Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Friday, April 17, 2026
Disney Unveils First Full Avengers: Doomsday Trailer at CinemaCon, Featuring RDJ as Doctor Doom
Disney unveiled the first full-length Avengers: Doomsday trailer at CinemaCon 2026 on Wednesday, drawing one of the convention’s biggest crowd responses in years. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo, alongside Marvel president Kevin Feige, brought Robert Downey Jr. onstage to present footage confirming his role as villain Doctor Doom. The trailer shows Thor battling Doom, a bearded Chris Evans returning as Captain America, Gambit fighting Shang-Chi, and the X-Men integrated into the MCU for the first time. Evans told the audience he’d only return if there was a real reason. The film opens December 18, 2026.
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy Opens to $1.5M Thursday Previews as Super Mario Galaxy Eyes $400M Domestic
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy opened to $1.5 million in Thursday night previews from 3 p.m. across roughly 3,400 locations, tracking for a mid-teens domestic opening weekend for the Universal/Blumhouse horror revival. Early audiences gave the film an 80% Rotten Tomatoes audience score against a 51% critical rating. The film reunites Cronin, director of Evil Dead Rise, with the Universal Monsters catalogue. Heading into its third frame, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is projected at around $35 million domestically and eyeing a $400 million-plus domestic total, continuing the strongest January-to-April domestic box office performance since before the pandemic.
Sources: Deadline
Netflix Q1 Revenue Jumps 16% to $12.25B as Ad Tier Targets $3 Billion and 4,000-Plus Advertisers
Netflix reported Q1 2026 revenue of $12.25 billion, up 16% year-over-year, beating analyst expectations despite its stock falling 9% on weaker second-quarter guidance. The streamer’s ad tier is on pace to generate $3 billion this year — double 2025 — and accounted for over 60% of new sign-ups across its 12 ad-supported markets in the quarter. Netflix now works with more than 4,000 advertisers, up 70% year-over-year, and is rolling out four advanced targeting capabilities in 2026 covering education, household income, and high-propensity viewer segments. Interactive video ad formats are being tested in North America ahead of a global rollout by Q2 2026.
Spielberg Debuts Eerie Disclosure Day Trailer at CinemaCon in His First-Ever Convention Appearance
Steven Spielberg made his first-ever CinemaCon appearance on Wednesday to debut expanded footage from Disclosure Day, his alien-contact summer blockbuster opening June 12, 2026. Universal is placing the new trailer in front of Avatar: Fire and Ash screenings to maximise theatrical reach. The footage features government agents chasing stars Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor across a farmhouse, a spacecraft materialising from an ink-black sky, and a distinctly non-human hand reaching into frame. Spielberg praised Universal’s 45-day theatrical window at the event. The campaign launched earlier with “All will be disclosed” billboards across New York and Los Angeles, signalling a wide-reach summer push.
Paramount CEO David Ellison Commits to 45-Day Theatrical Window and 30 Films a Year at CinemaCon
Paramount CEO David Ellison made a surprise appearance at CinemaCon 2026 to commit the studio to a 45-day theatrical window effective immediately, with 90 days before SVOD availability. Ellison pledged a minimum of 30 films per year if the studio’s planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery closes, and introduced new film co-heads Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein. Upcoming slate highlights include Top Gun 3 with Tom Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer — script currently underway — and first footage from Brad Pitt’s Alaskan survival thriller Heart of the Beast directed by David Ayer. Ellison told exhibitors that aligning storytelling with marketing is central to Paramount’s renewed ambitions.
Amazon MGM Pledges $1 Billion Annual Film Spend and Delays Project Hail Mary Streaming Debut
Amazon MGM Studios used its CinemaCon 2026 presentation to reaffirm a minimum of 15 theatrical releases per year and an annual $1 billion spend on films for cinemas. Head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Mike Hopkins told theater owners the success of Project Hail Mary — now at $525 million worldwide in four weekends — was just the beginning. The studio confirmed it is extending Project Hail Mary’s theatrical run rather than rushing it to streaming, with a brief IMAX return weekend underway. Global marketing chief Sue Kroll outlined plans to pair campaigns with Amazon’s e-commerce reach and to expand into eight international territories including the U.K. and Australia.
Sony’s Tom Rothman Urges Theaters to Cut Pre-Show Ad Time: Frequent Moviegoers Are Walking In Late
Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman delivered pointed criticism to cinema operators at CinemaCon 2026, urging them to sharply reduce pre-show commercial time that can run up to 30 minutes before a film begins. Rothman argued that frequent moviegoers now deliberately arrive late — made easy by reserved seating — meaning they miss the trailers designed to entice return visits. He described the cycle as self-defeating: theaters sell pre-show slots for revenue, but the audience most likely to attend future films is opting out entirely. Rothman also called ticket prices the top economic barrier keeping post-pandemic casual moviegoers away, and urged exhibitors to find affordable options urgently.
Apple TV+ Launches Immersive Emmy FYC House for Severance and The Studio Through May 21
Apple TV+ has launched one of this Emmy season’s most ambitious FYC campaigns, hosting Television Academy members at its “Think Apple TV+” space inside the Hollywood Athletic Club from April 24 through May 21. The installation features interactive experiences — an official Severance Lumon employee badge station, a screening room styled as a studio executive notes session tied to The Studio, and a Slow Horses-themed bar. Both series are Apple’s top Emmy contenders: Severance Season 2 previously earned 27 nominations, leading the entire field, while The Studio set a record 23 nominations for a first-year comedy. Emmy nomination voting closes June 22, with the ceremony airing September 14 on NBC.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter
Box Office — Weekend of April 10–12, 2026
| # | Title | Release | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Apr 1 | $68.1M | $307.2M |
| 2 | Project Hail Mary | Mar 20 | $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 | Mar 6 | $4.2M | $157.2M |
| 6 | BTS World Tour 'Arirang' Live | Apr 11 | $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 13 | $1.0M | $47.5M |
| 11 | Ready or Not 2: Here I Come | Mar 20 | $0.86M | $22.0M |
| 12 | Beast | Apr 10 | $0.81M | $0.81M |
| 13 | Dhurandhar The Revenge | Mar 20 | $0.67M | $27.4M |
| 14 | Hunting Matthew Nichols | Apr 10 | $0.60M | $0.60M |
| 15 | They Will Kill You | Mar 27 | $0.53M | $10.4M |
| 16 | Scream 7 | Feb 27 | $0.46M | $121.5M |
| 17 | GOAT | Feb 13 | $0.28M | $103.1M |
| 18 | Hamlet | Apr 10 | $0.19M | $0.19M |
| 19 | Undertone | Mar 13 | $0.14M | $19.7M |
| 20 | Palestine 36 | Mar 20 | $0.10M | $0.44M |
Source: Box Office Mojo · Weekend estimates, April 10–12, 2026
Curated by JD · samwise.agency