Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Super Mario Galaxy Movie Holds No. 1 with $68M in Second Weekend, Crosses $307M Domestic
Universal’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie dominated the domestic box office for a second straight weekend, earning $68.1 million from 4,284 theaters — pushing its 12-day domestic total to $307.2 million and its worldwide haul to $628.8 million, the highest-grossing film of 2026. Amazon MGM’s Project Hail Mary held firm in second with $24.1 million in its fourth weekend, crossing $256.2 million domestically. A24’s dark romance The Drama came third with $8.7 million, lifting its domestic total to $30.8 million. Newcomer You, Me & Tuscany opened at No. 4 with $7.8 million from 3,151 theaters.
Sources: Box Office Mojo
March for Our Lives Condemns A24’s “Deeply Misaligned” Marketing Campaign for The Drama
March for Our Lives publicly condemned A24’s marketing campaign for The Drama, starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, calling it “deeply misaligned with the reality it engages.” The film centres on a bride whose dark secret is that, as a bullied teenager, she had planned a school shooting but did not follow through. A24’s campaign leaned entirely into quirky wedding-themed promotion — including a fake engagement announcement in The Boston Globe and a one-day pop-up wedding chapel in Las Vegas — with no indication the film contained gun violence themes. Tom Mauser, whose son died in the Columbine massacre, called the film’s premise “awful.”
Euphoria Season 3’s Second Trailer Sets HBO Record with 157 Million Views in 48 Hours
HBO’s second trailer for Euphoria Season 3 generated a record 157 million global views within 48 hours of release — the most-watched returning original trailer in HBO and HBO Max history. The figure represents a 57% increase over the first Season 3 trailer, which itself broke the network’s previous benchmark with 100 million views in two days. The campaign, built around Zendaya’s A-list status and a four-year gap between seasons, combines strategic data amplification with Coachella cultural tie-ins. HBO described the approach as a template for maximising the theatrical-scale cultural moment of a prestige drama return in 2026.
Sources: Deadline, Media Play News
Euphoria Season 3 Tops HBO Max Charts But Draws Only 356,000 Linear Cable Viewers at Premiere
Euphoria Season 3 premiered on HBO on April 12 and immediately claimed the No. 1 position on HBO Max’s global streaming charts, pushing The Pitt to second. However, only 356,000 linear cable viewers tuned in live — a strikingly low figure for a series headlined by Jacob Elordi, Zendaya, and Sydney Sweeney. HBO reports that streaming and delayed viewing pushed the total audience well beyond one million. The result illustrates how prestige drama now lives on platform metrics rather than overnight ratings, with traditional cable viewership becoming an unreliable barometer. The show also earned a 44% Tomatometer score from critics at launch.
Sources: Showbiz411, CBR
CinemaCon 2026: Sony Unveils Spider-Man Brand New Day, Jumanji Sequel, and Aaron Sorkin’s Social Network Follow-Up
Sony Pictures opened CinemaCon 2026 in Las Vegas on April 13 with three major reveals for theater owners. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, starring Tom Holland, is confirmed for a July 31, 2026 theatrical release. Jumanji: Open World, reuniting Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart, received an exclusive preview. The most provocative announcement: The Social Reckoning, an Aaron Sorkin-scripted companion film to The Social Network, starring Mikey Madison and Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg. Sony’s aggressive summer slate positions the studio for a major theatrical run, following strong Q1 performance from Scream 7 and GOAT.
Sources: Discussing Film, The Direct
CinemaCon 2026: Warner Bros. Previews Dune Messiah, Clayface, Practical Magic 2, and J.J. Abrams’ Return
Warner Bros. delivered a star-studded CinemaCon 2026 presentation on April 14, unveiling footage from Dune: Part Three (Dune Messiah), a full-body-horror Clayface origin story starring Tom Rhys Harries, and Practical Magic 2 — introduced in person by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. The studio confirmed The Great Beyond, director J.J. Abrams’ first feature since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, starring Glen Powell and Jenna Ortega, for a November 13 release. Evil Dead Burn was also confirmed for July 24, underscoring Warner’s franchise-driven theatrical commitment across the remainder of 2026.
Sources: Discussing Film
Emmy FYC Pop-Up House Era Is Over as Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV+ Pivot to Targeted Digital Campaigns
The era of elaborate Emmy “For Your Consideration” pop-up experiences is effectively finished. Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV+ have all withdrawn from costly physical FYC installations — which ran from $1 million to $5 million each — pivoting instead to targeted boutique events and digital voter outreach. Netflix pioneered the shift last season, opting for scattered Los Angeles screenings over a centralised house, and other major streamers are following suit. Emmy nominations are announced July 8, 2026. Key contenders include The Diplomat, The Pitt, and Pluribus, as studios refine low-overhead, high-precision engagement strategies for the new awards landscape.
Sources: Gold Derby, Yahoo Entertainment
Nearly Half of U.S. Film and TV Productions Now Shot Overseas as Hollywood Offshoring Reaches Historic Highs
A sweeping industry report confirms that 45% of all U.S. film and scripted television productions were shot internationally in 2025 — up from 33% in 2022 — as studios chase aggressive global tax incentives and lower labour costs. Domestic production is down 26% from 2021 levels, with Los Angeles film and TV employment falling 35% from its 2022 peak. The United Kingdom absorbed $6.97 billion in production spend last year, with Marvel Studios now shooting most of its projects there. Studio executives surveyed by ProdPro overwhelmingly say a federal incentive layered atop state credits would “materially increase domestic production activity.”
Sources: Señal News
Michael Jackson Biopic Tracks for $80M–$90M Record-Breaking Opening Weekend on April 24
Antoine Fuqua’s Michael — starring the late artist’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in the title role — is tracking for a domestic opening weekend of $80 million to $90 million when it opens April 24, per internal studio estimates. If confirmed, it would set the record as the biggest music biopic opening in history, surpassing 2015’s Straight Outta Compton ($60.2M). The film also stars Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson and Miles Teller as manager John Branca, and made its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival on April 10. Pre-sales have been described as “extraordinary” by distribution partners.
Sources: Screen Rant, Deadline
Box Office — Currently in Theatres
| # | Title | Release | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Mar 27 | $68.1M | $307.2M |
| 2 | Project Hail Mary | Mar 13 | $24.1M | $256.2M |
| 3 | The Drama | Apr 3 | $8.7M | $30.8M |
| 4 | You, Me & Tuscany | Apr 10 | $7.8M | $7.8M |
| 5 | Hoppers | Feb 27 | $4.2M | $157.2M |
| 6 | BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ LIVE VIEWING | Apr 10 | $2.4M | $2.4M |
| 7 | Faces of Death | Apr 10 | $1.6M | $1.6M |
| 8 | Exit 8 | Apr 10 | $1.4M | $1.4M |
| 9 | A Great Awakening | Apr 3 | $1.3M | $4.9M |
| 10 | Reminders of Him | Mar 6 | $1.0M | $47.5M |
| 11 | Ready or Not 2: Here I Come | Mar 13 | $863K | $22.0M |
| 12 | Beast | Apr 10 | $806K | $806K |
| 13 | Dhurandhar: The Revenge | Mar 13 | $671K | $27.4M |
| 14 | Hunting Matthew Nichols | Apr 10 | $600K | $600K |
| 15 | They Will Kill You | Mar 20 | $531K | $10.4M |
| 16 | Scream 7 | Feb 20 | $456K | $121.5M |
| 17 | GOAT | Feb 6 | $282K | $103.1M |
| 18 | Hamlet | Apr 10 | $185K | $185K |
| 19 | Undertone | Mar 6 | $136K | $19.7M |
| 20 | Palestine 36 | Mar 13 | $101K | $436K |
Source: Box Office Mojo · Weekend ending April 12, 2026 · Estimates
Curated by JD · samwise.agency