🎬 OpenAI Courts Hollywood

👋 Good morning! The cinematic bromance of the year just became official. At a 4K restoration screening of ‘The Thing,’ Bong Joon Ho casually mentioned his "next-next" film would be a horror movie, and before he could even finish asking, John Carpenter enthusiastically agreed to score it with a legally-binding handshake. Buckle up for prestige horror with vintage synth vibes!

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🎞 Here’s what’s on the reel today:

• Box Office Breakdown

• What Viewers Actually Want

• AI Dubbing Hits AMC

• OpenAI Courts Hollywood

• 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
🎟️ Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it’s off to flop we go…

1. 🍎 Snow White: 🆕 $43M domestic opening, $87.3M global debut. The Rachel Zegler/Gal Gadot musical lands with a thud, earning a B+ CinemaScore while costing a hefty $270M to produce.

2. 💼 Black Bag: (wk 2) $4.4M domestic weekend (-42%), $14.88M domestic total. Focus Features' thriller holding the #2 spot despite the newcomers.

3. 🛡️ Captain America: Brave New World: (wk 6) $4.1M domestic weekend (-28%), $192.1M domestic total.

4. 🤖 Mickey 17: (wk 3) $3.9M domestic weekend (-48%), $40.2M domestic total. Bong Joon-ho's sci-fi experiment continues to underperform for Warner Bros., reportedly heading for a $75M loss.

5. 🔫 Novocaine: (wk 2) $3.76M domestic weekend (-57%), $15.76M domestic total. Paramount's thriller feeling some pain with that steep second-weekend drop.

6. 🍝 The Alto Knights: 🆕 $3.1M domestic opening, $5M global debut. Robert De Niro's gangster double-act for Warner Bros. gets whacked at the box office despite its $50M budget.

7. 🐰 The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie: (wk 2) $1.83M domestic weekend (-42%), $6.45M domestic total.

8. 🐒 The Monkey: (wk 5) $1.55M domestic weekend (-38%), $37.86M domestic total.

9. 🐕 Dog Man: (wk 8) $1.5M domestic weekend (-41%), $95.63M domestic total.

10. 🍷 The Last Supper: (wk 2) $1.33M domestic weekend (-52%), $5.32M domestic total.

The Big Picture: A dismal $76.4M total weekend box office has Hollywood reaching for their calculators—down 26% from same time last year ($104M) and nowhere near 2019's $148M haul. ‘Snow White’ becomes Disney's latest expensive misfire, though the studio will hope for Easter/Spring Break legs to salvage something from this one. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. suffered its second bomb of the year with ‘The Alto Knights’ scraping together just $3.1M despite Robert De Niro's double duty. The 2025 box office is now trailing 2024 by 7%. All eyes turn to ‘Minecraft’ in two weeks to dig the box office out of its current hole.

CLOSEUP
🍿 Movie-goers still like theaters (just not these films)...

The box office recovery is sputtering along in 2025, with tentpoles underperforming and industry execs scratching their heads. While many wonder if audiences have permanently retreated to their couches, a new Global Cinema Foundation survey delivers a clear verdict: 72% of moviegoers still believe theaters offer good value for money. The problem isn't the theater experience—it's what's playing on screen.

The comprehensive study, polling 68,000 movie fans across 15 markets, reveals a serious disconnect between what studios are making and what audiences actually want to see. Despite streaming's dominance, only 6% of audiences prefer to wait for streaming when there's a movie they're excited about. The audience wish list is crystal clear:

• 51% are hungry for more comedies on the big screen

• 46% want more suspense/thrillers in theaters

• 55% desire more action/adventure movies (despite plenty already in theaters)

While studios continue pumping tentpoles and franchise installments, audiences are apparently craving genres that have largely migrated to streaming platforms. Rom-coms like ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’ found success internationally but remain rare theatrical offerings in North America.

The bright spot? A whopping 64% of customers say they have zero barriers to visiting theaters when there's something they actually want to watch.

One key insight: Older audiences (45+) are the most dissatisfied with current theatrical options, despite having both time and money to spend. Meanwhile, younger viewers remain enthusiastic, with 83% of those under 34 excited about upcoming releases.

Looking ahead… This survey offers a clear message to Hollywood: people want to go to theaters, they just want different movies. With studios already planning their 2026-2027 slates, will they pivot to meet this untapped demand? Will we see a comedy renaissance on the big screen? Only time—and studio exec decisions—will tell.

WIDESHOT
🎬 AI dubs hit AMC, and OpenAI courts Hollywood…

🎬🗣️ AI dubbing just got its big-screen debut. For the first time, a feature film dubbed entirely with AI is hitting American theaters, as Swedish sci-fi adventure ‘Watch the Skies’ lands a 100-screen distribution deal with AMC Theatres. Unlike traditional foreign releases, audiences won't see subtitles—instead, Flawless AI has digitally altered mouth movements and speech to create perfectly synced English dialogue using the original actors' voices. Crucially, the technology is fully SAG-AFTRA compliant, representing a notable case study in ethical AI implementation that respects performer rights rather than replacing actors—in contrast to concerns that fueled 2023’s industry strikes. AMC is betting big on this tech and its ability to break language barriers—they’ve committed prime screens across 20 major markets for a May 9 release. For foreign filmmakers, this tech promises a shortcut from "local stage to global stage," potentially diversifying theatrical offerings beyond Hollywood productions.

🎬🤖 OpenAI is trying to woo Hollywood with Sora showcases. The ChatGPT maker is making an aggressive play for filmmakers’ attention by hosting “Sora Selects” events showcasing short films created with its text-to-video AI tool, Sora. Just months after Sora's controversial debut, OpenAI is bypassing tech demos for the real deal—screening 11 AI-generated shorts at Brain Dead Studios in Los Angeles, following a similar New York event with Tokyo next on their global tour. The films flexed Sora's capabilities with everything from medieval settings to dreamscapes, complete with AI-generated humans, animals and landscapes. OpenAI isn't just dabbling in Hollywood anymore, they're actively courting the creative class and positioning their tech as a legitimate filmmaking resource rather than just another Silicon Valley novelty.

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LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️

• ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ franchise is being shopped around as studios and filmmakers vie for a revival of the iconic property. (more)

• Amy Pascal and David Heyman are in talks to take over creative control of the James Bond franchise as Amazon MGM moves it into its next era. (more)

• Robbie Amell and Victoria Justice will star in ‘Send A Scare,’ a horror-thriller from Josh Trank. (more)

• ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ starring Jennifer Lopez nears a domestic deal after its Sundance buzz.(more)

• Regina Hall has joined Will Ferrell and Zac Efron in Nicholas Stoller’s upcoming Amazon MGM comedy about a convict taking revenge on a TV judge. (more)

• Jimmy Tatro has joined Will Ferrell and Zac Efron in Nicholas Stoller’s upcoming Amazon MGM comedy. (more)

• Austin Abrams is in talks to star in Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ reboot, a horror-focused take set to shoot this summer in Europe. (more)

• Anthony Michael Hall, Thomas Dekker, and Nicholas Hamilton have joined the cast of ‘Halloween Store.’ (more)

• Zach Braff and Esther McGregor will star in ‘Clean Hands,’ a true-story drama about a cop-turned-recovery advocate. (more)

TV Development 📺

• ‘One Piece’ co-showrunner Matt Owens is stepping down from the Netflix series to focus on his mental health. (more)

• ‘American Dad!’ is nearing a deal to return to Fox after a decade on TBS.(more)

• Robert Patrick and Beau Knapp have joined ‘Tulsa King’ S3 as series regulars in Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ crime drama. (more)

• Olivia Williams, Michael Dorman, Audrey Grace Marshall, and Drew Cheek have joined the cast of Peacock’s limited series ‘The Good Daughter.’ (more)

• Sarah Pidgeon will star as Carolyn Bessette in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming FX series ‘American Love Story’ about her relationship with JFK Jr. (more)

Renewed & Canceled ✅ ❌

• ‘Severance’ is renewed for S3 at Apple. (more)

Other News 🚨

• 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 trends & viral moments