🎬 No Theaters, No Deal

👋 Good morning! Letterboxd's servers crashed yesterday for a few hours, leaving film bros across the globe in existential crisis: if you watched a movie but couldn't log it, did you even watch it? Thousands of cinephiles reportedly rewatched films last night just to "make it official" once the sacred site returned. One user was spotted outside a revival screening of 'Persona' muttering, "It doesn't count, it doesn't count." (We're joking, but barely. The panic was real.)

Welcome back to The Dailies. For those heading to AFM this weekend, heads up: LAX is cutting domestic flight capacity by 10% starting today due to the government shutdown. Plan accordingly. Now, grab something caffeinated and let's get into today's news. 👇

TOP STREAMED
📊 This week’s top-streamed originals…

How last week’s releases are stacking up…

• 🧙‍♂️The Witcher: (Netflix) Opened with 1.7M US views and 11.9M hours watched in its first week, a steep drop from S3’s debut (4M views/18.6M hours). Despite the disappointing start, it still claimed the #1 spot across platforms stateside for the week.

• 🎲 Ballad of a Small Player: (Netflix) Colin Farrell and Oscar-winner Edward Berger couldn’t save this one. The film pulled just 1.6M views in week one. A clear miss by Netflix’s standards.

• 🔪 Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers: (Netflix) The surprise hit of the week with 4.7M views, making it the #2 most streamed movie across platforms in the US this week. True crime remains Netflix’s most reliable genre, though this one is still well behind recent Netflix doc ‘The Perfect Neighbor’ which opened with 12.9M week-one US views.

Top-streamed chart (U.S.) Oct. 31 to Nov. 6. Data provided by Luminate.

CLOSEUP
📺 HBO Max wants more “prestigurals”…

HBO Max's newest strategy sounds like a contradiction: prestige TV meets broadcast procedurals. But after 'The Pitt's' Emmy haul proved the model works, they just ordered two more "prestigurals" (yes, that's what people are calling them) that embrace the same framework:

• Cop drama 'American Blue': From Jeremy Carver ('Supernatural'), following a native son who returns to Joliet, Illinois to rescue the local police force.

• Family drama 'How To Survive Without Me': From Greg Berlanti and Bash Doran, centered on adult siblings and their father navigating grief and love in Los Angeles.

What makes these different from typical streaming fare? They're designed for 15+ episode seasons, modest $4M per episode budgets, and yearly releases. No more waiting two years for eight precious episodes with movie-level budgets. But unlike old-school procedurals, these shows bring the character complexity and serialized storytelling that made prestige TV famous.

The five Emmys for 'The Pitt' told HBO they were onto something, especially when it pulled viewers from outside their usual prestige crowd. For these new pilots, Warner Bros. TV is the studio partner, specifically because they house showrunners who've spent decades delivering 15-22 episodes annually without sacrificing quality. Carver did it for 15 years on 'Supernatural.' Berlanti's been juggling multiple high-volume shows simultaneously for over a decade.

Looking ahead… HBO Max has legal dramas and more cop shows cooking under this same model, all aimed at creating a year-round schedule where shows actually air regularly.

WIDESHOT
🎬 Zach Cregger, Warner Bros. Discovery, and A24…

🍿 Netflix promised Zach Cregger theaters, then said no. Following his 'Weapons' success, Netflix courted Cregger hard for his next project, a sci-fi film called 'The Flood.' Film chief Dan Lin even flew to Prague to woo him, promising a theatrical release. But CEO Ted Sarandos has reportedly killed the theater plan, and talks have stalled. Sources say Cregger won't sign on without theaters, potentially taking the script elsewhere if Netflix won't budge. Here's Netflix's problem: they desperately want hot directors like Cregger, but won't guarantee theatrical releases. While Guillermo del Toro just got 400 theaters and a three-week run for 'Frankenstein' and Greta Gerwig secured IMAX for 'Narnia' next year, the question becomes how far Netflix will bend its streaming-first philosophy to land top talent.

📅 Warner Bros. Discovery just gave itself a deadline. The media giant says it’ll reveal by mid-December whether it's splitting up, selling off, or staying the course after putting itself up for sale in October. Yesterday, the company posted a $148M quarterly loss thanks to linear TV revenues dropping 22% and streaming barely growing to 128M subscribers. Meanwhile, Comcast has enlisted Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to explore a bid for WBD's studio and streaming assets. Paramount, who's already made three rejected takeover bids, is reportedly considering the nuclear option if rebuffed again: a hostile takeover. They'd only need 20% of year-long shareholders to force a vote, making this surprisingly feasible.

👨‍🍳 Reality TV just got its most unlikely producer: A24. The indie studio behind 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' is developing its first-ever reality competition series with Netflix, based on the chaotic cooking video game 'Overcooked.' The unscripted adaptation will feature high-stakes kitchen challenges where contestants work together in chaotic, obstacle-filled kitchens, targeting the family-friendly appeal of Netflix hits like 'Nailed It!' and 'Floor Is Lava.' Ghost Town Games (the game's developer) and A24 will executive produce the project, which is currently in early development. The project tracks with A24's recent push toward more mainstream content, though reality TV is definitely unexpected territory for the indie darling.

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LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️

• Warner Bros. is bringing back 'Gremlins 3' for 2027 with Chris Columbus writing/directing and Spielberg exec producing. (more)

• Jessica Chastain, Josh Brolin, Chris Pine, Mikey Madison, Don Cheadle, and Charles Melton will star in crime thriller ‘My Darling California.’ (more)

• The Russo Brothers are exec producing Lionsgate’s ‘John Rambo’ prequel starring Noah Centineo and directed by Jalmari Helander. (more)

• Hayley Atwell’s joining Gerard Butler in ‘Empire City,’ a hostage-crisis action thriller from director Michael Matthews set to begin filming this month. (more)

• Roadside Attractions and Saban Films acquired David Mackenzie’s heist thriller ‘Fuze,’ starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson. (more)

• Rachel Brosnahan’s making her feature directorial debut with a documentary about her late aunt and fashion icon Kate Spade. (more)

• Netflix and Sony are developing ‘KPop Demon Hunters 2,’ the animated sequel set to debut in 2029. (more)

• Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone are developing a ‘Miss Piggy’ movie at Disney, with ‘Oh, Mary!’ creator Cole Escola writing the screenplay. (more)

• Anthony Hopkins and Charlotte Rampling are playing Charles and Emma Darwin in ‘The Species,’ a period drama from Justin Chadwick. (more)

• Courteney Cox is directing ‘Evil Genius,’ a true-crime thriller starring Patricia Arquette and David Harbour based on the “pizza bomber” case. (more)

TV Development 📺

• Sarah Paulson is in final talks to play serial killer Aileen Wuornos in S4 of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix anthology ‘Monster.’ (more)

• Luke Evans is headlining ITV’s ‘The Party,’ a political thriller adapted from Elizabeth Day’s novel by Sarah Solemani, who also co-stars and writes. (more)

• Jake Shane will star in a Hulu comedy based on his life as the ‘Therapuss’ podcaster. (more)

• Diane Kruger and Raphaël Personnaz are leading Apple TV’s political thriller ‘La Décision.’ (more)

• Showrunner Warren Leight has exited CBS’s ‘CIA’, the newest ‘FBI’ spinoff, prompting a brief production pause during the transition. (more)

Business 🤝

• Netflix is switching from counting users to "monthly active viewers" for ad metrics—inflating those advertiser numbers. (more)

• AMC Theatres posted a $298M quarterly loss tied to debt refinancing, though revenue only dipped 4% amid a slower box office. (more)

• Lionsgate trimmed its quarterly loss to $113.5M post-Starz spinoff, with CEO Jon Feltheimer promising growth ahead. (more)

• Paramount+ locked down exclusive streaming rights to PBR's 'Unleash the Beast' tour starting 2026 (more)

• Netflix is in talks with SiriusXM to license video podcasts exclusively, expanding its push into the podcast space. (more)

RELEASE RADAR
📅 This week’s new releases…

🎥 THEATRICAL

• Predator: Badlands: Sci-fi action from Dan Trachtenberg starring Elle Fanning.

• Christy: Biographical sports drama starring Sydney Sweeney.

• Die, My Love: Dark comedy-drama starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson as a couple descending into psychosis.

• Nuremberg: Historical drama starring Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring.

📺 STREAMING

• Pluribus: (Apple TV) Sci-fi drama from ‘Breaking Bad’ creator Vince Gilligan.

• All Her Fault: (Peacock) Mystery thriller starring Sarah Snook.

• Frankenstein: (Netflix) Guillermo del Toro's Gothic sci-fi reimagining starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi.

🔮 BOX OFFICE PREVIEW: 'Predator: Badlands' is projected to open with $25-30M, barely edging past 2018's 'The Predator' ($24.6M), though its PG-13 rating could expand the audience. Adult counter-programming from Sydney Sweeney's 'Christy,' Russell Crowe's 'Nuremberg,' and Jennifer Lawrence's 'Die My Love' will target modest $1-4M platform debuts. Expect another sub-$60M weekend as theaters await salvation from 'Wicked: For Good' and 'Zootopia 2' (tracking for a $125M+ Thanksgiving debut).

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