’ director who once commanded $200M budgets is premiering a parkour documentary at SXSW—a stunning pivot that speaks volumes about Hollywood's transformation. Bay recently revealed that he and James Cameron "commiserated" over the industry's greenlight paralysis, lamenting that "no one can greenlight anything anymore." The contrast is jarring: In the '90s, Disney approved Bay's $140M ‘Armageddon’ after a 20-minute pitch. Today? Bay couldn't officially direct his parkour doc (making it technically “illegal” in his words) because the athletes performed dangerous, unauthorized stunts without permits. He had to license their footage instead, writing: "I do not as a DGA director condone anything you are doing" to protect himself legally. Meanwhile, his Will Smith Netflix project gathers dust in development, mirroring Cameron's decade-long struggle to make anything beyond ‘Avatar’ sequels. When directors with billions in box office can't get movies greenlit, Hollywood has fundamentally changed.

📺🔄 Streaming’s walls are coming down. The once-unthinkable practice of licensing shows to rival platforms is becoming streaming’s new normal. Case in point: Peacock’s sitcom ‘A.P. Bio’ landed on Netflix and saw its viewership explode from 232,000 daily minutes to over 24M, making Netflix’s top 10 list for weeks. This “Netflix bounce” created a win-win—studios make money from shows that no longer drive subscriptions while potentially gaining new viewers on their home platforms. Early Netflix originals like ‘Grace and Frankie’ have appeared elsewhere too, but only because those shows retained their syndication rights—something Netflix now typically buys out in its deals. Expect more platform-jumping content as streaming growth slows and companies hunt for new revenue. For viewers, this means favorite shows might start appearing in multiple places, as the industry reinvents TV's traditional syndication model for the streaming age. Everything old becomes new again.

LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️

• Zach Cregger will write and direct a new ‘Resident Evil’ movie for Sony, set for release on Sept. 18, 2026. (more)

• Michelle Monaghan and Adam Scott will star alongside Robert De Niro in Netflix and AGBO’s ‘The Whisper Man,’ based on Alex North’s novel. (more)

• Justin Lin will direct Netflix’s ‘BRZRKR,’ a gritty action film starring and produced by Keanu Reeves, based on his hit comic book series. (more)

• Paramount’s ‘Children of Blood and Bone’ adds Zackary Momoh, Saniyya Sidney, and more to its star-studded cast ahead of its 2027 release. (more)

• Taylor Russell joins Michael B. Jordan in Amazon MGM’s ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’ remake. (more)

TV Development 📺

• Jin Ha, Laura Donnelly, and Tony Dalton have joined Colin Farrell in S2 of Apple TV+’s ‘Sugar’ as series regulars. (more)

• Janet McTeer and Paapa Essiedu are in talks to play McGonagall and Snape in HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ series. (more)

• Stephen A. Smith inks a long-term ESPN deal, keeping ‘First Take’ while exploring projects beyond sports. (more)

• ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ will end with its third season, premiering July 2025 on Prime Video. (more)

• Jon Favreau is developing a live-action/animation hybrid ‘Oswald the Lucky Rabbit’ series for Disney+, bringing the classic character back to life. (more)

Renewed & Canceled ✅ ❌

• ‘With Love, Meghan’ is getting a second season at Netflix. (more)

Business 🤝

• Lionsgate Television has laid off 6% of its scripted TV staff amid industry cutbacks and its upcoming split from Starz. (more)

• Sick of the news? Join 4M Americans who get clear, unbiased updates from 1440's free newsletter. (more)*

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VIDEO VILLAGE
📺 Latest trailers

MARTINI SHOT
🍸 Latest viral moments