👋 Good morning! Someone is going to die at Cannes, and for once it won't be an indie filmmaker's distribution deal. HBO just confirmed 'The White Lotus' S4 takes place during the Cannes Film Festival, with filming now underway across the Côte d'Azur and two White Lotus properties for the first time. We're already taking bets on cause of death. Stabbed with a Palme d'Or? Suffocated during a 12-minute standing ovation? Crushed in a Croisette paparazzi stampede? Killed for wearing flats on the red carpet? The possibilities are endless.
You made it to Friday. Grab your coffee, settle in, and let us catch you up on everything that happened in Hollywood this week. 👇
TOP STREAMED
📊 What U.S. audiences were watching this week…
| FILM | TV | ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
|
| LAST WEEK'S NEW RELEASES | |
 | Thrash NetflixFILM The Phoebe Dynevor shark horror landed at #1 across platforms despite poor reviews, pulling 6M domestic views over its Sat–Sun debut per Luminate. Globally, it hit 37.7M in the same frame. For context, 'The Rip' (one of Netflix's biggest films this year) opened to 7.9M domestic in its first two days. A strong start. |
 | Euphoria HBO MaxSERIES The long-awaited S3 return pulled 8.5M domestic viewers in its first three days of availability, per WBD. The premiere is up 44% vs. the previous season's debut, so it's a strong re-entry for one of HBO's biggest titles. |
 | The Miniature Wife PeacockSERIES The binge drop drew 1.1M average season viewers and 7.9M hours streamed over opening weekend, with the pilot alone hitting 2.7M views. For context, 'All Her Fault' (one of Peacock's biggest recent debuts) opened to 2M pilot-only. |
Sources: Top streamed chart (U.S.) via FlixPatrol; new release viewership data (U.S.) via Luminate
CINEMACON
🍿 And that’s CinemaCon…
David Ellison at CinemaCon yesterday. (Gilbert Flores/Getty Images)
CinemaCon is a wrap: Universal and Amazon MGM presented Wednesday, Paramount and Disney closed things out last night. Four days, six studios, a lot of trailers, and a few actual commitments that exhibitors will be screenshotting for future reference.
The big theme across nearly every presentation was theatrical windows. Steven Spielberg made his first CinemaCon appearance (somehow), earned a standing ovation and an MPA award, then used the goodwill to lobby for longer exclusivity. He praised Universal's 45-day window, then started auctioning: "Do I hear 60 days? Do I hear 120 days?" Amazon MGM extended 'Project Hail Mary's' window on the spot and committed to at least 15 theatrical films per year.
David Ellison led Paramount's presentation Thursday, his first CinemaCon since the Skydance takeover. He got a warm reception and went straight at the merger question, committing to a minimum of 30 films annually across both Paramount and Warner Bros., a 45-day exclusive theatrical window starting now, and 90 days to SVOD. Cinema United wants that SVOD window at 120, so expect that back-and-forth to continue. The vibe was less "new regime imposing its will" and more "new guy buying the first round."
There was some drama, though: AMC's Adam Aron broke from Cinema United to publicly endorse the Paramount-WB merger, apparently without giving the trade group a heads-up. It triggered an emergency meeting among exhibitors, and the backstage tension was reportedly palpable.
Meanwhile, Disney unveiled Infinity Vision, a new premium large format certification. 'Dune: Part Three' has exclusive IMAX rights for the December 18 date it shares with 'Avengers: Doomsday,' so Disney basically just built its own lane. It'll launch with the 'Endgame' re-release in September, then 'Doomsday.'
Some other highlights…
Paramount confirmed 'Top Gun 3' is in development (script being written).
Taylor Sheridan's 'Call of Duty' movie got a release date: June 30, 2028.
Amazon MGM on Bond: no casting yet, but "that film is coming."
CLOSEUP
🤖 The first A-list AI movie is headed to Cannes…
Doug Liman (Dia Dipasupil/WireImage)
Doug Liman's 'Bitcoin: Killing Satoshi' is being billed as the first fully AI-generated narrative feature from a major director. The $70M thriller (starring Casey Affleck, Gal Gadot, Pete Davidson, Isla Fisher) wrapped in London last month and is heading to Cannes to find a distributor. Details of how it was made emerged this week, and the process is something.
Here's the setup: the whole film was shot over 20 days on a gray-screen soundstage in West London that looks more like a storage unit than a film set (the photos are worth checking out). No locations, no lighting rigs. AI generates every environment and lighting setup in post. Producers say doing it traditionally would've run $300M+, though it's hard to see how a conspiracy thriller would ever need Avatar-level money. Take the numbers with a grain of salt; the producers are also using the film to launch an AI production studio with 10 more projects in the pipeline. Some key details:
Traditional department heads still led the creative, including DP Henry Braham ('Superman') and production designer Oliver Scholl ('Edge of Tomorrow').
Producers say actors' performances aren't being altered, though reports indicate AI will be used to tweak lip, facial, and body movements in post to avoid reshoots. So, not altered, just... adjusted. Totally different.
261 total crew, though some traditional roles (lighting, notably) were eliminated from the shoot.
Liman is now in a 30-week post process with 55 AI artists.
The bigger picture: Hollywood's AI experiments have mostly face-planted so far. Sora recently shut down, Runway's Lionsgate partnership fizzled, and the biggest AI win in Hollywood (Ben Affleck's InterPositive, acquired by Netflix for $600M) is a post tool. AI in production seems to be settling into a lane as a cost-collapsing tool rather than a crew replacement, though the line between the two isn't always clear (just ask the lighting department). 'Killing Satoshi' is the biggest test yet of whether that model can produce something audiences (and buyers) actually want to watch.
INTERMISSION: A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR
The Next Move Has Started
Wall Street just bet billions on a small collection of stocks. Our analysts tracked the rotation and identified 10 companies seeing heavy accumulation from institutional money right now.
The tickers, the trends, and the reasoning are all in The 10 Best Stocks to Own in 2026 report.
FESTIVALS
🗽 Tribeca dropped its 25th anniversary lineup…
Co-founder Jane Rosenthal at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
The Tribeca Festival unveiled its full slate yesterday for its June run in New York. 118 features, 103 world premieres (a festival record), 86 shorts. Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff founded the festival in 2002 to revitalize lower Manhattan after 9/11. Tribeca is competing more for cultural relevance than Oscar relevance, and the 25th anniversary lineup leans into that. Some highlights:
Music docs have basically taken over. Questlove's Earth, Wind & Fire film opens the festival (followed by a live concert), an Alicia Keys doc ('Girl From Hell's Kitchen') closes it, and Sara Bareilles, Peter Frampton, Mumford & Sons, The LOX, and Magdalena Bay each have their own docs premiering with live performances after the screenings.
Katie Holmes reunites with 'Dawson's Creek' co-star Joshua Jackson in 'Happy Hours,' a NYC romantic drama she wrote and directed. If you just felt a psychic disturbance in the force, that was every millennial on the internet.
Lots of actors behind the camera this year: Beyond Holmes, Gabriel Basso (Netflix's 'The Night Agent') writes, directs, and stars in thriller 'Iconoclast.' Zach Woods (Jared from 'Silicon Valley') directs Aubrey Plaza and Susan Sarandon in 'The Accompanist.' Edward Burns returns with 'Finnegan's Foursome.'
Marc Maron stars in 'In Memoriam,' a dramedy about a dying man whose last wish is to make the Oscars' In Memoriam reel. Lily Gladstone and Sharon Stone co-star.
Oscar Isaac plays dual roles (Dante Alighieri and author Nick Tosches) in Julian Schnabel's 'In the Hand of Dante,' opposite Al Pacino, Gal Gadot, and Martin Scorsese. A Netflix release.
Quentin Tarantino shows up as an actor (not director) in 'Only What We Carry,' an improvisational drama alongside Sofia Boutella, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Simon Pegg.
Check out the full lineup here. 👈👀
Looking ahead… The festival runs June 3-14 in New York.
LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️
Demi Moore's jumping into Amazon MGM's culinary thriller 'Tyrant,' joining Charlize Theron and Julia Garner. (more)
Sydney Sweeney's Universal thriller 'The Caretaker' taps David Bruckner to direct and adapt Marcus Kliewer's horror novel. (more)
Matt Smith and Imogen Poots are set to star in mystery thriller ‘The Salamander Lives Twice,’ heading to Cannes market. (more)
Searchlight Pictures has picked up SXSW horror film ‘Monitor,’ with a 2027 theatrical release on the books. (more)
Tom Hanks is set to star in Sony baseball film ‘The Comebacker,’ reuniting with director Marielle Heller. (more)
TV Development 📺
Business 🤝
Other News 🚨
Brian Williams is back in the interview chair with new Netflix podcast 'We're Back! with Brian Williams.' (more)
AMC's bumping its Stubs A-List subscription to $29.99 a month, blaming rising operating costs. (more)
AI is moving fast. Most people are already behind. Superhuman AI is the easiest way to catch up — a free newsletter that breaks down what matters and how to actually use it. (more)*
*sponsored
RELEASE RADAR
📅 This week’s new releases…
🎥 THEATRICAL
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy: Supernatural horror reimagining from the 'Evil Dead Rise' director, produced by James Wan and Jason Blum.
Normal: Action thriller starring Bob Odenkirk and Henry Winkler.
📺 STREAMING
Beef: (Netflix) S2 of the A24 dark comedy anthology, now starring Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Cailee Spaeny, and Charles Melton.
Margo's Got Money Troubles: (Apple TV) Comedy-drama from David E. Kelley starring Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Nick Offerman.
Balls Up: (Prime Video) R-rated comedy from Peter Farrelly starring Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser.
Roommates: (Netflix) College comedy starring Sadie Sandler and Chloe East, with Natasha Lyonne and Nick Kroll. Produced by Adam Sandler.
🔮 BOX OFFICE PREVIEW: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' is gearing up to three-peat at #1 with a projected $35-45M third frame. The weekend's got two wide newcomers: 'Lee Cronin's The Mummy' is tracking for a modest $17-22M debut, with mixed-rotten reviews (53% RT) and early word-of-mouth fixating on how "disgusting" it is (which could cut either way for the Blumhouse horror crowd), and Bob Odenkirk's action-comedy 'Normal' eyes ~$5.6M in Magnolia Pictures' widest release ever at 2,000 theaters.
VIDEO VILLAGE
📺 Latest trailers
MARTINI SHOT
🍸 Latest viral moments
That's a wrap on this week. If someone forwarded this to you, just hit subscribe and we'll see you in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Have a great weekend.
-The Dailies Team