👋 Good morning! Dick Van Dyke hit the centennial club over the weekend. The comedy legend spent five seasons perfecting the pratfall on 'The Dick Van Dyke Show,' starred in Disney's riskiest $6M bet 'Mary Poppins' (his Cockney accent was so memorably bad he turned down James Bond rather than attempt another English role), appeared in a Coldplay video at 99, and still goes to the gym three days a week. His reaction to turning 100: "It's not enough. You want to live more. Which I plan to."
Welcome back to The Dailies. We've been at this significantly fewer than 100 years, but we're also hitting the gym three days a week to keep up with Hollywood's pace. Anyway, grab your coffee—we’ve got box office numbers and the latest industry updates. 👇
BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN
🎟️ ‘Zootopia 2’ is the fastest animation ever to $1B…
Jamie Lee Curtis and Emma Mackey in this week’s newcomer, ‘Ella McCay’ (20th Century Studios)
🐰 Zootopia 2: (Wk 3) $26.3M domestic weekend (-39%), $259M domestic total, $1.14B global, $150M budget. Reclaims the top spot and crosses the billion-dollar threshold in just 17 days. That makes it the fastest ever to hit that milestone for a Hollywood animation. China alone accounts for $502.4M of the global haul.
🐻 Five Nights at Freddy's 2: (Wk 2) $19.5M domestic weekend (-70%), $95.5M domestic total, $173.8M global, $36M budget. Brutal second-weekend drop mirrors the original's theatrical trajectory, but it’s already well into profit at this price point.
🧹 Wicked: For Good: (Wk 4) $8.6M domestic weekend (-51%), $312.1M domestic total, $468M global, $165M budget. The sequel is running out of steam faster than its predecessor, pacing 13% behind the first 'Wicked' at the same point, which ended its run at $474.9M domestic.
🇮🇳 Dhurandhar: (Wk 2) $3.5M domestic weekend (+78%), $7.9M domestic total. Ranveer Singh's espionage thriller posts impressive numbers in major metros from NYC to Dallas.
🃏 Now You See Me: Now You Don't: (Wk 5) $2.38M domestic weekend (-32%), $59.3M domestic total, $208M global, $90M budget.
⚔️ Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution: (Wk 2) $2.1M domestic weekend (-79%), $14.5M domestic total, $34M global. Front-loaded anime drop typical of the genre.
🗳️ Ella McCay: 🆕 $2.1M domestic opening, $2.4M global debut, $5.1M global, $35M budget. James L. Brooks' political dramedy suffers one of the worst wide-release openings in modern Disney history with a dismal $840 PSA across 2,500 theaters. At 22% on Rotten Tomatoes and a B- CinemaScore, this is the 85-year-old auteur's worst-reviewed film ever.
🎄 How the Grinch Stole Christmas (re-release): $1.85M domestic weekend.
♾️ Eternity: (Wk 3) $1.8M domestic weekend (-37%), $12.9M domestic total, $15M budget. A24's drama holding decently but won't be profitable theatrically.
📜 Hamnet: (Wk 3) $1.5M domestic weekend (-35%), $7M domestic total, ~$30M budget. Focus Features' Shakespearean tragedy earns more per theater than 'Ella McCay' despite playing in a fraction of the locations. A quiet specialty win.
The bigger picture: The weekend totaled $75.1M, down 20% from the same frame last year. Holdovers carried the frame, while 'Ella McCay' barely registered. Year-to-date stands at $8.1B, just 0.5% ahead of 2024. Next weekend’s 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' should shift the narrative.
CLOSEUP
🎙️ Netflix is pulling podcasts off YouTube…
Netflix is close to inking a deal with iHeartMedia to bring around 20 video podcasts exclusively to its platform, yanking them off YouTube entirely. Some details:
The deal covers around 20 shows, including Charlamagne tha God's 'The Breakfast Club' and 'Stuff They Don't Want You To Know,' which already have massive YouTube audiences
Full video episodes would be pulled from YouTube entirely and become Netflix exclusives
Netflix signed a similar deal with Spotify in October covering 16 shows
Netflix has reportedly been in talks with SiriusXM as well as it aggressively pushes into podcasts
Why it matters: This is an escalation. Previously, Netflix licensed YouTube creator content like Mark Rober and Ms. Rachel that remained available on both platforms. Now they're demanding exclusivity, pulling popular shows entirely off the free platform.
The broader context: Podcasts have pivoted hard to video over the last few years as audiences increasingly wanted to see hosts' faces, workspaces, and gestures, essentially replacing daytime TV and late-night talk shows with lower-production alternatives. YouTube's recommendation algorithm crushed anything Spotify could offer, making it the natural home for video podcasts and the top podcast platform overall. All of which turned YouTube into a real threat to Netflix's living room dominance.
While defending the Warner Bros acquisition, Co-CEO Greg Peters spelled it out for investors: "If we buy Warner Bros., we go from 8% to 9% [of TV viewing]. We're still behind YouTube at 13%." Netflix is now explicitly treating YouTube, not other streamers, as its main competitor.
Looking ahead... The first wave of these exclusive podcasts hits Netflix in early 2026, starting with the 16 shows from the Spotify deal.
INTERMISSION: A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR
For Your Consideration: Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet
HAMNET is “the best picture of the year” and is now nominated for 6 Golden Globe Awards and 11 Critics Choice Awards including Best Picture.
CLOSEUP
🏓 ‘Marty Supreme’s’ wild marketing blitz…
(Source: A24)
Timothée Chalamet knows what Jennifer Lawrence, Sydney Sweeney, and Dwayne Johnson learned the hard way: traditional movie marketing doesn't work anymore, and getting audiences to theaters for indie films has never been harder. For A24's $60M-$70M 'Marty Supreme,' Chalamet’s thrown out the typical playbook entirely and made himself the face of an unconventional marketing blitz. Here’s what he’s been doing:
Posting on Instagram the same day to summon fans to a surprise Regal Times Square screening, then showing up in giant orange ping-pong-ball helmets to preview 30 minutes of the film
Writing and "leaking" an 18-minute satirical Zoom pitch where he proposes painting the Statue of Liberty orange
Creating orange tracksuits that resell for $4,000 on Grailed and sending them to Tom Brady, Misty Copeland, Lamine Yamal and Bill Nye (even Kylie and Kendall Jenner are wearing them)
Organizing secret pop-ups in LA, NYC, and Sao Paulo that draw crowds so big police get called
Flying a 135-foot orange blimp from Nashville to LA that hovers over guild screenings during awards season
Skipping traditional awards stops like the Governors Awards to focus on the unconventional
What stopped working: Jennifer Lawrence did 'Hot Ones' and every late-night show for 'Die My Love' ...it flopped. Sydney Sweeney and Dwayne Johnson’s 'Christy' and 'The Smashing Machine' both bombed despite their star power. Marketing spend now rivals production costs, yet box office results are increasingly disconnected from spend. A-list names and traditional press tours just don't guarantee anything anymore.
Chalamet's doing something different: Instead of convincing people to care, he's creating ways for people who already care to show it. Surprise screenings get them to physically show up. Merch drops let them wear their fandom. The "leaked" Zoom makes them feel in on the joke. Orange iconography becomes instantly shareable. Each stunt generates earned media that outpaces what paid ads could buy, and every person who participates pulls others in. It's participation over persuasion, and it compounds in ways passive awareness never could.
Looking ahead… 'Marty Supreme' opens in 70mm this week in New York and LA, with nationwide release Christmas Day. The stakes are high for A24: at $60M-$70M, it's their priciest film ever...a period ping-pong biopic opening a week after 'Avatar: Fire and Ash.'
LAST LOOKS
Film Development 🗒️
Helena Bonham Carter is in early talks to star in S4 of HBO’s ‘The White Lotus’, which is expected to be set in France. (more)
Netflix picked up the graphic novel adaptation ‘Torso,’ with Roy Lee and Zach Cregger producing. (more)
Sony Pictures has set Freddie Highmore to star and produce the rom-com ‘Life on Other Planets,’ from ‘Eternity’ writer Pat Cunnane. (more)
Paramount is moving forward with the ‘Paranormal Activity’ relaunch, tapping rising horror filmmaker Ian Tuason to direct the reboot. (more)
Lionsgate sets LaKeith Stanfield to star as Dennis Rodman in ‘48 Hours in Vegas,’ with Rick Famuyiwa directing the road-trip biopic. (more)
Andy Serkis’ ‘Animal Farm’ has been acquired for U.S. theatrical release by Angel, with the animated adaptation set to hit theaters May 1, 2026. (more)
Searchlight Pictures has tapped Taika Waititi to direct a film adaptation of ‘Barn 8,’ with ‘She-Hulk’ creator Jessica Gao writing the script. (more)
AGC Studios adds Sharon Stone, Ed Helms, David Strathairn and Ashley Park to the cast of ‘Babies.’ (more)
TV Development 📺
Business 🤝
Neon has parted ways with longtime chief marketing officer Christian Parkes, the architect of campaigns for ‘Parasite’ and ‘Anora.’ (more)
Other News 🚨
CALL SHEET
📅 The week ahead…
TUESDAY: Oscar shortlists announced 📣
VIDEO VILLAGE
📺 Latest trailers
MARTINI SHOT
🍸 Latest viral moments
That’s all we’ve got for you today. If you're reading this email because a friend forwarded it, make it official and sign up below. 📧👇
See you bright and early on Wednesday!
-The Dailies Team