Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Saturday, July 25, 2026
The Odyssey Eyes $84M+ Second Frame, on Track to Set New Nolan Record Above The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is heading for an estimated $84.5 million second weekend, which would surpass The Dark Knight’s $75.1 million second-frame record from 2008 and cement Nolan’s status as the most reliably bankable auteur in Hollywood. Universal’s epic has now earned $199.3 million domestically through its first seven days, running in 3,942 theaters. Counter-programmer Hadestown, the Broadway musical adaptation, opened in fifth place at an estimated $8 million, finding a foothold despite the dominant Nolan footprint. The results signal a healthy late-summer marketplace receptive to quality counter-programming alongside dominant tentpoles.
Filmchief began in 2013 as a collaboration between two Dutch film festivals, Go Short in Nijmegen and what is now Kaboom in Amsterdam, together with software developer Dennis Pasveer. More than a decade later, it is used by festivals of all sizes worldwide. Tools shaped by real festival work tend to fit. filmchief.com
Warner Bros. Discovery Sues Amazon Over Poaching HBO Max Marketing Exec Pia Barlow
Warner Bros. Discovery filed suit against Amazon MGM Studios in California Superior Court, alleging the streamer unlawfully poached Pia Barlow—HBO Max’s EVP of Originals Marketing—despite her contract running through October 31, 2027. Amazon announced Barlow’s appointment as VP, Head of Series Marketing on July 24, the same day the lawsuit surfaced publicly. WBD is seeking injunctive relief to block Barlow from starting her new role. The case underscores the intensifying competition for top streaming marketing talent, where originals marketing leadership now plays a central role in subscriber acquisition strategy and platform differentiation.
Blade Runner 2099 Drops First Full Trailer at SDCC; Sets November 25 Global Premiere
Prime Video unveiled the first full trailer for Blade Runner 2099 during a Friday Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, announcing a November 25 global premiere across 240 countries. The limited series—set 50 years after Blade Runner 2049—follows Cora (Hunter Schafer), a human fugitive who assumes a Blade Runner identity, and Olwen (Michelle Yeoh), a Replicant days from her designed end-of-life. Ridley Scott executive produces; Jonathan van Tulleken (Shōgun) directs the first two episodes. Alcon Entertainment, which holds the Blade Runner IP, co-produces with Prime Video in what the studio is positioning as its next prestige franchise play.
Lanterns SDCC Trailer Reveals Sinestro; Nathan Fillion Surprises as Guy Gardner
HBO Max’s Lanterns delivered a Hall H landmark Friday when Nathan Fillion stepped onstage unannounced as Guy Gardner—a third Green Lantern joining the series’ core duo of Aaron Pierre as John Stewart and Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan. The new trailer unveiled Sinestro as the season’s primary antagonist, while Laura Linney was revealed as a Guardian of the Universe. Six scene clips were screened. The series—co-created by Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy, and Tom King as a prestige procedural—premieres August 16. The Fillion surprise is widely expected to accelerate social conversation and drive streaming sign-ups ahead of launch.
Rings of Power Season 3 Drops Hall H Trailer; Simon Pegg Joins as Voice of the Balrog
Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power dominated Friday Hall H with a Season 3 trailer finally depicting Sauron forging the One Ring and a confirmed premiere date of November 11, 2026. The panel unveiled five casting reveals: Simon Pegg as the voice of the Balrog; Eddie Marsan as Thrain, father of The Hobbit’s Thorin Oakenshield; Andrew Richardson as Gondor king Anarion; Zubin Varla as Ringwraith Khamûl the Easterling; and Jamie Campbell Bower as Galadriel’s canonical husband Celeborn. The series has drawn 185 million viewers worldwide and remains Prime Video’s single biggest subscriber acquisition driver.
Amazon MGM’s Spaceballs: The New One Delivers Hall H Marvel Parody; Rick Moranis Returns
Amazon MGM Studios turned Friday Hall H into Comic-Con’s standout marketing moment, opening Spaceballs: The New One with a 180-degree wrap-around screen parody of Marvel’s MCU phase-timeline announcements—dubbed “11 phases” of the Spaceballs Cinematic Universe. The crowd erupted when Rick Moranis, returning as Dark Helmet after decades away from Hollywood, was discovered hidden among the audience and rose to a standing ovation. Josh Gad plays a new mog character alongside Keke Palmer and Lewis Pullman, with Mel Brooks (now 100) appearing via video as Yogurt. The film opens in theaters April 23, 2027, directed by Josh Greenbaum.
AMC Renews Anne Rice Anthology for Season 4 as Queen of the Damned at Comic-Con
AMC announced a fourth season of its Anne Rice anthology during Friday’s Hall H panel for The Vampire Lestat, confirming the renewal will adapt Rice’s third novel as Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned. The reveal immediately followed Sunday’s Vampire Lestat season finale, which teased the return of vampire queen Akasha, setting up the new season’s central antagonist. Showrunner Moscovitch returns alongside executive producers Johnson and Rolin Jones. Panel participants included series stars Jacob Anderson, Assad Zaman, Eric Bogosian, and Sheila Atim. The renewal confirms AMC’s strategy of adapting Rice’s vampire universe as a multi-book prestige franchise.
Box Office — Currently in Theatres
| # | Title | Release Date | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Odyssey | Jul 17 | $84.5M est. | $283.8M est. |
| 2 | Moana | Jul 10 | $10.0M est. | $107.0M est. |
| 3 | Toy Story 5 | Jun 19 | $9.4M est. | $445.0M est. |
| 4 | Minions & Monsters | Jul 4 | $9.0M est. | $155.0M est. |
| 5 | Hadestown | Jul 24 | $8.0M est. | $8.0M est. |
| 6 | Evil Dead Burn | Jul 10 | $4.7M | $23.9M |
| 7 | The Invite | Jun 26 | $3.9M | $15.0M |
| 8 | Young Washington | Jul 3 | $3.6M | $40.9M |
| 9 | Obsession | May 15 | $2.4M | $258.4M |
| 10 | Supergirl | Jun 26 | $1.5M | $69.9M |
| 11 | Disclosure Day | Jun 12 | $1.3M | $114.6M |
| 12 | Backrooms | May 29 | $715K | $196.0M |
| 13 | Scary Movie | Jun 5 | $241K | $108.0M |
| 14 | Jackass: Best and Last | Jun 26 | $231K | $18.0M |
| 15 | Michael | Apr 24 | $143K | $372.2M |
| 16 | Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu | May 22 | $115K | $177.5M |
| 17 | Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass | Jul 10 | $111K | $1.3M |
| 18 | Maddie’s Secret | Jun 19 | $81K | $1.0M |
| 19 | Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World | Jul 3 | $50K | $171K |
| 20 | The Devil Wears Prada 2 | May 1 | $36K | $220.5M |
Source: Deadline / Box Office Mojo · #1–5 estimated (Jul 24–26, 2026); #6–20 confirmed (Jul 17–19, 2026)
Curated by JD · samwise.agency