John Hunt’s Post

For The Atlantic, Shirley Li with a great article about the summer movie season. 'Until these perceptions change, though, this summer will appear to be a strange one, an anomalous dip caused by months of low earnings that haven’t encouraged general audiences to head to theaters on a regular basis. In the meantime, the industry is trying to manipulate so many variables—which actors could become box-office draws, which franchises aren’t experiencing fatigue, which projects should stream rather than play in theaters, which dates might be most appealing for release—but no individual movie will cure Hollywood’s box-office blues. Instead, Dergarabedian Comscore, Inc. said, “Stability is key … Every piece of this puzzle relies on the other.” The moviegoing experience itself needs to be routinely appealing to be lucrative—and a meme-worthy popcorn bucket or film-title portmanteau will only stoke interest for so long. Ironically, Dergarabedian noted, the underperforming films will help next year’s headlines: “2025 is going to look really strong,” he said. “Let’s talk a year from today, and I will be saying very different things.” https://lnkd.in/gZgNmjS7

JULY 4TH AM UPDATE: Illumination/Universal’s Despicable Me 4 came in a little lighter than spotted, but strong enough at $27M at 4,030 theaters. While 5-day forecasts are always hard to project this far off, everything becomes clear by Friday. Even at this level, the fourth chapter of Gru/sixth Minions title could still see a $70M 3-day and $120M 5-day. Interest in this bunch hasn’t waned yet for audiences who gave it an A CinemaScore, the same grade as chapters 1 and 2, and a notch above Despicable Me 3’s A-. Overall it’s the fifth A for the Minions/Despicable Me franchise.

SATURDAY AM: Despite “Marchmellow” weather in the Northeast and a B+ CinemaScore, Sony‘s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is expected to still reach an opening between $42M-$44M this weekend after a $16M Friday. PLFs and some of the Imax are accounting for 36% of box right now. Frozen Empire, which cost more than Ghostbusters: Afterlife, $100M to $75M before P&A, is co-financed by TSG. By the way, that B+ CinemaScore is the same grade as the all female 2016 Ghostbusters. This should be a wakeup call for Sony on the goody goody family nature tone of this franchise and its longevity moving forward. More on that later. There are heavy rains along the Atlantic Coast from Washington D.C. up through Vermont with flood watches in effect, however, no significant cinema closures are expected. Mckenna Grace makes a face at baby Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man. Sony Overall the box office with $97.6M is expected to be off -17% from the same weekend a year ago as that’s when Lionsgate’s roared with John Wick: Chapter 4, which posted the highest opening in the franchise with $73.8M and led the marketplace to $116.6M. Updated PostTrak exits from ComScore and Screen Engine are 80% positive on the Gil Kenan directed sequel with a 64% definite recommend. Grades are lower among kids versus Afterlife at 89% postive and a 57% must see right away. Male leaning of course at 55% with 46% of the crowd between 25-44 years old with another 30% of the audience 13-24 years old and the largest quad a tie between 18-24 and 25-34 years old at 23%. Diversity demos are 48% Caucasian, 27% Latino and Hispanic, 12% Black, 8% Asian and 5% Native American. Ghostbusters: Afterlife is playing best in the South, South Central and Midwest. Top grossing cinema in the nation so far is AMC Disney Springs in Orlando FL with over $50K. NEON’s Sydney Sweeney nun horror movie, Immaculate, did $2M yesterday for what’s shaping up to be a $5M opening in fourth place. CinemaScore is a C which is par for a horror movie (they get B and C CinemaScores). PostTrak is significantly lower at 52% positive and a 30% definite recommend. Euphoria crowd is coming out at 52% female with 75% of the audience between 18-34. Largest demo is 25-34 at 39%. Diversity demos were 44% Caucasian, 30% Latino and Hispanic, 11% Black, 10% Asian, and 5% Native American/other. Best markets are the East, South Central and West with the AMC Burbank the pic’s top grossing cinema stateside at $15,3K. Elevation has Canada. The movie, which was fully financed by Black Bear, and a passion project of Sweeney’s, cost under $10M. It’s a P&A deal for NEON. The release model for this horror movie is very similar to what Blumhouse use to execute with its microbudget BH Tilt movies. IFC’s has the other specialty horror fil

To succeed in this business, you have to provide what audiences *want to see* in theaters. In a post Covid-19 & post Hollywood strikes landscape especially, now is not the time to take box office gambles. "Content is king", and the studios should double down on this focus to continue the theatrical recovery we have been observing. #BoxOffice #Studios #Forecasts #Movies #BusinessIntelligence #MovieTheaters

- Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management are in talks to acquire Paramount Global, with a bid of $26 billion. - Paramount Global's special committee allowed an exclusivity period with Skydance to expire, indicating a shift in negotiations dynamics. - The potential acquisition would create a Hollywood powerhouse, combining Sony Pictures' vast entertainment portfolio with Paramount Global's iconic franchises. To know more, read the full article on #theenterprise #SonyPictures #ApolloGlobalManagement #ParamountGlobal #Acquisition #MediaIndustry #Entertainment #Hollywood #SkydanceMedia #BoxOffice #globalbusiness #theenterprisenews #followformore #global #finance

𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗜 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘄: Entry 19     𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗬 𝗜𝗩     𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱: 1985 by MGM/UA Entertainment Co.     𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿: Sylvester Stallone     𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young     𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵: Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios    𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Rocky takes on a Soviet challenger in an attempt to avenge his friend.    𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲: “Going in one more round when you don't think you can - that's what makes all the difference in your life.”    𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗜𝘁: The third highest-grossing film of 1985 (behind 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 and 𝘙𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰: 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘐𝘐), it is still the highest grossing film in the franchise.      𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: My husband wanted to watch 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘐𝘝 immediately following 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺, but I’m glad I watched 𝘐𝘐 and 𝘐𝘐𝘐.  I was much more invested in Rocky and Apollo’s relationship than I would have been otherwise.  The training montage might be the best of them all, even if the music doesn’t live up to past outings.  I would be interested in seeing Stallone’s cut, which was released theatrically in 2021, but again some of the goofiness of the original is what makes it endearing.     𝗙𝘂𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁: Arnold Schwarzenegger helped train Dolph Lundgren to get in shape for the film.     𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4/5 robots 🤖 🤖 🤖 🤖   𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗜𝘁 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻: It can be a double feature with 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘺 on the Fourth of July 

With ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ the Marvel Cinematic Universe Becomes First Film Franchise to Cross $30 Billion at Global Box Office These headlines highlight the financial viability of IP content, especially comics. While consumer habits evolve over time, the storytelling and characters continue to resonate across generations. Movies and merchandising are currently in vogue, as print media seems to be losing its appeal due to high production costs and a change in the format of how content is consumed. There are many uncertainties, such as whether film production will become too expensive in its current form, if Manga/Anime will capture more market share, the influence of politics and culture on existing storylines, and how AI-Web3 will impact creative compensation. It's bound to be a rollercoaster, but one thing is certain: storytelling sells! https://lnkd.in/esgwpTaP #anime #manga #web3 #web3community

Will Wolverine and Deadpool ignite Marvel's comeback? Superheroes abound in Disney's Marvel franchise, but it urgently needs to be saved. Historically, one could count on superheroes like Spider-Man, Thor, Hulk, or the Avengers team to come through for the win. But in the wake of the much-discussed decline at the studio, Marvel is going through unusual times. Therefore, it's a good thing that Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds, has fully entered the fold with Hugh Jackman, an Australian, who may now reprise his legendary role as the late metal-clawed Wolverine, thanks to the creative delights of the Marvel multiverse (parallel universes of different realities). Read more on: https://lnkd.in/dfRtBxgu

MARTIN GROVE'S HOLLYWOOD REPORT FOR 10/27/24: VENOM 3 turned out to be boxoffice poison.   Hollywood buzz-ards expected VENOM: THE LAST DANCE to waltz off with $65M and pump some life into the seriously anemic October boxoffice. Instead, they got a sickly $51M domestic opening that doesn't come close to VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE's $90M Pandemic kick-off 10/1/21. V2 delivered $506.8M in global boxoffice candy.    Coming on the heels of JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX's boxoffice implosion, V3 is another reminder that it's time to retire Hollywood's passion for mega-budget franchises. It may take original IP to persuade audiences to get off their comfy couches and commit time & money to the multiplexes. Of course, original IP is what originally built the movie business.   The Sony/Marvel PG-13 sci-fi action adventure threequel, which reportedly cost $120M to produce, opened at 4,131 theatres ($12,346), per Comscore. It also debuted internationally to $124M, a stronger showing that gives it a better looking worldwide cume of $175M.   V3 is tracking best for first choice equally well with men under & over 25 men (14 points over norm each). Rotten Tomatoes critics hate it at 36% while audiences are just okay at 79%.   This weekend's domestic marketplace totaled $91.9M, per Comscore Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian, up 31% from the prior weekend and down 28% vs. this time last year. Comscore's year to date tally has 2024 at $6.76B, down 11.4% from $7.63B in 2023. The previous weekend, 2024 was down 11% vs. 2023.   Meanwhile, back at the multiplexes: Paramount/Temple Hill Entertainment's SMILE 2 slid one slot to #2 with $9.2M (-59%) in weekend two at 3,624 theatres ($2,594). S2, which reportedly cost $28M, has done $40.7M domestic.   Focus Features' PG Vatican set thriller CONCLAVE opened #3 (tied with THE WILD ROBOT) to $6.5M at 1,753 theatres ($3,708), per Comscore. Directed by Edward Berger (ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT), it's tracking for first choice below norm with all demo groups. Rotten Tomatoes critics are applauding at 92% while audiences are good at 82%.   Universal/Dreamworks Animation's family audience hit THE WILD ROBOT was #3 in weekend five (TIED WITH CONCLAVE) with $6.5M (-36%) at 3,427 theatres ($1,897). WILD's done $111.4M domestic and $232.3M worldwide.   Next weekend (11/1): The  only wide studio opening is Sony/ Miramax's PG-13 drama HERE at about 2,500 theatres. Directed by Robert Zemeckis (FORREST GUMP), it stars Tom Hanks & Robin Wright. It's tracking for first choice below norm with all demo groups. Rotten Tomatoes critics are a deadly 21%.   Also arriving, but in what's reportedly a strangely micro-sized limited release, is WB/Malpaso Productions' PG-13 thriller JUROR #2, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Nicholas Hoult. No Rotten Tomatoes scores yet.   (See more at www.ZAMM.com)   #movies #boxoffice #martingrove #venom      

Respect Scott Mendelson enormously but disagree on this one. Ignoring and disrespecting the fans is what is driving the cycle. I'm not saying they are always right - they can be very wrong - or you should do everything they say. Scott provides good examples where just doing whatever they say skewed projects to a niche. But flat out ignoring them or worse, antagonizing them more, clearly has been a fail. As my shrink would say "you are in a relationship with these people whether you like it or not." My contention is that engagement and good community management practices can help relieve the pressure, but it also gives you stick - not a good community member, don't receive the rewards. If social media creates incentives to be negative, what are studios doing to create counter incentives to be positive? Simply ignoring all these fans is counterproductive IMO.