NEW (CHONKY) EPISODE: We got a packed house with @brndnstrssng.bsky.social and @scottmendelson.bsky.social joining @hibachijustice.bsky.social, @vycevictus.bsky.social, Liam, and Producer @odstspartan.bsky.social for the Summer Box Office Preview!
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Super Mario tops Mummy and Hail Mary amid small debuts for Normal and Lorne and a promising five-theater start for Mother Mary
(Box Office punditry/analysis for the weekend of April 19, 2026
via @scottmendelson.bsky.social)
Exactly why, in this case, the IP did more harm than good.
The top two movies this weekend at the domestic box office will, once again, be ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ and ‘Project Hail Mary’.
And the comments are also delightful...
This may be, social media-wise, my favorite thing of the day...
While a $22 million horror title opening with a (roughly) $12.5 million domestic and $27 million global weekend is no box office disaster, the muted reception for ‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’ shows why branded IP can sometimes be as much of an obstacle as an advantage.
Listen Now| @michellekisner.bsky.social returns to discuss 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,' ‘The Drama,' ‘You, Me & Tuscany,’ and 'Faces of Death'.
Three quickies on a rock-solid 'Hunger Games' prequel trailer, a curious choice to pen 'Scream 8' and whether 'Devil Wears Prada 2' will be a 1980s-style "just do the first movie again" sequel
It’s profoundly ignorant to suggest that the Pope should be fighting crime on behalf of the Catholic Church. Anyone who was remotely familiar with Roman Catholicism would know that that’s what Daredevil is for
The Will Packer-produced 'You, Me & Tuscany' opened with $8 million, an underwhelming figure but not a disaster for an $18 million flick that ran into unexpected genre competition.
Eh, it’s a spin-off, so I’m inclined not to count it in this sense. Not that I’m expecting John Wick 5: Wait, I Thought He Died In The Last One? to continue this streak.
No harm, at least it forced me to recheck my math! :-)
Yup. And Harry Potter 7.2 was the first to do the 3-D conversion thing right when that was still a big uplift factor (especially, but not exclusively) for overseas earnings. And I’m inclined not to count uber-long running franchises like Scream, Die Hard and Jurassic that took a long sabbatical.
That's a great comparison, thanks!
Which was a miracle even by those standards. There’s never been a one-two-three-four up-up-and-away franchise story (in terms of quicker sequels and sans cheapo horror) like John Wick.
If I thought Trump were clever enough for this sort of Mousetrap-style thinking, I'd argue this was partially an intended endgame of the "war" in the first place.
Absolutely, and Universal knew that when scheduling it accordingly. Besides, I’d argue Michael, Devil Wears Prada 2, and Mortal Kombat II -- prior to Mandalorian and Grogu -- are less kid-friendly in 2026 than were Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 and Fast X -- prior to Little Mermaid -- in 2023.
Not to be that guy, but (unless I missed something on your end, in which case mea culpa)
Super Mario 1 - $146M Fri-Sun
Super Mario 2 - $131M Fri-Sun
Super Mario 1 - $92M Fri-Sun (-37% and - $54M)
Super Mario 2 - $69M Fri-Sun (-48% and -$62M)
TSMGM is earning less than TSMBM, but not egregiously so.
Don’t let Disney's 2010s Marvel hot streak fool you. Then and now, most follow-ups still gross less (while costing more) than their predecessors.
From ‘Obsessed’ in 2009 until ‘Little’ in 2019, producer Will Packer found fortune and glory producing remakes, rehashes, and genre approximations but with Black leads as added value.
The $900 million Freddy Mercury movie remains by far the exception when comparing global grosses for musicals or music-focused biopics and melodramas
Project Hail Mary is looking at *at least* $565 million globally, as Hoppers looks to finish with a respectable $375 million worldwide. (punditry for non-Super Mario/non-The Drama weekend box office)
The Zendaya and Robert Pattinson-led original nabbed A24’s third-best opening weekend, signaling that the "indie studio for cool kids” is now also the place for buzzy, of-the-moment, youth-skewing romantic comedies and dramas...
(Weekend box office punditry for THE DRAMA)
Online discourse aside, moviegoers are RSVPing "Yes" to Zendaya and Robert Pattinson's comedy as Amazon's sci-fi epic continues pulling "aspirational for anyone not named Nolan or Coogler" grosses...
Illumination's animated sequel earned $48 million on Friday, down a shameful 12% from its predecessor's $55 million first Friday.
Prepare for a deluge of "video game fatigue" thinkpieces?
(The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Friday Box Office Punditry)
On Dad Duty, but SUPER MARIO GALAXY retraining 91% of its predecessor's domestic opening weekend (around $188 million over five days versus $205 million) is excellent. Ditto THE DRAMA with A24's third best opening day and now on course to nab its third or fourth biggest opening weekends ever.
NEW EPISODE: @scottmendelson.bsky.social returns to talk The Riddler’s Incan treasure hunt & we also look at Cinefantastique’s 1994 expose on 60s Batman!
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