Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Resident Evil Reboot Opens to Franchise-Record $60M, $108M Worldwide
Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot earned a franchise-record $60 million domestic opening weekend, shattering the prior benchmark of $26 million set by 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife. Columbia Pictures’ horror film collected $48.3 million internationally for a $108.3 million global debut, the largest worldwide launch in the franchise’s 24-year theatrical history. The result also marks a personal record for Cregger, whose Weapons previously held his best worldwide opening at $70 million. Audience response was strong with a B+ CinemaScore, and critics awarded the film a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the highest critical reception in the franchise’s history.
La Bola Negra Wins TIFF People’s Choice Award, Spain Selects Film for Oscars
Netflix’s La Bola Negra won the 2026 TIFF People’s Choice Award, the festival’s top audience prize, placing the queer Spanish-language drama at the center of the Oscar conversation. Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi — known in Spain as “Los Javis” — the film premiered at Cannes to a 16-minute standing ovation and won Best Director. Spain has officially selected the film as its entry for Best International Feature Film. The TIFF audience prize is a historically reliable Oscar bellwether, with prior winners including Nomadland, Green Book, and Slumdog Millionaire. The film opens in U.S. theaters October 16 before streaming on Netflix December 2.
Netflix to Report Box Office Numbers for Six Upcoming Films, Sets Record 47-Day Window
Netflix announced it will publicly report box office grosses for six upcoming theatrical films, a transparency commitment long sought by Hollywood talent and exhibitors. The slate includes La Bola Negra, David Fincher’s The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, Danny Boyle’s Ink, Peter Berg’s The Mosquito Bowl, and animated Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The streamer simultaneously announced a record 47-day exclusive theatrical window for La Bola Negra, the longest commitment Netflix has made to any theatrical release. Industry observers view both moves as Netflix positioning itself as a serious partner to theater chains ahead of its biggest-ever theatrical slate.
Backrooms Crosses $400M Worldwide, Becomes A24’s Highest-Grossing Film Ever
A24’s Backrooms crossed $400 million at the global box office, making it the studio’s highest-grossing release in its history. The film — produced on a $10 million budget — earned $197.5 million domestically and $202.57 million internationally across four months in theaters. Directed by 22-year-old YouTuber Kane Parsons, based on his popular web series about liminal spaces, the horror film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, and Mark Duplass. Electric Gen Z word-of-mouth drove A24 past Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount in summer market share, delivering the indie studio its biggest summer on record and reshaping assumptions about mid-budget genre film marketing.
Coyote vs. Acme Approaches $100M Worldwide After Warner Bros. Shelved Film as Tax Write-Off
Ketchup Entertainment’s Coyote vs. Acme is approaching $100 million worldwide, an extraordinary turnaround for a film Warner Bros. shelved as a $30 million tax write-off after completing production. The animated-hybrid Looney Tunes comedy was tracking at just $7 million before its opening, before audience enthusiasm sent it significantly higher. The film earned an additional $4.4 million domestically this weekend in its fourth frame, bringing its domestic total to approximately $59 million. Fan-owned company Legion M provided key financing and marketing support for the release, and this week announced it is expanding its crowd-equity film fund on the strength of the result.
Post-Merger Paramount-WBD Commits to 36-Film 2027 Slate in Written Exhibitor Contracts
The pending Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger has produced a concrete pledge to theatrical exhibition: the combined entity is targeting a 36-film 2027 release slate with written contracts promising AMC and Regal at least 30 films per year post-close. Of those committed titles, 20 percent are budgeted at $50 million or more and require release on at least 3,000 screens. Combined, the studios carried 22 films on their 2026 calendar ahead of the merger. The pledges were designed to address exhibitor concerns that a mega-studio combination would reduce the theatrical supply pipeline. The deal’s formal close remains delayed by state antitrust litigation pending a March 2027 trial.
Practical Magic 2 Holds Strong at #2 with $12.2M Second Weekend
Warner Bros.’ Practical Magic 2 earned $12.2 million in its second domestic weekend, holding at #2 behind Resident Evil’s record-breaking debut. The supernatural comedy sequel played across 4,163 theaters, the widest distribution footprint in the current top ten. The strong sophomore hold in a weekend dominated by a $60 million horror opener reflects resilient audience demand for the property. The sequel to the beloved 1998 witch comedy is part of a broader industry wave of nostalgia-sequel greenlight decisions at major studios, as distributors continue to leverage proven brand recognition with established fan bases entering the fall theatrical season.
Weekend Box Office Top 20 — Weekend of Sept. 21–22, 2026
| # | Title | Weekend Gross | Theaters | Wk | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Resident Evil | $60,152,878 | 3,684 | New | Columbia |
| 2 | Practical Magic 2 | $12,158,856 | 4,163 | Wk2 | Warner Bros. |
| 3 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | $6,415,159 | 3,017 | Wk8 | Sony |
| 4 | The Odyssey | $4,953,955 | 1,546 | Wk10 | Universal |
| 5 | Coyote vs. Acme | $4,410,418 | 3,035 | Wk4 | Ketchup |
| 6 | Daniel and the Fiery Furnace | $3,303,548 | 1,525 | New | EKKL |
| 7 | The Transformers: The Movie (40th Anniv.) | $3,103,922 | 1,454 | New | Re-release |
| 8 | Runner | $3,007,648 | 2,472 | Wk2 | — |
| 9 | The Weight | $2,301,059 | 1,504 | New | Vertical |
| 10 | Buddy | $1,951,447 | 1,543 | Wk4 | Roadside |
| 11 | Insidious: Out of the Further | $1,852,614 | 1,740 | Wk5 | Sony |
| 12 | Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom | $1,837,847 | 2,183 | New | GKIDS |
| 13 | The Uprising | $1,203,765 | 2,069 | Wk2 | Focus |
| 14 | Hope | $1,000,224 | 1,400 | Wk2 | Neon |
| 15 | By Any Means | $701,249 | 1,265 | Wk3 | Paramount |
| 16 | PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie | $685,016 | 827 | Wk6 | Paramount |
| 17 | Ghost in the Shell 2026 Re-release | $486,025 | 850 | New | Lionsgate |
| 18 | If I Go Will They Miss Me | $336,477 | 251 | Wk2 | — |
| 19 | The End of Oak Street | $323,652 | 461 | Wk6 | Warner Bros. |
| 20 | Tony | $218,793 | 236 | Wk7 | A24 |
Source: Box Office Mojo — Weekend 2026W38
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