Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Wednesday, June 25, 2026
Academy Invites 529 New Members for 2026, Including Jacob Elordi, Jenna Ortega, and Josh O’Connor
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 529 new members to join its ranks for 2026 — the most global class in years. Headlining the Actors branch: Jacob Elordi, Jenna Ortega, Josh O’Connor, Mia Goth, and Simu Liu, alongside directors Josh and Benny Safdie and musician Sara Bareilles. Animation brings in Spider-Verse veterans Michael Lasker and Sharon Bridgeman. Artist Representatives include powerhouses Aleen Keshishian and Jimmy Miller. Among Executives, new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro joins the Academy. In Marketing and Public Relations, among 25 honorees is David Gray Edwards of Thanks Pictures — a well-deserved nod to the awards campaign community. Of the class, 42% are women and 53% come from outside the U.S.
Sources: Deadline Variety Academy Press Office Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Toy Story 5 Eyes $88M–$96M Second Weekend as Supergirl Heads for $40M–$50M Debut
Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 5 is tracking for an $88 million–$96 million second weekend as it holds the domestic top spot, its cumulative gross now past $200 million after seven days—a milestone that earned praise from Disney chairman Alan Bergman. Analysts project a 40–45 percent sophomore decline. Opening against it is Warner Bros./DC’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, tracking $40 million–$50 million across more than 3,600 theaters—a figure that would place it firmly in franchise-launch territory. Paramount’s Jackass: Best and Last is eyeing approximately $10 million as a third new opener, targeting a dedicated fanbase at a lower screen count.
Netflix Sets 28-Day Theatrical Window for Cannes Acquisition La Bola Negra
Netflix will release Spanish-language film La Bola Negra—its major acquisition from the 2026 Cannes Film Festival—in theaters on November 6 before arriving on the streaming platform on December 4, a 28-day window that signals the platform’s continued push for theatrical credibility with prestige titles. The film, directed by the team that won the Cannes Best Directors prize and set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, stars Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close. It received a 20-minute standing ovation on the Croisette, with U.S. distribution rights acquired for a reported $4 million–$5 million.
Invincible Renewed for Season 6 at Prime Video, Tying Record for Longest-Running Streaming Animated Series
Prime Video has renewed animated superhero series Invincible for a sixth season—announced at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 24—tying it with BoJack Horseman as the longest-running streaming animated series in history. The series, with Season 4 recently charting in the top 10 across more than 50 territories and accumulating more than 7 billion TikTok views, also confirmed that actor Jack Quaid will join the cast in Season 5, which is due next year. Creator Robert Kirkman and showrunner Simon Racioppa made the announcement alongside studio Skybound Entertainment.
Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn Sets Netflix Debut for December 18
Netflix has set a December 18 release date for animated feature Ray Gunn—the first directorial feature from Brad Bird since Incredibles 2 in 2018—revealed during the platform’s session at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 24. Sam Rockwell voices Raymond Gunn, a private detective navigating Metropia, an alternate-future city imagined through a 1939 aesthetic; Scarlett Johansson plays femme fatale Venus Nova and Tom Waits also appears in the cast. The film is produced by Skydance’s David Ellison and Dana Goldberg alongside former Pixar chief John Lasseter and Lisa Beroud.
Amazon Drops Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 Trailer at Annecy, Sets July 31 Premiere
Prime Video unveiled the first trailer for Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2 at Annecy on June 24, confirming a July 31 premiere for the Bad Robot production. Hamish Linklater returns as Bruce Wayne in the noir-inflected animated series. In the same session, Prime Video confirmed Helluva Boss Season 3, Part 1 will debut October 14, and announced Conan the Barbarian, an animated series in development from Cartoon Network Studios and Genndy Tartakovsky. Amazon and Netflix held competing Annecy sessions on the same day, with both platforms revealing major animation slates to an industry audience.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas Discusses The Bluff’s Global Streaming Success at Cannes Lions
Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas took the stage at the Cannes Lions advertising festival on June 24 to discuss the global streaming performance of The Bluff, her Prime Video period action film about female pirates, which topped the platform’s global charts across dozens of countries following its late-February release. Produced through her company Purple Pebble alongside the Russo Brothers’ production company AGBO, the film is being cited as a case study in cross-cultural streaming reach. She also referenced director S.S. Rajamouli’s upcoming Varanasi, starring Mahesh Babu, now set for April 2027.
Box Office — Currently in Theatres
| # | Title | Release Date | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toy Story 5 | Jun 20, 2026 | $160.0M | $200.2M |
| 2 | Disclosure Day | Jun 13, 2026 | $17.0M | $78.4M |
| 3 | Obsession | May 8, 2026 | $14.2M | $215.0M |
| 4 | Backrooms | May 29, 2026 | $7.3M | $175.0M |
| 5 | Scary Movie | May 22, 2026 | $6.7M | $97.4M |
| 6 | Masters of the Universe | Jun 6, 2026 | $5.6M | $56.0M |
| 7 | The Mandalorian & Grogu | May 22, 2026 | $3.9M | $172.0M |
| 8 | Leviticus | Jun 20, 2026 | $2.7M | $2.7M |
| 9 | The Death of Robin Hood | Jun 20, 2026 | $2.7M | $2.7M |
| 10 | The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act | May 22, 2026 | $1.8M | $42.3M |
| 11 | Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Apr 3, 2026 | $1.1M | $391.2M |
| 12 | Devil Wears Prada 2 | Apr 18, 2026 | $0.9M | $301.5M |
| 13 | Mortal Kombat II | Apr 25, 2026 | $0.7M | $198.4M |
| 14 | Snow White | Mar 21, 2026 | $0.5M | $142.6M |
| 15 | Apex | Jun 6, 2026 | $0.4M | $69.2M |
| 16 | Paddington in Peru | May 9, 2026 | $0.3M | $88.7M |
| 17 | The Accountant 2 | Mar 7, 2026 | $0.3M | $171.3M |
| 18 | Mickey 17 | Jan 23, 2026 | $0.2M | $153.8M |
| 19 | Opus | Apr 4, 2026 | $0.2M | $74.2M |
| 20 | Wicked: For Good | Nov 21, 2025 | $0.1M | $489.3M |
Source: Box Office Mojo · Weekend estimates
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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