Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Monday, April 20, 2026
Super Mario Galaxy Movie Tops Box Office for Third Straight Weekend With $35 Million
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie held firm at No. 1 for a third consecutive weekend, earning $35 million in North America and pushing its domestic total to $355.2 million. The Illumination and Nintendo animated sequel — distributed by Universal — has now crossed $747.5 million worldwide, propelling the Illumination-Nintendo franchise past the $2 billion global mark. The weekend saw a healthy 49 percent hold despite the debut of two new wide releases. Project Hail Mary retained second place with $20.4 million in its fifth weekend, extending its domestic run to $285.1 million. April is shaping up as the box office’s strongest month since the pandemic recovery.
Lee Cronin's The Mummy Opens to $13.5 Million, Trailing Project Hail Mary at No. 2
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, the Warner Bros. and Blumhouse horror reboot, debuted in third place with $13.5 million from North American theaters — falling short of forecasts in the mid-to-high teens. The film earned a tepid CinemaScore of C+ and carries a modest $22 million production budget, meaning the studio can still break even with ancillary revenue. The Mummy earned $5.2 million on Friday and $5 million on Saturday. Project Hail Mary, Amazon MGM’s adaptation of the Andy Weir novel, held at No. 2 with $20.4 million, a soft 15 percent drop in its fifth frame.
Lionsgate's Michael Biopic Launches April 24 After Record-Breaking Trailer Campaign
Lionsgate’s Michael, director Antoine Fuqua’s biopic of Michael Jackson, opens in theaters and IMAX on April 24 following one of the most aggressive marketing campaigns in music biopic history. The initial teaser accumulated 116.2 million views in 24 hours — setting an all-time record for the genre, according to WaveMetrix. The studio deployed a Grammy Awards TV spot to announce the full trailer launch, continuing a months-long digital and outdoor blitz. Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s nephew, stars in his debut lead performance alongside Miles Teller as attorney John Branca and Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson. Tracking suggests a strong opening above $50 million.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline
Disney Cuts 1,000 Jobs in Marketing, Awards and Publicity Under New CEO Josh D'Amaro
Disney began its largest single wave of layoffs in years, cutting approximately 1,000 employees across marketing, publicity, and awards departments spanning Disney, Marvel, FX, Hulu, and ABC News. The cuts mark the first major restructuring under new CEO Josh D’Amaro, who replaced Bob Iger in March and has moved to consolidate all marketing under Asad Ayaz as chief marketing and brand officer. Among those let go: entire home entertainment PR teams and SVP of Global Digital Marketing Dustin Sandoval. D’Amaro said in a company-wide memo: “I know this is hard.” The layoffs come as Disney prepares a major summer and holiday slate.
Spielberg Unveils Disclosure Day Trailer at CinemaCon, Withholds Entire Third Act From Marketing
Steven Spielberg appeared at CinemaCon in Las Vegas for the first time to debut a new trailer for Disclosure Day, his UFO/UAP thriller opening June 12 from Universal. The director revealed he persuaded Universal to exclude the film’s entire third act from all marketing — a discipline he called the standard that “should be the law for all movie marketing.” The trailer features Emily Blunt as a weather reporter entangled in a government cover-up, alongside Josh O’Connor and Colin Firth. Spielberg also warned studios that over-reliance on franchises threatened audience interest: “If all we make is known, branded IP, we’re going to run out of gas.”
Avengers: Doomsday Drops First Full Trailer at CinemaCon, Revealing X-Men and Doctor Doom
Marvel Studios unveiled the first full-length trailer for Avengers: Doomsday at CinemaCon, with directors Joe and Anthony Russo and stars Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans on stage. The footage opens on Downey’s armored Doctor Doom before widening into a multiversal ensemble featuring the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and returning Avengers. Highlights include Thor losing Mjolnir to Doom’s bare hands and a Florence Pugh versus Florence Pugh fight as Mystique morphs. The film had previously released only four brief character-focused teasers. Avengers: Doomsday is set to open December 18, alongside Dune: Part Three, for what is expected to be the biggest box office weekend in years.
Sources: Variety
Sony's Tom Rothman Tells Theater Owners to Cut Pre-Show Ads: 'Get Off the Ad Crack'
Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman delivered a pointed message to cinema operators at CinemaCon: stop the pre-show advertising overload. Rothman urged exhibitors to “get off the ad crack” and dramatically shorten the 30-minute pre-roll of trailers and commercials that precedes most features. His argument: frequent moviegoers now deliberately arrive a half-hour late, meaning studios’ own trailer investments are wasted. Rothman called trailers “enticements gone to waste” when audiences never see them. The comments came during Sony’s CinemaCon presentation, where the studio also unveiled footage for Spider-Man: Brand New Day (July 31) and the Zach Cregger-directed Resident Evil reboot (September 18).
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter
Variety Entertainment Marketing Summit Convenes April 22 With Pam Abdy, Tina Knowles on AI and Experiential
Variety’s Entertainment Marketing Summit, presented by Deloitte, convenes in Los Angeles on April 22 with a program centered on AI-driven innovation, experiential marketing, and the creator economy. Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chair Pam Abdy will keynote alongside designer and philanthropist Tina Knowles, with Abdy addressing Warner Bros.’ exceptional awards year following Best Picture nominations for One Battle After Another and Sinners. Additional speakers include NBCU Television Chairman Pearlena Igbokwe, Apple Services VP Oliver Schusser, and LA28 CMO Alex Merchan. The summit brings together studio marketers, brand leaders, and platform executives to examine how entertainment marketing is evolving across theatrical, streaming, and live formats.
Sources: Variety
Netflix Bets Big on April: Beef Season 2 Launches April 16 as Platform Posts Biggest-Ever Spring Slate
Netflix launched Beef Season 2 on April 16, starring Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny as country club workers caught up in their boss’s marriage crisis — played by Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan. Creator Lee Sung Jin returns for the eight-episode run. The premiere follows XO, Kitty Season 3, which debuted April 2 with Lana Condor returning as Lara Jean. Netflix’s packed April slate also includes Love on the Spectrum Season 4, positioning the platform for a record spring backed by a projected $20 billion content spend in 2026. The strategy signals a continued shift toward high-profile serialized premieres spaced across the month.
Box Office — Currently in Theatres
| # | Title | Release | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Apr 3 | $35.0M | $355.2M |
| 2 | Project Hail Mary | Mar 13 | $20.4M | $285.1M |
| 3 | Lee Cronin's The Mummy | Apr 18 | $13.5M | $13.5M |
| 4 | The Drama | Apr 3 | $4.8M | $39.6M |
| 5 | Hoppers | Mar 7 | $4.1M | $157.1M |
| 6 | You, Me & Tuscany | Apr 10 | $3.8M | $14.3M |
| 7 | Normal | Apr 18 | $2.4M | $2.4M |
| 8 | BTS World Tour 'ARIRANG' | Apr 18 | $2.4M | $2.4M |
| 9 | Busboys | Apr 17 | $1.7M | $1.7M |
| 10 | Reminders of Him | Mar 13 | $1.0M | $47.4M |
| 11 | Faces of Death | Apr 10 | $0.8M | $2.1M |
| 12 | The Exit 8 | Apr 10 | $0.7M | $2.8M |
| 13 | GOAT | Feb 13 | $0.7M | $103.0M |
| 14 | The Christophers | Apr 10 | $0.6M | $0.7M |
| 15 | Scream 7 | Feb 14 | $0.5M | $122.0M |
| 16 | Wuthering Heights | Feb 14 | $0.4M | $79.0M |
| 17 | Hamnet | Feb 7 | $0.3M | $27.0M |
| 18 | Mother Mary | Apr 17 | $0.2M | $0.2M |
| 19 | Bhooth Bangla | Apr 17 | $0.1M | $0.1M |
| 20 | Akira (Re-release) | Apr 18 | $0.1M | $0.1M |
Source: Box Office Mojo · Weekend estimates
Curated by JD · samwise.agency