Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Monday, October 19, 2026
Street Fighter Opens to $51.1 Million Globally, Short of $70 Million Hopes
Paramount, Legendary and Capcom’s Street Fighter led the worldwide weekend with a $51.1 million global opening, including $20.1 million from 65 markets and $31 million domestic, Deadline reports. The start is lower than expected, as a $70 million worldwide opening was hoped for, though those in the know say the $82 million net production will be fine after all ancillaries. Deadline says it was essentially older fans who showed up. The foreign start is 4% ahead of Mortal Kombat 2, and Imax did $7.7 million globally. The UK led with $3.3 million, while riots curbed moviegoing in France, where it ranked No. 4.
How A24 Built a $15 Million Documentary Opening Without Buying Sports Ads
A24’s three-hour Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything opened to $15 million from 855 theaters with more than 2,000 sellouts, the second-best documentary opening behind 2004’s Fahrenheit 9/11, Deadline reports. The campaign began with a secret world premiere at Telluride, where A24 dropped a teaser as the film screened on Sept. 6. A trailer followed on Sept. 23, which A24 says is its second most viewed ever after Backrooms. A24 made no sports buys; outdoor ads featured Holmes’ eyes while fans spread memes online. Directed by Lance Oppenheim and Nathan Fielder, the film goes wider next weekend.
TikTok Restores Musk Documentary Ad Account, Citing an Error
TikTok has restored the advertising account for Alex Gibney’s documentary Musk, with a spokesperson telling The Verge on Sunday that the account “has been restored after an error,” Deadline reports. Distributor Bleecker Street had been informed of a “permanent suspension” on Friday, and a spokesperson expressed disappointment in the timing given the doc’s premiere weekend. Last month, YouTube, Instagram, Meta, TikTok and X rejected the trailer over depiction of political or election content, with Meta calling its decision an error and reversing it. Producer Nick Shumaker said the platform blocks came as a big surprise “because the trailer is not a political ad.”
Tubi Builds an R.L. Stine Film Universe Around the Town of Redhaven
Tubi is building an interconnected R.L. Stine film universe set in the haunted town of Redhaven, The Hollywood Reporter reports. Tubi’s Vice President of Original Scripted Content Josh Van Houdt says the Stine brand helps bridge the platform’s mixed audience, targeting nostalgic viewers 40-plus along with their kids. A three-picture deal with Front Street Pictures covers Pumpkinhead, Pumpkinhead 2, which debuted Oct. 9, and Afraid of Clowns, which filmmaker Jem Garrard will write and direct. The first Pumpkinhead spent two weeks in the Luminate Top 10. Tubi, with 110 million monthly active users, is also developing The Babysitter, directed by Trevor Calverley.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter
The Devils Grosses $1.64 Million for Clockwork, Whose Biggest Ad Was a $600 Billboard
Clockwork, the Paramount-owned Warner Bros. genre label, debuted its first release this weekend, a re-release of Ken Russell’s 1971 film The Devils, which grossed $1.64 million over three days from 350 theaters after a $750K Friday, Deadline reports. The per-screen average of $4.7K is considered solid, and the film is rated NC-17. Deadline understands that the biggest marketing expense for the movie was a billboard that cost around $600. The release arrived in a weekend Deadline estimates at $107 million overall, up 58% from a year ago and the third best 42nd weekend post Covid, after 2022 and 2021.
IndieWire Asks Whether Street Fighter’s Eclectic Cast Is a Marketing Strategy
IndieWire’s Christian Zilko argues that Paramount’s Street Fighter reboot generated as much hype for its eclectic cast as for its IP, raising the question of whether meme casting could be Hollywood’s next marketing strategy. The ensemble pairs Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji and Jason Momoa with WWE stars Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, comedian Eric Andre and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. Zilko writes that the casting choices are so unique that audiences walk in feeling they will see something new despite the familiar IP. When the piece ran on Oct. 16, the film was tracking to open as high as $70 million globally against an $82 million budget.
Bleecker Street Sold to Pierre Omidyar-Backed Outerlight Entertainment
Indie distributor Bleecker Street is being acquired by Outerlight Entertainment, formerly First Look Entertainment, which is backed by eBay billionaire Pierre Omidyar, The Hollywood Reporter reports. Bleecker will remain under CEO Kent Sanderson and president and CMO Tyler DiNapoli, operating independently from Outerlight’s other assets, which include Topic Studios and Puzzle Pictures. The capital will allow Bleecker to continue its film business and build out its event label, Crosswalk. Recent and upcoming releases include Stop! That! Train!, Victorian Psycho and The Liberation. Bleecker is in theaters with Alex Gibney’s Musk, while Outerlight backs streamer Passionflix, run by Elon Musk’s sister Tosca.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter
Domestic Box Office Top 20
Weekend of October 16–18, 2026 (studio estimates)
| # | Title | Distributor | Weekend | Total | Wk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Street Fighter | Paramount | $31,000,000 | $31,000,000 | 1 |
| 2 | You Can See Everything | A24 | $15,000,000 | $15,000,000 | 1 |
| 3 | Other Mommy | Universal | $8,350,000 | $44,854,440 | 2 |
| 4 | Whalefall | 20th Century | $8,000,000 | $8,000,000 | 1 |
| 5 | Sense and Sensibility | Focus Features | $7,250,000 | $7,250,000 | 1 |
| 6 | Verity | Amazon MGM | $6,212,000 | $66,092,402 | 3 |
| 7 | Resident Evil | Columbia | $5,500,000 | $148,457,955 | 5 |
| 8 | Heart of the Beast | Paramount | $4,830,000 | $58,318,451 | 4 |
| 9 | Jailer 2 | Shloka | $3,260,000 | $3,260,000 | 1 |
| 10 | Forgotten Island | DreamWorks | $2,250,000 | $35,107,265 | 4 |
| 11 | Primetime | A24 | $1,674,273 | $45,337,119 | 4 |
| 12 | The Devils | Warner Bros. | $1,640,000 | $1,640,000 | 1 |
| 13 | The Social Reckoning | Sony | $1,550,000 | $8,282,057 | 2 |
| 14 | Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother | Orion | $1,206,490 | $2,284,361 | 4 |
| 15 | Digger | Warner Bros. | $920,000 | $17,241,958 | 3 |
| 16 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | Sony | $700,000 | $958,290,528 | 12 |
| 17 | The Odyssey | Universal | $550,000 | $624,898,825 | 14 |
| 18 | Crawlers | Roadside Attractions | $468,457 | $468,457 | 1 |
| 19 | Angel and the Badman | Angel | $430,187 | $3,580,982 | 2 |
| 20 | Musk | Bleecker Street | $306,702 | $394,912 | 2 |
Sources: Box Office Mojo
Every newsletter preserved and searchable
Curated by JD · samwise.agency