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Most of this episode discusses what went so incredibly right for Nathan Fielder’s You Can See Everything and what went only kinda-sorta okay for Legendary and Paramount’s Street Fighter. We also mourn Whalefall, raise a modest glass for Sense and Sensibility and discuss what’s “finally” a genuinely overcrowded theatrical slate packed with good, interesting and/or buzzy movies in theaters near you. Among the topics of discourse: * Jeremy Fuster takes a courageous stand against Lisa Laman’s uncommonly ridiculous (which for her is saying something) question of the day. * Lisa notes the continuing trend of PG or R-rated video game adaptations performing better than PG-13 game-based adaptations. * Scott Mendelson rants about Street Fighter for not providing an actual ending. * Lisa tells A24 to get their s**t together on overseas distribution. * Scott politely asks A24 to stop strong-arming movie theaters. * Everyone mourns a weaker-than-hoped debut for Whale Fall. * Jeremy explains why WB’s Clockwork is probably safe for now. * Lisa raves about Warner Bros.’ 4K restoration of The Devils. * Jeremy wonders whether a sky-high per-screen average for Netflix’s La bola negra will affect the streamer’s expansion plans for its big Oscar-season contender. * Everyone offers opening weekend predictions for Clayface and Clara and the Sun. * And much more! Recommended Reading * Scott Mendelson notes that You Can See Everything is yet another example of how you don’t need IMAX and other PLF auditoriums to get folks to show up. * Jeremy Fuster wonders, following the high-profile dismissals of Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy, if Hollywood will learn the wrong lessons from their big-swing strategy. * Lisa Laman reviews The Devils and Naza (which just got a shot in the arm with word that Neon will jump in to expand the documentary’s theatrical footprint). * Ryan Scott’s latest unofficial “Tales from the Box Office” notes the 20th anniversary of Chris Nolan’s The Prestige, which bemusingly opened just months after 2006’s other period-piece magic flick, Neil Burger’s The Illusionist. If you like what you hear Please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out, offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

No guests this week, so it’s just Scott Mendelson, Lisa Laman and Jeremy Fuster talking shop (mostly) about Universal and Blumhouse Atomic Monster’s The Other Mommy and Sony’s indifferently received The Social Reckoning. Oh, and Lisa pitches an A+ idea for a Hot Wheels movie while Jeremy helps Scott correctly pronounce the last name of everyone’s favorite Angel Studios movie star. Among the subjects of discourse… * Everyone picks their favorite from the top 25 films on Letterboxd * Poor reviews and lousy buzz couldn’t stop Other Mommy * A $40 million debut in China helped Resident Evil again rise to the top of the charts at the global box office * Why The Social Reckoning got unfriended * Amazon MGM needs to firm up its upcoming release dates * The Odyssey returns to snatch IMAX screens from Digger * Misc thoughts on arthouse titles, Angel’s latest and Verity legs * And much more! If you like what you hear… No recommended reading, if only because I’m off to a Wildwood screening and traffic isn’t getting better. Nonetheless, please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

The episode title refers to one of Verity's odder moments, but you’ll have to listen to figure out what it means. Speaking of “what it all means,” we do eventually get into spoilers for Digger around the 40-minute mark (with a literal countdown), and we eventually discuss (at roughly 75 minutes in and as broadly as possible) why we all found Verity so damn vexing, so “spoiler warning” if you’re so inclined. Luke Y. Thompson returns to discuss the shattering of the “Tom Cruise is the biggest and last movie star left in Hollywood” myth. That includes Jeremy Fuster explaining why Days of Thunder 2 isn’t anywhere near as safe a bet as Top Gun: Maverick, or even F1: The Movie. Sidenote, I’m half-tempted to start a semi-regular “Jeremy explains to Scott what’s actually going on right now in the wide world of sports” spin-off, but I digress. Among the subjects of impassioned and righteous anger… * Everyone offers their pick for the most “underrated” Warner Bros. movie * Scott runs down the top grossers, with the usual contextual digressions and on-the-fly analysis, while Lisa and Jeremy make sure he doesn’t forget about the indie flicks. * Coyote Vs. Acme is now an uncontested domestic theatrical success. * Beware Boiúna continues an annoying trend: wide-release, major-studio movies now get showtimes all day. * Avengers: Endgame knocks Avatar, for the second time in seven years, down to second place to become the biggest global grosser of all time. * Mazel tov to Naza with an $86k Wed-Sun gross in one theater. * Luke discusses finally catching up with The Odyssey. * The many hows and many more whys of Digger’s monumental box office failure * The hows and whys of Verity’s chart-topping domestic debut * An unexpected update in our semi-regular Beaver-watch! * And much more!! Recommended Reading/Listening… * Scott Mendelson goes way too long on the cruel circumstances of Skydance, a production company with a flop-filled track record and Paramount, a studio that has mostly struggled for the last decade, now taking over Warner Bros., a studio that has thrived amid unprecedented challenges and has consistently helped theaters survive over the past decade. * Jeremy Fuster discusses a study that finds Hollywood studios currently spend more than half of their production budgets outside the United States. * Lisa Laman offers her picks for the five most important Warner Bros. movies * Ryan Scott discusses a PG-rated cut of Cannibal Holocaust that, if you’re even remotely aware of the 1980 Italian horror film’s infamous history, will at least spark your morbid curiosity. * Max Deering interviewed Linus Larsson and Mattias Snygg about Wych Elm’s upcoming 90s-horror-influenced video game, Silver Pines * Luke Y. Thompson discussed “finally” seeing Obsession after the hype “finally” died down and offered a “correct” way to adapt Chronicles of Narnia. If you like what you hear… Please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. To reach out, offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone * Luke Y. Thompson - Mortal Cinema, TV Line and SlashFilm Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

No special guests this week, just a meat-and-potatoes episode about what turned out to be a surprisingly crowded and relatively “better for theaters than for studios” end-of-quarter three weekend. Avengers: Endgame was #1 with $26 million as it prepares to knock Avatar out of the all-time global top spot for the second time, which of course led to plenty of chatter about to what extent the MCU is “back” and/or the extent to which the Infinity Saga finale might also remind audiences that Marvel Studios used to have a far better artistic batting average. Among the other topics of discourse… * Which other 2019 movies deserve a theatrical rerelease * A comparatively solid second-weekend hold for Resident Evil * Is a $50 million worldwide launch good enough for Paramount’s $82 million Brad Pitt-starring Heart of the Beast? * Whether Universal could have done anything differently in promoting DreamWorks' well-reviewed Forgotten Island * What a robust “opening weekend” for Avengers: Endgame Encore means for the current health of the MCU brand * Primetime’s excellent debut -- bolstered by younger viewers -- alongside (slightly) divisive consumer reception * And much more! Recommended Reading * Scott Mendelson notes that Resident Evil is just the latest successful video game adaptation that, unlike most such offerings from the 2010s, isn’t mostly dependent upon overseas box office. * Jeremy Fuster discusses what the big Avengers Endgame Encore opening means for Disney’s InfinityVision PLF branding. * Lisa Laman digs into how A24 is following in the footsteps of Fox, UPN, and Netflix in becoming less inclusive as it grows into a bigger player. * Ryan Scott’s latest unofficial “Tales from the Box Office” discusses the 12-year anniversary of Denzel Washington’s The Equalizer. If you like what you hear Please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

Apocalypse, Extinction, The Final Chapter… all potential outcomes as the proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. seems on the cusp of fruition. What was supposed to be an upbeat episode, about a studio taking the right lessons from successful IP revivals and scoring a best-case-scenario debut for reasons only partially related to the brand itself, became something of a downer. Spoiler: We got word right as we started recording that, yes, Skydance was indeed going to go from owning zero legacy studios in late 2024 to now owning two as of late 2026. Good lord, can we not be allowed to be happy for more than a few days? Anyway, after a $60.2 million domestic debut and $107 million worldwide opening weekend, Sony and friends’ Resident Evil has earned $77 million after six days in North American theaters amid a (roughly) $136 million global cume. Zach Cregger and Shay Hatten’s Austin Abrams-starring video game-based horror adventure is (between crying fits and wall-punching) the main subject of this week’s episode of The Box Office Podcast. And for the occasion, producer Max Deering gets upped to “fourth chair guest” on account of his Resident Evil video game knowledge and fandom. To be fair, as he explains, he hasn’t been on air as much due to his own life responsibilities. Speaking of which, with the Umbrella Corporation scoring an existential victory, Jeremy Fuster’s appearance on the episode was confined to the first third amid his as-it-happens reporting for TheWrap. Nonetheless, before he is whisked away, Jeremy discusses what went right and why the film might leg out over the course of the spooky season. Max discusses the conundrum of… certain fans wanting a replica of something they can already get in the video game. Lisa notes the irony of the last few Resident Evil movies and shows bombing, creating a kind of “Well, we haven’t actually seen or watched one of these in a while” mentality among general moviegoers. Scott emphasizes the extent to which the film has succeeded for reasons beyond just Resident Evil being a recognizable and (for gamers, obviously) popular franchise, and how making adaptations that work on their own terms and garner new fans for the brand is a far better strategy than attempting to placate a vocal minority online fandom. Everyone, of course, agrees that mergers are bad and that this specific kind of “buy a company mostly with debt and then foist that debt onto the company you just bought” (which is how private equity killed the likes of Borders and Toys R Us) should be very, very illegal. Recommended Reading/Listening… * Scott Mendelson argues that since almost all of Skydance’s theatrical success (and even more of its reputation as a Hollywood power player) was courtesy of Tom Cruise movies, at least some of the blame (moral or otherwise) for this potentially industry-killing merger falls on “Mr. Savior of the Movie Theater.” * Jeremy Fuster discusses what the looming “Warnermount” means for creatives. * Lisa Laman lays into Disney for turning Searchlight into an IP factory. I shared it last week, but sadly it’s become even more topical as we see a slew of release dates for cheap horror sequels like Longlegs 2, Crawl 2, Heart Eyes 2 and Freaks 2. * Ryan Scott’s latest unofficial Tales from the Box Office notes the 15th anniversary of Drive, while his look at five ‘far cheaper than they look’ sci-fi flicks reminds me that A) I quite enjoyed The Vast of Night and B) I need to catch up with the recent Deathstalker remake. * Max Deering’s latest Action For Everyone episode discusses Resident Evil and features an extended interview with Lady Jill to talk about the art of ‘trans action’ and her short Wakashu. If you like what you hear… Please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

This is a somewhat overstuffed, super-sized episode, whereby Kenny Miles stops in to discuss the Telurude Film Festival, Aaron Neuwirth and Terence Johnson stop by to discuss the Godzilla Minus One trailer (as 2 Black Guys Talk Godzilla premieres its third season), and everyone joins in on discussing what went, well, less right than hoped for Practical Magic 2. And we even found time for another round of Lisa Laman’s “Financial Flashback” game. Among the other subjects of discourse… * The question of the day is “most ill-advised sequel.” * Runner’s halfway decent opening and the apparent existence of a longer, more violent cut available in other non-domestic territories. * Shocker! Trying to sell The Uprising as a Robin Hood movie didn’t help. * What went wrong, in terms of timing, demographics, and artistic quality, with Practical Magic 2, and how it continues a brutal cold streak for Warner Bros.? * A few buzzy documentaries that might break out in the coming months. * And quick thoughts on the positive reception to I Play Rocky, including an, uh, emotional debate over who John Cena should play if we get to I Play Rocky IV. * And more! Recommended Reading or Listening… * Scott Mendelson drops his ridiculously long summer-movie box-office recap. * Jeremy Fuster speaks with LA City Council’s Adrin Nazarian about his new committee to fight job losses in and around Hollywood. * Lisa Laman lays into Disney for turning Searchlight into an IP factory. * Ryan Scott’s unofficial “Tales from the Box Office” notes the five-year anniversary of James Wan’s Malignant, which was obviously too pure for this terrible world. * Max Deering’s latest Action For Everyone discusses Hope and the once-vibrant marketplace for direct-to-video sequels to theatrically successful movies. * Kenny Miles reviews Mary Oliver: Saved By the Beauty of the World. * Aaron Neuwirth offers a commentary for the 40th anniversary of Blue Velvet. * Terence Johnson joins Aaron for the third-season premiere of 2 Black Guys Talk Godzilla, which goes long(er) on Roland Emmerich’s infamous 1998 disaster. If you like what you hear… As always, if you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone * Kenny Miles - We Live Entertainment * Aaron Neuwirth - The Code is Zeek and We Live Entertainment * Terence Johnson - 2 Black Guys Talk Godzilla and Le Noir Auteur Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

When you have the biggest-grossing summer in domestic box office history, there’s only one person to call. The Box Office Podcast welcomes back Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Rentrak (the company until recently known as Comscore), as we dive into what went right (and what could have gone better still) in what indeed turned out to be an industry-best $4.765 billion between May 1 and September 7 of this year. Alongside at least some chatter about the mostly underwhelming Labor Day newbies, the topics of discourse include… * Each of us picking the happiest surprise from the summer movie season * A surprisingly robust and consistently solid indie/arthouse marketplace * Shocker: Today’s kids do (somewhat) like Looney Tunes! * Also, the kids love Insidious! * The likelihood of continued momentum thanks to seemingly exciting films like Resident Evil, Verity, Whalefall, Wildwood and Godzilla Minus Zero * The still-potent value of a good trailer playing before a well-liked movie * Milestones and trivia related to Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey * Whether or not “Dunesday” can create the first $500 million weekend * Buddy and Coyote Vs. Acme’s sturdy legs show the potential for smaller films to use the pre-Labor Day weekend frame as a glorified sneak-preview weekend. * And more! (Plus, listen for the two moments where jokes or comments from Lisa and Jeremy make Scott laugh so hard that he has to turn off his microphone as he gasps for air) Recommended Reading/Listening… * Scott Mendelson dives deep into why the $2.4 billion-and-counting success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day does not mean that superhero movies are “back.” * Jeremy Fuster digs into how Jon Voight seems to have convinced Donald Trump to support a federal film production tax incentive. * Lisa Laman discusses the extent to which Netflix is promoting La Bola Negra as a theatrical title rather than an SVOD offering that will first have a limited theatrical run. * Ryan Scott discusses the extent to which Practical Magic 2 can be the exception to the rule, namely in being a successful sequel to an outright box office bomb. * Max Deering’s latest Action For Everyone episode offers a deep dive into what was shown and what went down at this year’s Big Bad Film Fest. * Paul Dergarabedian’s debut episode of Rentrak’s Lights, Camera, Box Office interviews Michael O’Leary, President & CEO of Cinema United. If you like what you hear… Please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone * Paul Dergarabedian - Rentrak Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

Civilian animation nerd Mickey Dolphin joins The Box Office Podcast as Scott Mendelson, Jeremy Fuster and Lisa Laman break down the not-half-bad near-$16 million domestic debut for the shelved (by Warner Bros.) and rescued (by Ketchup Entertainment) Will Forte and John Cena-starring Looney Tunes movie. Everyone picks their favorite Looney Tunes character and then discusses… * Bountiful box office updates for Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey * Lots and lots of discourse related to Coyote Vs. Acme * Plenty of pointing and laughing at The Dog Stars * Glasses are raised to both Buddy and It Ends * How The Odyssey papered over an otherwise poor summer for IMAX * A box office update for what might be a near-record summer movie season * An update for (Hundreds of)Beavers -watch * And more! If you like what you hear… No recommended reading this week, but if you like what you hear, please share, comment, like, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone * Mickey Dolphin - Medium and The Mercury Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

It’s just the three of us, as Scott Mendelson, Jeremy Fuster, and Lisa Laman discuss what keeps going right for Insidious amid digressions about the absurdity of Paramount buying Warner Bros., alongside our picks for the summer’s most “underrated” or “should have had a larger audience” releases, a Blumhouse comeback, and when piracy does or doesn’t matter for Hollywood. Also, in terms of looking ahead, we talk commercial prospects for Coyote Vs. ACME, whether Robert Pattinson’s Primetime will get an Odyssey bump, the end of the so-called McConaissance and the grim(mer) underside to an already record-high August at the domestic box office. Once again, we have thrown our Box Office Podcast hats into the ring for contention to be among the onstage panels chosen for next year’s SXSW Film Festival. SXSW chooses which panels actually make it to the festival based on which ones get the most online support. So, please click this link to visit our SXSW PanelPicker page and give us a heart. Hopefully we’ll be able to bring some of that “Rango magic” and/or “Beatrice at Dinner whimsy” to Austin, TX, at SXSW 2027 next March! If selected, I, Scott Mendelson, promise to go full Silver Shamrock! Recommended Reading/Listening * Scott Mendelson discusses the circumstance of October being, well, bookended by a slew of high(er) profile and/or buzzier book-to-movie adaptations. * Jeremy Fuster and Drew Taylor dig into whether David Ellison’s 30-movies-per-year promise is even remotely plausible from a commercial perspective. * Lisa Laman argues the cinematic similarities between Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and La La Land. Oh, and she guested on a Camp Miasma-centric episode of Out Now with Aaron and Abe. * Ryan Scott’s latest unofficial “Tales from the Box Office” digs into the 25th anniversary of John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars. * Max Deering’s latest Action for Everyone features the two live on-stage Q&As that took place at this year’s Big Bad Film Fest. In the first, recorded last Saturday, Michael Jai White and JJ Perry discuss the 20th anniversary of Undisputed 2. The second, recorded last Sunday, offers Brandon Streussnig’s post-screening conversation with Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning’s John Hyams. If you like what you hear Please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

Ryan Scott returns to help Scott Mendelson, Lisa Laman and Jeremy Fuster litigate and dissect what went wrong for WB’s acclaimed The End of Oak Street and what went relatively right for Paramount’s Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie. The question of the day is which fictional dinosaur you would most like to hang out with. The general crux of the discourse is the extent to which the Jurassic World series has essentially cornered the market on big-budget, dinosaur-focused would-be tentpoles. Also on our minds is whether or not WB’s miserable 2026 box office year while it is essentially a hostage in a corporate consolidation checkers game is causation, correlation or mere coincidence. Oh, and some end-of-show thoughts about D23, including Jeremy’s thoughts on being there in person this time versus in 2017. And once again, we have thrown our Box Office Podcast hats into the ring for contention to be among the onstage panels chosen for next year’s SXSW Film Festival. SXSW chooses which panels actually make it to the festival based on which ones get the most online support. So, please do click on this link to go to our SXSW PanelPicker page and give us a heart. Hopefully we’ll be able to bring some of that “Rango magic” and/or “Beatrice at Dinner whimsy” to Austin, TX, at SXSW 2027 next March! If selected, I, Scott Mendelson, promise to go full Silver Shamrock! Recommended Reading/Listening… * Scott Mendelson discusses why omitting sex and sexual content from One Night Only only alienated those who otherwise might have been interested in the film for the sake of chasing audiences who were never going to show up. * Jeremy Fuster discusses the recent reemergence of old-school movie palaces in and around Los Angeles. * Lisa Laman offers a study guide/cheat sheet regarding Adam Driver’s recently announced role in Marvel Studios’ upcoming X-Men movie. * Ryan Scott’s unofficial “Tales of the Box Office” discusses Robin Williams’ Being Human, a film that I thought only I remembered partially, because 32 years ago I was among the few who actually liked it. * Max Deering’s latest Action For Everyone offers an end-of-summer recap of sorts, with special guest star, uh, Scott Mendelson(!) If you like what you hear… Please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

Pardon the delay, but it was worth the wait. I won’t spend too much time on a recap, since it’s pretty much what you’d expect. Somehow, Chrissi Michael returned, and the occasion was Will Gluck’s attempt to replicate his lightning-in-a-bottle magic of Sony’s ‘Anyone But You’ with Universal’s (very) high-concept One Night Only. Alas, watching Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell cosplay Much Ado About Nothing seems to have been more appealing than watching Monica Barbaro and Callem Turner try to find love and romance in the time of The Handmaid’s Tale. Yes, there is much discussion about how One Night Only was both a movie we don’t need right now and failed to impress compared to titles like Amazon’s Off Campus, Netflix’s Voicemails from Isabelle, Magnolia’s I Want Your Sex, and A24’s The Invite. On the plus side, Universal’s The Odyssey is now Chris Nolan’s biggest global grosser ever, while Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day is legging out closer to Ant-Man and the Wasp than Black Widow. Will each of us open the show by picking our favorite moments from a Spider-Man movie? Well, to quote everyone’s favorite deleted scene from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, isn’t that the question of the day? Oh, and we have thrown our Box Office Podcast hats into the ring for contention to be among the onstage panels chosen for next year’s SXSW Film Festival. SXSW chooses which panels actually make it to the festival based on which ones get the most online support. So, please do click on this link to go to our SXSW PanelPicker page and give us a heart. Hopefully we’ll be able to bring some of that “Rango magic” and/or “Beatrice at Dinner whimsy” to Austin, TX, at SXSW 2027 next March! If selected, I, Scott Mendelson, promise to go full Silver Shamrock! Recommended Reading/Listening… * Scott Mendelson discussed the “coincidental” timing of Netflix’s announcement that its Charlie Vs. the Chocolate Factory would be going to theaters next year amid a slew of underwhelming debuts for its summer slate of original movies. * Jeremy Fuster discusses the possible civil war (of words, natch) among theater chains and exhibitors over whether to support (or even condone) David Ellison’s attempt to buy Warner Bros. barely a year after his Skydance bought Paramount. * Lisa Laman dug into what films performed best in August of 2006. * Ryan Scott’s kinda-sorta “Tales from the Box Office” discussed how Hell or High Water turned Taylor Sheridan into a bankable name and, eventually, maybe the most powerful showrunner of the streaming era. * Max Deering offers a gameplay preview of Wych Elm Games’ upcoming horror video game Silver Pines. * Chrissi Michael offers a slightly skewed take on the whole “let people enjoy this” discourse, including a dozen or so of her most prized (my words, not hers) “comfort watch” movies. If you like what you hear… Please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone * Chrissi Michael - c(ine)m(a) studies Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

The majority of this 77-minute episode is spent discussing all of the reasons why Tom Holland and Zendaya’s MCU-affiliated Spider-Man: Brand New Day nabbed a record $360 million weekend in North America amid a near-record $912 million worldwide debut. Joining us, once again, is Aaron Neuwirth of The Code is Zeek, Out Now with Aaron and Abe, and 2 Black Guys Talk Godzilla. Among the subjects of discourse… * A few “well, actually” disclaimers related to inflation, early preview showings and Detective Chinatown 3’s $398 million Fri-Sun opening weekend. * Why Brand New Day’s record-high domestic debut is even more impressive in light of COVID-era theater closures and multiplexes not being able to just play Spider-Man 4 on every screen throughout the first few days. * Spoiler talk (with warning beforehand) related to Sadie Sink’s spectacular performance as Red Ghost. * Why Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a comic book superhero movie for today’s kids * Sequel teases and random thoughts on Avengers: Super Smash Bros. Secret Wars * A glass raised to our friendly neighborhood Punisher * Meanwhile, in another universe, The Odyssey barely missed a beat on its way to (very soon) pass $1 billion at the worldwide box office * As Hadestown nears $20 million, a toast to the only movie where “Hey, it only dropped 80% in its second weekend!” can be seen as a legitimate compliment * Indie studios cannot chase trends; they have to start them * Predictions for Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s second weekend grosses * And more!! Recommended Reading/Listening… * Scott Mendelson wondered aloud how Jumanji: Open World will fare in December, playing alongside Avengers: Doomsday and Dune Part Three. * Jeremy Fuster spoke to IMAX executives Patricia Keighley and (the late) David Keighley to discuss how their 20-year professional relationship with Chris Nolan culminated in The Odyssey becoming the first feature to be shot on IMAX. * Lisa Laman discussed this year’s Oak Cliff Film Festival. * Ryan Scott picks five Star Wars novels that merit getting a movie or show. * Max Deering’s latest Action For Everyone episode brings on Patrick R. Young to hype up this month’s fourth-annual Big Bad Film Festival. * Aaron Neuwirth interviews Mortal Kombat II director Simon McQoid. If you like what you hear… Please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, email [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone * Aaron Neuwirth - The Code is Zeek and We Live Entertainment Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

With little in the way of new releases, although Bleecker Street’s Hadestown triumph gets its flowers and then some, most of this week’s chatter is still about Chris Nolan’s The Odyssey. Nate Rice, of Box Office Watch, returns to help Scott Mendelson, Lisa Laman and Jeremy Fuster dig into a record-small -27% second-weekend drop (for a $100 million-plus opener) and a record-high $289 million ten-day total (for a film opening below $125 million). Among the topics of discourse… * Everyone’s favorite performance in The Odyssey * Hadestown kicks box office ass for Bleecker Street *Spider-Man: Brand New Day won’t stop The Odyssey’s momentum * Sony’s smart marketing choices should prevent Spider-Man 4 from succumbing to “superhero indifference * Whether or not word of The Cinerama Dome (and the Arclight multiplex) reopening in 2028 is more than just wishful thinking * Hollywood should continue Proshot theatrical releases * Fun with math about how high Nolan’s film might soar in the global box office * An unusual number of $1 billion-plus grossers and studios distributing them * The SDCC MCU news, including Ryan Gosling starring in a Shawn Levy-directed Ghost Rider, David Johnnson headlining Ryan Coogler’s third Black Panther movie and all of the Avengers: Doomsday scuttlebutt. * Opening weekend predictions for Spider-Man: Brand New Day * And more! Recommended Reading/Listening… * Scott Mendelson wonders whether Blumhouse (now, of course, Blumhouse Atomic Monster) is getting its “cool chillers for cool kids” mojo back. * Jeremy Fuster discusses how Chris Nolan has used his capital to reignite interest and excitement over comparatively old-school filmmaking techniques. * Lisa Laman digs into why the Proshot version of Hadestown is so successful at emphasizing what worked so damn well for the stage show. * Ryan Scott’s latest kinda-sorta “Tales from the Box Office” focuses on Lionsgate’s mostly-forgotten sci-fi Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland-starring flop Chaos Walking. * Max Deering’s latest Action For Everyone episode is a deep dive into what I consider the best of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies: 2014’s Age of Extinction. If you like what you hear… Please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, The Spool * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone * Nate Rice - Box Office Theory Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

Original co-host and now semi-regular guest Ryan Scott returns for an old-school “year one”-style episode, as the original core four discusses, well, what else? Yes, we do offer a few notes related to Minions & Monsters, The Invite and other holdovers. However, the bulk of the discourse focuses on The Odyssey and Christoper Nolan’s artistic and commercial track record. Among the highlights… * Favorite performance in a pre-Odyssey Chris Nolan movie. * Warner Bros.’ thus-far lousy year at the box office. * The value of counterprogramming even against would-be titans. * How and why The Odyssey opened so high. * How high The Odyssey might climb, and how little it might dip on weekend two. * Audience demographics and Chris Nolan as a generational movie star. * What If? — What if Tenet had been a global hit (even noting that it only really underwhelmed in North America) and/or opened amid normal circumstances? * The few actors for whom The Odyssey was not their biggest-ever global opening. * Hopes and fears over “InfinityVision.” * Whether most audiences will greet Avengers: Doomsday as another Disney 2010s-era nostalgia sequel, little different from Toy Story 5 or Inside Out 2. And more! Recommended Reading/Listening… * Scott Mendelson discusses Skydance’s horrible, terrible, no good, very bad week, at least as it relates to its attempts to buy Warner Bros., and argues that the once-inevitable merger now seems noticeably less so. * Jeremy Fuster interviews projectionist Taylor Umphenour, the man in the booth running the 70mm show as the century-old Alex theater re-opened with, of course, The Odyssey. I was actually invited to, and attended, Thursday night’s The Odyssey showing, with my 19-year-old (who loves old-school movie palaces) happily tagging along. She liked both the movie and the theater quite a bit. I hope the same level of care is put into whatever Sony (now officially confirmed) decides to do with The Archlight’s Cinerama Dome. * Lisa Laman notes that the success of Barbie and The Odyssey shows that whether casting transgender actors helps at the box office, it sure as hell doesn’t hurt. * Ryan Scott’s latest kinda-sorta/unofficial “Tales from the Box Office” column discusses Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm. * Max Deering offers up the ten best end credits songs for movies that don’t exist, while this week’s Action For Everyone (with Aaron Neuwirth guesting) turns The Odyssey discourse into another episode of Vyce’s War Journal. If you like what you hear… Please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe

Pretty cut and dry folks, as Scott, Lisa, Jeremy and Max are joined by Mike Scott (Action For Everyone) and a newbie guest, visual artist, horror nerd and Disney music fan Shondrel Ortiz, all team up in a packed episode to discuss all things Moana and Evil Dead Burn. Among the more specific topics of discourse… * Everyone picks their favorite onscreen musical number (not just the best song) from a Disney animated feature, and then later picks their favorite Evil Dead kill. * Mike Scott notes the lack of romance in Disney’s recent animated films. * While most agree Dwayne Johnson is near the end of his run as a butts-in-seats headliner, Jeremy Fuster argues his next batch of post-stardom roles could be every bit as interesting, if not more so, compared to his more commercial flicks. * Everyone talks s**t (and talks shop) about where Disney does or doesn’t go in relation to further live-action remakes of Mouse House animated features. * The very French Evil Dead Burn and the challenges in selling funny horror… * Everyone takes their shot at predicting where The Odyssey might end up at the end of its domestic opening weekend. Everyone agrees that the film is trading a best-case-scenario opening for longer post-debut legs. * And more! No time for recommended reading this week, but if you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected]. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap * Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Autostraddle * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm, Fangoria and Inverse * Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone * Mike Scott - Action For Everyone * Shondrel Ortiz - Instagram Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe