Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Sunday, June 21, 2026
Toy Story 5 Eyes Franchise Record With $165 Million Domestic Opening
Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5 claimed Friday’s domestic box office crown with $71 million from 4,425 North American theaters, propelling the franchise sequel toward a record-smashing $165 million opening weekend. That figure represents the biggest domestic launch of 2026 and the second-highest animated opening ever recorded, trailing only Incredibles 2’s $182.6 million debut in 2018. Globally, the film collected $129 million from overseas markets on opening day, pushing the worldwide bow toward $275 million. The weekend eclipses the franchise’s previous domestic record of $120 million, set by Toy Story 4.
Sources: Deadline, Deadline (Global), Variety
Obsession Crosses $300 Million Worldwide; Backrooms Overtakes Mandalorian and Grogu
Horror breakout Obsession crossed $300 million worldwide this week, cementing its position as Focus Features’ highest-grossing release of all time. Writer-director Curry Barker’s debut feature, shot for just $750,000, has strung together four consecutive weekends larger than its own $17 million opening weekend—a rare Hollywood feat. In a parallel milestone, A24’s Backrooms overtook Disney’s Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu at the domestic cumulative, a milestone for Kane Parsons’ also-micro-budget horror debut. The twin milestones cap a summer in which genre films have consistently outperformed expensive franchise tentpoles.
Sources: Deadline
Focus Features Plans Full-Court Oscar Campaign for Horror Breakout Obsession
Focus Features is planning a full-court Oscar campaign for director Curry Barker’s horror breakthrough Obsession, with studio sources telling Variety the campaign is in active development. The film’s case rests on multiple pillars: a once-in-a-generation origin story from a YouTube creator who made the film for $750,000, and a breakout performance by Inde Navarrette. Horror took a victory lap at the 98th Academy Awards, winning eight prizes—the most in the genre’s history at a single ceremony—but the Obsession campaign still faces an uphill battle, with industry skepticism toward box office hits and YouTube-born directors unlikely to subside easily.
Sources: Variety
Scary Movie Reboot’s International Breakdown Reveals Scale of Franchise Comeback
Scary Movie, the comedy reboot from Paramount and Miramax, has crossed $173 million globally in three weeks of release, with a breakdown of its international run revealing the extent of the franchise’s resurgence. The opening weekend overseas haul of $50.5 million across 53 territories was 75 percent above the franchise’s previous international opening record, set by Scary Movie 3 in 2003. The reboot, reuniting original creators Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans for the first time since Scary Movie 2, is tracking toward a final global run of $210–$220 million.
Sources: Variety
Robin Hood and Leviticus Post Modest Opens Against Toy Story 5
Two films attempting to carve out adult audiences against Toy Story 5’s dominant opening posted modest debut numbers this weekend. A24’s The Death of Robin Hood, directed by Michael Sarnoski and starring Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer in a revisionist take on the outlaw legend, opened to an estimated $2.5 million domestically with a C+ CinemaScore and a 38 percent definite recommend from audiences. Neon’s Sundance acquisition Leviticus, a supernatural horror film about conversion therapy, launched to an estimated $3 million in 1,076 theaters, drawing 79 percent of its audience from the 18–34 demographic.
Sources: Variety
Brands Embrace Vertical Microdramas as Cannes Lions Opens
Brands are pouring into short-form vertical video series as Cannes Lions gets underway in France this week, with a microseries costing between $100,000 and $300,000 for 60 episodes—a fraction of a Super Bowl ad budget. Range Media Partners announced a partnership with Google’s 100 Zeros to produce a fall 2026 slate of microdramas, with projects from The Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss and American Idol creator Simon Fuller already in development. P&G has debuted “The Golden Pear Affair,” a 50-episode microsoap, illustrating how brands can use integrated storytelling to replace traditional ad buys.
Sources: Variety
Box Office — Currently in Theatres
| # | Title | Release Date | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toy Story 5 | Jun 19 | $165.0M | $165.0M |
| 2 | Disclosure Day | Jun 12 | $17.2M | $78.4M |
| 3 | Obsession | May 15 | $14.0M | $215.0M |
| 4 | Backrooms | May 22 | $7.4M | $183.0M |
| 5 | Scary Movie | Jun 5 | $6.6M | $97.0M |
| 6 | Masters of the Universe | Jun 5 | $4.5M | $64.0M |
| 7 | Leviticus | Jun 19 | $3.0M | $3.0M |
| 8 | Star Wars: Mandalorian and Grogu | May 22 | $3.0M | $172.0M |
| 9 | The Death of Robin Hood | Jun 19 | $2.5M | $2.5M |
| 10 | Michael | Apr 3 | $2.0M | $481.0M |
| 11 | 28 Years Later: Bone Temple | May 29 | $1.2M | $35.0M |
| 12 | The Amazing Digital Circus | Jun 13 | $0.9M | $13.6M |
| 13 | The Furious | May 30 | $0.6M | $22.0M |
| 14 | Stop! That! Train! | Jun 6 | $0.5M | $9.0M |
| 15 | Maddie’s Secret | Jun 19 | $0.4M | $0.4M |
| 16 | Rose of Nevada | Jun 19 | $0.3M | $0.3M |
| 17 | The Third Man (Rerelease) | Jun 13 | $0.3M | $1.5M |
| 18 | Avatar: Fire and Ash | Dec 19 | $0.2M | $309.0M |
| 19 | Marty Supreme | Jan 16 | $0.1M | $112.0M |
| 20 | The Housemaid | Dec 25 | $0.1M | $118.0M |
Source: Box Office Mojo · Weekend estimates (Sunday Jun 21, 2026) · Positions 11–20 based on prior-weekend tracking
Curated by JD · samwise.agency