Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Friday, August 14, 2026
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Crosses $700M Domestic Fastest Ever
Spider-Man: Brand New Day crossed $700 million domestic on Thursday — its 13th day of release — becoming the fastest film ever to reach that threshold, according to Sony. The Tom Holland and Zendaya-led Marvel sequel is only the seventh movie in history to achieve the domestic $700M milestone, joining Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, and Top Gun: Maverick in rarefied company. Weekend holds have been extraordinary: the film pulled $144.3 million in its second frame against a record-breaking opening. Worldwide, the Sony/Marvel tentpole is tracking toward $1.8 billion, a finish that would cement it among the all-time global leaders as it continues to dominate domestic exhibition.
The End of Oak Street Opens with $2M Thursday Previews; WB Eyes $18-23M Domestic Debut
Warner Bros. and Bad Robot’s “The End of Oak Street” launched Thursday previews with $2 million, positioning the sci-fi thriller for an $18-23 million domestic opening weekend and a $38-48 million global debut. Directed by David Robert Mitchell and produced by J.J. Abrams, the prehistoric-predator thriller stars Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor as scientists confronting an ancient threat buried beneath a Chicago street. Early critics have responded warmly, with scores landing in the 82-85% range on Rotten Tomatoes. The tentpole opens in a marketplace still dominated by Spider-Man: Brand New Day, though both films target distinct audience demographics.
Ted Lasso Season 4 Sets Apple TV+ Viewership Record with 296.6M Minutes
Ted Lasso Season 4 has set a new Apple TV+ viewership record, generating 296.6 million viewing minutes in the United States over its first two days, per Nielsen data released Thursday. The Jason Sudeikis-led comedy drew more than 200 million minutes on a single day — Aug. 5 — surpassing its own Season 3 premiere benchmark of 215.1 million minutes. The data underscores Apple TV+’s sustained investment in premium, character-driven comedy: Season 4, which premiered globally on Aug. 4-5, is now the streamer’s most-watched series debut in platform history, demonstrating the franchise’s enduring commercial power as both a subscriber-acquisition and retention driver.
Hollywood Unions Fracture Over Paramount-WBD Merger as $7M-Per-Day Clock Nears
Hollywood’s guilds have fractured over the proposed Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger, complicating talks ahead of a $7 million-per-day ticking fee that starts Oct. 1 if no deal is reached. The DGA and IATSE issued a joint letter supporting settlement — but only under strict conditions: a minimum of 15 films per studio annually and keeping studio lots separate. The Teamsters staged protests outside Paramount gates Thursday, opposing the merger outright. Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta called Skydance CEO David Ellison’s threat to relocate Paramount production out of California tantamount to “blackmail.” Final terms remain unresolved as the deadline looms.
TV Academy Inducts Jean Smart and Ted Sarandos, Opening Televerse 26 as Emmy Voting Nears
The Television Academy inducted its 2026 Hall of Fame class Thursday evening at the JW Marriott L.A. Live, kicking off Televerse 26 with a ceremony honoring seven television titans: actor Ted Danson, “Hacks” star Jean Smart, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, documentary producer Sheila Nevins, “South Park” co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and — posthumously — “60 Minutes” correspondent Ed Bradley. The ceremony formally opens Televerse 26, the Academy’s flagship fan-and-voter festival running Aug. 14-16 at L.A. Live, where Emmy nominees hold FYC panels ahead of Emmy final voting, which begins Monday, Aug. 17, ahead of the 78th Emmy Awards on NBC Sept. 14.
Box Office — Currently in Theatres
| # | Title | Release Date | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | Jul 31 | $144.3M | $654.3M |
| 2 | The Odyssey | Jul 17 | $31.7M | $461.4M |
| 3 | One Night Only | Aug 7 | $5.5M | $5.5M |
| 4 | Toy Story 5 | Jun 19 | $4.2M | $470.7M |
| 5 | Super Troopers 3 | Aug 7 | $4.0M | $4.0M |
| 6 | Minions & Monsters | Jul 1 | $3.5M | $176.4M |
| 7 | Moana (2026) | Jul 10 | $3.0M | $121.6M |
| 8 | Ice Cream Man | Aug 7 | $2.0M | $2.0M |
| 9 | The Invite | Jun 26 | $717.6K | $24.3M |
| 10 | CatVideoFest 2026 | Aug 7 | $568.4K | $568.4K |
| 11 | Hadestown: The Musical | Jul 24 | $432.9K | $20.3M |
| 12 | Cookie Queens | Aug 7 | $354.3K | $354.3K |
| 13 | Tony | Aug 7 | $349K | $349K |
| 14 | Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma | Aug 7 | $249.6K | $249.6K |
| 15 | Obsession | May 14 | $209.5K | $263.3M |
| 16 | The Samurai and the Prisoner | Jul 31 | $179.9K | $280.2K |
| 17 | I Want Your Sex | Jul 31 | $171.4K | $1.3M |
| 18 | Young Washington | Jul 3 | $164K | $46.9M |
| 19 | Evil Dead Burn | Jul 10 | $145.7K | $32.0M |
| 20 | Supergirl | Jun 26 | $134.4K | $72.3M |
Source: The Numbers · Weekend of Aug. 7-9, 2026
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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