Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Saturday, July 4, 2026
Minions & Monsters Posts $63.5M Five-Day Opening, Franchise’s Lowest Holiday Start
Minions & Monsters opened to a five-day domestic total of $63.5 million over the July 4 holiday weekend — the lowest three-day and five-day debut in the Despicable Me/Minions franchise. The Illumination/Universal animated film, which cost $85 million to produce before marketing, launched at 4,243 theaters, posting a three-day figure of $38.5 million. Despite missing the $80 million target, the studio cleared at least $101 million worldwide when combining international markets. Pre-release social media reach hit 793 million across TikTok, YouTube, X, Facebook and Instagram — 31% ahead of comparable animated titles — though that lead failed to translate to ticket sales on a holiday Saturday.
Sources: Deadline Deadline (Global) Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Supergirl Faces 60% Second-Weekend Drop as DC Studios Counts a $100M+ Loss
Supergirl is tracking for a steep 60% drop in its second weekend, projecting roughly $15 million — a punishing follow-up to its $37.1 million domestic opening. Warner Bros. and DC Studios spent an estimated $170 million to produce and $120 million to market the film, yet 59% of opening-weekend audiences were male, suggesting the target Gen Z female demographic did not show up. The film earned a B− CinemaScore, compounding the poor outlook. DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran called the result “one component of a broader, long-term strategy,” while analysts note the superhero marketing playbook needs recalibration for characters below Batman and Superman in audience recognition.
Project Hail Mary Lands on Prime Video After $683M Worldwide and 105-Day Theatrical Window
Project Hail Mary made its streaming debut on Prime Video on July 3, arriving 105 days after its theatrical release — one of the year’s longer studio windows. The Amazon MGM Studios sci-fi film had already grossed $683 million worldwide, ranking among 2026’s top theatrical performers. Ryan Gosling stars as astronaut Ryland Grace on a solo mission to save Earth, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from a screenplay by Drew Goddard. The extended window reflects a deliberate strategy to maximize theater revenue before transitioning the film to streaming, where it will reach Prime subscribers for the first time alongside its earlier arrival on MGM+.
Young Washington Opens to $16-17M, Angel Studios Deploys Holiday Patriotism Playbook
Young Washington, Angel Studios’ PG-13 historical biopic, opened to an estimated $16–17 million at 2,700 theaters over the July 4 weekend — ahead of its $15 million projection. Timed to the U.S. 250th anniversary, the film follows British actor William Franklyn-Miller as the young George Washington, directed by Jon Erwin. Critics gave it 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences awarded a 92% approval rating. The strong audience response mirrors Angel Studios’ successful Sound of Freedom strategy from three years ago, which also debuted over the same holiday frame. A preorder ticket campaign launched months earlier was central to building pre-release momentum.
Studios Race for Viral Horror IP: Warner Bros. Wins Siren Head, Spielberg Takes Mandela Catalogue
Two competitive studio auctions concluded this week, reflecting Hollywood’s intensifying appetite for internet-born horror franchises. Warner Bros. won a five-way bidding war for Siren Head — viral artist Trevor Henderson’s skeletal creature with sirens for a head — with Brian Duffield set to direct from a script co-written with Zach Cregger; rights landed in the low seven figures. Separately, Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and United Artists/Amazon MGM triumphed in an 11-studio auction for The Mandela Catalogue, the YouTube horror anthology with over 100 million views, with creator Alex Kister attached to direct. Both deals follow the commercial success of internet-origin theatrical hits Backrooms and Obsession.
Sources: Deadline (Siren Head) Deadline (Mandela Catalogue) Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Heat 2 Is Official: DiCaprio and Bale Confirmed as Michael Mann’s Sequel Heads to November
Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale are officially signed for Michael Mann’s long-anticipated crime sequel Heat 2, with production slated to begin in November 2026. DiCaprio will play Chris Shiherlis, the role originated by Val Kilmer in the 1995 original, while Bale steps into the Vincent Hanna character first portrayed by Al Pacino. Backed by Amazon MGM Studios and United Artists, the sequel carries a $170 million budget, partially offset by nearly $40 million in California tax credits. The film serves as both prequel and sequel, spanning events before and after the original story, adapted from Mann’s 2022 novel co-written with Meg Gardiner.
Obsession Hits Digital as Curry Barker Announces Follow-Up Anything But Ghosts at Blumhouse
Obsession, Focus Features’ breakout horror thriller and one of 2026’s most unexpected box office successes, is now available to buy and rent on digital platforms including Prime Video and Apple TV, priced at $24.99 to purchase and $19.99 to rent. A physical Blu-ray and 4K UHD release follows July 14. Director Curry Barker has simultaneously announced his follow-up, Anything But Ghosts, set up at Focus Features and Blumhouse Atomic Monster alongside actor-partner Cooper Tomlinson. Barker described the approach as “staying scrappy,” despite Obsession amassing over $233 million cumulatively in domestic theaters across seven weeks of release.
Box Office — Currently in Theatres
| # | Title | Release Date | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toy Story 5 | Jun 19 | $70.8M | $298.1M |
| 2 | Supergirl | Jun 27 | $37.1M | $37.1M |
| 3 | Obsession | May 15 | $9.7M | $233.8M |
| 4 | Jackass: Best and Last | Jun 27 | $8.5M | $8.5M |
| 5 | Disclosure Day | Jun 12 | $8.3M | $94.5M |
| 6 | Backrooms | May 29 | $4.4M | $184.3M |
| 7 | Scary Movie | Jun 5 | $3.1M | $103.6M |
| 8 | Masters of the Universe | Jun 5 | $2.3M | $62.0M |
| 9 | BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War — The Calamity | Jun 27 | $2.2M | $3.2M |
| 10 | Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu | May 22 | $1.8M | $175.4M |
| 11 | Leviticus | Jun 19 | $1.0M | $5.4M |
| 12 | Michael | Apr 24 | $0.9M | $370.2M |
| 13 | Lucky Strike | Jun 27 | $0.8M | $0.8M |
| 14 | The Death of Robin Hood | Jun 19 | $0.6M | $4.8M |
| 15 | The Sheep Detectives | May 1 | $0.5M | $65.6M |
| 16 | The Breadwinner | May 29 | $0.5M | $20.1M |
| 17 | The Invite | Jun 27 | $0.4M | $0.4M |
| 18 | Girls Like Girls | Jun 19 | $0.3M | $2.5M |
| 19 | The Devil Wears Prada 2 | May 1 | $0.3M | $220.0M |
| 20 | The Furious | Jun 12 | $0.3M | $6.1M |
Source: Box Office Mojo · Weekend of June 26–28, 2026 (July 4 weekend estimates pending)
Curated by JD · samwise.agency