Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Thursday, October 8, 2026
‘Other Mommy’ Eyes $20M Box Office Win; ‘Social Reckoning’ Tracks Near $8M
Universal and Blumhouse Atomic Monster’s R-rated horror film Other Mommy, starring Jessica Chastain, is eyeing a No. 1 debut around $20M at 3,200 sites this weekend, Deadline reports. Its campaign kicked off July 17 with an in-theater trailer attached to The Odyssey, and the online trailer ran as the pre-roll to Obsession’s Peacock debut, tallying 242M global views. Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning from Sony faces a mid-single-digit opening at 2,200 theaters, perhaps around $8M, with critics at 64% fresh. Amazon MGM’s Verity is expected to decline at least 60% in its second weekend to around $12M.
‘Resident Evil’ Becomes Zach Cregger’s Biggest Film as China Opens
Sony and Constantin’s Resident Evil will become Zach Cregger’s highest-grossing movie by the end of this week, surpassing New Line’s Weapons, which ended its run at $270M worldwide, Deadline reports. The film opened in China on Monday and collected $20M through Tuesday, on course for an expected $35M first week. Its global cume stood at $245.4M through its third weekend, and with China the title will easily pass $280M worldwide. With a Douban score of 7.2, it beat this year’s China openings for horror titles Obsession ($4.8M) and Backrooms ($5.2M). Cregger’s next film is the original sci-fi movie Flood.
Skydance Film Chiefs Inherit Warner Bros. Slate with ‘Barbie 2’ as Top Priority
Skydance Pictures co-chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein are tasked with tuning up the 2027–2029 Warner Bros. theatrical slates, and their first priority is making Barbie 2 a reality with Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Deadline reports. Deadline’s rundown lists finished titles including Clayface (Oct. 23) and Dune: Part Three (Dec. 18), while production on The Batman Part II is paused. At Tuesday’s Day One presser, David Ellison cautioned against “anything that would jeopardize the quality of the marketing campaigns.” Co-CEO Ynon Kreiz said the studios will stay creatively independent while the company choreographs the release schedule by genre and audience demographic.
NYT Games Brings Interactive Play-Along to Movie Theater Pre-Shows in Screenvision Deal
Interactive offerings from The New York Times Games are coming to movie theaters through a partnership with in-theater ad company Screenvision, Variety reports. The pre-show experience will roll out nationwide by Thanksgiving under a deal initially set as a one-year pact, marking the first time NYT Games has brought an interactive play-along experience into theaters. The companies plan to refresh the content regularly, and NYT Games sees the deal as a way to introduce audiences to products such as Bonus Puzzles. Screenvision Media CEO Geoff Schiller called cinema one of the most powerful places for premium content to reach audiences.
Black Bear Books One-Night 4DX Event for ‘Wicker’ After Fan Demand
Black Bear will give Wicker a one-night-only 4DX theatrical event on Oct. 28, a decision the independent studio said was driven by fan demand following the trailer release and the film’s festival run, TheWrap reports. The comedic fable stars Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage and Elizabeth Debicki, and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The 4DX format uses motion-based seating synchronized with more than 21 environmental effects, including wind, water and scents, and has typically been used for action movies. David Spitz, head of U.S. theatrical distribution for Black Bear, said that once the trailer landed, audiences “started asking to experience it in 4DX.”
Hulu Sets ‘All’s Fair’ Season 2 Premiere for Nov. 4, Drops First Trailer
Hulu has set a Nov. 4 premiere for the second season of All’s Fair and released its first trailer, Variety reports. The season debuts with three new episodes, with new episodes dropping on Wednesdays thereafter. The logline promises “another season of scandals, secrets, and stilettos” at the firm of Grant, Ronson & Greene, as new allegiances form and a shocking revelation threatens the firm’s existence. The series stars Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash-Betts, Teyana Taylor, Sarah Paulson and Glenn Close. Guest stars include Denise Richards, Margo Martindale and Bob the Drag Queen. The show was created by Ryan Murphy, Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken.
‘Michael’ Sequel Lands $30.8M in California Tax Credits
Lionsgate’s Michael 2 will receive $30.8 million in state tax incentives, one of 35 films sharing $226 million in the latest round of approvals from the California Film Commission, Variety reports. The original Michael took $21 million in credits before reaping more than $1 billion at the box office. California’s credit now provides 35% of qualified costs, compared to 17.5% for the original. Skydance projects collect $53.7 million in total, including $11.4 million for New Line’s Friday sequel produced by Ice Cube. Disney’s Pixar takes the largest portion this round, $40.1 million for an untitled film. The allocation also funds 28 independent films.
BBC Chief Matt Brittin Courts Netflix, Amazon, Apple and YouTube for ‘Strategic Partnerships’
BBC director general Matt Brittin told staff Wednesday that he has met the “global leadership” of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and YouTube in an effort to forge “strategic partnerships,” Deadline reports. Brittin, a former Google executive, sat down with Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters when he visited London in recent weeks, according to Deadline. Brittin said he wants BBC content to be more “prominent” on Netflix and YouTube, though it is not yet clear how closer collaboration with U.S. streamers could work. The comments come as Reuters reported the BBC and Channel 4 are scoping out a joint-venture deal that could combine UKTV with Channel 4’s advertising operations.
Merzigo Plans $200 Million U.S. Content Push with Former CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon
Digital distributor Merzigo plans to invest $200 million in content in 2027, with the U.S. a major focus, as it targets television libraries that could find new audiences and revenue on YouTube and other digital platforms, TheWrap reports. Former CBS News and Stations CEO Wendy McMahon, now Merzigo’s senior advisor on U.S. media strategy and growth, is helping lead the expansion. The investment spans rights licensing, U.S.-based production and YouTube-first projects. Partners include NBCUniversal, Banijay and David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants. Since Merzigo began operating Steve Harvey’s official YouTube channel in April 2025, watch time has risen 407%, according to company data.
Domestic Box Office Top 20 — Weekend of Oct. 2–4, 2026
Source: Box Office Mojo
| # | Title | Released | Weekend | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verity | Oct 2, 2026 | $32,031,011 | $32,031,011 |
| 2 | Resident Evil | Sep 18, 2026 | $12,618,839 | $125,013,734 |
| 3 | Heart of the Beast | Sep 25, 2026 | $10,876,713 | $38,275,824 |
| 4 | Digger | Oct 2, 2026 | $8,001,856 | $8,001,856 |
| 5 | Primetime | Sep 25, 2026 | $8,000,085 | $34,085,832 |
| 6 | Forgotten Island | Sep 25, 2026 | $7,201,655 | $23,632,855 |
| 7 | Avengers Endgame: Encore (2026 Re-release) | Sep 25, 2026 | $4,471,524 | $36,298,509 |
| 8 | Practical Magic 2 | Sep 11, 2026 | $2,785,993 | $64,827,319 |
| 9 | Drishyam: The Conclusion | Oct 2, 2026 | $2,715,000 | $2,715,000 |
| 10 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | Jul 31, 2026 | $2,501,553 | $954,528,523 |
| 11 | The Odyssey | Jul 17, 2026 | $1,298,085 | $620,461,595 |
| 12 | Coyote vs. Acme | Aug 28, 2026 | $727,165 | $59,849,331 |
| 13 | Daniel and the Fiery Furnace | Sep 18, 2026 | $664,394 | $7,584,825 |
| 14 | Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte | Oct 4, 2026 | $563,400 | $563,400 |
| 15 | Beware Boiúna | Oct 2, 2026 | $550,546 | $550,546 |
| 16 | The History of Concrete | Sep 18, 2026 | $481,144 | $1,252,867 |
| 17 | Rolling Loud | Oct 2, 2026 | $475,019 | $475,019 |
| 18 | The Influencer Project | Oct 2, 2026 | $359,805 | $359,805 |
| 19 | Linkin Park: Unshatter | Sep 30, 2026 | $336,100 | $680,400 |
| 20 | Insidious: Out of the Further | Aug 21, 2026 | $313,766 | $65,762,761 |
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency