🎬 Saving Comedy

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👋 Good morning! Remember dialing 777-FILM to hear that iconic "Hello, and welcome to Moviefone!" greeting? Well, dust off your landline skills because Moviefone is back from the dead, and this time, Peter Dinklage's Toxic Avenger is answering the phone. In the latest marketing stunt for the upcoming reboot, fans can call 1-802-377-FILM today and get Toxie himself reading showtimes and reenacting trailer scenes.

Welcome to The Dailies. Monday means fresh box office numbers and weekend industry news to unpack. Grab your coffee and we’ll get you caught up.

BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN
🎟️ A not-so-fantastic second weekend drop…

1. 🦸‍♂️ The Fantastic Four: First Steps: (Wk 2) $40M domestic weekend (-66%), $198.4M domestic total, $368.7M global. Marvel's latest took a huge tumble in week two, right in line with other recent MCU flops like ‘Quantumania’ (-70%) and ‘Captain America 4’ (-68%). Good reviews didn't help much. At least it's already beaten every previous ‘F4’ movie (the best only made $333.5M worldwide back in 2005).

2. 🐺 The Bad Guys 2: 🆕 $22.2M domestic opening, $44.5M global debut. DreamWorks' sequel matched the 2022 original—not great when you're hoping for franchise growth. This is the first sequel to an animated movie that launched after COVID, and unlike ‘Moana 2’ or ‘Spider-Verse,’ two years of kids watching it on streaming didn't translate to bigger theatrical demand.

3. 🔫 The Naked Gun: 🆕 $17M domestic opening, $28.5M global debut. Liam Neeson's comedy got great reviews (90% RT) and opened in line with projections. It’s also Neeson’s best solo opening in 10 years. More on this one below.

4. 🦸‍♂️ Superman: (Wk 4) $13.9M domestic weekend (-44%), $316.2M domestic total, $551.2M global. DC's latest holds steady, closing in on ‘The Batman's’ (2022) $369M domestic total.

5. 🦖 Jurassic World Rebirth: (Wk 5) $8.7M domestic weekend (-34%), $317.6M domestic total, $766M global.

6. 👫 Together: 🆕 $6.8M domestic weekend ($10.9M since Wednesday opening). Neon paid $17M for this body-horror movie at Sundance. Critics loved it (91% RT) but audiences gave it a C+. Not bad for Neon, but nothing like their Oz Perkins movies (‘Longlegs’ opened to $22.4M).

7. 🏎️ F1: The Movie: (Wk 6) $4.1M domestic weekend (-35%), $173.3M domestic total. Brad Pitt's racing drama just became his highest-grossing film ever, beating ‘World War Z.’

8. 🔪 I Know What You Did Last Summer: (Wk 3) $2.65M domestic weekend (-49%), $29.4M domestic total.

9. 🔵 Smurfs: (Wk 3) $1.77M domestic weekend (-68%), $28.5M domestic total.

10. 🐉 How to Train Your Dragon: (Wk 8) $1.35M domestic weekend (-53%), $260.4M domestic total.

The big picture: Weekend total was $123.7M, down 27% from last year. ‘Fantastic Four’s’ front-loaded performance suggests it basically just played to the Marvel faithful and then crashed. It may have been too soon to declare superhero fatigue over after ‘Superman’s’ success. Turns out audiences are picky about which heroes they'll pay to see. Summer's hit $3B at the box office, but we're still way behind pre-pandemic levels.

CLOSEUP
🤣 Will ‘The Naked Gun’ save theatrical comedy?

In a fake PSA mimicking Sarah McLachlan's animal rescue ads, Liam Neeson pleaded for endangered theatrical comedies: "Every passing year, more comedies go unmade, unseen and unquoted." The joke landed because the crisis is real, and 'The Naked Gun' wants to be the cure.

The stakes are high. It’s been years since a pure comedy has crossed $100M domestically. Producer Seth MacFarlane says getting studios to greenlight comedies is "a thousand percent" harder now—including for him, whose ‘Ted’ grossed $550M worldwide. This 'Naked Gun' reboot itself was reportedly conceived for streaming before Paramount pivoted to theaters.

Why are theatrical comedies struggling? According to MacFarlane, studios face economic uncertainty and prefer safer bets over risky comedies. On top of that, comedy writers are also chasing awards instead of laughs, steering them toward serious, dramatic material rather than jokes. As he puts it: "You can either win awards or make people laugh." Meanwhile, audiences now get their comedy fix from superhero movies and blockbusters that mix humor with spectacle like 'Deadpool' and 'Barbie.' When industry insiders are asked about the last time they really laughed in a theater, many say 'Bridesmaids'… from 2011.

Opening weekend’s verdict…

• ✅ The film hit projections with $17M domestic and $28.5M globally—one of the highest comedy openings of the decade. At a $42M budget, it's likely to turn a profit.

• ✅ Strong word-of-mouth indicators: A- CinemaScore and 90% on Rotten Tomatoes suggest the film could have legs.

• 🤔 The demographic warning: 62% male, 70% white, and half over 35—a far cry from the young, diverse crowds that turned 'The Hangover' and 'Bridesmaids' into phenomena. If comedy's future depends on expanding beyond its aging core audience, these numbers suggest the genre still has work to do.

Looking ahead… MacFarlane thinks even moderate success could unlock the comedy floodgates. With 'Scary Movie,' 'Spinal Tap', and 'Spaceballs' sequels waiting, 'Naked Gun' needs to hold well next weekend to prove comedy still works. The film's marketing team knows what's at stake—they literally created savecomedy.org, which redirects to ‘The Naked Gun’ showtimes.

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WIDESHOT
🎬 ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ YouTubers, and Santa Monica…

🌈 Film fans aren’t too happy about Vegas's AI-altered 'Wizard of Oz.' The Sphere's planning to screen a heavily modified version of the 1939 classic, which cuts 30 minutes from the runtime by using AI to smooth over scene transitions (necessary because the venue's wraparound screen doesn't handle abrupt cuts well). The AI also upscales the film to 16K, expands the original 4:3 format to fill the massive curved display, and even inserts digital "extra" actors into scenes that the original cast never performed or consented to. Critics erupted when Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz defended it as bringing classics to new audiences, with many calling it vandalism and accusing the venue of mangling the film. At $100+ a ticket, plenty of people think it's just a cash grab that trashes the film’s legacy and artistic integrity.

🍿 Movie theaters are betting on YouTube stars to fill empty seats. Regal Cinemas will release 'Dude Perfect: The Hero Tour,' a documentary following the YouTube trick-shot group's live performances and recent arena tour, on 800+ screens starting Sept. 26. It’s a big experiment for both parties as theaters desperately search for new programming with ticket sales still down 25% from pre-pandemic levels. Regal, the second-largest US theater chain, is handling distribution itself, even supplying the film to competitors AMC and Cinemark. The exhibitor’s hoping to replicate AMC's 'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour' magic by luring Dude Perfect's 61M YouTube subscribers to the big screen. If it hits, Regal says this could kickstart a wave of social media creators bringing content to theaters as studios deliver fewer wide releases.

🏖️ Santa Monica’s ditching LA's film permitting system to go solo. The beachside city is launching its own film office come September, ending its decade-long relationship with FilmLA, the nonprofit that handles permits for greater Los Angeles. The split comes just a month after LA's Board of Public Works voted to renew FilmLA's five-year contract despite industry criticism and calls for reform. Film Santa Monica will set up shop under the city's tourism office, issuing its own permits and serving as a direct liaison for productions wanting to shoot at the pier, beaches, and neighborhoods. The move arrives as LA filming continues to slide, down 32% against the five-year average, with California production spending dropping 10% to $2.78B in the first half of 2024. FilmLA has processed 7,000 Santa Monica permits since 2013.

LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️

• Netflix’s untitled Newfoundland thriller adds Kaleb Horn, Ruby Stokes and Willow Kean as filming begins. (more)

• Michael Peña joins Chris Hemsworth and Lily James in Amazon MGM’s submarine thriller ‘Subversion.’ (more)

• ‘A Quiet Place Part III’ will be written, directed, and produced by John Krasinski, hitting theaters July 9, 2027. (more)

• Mark Ruffalo will reprise his role as the Hulk in ‘Spider-Man 4,’ joining Tom Holland’s next MCU outing. (more)

• Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum will star in and produce family comedy ‘Dance Parents,’ which landed at Universal after a bidding war. (more)

TV Development 📺

• ‘South Park’ will leave HBO Max Aug. 5 and stream exclusively on Paramount+ worldwide. (more)

• ‘The Holiday’ is being adapted into a limited series at Apple TV+ with new characters and a fresh cast. (more)

• Justina Machado joins S2 of ‘Matlock’ in a recurring role, reuniting with her ‘Jane the Virgin’ showrunner. (more)

Renewed & Canceled ✅ ❌

• ‘And Just Like That…’ will end for good after its S3 finale drops August 14 on Max. (more)

• ‘Fubar’ has been canceled by Netflix after S2. (more)

Other News 🚨

• CPB will shut down after federal funding was cut, ending public support for ‘PBS’ and ‘NPR.’ (more)

• Paramount is reshaping its leadership ahead of the Skydance merger, tapping execs from RedBird, NBCU, and Amazon. (more)

• Matthew Loeb has been re-elected IATSE International President, extending his leadership through 2029. (more)

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📅 The week ahead

• THURSDAY: Paramount-Skydance merger closes 🤝

• THURSDAY: Earnings announcements from WBD, Lionsgate, and Sony 📊

VIDEO VILLAGE
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MARTINI SHOT
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