Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Monday, September 14, 2026
Practical Magic 2 Opens #1, Ending Spider-Man's Six-Week Streak
Warner Bros.’ long-awaited sequel Practical Magic 2 conjured $30 million in its domestic opening weekend, dethroning Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day after a record six consecutive weeks at number one. Playing across 4,146 screens, the film stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reprising their roles from the 1998 original. The opening, while described by some outlets as below expectations, marks the beginning of the fall theatrical season and signals that original IP from the 1990s still commands significant audience goodwill. Spider-Man’s $935.1 million domestic cumulative total remains within striking distance of the all-time domestic record.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day's $309M Marketing Campaign Breaks Hollywood Record
Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day mounted what industry tracking firms confirm is the largest marketing campaign in Hollywood history, spending $309 million across paid media, promotional partnerships, and experiential activations over the course of its rollout. The investment paid off: the film has grossed over $935 million domestically and more than $2.4 billion worldwide, cementing its status as the highest-grossing Spider-Man film ever. The campaign’s scale reflects studios’ escalating willingness to bet big on franchise IP, treating marketing not as a cost center but as a key revenue multiplier for global tentpole releases.
The Odyssey Becomes Universal's All-Time Highest-Grossing Release
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has officially become Universal Pictures’ highest-grossing film of all time at the domestic box office, surpassing its previous record-holder in its ninth weekend of release. The epic adaptation held an extraordinary -43% drop last weekend—its best hold yet—and now stands at over $600.5 million domestically with the global total continuing to climb. The film’s marketing campaign emphasized scale, spectacle, and prestige, leaning on Nolan’s brand as a draw independent of franchise IP. The milestone underscores how original, auteur-driven studio films can still achieve blockbuster results when matched with the right marketing approach.
Clayface Marketing Ramp-Up: New Promo Art Signals Second Trailer Ahead
DC Studios has begun a calculated marketing escalation for its upcoming Clayface feature, releasing a wave of new character promo art that industry watchers interpret as a precursor to a second full theatrical trailer. The campaign follows the established playbook for DC’s post-Superman slate rollout, using character reveals and visual asset drops to maintain audience engagement between major trailer events. With Clayface positioned as a key title in DC Studios’ expanded universe strategy, the ramp-up signals the studio’s confidence in the property and suggests a major trailer release in the coming weeks ahead of an anticipated theatrical window.
Sources: Comic Basics
78th Emmy Awards: Streaming Platforms Dominate as Original Concepts Peak
Tonight’s 78th Emmy Awards ceremony arrives as a landmark for the streaming era, with Netflix, HBO, and Apple TV+ collectively dominating the nomination landscape in a year analysts describe as the high-water mark for prestige original content. Industry trackers note that broadcast network nominations have declined to historic lows as streaming original series have claimed the majority of drama, comedy, and limited series slots. The shift carries direct implications for marketing executives, as streaming platform promotional budgets are increasingly measured against subscriber retention metrics rather than traditional ratings. Winners will be announced tonight at 8 PM ET from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Hope's US Expansion Marks Widest Korean Theatrical Release Since Parasite
Neon’s Korean-language acquisition Hope opened in 1,560 US locations this weekend, representing the widest domestic theatrical release for a Korean-language film since Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite swept the 2020 Academy Awards and reshaped how American distributors approach foreign-language cinema. The film earned $3.3 million in its opening US frame, a performance Neon is treating as proof of concept for wider Korean theatrical distribution. The campaign relied on film festival word-of-mouth and critical acclaim rather than traditional paid media, suggesting that prestige positioning remains a viable acquisition-to-theatrical strategy for non-English language films in 2026.
Runner Opens Soft Despite Strong Audience Score for Angel Studios
Angel Studios’ action thriller Runner debuted to a modest $6.43 million from 2,568 screens despite earning a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes—a disconnect raising questions about the studio’s theatrical marketing effectiveness. The performance trails expectations for an Angel Studios release, particularly given the studio’s history of leveraging faith-based and community-driven campaigns to outperform tracking estimates. Industry analysts note that the studio’s grassroots marketing model—which relies heavily on fan evangelism and direct-to-audience engagement—may be encountering a ceiling as its core audience grows increasingly familiar with the approach and traditional mass-market awareness remains limited.
Box Office Top 20 — Weekend of September 12–13, 2026
Source: The Numbers · Total weekend: $81.6M · 27 films reporting
| # | Title | Weekend | Chg | Screens | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Practical Magic 2 | $30.0M | NEW | 4,146 | $30.0M |
| 2 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | $8.4M | -54% | 3,303 | $935.2M |
| 3 | The Odyssey | $7.4M | -43% | 1,983 | $600.5M |
| 4 | Runner | $6.43M | NEW | 2,568 | $6.43M |
| 5 | Coyote vs. Acme | $6.24M | -48% | 3,355 | $47.8M |
| 6 | Buddy | $3.52M | -39% | 1,720 | $21.3M |
| 7 | Insidious: Out of the Further | $3.35M | -49% | 2,353 | $60.5M |
| 8 | Hope | $3.32M | NEW | 1,560 | $5.0M |
| 9 | The Uprising | $3.25M | NEW | 2,068 | $3.25M |
| 10 | By Any Means | $2.50M | -67% | 2,903 | $13.5M |
| 11 | Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger | $1.43M | NEW | 1,225 | $1.43M |
| 12 | Cars (2006 Re-release) | $1.20M | -81% | 2,500 | $254.5M |
| 13 | PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie | $1.15M | -65% | 1,606 | $51.4M |
| 14 | The End of Oak Street | $1.13M | -64% | 1,253 | $53.4M |
| 15 | Fall 2: Deadpoint | $600K | -74% | 1,024 | $4.6M |
| 16 | Tony | $496K | -57% | 380 | $14.7M |
| 17 | Akira (1988 Re-release) | $300K | -89% | 629 | $4.3M |
| 18 | The Dog Stars | $289K | -90% | 1,030 | $14.8M |
| 19 | Onslaught | $268K | -86% | 1,252 | $3.0M |
| 20 | Toy Story 5 | $104K | -86% | 200 | $480.2M |
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency