🎬 New Pipeline

👋 Good morning! The look-alike contest industrial complex strikes again: Pedro Pascal's doppelganger army descended on NYC's Lower East Side this weekend for another celebrity impersonation showdown. George Gountas, a Brooklyn dad who works as a lighting designer for 'The Daily Show,' won the Pedro Pascal look-alike contest after his wife dragged him there as his "Father's Day treat." Thirty Pedros braved the rain for $50 and a year's worth of burritos, but the Pedro throne had only one seat.

Happy Monday and welcome to The Dailies. Pour yourself something caffeinated while we catch you up on everything worth knowing in the industry. 👇

BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN
🎟️ Universal crashes the live-action remake party…

1. 🐉 How to Train Your Dragon: 🆕 $83.7M domestic opening, $197.8M global debut. Universal's live-action remake exceeds expectations with franchise-best opening, earning an A CinemaScore and near-perfect 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

2. 🌺 Lilo & Stitch: (Wk 4) $15.5M domestic weekend (-52%), $366.4M domestic total, $858.4M global. Holds remarkably well, now passing ‘The Jungle Book’ domestically.

3. 👩‍❤️‍👨 Materialists: 🆕 $12M domestic opening. A24's star-studded rom-com featuring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal scores the distributor's third-biggest wide opening ever, though B- CinemaScore suggests mixed audience reactions.

4. 🕴️ Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning: (Wk 4) $10.3M domestic weekend (-31%), $166.3M domestic total, $506.8M global.

5. 🩰 Ballerina: $9.4M domestic weekend (-62%), $41.8M domestic total, $91.5M global. Ana de Armas-led ‘John Wick’ spinoff stumbles domestically but performs better internationally in its second frame.

6. 🥋 Karate Kid: Legends: (Wk 3) $5M domestic weekend (-42%), $44.2M domestic total, $90M global.

7. 💀 Final Destination: Bloodlines: (Wk 5) $3.9M domestic weekend (-40%), $130.6M domestic total, $265M global.

8. 🏛️ The Phoenician Scheme: (Wk 2) $3.1M domestic weekend (-51%), $12.8M domestic total, $25M global.

9. 📚 The Life of Chuck: $2.1M domestic weekend (+855%), $2.4M domestic total. Stephen King adaptation sees massive expansion boost in its second weekend.

10. 🧛 Sinners: (Wk 9) $1.5M domestic weekend (-48%), $275.5M domestic total, $359M global.

The Big Picture: The weekend delivered a healthy $151.7M total, up 25% from last week but down 29% from last year's ‘Inside Out 2’-powered frame. Universal nailed it with ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ proving Disney doesn’t have a monopoly on live-action remakes. Family films continue to be the box office's saving grace, with live-action/animated hybrids leading the charge in 2025's recovery.

WIDESHOT
🎬 Neon, Apple TV+, and Tribeca…

🩸 Neon just introduced a new pipeline: “crowdfund it, then we’ll fund the glow-up.” The distributor bought Chris Stuckmann's crowdfunded horror film ‘Shelby Oaks’ just before its festival premiere last summer, then looked at the $1.39M Kickstarter-funded movie and essentially said "needs more blood." From there they nearly doubled the budget for gore-heavy reshoots. Instead of just buying the film and calling it a day, Neon treated the crowdfunded project like a proof-of-concept, then threw more money at it to boost its commercial appeal—riding the extreme gore wave that 'Terrifier 3' created in the horror space. If this approach takes off, we might see more cases where filmmakers use crowdfunding to show there's an audience, then distributors step in with finishing funds, creating a less risky bet while giving indie creators access to real studio resources.

🍏 Apple TV+ just got pickier about payouts. The streaming service scrapped its old system of giving backend bonuses to all show creators and replaced it with a performance-based model that only rewards successful content. Shows are now ranked using three metrics: subscriber acquisition (whether new sign-ups watch the show first), engagement (total minutes watched divided by season runtime), and cost efficiency (production costs versus viewership). Top performers can earn up to $12M+ in bonuses while bottom-tier shows get zero. Previously, Apple gave backend bonuses to all shows regardless of performance, which one executive described as "everybody gets a double." It’s part of a bigger shift from a “throw cash at everything” approach, as platforms face pressure to justify their massive content investments and prove shows actually drive measurable business results. It's a return to old-school Hollywood logic: hits get paid, flops get forgotten.

🎬 The 2025 Tribeca Festival closed yesterday after 12 days of notable premieres. The lineup ranged from ‘Call Her Alex’ (Alex Cooper's documentary about her own life and rise to podcast fame) to drama series ‘Hal & Harper’ with Mark Ruffalo and Lili Reinhart. Other highlights included Miley Cyrus's visual album film ‘Something Beautiful’ and thriller ‘Sovereign’ with Nick Offerman and Jacob Tremblay. When winners were announced, first-time directors swept practically every major category—here are just a few:

• ‘Charliebird’ (Libby Ewing) won top U.S. narrative prize, with star Gabriela Ochoa Perez taking Best Performance

• ‘Happy Birthday’ (Sarah Goher) swept international category with three awards including Best Feature for Egyptian director Sarah Goher's debut

• ‘Natchez’ (Suzannah Herbert) won Best Documentary for examining a Mississippi town built on slave market history that now profits from historic tours

• See a full list of winners here 👈👀

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STATISTIC
🎬 Emmy submissions declined again…

The content conveyor belt is slowing down: Emmy submissions declined for the second straight year across nearly every TV category. While this year’s drop was less severe than last year’s 40% strike-fueled plunge, it’s a confirmation that Hollywood's recovery from strikes and COVID disruptions remains sluggish and the peak TV era is truly over. Of 106 comparable categories, 56 had fewer entries than last year, with limited series taking the biggest hit at just 33 submissions—down 46% from 61 entries two years ago. That limited series drop makes sense when you think about it: these are expensive, prestige projects that networks can only air once, making them obvious casualties when budgets tighten. Not every category declined though—drama series submissions actually grew from 107 to 126, and supporting acting categories saw notable increases, suggesting networks are prioritizing long-running shows and ensemble casts over riskier one-off projects as the peak TV era officially winds down.

LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️

• ‘ParaNorman’ returns to theaters Halloween 2025 with a remastered re-release and a new short voiced by Finn Wolfhard and Anna Kendrick. (more)

• Paramount Animation and Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort are developing ‘I Eat Poop,’ with Josh Cooley in talks to direct the animated adaptation. (more)

• Juliana Canfield has been cast as the female lead in Warner Bros.’ upcoming action-thriller film ‘F.A.S.T.,’ written by Taylor Sheridan. (more)

• Amazon is developing conspiracy comedy ‘Off Fairfax’ from Rell Battle, the Lester brothers, and Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media. (more)

• Pixar has announced ‘Gatto,’ a Venice-set animated film from ‘Luca’ director Enrico Casarosa, slated for summer 2027. (more)

• Darren Aronofsky is in talks to direct A24’s upcoming film ‘Breakthrough,’ starring Dwayne Johnson as a manipulative motivational guru. (more)

• Matthew McConaughey is in talks to star in Skydance’s ‘Mike Hammer,’ reuniting with ‘True Detective’ creator Nic Pizzolatto for the reboot. (more)

TV Development 📺

• American Love Story will premiere February 2026 on FX, starring Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Kelly as Carolyn Bessette and JFK Jr. (more)

• Crystal Lake has added Devin Kessler, Cameron Scoggins, and Gwendolyn Sundstrom to the cast of Peacock’s ‘Friday the 13th’ prequel series. (more)

• Lego Masters has been renewed for S6 at Fox, with Nick Cannon stepping in as host to replace Will Arnett. (more)

Business 🤝

• Take-Two Interactive and the NBA have extended their deal and launched ‘NBA Take-Two Media,’ merging gaming with entertainment. (more)

• Byron Allen and McDonald’s have settled a lawsuit over the company’s Black-owned media ad pledge, avoiding a July trial. (more)

• President Trump’s lawyers confirmed they are in active settlement talks with Paramount over the president’s $20B ‘60 Minutes’ lawsuit. (more)

Other News 🚨

• ‘Arco’ has won the top prize at Annecy 2025, marking Natalie Portman’s first animated feature as producer. (more)

• Feed your curiosity & expand your knowledge by joining 4M+ Americans who start their day with 1440. (more)*

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CALL SHEET
📅 The week ahead

• MONDAY: Cannes Lions Festival begins

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