Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Eyes $90M Memorial Day Opening

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu launched with $12 million in Thursday previews on May 22, putting Disney’s first theatrical Star Wars release in seven years on pace for a $90 million four-day Memorial Day weekend. The film, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White and Martin Scorsese, is tracking toward $160 million globally through Monday. If the estimate holds, it would still rank below 2018’s Solo spinoff ($103 million opening) as the lowest Star Wars launch ever, though its leaner $165 million production budget gives Disney a clearer path to profitability.

Sources: Deadline

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A24 Acquires Jordan Firstman’s ‘Club Kid’ for $17M in Biggest Cannes 2026 Sale

A24 secured global rights to Jordan Firstman’s directorial debut Club Kid for $17 million after a heated bidding war at the Cannes market that drew offers from Mubi, Focus Features, Searchlight, and Netflix. The deal marks the largest single acquisition at Cannes 2026 in a market that arrived notably leaner on Hollywood starpower. Firstman, best known as a comedian and social-media creator, described the festival week as “the best week of my life.” The sale underscores A24’s aggressive posture in the independent acquisition space and its willingness to outbid streaming giants for breakout festival titles.

Sources: Variety

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Penélope Cruz’s ‘La Bola Negra’ Sparks Multi-Studio Bidding War After Cannes Ovation

La Bola Negra, the queer epic from directors Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, triggered a multi-studio bidding war for U.S. rights after earning a 16-minute standing ovation at its Cannes world premiere. The film, starring Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close, spans 85 years of Spanish history inspired by an unfinished fragment by Federico García Lorca. Bidders include A24, Mubi, and Netflix. Spain’s Elástica Films has already set an October domestic release, while the international distribution race remains open as the festival wraps its final day of market screenings and deal-making activity on May 23.

Sources: Variety

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Sandra Wollner’s ‘Everytime’ Wins Cannes Un Certain Regard

Austrian filmmaker Sandra Wollner took the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes for her third feature Everytime, a portrait of grief that unites a mother, daughter, and teenage boy through tragedy. The jury, presided over by French actress Leïla Bekhti, also awarded the Jury Prize to Elephants in the Fog and the Special Jury Prize to Louis Clichy’s animated feature Iron Boy. The performance award was shared between the female trio of Valentina Maurel’s Forever Your Maternal Animal and Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset in Rafiki Fariala’s Congo Boy.

Sources: Variety

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Barbra Streisand Unable to Attend Cannes Closing for Honorary Palme d’Or

Barbra Streisand will not attend the Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony on May 23 to accept her honorary Palme d’Or after suffering a knee injury, the festival confirmed. Organizers will still pay tribute to the EGOT-winning singer, actress, and filmmaker during the ceremony. Streisand is the third honorary Palme recipient this year, joining Peter Jackson, who received his award at the opening gala, and John Travolta, honored ahead of his directorial debut Propeller One-Way Night Coach. The occasion would have marked Streisand’s first-ever appearance at the Cannes Film Festival.

Sources: Variety

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‘Michael’ Surpasses $700M Worldwide and Returns to No. 1

Lionsgate’s Michael crossed $700 million worldwide and reclaimed the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office in its fourth weekend with $26.3 million, a remarkable hold that pushed past The Devil Wears Prada 2. The Antoine Fuqua-directed biopic has now earned $283 million domestically. Its global total of $704 million unseats Elvis ($288.6 million) as the No. 2 musical biopic of all time, trailing only Bohemian Rhapsody ($911 million). The film enters Memorial Day weekend with strong legs ahead of new competition from The Mandalorian and Grogu.

Sources: Variety

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How Lionsgate’s Fan-Centric Marketing Machine Powered ‘Michael’ to Blockbuster Status

A new deep-dive from Variety reveals that Lionsgate’s $60 million marketing campaign for Michael relied on a fan-forward strategy from the very start: the @michaelmovie social handle attracted 20,000 followers before a single poster or trailer had been released. The studio then staged “Don’t Walk, Moonwalk” flash-mob activations across 20 global markets, generating 23.4 million views domestically alone. Promotional stunts were timed to landmark moments in Michael Jackson’s career, including the 1993 Super Bowl halftime and Motown 25. The campaign’s total social footprint now exceeds 564 million views across platforms worldwide.

Sources: Variety

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Boots Riley Mounts Opening Weekend Push for ‘I Love Boosters’

Director Boots Riley took to social media to urge audiences to see I Love Boosters during its opening weekend on May 22, warning that if turnout slips into June the film risks losing screens entirely. Neon’s surreal heist comedy, starring Keke Palmer, Demi Moore, and LaKeith Stanfield, opened on 1,750 screens after premiering at SXSW 2026 to strong reviews. Neon supplemented Riley’s grassroots plea with an experiential marketing stunt: free gas giveaways at Los Angeles stations featuring Palmer and Stanfield in person. Early Thursday previews brought in $430,000.

Sources: Deadline

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Netflix Drops Gender-Swap Comedy ‘Ladies First’ with Sacha Baron Cohen

Netflix released Ladies First on May 22, a gender-swap comedy starring Sacha Baron Cohen as a misogynistic advertising executive who wakes up in a world where women hold all power. Directed by Thea Sharrock, the film co-stars Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Emily Mortimer, Charles Dance, and Fiona Shaw. The premise remakes Éléonore Pourriat’s 2018 French comedy I Am Not an Easy Man, which was the first French-language film commissioned by the streamer. Early reviews have been mixed, with critics praising the ensemble cast but questioning whether the satire lands with enough bite for 2026 audiences.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter

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‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ Crosses $500M Global Milestone

Disney’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 has crossed $500 million at the worldwide box office, with cumulative receipts reaching $546.2 million by mid-May. The sequel, produced for a reported $100 million, has earned $175.9 million domestically and $370.3 million internationally, with top markets in the United Kingdom ($36.9 million), Italy ($34.6 million), Brazil ($27 million), and Mexico ($24.6 million). The total already surpasses the entire global haul of the 2006 original ($326 million unadjusted), confirming the franchise’s enduring commercial viability two decades after Meryl Streep first donned the Prada.

Sources: Deadline

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Disney’s Mandalorian Marketing Blitz: From Super Bowl Parody to Memorial Day

Disney’s marketing campaign for The Mandalorian and Grogu began with a Super Bowl spot parodying classic Big Game ads, featuring sweeping shots and what appeared to be the Budweiser Clydesdales reimagined in outer space. The push intensified on May the 4th with 25 minutes of exclusive Imax footage screened in theaters globally. Tracking data shows particular strength among moviegoers under 13 and men over 55, reflecting the film’s dual appeal to families drawn to Grogu and older fans attracted to Pedro Pascal’s gunslinger persona. Burger King serves as a key promotional partner for the release.

Sources: Variety

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Nine TV Companies Unite on Standardized Commercial Measurement

A coalition of nine major media companies — including NBCUniversal, Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, A+E, Hallmark Media, and Scripps Networks — has partnered with OpenAP to introduce a standardized system linking TV commercial exposure to business outcomes. The pilot phase will test metrics ranging from car-showroom visits to coupon redemptions triggered by QR codes embedded in streaming ads. The initiative targets a key industry pain point: fragmented measurement across linear and digital video platforms that has long hindered advertiser confidence. Initial results will be shared at upcoming industry conferences over the next 12 months.

Sources: Variety

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DirecTV Frames Upfronts Week as ‘Week-Long Metaphor’ in New Ad Campaign

DirecTV launched a targeted ad campaign framing May’s TV upfronts in New York as a “week-long metaphor” for its pay-TV service. Created by TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, the campaign spans out-of-home placements on flights to and from New York, LED-equipped trucks with digital billboards, and free rides for advertisers across Manhattan. Seat-back content ran on departing flights after three packed days of upfront presentations. The strategy positions DirecTV as a bridge across linear, streaming, FAST channels, and live sports — celebrating all TV rather than picking a side in the platform wars.

Sources: Deadline

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