Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Friday, May 29, 2026
A24’s Backrooms Opens to Record $9M in Thursday Previews
A24’s horror film Backrooms, directed by YouTube creator-turned-filmmaker Kane Parsons and co-produced by Chernin Entertainment, opened to $9 million in Thursday previews beginning at 4 p.m., surpassing Scream 7’s $7.8M and John Wick: Chapter 4’s $8.9M previews. The strong start has distribution sources projecting the R-rated genre film will easily eclipse its earlier forecast of $40M–$45M for the opening weekend. The film, made for approximately $10 million, is opening in 3,400 North American venues and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve in an adaptation of Parsons’ viral YouTube horror series.
Sources: Deadline
Project Hail Mary Leads 2026 Golden Trailer Awards With Five Wins Including Best in Show
Project Hail Mary dominated the 26th annual Golden Trailer Awards on Thursday night, claiming five prizes including the marquee Best in Show honor at the ceremony held at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills. The Ryan Gosling sci-fi film’s trailer “Chance,” crafted by marketing agency Wild Card Creative Group, also took Best Drama, Best Fantasy/Adventure, Best Music, and Best Action TrailerByte. Disney topped the studio rankings at the event, which honors excellence in film and television promotional campaigns. Executive director Evelyn Brady praised the trailer as a master class in visual storytelling and sound design.
Sources: Deadline
Toy Story 5 Tracking for $150M Opening, Set to Break Franchise Record
Toy Story 5, co-directed by Andrew Stanton and Kenna Harris, is tracking for a $150 million domestic opening on June 19 — which would surpass Toy Story 4’s franchise record of $120.9M from 2019 and top the year’s biggest debut to date, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s $131.7M. Three-week tracking shows strength across all four quadrant demos, with particular leads among women and men under 25. The Disney/Pixar sequel would represent the biggest opening of 2026 year-to-date if projections hold, with first-choice demos testing ahead of Toy Story 4 across every metric.
Sources: Deadline
Paramount Wins Florence Pugh’s The Midnight Library for $36M at Cannes
Paramount Pictures won the bidding for Florence Pugh’s The Midnight Library, directed by Garth Davis and based on Matt Haig’s novel, in a $36 million deal for North America and select foreign markets — the largest acquisition out of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival market. Paramount beat out Focus Features and Sony, both of which were pursuing the project. StudioCanal retains rights in the UK, France, Germany, and other territories. In the film, Pugh plays Nora Seed, a woman who finds herself in a library between life and death with the chance to experience all the potential lives she could have lived.
Sources: Deadline
Pixar’s Hoppers Sets June 3 Disney+ Premiere After $371M Worldwide Run
Pixar’s Hoppers, which earned $371 million worldwide theatrically, will begin streaming on Disney+ on June 3. The animated film centers on animal lover Mabel, who uses a new technology to “hop” her consciousness into a lifelike robotic beaver and communicate directly with animals. It features voice performances from Jon Hamm, Meryl Streep, Piper Curda, and Dave Franco. Hoppers debuted with a $46 million domestic opening — the best for any Pixar original and the best opening for an original animated film since Coco in 2017 — before completing a successful worldwide theatrical run.
Sources: Deadline
Box Office — Currently in Theatres
| # | Title | Release Date | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Backrooms | May 29 | ~$45M | $9M |
| 2 | The Mandalorian and Grogu | May 22 | $81.0M | $104.6M |
| 3 | Obsession | May 15 | $22.0M | $67.9M |
| 4 | Michael | Apr 24 | $20.0M | $324.1M |
| 5 | The Devil Wears Prada 2 | May 1 | $12.6M | $201.3M |
| 6 | The Sheep Detectives | May 8 | $8.9M | $48.1M |
| 7 | Passenger | May 22 | $8.0M | $11.4M |
| 8 | Mortal Kombat II | May 8 | $3.9M | $74.9M |
| 9 | I Love Boosters | May 22 | $3.1M | $5.3M |
| 10 | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Apr 3 | $2.5M | $425.1M |
| 11 | Project Hail Mary | Mar 20 | $1.5M | $340.8M |
| 12 | In the Grey | May 15 | $1.7M | $5.5M |
| 13 | Is God Is | May 15 | $0.9M | $4.4M |
| 14 | Hokum | Apr 30 | $0.5M | $16.7M |
| 15 | Lee Cronin’s The Mummy | Apr 17 | $0.2M | $29.1M |
| 16 | Hoppers | Mar 6 | $0.1M | $165.9M |
| 17 | Animal Farm | May 1 | $0.1M | $5.5M |
| 18 | Top Gun 40th Anniversary Re-release | May 13 | $0.1M | $6.5M |
| 19 | Mobile Suit Gundam: Nymph Circe | May 15 | $0.1M | $1.2M |
| 20 | Shrek 25th Anniversary | May 15 | $0.1M | $1.7M |
Source: Box Office Mojo · Weekend estimates · Row 1 reflects Thursday preview gross (opening weekend in progress)
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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