Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Sunday, April 19, 2026
Marvel Debuts First Full Avengers: Doomsday Trailer at CinemaCon, Keeping It Theater-Exclusive for Now
Marvel Studios unveiled the first full trailer for Avengers: Doomsday at CinemaCon 2026 in Las Vegas, playing it exclusively for theater owners before any public release. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo joined stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth on stage to introduce the footage. The trailer follows a year-long campaign that rolled out four weekly teasers — first in cinemas, then online — spotlighting factions including the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Wakandans, and the Talokanil. Avengers: Doomsday is tracking to be the top-grossing film of 2026, opening December 18 as the culmination of the MCU’s Phase Six rollout.
Sources: Deadline · The Hollywood Reporter
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Trailer Becomes History’s First to Cross 1 Billion Views
Sony Pictures released the first trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day on March 17 and watched it shatter every tracking record: 718.6 million views in 24 hours, surpassing Deadpool & Wolverine’s previous record of 365 million in eight hours, then crossing 1 billion views within a week — the first film trailer in history to do so. Director Destin Daniel Cretton steers the July 31 release, with Tom Holland calling it “the most emotional, most grown-up Spider-Man we’ve ever made.” At CinemaCon, Sony chairman Tom Rothman debuted two new posters and additional footage for what he described as unlike anything the franchise has produced.
Sources: Variety · The Hollywood Reporter
Sony’s Tom Rothman Calls for End to Overlong Theater Pre-Shows, Pushes for Cheaper Tickets
Sony Pictures chairman and CEO Tom Rothman delivered a pointed challenge to theater owners at CinemaCon 2026, urging them to eliminate lengthy pre-show advertising blocs that can run up to 30 minutes before a film begins. “Get off the ad crack,” Rothman told exhibitors, warning that frequent moviegoers now arrive late to avoid the onslaught, making promotional content meaningless. Rothman also called for affordable ticket pricing and reinvestment in theater facilities. The remarks came alongside Sony’s presentation of its 2026–27 slate, led by Spider-Man: Brand New Day and a Bloodborne adaptation, with Rothman pressing for longer exclusivity windows between theatrical and streaming releases.
Super Mario Galaxy Movie Leads Slow Weekend at $30M as Lee Cronin’s The Mummy Opens Below Forecast
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie topped the weekend box office for the third consecutive week with $30 million, lifting its domestic cumulative to $321 million and tracking toward a $700 million worldwide total. In second, Project Hail Mary added $18.5 million in its sixth frame as Amazon MGM Studios’ highest-grossing release ever. The weekend’s most-anticipated newcomer, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, launched to a below-forecast $13 million from 3,304 theaters. Industry observers characterized the quiet pre-Michael weekend mood as marking time: Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic opens next Friday, April 24, and is tracking for a record-breaking debut.
Sources: Deadline
Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson Biopic Tracking to Shatter Music Biopic Box Office Records
Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic Michael is tracking for a domestic opening weekend north of $55 million, a figure that would shatter the previous music biopic record set by Bohemian Rhapsody ($51 million in 2018) and surpass Straight Outta Compton’s $60 million. The film, which stars Jaafar Jackson as his father, opens April 24 after a marketing campaign that began with a teaser earning 116.2 million global views in 24 hours — Lionsgate’s biggest trailer debut ever. The studio leveraged Grammy Awards ad buys and a multi-platform rollout to build momentum; the film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on April 10.
Sources: Deadline
A24’s Campaign for The Drama Praised as Masterclass in Concealing a Controversial Twist
A24’s marketing campaign for The Drama — the Zendaya and Robert Pattinson romantic thriller directed by Kristoffer Borgli — drew fresh industry analysis this week as the film crossed $82 million worldwide in its third weekend. The studio deliberately withheld the film’s dark central twist from all campaign materials, hinting at it obliquely in late-stage one-sheets that showed Pattinson battered rather than beaming. The strategy generated controversy but also sustained curiosity: 80 percent of the audience was under 35, with 70 percent citing Zendaya or Pattinson as their primary reason for attending. Critics debate whether concealing the plot constitutes a marketing masterclass or a breach of audience trust.
Sources: Variety
A24’s Mother Mary Launches in Limited Release With Wide Expansion Set for April 24
A24’s Mother Mary, director David Lowery’s psychological horror-pop-music hybrid starring Anne Hathaway, opened in limited release on April 17 before a planned wide expansion on April 24. Hathaway’s character — a pop superstar navigating a surreal descent — was shaped partly by Taylor Swift’s Reputation stadium tour. The film features original songs by Jack Antonoff, Charli XCX, and FKA Twigs, who also appears as a spirit medium. A24’s campaign has leaned into the Taylor Swift connection to drive earned media, with Hathaway’s interviews generating substantial social reach. The studio is targeting a summer HBO Max debut following theatrical and premium VOD windows.
Sources: NME · The Hollywood Reporter
Hollywood Reporter Deep-Dive Reveals the Meta Marketing Machine Behind Marvel’s Wonder Man
A new Hollywood Reporter feature dissects the innovative marketing campaign behind Marvel’s Wonder Man, which launched on Disney+ in January to top rankings across 69 countries. The campaign included a fake Hollywood Reporter cover used as the first poster — approved by THR itself — an in-character announcement on the Discussing Film X account that earned more than 2 million views, and a Starline Tours bus itinerary of filming locations used to bring influencers to the Hollywood premiere. Marvel also launched a text-message acting-tips campaign via 805-8-TREVOR, with Ben Kingsley recording weeks of in-character content as Trevor Slattery. Wonder Man has since been renewed for a second season.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter
Variety Entertainment Marketing Summit Locks In Warner Bros., Apple, and NBCU Leaders for April 22
Variety’s 2026 Entertainment Marketing Summit, presented by Deloitte, takes place April 22 in Los Angeles at The Beverly Hilton. The day-long program features keynote conversations with Pam Abdy, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chair and CEO, and Tina Knowles, alongside panels including NBCU Television Chairman Pearlena Igbokwe and Apple VP of Music, TV, Sports, and Podcasts Oliver Schusser. Additional speakers include Ariana Madix, Warner Records EVP Dalia Ganz, LA28 CMO Alex Merchan, and makeup entrepreneur Patrick Ta. Sessions cover experiential marketing strategy, the creator economy, and AI integration in advertising — reflecting the industry’s accelerating shift toward data-driven campaign production.
Box Office — Currently in Theatres
| # | Title | Release | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Mar 27 | $30.0M | $321.2M |
| 2 | Project Hail Mary | Mar 13 | $18.5M | $299.8M |
| 3 | Lee Cronin’s The Mummy | Apr 18 | $13.0M | $13.0M |
| 4 | The Drama | Apr 3 | $4.7M | $37.5M |
| 5 | You, Me & Tuscany | Apr 10 | $3.6M | $14.1M |
| 6 | Normal | Apr 18 | $2.6M | $2.6M |
| 7 | Hoppers | Mar 6 | $2.6M | $157.0M |
| 8 | Busboys | Apr 18 | $1.8M | $1.8M |
| 9 | Faces of Death | Apr 10 | $1.7M | $5.6M |
| 10 | They Will Kill You | Mar 27 | $1.1M | $9.7M |
| 11 | A Great Awakening | Apr 10 | $1.3M | $4.9M |
| 12 | Bhooth Bangla | Apr 17 | $0.8M | $0.8M |
| 13 | Mother Mary | Apr 17 | $0.8M | $0.8M |
| 14 | 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank | Apr 17 | $0.7M | $0.7M |
| 15 | Exit 8 | Apr 3 | $0.6M | $4.4M |
| 16 | Ready or Not 2: Here I Come | Mar 20 | $0.5M | $23.0M |
| 17 | Stand by Me (40th Anniversary) | Apr 11 | $0.4M | $0.9M |
| 18 | Lorne Michaels Documentary | Apr 18 | $0.3M | $0.3M |
| 19 | The Mummy Returns (25th Anniversary) | Apr 11 | $0.3M | $0.6M |
| 20 | Ash (MUBI rerelease) | Apr 10 | $0.2M | $0.4M |
Source: Box Office Mojo · Weekend estimates · Positions 17–20 include rerelease tracking data
Curated by JD · samwise.agency