Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Saturday, August 15, 2026
Disney Stages Major Campaign Reveal at D23, Confirming X-Men Cast and Dropping Second Avengers: Doomsday Trailer
Disney and Marvel Studios made major announcements at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in Anaheim on Friday, confirming the full cast of the upcoming X-Men reboot and screening the second trailer for Avengers: Doomsday. The X-Men lineup includes Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, Christopher Abbott as Professor X, Maya Boyd as Storm, and Adam Driver as villain Mr. Sinister; the film is set for May 5, 2028. The Avengers: Doomsday trailer, featuring Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, targets a December 18 theatrical release.
D23 Streaming Blitz: Disney+ Greenlights Kingdom Hearts Series, Drops Ahsoka Season 2 and Star Wars: Starfighter Trailers
Disney+ made a series of major streaming announcements at D23 this weekend, headlined by the greenlight of a new Kingdom Hearts animated series developed with Square Enix. Disney also debuted the trailer for Star Wars: Ahsoka Season 2, featuring the return of Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, and screened a first-look teaser for Frozen 3, which revealed that Anna will marry Kristoff while facing a new villain. A new Star Wars: Starfighter series was also announced for Disney+, joining Ahsoka Season 2 as part of Disney’s Lucasfilm programming at the event. The reveals came across multiple panels at the three-day Anaheim event.
Emmy Nominees Sprint to Final FYC Events as Monday Voting Opens
With Emmy voting set to begin on Monday, August 17 and the ceremony just four weeks away, nominees and their studios staged final FYC appearances across Los Angeles this weekend. The ballot features The Pitt as the season’s leading contender with 25 nominations, while Hacks received 24 nominations—a record for any single comedy season. Jean Smart could make Emmy history if Hacks prevails, as the win would tie her with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman for most performer wins at eight. The ceremony, hosted by Mariska Hargitay, airs live on NBC and Peacock on September 14.
Spider-Man Three-Peats at No. 1 With $65M; Paw Patrol and The End of Oak Street Each Open to $20M
Spider-Man: Brand New Day claimed its third consecutive No. 1 finish with an estimated $65 million this weekend, while Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey held second with an estimated $23 million in its fifth weekend. Two new releases debuted in third place: Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie (Paramount/Spin Master), which earned an A CinemaScore at 3,545 theaters, and Warner Bros./Bad Robot’s The End of Oak Street, a prehistoric adventure starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor at 3,446 theaters. Spider-Man’s domestic total surpassed $700 million earlier in the week, the fastest a film has reached that threshold at the U.S. box office.
Marvel Drops VisionQuest Trailer at D23, Sets WandaVision Spinoff for October 14 Disney+ Premiere
Marvel Studios unveiled the first trailer for VisionQuest at D23 on Saturday, announcing an October 14 premiere on Disney+ for the WandaVision spinoff. The series stars Paul Bettany in the title role as Vision. The VisionQuest reveal was among several MCU announcements at the Anaheim convention, including the second Avengers: Doomsday trailer, which targets a December 18 theatrical release. VisionQuest will debut on Disney+ in October, ahead of the Avengers: Doomsday campaign building through the fall. D23, held August 14–16 in Anaheim, has featured announcements spanning Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm properties.
Box Office — Currently in Theatres
| # | Title | Release | Weekend | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | Aug 1 | $65.0M | $700M+ est. |
| 2 | The Odyssey | Jul 18 | $23.0M | $489M est. |
| 3 | Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie | Aug 14 | $20.0M | $20M |
| 4 | The End of Oak Street | Aug 14 | $20.0M | $20M |
| 5 | Toy Story 5 | Jun 20 | $4.3M | $461M est. |
| 6 | Six: The Musical Live! | Aug 14 | $3.0M est. | $3M |
| 7 | The Brink of War | Aug 14 | $2.75M est. | $2.75M |
| 8 | One Night Only | Aug 8 | $2.0M est. | $9.9M est. |
| 9 | Super Troopers 3 | Aug 7 | $1.6M est. | $6.8M est. |
| 10 | Nimrods | Aug 14 | $1.4M est. | $1.4M |
| 11 | The Wrong Girls | Aug 14 | $1.0M est. | $1.0M |
| 12 | Moana (2025) | Jul 4 | $0.9M est. | $71M est. |
| 13 | Michael | Jun 13 | $0.7M est. | $373M est. |
| 14 | Minions & Monsters | Jun 6 | $0.6M est. | $138M est. |
| 15 | The Rivals of Amziah King | Aug 14 | $0.5M est. | $0.5M |
| 16 | Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Apr 3 | $0.4M est. | $507M est. |
| 17 | Evil Dead: Burn | Jul 4 | $0.3M est. | $62M est. |
| 18 | Kung Fu Soccer | Jul 18 | $0.2M est. | $14M est. |
| 19 | Hope | Jul 11 | $0.2M est. | $9M est. |
| 20 | Project Hail Mary | Mar 20 | $0.1M est. | $227M est. |
Source: Box Office Mojo · Weekend estimates (est. = estimated)
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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