🎬 Something to Celebrate

👋 Good morning! James Gunn's rescue dog Ozu just became Hollywood’s latest breakout. The director's real-life pup served as the inspiration and 3-D model for Krypto in ‘Superman,’ but Gunn says that every time Ozu sees his CGI counterpart onscreen, he tries to attack it. Sounds like Ozu’s giving his CGI double a ruff review.

Welcome to the Dailies. Coffee in hand? Let's get you up to speed on this week's Hollywood happenings. First up, let’s check in on the weekend box office. 👇

BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN
🎟️ It’s a bird, it’s a plane… it’s a $122M opening…

1. 🦸‍♂️ Superman: 🆕 $122M domestic opening, $217M global debut. James Gunn's DC reboot delivers an impressive launch, coming in just shy of 2013's ‘Man of Steel’ ($128M, without inflation adjustments). Overseas was a bit disappointing at $95M across 78 markets, with ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ still hogging international screens. Excellent audience scores should fuel strong word-of-mouth.

2. 🦕 Jurassic World Rebirth: (Wk 2) $40M domestic weekend (-57%), $232.1M domestic total, $529.5M global. Universal's sequel takes a significant sophomore slump.

3. 🏎️ F1: The Movie: (Wk 3) $13M domestic weekend (-50%), $136.2M domestic total, $393.3M global.

4. 🐲 How to Train Your Dragon: (Wk 5) $7.8M domestic weekend (-31%), $239.8M domestic total, $560M global.

5. 🛸 Elio: (Wk 4) $3.9M domestic weekend (-33%), $63.7M domestic total, $117M global.

6. 🧟‍♂️ 28 Years Later: (Wk 4) $2.7M domestic weekend (-40%), $65.7M domestic total, $138.3M global.

7. 🌺 Lilo & Stitch: (Wk 8) $2.7M domestic weekend (-32%), $414.6M domestic total, $994.2M global.

8. 🕴️ Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning: (Wk 8) $1.45M domestic weekend (-47%), $194M domestic total, $584M global.

9. 🤖 M3GAN 2.0: (Wk 3) $1.35M domestic weekend (-66%), $22.4M domestic total, $36M global. Universal's horror sequel takes a steep drop in its third weekend, losing 1,475 theaters.

10. 💎 Materialists: (Wk 5) $720K domestic weekend (-46%), $35.2M domestic total, $49.5M global.

The big picture: ‘Superman’ boosted the box office to an impressive $197.4M weekend. That’s a pretty big jump from last week’s $155M and up 37.7% from the same frame last year. While 2025 is still trailing 2024's overall totals, this weekend finally gives the industry a much-needed win after months of disappointing year-over-year comparisons.

CLOSEUP
🦸‍♂️ Warner Bros. and DC have something to celebrate…

After years of stumbling in the superhero sandbox, DC Studios finally has a genuine win. James Gunn's 'Superman' exceeded expectation with its $122M domestic debut, proving there's still life in the cape-and-tights game.

The rescue mission: When Warner Bros. tapped James Gunn and Peter Safran to co-lead DC Studios in late 2022, they were calling in the cleanup crew. CEO David Zaslav decided to emulate Disney-Marvel by creating a separate studio with dedicated leadership. Gunn, fresh off his Marvel success with the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' trilogy, was tasked with fixing an entire cinematic universe running on fumes.

DC's recent track record was brutal: Since 2019's 'Shazam!', a string of disappointments—'Wonder Woman 1984,' 'The Flash,' 'Black Adam'—left the brand damaged. The previous Zack Snyder-era's dark, brooding tone alienated general audiences, and with broader superhero fatigue affecting even Marvel, launching a ‘Superman’ reboot seemed risky.

This weekend’s vindication…

• Best opening ever for a first ‘Superman’ installment

• Warner Bros.' second $100M+ opener this year (after 'A Minecraft Movie')

• Strong premium format performance (47% of business)

• A- CinemaScore and 93% audience rating suggest audiences were hungry for earnest superhero storytelling

• Solid demographic spread, suggesting broad appeal

Looking ahead… ‘Superman's’ success validates Warner Bros.' expensive gamble on Gunn's vision. With 'Supergirl' already in the can for June 2026 and 'Clayface' in pre-production, DC Studios is taking a "slow and steady" approach that's the antithesis of their previous spray-and-pray strategy.

WIDESHOT
🎬 SAG election, Lionsgate, and Formula 1 rights…

🎭 Sean Astin is running for SAG-AFTRA president. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ star, whose mother, Patty Duke, led the Screen Actors Guild in the 1980s, is teaming up with Michelle Hurd (running for secretary-treasurer) and Joely Fisher (running for LA Local president) on "The Coalition 2025" slate. Current president Fran Drescher, who steered the union through 2023's brutal 118-day strike, reportedly isn't seeking reelection. Meanwhile, Fisher's stepping down from her current national secretary-treasurer role to focus on local LA leadership, citing the "downturn in local Los Angeles production" since the strikes wrapped. The group isn’t running unopposed: SAG-AFTRA New England's Chuck Slavin is running for president with Peter Antico, and potentially others. Whoever wins inherits some tough challenges: upcoming contract negotiations in 2026, evolving AI protections, and shrinking job opportunities for 160,000 members as production continues fleeing California.

💸 Legendary Entertainment wants to buy Lionsgate Studios. Apollo-backed Legendary approached Lionsgate after its May split from Starz, proposing to co-produce a handful of films as a compatibility test before potentially making a full acquisition offer for the $1.8B studio. The interest emerged because Lionsgate finally became a focused, single-business target after ditching its struggling streaming service. Potential buyers who previously took one look at the messy whole company and said “no thanks” can now zero in on what they actually want: Lionsgate's massive 20,000+ title library (which generates a third of the company’s revenue at high margins), plus proven franchises like ‘John Wick’ and ‘The Hunger Games.’ It's part of a broader industry trend where media companies are splitting apart so individual pieces can become more attractive acquisition targets that specialized buyers actually want.

🏎️ Apple is swooping in on ESPN’s F1 deal. The tech giant offered $150M+ annually for F1's U.S. broadcasting rights starting in 2026, nearly doubling ESPN's current $85M deal and far exceeding what the sports network was willing to counter-offer. ESPN, already stretched thin paying premium rates for NBA and NFL rights while launching its own streaming service, reportedly balked at F1's demand to double their fee. It underscores a new reality where traditional media companies are watching their wallets while Big Tech can afford to overpay for exclusive content. For F1, it's a classic trade-off: sacrificing ESPN's massive audience reach in favor of a bigger payday from Apple. Apple's aggressive sports push follows their mixed-results MLS deal that hasn't significantly moved the needle for Apple TV+. But apparently, tech companies think premium sports rights are essential differentiators in the streaming wars, regardless of immediate viewership returns.

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MARKET WATCH
🍿 Wall Street’s betting on theaters…

$AMC ( ▲ 11.0% ) AMC just got its first stock upgrade since... well, let's just say it's been a while. Investment firm Wedbush bumped the debt-laden theater chain from "neutral" to "outperform," raising its price target to $4.00, betting that Hollywood's post-strike chaos is finally winding down. The optimism stems from studios finally stabilizing their release schedules after years of pandemic closures, streaming strategy pivots, and the 2023 strikes that scrambled movie lineups. After experimenting with day-and-date streaming releases and unpredictable windows, studios are now returning to consistent theatrical-first strategies that exhibitors can actually plan around. While analysts don’t expect massive growth (calling it "a low-growth industry in recovery"), sometimes boring and predictable is exactly what Wall Street wants to hear.

LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️

• ‘Practical Magic 2’ begins filming with Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing returning, and new cast including Lee Pace and Maisie Williams. (more)

• A ‘Ghost Eaters’ adaptation is in the works at Screen Gems with Maggie Levin set to write and direct, and Scott Derrickson producing. (more)

• Elegance Bratton is in talks to direct an Arthur Ashe biopic with Skydance Sports joining as producer. (more)

• Amazon MGM has set ‘Verity’ starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson for theatrical release on October 2, 2026. (more)

TV Development 📺

• Finn Little will reprise his role as Carter in the ‘Yellowstone’ spinoff centered on Beth and Rip for Paramount+. (more)

• Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Jay Duplass have joined Prime Video’s YA series ‘Sterling Point,’ created by Megan Park. (more)

Other News 🚨

• George Lucas will make his Comic-Con debut to preview the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art alongside Guillermo del Toro and Queen Latifah. (more)

• ‘Extra’ has laid off staffers ahead of S32 as part of a broader revamp of the long-running entertainment news show. (more)

• ‘South Park’ was pulled from Paramount+ internationally as rights talks stall amid a dispute with its creators. (more)

• What do 4M Americans know that you don’t? Find out with 1440—your shortcut to staying informed. (more)*

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CALL SHEET
📅 The week ahead

• TUESDAY: Emmy nominations announced 📣

• THURSDAY: Netflix’s Q2 earnings announcement 📊

• THURSDAY: The ESPY Awards air live at 5pm PT on ABC 🏆

VIDEO VILLAGE
📺 Latest trailers

MARTINI SHOT
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