🎬 Spec Boom?

In partnership with

👋 Good morning! Remember that dog POV horror movie we told you about last week that had everyone Googling "does the dog die?" IFC just upgraded ‘Good Boy’ from limited to wide release after that 2,000% search spike and viral trailer. Who knew our concern for a fictional dog could influence distribution deals?

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
🎟️ Netflix gets its first box office win…

1. 🎤 KPop Demon Hunters Sing-Along: 🆕 $18M+ domestic 2-day opening from just 1,700 theaters. More on this below. 👇

2. 🔪 Weapons: (Wk 3) $15.6M domestic weekend (-36%), $115.9M domestic total, $199.4M global.

3. 💃 Freakier Friday: (Wk 3) $9.2M domestic weekend (-36%), $70.5M domestic total, $113M global.

4. 🦸 The Fantastic Four: First Steps: (Wk 5) $5.9M domestic weekend (-35%), $257.3M domestic total, $479M global.

5. 🐺 The Bad Guys 2: (Wk 4) $5.1M domestic weekend (-32%), $66.2M domestic total, $149M global.

6. 🔫 Nobody 2: (Wk 2) $3.7M domestic weekend (-60%), $16.5M domestic total, $28M global.

7. 🦸‍♂️ Superman: (Wk 7) $3.4M domestic weekend (-35%), $347M domestic total, $604.5M global. 2025's only comic book movie to cross the $600M mark.

8. 🚗 Honey Don't!: 🆕 $3M domestic opening from 1,317 theaters. Ethan Coen's noir comedy lands with a thud, earning poor audience scores (44% on RT).

9. 🔫 The Naked Gun: (Wk 4) $2.95M domestic weekend (-40%), $47.6M domestic total, $86.4M global.

10. 🦖 Jurassic World Rebirth: (Wk 8) $2.1M domestic weekend (-29%), $335.6M domestic total, $844M global.

Total weekend box office: $77M, down 13% from the same weekend last year

🎤 Netflix broke its own rules: The theater-skeptical company just scored its first-ever #1 box office win with 'KPop Demon Hunters,' a movie that's been on Netflix for two months. The animated hit earned $18M+ from just 1,700 theaters over two days (though Netflix won't report official numbers), with packed houses full of kids singing along. Already the streamer's second-most-watched title with 210M+ views and Billboard-charting songs, families paid premium prices to rewatch what they'd already seen at home. Don't expect this to become Netflix's playbook—this was a calculated experiment with a proven winner that required zero marketing spend. The sing-along version hits Netflix today.

😬 Lost in translation: A24's English dub of Chinese blockbuster 'Ne Zha 2,' the $2B global animated phenomenon, completely tanked this weekend with just $1.5M on 2,200+ screens. Despite adding Michelle Yeoh's voice, A24 barely marketed the film, apparently expecting international success to translate automatically.

CLOSEUP
📝 Is the spec script market suddenly hot again?

Hollywood studios are finally opening their wallets for original scripts again, and writers who've been collecting “passes” and subsisting on ramen might want to sit down for this one: 8 spec deals have closed in August 2025 alone. That’s the highest monthly total since March 2017.

To put this in perspective: The spec market hit rock bottom with just 11 deals in all of 2023. Industry vet Scott Myers, who's tracked specs since 1991, notes that during the '90s golden era, Hollywood averaged 12-13 deals per month. In recent years we've seen an average of just 1-2 per month. But 2025 is already looking stronger with 19 total deals so far, surpassing 2024's year-to-date numbers. Some of the deals making waves this month:

• 'With The 8th Pick' went to Warner Bros. The Kobe Bryant NBA draft drama, described as 'Social Network' meets 'Air,' explores the behind-the-scenes pursuit of Bryant in the 1996 draft.

• 'Bald Eagles' from Brandon Cohen landed at Paramount for seven figures in a preemptive deal (meaning they bought it before other studios could bid).

• 'The Pirate' sold to Amazon MGM with Jason Momoa attached to produce and potentially star.

• 'Incidents' sparked an 11-studio bidding war before Searchlight won. The psychological thriller comes from William Gillies, who wrote the acclaimed 'Hallow Road.'

• 'The Survival List' went to Lionsgate with Blake Lively attached.

The bigger picture: Several signs suggest this could be more than just a lucky month. Original films like 'Sinners' and 'Weapons' came out of nowhere to become genuine hits. Meanwhile, the TV pilot market has dried up, so managers are generally pushing their writers toward features as the clearer path to breaking in. And after years of throwing money at everything, studios are getting more selective, which makes complete, ready-to-shoot scripts suddenly look more attractive than vague concepts that need years of development.

Looking ahead… We’ll see whether this momentum continues through the rest of 2025. But for screenwriters who've been hearing "IP only" for years, August's numbers offer some real optimism.

INTERMISSION: A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

Former Zillow exec targets $1.3T

The top companies target big markets. Like Nvidia growing ~200% in 2024 on AI’s $214B tailwind. That’s why the same VCs behind Uber and Venmo also backed Pacaso. Created by a former Zillow exec, Pacaso’s co-ownership tech transforms a $1.3 trillion market. With $110M+ in gross profit to date, Pacaso just reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

Invest for $2.90/Share

_{Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.}

CLOSEUP
🤖 Netflix just posted its AI dos and don’ts…

Like a parent handing car keys to their teenager for the first time, Netflix just published its AI guidelines for production partners. The streaming giant referred to AI tools as “valuable creative aids,” while acknowledging the breakneck pace of innovation requires clear guardrails. The document centers around these five core rules:

• Don't copy others' work: AI outputs can't replicate copyrighted material.

• Protect Netflix content: AI tools can't train on or store Netflix's production data.

• Use secure tools: Stick to enterprise-approved AI platforms when possible.

• Final output needs approval: Brainstorming with AI is fine, but anything in the final cut requires permission.

• Respect union rules: Can't use AI to replace actors or crew without proper consent.

For context: Netflix recently became one of the first major streamers to openly embrace AI-generated footage in final production. CEO Ted Sarandos highlighted how 'The Eternaut' used AI to create a building collapse sequence 10x faster than traditional VFX, and keeping the show within budget. But they also caught flak last year for using AI-generated photos in 'What Jennifer Did.' Not exactly what you want in a documentary that's supposed to show the truth.

The bigger picture: The experimental phase of AI in production is over, and it's actually being used now. Netflix is threading the needle between cost savings and avoiding disasters, and as one of the first to formalize ground rules, these guidelines could set the precedent for other studios.

MARKET WATCH
💸 Wall Street likes Hollywood again (thanks, JPow)…

Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted at September rate cuts and media stocks jumped with the broader market Friday: WBD, Disney, Comcast, AMC, IMAX, and Charter all posted solid gains. Lower rates would ease Hollywood’s considerable debt burdens and could accelerate the sluggish M&A cycle by making deals cheaper to finance. Wall Street clearly liked what it heard. Of course, Powell only hinted—nothing's certain yet, and inflation concerns haven’t entirely disappeared.

LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️

• Tommy Dorfman’s Good Girl Productions is developing Torrey Peters’ bestseller ‘Detransition, Baby’ as a feature film. (more)

• Vera Farmiga will star opposite Mark Wahlberg in Stephen Chbosky’s untitled Apple film remake of ‘Weekend Rebels.’ (more)

• Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, Flea and Andy Samberg will voice Neon’s animated film ‘Arco’. (more)

• Netflix is developing Evan S. Porter’s novel ‘Dad Camp’ with Kevin Jakubowski writing, produced by 21 Laps and Happy Madison. (more)

• Paramount has acquired Trevor Noah’s R-rated comedy pitch ‘The Island,’ with ‘Neighbors’ scribe Andrew Jay Cohen writing the screenplay. (more)

TV Development 📺

• ABC is developing legal drama ‘The Advocate’ from writers Tawnya Bhattacharya and Ali Laventhol. (more)

• Paramount has pulled the plug on S2 of ‘Dexter: Original Sin’ despite renewing it earlier, but is moving forward with ‘Dexter: Resurrection.’ (more)

• MGM+ has renewed Stephen King’s horror series ‘The Institute’ for S2. (more)

Business 🤝

• Paramount will cut 2,500–3,000 jobs in November as Skydance seeks cost savings exceeding $2B. (more)

• Amazon MGM Studios has elevated Kara Smith and Tom Lieber to expanded leadership roles in its TV co-productions division. (more)

• Jeffrey Katzenberg joins Kimbal Musk’s Nova Sky Stories as investor and board member, calling it a “spectacular technology platform.” (more)

• Amazon MGM Studios has hired Paramount exec Helen Moss as its new Head of International Theatrical Distribution. (more)

The Week Ahead 📅

• The Telluride Film Festival kicks off this Friday. 🌄

INTERMISSION: A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

Start learning AI in 2025

Keeping up with AI is hard – we get it!

That’s why over 1M professionals read Superhuman AI to stay ahead.

• Get daily AI news, tools, and tutorials

• Learn new AI skills you can use at work in 3 mins a day

• Become 10X more productive

Sign up and start mastering AI

VIDEO VILLAGE
📺 Latest trailers

MARTINI SHOT
🍸 Latest viral moments