Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Crosses $1 Billion in Four Days, Fueled by Emotion-First Marketing
Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day crossed the $1 billion global mark on Monday—just four days after opening—becoming the second-fastest film in history to reach that milestone, after Avengers: Endgame in 2019. The Destin Daniel Cretton-directed pic stands at $1.052 billion worldwide, with a domestic cume of $407 million. At the heart of the campaign: a debut trailer that generated 719 million views in its first 24 hours—the most-watched trailer in both film and gaming industry history. Sony Chairman Tom Rothman credited an emotion-first marketing strategy and a record promo-partner portfolio worth $309 million, including Samsung, BMW, McDonald’s and Little Caesars.
Ride Or Die and Five Star Weekend Prove 50-Something Female Friendships Are Streaming Gold
Two streaming series about women in their 50s are rewriting platform records this summer. Peacock’s Five Star Weekend—starring Jennifer Garner, Chloe Sevigny and Regina Hall—launched July 9 as the platform’s top scripted title of all time, logging 1 billion minutes watched in its first week and 1.8 billion minutes to date. Prime Video’s Ride Or Die, starring Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer, has held the No. 1 global Prime Video slot since its July 15 debut. Both series earned critical praise—97% and 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively—and are expected to receive Season 2 renewals.
Netflix Sets Longest-Ever Theatrical Window for Oscar Hopeful La Bola Negra at 47 Days
Netflix is giving its Spanish-language Oscar hopeful La Bola Negra a 47-day exclusive theatrical window—the longest in the streamer’s history—ahead of a December 2 streaming debut. Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (known as Los Javis), the queer Spanish period epic will open in theaters October 16, surpassing the previous Netflix record of 30 days set by Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story in 2019. Netflix acquired U.S. rights at Cannes, where the film tied for the festival’s best director prize. Star Penélope Cruz will receive a Special Tribute Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 Logs 15.2 Million Views in Five Days on Disney+ and Hulu
The Devil Wears Prada 2 has logged 15.2 million global views in its first five days on Disney+ and Hulu—the biggest live-action movie premiere on those platforms since Deadpool & Wolverine. Distributed by 20th Century Studios, the sequel first grossed over $690 million during its theatrical run before arriving on streaming. Director David Frankel, who helmed the 2006 original, reunites stars Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep as Andy Sachs and fashion mogul Miranda Priestly, with Emily Blunt, Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu and Kenneth Branagh in supporting roles. Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna adapted the sequel from Lauren Weisberger’s novel.
Box Office — Currently in Theatres
| # | Title | Release Date | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | Jul 31 | $360.1M | $360.1M |
| 2 | The Odyssey | Jul 17 | $51.0M | $395.6M |
| 3 | Toy Story 5 | Jun 19 | $6.8M | $462.2M |
| 4 | Minions & Monsters | Jul 3 | $6.0M | $168.6M |
| 5 | Moana | Jul 10 | $5.6M | $115.1M |
| 6 | Hadestown: The Musical | Jul 24 | $2.0M | $18.2M |
| 7 | The Invite | Jun 26 | $1.2M | $22.8M |
| 8 | Evil Dead Burn | Jul 10 | $751K | $31.5M |
| 9 | I Want Your Sex | Jul 31 | $635K | $635K |
| 10 | Young Washington | Jul 3 | $506K | $46.4M |
| 11 | Obsession | May 15 | $503K | $262.8M |
| 12 | Backrooms | May 29 | $332K | $197.3M |
| 13 | Motor City | Jul 24 | $272K | $2.6M |
| 14 | Disclosure Day | Jun 12 | $176K | $116.6M |
| 15 | Supergirl | Jun 26 | $96K | $72.1M |
| 16 | Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World | Jul 3 | $70K | $430K |
| 17 | The Samurai and the Prisoner | Jul 31 | $64K | $64K |
| 18 | Her Private Hell | Jul 24 | $55K | $861K |
| 19 | Sheep in the Box | Jul 24 | $53K | $90K |
| 20 | Haunted Heist | Jul 24 | $31K | $468K |
Source: Box Office Mojo · Weekend estimates
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency