Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Monday, June 22, 2026
Toy Story 5 Shatters Franchise Record With $160 Million Domestic Opening
Pixar’s Toy Story 5 debuted to a franchise-best $160 million domestically during the June 19–22 weekend, landing the biggest opening of 2026 and ranking as the second-largest animated debut in history behind 2018’s Incredibles 2 ($182.7 million). Released across 4,425 North American theaters, the sequel topped the prior franchise record set by Toy Story 4’s $120.9 million launch in 2019. Internationally, the film pulled $152 million for a global opening of $312 million — the second-best Pixar worldwide debut ever. Audiences awarded it an A CinemaScore. Walt Disney released the PG-rated adventure on the Father’s Day holiday weekend.
Sources: Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter
Disney-Pixar Mobilizes $200 Million in Partnership Value for Toy Story 5 Launch
Disney’s campaign for Toy Story 5 assembled the largest promotional partnerships in franchise history, with a total estimated media value of $200 million — surpassing the campaigns for Inside Out 2 and Zootopia 2. A Taylor Swift song tie-in saw “I Knew It, I Know You” debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 before opening weekend, thrusting the film into the broader cultural conversation. Demographic data showed 26% of opening-weekend ticket buyers were women under 25. The film carries a $250 million production budget, making a record-level opening essential to the campaign’s commercial mandate.
Sources: Deadline, Deadline Global
Obsession Crosses $215M Domestic, Backrooms Tops $300M Global Amid Toy Story 5 Debut
Obsession, the Focus Features horror thriller, surpassed $215 million in cumulative domestic grosses in its sixth weekend of release, per weekend box office estimates. Meanwhile, A24’s Backrooms crossed $300 million at the global box office, reaching $301 million worldwide including $175.1 million domestically. Backrooms debuted in May to a record A24 domestic opening of $81 million, per Deadline. Obsession opened to $17.2 million and has remained in the domestic top five through six consecutive weekends. Both milestones were reached on the same weekend Toy Story 5 claimed the year’s biggest domestic opening at $160 million.
A24 and Neon New Releases Struggle Under Toy Story 5’s Record Shadow
With Toy Story 5 dominating the June 19–22 weekend, two new wide releases fell short of already-modest expectations. A24’s The Death of Robin Hood, a violent revisionist take on the classic legend starring Hugh Jackman, opened to $2.65 million from 1,762 screens. Neon’s Leviticus, a festival breakout, collected $2.74 million from 1,076 locations on its wide debut. Both films had been tracking toward $3 to $4 million ahead of the weekend, per Variety. Both opened below tracking on a weekend when Toy Story 5’s record $160 million launch left limited oxygen for smaller releases.
Sources: Variety
Verizon Reunites Austin Powers and Ugly Betty Casts to Launch New Simplicity Plan Campaign
Verizon launched two simultaneous entertainment-driven advertising campaigns this week to promote its new “Simplicity Plan.” The first reunites Mike Myers in character as Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers film franchise. The second features the cast of the original Spanish-language telenovela “Yo Soy Betty, la Fea,” the source material for Ugly Betty. Both the “Menace Mobile” and “Betty la fea” campaigns launched on the same day, per Variety. The simultaneous rollout of two heritage-IP campaigns for a single product reflects Verizon’s strategy of leveraging recognizable entertainment characters to market a new mobile plan.
Sources: Variety
WIF and ReFrame Release 2026 Emmy “Who to Watch” FYC Guide as Voting Opens
Women in Film and ReFrame, an industry initiative promoting gender parity in entertainment, released their annual “Who to Watch” FYC guide this week as Emmy nomination voting gets underway. The guide serves as a curated resource for industry voters, spotlighting talent the organizations believe deserves Emmy consideration. Nominations will be announced on July 8, 2026, after the TV Academy reversed an earlier plan to split the announcement across two days. This year’s Emmy season drew 555 program submissions, a 7.5% decline from the prior year, spanning all Emmy categories.
Sources: Variety, Variety (Emmy Submissions)
Box Office — Currently in Theatres
| # | Title | Release Date | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toy Story 5 | Jun 19 | $160.0M | $160.0M |
| 2 | Disclosure Day | Jun 12 | $20.0M* | $64.5M* |
| 3 | Obsession | May 8 | $14.0M* | $215.0M* |
| 4 | Backrooms | May 8 | $7.3M* | $175.1M |
| 5 | Scary Movie | Jun 6 | $6.7M* | $93.0M* |
| 6 | Masters of the Universe | Jun 6 | $3.5M* | $50.5M* |
| 7 | The Death of Robin Hood | Jun 19 | $2.65M* | $2.65M* |
| 8 | Leviticus | Jun 19 | $2.74M* | $2.74M* |
| 9 | Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu | May 22 | $2.5M* | $170.0M* |
| 10 | Michael | Apr 26 | $2.3M* | $365.0M* |
| 11 | BTS World Tour Arirang: Live Viewing | May 9 | $1.5M* | $7.7M* |
| 12 | The Furious | Jun 12 | $1.4M* | $4.2M* |
| 13 | Stop! That! Train! | Jun 12 | $1.0M* | $3.0M* |
| 14 | The Sheep Detectives | May 15 | $0.9M* | $63.3M* |
| 15 | The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act | Jun 6 | $0.75M* | $25.7M* |
| 16 | The Devil Wears Prada 2 | May 8 | $0.70M* | $218.6M* |
| 17 | The Breadwinner | May 26 | $0.65M* | $18.2M* |
| 18 | Pressure | May 26 | $0.55M* | $14.6M* |
| 19 | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Apr 1 | $0.30M* | $430.0M* |
| 20 | Project Hail Mary | Mar 27 | $0.19M* | $344.0M* |
Source: Box Office Mojo · The Numbers · Weekend estimates June 19–22, 2026 (* = estimate)
Curated by JD · samwise.agency