Samwise Film & TV Marketing Newsletter
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Street Fighter Eyes $30 Million Opening as Social Reach Tops Video Game Rivals
Paramount’s Street Fighter is tracking toward a $30 million domestic opening after a $12.5 million Friday, including previews, at 3,575 theaters — the lower end of expectations, Deadline reports. The first Legendary title under its new Paramount deal entered the weekend with a social media universe of 920.6 million across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, according to RelishMix, ahead of Legendary’s Minecraft Movie at 772.4 million. A key early September push was a playable “Street Fighter Combo Trailer” on YouTube Playables, placing film footage inside a virtual arcade cabinet. The PG-13 film cost a net $82 million and holds an 80% Rotten Tomatoes audience score.
A24’s You Can See Everything Heads for Second-Best Documentary Opening in 17 Years
A24’s You Can See Everything, the Elizabeth Holmes documentary directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, is expected to open around $12 million after a $5.3 million Friday, including previews, at 885 theaters, Deadline reports. Its intel shows the second-best documentary opening in the past 17 years, excluding concert films, behind Fahrenheit 9/11 at $23.9 million. A24 is approaching the almost three-hour film as a genre-bending cultural phenomenon rather than a traditional doc. Alamo Drafthouse said it posted the highest presales of any A24 title and any documentary in the circuit’s history. Production and marketing budgets were each under $10 million.
Billy Evans Says Holmes ‘Looks Insane’ in You Can See Everything Trailer
Billy Evans, partner of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, appeared on the “All-In” podcast as You Can See Everything began its theatrical release, admitting Holmes “looks insane” in the trailer and acknowledging that “especially the music” has an anti-Holmes bent. Evans, who has not yet seen the film, said the couple’s intention was to let audiences “see her and make up your own mind.” Variety reports that A24’s chilling teaser left many viewers disturbed by Holmes’ demeanor and her claims that she did nothing wrong at Theranos. “I might think this is the dumbest thing I have ever done,” Evans said.
Netflix to Report Box Office Grosses for the First Time with La Bola Negra
Netflix is giving Cannes award-winner La Bola Negra a 47-day theatrical window and the streamer’s first-ever Sunday box office gross report, Deadline reports, as it tees up a string of films for more traditional releases. David Fincher’s The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth hits Imax over Thanksgiving, while Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew gets a wide February release with a 45-day window; all will report grosses. La Bola Negra, Spain’s Oscar entry for Best International Feature, opens this weekend with director Q&A screenings in New York and Los Angeles. Netflix will add select cities over the next several weeks ahead of a moderate nationwide jump.
Netflix Shake-Up Ousts Bela Bajaria as Former Fox Executive Peter Rice Arrives
Netflix’s ouster of chief content officer Bela Bajaria and the arrival of former Fox executive Peter Rice stunned employees, The Hollywood Reporter reports, with sources saying Bajaria did not know she was being ousted until at least Wednesday. This week’s layoffs focused mostly on product, tech, legal and HR, though the streamer’s PR operation also took a big hit with multiple executives let go. Film chief Dan Lin’s No. 2, Doug Belgrad, was also swept out. Ted Sarandos told staff a companywide town hall is set for Oct. 21. Netflix shares are down more than 45 percent from a year ago.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter
Cohen Media Group Sets Trailer and Oscar-Qualifying Run for Everybody Digs Bill Evans
Cohen Media Group has released the first trailer for Everybody Digs Bill Evans and set a December 4 Oscar-qualifying run at New York’s The Quad, ahead of a wider release beginning January 9, 2027, Deadline reports. The distributor will submit Bill Pullman for Best Supporting Actor, Laurie Metcalf for Best Supporting Actress and Anders Danielsen Lie for Best Actor. Lie plays the jazz pianist in Grant Gee’s unconventional biopic, which won Gee a Silver Bear for Directing at Berlin. The film follows Evans’ decline after the 1961 death of bassist Scott LaFaro, with Pullman and Metcalf as his parents.
I Play Rocky Screens as London Film Festival’s Surprise Film
Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky was the London Film Festival’s surprise film on Friday night, Variety reports, with Farrelly introducing the biographical drama about the beginnings of Sylvester Stallone’s boxing franchise. Farrelly praised newcomer star Anthony Ippolito, saying the 27-year-old sent a self-tape — three scenes shot in his grandmother’s basement on Long Island — before the team began a planned worldwide search. “We never looked past him,” Farrelly said, adding that Stallone “loved it.” The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last month, where it was up for the People’s Choice Award, and hits U.S. and U.K. theaters on Nov. 6.
Sense & Sensibility Eyes $6 Million Opening as Whalefall Falls Short of Tracking
Focus Features’ Sense & Sensibility is seeing a $3 million Friday and a projected $6 million three-day weekend at 2,545 sites, Deadline reports. Its lead-up included book club partners Vogue and Reese’s Book Club, slumber-party screenings, candlelight concerts and brand partnerships with Estée Lauder, Coach and Crate & Barrel. Director Georgia Oakley’s take reunites Focus with Working Title. Meanwhile, 20th Century Studios’ Whalefall posted a $2.6 million Friday, including previews, and is eyeing a $6 million to $7 million opening, far below the $11 million tracking had spotted. Whalefall, shot in California for a net $60 million, holds an 82% Rotten Tomatoes audience score.
Domestic Box Office Top 20
Weekend of October 9–11, 2026 (latest complete weekend) · Source: Box Office Mojo
| # | Title | Released | Weekend | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Other Mommy | Oct 9, 2026 | $27,805,825 | $27,805,825 |
| 2 | Verity | Oct 2, 2026 | $12,005,559 | $54,384,610 |
| 3 | Resident Evil | Sep 18, 2026 | $8,563,158 | $138,738,566 |
| 4 | Heart of the Beast | Sep 25, 2026 | $7,438,829 | $50,002,497 |
| 5 | The Social Reckoning | Oct 9, 2026 | $5,018,263 | $5,018,263 |
| 6 | Forgotten Island | Sep 25, 2026 | $4,703,380 | $30,475,710 |
| 7 | Primetime | Sep 25, 2026 | $4,014,003 | $41,467,633 |
| 8 | Digger | Oct 2, 2026 | $3,201,557 | $14,434,311 |
| 9 | The Odyssey | Jul 17, 2026 | $2,147,960 | $623,120,750 |
| 10 | Angel and the Badman | Oct 9, 2026 | $2,115,116 | $2,115,116 |
| 11 | Pan’s Labyrinth 20th Anniversary | Oct 9, 2026 | $1,662,488 | $1,662,488 |
| 12 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | Jul 31, 2026 | $1,526,212 | $956,891,779 |
| 13 | Avengers: Endgame Encore 2026 Re-release | Sep 25, 2026 | $1,503,895 | $39,188,250 |
| 14 | Practical Magic 2 | Sep 11, 2026 | $1,381,685 | $67,290,862 |
| 15 | Queen Live in Budapest | Oct 7, 2026 | $681,000 | $681,000 |
| 16 | The History of Concrete | Sep 18, 2026 | $363,955 | $1,917,396 |
| 17 | Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother | Sep 25, 2026 | $314,644 | $924,610 |
| 18 | Naza | Sep 30, 2026 | $297,081 | $457,950 |
| 19 | Daniel and the Fiery Furnace | Sep 18, 2026 | $248,026 | $8,093,058 |
| 20 | Once Upon a Time in the Middle East | Oct 9, 2026 | $214,199 | $214,199 |
Every newsletter preserved and searchable
Curated by JD · samwise.agency