Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Saturday, August 8, 2026
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Eyes Historic Second Weekend as One Night Only Opens for Original Romantic Dramas
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is tracking for its third-best U.S. second weekend ever with estimates of $135M–$140M+, following a first week that saw it become the fastest film to $500M domestic in box office history. Two wide releases enter this weekend: Universal’s One Night Only, a romantic drama starring Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro, is debuting across 3,012 sites with early estimates near $6M, while Broken Lizard’s Super Troopers 3 (Searchlight) eyes roughly $4M. The Odyssey holds firm in its fourth frame at $28.5M—approaching $458M domestic—while Toy Story 5 earns $4.3M in its eighth session.
The Odyssey Crosses $1 Billion, on Track to Eclipse The Dark Knight Rises as Nolan’s All-Time Biggest Film
The Odyssey has crossed the $1 billion mark globally—$429.65M domestic and $578.8M international for a combined $1.008B—in three weeks of release. The film is now tracking to surpass the $1.08B earned by The Dark Knight Rises before this weekend closes, making Christopher Nolan’s epic his all-time highest-grossing release. It is the fifth 2026 film to cross $1B, joining Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Toy Story 5, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and Michael. IMAX has contributed $257M to the running total—a haul set to rank as the format’s all-time record by weekend’s end.
Netflix Stages Free Wellness Week Across Los Angeles Ahead of Emmy Phase 2 Voting for Beef
Netflix is staging a week of free wellness activations in Los Angeles under the tagline “Beef — Release Your Rage. Feel Your Calm,” running August 10–14 ahead of Emmy Phase 2 voting. The campaign aligns with Beef’s 16 Emmy nominations—leading all limited and anthology series—including acting nods for Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, Youn Yuh-jung, and Charles Melton. Five LA venues will host the activations: Pause (robot massages), Heyday (Gua sha add-ons), Sunlife Organics (limited-edition smoothies), Stagger Coffee, and sound bath sessions at The Den Meditation in West Hollywood. All events are free and first-come, first-served.
Rockstar Gives Netflix Six-Hour Exclusive on GTA 6 Extended Look, Positioning November Launch as Hollywood Tentpole
Rockstar Games will give Netflix a six-hour exclusive premiere window for Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look on August 27, streaming at 3 p.m. ET before the footage debuts on Rockstar’s YouTube channel at 9 p.m. ET that same evening. The partnership positions GTA 6—scheduled for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19—as a Hollywood-style entertainment tentpole, not just a conventional game launch event. Netflix pursued the deal to be part of “big cultural moments.” Pre-orders, which opened June 25, have already been described as “unprecedented,” with analysts projecting $3.3B–$5.2B in first-week global sales.
Box Office — Currently in Theatres
| # | Title | Release Date | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | Jul 31 | $137.5M | $512M |
| 2 | The Odyssey | Jul 18 | $28.5M | $458.1M |
| 3 | One Night Only | Aug 8 | $6.0M | $6.0M |
| 4 | Toy Story 5 | Jun 13 | $4.3M | $470.8M |
| 5 | Super Troopers 3 | Aug 8 | $4.0M | $4.0M |
| 6 | Hadestown: The Musical | Jul 25 | $2.0M | $18.2M |
| 7 | The Invite | Jun 20 | $1.2M | $21M |
| 8 | I Want Your Sex | Aug 8 | $0.6M | $0.6M |
| 9 | Young Washington | Jul 4 | $0.5M | $46.4M |
| 10 | Obsession | May 22 | $0.5M | $262.7M |
| 11 | Evil Dead Burn | Jul 18 | ~$0.4M | ~$25M |
| 12 | Motor City | Jul 25 | ~$0.3M | ~$3.5M |
| 13 | Moana (live-action) | Jul 11 | ~$0.3M | ~$67M |
| 14 | Minions & Monsters | Jul 4 | ~$0.2M | ~$140M |
| 15 | Scary Movie | Jun 13 | ~$0.2M | ~$84M |
| 16 | Masters of the Universe | Jun 13 | ~$0.1M | ~$114M |
| 17 | Her Private Hell | Jul 25 | ~$0.1M | ~$1M |
| 18 | Michael | Apr 17 | ~$0.1M | ~$1.01B |
| 19 | Backrooms | Apr 24 | ~$0.05M | ~$22M |
| 20 | Project Hail Mary | Feb 27 | ~$0.04M | ~$688M |
Source: Box Office Mojo · Weekend estimates · ~ = projection
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency