The Box Office Podcast

Does the mediocre opening weekend suggest a broader theatrical problem, or was Ryan Gosling in a Hollywood love letter to itself less enticing to regular moviegoers? Plus, how this is all, of course, the fault of our 'Star Wars' Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

The complicated new math of films distributed by obscenely wealthy streaming companies where it hardly matters if a $55 million flick like Zendaya’s Challengers makes a rate-of-return profit on theatrical alone. What is the “success” point for these “theatrical as PR for streaming” movies in terms of making the distributors happy with the box office results? How good (or

ComScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian guest-stars (as Ryan Scott takes a breather) amid a look at Civil War’s second-weekend hold (the good) and the debuts for Abigail and Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (the bad) prior to a deep dive into the upcoming summer movie season (barring a miracle, the ugly). Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.c

* What does Civil War’s chart-topping $26 million debut mean for A24?* Scott and Lisa think a new Blair Witch is a horseman of the apocalypse situation.* Ryan thinks we should all stop worrying and love the Blair Witch.* Jeremy and Ryan talk about what they saw at CinemaCon.And so much more!! Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

On the measured success of 'Monkey Man' and why 'The First Omen' is a classic "IP for the sake of IP" mistake. Thoughts on why the 20th Century Studios IP has mostly been so much of a dud for Disney, how 'Civil War' will play for paying moviegoers and what constitutes success or failure as the streaming bubble bursts and theaters are grateful for each and every major new release. G

On today’s astonishing episode…!* How the MonsterVerse rose from the ashes of King of the Monsters.* Do "spectacular by pre-Covid standards” results for Bob Marley, Late Night with the Devil and Love Lies Bleeding offer cause for optimism?*Small drops for Dune Part Two rebuts conventional wisdom about PLF-or-bust moviegoing. All that and more! Get full access to The Outside S

Is Sony turning Ghostbusters into a viable franchise? Immaculate's record-high (for Neon) opening implies Sydney Sweeney has some drawing power. IFC Films triples their own personal best with a $2.8 million debut for Late Night with the Devil. Trailers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Furiosa and Alien: Romulus each offer three distinct forms of shareholder-friendly generational nostal

Ryan Scott was recovering from SXSW. He’ll be back next week. Mendelson, Fuster and Laman discussed Mark Wahlberg’s dwindling bankability after years of being a streaming butts-in-couches movie star (can Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Hart avoid this fate?), Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire being sold less like a sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife and more like a sequel to Ghostbusters II,

What does a strong $58 million domestic opening for Kung Fu Panda 4 mean for DreamWorks and feature animation in general? How far can Dune Part Two soar — especially at the domestic box office? And what went mostly pretty well at the 96th Academy Award? All of these mysteries and more will be answered by 3/4 of us in our sixth episode. Ryan Scott is at SXSW this week, so he’ll

Most of this week’s episode concerns the $82.5 million domestic (well played, Ryan) and $182.5 million worldwide opening weekend for Dune Part Two. We talk about the massive share for PLF screens, the lower expectations for the first ‘Dune’, how young stars made an adaptation of a 59-year-old novel seem cool and how Denis Villeneuve’s Dune avoided the fate of Denis Villeneu