THE LATEST ARTICLES
NEWSLETTERS
a minecraft movie
Scott Mendelson January 7, 2026
With Hollywood’s annual output back to resembling its pre-pandemic levels, some clear trends emerged: Kids showed up, horror hit more often than it didn’t, and the superhero slump is real. How might it all apply to 2026 and beyond?
Zootopia 2
Scott Mendelson December 2, 2025
Disney’s Thanksgiving smash notched a surprisingly outsize win in the fickle territory, but studios shouldn’t mistake its success for a sign that the gaudy numbers of the 2010s are about to return—except, maybe, for ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash.’
Glen Powell
Scott Mendelson November 18, 2025
Leading men, take heed: “The Running Man” remake’s soft opening is a lesson about the difference between bankable I.P. and fare maybe best left to history. Meanwhile, movies made by, for, and/or starring women continue to power the box office, with “Wicked” on deck.
Tron Ares movie
Scott Mendelson October 14, 2025
Disney’s ‘Tron: Ares’ shows what happens when studios keep resurrecting half-dead I.P., mistaking brand recognition for audience demand, and doubling down on nostalgia plays that nobody asked for.


weapons movie
Scott Mendelson August 19, 2025
Most of the big studio movies performed as well as they needed to for their own commercial success. But a lack of regular releases, zero surprise breakouts, and a slew of less-special-than-before franchise titles left theaters begging for a #Barbenheimer…
Warner Bros Weapons
Scott Mendelson August 12, 2025
David Zaslav’s once-flailing movie studio has notched its sixth straight $40 million-plus opening weekend, including two of the three top earners of the year. In simple terms, Warners’ hot streak comes from placing smart bets and making the most of them, but there’s always an asterisk in the new tangled Hollywood calculus.
Scott Mendelson July 28, 2025
As summer hits its final stretch, box office watchers are doing the math on all the ways in which 2025, even with its fearsome foursome and a Man of Steel, could be playing catch-up until Christmas. The subdued month of July tells the story.
Jurassic World Movie
Scott Mendelson July 7, 2025
With ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth,’ Universal once again proves that there’s more than one way for Hollywood to build a blockbuster franchise.


elio
Scott Mendelson June 22, 2025
A timely 2025 midyear health check on the theatrical business, which is outpacing 2024 but behind 2023, as the industry plays with old formulas to manufacture new hits. So far, with a strong incoming late summer slate, $4 billion domestically looks like the floor.
lilo & stitch
Scott Mendelson May 26, 2025
With two franchise hits in ‘Lilo & Stitch’ and ‘Mission 8,’ an oddball comedy, plus early spring hits still legging it out, this crucial bellwether weekend had enough box office and record-breakers to make everyone rethink the rush to streaming, and to adjust their summer estimates.
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