Speaker 1: Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and
Speaker 1: analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Monday, May fourth, twenty
Speaker 1: twenty six. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton. I am co
Speaker 1: editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm in LA.
Speaker 1: He's in New York, and Vrighty has reporters around the
Speaker 1: world covering the business of entertainment. In today's episode, in
Speaker 1: our box office segment, we'll hear from Variety's Jack Dunn
Speaker 1: on how the devilwares Prata Too spruced up the box
Speaker 1: office and how the Michael Jackson biopic Michael held up
Speaker 1: very well in Weekend two. But before we get to that,
Speaker 1: here are a few headlines just in this morning that
Speaker 1: you need to know. There will be labor peace in Hollywood.
Speaker 1: SAG after on Saturday afternoon reached a four year Master
Speaker 1: Film and TV contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture
Speaker 1: and Television Producers. The term runs four years, just like
Speaker 1: the deal that the AMPTP reached with the WJ last month.
Speaker 1: The DGA is next up for contract talks on May eleventh,
Speaker 1: and with SAG after going for four years, it seems
Speaker 1: pretty likely that the Helmers will also be looking at
Speaker 1: a term that ends in twenty thirty. That's a big
Speaker 1: change from the three year terms that have been the
Speaker 1: norm for decades. On Saturday Night, as always, that Kentucky
Speaker 1: Derby was the most thrilling two minutes in sports. Prestigious
Speaker 1: race generated record ratings for NBC, with nearly twenty million
Speaker 1: people tuning in and nearly twenty five million at the peak.
Speaker 1: This year also marked a historic first win for a
Speaker 1: female trainer, Sherry de Vaux, and the horse was Golden Tempo.
Speaker 1: After one hundred and fifty years of Kentucky Derby races,
Speaker 1: it's about time. Soccer giant David Beckham is hosting for
Speaker 1: Paramount Plus an alternative telecast for the UEFA League Championship Series.
Speaker 1: Beckham and a few friends will offer all time alternative
Speaker 1: commentary telecasts for the UEFA Semi finals matches on May
Speaker 1: fifth and May sixth, and for the championship game in
Speaker 1: Budapest on May thirtieth. CBS Sports's Kate Scott will also host.
Speaker 1: All of these stories and so much more can be
Speaker 1: found on Variety dot com right now and on this
Speaker 1: day for all who celebrate May the fourth be with you.
Speaker 1: And now it's time for conversations with Variety journalists about
Speaker 1: news and trends and show business. If it's Monday, we're
Speaker 1: talking box office. Jack Dunn, Variety's associate web editor, breaks
Speaker 1: down the eye popping weekend for twentieth centuries the Devilwaar's
Speaker 1: Prota two. And there was also strong week two old
Speaker 1: for last week's surprise hit Michael, which was good news
Speaker 1: for Lionsgate. The triumphant return of Miranda Priestley and Company
Speaker 1: adds momentum and diversity to what has been a surprisingly
Speaker 1: strong spring at the multiplexes. Jack Dunn, thank you so
Speaker 1: much for joining me here to talk about the box office.
Speaker 2: Oh, it's a pleasure. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: Well, this is always a pleasure when something is highly
Speaker 1: anticipated and really really delivers, and I think that would
Speaker 1: be the case for the Devilwares product too. I feel
Speaker 1: like Disney cannot be disappointed this morning. Jack, tell me, basically,
Speaker 1: how did this movie do in its opening weekend?
Speaker 2: If you're Disney in twentieth century, you're definitely popping some
Speaker 2: bubbly this weekend. For sure, seven million domestically and a
Speaker 2: whopping one hundred and fifty six million overseas for a
Speaker 2: total of two hundred and thirty three million. I guess
Speaker 2: Gerda loins and all those quotes translate to any language,
Speaker 2: because that is a stellar number overseas.
Speaker 1: And there's no question that Devilwaar's product is rooted in
Speaker 1: certain modern Americana. But A Passion World is global, and
Speaker 1: Miranda Priestley AKA and A Win Tour is also global.
Speaker 1: So there's been so many reboots, so many reimaginedings, many
Speaker 1: of them you know, they're probably more than haven't worked
Speaker 1: than those that really have. And this I would say
Speaker 1: definitely bucked that trend. Jack, What did Disney do right
Speaker 1: here in launching this movie?
Speaker 2: I mean, in an IP driven industry now, it's not
Speaker 2: just about pulling something from the back catalog, it's about
Speaker 2: picking the right IP right and the Devil Wars produa
Speaker 2: is certainly still relevant with audiences today, whether you were
Speaker 2: around in two thousand and six when it's in theaters
Speaker 2: or are you just discovering it for the first time
Speaker 2: and bringing back the cast. I mean Stanley Tucci, Meryl
Speaker 2: Streep and Hathaway, Emily Blunt, those are just global movie
Speaker 2: stars now. I think, really that's a really potent combination.
Speaker 1: Our chief film critic Guy Lodge, in his really really
Speaker 1: well written review, noted how much looking at this movie
Speaker 1: versus Devilware's Product, which was released in two thousand and six,
Speaker 1: so it was basically made in two thousand and five,
Speaker 1: you could just see how much filmmaking, modern contemporary filmmaking
Speaker 1: has changed in that time. I'd be curious to see
Speaker 1: what the anecdotal evidence is, but it does seem like
Speaker 1: that in major cities at least, there were some there
Speaker 1: was some cosplay going on, there were people that really
Speaker 1: made it an event. And of course Rebecca Rubin, who
Speaker 1: wrote a really sharp story about analyzing this Weekend's opening
Speaker 1: and where it stands in a really nice run of
Speaker 1: strong openings of late. Of course, Rebecca broke the news
Speaker 1: to us that the popcorn bucket was in the shape
Speaker 1: of a purse, and I did, in fact, on social
Speaker 1: media see people holding up that prized purse. Did that
Speaker 1: come on to your feed over the weekend?
Speaker 2: Yeah, Jeah, absolutely. I mean it's a movie that just
Speaker 2: touches people, right, I mean, we talked about the quotes.
Speaker 2: It's a movie that you know, I think it really
Speaker 2: affected people at the time and It's a movie that
Speaker 2: kind of permeates into all elements of culture.
Speaker 1: Again a very good showing. Also again in the continuing
Speaker 1: the good news here is Michael, which really opened to
Speaker 1: way above expectations, happily for everyone, including Lionsgate and exhibitors.
Speaker 1: Michael and Michael Jackson biopic not without its controversy, but
Speaker 1: the audience spoke and came out in droves and again
Speaker 1: in weekend two dropped forty four percent. I have learned
Speaker 1: from Rebecca that anything less than fifty percent is really good,
Speaker 1: especially a movie that has a big opening. Jack, what
Speaker 1: did you read in the numbers for Michael?
Speaker 2: I think after this weekend fifty four million domestic and
Speaker 2: eighty million international, pushing the cube to four hundred and
Speaker 2: twenty three million. I think, are people are really seeing
Speaker 2: kind of what this box office power house Michael really
Speaker 2: is and the holding power I think is initially blowing
Speaker 2: people what it looks like this movie is sticking around.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you, Jack, for your generation, what are
Speaker 1: the common things that you see in your feed and
Speaker 1: your friends are saying about Michael. Are they able to
Speaker 1: separate what we know is very horrible, horrible things involving
Speaker 1: child sexual abuse, to appreciate Michael Jackson, the artists, and
Speaker 1: these incredible songs that you just can't get out of
Speaker 1: your head.
Speaker 2: Well, I think the art versus the artist conversation is
Speaker 2: especially now as conversation that's always evolving. I think people
Speaker 2: are more than happy just to enjoy and remember the
Speaker 2: things that are good about him.
Speaker 1: And again the audience has spoken well, very interesting. And
Speaker 1: then of course, just falling in line. Number three for
Speaker 1: the weekend was Super Mario Galaxy movie. Number four was
Speaker 1: Project tail Mary. Both of those titles have really livened
Speaker 1: up the Q two box office. The end of Q
Speaker 1: one there for Project tail Mary, and both are clearly
Speaker 1: hanging in and just looking at the diversity of those titles.
Speaker 1: A musical bio pick, an adult dramedy, a super franchise
Speaker 1: thing in Super Mario, and a kind of newer fantasy
Speaker 1: franchise in Project tail Mary. That's that's the kind of
Speaker 1: diversity that makes exhibitors swoon. Are you seeing when you
Speaker 1: look across the numbers, are you seeing any examples of
Speaker 1: like regional differences? Are there people more people coming out
Speaker 1: on the coasts for these big movies or is it
Speaker 1: across the country.
Speaker 2: When you have something like Super Mario such a global ip,
Speaker 2: you're going to have people all across the country. And
Speaker 2: I think something like Project Hail Mary might start big
Speaker 2: in the big movie going markets like La or New York.
Speaker 2: But obviously there's a big book following too, but people
Speaker 2: who maybe are not familiar with the book. After such
Speaker 2: good word of mouth gets spread around, I think eventually
Speaker 2: it's gonna trickle to everywhere in the country.
Speaker 1: And we're seeing, of course, book sales for Andy Weir
Speaker 1: on the book charts, also Audible, and the Audible was
Speaker 1: telling us that everything from him has really gone off
Speaker 1: the charts. The last movie I wanted to ask you about,
Speaker 1: Jack was because I know you are a fan of
Speaker 1: indie horror Hokum with Adam Scott. Now, this this movie
Speaker 1: snuck up on It's from Neon. It wasn't a super wide,
Speaker 1: but it wasn't tiny and it did decently. Was this
Speaker 1: on your radar as a horror fan?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'd seen the trailer a few weeks before, and
Speaker 2: I'm excited to go see it now. I think this
Speaker 2: is a movie that Neon and probably a lot of
Speaker 2: exhibitors are happy to have. You know, I've been reading.
Speaker 2: The budget was around five million, and it's and it
Speaker 2: made six million its debut, So that's a great start
Speaker 2: for Neon and the filmmakers. You know, it's not pulling
Speaker 2: in Project Hail Mary by any means, but it's getting
Speaker 2: great reviews, which is pretty rare for a horror film
Speaker 2: eighty six percent on Rotten Tomatoes. So this is kind
Speaker 2: of one of those small wins that serves an audience
Speaker 2: that I think we could use more of. You know,
Speaker 2: not every movie needs to be a home run, and
Speaker 2: I think Neon is finding a really good niche bringing
Speaker 2: a well known star like Adam Scott to what's turning
Speaker 2: out to be a really widely beloved horror movie like
Speaker 2: this interesting.
Speaker 1: Well, the box office is definitely warmed up as we
Speaker 1: really really dive into summer movie blocksbuster season. There's so
Speaker 1: much lined up and can't wait to track it with
Speaker 1: you and Rebecca and Brandon, all of the folks that
Speaker 1: really bring such expertise to the box office. We deeply
Speaker 1: appreciate it. Jack Yup, Cynthia, thanks for having me. As
Speaker 1: we close out today's episode, here's a few things we're
Speaker 1: watching for Paramount Skuidance releases its first quarter earnings after
Speaker 1: the market closes today. There's a lot going on at
Speaker 1: that company. It will be interesting to see what David
Speaker 1: Ellison has to say. Disney and Warner Brothers Discovery join
Speaker 1: the earnings parade on Wednesday with their Q one numbers.
Speaker 1: There's also a lot going on at both of those shops.
Speaker 1: On Tuesday, we get the Tony nominations. Keep your eyes
Speaker 1: on Variety dot com and our social pl platforms for
Speaker 1: all the headlines and analysis that you need for the
Speaker 1: shows that have made an impact on the main stem.
Speaker 1: Josh Groben will receive his star on the Hollywood Walk
Speaker 1: of Fame on May sixth. It'll be located between Vine
Speaker 1: and Gower, right in front of Amba Music actor's Josh
Speaker 1: Gadd and Ben Schwartz and musician David Foster will be
Speaker 1: there to sing Groben's praises and speaking of musicians, ours
Speaker 1: is ready to rock with Amedaeus. Actor Will Sharp plays
Speaker 1: the boy Genius composer in a five part British series
Speaker 1: that drops on Stars on Friday. And definitely don't miss
Speaker 1: the Q and A that my colleague Gene Mattis has
Speaker 1: posted this morning with the authors of the new book
Speaker 1: Boom to bust how streaming broke Hollywood workers. It's a
Speaker 1: fascinating dive with a long term and arm's length view
Speaker 1: of how the peak TV boom has upended Hollywood. Variety
Speaker 1: has reported on this transformation day by day, hour by
Speaker 1: hour since about twenty ten. It's very interesting to get
Speaker 1: an outsider's sophisticated business perspective on all of this change.
Speaker 1: And here's something to save The date for music from
Speaker 1: the films of Wes Anderson will be celebrated in July
Speaker 1: at the Hollywood Bowl with the La phil Beck, Jackson Brown,
Speaker 1: Britt Daniel, Jeff Goldbloom, Mark Mothers Law, and Rufus Wainwright
Speaker 1: are among the stars that will also take part in
Speaker 1: this celebration. It will unfold under the Stars at the
Speaker 1: Bowl on July tenth, July eleventh, and July twelfth. We
Speaker 1: love to hear from our listeners. To please send thoughts,
Speaker 1: scripes and other feedback about Daily Variety two podcasts at
Speaker 1: Variety dot com. Before we Go grants to Rob McHenry.
Speaker 1: He's been named Head of Ventures for Sphere Entertainment Company.
Speaker 1: He will lead the Sphere's frontier technology initiatives, identifying and
Speaker 1: developing disruptive technologies to drive sphere toward new immersive experiences.
Speaker 1: Before joining the immersive entertainment firm, McHenry served as Deputy
Speaker 1: Director and Acting Director of the Defense at Advanced Research
Speaker 1: Project Agency better known as DARPA. He was the founder
Speaker 1: and CEO of Bright Silicon Technologies, and he served as
Speaker 1: chief Operating officer of the legendary Palo Alto Research Center
Speaker 1: better known as PARK and before that, he was a
Speaker 1: nuclear submarine officer for the Navy. Thanks for listening. This
Speaker 1: episode was written and reported by me Cynthia Littleton, with
Speaker 1: contributions from Jack Dunn Stick Snick's hick Picks. Please leave
Speaker 1: us a review at the podcast platform of your choice,
Speaker 1: and please tune in tomorrow for another episode of Daily Variety.