Tag: 2026-movies

Summer 2026 Box Office Breakdown

AdamLeave a comment

Movie theaters are back! Or that’s at least what I’ve been hearing for the past month or two! Ever since that disastrous turn of events that shut down the whole world for a year or two, movie theaters all around the world has seen a significant decline in ticket and concessions sales. That hasn’t stopped Hollywood from doing everything in their power to keep the movie theater going experience alive. Even in the age of streaming, pirating, and Tik Tok, this is a battle that the movie making folks in southern California (and other parts of the world) are willing to fight until they suddenly can’t.

And I don’t think there has been a period of time that has determined just how “well” movie theaters are going throughout the 2020s than this year’s lineup of summer blockbusters, especially since we are entering the latter half of the 2020s. Six years removed of movie theaters being shutdown and two years of infamous strikes, this is probably the most “back to normal” feeling that Hollywood has felt since pre-Covid. If this summer saw yet another underperforming two to three months, then there must come serious questions as to how long movie theaters have before they go extinct.

However, now that summer of 2026 has come and gone, it’s time to see the results of how all the main feature films did in movie theaters everywhere. And the results are…….surprisingly positive. While there are certainly some baffling duds that do raise cause for concerns for certain IPs, there were plenty of notable successes that were so successful that it practically made up for all those duds. Because of that and more, 2026 is looking to be hands down the best year for movie theaters since 2019! And for the first time since Covid, that actually is saying something!

In case you are wondering how I am judging this data, I am gonna look at a chunk of wide releases that came out at the start of May to the near the end of August. I’m gonna list the film’s budget, how much the film made at the box office, what the projected break even point likely was, how much the film gain in profit, and whether or not it should been seen as a success, flop, underperformance, or break even point for the studios.

I’m only gonna use math that most tend to use when judging how a film does at the box office. Mostly by taking the budget, times that by 2.5X to cover the whole budget surrounding production and marketing, and seeing how much money it made or lose as a result.

Again, that is not the case for EVERY single one of these movies and this is NOT a direct result as to how the studios view each film from a financial standpoint. This is just my personal guess and opinion as to how each one of these films should be viewed as.

Plus, it’s also worth mentioning that ever since Covid, the definition of “success” is now quite different in the eyes of many producers in Hollywood. Who’s to say that just because a film didn’t do so great in it’s opening two weeks in theaters that the studios sees it as a failure when it became a big hit on digital and streaming? That alone could make it a “success” in the minds of studios.

It is worth remembering that a film’s overall success isn’t just determined based on how it did in theaters but also how it fared in terms of digital, streaming, and physical media sales. Just because not enough people showed up in theaters to give the film profit doesn’t mean people didn’t show it’s support when said film became accessible to all of our home media.

Regardless, I hope you all enjoy this analysis and gives you a good indication of how films are still thriving/struggling in movie theaters!

The Devil Wears Prada 2

Budget: $100 Million

Box Office: $692.8+ Million

Break Even Point: $250+ Million

Gain/Lose: $442.3+ Million in Profit

Verdict: Hit

While hardcore fans have certainly debated the quality of this 20 years in the making sequel since it’s release, there’s no denying the massive cult following the original film has gained since 2006. And it’s that exact cult following that showed up in drones to support yet another adventure with Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci. Whether it’s because of it’s timely story of AI and digital taking over the fashion industry or just wanting to spend more time with these characters, The Devil Wears Prada 2 was an absolute slam dunk for both Disney and 20th Century Fox. I wouldn’t be shocked if a third film is being discussed right at this very moment.

Mortal Kombat II

Budget: $80 Million

Box Office: $129+ Million

Break Even Point: $200+ Million

Gain/Lose: $71+ Million Loss

Verdict: Flop

Although this was certainly an improvement over the 2021 original (which grossed $80 million when over half of the movie theaters around the world was close), I doubt it’s enough for Mortal Kombat II to be considered a success in the eyes of Warner Bros. Whether it’s because of the multiple delays or divisive reception that the first one got among critics and fans alike, Mortal Kombat II just couldn’t seem to win over folks, despite it being more positively received than the original. Unless digital and streaming can come in to save the day, I would not expect a third film to be released anytime soon.

Obsession

Budget: $750,000

Box Office: $750,000

Box Office: $505.7+ Million

Break Even Point: $1.875+ Million

Gain/Lose: $493+ Million in Profit

Verdict: Hit

The breakout hit of the summer that is still leaving the higher ups at Hollywood shaking their heads, wondering how in the world they did NOT see this coming?! A supernatural horror film that is fully original being made by a YouTuber that hardly anyone in the industry heard about and feature a cast of actors and actresses that hardly anyone in the industry heard about, ending up being one of the most shocking success stories in modern film history! Obsession was able to defy any sort of expectations that might’ve been leveled against it and then some! Throughout the summer, it went toe-to-toe with the likes of Star Wars, He-Man, DC Comics, Disney Live-Action, and the great Steven Spielberg…..and actually WON! Congrats to Curry Baker, Inde Navarrette, and everyone involved with Obsession, enjoy this glorious success, you deserve every bit of it!

The Mandalorian & Grogu

Budget: $165 Million

Box Office: $345.7+ Million

Break Even Point: $412.5+ Million

Gain/Lose: $66.8+ Million Loss

Verdict: Underperformed

I called it at the beginning of this year and I (unfortunately) was completely right! It’s still baffling that Disney and Lucasfilm thought that Star Wars’ triumphant return to cinema should consist of three to four episodes of a Disney Plus series that most people stop caring about over half a decade ago. With the near non-existence marketing and a very vague plot synopsis, The Mandalorian & Grogu was more in-line with the The Clone Wars animated film from 2008 than any of the “official” Star Wars films (And that’s totally NOT because both films where originally meant to be several episodes of their own respective shows and JUST so happens to have Jabba the Hutt’s son in it). I’m sure Disney Plus numbers and merchandise will be enough to save this from being a complete financial disaster in the eyes of stock holders but the fact it’s solely reliant on that is a good indicator just where Star Wars is right now. Let’s hope that Shawn Levy and Ryan Gosling are up to the task of restoring the legacy of Star Wars next year with Starfighter or else the Dave Filoni era of Lucasfilm could be over before it even begins.

Backrooms

Budget: <$10 Million

Box Office: $394.1+ Million

Break Even Point: <$25+ Million

Gain/Loss: $371.5+ Million in Profit

Verdict: Hit

Another surprise “original” hit that no one saw coming. Granted, unlike with Obsession, Backrooms already did have an established fanbase, as it is based on a series of web shorts on YouTube created by director Kane Parsons. However, that still doesn’t change the fact that it was still able to stand strong on it’s own and even surpassed many other established IPs this summer that I’ve already mentioned. Perhaps if the audience’s reception was on the level of Obsession, it might’ve been able to gain enough legs to cross the 400 million dollar mark. Even so, another terrific success story that will surely usher in a new era of filmmaking among social media influencers, for better or worse (most certainly worse)!

Scary Movie (2026)

Budget: $30 Million

Box Office: $231.4+ Million

Break Even Point: $75+ Million

Gain/Loss: $156.4+ Million in Profit

Verdict: Hit

The return to form horror spoof franchise was able to make it’s 13-year long return look pretty easy. Despite the negative reviews and divisive fan reception, it was still able to make it’s money back and then some, becoming the highest grossing Scary Movie sequel to date (inflation aside). Between this, last year’s The Naked Gun, and the upcoming Grown Ups 3, it looks like we are now seeing the doors being open for more raw horror/anti-woke/politically incorrect comedies for the immediate future. And I’m sure it will absolutely NOT get old and tiresome very fast!

Masters of the Universe

Budget: $170+ Million

Box Office: $114+ Million

Break Even Point: $285+ Million

Gain/Loss: $171+ Million Loss

Verdict: Flop….but

In almost ALL circumstances, Masters of the Universe (2026) would be seen as an absolute bomb, barley able to make pass just a $100 million globally despite it’s $175 million budget and being based of the He-Man IP. However, when it comes to Amazon MGM and Mattel, they are clearly looking more at how the film does in terms of streaming and merchandise numbers. And thus far, Masters of the Universe (2026) has been a MASSIVE hit for both Amazon Prime AND for Mattel toys/action figures! Similar to last year’s F1, the purpose of the film’s existence isn’t so much to make all the money in the world at the box office but more to introduce He-Man to a new generation, hoping that the film itself will be remember upon leaving movie theaters everywhere and gain new fans among younger demographics. And if the strong numbers for Amazon Prime and Mattel are any indication, we MIGHT just see Masters of the Universe continue in some way, shape, or form in the future. Again, if we are looking at just box office numbers, it’s an absolute flop! But whether or not Amazon and Mattel both feel that way remains to be seen!

Disclosure Day

Budget: $115 Million

Box Office: $241+ Million

Break Even Point: $287.5+ Million

Gain/Loss: $46.5+ Million Loss

Verdict: Underperformed

Despite the marketing painting this as a glorious return to form for Stephen Spielberg and the OG “disaster” film of the summer, Disclosure Day most certainly didn’t live up to the box office projections that Universal thought they were getting. Although it did get decent legs in the latter half of it’s theater run (most likely due to it being the only main “adult” film released until The Odyssey), it’s polarizing response from audiences clearly didn’t help, with many feeling like the film didn’t live up to it’s title. Even as someone that is a strong defender of the film, I definitely understand those that want a film to be a complete package with no loose ends whatsoever would be disappointed by it. There could be a chance that this film will find it’s audience in terms of digital and streaming but I’m sure Universal and Spielberg themselves thought that THIS would be the breakout original hit of the summer…..and it just wasn’t.

Toy Story 5

Budget: $250 Million

Box Office: $1.136+ Billion

Break Even Point: $625+ Million

Gain/Loss: $545+ Million in Profit

Verdict: Hit

Despite everyone and their mom constantly claiming that this series should have ended after 3 until they are blue in the face, that didn’t stop Toy Story 5 for being yet another $1 billion grosser for Mickey Mouse and crew, performing as the highest grossing Toy Story film to date (Again, inflation aside!). It’s timely plot involving tablets and electronics taking over the lives of modern children most certainly played a benefit to the audience’s glowing response to it, along with seeing our cowgirl Jessie getting more screentime than last time out. And unlike another big animated film released this summer, it had a decent seven-year long wait that kept enough distance from audience to justify another Toy Story adventure that they would want to see. Post-Toy Story 3 naysayers be damned, I’m sure Disney and Pixar will be coming out with a Toy Story 6 with Buzz Lightyear front in center sooner than you would think (Just don’t make it like Lightyear, please!).

Supergirl

Budget: $170-$186 Million

Box Office: $126.4+ Million

Break Even Point: $425-$465+ Million

Gain/Loss: $298.6-$338.6+ Million in Loss

Verdict: Flop

Another big flop that I (unfortunately) saw coming from a mile away. From it’s questionable release date to it’s lackluster trailers to it’s nightmare PR, Supe’s cousin had a hard time finding any sort of audience in the theaters this summer. As I sadly predicted, Supergirl was the most heartbreaking bombs of the summer, falling into the same “female-led movies made for men” wheelhouse with 2024’s Furiosa and last summer’s Ballerina, only not having any fandom goodwill attached to it. Mr. Gunn and company better hope that Man of Tomorrow delivers next summer or else this new DC Universe might just be over before it even got a chance to settle in, (and that’s not even mentioning the GIANT elephant in the room that’s about to swallow Warner Bros Discovery up).

Jackass: Best and Last

Budget: $10 Million

Box Office: $27.8+ Million

Break Even Point: $25+ Million

Gain/Loss: $2.8+ Million in Profit

Verdict: Broke Even

For a movie that had little to no marketing and was basically thrown into movie theaters at the very last second, this is about as good as it could get. I don’t know if this has to do with Paramount realizing the shift away from streaming and shift towards movie theaters or Mr. Ellison proving his point on releasing up to 30 films a year once he acquires you know what, I’m at least glad that Johnny Knoxville and friends were able to get Jackass: Best and Last in the seats for their last hooray! If only they actually bother to market the damn thing and over half of the movie wasn’t just deleted stunts from the previous movie! Only then, this could’ve ended up being among the highest grossing Jackass films of all time.

Minions & Monsters

Budget: $85+ Million

Box Office: $514+ Million

Break Even Point: $212.5+ Million

Gain/Loss: $301.5+ Million in Profit

Verdict: Hit

Yes, this will (likely) be the lowest grossing installment in the Despicable Me franchise by quite a big margin and was clearly affected by circumstances such as the World Cup, America’s 250th birthday, the massive heat wave, and potential audience fatigue of those walking, talking corn puffs. However, thanks to it’s very tight budget and billions of dollars earned in merchandising, Minions & Monsters still made more than enough to be considered a hit. However, considering this is the SEVENTH overall installment with the Minions since 2010 and the THIRD installment that we have gotten with them since 2022, it might be time for Illumination to take a break with their beloved/infamous mascots and revisited some of their other properties. And considering that Universal are dipping their toes back to the wells of Shrek and The Secret Life of Pets, it seems they might be doing just that. This is STILL a success but it might be a little while before we are reunited with Gru and the minions once again.

Moana (2026)

Budget: $250+ Million

Box Office: $315+ Million

Break Even Point: $625+ Million

Gain/Loss: $310+ Million Loss

Verdict: Flop

I don’t know if the motive to do a live-action remake of a Disney animated film that came out just ten years ago had to do with corporate greed or The Rock needing a quick hit after his attempt at jumpstarting DC Comics (Black Adam) and going for an Oscar (The Smashing Machine) fell flat but Moana (2026) could have NOT made the higher ups at Disney particularly happy regardless of which way you look at it. Even in a crowded summer of family friendly blockbusters, I don’t think people expected for this to fail THIS hard! Maybe it was just way too early to do a live-action remake of Moana OR the audience fatigue with these live-actions remakes are settling in with Lilo & Stitch (2025) being just a fluke?! Regardless, Disney might need to start carefully considering which animated classics they chose to do a live-action remake for to avoid big losses like this for the future.

Evil Dead Burn

Budget: $20 Million

Box Office: $72.3+ Million

Break Even Point: $50+ Million

Gain/Loss: $22.3 Million in Profit

Verdict: Broke Even

Releasing a horror film like this in the middle of summer is still a baffling choice in my mind, but that didn’t stop Evil Dead Burn from doing JUST enough to keep it from being a total failure. Even with the lack of marketing or the possible franchise indifference now, I don’t think Warner Bros should be too upset with how this did, especially compared to their other failures in 2026. A Spring or Fall release date might have faired this much better but considering this was released under the worst circumstances, this was still good enough.

The Odyssey

Box Office: $250 Million

Box Office: $1.555+ Billion

Break Even Point: $625+ Million

Gain/Loss: $930+ Million in Profit

Verdict: Hit

Perhaps the profit numbers are a bit exaggerated with extra marketing and budget numbers probably added in there, but make no mistake, The Odyssey is a MASSIVE hit! The haters can point to the inflated numbers and the amount of “ghost” seats in the theaters all they want but you would be lying through your damn teeth if you claim that Universal is NOT happy with the results for The Odyssey. Christopher Nolan sought out to make a definite version of The Odyssey that will go down in history as one of the greatest cinematic achievements of the decade and he did just that. What’s even more crazy is that it is STILL selling out seats over two months later, which can push this to $1.7+ Billion total by the time it finally gets let out of theaters. Between this and the next movie I’m about to talk about, this was the one-two knock out punch that the summer movie season DESPERATELY needed to save any kind of face from it’s overall shortcomings! Rock on, Nolan!

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Box Office: $225+ Million

Box Office: $2.335+ Billion

Break Even Point: $562.5+ Million

Gain/Loss: $1.772+ Billion

Verdict: Hit

Let’s be honest, NONE of us saw this coming! Sure, we all knew that Spidey was gonna be an easy billion dollar hit but I don’t think anyone expected THIS! Not only managing to outgrossing one of the most successful films of all time in No Way Home (which included THREE Spider-Men and all of their memorable villains) but it’s able to stand up their with the likes of Avatar, Titanic, and Avengers: Endgame, by being one of the ONLY two billion dollar grosses of all time. Spider-Man: Brand New Day was able to deliver the right amount of twists and turns and surprises that are to be found here, all which work as not just fun fan service and crowd pleasing moments but also plays actual, legit importance of a role to the film’s overall themes and messages. You have the Punisher, the Incredible Hulk, *SPOILER ALERT* and Yelena, A.K.A. the new Black Widow, that are present and accounted for here. Yes, I know the buzz killers out there will bring up inflation and the ACTUAL number of ticket prices but come on, regardless if this movie came out in 2026 or 2006, this is still an INCREDIBLY achievement. Tom Holland and Zendaya better put their retirement plans on acting on hold because with the way things are going on, Sony and Marvel are gonna make them do their roles until they are 90! (*whispers* UNTIL YOU ARE 90! *whispers*)

The End of Oak Street

Budget: $80-92 Million

Box Office: $107+ Million

Break Even Point: $200-$230+ Million

Gain/Lose: -$93-$123+ Million

Verdict: Flop

The verdict here is quite a head scratcher. Considering it’s overall positive reviews, it’s superbly talented cast, and tackling a genre sandbox most mainstream moviegoers absolute LOVE in dinosaurs, The End of Oak Street should have been an easy mini-win. Whether it’s because of it’s high budget or controversy surrounding the film’s AI-generated marketing, it seems like dinos don’t sell to the audience unless it’s related to something Jurassic Park or World. Maybe it will gain enough legs down the road and streaming numbers to pump it up to the break even point, but yeah, quite disappointing.

Insidious: Out of the Further

Budget: $18 Million

Box Office: $110.3+ Million

Break Even Point: $45+ Million

Gain/Lose: $65.3+ Million

Verdict: Hit

While it’s too early to claim if this will be up there with among the most highest grossing films of the franchise, Insidious: Out of the Further still manages to continues the series overall consistency in box office numbers. Regardless of it’s release date, Insidious still seems to do just fine no matter when it comes out. It may no longer reinvent the wheel for horror but it’s still able to make the best out of it’s limited budget and can keep the brand going just as long as enough people still show up for it. Bring on Insidious 7!

Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie

Budget: $40 Million

Box Office: $125+ Million

Break Even Point: $100+ Million

Gain/Lose: $25+ Million

Verdict: Hit

This would probably be at the break even verdict had this movie came out a few months ago but since it will likely still be in theaters at least for another month and there’s no major kids movie coming out until Forgotten Island, I’m willing to bet it will make more in profit in terms of theater, digital, and streaming that Paramount will be more than happy with the results of Paw Patrol. Like a handful of successes this summer, just keep the budgets low and deliver on crowd pleasing thrills and you will be surprised how much money you will get back as a result.

When you take all the box office results into account with the ways that most film analysts use to determine if the movie is a success or failure, this summer has had a total of TEN movies that should be considered hits, five movies that should be considered bombs (with one potential exception thanks to streaming), two movies that underperformed, and two other movies that did just enough to break even.

With these results, I am more than happy to say the movie theaters are indeed coming back and for the first time since Covid-19, it seems like it is FINALLY headed towards a positive direction. Yes, it’s a shame that The Mandalorian & Grogu and Disclosure Day underperformed as they did and Supergirl and Moana (2026) were the gigantic bombs that they were, there was just WAY too much success stories to completely right this summer off.

You had Toy Story 5 being another billion dollar animated grosser for Disney, you had The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Scary Movie (2026) being able to ride the legacy-quel wave to become solid hits, you had The Odyssey being the massive theatrical event that it was advertised to be and practically bringing back the good old days of movie theaters, you had Spider-Man: Brand New Day killing all Marvel/superhero fatigue narratives yet again to become only the THIRD two billion dollar juggernaut of all time, and of course, you can NOT forget two of the greatest cinematic success story in recent memory than with Obsession and Backrooms. Even a low grossing franchise installment like Minions & Monsters was STILL able to cross the half billion dollar mark and gain plenty of revenue for Universal and Illumination Animation. Throw early year hits such as Scream 7, Hoppers, Project Hail Mary, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and Michael and I would say that movie theaters have been eating quite good for 2026.

While I don’t know movie theaters will EVER be able to capture the same magic they were able to before 2020, 2026 is prove that there is still a massive audience and demographic for the film going experience. This might just be the start of a big shift that we are seeing with how we view our entertainment. With streaming prices going up, more studio mergers happening, and owning digital media no longer having that special ownership feeling as physical media, you can sense there’s a chance of vibes, especially among younger audiences, of the way they go about seeing the newest film releases.

Because of that and more, there is still plenty of hope for movie theaters! There are still plenty of changes that need to be made (lower ticket prices/concessions, longer theatrical windows, longer time waiting for films to come to digital/streaming, more movie subscriptions/clubs….etc.) but if studios keep going with this direction while being able to contain a sustainable budget with most big movies they released, there might still be hope for movie theaters yet!

How Coyote vs Acme Is A Miracle

AdamLeave a comment

Coyote vs Acme is set to hit theaters this weekend. This is the latest film from Warner Bros Animation and Ketchup Entertainment, following last year’s collaboration with The Day The Earth Blew Up, that is based on the 1990 magazine article from The New Worker, titled Coyote V. Acme by Ian Frazier, with elements from Looney Tunes to follow suit. In this latest live-action cartoon incarnation, we see Wile E. Coyote, enlisting a billboard attorney to sue the Acme Corporation for repeatedly selling him alleged faulty products.

When looking underneath the surface, Coyote vs Acme doesn’t seem all that special. It’s being directed by Dave Green, who hasn’t directed a film in a decade, with the last one being the completely disposable TMNT: Out of the Shadows (2016). It’s being co-written by Jeremy Slater, the writer of Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire and Mortal Kombat II, two very fun but VERY dumb films which the plots falls apart when you think about it for a split second. And it’s being co-produced by Christopher DeFaria, whose last film was the complete and utter live-action cartoon dud that was Tom & Jerry (2021) (You forgot that movie existed, didn’t you?!)! Sure, you do have James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad, and Superman (2025)) attached to the project (although even he hasn’t had the best track record in recent memory *cough* Supergirl (2026)*cough*), it got some fun members to the cast such as Will Forte and John Cena, and there are a few projects that I haven’t mention that the creative team is attached that MIGHT make it seem worthwhile (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves mafia united!) but as a whole, you may wonder why this film is such a big deal to the movie industry when it seems like it could be yet another forgettable “cartoon in live-action” movie for kids and families.

To answer that question, we have to take look back at the development history of Coyote vs. Acme. Not strictly because of how hard this film was to make from a creative side of things but more so from a business side of things. This is a film which it’s own mere existence is one of the better Hollywood underdog stories in recent memory. A film that only exist because of online reactions and backlash and NOT because the heads at WB actually wanted to release it. A film that nearly disappeared and vanished before our very eyes in the form of a snap from Thanos but was somehow resurrected and is about to be released in theaters worldwide this weekend. Because of all of that and more, Coyote vs Acme‘s own existence is quite simply a miracle.

The development of Coyote vs Acme actually began around this time in 2018. You had Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie, The Tomorrow War, and Renfeld) as the film’s producer and Jon and Josh Silberman (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) attached to write the screenplay. In December 2019, Dave Green was hired to direct the film, with the likes of Samy Burch, Jeremy Slater, and James Gunn joining the creative team the following year. The cast got hired in early 2022, with the likes of Will Forte, Lana Condor, and John Cena joining along for the ride, and the live-action filming took place in New Mexico from March to May 2022, with post-production finishing off later on that year.

When looking through those lenses, it sounds like a completely fine production with not much trouble to be found. Sure, it might’ve took a while until the actual filmmaking took place (The film was first greenlight in 2018 after all) but that was likely due to the Covid-19 pandemic that happened in 2020 and 2021, which cause movie theaters all around the world to be shut down and the major studios just beginning to dip their toes into the world of streaming services.

The real question is why did it take so long to release? If the filming was already complete in 2022, that means that this had to have been in the back burner for over FOUR years! What happened from behind the scenes that it took nearly half a decade for the film to get an actual release? To put it simply, studio politics happened!

In 2023, Warner Bros Pictures was in absolute SHAMBLES, with a net lost of millions of dollars and being stuck with so much debt due to the Covid-19 aftermath AND the recent merger with Discovery from the prior year. In order to cut a good chunk of their losses, head CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, David Zaslav began to scrapped finished films that he had absolutely no faith in just for the sake of tax write-offs. This led to the infamous cancellations of the likes of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt, both films in which had wrapped up filming/voice recording but never got the chance to be finished in post-production. Despite there being pleas within the entertainment industry to release those films in finished form, they would never get to see the light of day due to the studio deciding to erase all footage of it completely, giving it ZERO chance of getting leaked out or pirated online anytime soon, if ever.

On November 9th, 2023, Warner Bros announced that Coyote vs Acme would be the next film to get axed. Even though the film was already completed and ready for release, the studio heads still felt releasing it in any way, shape, or form was not worth it, preferring to claim it as a tax loss of about $30 million dollars. This move led to so much outrage and controversy on the internet and through communities of film and animation. Several filmmakers left angry phone calls to Warner Bros, expressing their frustration at this latest move from them, leading to others cancelling upcoming meetings with them and going on strike because of it. After the recent tax write-offs of Batgirl and Scooby, it was the write-off of Coyote vs Acme that was the straw that broke the camel’s back for everyone.

However, five days later on November 13, it was reported that the leaders of WBD had changed their mind and would allow the creative team of Coyote vs Acme to shop the film to other distributors. It was reported that Amazon, Apple+, and Netflix were all interested in buying the rights to the film but no hard offers were reported. The film had been screened for more studios, including Paramount and Sony but nobody would still budge. Despite the film’s very positive test screenings take took place before AND after the film’s faith had a giant umbrella hovering over it, no one seemed interested enough to claim it for themselves.

In February 2024, it was reported that Warner Bros Discovery rejected the bids given by Netflix, Amazon, and Paramount. The heads wanted $75-$80 million to sell the film but no one was willing to meet their price. Because of that, WBD was once again considering shelving and deleting the finished film entirely, again claiming it as a tax loss. During a Q4 earnings call on February 23rd, 2024, WBD took a $115 million write-down but didn’t completely confirm the cancellation of the film. Yet again, this led to a rapid response from filmmakers and film lovers all across the globe.

After the film was reported to potentially getting cancelled, this lead to even more online criticism than before. The hashtags #ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme and #SaveCoyoteVsAcme emerged on Twitter, there was improvised exchange between Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck at the 51st Annie Awards which Daffy said, “I hate to be political, but release Coyote vs Acme!”, and industry figures such as Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Michael Chaves, and Daniel Scheinert all expressed their support for the film, all giving it high praise after getting access to special screenings of it, believing it was more than worthy of a worldwide release. However, despite all of the noise and support from top to bottom, none of it seemed like it would matter.

In that same month, Will Forte released a public statement addressed to the cast and crew after seeing the final cut of the film: “I know that a lot of you haven’t gotten a chance to see our movie. […] Please know that all the years and years of hard work, dedication and love that you put into this movie shows in every frame.” A year later, Lana Condor confirmed that the film had a “funeral screening”, just like Batgirl did, when the news broke out of the film’s cancellation. Despite the two-year long fight with the top executives at Warner Bros Discovery, it seems like the fate of Coyote vs Acme would be sealed, joining alongside Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt of being wiped away from existence, almost like it never happened at all. That was until a certain studio decided to come in with the clutch!

On March 19th, 2025, it was reported that Ketchup Entertainment was in talks to acquire all right to the film from Warner Bros for approximately $50 million! Following it’s acquisition of the domestic distribution rights for The Day The Earth Blew Up, Ketchup expressed interested in the project and wanted another partnership with WBD to release the film in it’s entirety. Despite initially wanting $75-$80 million, Warner Bros Discovery accepted the offer and agreed to give the film a full theatrical release. This led to the film getting an early screening at San Diego Comic Con on July 25th, 2026 (likely as a special thanks to film fans for fighting for the film’s release) and getting a full worldwide release on August 28th, 2026.

To say Coyote vs Acme‘s mere existence is a miracle would be an understatement. This was a film that was on the BRINK of being wiped away before our very eyes, all for the sake of tax write-offs and cutting debt due to WBD’s pure incompetence and NOT because of the film itself. Yet, somehow and someway, the entire cast and crew were given a chance to release their film that had already been completed four years ago onto the big screen for the whole world to see. I don’t even need to see the film at all to know that this is a special story in of itself.

Although the early reviews have been very positive and the box office projections seems to track it as being the highest grossing domestic opening for Ketchup Entertainment, Coyote vs. Acme‘s own existence is worthy of being shown on the big screen. Whether the actual finished film is good or not or makes a profit or not is irrelevant (which is why I won’t be giving it a full review), the fact that filmmakers and loves of cinema were able to fight back against the studios and forced them to release the film in of it’s entirety is THE breakout story of Coyote vs Acme. The fact that the actual film is confirmed to be quite good and it might just make it’s money back is the special icing on the cake!

Perhaps miracles are still possible! Than in of itself might just be enough to give one hope in not just entertainment but perhaps the whole world!

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) Movie Review- Spidey Loneliness Epidemic

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Oh, boy! This movie is gonna be a hard one to review in spoiler-free fashion! Not necessarily because it’s hard to describe my feeling towards the latest cinematic adventure with your favorite web swinger without revealing all the nooks and crannies in it but more that it’s near impossible to talk about the film in it’s entirety without address the GIANT elephant in the room! An elephant in the room that was solely created by the marketing (which has done a surprisingly superb job of not giving too much away and saving the fun surprises for the theatrical experience) that COMPLETELY glosses over a certain character that is meant to act as the film’s central main antagonist (or at least the closest thing this film has to an actual antagonist). For whatever reason, Marvel and Sony has decided to keep that character’s identity a complete secret and went through a great deal in the trailers to show as LITTLE of this character as possible.

Granted, about 99% of Marvel fans probably knows EXACTLY who I’m talking about and what character this certain actor or actress is playing (and I believe there’s already been certain folks at the premiere who basically already revealed the identity of that character) but in case you are the 1% of folks out there who don’t have a clue who or what I’m talking about, I won’t spoil it in this review. I do plan to post a spoiler filled piece after the movie releases worldwide to give a deep dive into that character and how I felt about their role in the film. But for know, I will try to keep this review as vague as possible. Here we go!

It’s crazy how we are actually getting a fourth film with a cinematic version of Spider-Man for once. Tobey Maguire wasn’t able to get his fourth film up and running after the commercially successful but poorly received, Spider-Man 3. Andrew Garfield couldn’t even get a third one after the commercially unsuccessful AND poorly received, The Amazing Spider-Man 2. But yet, it’s Tom Holland of all webheads that was able to get his fourth entry, something which not even his old pal Tony Stark could say (at least for now). However, with the emotionally fulfilling way the last one ended, it left PLENTY of free realm to take this series in a completely new direction.

Sure, No Way Home did make for a bittersweet ending to a somewhat uneven “home” trilogy of our friendly neighborhood NYC hero and it would’ve been fine if that was the last we ever saw of Tom Holland as Spider-Man in the MCU. However, with the way the first three films operated themselves as a slow burn origin story of our (Spider) boy learning to become a (Spider) man (unintentionally or otherwise), it paves a way to FINALLY have a Spider-Man movie in the MCU that legit feels like the “prime” Spider-Man we all know and love. And for the most part, Brand New Day is able to deliver just that and then some.

Premise: Following Dr. Strange’s spell at the end of No Way Home, the world has forgotten that Peter Parker exists. Four years later, Peter (Tom Holland) anonymously protects New York City as the hero Spider-Man and investigates a powerful new threat while his superpowers undergo a surprising and potentially dangerous evolution.

Brand New Day is the first MCU Spider-Man film that is unafraid in giving us the Spider-Man doing his friendly neighborhood duty of protecting the city he’s sworn to protect and doing what’s best for those that he loves. Yes, we get to see Spider-Man at his absolute HIGH points as being the answer to The Big Apple. Yes, we get to see Spider-Man interacting with plenty of faces old and new in this cinematic universe in ways that feel organic, natural, and welcoming every time they are screen. Yes, the action scenes and web swinging sequences are cranked up to 11 in ways that hasn’t been done before in live-action, including a very impressive comic run-like scroll in the film’s opening 20 minutes. But what makes Brand New Day stand out as well as it does is the overall arc that Peter Parker goes through.

Everyone always know that the best Spider-Man stories are ALWAYS the ones where the worlds of Peter Parker and Spider-Man collides among his friends, rivals, and responsibilities. Although, the ones that tend to stand out among the VERY best are the ones that raises the questions of what happen when one side of the personal life/hero persona get abandoned in favor of the other side. In Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, we see a Peter Parker who gives up being Spider-Man so he can focus on being Peter Parker. In Destin Daniel Cretton’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, we see a Peter Parker who gives up being Peter Parker so he can focus on being Spider-Man. This is an arc that not only feels perfectly in line with the titled character and the aftermath of No Way Home (while also making for some interesting metaphors on the new powers he develops out of thin air) but also making Holland’s version of Peter Parker standing out as perhaps the most relatable of his generation.

While this Spider-Man has had plenty of Ws in the four years that have passed since the last movie, this Peter Parker has taken nothing but Ls since then. By feeling he has no choice but to put his superhero life over his personal life, we see Peter being forced to adjust into a world that has forgotten about him and moved forward with their lives. He has no friends, no family, no stable job, and no career ahead of him. He has nothing left…..except Spider-Man. To put it simply, Brand New Day is a Spider-Man movie made for Gen Z, the generation that grew up during the height of covid, a loneliness epidemic, and an economy that is about as depression that Peter is throughout the entirety of this film.

And it’s not just Peter himself that has a massive black hole needing to be filled within himself, we get to see that sentiment shared with other characters as well. The Punisher is still operating as his own independent vigilante after losing his family all those years ago, there’s Bruce Banner who still has that battle within with the green monster that can always break out at any moment, which causes him to keep his distance from those he loves, and MJ and Ned pursuing the lives and career choices they’ve desired, they still feel like they are missing something which just so happens to be Spider related. And of course, there is also the film’s antagonist/mystery character which will NOT be mentioned in this review that serves the best parallel out of all of this to Peter Parker. While plenty will be said about the film’s overabundance on characters and subplots, there’s no denying that the film’s overall themes surrounding loneliness, isolation, and the needing to reconnect with one another is fairly consistent throughout the entire film.

And speaking of which, Brand New Day certainly does try to juggle a lot throughout it’s entire 145-minute long runtime. It aims to be that perfect mix of being a proper sequel to No Way Home with it’s smaller-scaled, street level ambitions while also laying the groundwork for a newly introduced character that is clearly going to play a big role in future Marvel endeavors. Thankfully, writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers prove they are up to the task with making both of these major storylines intertwine in a way that feels consist with the overall narrative of the film that doesn’t forget that this is a Spider-Man movie, even more so with how they juggled the Far From Home aftermath of Mysterio spilling the beans of who Spidey is and just making a live-action version of Into the Spider-Verse last time around.

There is a slight detour towards the beginning of the third act that nearly takes a noise dive and makes it seem like all of the thematic plates spinning in the air are about to come crashing down. But then, the film remembers what it’s about by cleverly taking a page from the climax of a recent MCU film, properly expanding upon that film’s and this one’s relatable dilemma, and everything’s good again. I can’t properly answer whether or not this character needed to be introduced in THIS movie but they work rather well for what I imagine was forced upon them by Kevin and company since the 2025 MCU entries couldn’t move the needle on getting audiences enthused on what comes next after the multiverse shenanigans is over. Like the very best MCU movies, it’s able to have it’s cake and eat it too in the ways that are even more delicious than what you ordered.

While Jon Watts did a fine job overall with the “Home” trilogy, Destin Daniel Cretton proves himself to be more than worthy of continuing this version of Spider-Man on his own with no extreme guidance necessary. He’s able to bring so much energy with the film’s action sequences and web swinging moments that makes them all exhilarating to watch, while also able to embrace it’s comic-booky feel without it feeling too jarring or far stretched to the casual movie goer. I’m sure there’s a shot or two that Film Twitter will nitpick to death for the next three years until the next Spider-Man movie comes along but the same proper care and treatment that Cretton gave to his other (underrated/overlooked) MCU projects in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Wonder Man are properly shown here. Looks like Mr. Feige has ANOTHER director he can take under his wing.

The entire cast gives everything they got here. Tom Holland still shows great passion and vulnerability as perhaps the most relatable version of Peter Parker we have seen to date, shockingly still able to explore hidden depth and intrigue despite being four movies in, while also being more jokey and confident than ever before as Spider-Man. Jon Bernthal is able to fit perfectly in movie form as Frank Castle as he does in streaming service form. Zendaya and Jacob Batalon are given more depth to MJ and Ned than you might’ve expected. Liza Colón-Zayas and Tramell Tillman are fun in their brief roles as totally NOT Commissioner Gordon and totally NOT Head of ICE! Mark Ruffalo is given a lesser role than you would probably expect as Bruce Banner/Hulk but he’s still here (even if he’s no where to be seen at the premiere).

And without getting into spoilers, Sadie Sink is absolutely great as her “mysterious” character. While it does take a while to actually get to her on screen, she is able to perfectly match the presence of Holland and all those she shares screentime with. If the rest of the cast of the series that she will be attached to from hear on out is as pitch perfect as this, then there might indeed be some hope for the MCU yet.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is that rare fourth installment in a franchise that not only works strongly in it’s own right but is able to greatly justify it’s own existence with no financial apology needed whatsoever. It’s able to act well as being a proper follow-up to the last movie while also setting things up for what could be a even more promising second trilogy with a more “proper” Spider-Man this time around. There are characters that I would’ve like to have seen more of and there’s one resolution towards the end that does feel like a complete copout but any potential narrative shortcoming here is completely washed away with the film’s overall sense of wonder and awareness.

It’s no secret that superhero films aren’t the box office juggernauts they used to be but films like Spider-Man: Brand New Day prove that there is still a dire need for them in this day and age. Even if the quality is in shorter supplies these days, there is just nothing like seeing a cast and crew using their great powers to take on great responsibilities when tackling these popular superheroes. It might’ve taken a film of Tom Holland being sad and lonely to give this genre the potential two billion dollar booster shot it needed but hey, there’s no superhero that does it quite like Spider-Man.

Just please let him be happy once this is all over, okay?!

Other thoughts:

  • Don’t bother staying for the end credits scene because….it sucked. It just sucks!

  • Also, don’t expect much out of the Spidey villains shown off in the marketing because they don’t really matter that much, outside of MAYBE Scorpion. (There’s a reason why there’s only been ONE leaked shot of Tombstone!)

  • Michael Giacchino deserves more credit for the scores in this series. It’s able to stand out gloriously well as it’s own distinct Spider-Man score without much reliance on prior Spider-Man scores to make it stand out. This man in general might be the legit saving grace when it comes to the score in the MCU.

  • I can definitely see why Mark Ruffalo hasn’t join the press tour for this movie. Taking away his political persuasions and being busy shooting another tv show, Bruce Banner and Hulk aren’t in the movie that much.

  • It still is cool to see an unhinged Hulk that we have NOT seen since the beginning of Infinity War.

  • I REALLY need more of The Punisher and Jean DeWolff in the future. They work off of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man PERFECTLY!

  • Now, please just bring in Kingpin for the next time and have Daredevil join along for the ride. We can’t have a complete Devil’s Reign adaption WITHOUT Spider-Man playing a big role in it.

  • Oh, and that ONE character that shows up is a lot of fun to. Try to guess which one I’m talking about when you see them!

The Odyssey (2026) Movie Review- Absolute Cinema

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I don’t think there is a director in Hollywood that always seems so eager to top himself the way that Christopher Nolan does! And I don’t just mean in terms of trying to green mushroom himself in terms of the size, scale, and scope that he chooses to shoot his films with or how grand, epic, and unconventional he wants to go with telling his stories (Although, that should DEFINITELY be noted!) but more in how he goes about it through the actual motivations of his main characters. I could go on talking about how The Odyssey is yet another cautionary tale in Nolan’s filmography about a man who wants nothing more but to get back to his family he abandoned (Inception, Interstellar) or another story where his main character who is forced to rebuild and rediscover himself to remember his true purpose (Memento, Batman Begins, & The Dark Knight Rises) but what is always so fascinating and even inspiring is how much the main protagonist in those films will go through in order to accomplish these goals that Nolan clearly has behind the camera or in the writer’s room.

The Dark Knight sees a “non-limited” Batman going through hoops and ladders to stopping the Joker while realizing that even he must have a breaking point or else he will lose himself. Inception has a professional thief that is given the chance of a lifetime to have his criminal record clean if he is successful in literally going into someone’s dream and planting another person’s idea into one’s own target subconscious. The Dark Knight Rises gives us a broken Bruce Wayne that is given no choice but to tear himself apart and start over from scratch in order to defeat Bane and save Gotham City one last time as the Batman. Interstellar has Matthew McConaughey traveling to infinity and beyond in the hopes of finding a new home for his own children before it’s too late. Dunkirk has soldiers well…..doing everything in their power to save themselves in an actual war! Tenet follows someone literally named THE PROTAGONIST trying to do their job as being the film’s literal protagonist by messing with time before it messes back! And lastly, Oppenheimer, sees an infamous physicist nearly destroying the world once and for all to make himself go down in history as the man who invented the very first nuclear bomb.

I bring all this up because you really get the feeling that ever since The Dark Knight, Nolan has consistently have a strong desire to make his films as big, ambitious, and personal as they can possibly be. Not strictly because for the sake of the audience’s own entertainment but with Nolan’s own grand ambition as a filmmaker. Even if he is the last man in the world that needs to prove and justify himself with each new film he makes, he will still go through the great lengths and means to do so anyway, with the complete mindset that each new film he makes could be the very last one. These aren’t just stories about flawed protagonists pushing themselves beyond unrealistic measures to see the light at the end of the tunnel but also about how Nolan himself is willing to push himself beyond unrealistic measures to achieve an even bigger level of peak that nobody think is even possible anymore.

And with The Odyssey, Nolan is here to tell us his biggest and most daring tale yet. Not only with adapting one of the most epic poems in history with Homer’s The Odyssey, developed by the Greeks (We’ll get to that in a moment!) but with crafting his most layered and human story yet, centered around a man being forced to go through hell and back to return to his family and home, no matter how long it takes or what methods he has to use to get there. This is Nolan with his biggest cast, grandest scale, most nonlinear storytelling, and the most personal stakes of any film he has released to date. And the results is nothing short of magnificent!

The Odyssey is cinema at its absolute finest! The cast from top to bottom is absolutely outstanding, the unconventional storytelling of this adapted classic tale works without any hesitation whatsoever, the action and set pieces are extremely thrilling and make paying the extra few dollars for the “special” screenings all the more worth it, there’s not a single minute of it’s near three hour running time that feels wasted, and while I can’t say that I agree with every single creative choice that Nolan makes along the way, the way everything comes full circle by the very end makes any potential glaring issue up to that point feel like a complete dust in the wind. Although it might take me another rewatch or two to declare this my absolute favorite film from the great Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey is prove that the king of modern cinema still has plenty of days remaining on his throne!

Premise: It follows the Greek King Odysseus (Matt Damon) attempting to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. While he faces a treacherous voyage and is held captive by the nymph Calypso (Charlize Theron), his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) struggle to fend off aggressive suitors trying to claim his throne.

At this point, you have probably already read or at least strongly familiar with the story of Homer’s The Odyssey. It’s a epic tale that has been told for many generations with many different iterations of this beloved/infamous story that have been made. Through every single moment of it’s 173 minute runtime, Nolan is in the mindset that you know the ins and outs of this story but is still wanting to tell it in the freshest and newest way possible, almost like you are seeing this countlessly told story being told before your eyes for the very first time. There’s clear inspiration on display between many translations of The Odyssey, including those from Emily Wilson, E.V. Rieu, and Robert Fagles, AND even other great epic historical films such as Andrei Rublev, Ran, Gladiator, and yes, even Troy. While I can’t imagine the 2026 version is exactly what Homer had pictured when he first made this story, there is a strong sense of confidence here of being able to perfectly capture the spirit of Homer’s tale, translating itself with the best possible update of the story that one can imagine.

And while we are on the subject, yes I would be lying if I claim that Nolan’s take on The Odyssey is as historically accurate as it gets. From the silver armors in Bronze Age to the “modernized” dialogue to the character of Simon basically replacing the character of Achillies to there being little to no Greeks in this overall Greek tale, this is definitely an adaption that you can tell was made in the year 2026 and NOT 1926!

If this was your typical adaption made by your typical filmmaker, these kind of bizarre changes would make the whole thing feel dead on arrival! However, just like with Odysseus himself, Nolan is clearly up to the challenge and is willing to go through any sort of controversy and pre-release PR disaster to craft the best possible version of his grand vision.

And the main thematic throughline that helps Nolan’s The Odyssey be up to par with the very best adaptions of it’s source material is that it never forgets that at it’s heart, The Odyssey is about a man learning the humanity within himself and using that as strength to pull off the biggest comeback of all time. Each character from the film’s extremely stacked cast plays a role that ties back to Odysseus’ overwhelming journey, with trying to get home after the Trojan War and the encounter of mythical beings along the way in order to reunite with his wife, Penelope, and a son that he may or may not know about.

It’s through these first two hours of the film that do their damnest of carrying the weight of the complete damning picture. Big important sequences are told out of order and through the perspectives of other characters played by the most talented actors and actresses you can think of, it has a balanced tone that knows when to take it’s material seriously and when to have some completed messed up fun with it (That “pig” scene will live rent free in my head for a long time!), and it never forgets for one moment that is a story about Odysseus first and everyone else second. While this is all well and done for the first two hours, there are definitely some moments along the way where you can’t help but hear the gears turned out a little too loudly, wondering how much of this narrative plate spinning is Nolan showing confidence with himself and Nolan just being forced to grind through certain moments of backstory in order to show off the most important set pieces of the story.

Thankfully, the final hour of this film completely makes up for any prior shortcoming. Not only is it able to make nearly every questionable creative choice and casting decision beforehand seem completely justified but it all culminates to one of the most satisfying climaxes in recent memory, with Matt Damon being able to relive his “good old days” in about the best way possible (I imagine Universal will be on the phone with him Monday morning to discuss resurrecting a certain franchise that made him what he is). It’s hard to go into details without major spoilers but the way everything is paid off in the final 30 minutes is so damn good, making a man’s journey come full circle and taking back everything that he lost along the way.

The cast, as you would expect given how much AURA is on screen here, are all excellent. Matt Damon as Odysseus is able to perfectly sell himself as a believable warrior king in his middle age and able to carry himself as well as among the best featured films with him. Tom Holland excels as the son, Telemachus, clearly comfortable in stepping out of the shadow of Spider-Man and into the shoes of a young man waiting for his father to return. Anne Hathaway as Penelope should be the current frontrunner for Best Actress come the Academy Awards next spring, giving an amazing and vulnerable performance as a troubled mother, wife, and queen of a kingdom that she is forced to rule by herself.

Robert Pattinson is entertaining playing the complete asshole that is Antinous, Himesh Patel makes for a solid second-in-command of Eurylochus, Charlize Theron is great as always as Calypso, the woman that takes care of Odysseus and wants him for herself, Zendaya is given a similar role as she did in Dune: Part One as Athena but she makes it play, Jon Bernthal as Menelaus acts as the right guide for Telemachus, a man who represents the version of a father that he might want, and John Leguizamo is completely unrecognizable in the best way as Eumaeus, given more focus and depth than I was expecting. I would’ve liked to have seen more from Mia Goth and Logan Marshall-Green as twin siblings in Melantho and Melanthius and Benny Safdie as Agamemnon but they are able to fit in alongside everyone else. Oh, and although Samantha Morton’s Circe is only in one major sequence in the film, nailed it just……nailed it!

And of course, you have to address the GIANT elephant in the room in regards to the controversy surrounding the casting. Yes, Travis Knight, Lupita Nyong’o, and Elliot Page are all in this film as their roles of Phemius, Helen of Troy/Clytemnestra, and Sinon (A.K.A. NOT Achilles) respectively but their roles are about as minor as they come and don’t hog the spotlight as majority of the cast members already mentioned that it’s baffling it attached as much backlash as it did. Sure, I can question if it was the wisest choice for Nolan to cast a rapper in a Greek tale (Even if Travis’s newest song in the end credits is catchy as hell!) or I would buy Elliot Page as being the bravest warrior that Odysseus has ever seen (To be fair, it’s NOT implied he is the best or strongest warrior of them all and the film is clearly aware of that!) but for anyone that is familiar with The Odyssey, they are all given the same extended cameo roles they did in the books, given a combined screentime of five to seven minutes at best. So, even if you are among the unhinged folks that are outraged of these castings, they are not in it nearly as much for them to hold you back on your enjoyment of the film, especially since all three of them are great in the film with their limited screentime (And yes, I do indeed buy Lupita Nyong’o as the most beautiful woman in the world! Don’t @ me!).

However, despite having nearly everyone but the kitchen sink as part of the cast, the real MVP of the film is no one other than Christopher Nolan. His craftsmanship is yet again on complete full display, making sure that regardless of what way you chose to see this film in theaters, it will make for the very best possible viewing experience that anyone could have imagine. With completely sharp direction, gorgeous cinematography from Hoyte van Hoytema, surprisingly consistent editing from Jennifer Lame, and a haunting/riveting musical score from Ludwig Göransson, Nolan yet again deliver the complete full package of a theatrically released film, making sure that every single penny that was spent from it’s $250+ million budget was justified. Heck, even the sound mixing worked for me this time! It’s THAT good!

Even if you are someone that don’t care for Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker, you can’t deny the man is doing everything in his integrity to keep the cinematic theatrical experience alive. With so many achievements underneath his belt, he has every excuse in the book to just play it safe with each new film he now releases and not feel the end to top himself every chance he gets. But thank the Greek gods he REFUSES to do that because man, I can’t think of a bleaker cinematic future in the 2020s if Oppenheimer and The Odyssey never became a thing. For as long as that man is making films, he will always act like a man on a mission, constantly aiming to reach a higher bar with each new film that he makes. I mean, can you name me ONE other director working in Hollywood that is able to CONSISTENTLY deliver films that always end up being in the top 10 highest grossing films of the year because of their name ALONE?! I bet you can’t and that what makes Christopher Nolan such a gift to cinema.

The Odyssey makes for yet another grand triumph from Christopher Nolan along with one of the best grand epics in recent memory, managing to defy all expectations and find new unforeseen boundaries to push. The story centering on Odysseus is captivating, the action sequences whether it involves the Trojan War, cyclops, or Matt Damon going full Jason Bourne are all brilliant, the cast is among the greatest ensembles of all time, and everything about the final hour of the film is so perfectly executed that it literally washed any gripes I had beforehand completely away. I can’t say I would have made every single creative and artistic decision that Nolan makes here but nearly every single one of those decisions is justified and is perfectly shown why onscreen.

Regardless if this is the best Christopher Nolan film or not, I don’t there is a film in his filmography that showcases the grand mindset that this man has had as a filmmaker for the past 30+ years. By constantly trying to find ways to outdo himself and providing you with even grander adventures with grander scales than before, this is Nolan yet again achieving a new level of high quality and a new meaning of absolute cinema! I can’t possibly know how he plans to top himself next time out but man, I will be the first in line for whatever he’s got next!

Although if the cave and “pig” scene is any indication and how ANOTHER certain big someone in Hollywood has reacted to The Odyssey, I think we have a certain genre that Nolan hasn’t tackled yet and a certain actor that Nolan hasn’t collaborated with yet could be a match made in heaven!

Please make it happen!

Top 10 Best Movies of 2026 (So Far)

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Hey, everyone! I hope you all are enjoying your 4th of July weekend! As we exit June and enter July, that means we are already halfway through 2026! Because of that, I might as well give you all my pick for the top 10 best movies of the year so far!

Keep in mind, I have not seen every single movie that has released in 2026 and there might just be a critically praised movie that you love that I have just not gotten around to yet. Also, these rankings are NOT set in stone and are subject to change as the year goes on. For all I know, my #10 on the list could possibly end up being my #1 favorite movie of the year.

Although there is still PLENTY of films to come out for the remainder of the year, these are the ten films that has affected me in the best ways for the first six months of 2026!

10.) Backrooms

While I’m not quite on the love boat with this one, I’m sure as hell on the respect boat. I love the original atmosphere and unique setting that Kane Parsons has created here, making the backrooms itself a fascinating place to explore whenever we are able to get to it. I did wish the overall narrative had more meat to it and Parsons didn’t have to keep coming up with contrived excuses for his characters to keep showing up to the backrooms. And I’m still scratching my head on the resolution to the whole thing. However, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve are great here and there are still plenty of seeds that have yet to be grown in the world that is Backrooms that I’m curious to visit yet again in the future. I can see this being a series of films that only gets better from here on out. 

9.) The Sheep Detectives

Well, what do you know. Who would’ve guessed that a film about a literal talking sheep in live-action could end up being this heartwarming and cozy?! Even if it can be a bit too silly at times, The Sheep Detectives just tugs at your heartstrings in the best of ways and Hugh Jackman is as much as a welcome presence as he always has been on the big screen. If you are someone that adores the new Paddington movies, this might just well in your wheel house.

8.) 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

It made have taken a second try but 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is able to deliver the complete full package I wanted from the previous 28 Years Later film from last year, while standing as perhaps the best installment in this franchise since the original. The acting is terrific, the horror and gore will disgust you in the most delightful ways imaginable, and it is still able to follow the franchise’s overall themes by continuing to offer fresh, new, and different perspectives about a world that has plunged into total chaos without taking you out of it or even inviting comparisons to the world that we are currently live in. I sure hope this is able to find it’s audience through digital and streaming because if not, then MAN are they missing out!

7.) Hoppers

Hoppers is a showcase of what happens with Pixar allows themselves to let loose and forge their own path to creativity. The film has it’s own distinct animation style that compliments the storytelling without it being too overbearing or “in your face”, the characters are all likeable with their own relatable goals that anyone can get behind, it’s easily among the funniest Pixar movie in years, and despite prior reports of Disney’s efforts to downplay the themes of environmentalism, it’s able to get that exact message across in as much of a profound way as Pixar was able to in 2008 with Wall-E. It may take it’s time in getting to that exact point in the ways that it was intend and does have one or two cringeworthy lines about how “aware” it is of it’s own premise but the pay-offs by the latter half of Hopper makes it the whole experience feel worth it! While there are those out there that claim Toy Story 5 or Minions & Monsters as their animated film of the year, I’m still sticking by this one.

6.) Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die

After coming out of the closet making the criminally underrated A Cure For Wellness, Gore Verbinski is back to take a stance on the biggest global crisis at the moment, Artificial Intelligence. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die sees Sam Rockwell from the future to give us all a warning on how the robots and machines are taking over and it’s up to choices that we make now that can set the course to a much brighter path forward. The cast is greats, the visuals are aces, the ending is as poignant it comes, and it’s super refreshing for a movie to not have any subtly whatsoever to get it’s message across. Although Verbinski’s direction won’t be suitable for anyone, this is a solid watch.

5.) Send Help

Can we point out how much of a miracle that a film like Send Help exists? In an age of sequels, reboots, remakes, and legacy-quels conquering the film landscape and sucking up the remaining creative energy that Hollywood might still have, films like these are becoming more diamonds in the rough in the film industry. Thankfully, someone at 20th Century Fox or Disney was wise enough to give a blank check to the godfather of horror and superhero movies in Sam Raimi, his first original horror film since 2009’s Drag Me To Hell! Send Help is yet another worthy addition to Raimi’s Hall of Fame of Horror! It’s able to capitalize on it’s simple yet effective premise thanks to it’s two charismatic leads, it’s incredibly visionary direction, unapologetically excessive gore, and a script that will keep audiences on their toes the whole way through. Even if the ending leaves out a bit too many unanswered questions, it’s still an absolute blast of a motion picture that is definitely worth seeing on the big screen.

4.) Disclosure Day

Despite it’s polarizing reception, Disclosure Day is a very entertaining and engaging ride that makes for another fine addition to the “NOT a Marvel/Star Wars/IP movie” collection of the 2026 summer movie season. The cast is terrific, Spielberg is clearly having a blast making a movie about aliens again, and the screenplay is able to have it’s cake-and-eat-it-too, operating as both a solid thriller and a layer filled character study that will have plenty of delightful “explain” videos made for it. Not every single question the audience have will be answered but the ones that does is given a proper answer while the ones it choses to leave in the balance might just be for the better. It may not be quite S-Tier Steven Spielberg but Disclosure Day is more than enough proof that the godfather of blockbuster cinema still got plenty in the tank left in him and should still be treated with grace and dignity with each new film he releases. Even if not everybody will buy what Disclosure Day has to say about humanity and how the truth can lead to unity, it is bittersweet to see Steven actually try and perhaps that is what matters more than anything.

3.) The Furious

Have you been wanting to see a spiritual successor to The Raid 2 for the past 12 years?! Have you been anxious to see a balls-to-the-wall non-stop action thrill ride in the 2020s that is NOT John Wick?! Did you want to see a movie that takes the same plot and premise surrounding stopping human traffickers as Supergirl (2026) but done right?! Well, look no further than The Furious! An action packed masterwork that has no agenda other than delivering on over-the-top fight scenes, performing some of the greatest stunts and practical set pieces you have seen in years, and give you simplistic characters with human goals that you want to root for! Sometimes, there is nothing better for a film than riding with pure simplicity, without a care in the world of what lengths and leaps of logic it is willing to go to deliver the goods. Regardless of what way you chose to watch it, please check out The Furious ASAP!

2.) Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary is an incredibly well made, extremely well acted, and very well paced sci-fi thriller that works not just as a faithful adaption of the critically acclaimed book from Andy Weir (The Martian) but it also stands strongly as it’s own cinematic experience and a thematically moving think tank surrounding art and science . There is not a single second that is boring or uninteresting, Ryan Gosling is pitch perfect in the lead role as Grace and has great chemistry with his so-called co-star, it has a perfectly controlled tone that knows when to be funny, serious, and moving when it’s absolutely required, and even if you can see the inspiration from your favorite sci-fi flick from the 2010s (Gravity, Interstellar, The Martian, Arrival, Mr. Gosling’s own First Man! Take your pick!), it is able to have it’s own unique identity while telling a distinct story about the importance of loyalty, friendship, unity, and sacrifice. While it’s certainly not the most flawless film I’ve ever seen and I’m sure there will be nits to be picked from fans of the book, I can’t imagine Project Hail Mary being a better version of itself than what Mr. Lord and Mr. Miller was able to deliver here.

1.) Obsession

The most talked about film of 2026 is my absolute favorite thus far! I don’t think I’ve seen a film where the whole message of “Be careful what you wish for!” has been executed this well and scary! The directing by Curry Barker is top notch, the performances are all great, it has a nice blend of horror thrills and laughter that I don’t any other director would be able to combine brilliantly, and the ending still haunts me weeks after seeing the movie. It’s also makes for a perfect subversion to have the main protagonist practically being the villain of the film, being forced to face the consequences of the choice he made strictly for his own pleasure. Inde Navarrette deserves a damn Oscar for her performance and it’s yet another brilliant original horror film to go with all of the other brilliant horror films we have gotten so far this decade! If this is the future for not just original horror but original films in general, there might just be a light at the end of the tunnel for future cinema.

Happy 250th Day everybody! Enjoy with prosper!

Toy Story 5 (2026) Movie Review- Jessie’s Time To Shine

AdamLeave a comment

Let’s address the broken record in the home: Toy Story should have ended after 3! That is maybe the one thing on Planet Earth (aside from hating on anything AI-related) that everyone and their grandmother’s toys can agree on. Even if you are someone that likes and/or loves Toy Story 4, there’s not many that claimed they would cry themselves to sleep if that movie never became a reality. They just need to replay the ending of Toy Story 3 to do that. (Can someone grab me another tissue?!) I bring this up because Toy Story 5 is yet another Pixar sequel that is forced to walk the tight rope between being good enough to justify itself as a sequel and being good enough to justify itself as strictly a Pixar sequel.

While I highly doubt that Toy Story 5 will win over every single naysayer out there, it certainly does the best job it can at justifying itself, by providing a refreshing new POV with Jessie as the main Sheriff this time around and answering the question of how toys can possibly hope to survive in the age of technology. It certainly takes it’s time to put all it’s chest pieces into place and you can certainly feel the overwhelming nature of this franchise having so many different characters that it will make your head spin. However, for a fifth film in a long-running animated franchise owned by Disney, it’s certainly no…… Ice Age: Collision Course.

Premise: Set two years after the events of the fourth film, Toy Story 5 follows Jessie (Joan Cusack), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and Woody (Tom Hanks) as they and the other toys deal with the presence of Lilypad (Greta Lee), a tablet and the new favorite plaything of Bonnie (Scarlett Spears). There is also a side quest featuring an army of factory-sealed, high tech Buzz Lightyear action figures that are looking to fulfill their mission for Star Command after being stranded on a deserted island.

The main thing that Toy Story 5 has going for it is the way it handles it’s toy vs tech premise. In 2026, it is no question that technology has played a role in everybody’s life and has greatly affected how we evolve as human beings. Instead of writing with paper and pencil, we are tapping on iPads and typing on computers. Instead of face-to-face interactions to meet and chat with someone, we are using Zoom and Instagram to do just that. Instead of reading books, we are doom scrolling on Twitter. And of course, instead of kids playing with toys, they are playing with electronics. We might not all like it but that’s the reality of how we operate in the age of tech. And Toy Story 5 is not afraid to showcase that whatsoever.

The film’s overall approach to toys trying to adapt into the age of tech isn’t so much that you had to live with just one or the other but more about how both toys and tech have their merits and it would be foolish to suggest otherwise. In the case of trying to win over Bonnie’s playtime, Jessie and LilyPad have no goal throughout the film other than doing what they believe is best for their kid. While LilyPad wants to help Bonnie find any friend she possibly can, Jessie wants to help Bonnie find the “right” friend.

Co-directors and co-writers Andrew Stanton and Kenna Harris are obviously not blind to our obsession with technology in this day and age and how it has played a major role in our lifetimes. As much as we complain about how the internet and social media has ruined our lives, we really can’t imagine a world without them now because that’s how folks go on with their days. But, just as long as we make sure to make time with the ones we love and make room for others things, tech can still play a good role in our lives if we allow it. Any other film could have easily took the safe route with a whole “tech bad, toys good” message but Stanton and Harris both know that we are beyond that mentality and simply can go back to the days of stones and sticks. We can no longer focus on how life was so much better before tech, we can now only focus on how we can make life better WITH tech.

The other major element of Toy Story 5 is Sheriff Jessie taking the lead this time around. While plenty of purists bark at the idea of a character other than Woody or Buzz taking the main spotlight of a Toy Story film, there’s more than enough justification for Jessie being in the frontline this time around. Even if you complete forgot how the last film left off with Woody deciding to stay with Bo Peep and passing the baton down to his fellow cowgirl, the film makes it clear that Jessie is the one with the biggest connection to Bonnie herself and has to be the one to lead the charge.

Her story ties back to her resonating arc from Toy Story 2, with her yet again fearing abandonment and forgetfulness from her owner, wanting to do everything in her power to make an everlasting impact of her child’s life before it’s too late. She meets up with new friends along the way (the best of which is Smarty Pants, voiced by Conan O’Brien), showcasing how toys and tech can indeed become one of the same and learning along the way that there is absolutely zero shame in that. And yes, without getting too deep into spoilers, the emotional highpoint of the film does indeed serve as a perfect parallel to “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2, with Taylor Swift fitting into the shoes of Sarah McLachlan flawlessly.

Oh, and in case if you are wondering about the subplot with the army of the high-tech Buzz Lightyear action figures that were isolated on an island, it’s mostly just an excuse to give Buzz more action in the film and allow Tim Allen to have a bit of extra fun in the voice recording booth. It’s justified itself enough by tying itself back to the the film’s core themes of toys becoming a thing in the past and needing to make the right upgrades in order to survive for the future. Not to mention, having some of the best gags and references to the previous installments in the entire film.

Buzz himself is giving a role similar to Kristoff in Frozen 2, wanting to do everything he can to please the woman he loves most by acting as her deputy while constantly trying to propose to her over and over again until he’s blue in the face. Thankfully, it’s nowhere near as redundant as it was in Frozen 2 and it concludes in a way that will certainly make the die hard Buzz and Jessie shippers lose their minds. (It does make you wonder why it took so long after 3 for Buzz to want to pop the question!) I imagine that will been seen as too sappy by certain people but hey, at least it’s better use for our beloved space ranger than him finding his “inner voice” (Seriously, what was that all about in the last film?!).

And if you are curious to know how they handled our favorite cowboy’s return, well….there’s not much to say really. Woody is easily giving the least important role he has ever had in this series up to this point, given the shaky feeling that he’s only around now for the sake of merchandising. (Even Andrew Stanton himself admitted he had no idea how to bring Woody back). I imagine Josh D’Amaro and Diana Walden couldn’t bear the thought of having to answer to the millions of parents whose children cried in the theaters because Woody wasn’t there.

While there’s an occasional flirting around with the idea of the older western toys being forced to match up with the newer, high-tech toys along with some amusing back-and-forth between him and Buzz, Woody’s role here feels rather superficial. Even the whole “balding head” and “bear belly” stick that the marketing made such a big deal out of doesn’t end up mattering that much, with Stanton and Harris basically gasping at straws with what to do with him.

This ties back to the weakest link of Toy Story 5, which is the overabundance of supporting characters that this franchise doesn’t know what to do with anymore. Much like Toy Story 4, the film’s desire to put the main focus on the handful of characters that drive forward the narrative and brand new characters it introduces means that a good chunk of the toy gang that the audience followed throughout the first three films is left on the shelfs to gather more dust. Even the toys that were introduced last time around such as Duke Caboom, Ducky, and Bunny are given screentime so slim that you can easily blink and you will miss them. (Not to mention, Bo Peep ends up getting sidelined…..again!) If Toy Story 2 was able to keep it’s core focus on Woody while also finding plenty for the supporting cast to do, then what excuse does these last two installments have?

Sure, characters like Hamm and Mr. and Mrs. Potato head are given a couple more lines than last time and there’s a decent laugh or two with Forky and his new “knife” but Pixar, you might want to pump the breaks on adding more toys if you can’t even bother to play with the ones that you already owned. It’s no wonder Bonnie keeps losing you guys!

And while the overall film resolution is satisfying by itself, you can’t help but think they were going for a much bolder and more daring change to the series’ overall status quo but then they just….backs away. Maybe that has to also factor in the massive number of characters now but even I’m now starting to lose track on which kid owns which toy now. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pixar got spooked by folks who cried foul to the ending of the last film and didn’t want to poke that bear again.

When it comes to everything else, it’s all fine and daddy. The animation continues to be stunning and deserving to be seen on the biggest screen possible (especially when it comes to every playtime scene and the 50+ Buzz Lightyear’s in action), Randy Newman proves he’s still got it as the series’ longtime composer and secret MVP, and while you can definitely tell that Hanks, Allen, and Cusack have shown their age as Woody, Buzz, and Jessie respectively, they are still given whatever energy and life they got left into these characters to make them stand out as some of Pixar’s absolute finest creations. Cusack in particular does her duty to make Jessie’s spotlight feel all the more worth it. While the trailers and clips shown off don’t do a good job at showcasing that, the actual finished film does do her justice. Oh, and Greta Lee definitely feels like she is having a LOT more fun here than she did in Tron: Ares.

To the folks out there that see Toy Story 3 as the “true” ending to the series and find any Toy Story installment to come out after 2010 to be an absolute disgrace, you have already made up your mind about Toy Story 5. To the folks out there that acknowledge this franchise has passed it’s peak and just want an excuse to hang out with some of their favorite toys again, you will find quite a bit to like about Toy Story 5. To the folks out there who love Jessie and see her and Buzz as absolute ENDGAME, you will find a LOT to like about Toy Story 5.

Even as Disney continues to squeeze whatever dollar they can into Pixar’s most successful franchise, you can’t deny that the people making these films are doing everything they can to justify themselves to keep the franchise going creatively. And come on, you are flat out LYING to yourself if you think a movie that is basically telling kids to turn off their iPads every now and then and touch some grass is NOT a message that kids and families need in 2026.

In that sense, Toy Story 5 might not be the Toy Story sequel we needed but it is perhaps the one we deserve.

Other comments:

  • I need a Smarty Pants Disney Plus mini series ASAP! If you did one with Forky, you can do one with Conan O’Brien!

  • I can’t believe they actually allowed Bullseye to speak but man did they found the perfect voice for him.

  • I love my boy Andy but Blaze might just be the best human character in this franchise. Bring her back for Toy Story 6!

  • And yes, they will make Toy Story 6 one day! Just accept it!

  • I can’t help but wonder how much better this film would’ve been accepted if THIS was the first Toy Story film since 2010 and was the TRUE Toy Story 4. At least you wouldn’t have to come up with a contrived excuse to bring Woody back.

  • It’s hilarious how two years ago, everybody was opening arms for Shrek 5 and closing arms for Toy Story 5! How the tables have turned!

  • Also, Shrek 5 looks……well……….yeah!

  • Gatto will be Pixar’s next masterpiece! Get back to me in nine months and I will say I told you all!

What The Success of Obsession and Backrooms REALLY Means!

Adam1 Comment

The two films that everyone is talking about at the moment are Obsession and Backrooms! Two films that are not only very good horror film debuts from talented young blood that originated straight from YouTube but they also managed to steal the spotlight away from the latest Star Wars film, The Mandalorian & Grogu! As the newest addition to a galaxy far and away completely crashed and burn at the box office in just it’s second weekend in theaters, Obsession and Backrooms was able to perfectly pick up that slack, with the former gaining some of the best box office legs from any film in recent memory and the latter awarding A24 their biggest opening weekend in their history.

To say this has opened the eyes and ears of the film industry would be a massive understatement! The success of these two films are clearly proving several points all at the same time! Not only is it proving that successful original films are indeed alive and well with a clear audience desire for them but it’s also proves that Gen Z does indeed love going to the movie theaters and are basically the group that is gonna help keep the movie theater going experience alive for the foreseeable future. You just need the right kind of films that is able to perfectly capture the hearts of the right kind of audience and they will show up in drones! While there have been plenty of other examples in recent memory to back up those claims, the success of Obsession and Backrooms is something truly special!

However, there have been a few bold claims that many are saying after these two horror flicks were able to give The Mandalorian & Grogu a run for it’s money this weekend! Not only does this mean that Star Wars as a whole is officially dead but blockbuster flicks based on long-running established IPs are officially dead! Never mind the fact that The Devil Wears Prada 2 was able to secure double the grosses that the original made just a month ago! Never mind the fact that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is getting so close to a billion dollars that it can TASTE IT! Never mind the fact that the likes of Toy Story 5, Minions & Monsters, Moana (2026), Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Dune: Part Three, and Avengers: Doomsday are still having yet to come out for the rest of the year, short-budgeted horror films made by YouTubers is the ONLY future of filmmaking and Obsession and Backrooms is prove of that! I find that line of thinking to be incredibly flawed!

Don’t get me wrong, Obsession and Backrooms are both INCREDIBLE cinematic achievements for Curry Baker and Kane Parsons! I’m proud of the fact that these films are thriving whereas corporate slop like The Mandalorian & Grogu are being rejected! It’s prove that audiences do indeed have some bit of standards for the quality of today’s films that they chose to spend their hard earned money on, especially in our not practically great economy! But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, there is still a big place for big blockbuster films, it’s just that there is now a big place for original and thought provoking films as well!

Just imagine you are an owner of a movie theater right now! Would you be really applauding the fact that a big blockbuster film like The Mandalorian & Grogu is tanking hard at the box office all because previously lesser knowns films such as Obsession and Backrooms is killing it? Do you really want one big film to flop so hard that a couple of other smaller films can fill whatever sinking hole that other film caused? I’m pretty sure your answer is gonna be a clear no!

Movie theaters want and NEED both of these kind of films to succeed. They need the kind of films from beloved and established IPs to do absolute gangbusters at the box office AND they need the kind of lower budgeted and more independently made films released to help fill in that big hole in between each newly released big film that comes out to cover for any potential theatrical drought they might have. While I’m sure movie theater owners are more than happy that Obsession and Backrooms are selling tickets at a daily pace that I don’t anyone could possibly imagine, they would also prefer that The Mandalorian & Grogu would also be a big hit as well as a special icing on the cake.

The big question that everyone is asking after Obsession and Backrooms is what can Hollywood and movie studios learn from this? Should they take more changes with young and famous YouTubers and social media influencers and less on folks coming straight out of film school? Should they pump the brakes on corporate slop and remember to put quality over quantity with their biggest IPs? Should they just give up on big IPs such as Marvel and Star Wars all together because of their recent track record and invest more in originality of any kind? While those are the kind of questions that everyone is asking right now, I think one important one is being left out. That one question being: Why not leave room for more?

Why can’t we have huge blockbuster films that are huge events and potential billion dollar grossers every year AND also have impressive original films from young filmmakers that is also able to make bank at the box office each year? Shouldn’t we be encouraging BOTH of those kinds of films to exist side-by-side each other? It’s not like we have to live with one instead of the another, we can actually live in the best of both worlds for a change. There should be room for both big feature films AND little original films to shine! THAT is the kind of diversity and variety that the industry will need if they are to thrive in the future!

With more and more mergers coming into fruition, more independent films such as Obsession and Backrooms are needed now more than ever! After acquisitions such as Disney buying Fox and Paramount buying Warner Bros, it’s clear that studios are going to put the majority of their focus on pumping out big blockbusters films and less on smaller and more independent films. There will always be one or two of them that will be able to squeeze through the system but for the most part, you are likely to get more Minecraft movies than you would films like Sinners and One Battle After Another. Holes will need to be filled to plug in that gape for fresh and original films to still be able to shine, providing that variety of selected films made for theaters that major studios aren’t bothering to invest in anymore. That is where films like Obsession and Backrooms will be able to come in and why indie studios such as A24 and Focus Features exist.

I have nothing against main blockbuster films being released just as I have nothing against films like Obsession and Backrooms blossoming in theater screens before our very eyes. My question is: Why can’t we be championing both? We should be celebrating when good blockbuster films do well at the box office AND when good independent films do well at the box office as well. We don’t have to cancel one in favor of the other. And I’m sure movie theaters from all across the world would agree with what I just said.

After the success of Obsession and Backrooms and the underperformance of The Mandalorian & Grogu thus far, I do hope this isn’t so much a sign that audiences are tired of blockbuster films and hungry for strictly independent films but more that they are hungry for QUALITY and less on slop. While I know less than stellar films such as Lilo & Stitch (2025) and The Minecraft Movie were able to make big bucks at the box office with Minions & Monsters and Moana (2026) likely to join them next month, the fact that actual great recent films like Sinners, F1, Project Hail Mary, and now Obsessions and Backrooms were able to become the financial smash hits they did should be a statement that quality DOES matter for a film to be successful and not just brand recognition.

The biggest takeaway right now should be that audiences have a desire to see ANY kind of films in theaters that is guarantee to give them their full money’s worth. No matter if it’s a blockbuster or an independent film, audiences still want to go to movie theaters, studios just need to keep giving them a reason to do so. And the fact that it’s been confirmed that the past month has had the highest box office grosses for May since 2019 should speak volume to that!

Tune in next time after the studios learn the absolute WRONG lesson from everything I just said, while giving a blank check to MrBeast to direct whatever the hell he wants and Disney announces The Devil Wears Prada 3 and Toy Story 6 very soon!

Also, I might as well give my mini-reviews for both of these movies!

Obsession– Probably my favorite film of the year thus far! I don’t think I’ve seen a film where the whole message of “Be careful what you wish for!” has been executed this well and scary! The directing by Curry Barker is top notch, the performances are all great, it has a nice blend of horror thrills and laughter that I don’t any other director would be able to combine brilliantly, and the ending still haunts me weeks after seeing the movie. It’s also a nice little subversion to have the main protagonist practically being the villain of the film, being forced to face the consequences of the choice he made strictly for his own pleasure. Inde Navarrette deserves a damn Oscar for her performance and it’s yet another brilliant original horror film to go with all of the other brilliant horror films we have gotten so far this decade! Highly recommended! I give this a perfect four out of four stars!

Backrooms– I’m not quite sure I’m on the love boat with this one but I’m sure as hell on the respect boat. I love the original atmosphere and unique setting that Kane Parsons has created here, making the backrooms itself a fascinating place to explore whenever we are able to get to it. I did wish the overall narrative had more meat to it and Parsons didn’t have to keep coming up with contrived excuses for his characters to keep showing up to the backrooms. And I’m still scratching my head on the resolution to the whole thing. However, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve are great here and there are still plenty of seeds that have yet to be grown in the world that is Backrooms. I can see this being a series of films that only gets better from here on out. I give this a three out of four stars!

The Mandalorian & Grogu (2026) Movie Review- Gen Alpha’s The Clone Wars (2008) Movie

AdamLeave a comment

It’s 2008! We are in the middle of a world changing recession, endless war and chaos continues to rage on in the middle east and overseas, and we got a new Star Wars movie in theaters that just so happens to be three to four episodes of an upcoming tv show strung together with it’s entire plot center around rescuing Jabba the Hutt’s son.

It’s 2026! We are in the middle of a world changing recession, endless war and chaos continues to rage on in the middle east and overseas, and we got a new Star Wars movie in theaters that just so happens to be three to four episodes of an up….(oh never mind) tv show strung together with it’s entire plot center around rescuing Jabba the Hutt’s son.

All kidding aside, The Mandalorian & Grogu‘s mere existence as a feature film is quite bizarre. Coming off seven years since the last Star Wars movie released in theaters, with that being the infamous Star Wars Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, the higher-ups at Disney and Lucasfilm thought that the best way to bring the far, far away galaxy back to movie theaters worldwide involves what is basically a handful of reworked episodes of what was suppose to be Season 4 of the hit Disney Plus series, The Mandalorian, over three years after the show ended and over half a decade since it peaked in quality. And much like Dave Filoni’s other theatrically released feature Star Wars film (Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) MOVIE), it’s main plot involves the main characters finding and rescuing Rotta the Hutt, A.K.A. the son of Jabba the Hutt. (And yes, you heard that right! Jabba the Hutt had a son! Try sleeping tonight with that knowledge in your head! Lord knows how hard I’ve tried since 2008!)

I wish I can say there is much more to The Mandalorian & Grogu than that but there really isn’t. This is not a film that aims to expand the Star Wars timeline in any meaningful way, introduce new and exciting characters and plot McGuffins that could possibly matter later on down the road, or even try to stand out among the very best or even the very worst Star Wars has had to offer over the past 50 years. It’s only reason for existence is to keep the lights going on at Lucasfilm, please the higher ups at Mickey Mouse with the mere fact that they finally got a new Star Wars movie released after several years, and scratching that extra dollar itch in nonstop Baby Yoda merchandise. While there’s very little in here that will cause an online civil war or trigger “rage bait” culture, there’s nothing here that will get you intrigued when watching it or get you excited what lies ahead for the future of Star Wars.

Premise: The evil Empire has fallen but Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they enlist the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his young apprentice Grogu.

To the credit of Mr. Favreau and Mr. Filoni, The Mandalorian & Grogu does do a pretty good job at standing on it’s own two feet to make it accessible for mainstream audiences. Aside from a occasional reference or two and some mumble jumble about established lore that’s treated more as a throw away line than a necessity, you really don’t need to have seen The Mandalorian or any of the animated series such as The Clone Wars and Rebels to follow what’s going on here. The opening crawl does establish the time period of which the film is set in the Star Wars universe quite well and the gap in between the episodic installments that it’s trying to fill. Context is always key but as someone that has only watched the show one time and haven’t bothered to go back to it since each season premiered, I never found myself lost or confused with what was going on. Just a shame I also never found myself caring about what’s going on.

As stated previously, The Mandalorian & Grogu plays like a compilation of several episodes from the tv show crunched together rather than an actual feature film. For every 30 to 45 minutes of the film, it involves Mando and Grogu going on a mission to achieve an objective, completing that said objective, and getting prepared for what the very next objective awaits. And once that certain section is complete, you get a line of dialogue that was clearly meant to act as the end of an episode, a black screen or screen wipe occurs, and then it’s onto the very next section. It’s even more baffling when the pair technically completes their objective less than an hour of the way through but has to have that objective completely fall apart in nonsensical ways just to justify padding the runtime over two hours. If you thought The Rise of Skywalker felt too much like a plot of a video game, Jon Favreau has come into the clutch just to say, “HOLD MY BEER!”

Granted, all of this CAN be forgiven if the film feels like it’s trying to stand out as it’s own thing and push the property forward in any meaningful way but it’s clearly not. The characters, while look cool and act cute, come off more as action figures and expanded merchandise than actual characters. The action sequences, while competently put together, lacks any stakes or personal investment to get you to care. The story, while nothing that will get anybody worked up over, is without any meaningful themes, arcs, or even lore worthy of making an article on Star Wars Wiki. There’s a huge difference between a swing and a miss and not even bothering to put the bat off your shoulders at all.

For all the faults of the prequel trilogy, sequel trilogy, or Rogue One, they all at least felt like meaningful cinematic events that weren’t afraid to mix up the Star Wars canon and dared to push the series into an actual direction for the future. They had moments that showcased the highest highs and the lowest lows of Star Wars that made them all memorable. And even if some of them contained bad stories, bad characters arcs, and bad moments, they at least HAD stories, arcs, and moments of their own. The Mandalorian & Grogu doesn’t even attempt to reach those highs and lows of the franchise, instead aiming for the absolute bare minimum imaginable.

It’s like Disney and Lucasfilm have become so afraid of it’s own audience that they are scared to do ANYTHING different or meaningful with Star Wars, aiming just to make complete corporate slop to please the masses believing that will be enough. However, if the positive reception of recent Star Wars medium such as Andor, Maul – Shadow Lord, and the recent Respawn games in Jedi Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor are anything to go by, those claims are proven false.

Star Wars fans and audiences DO want good stories, characters, ideas, and expansions of the Star Wars universe. You just need to do it RIGHT and make each individual moment of fan service and character growth feel earned and justified. While most of the other Star Wars properties I’ve mention in this review was able to accomplish that, The Mandalorian & Grogu does not. Which yet again makes you wonder, why did this need to be a movie that just HAD to be seen on the big screen?

I don’t want to sound completely doom and gloom with this review. The musical score by Ludwig Goransson is terrific, completely capturing the sound and feel of not just the show it’s based on but also the world of Star Wars as a whole. He’s able to find that right mix of playing like an expanded spiritual version of John Williams while also providing his own distinct voice to the world of Star Wars, something which Michael Giacchino couldn’t quite achieve with Rogue One. As much as I do love Kevin Kiner’s work in The Clone Wars, Goransson does feel like the man that should be leading Star Wars musical scores going forward.

The opening action sequence with Mando and Grogu does provide that special “Batman meets John Wick” lightning in a bottle that the show was able to achieve with it’s very best set pieces, Grogu and Babu Frik are still cute as ever, and even Rotta the Hutt is able to stand out as being the only character in the movie that has the closest thing to a fully fletch character arc. And as I said before, even if you’ve never seen the show or don’t remember anything about that, you should be able to follow everything just fine, even with characters from the animated series such as Zeb and Embo showing up.

The Mandalorian & Grogu doesn’t so much feel like a movie but more of an obligation. An obligation forced by Disney to get a Star Wars movie out in theaters after seven years just to let everybody know that Star Wars movies are still a thing that is happening on some way, shape, or form. It’s feels like the kind of a movie that gets made JUST so the studios can hold on to the film rights to an IP and NOT because anyone creatively involved had an actual story to tell (Can you guess now why we’ve gotten crappy Spider-Man villain-led movies for the past several years?!).

This is the first Star Wars film that is NOT led by teddy bears or taking place during the holidays where you will wonder what purpose does this serve to the overall Star Wars universe. (Even The Clone Wars movie provided an ill-conceived intro to Ahsoka Tano and Solo filled in oddly answered blanks to Han’s backstory while laying the foundation of more “grounded” Star Wars stories to be told later on down the road.) If the film played out just as several episodes of the show, it MIGHT’VE turned out just fine. But as a feature length film, it stood not chance whatsoever.

Despite all the fan complaining about Kathleen Kennedy throughout the past decade plus with her handling of Star Wars, the newly elected CEO of Lucasfilm, Dave Filoni has not gotten over to a very promising start either with Star Wars films. I might sing a different tune this time next year once Ryan Gosling makes his way to the Star Wars galaxy with Star Wars: Starfighter and once we see a fully realized vision for what the next wave of Star Wars films will be. (That’s not even mentioning how Filoni’s other Star Wars work weren’t know for having the greatest starts either.) As of now, I think I might just be fighting with getting my second season of Maul and my third Jedi game with Cal Kestis and call it a day!

As for The Mandalorian & Grogu, congratulations Gen Alpha for getting your own live-action version of The Clone Wars movie from 2008. I hope you enjoy your stay in the Filoni-verse!

At least Sigourney Weaver got paid for her completely phoned-in extended cameo!

Michael (2026) Movie Review- Put Up (Song) Or Shut Up

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Welp, I don’t know if there’s any way I can do this review without getting cancelled by someone. This latest biopic from the most beloved/controversial musician of the past 50 years in Michael Jackson was always guaranteed to be a total success or failure in the eyes of many. For those that just wanted to be reminded of the good old days of little MJ and put themselves in the shoes of someone that was able to experience pure pop rock peak in the man’s prime, Michael (2026) will be seen as an absolute W! For those that were hopping it would dig a deeper dive into MJ’s personal life, hard hitting dilemmas, and even ask the million dollar question as to whether or not those allegations that hauntedly followed him throughout his career would be addressed, Michael (2026) will be seen as a massive L!

And I almost just want to stop the review right there! Similar to 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Michael (2026) is not interested in revealing things about Michael Jackson that you didn’t already know and would rather handwave any noticeable cracks on the man’s legacy in favor of delivering the cinematic equivalent of a greatest hits album, playing through the songs that everyone knows and loves while making everyone in the theaters feel like they were with the man’s musical journey all along. This is strictly the Michael Jackson you remember on the big stage and NOT the one off of it.

If all of that sounds okay for you, then you are going to dig this movie. If not, then you are better off watching Leaving Neverland, the biggest scam of a “hit piece” ever conceived outside of whatever the hell Fox News was saying about Fred Rogers back in the day. It’s not entirely free of criticism when judging by it’s own merits, with a rather underutilized supporting cast and the most abrupt ending from an entertainment medium since The Last of Us, but for what it’s worth, Michael (2026) is able to put up song and shut up about everything else to make for an enjoyable musical montage that is worth seeing in complete IMAX for anyone that is a fan!

Premise: The story of “King of Pop” Michael Jackson (Jaafar Jackson). From his childhood as the star of the Jackson 5, through times of abuse by his father Joe Jackson, to breaking away and making the hit album Thriller and claiming his independence as a solo artist.

There are PLENTY of ways you can look at Michael through some rather cynical lens. Even if you take away purposedly leaving out anything about the so-called allegations (which was originally planned until they decided to completely re-shot the ending, causing the film to be delayed from it’s initial October 2025 release date), this is a biopic you can easily mistake as being more in-line with a typical concert movie. Oh sure, you get your backstory about Michael’s troubles with his father and within his own family and how that contributed to this rise to stardom, as well as one big life-changing event that nearly took a hit on his legacy (Again, NO, it’s NOT the allegations!). However, as the very last sequence that got added in through re-shots showcases, this is all about Michael Jackson: The Musician and NOT Michael Jackson: The Person. This is a musical biopic that wants nothing more than to put up song and shut up with anything else.

The good news is that the music is still so damn good! Nearly every scene where Michael sings each one of his iconic songs is a joy to watch and a treat for the ears! The sound design is outstanding, Antoine Fuqua directs the hell out of every single musical sequence, the scenes specifically designed for IMAX makes the whole experience worth that price of admission alone, and it’s able to perfectly capture the atmosphere and pure aura of Michael Jackson in his prime! Even if Michael Jackson: The Person is barely presence on screen, Michael Jackson: The Musician still slaps just as hard all these years later.

The other good news is Jaafar Jackson is able to perfectly slip into his uncle’s shoes as the legend himself. He makes you buy that he is Michael Jackson about as well as anyone possibly could, being able to capture Michael’s mannerism and star power in ways that I don’t think anyone expected when he was casted. Even the dramatic scenes that might feel very surface level and emotionally cold to the cynical mindset, he’s able to add his own unique certain layer to it that feels in spirit with his uncle and in spirit of himself as his own actor. He’s able to perfectly convey the whole journey of every hoop and leap of faith that Michael Jackson had to go through to get to what he is known as today. Quite simply, if it wasn’t for Jaafar Jackson being so good in this role, this film would have failed big time.

It’s unfortunate how the rest of the cast gets quite the short stick. Outside of Colman Domingo’s terrific performance as Michael’s abusive father, Joseph, there’s not much material for the rest of the star studded cast to make an impression. The rest of Michael’s family feel like they are only there due to absolute obligation (outside of Michael’s sister Janet, who declined to be portrayed in the film) and the relationships that Michael has with his agency with the likes of Mike Myers, Miles Teller, and Laura Harrier feels like a complete afterthought. I understand some of that has to do with personal and legal reasons but the film could have done a much better job at representing them even with the limited material they are given to work with.

There’s also the way the film concludes. It’s no secret that the ending of the film had to be changed significantly. Not just to reshot the entire third act so it did NOT cover the allegations against Michael Jackson that had already been resolved and proven to be false but also find a way for the film to end on a complete note after scraping the initial plans to have the film be split into two. While the song they chose to end it with was perfect, it is rather anticlimactic to have the final word of dialogue shown being about how Michael Jackson’s story will continue. Whether that is referring to another film being made or Michael’s legacy continuing beyond his early days will be determine by the box office but man, it almost feels like things were just getting started and then the film just…..stops.

Michael (2026) will be seen as a success or failure depending on what you are going to this film looking for. Do you just wanna see a mild sneak preview of Michael’s beginning and having his nephew perform your favorite songs on the big screen? If you do, then you will be happy. Do you want to see an extensive look of what went on from behind the scenes of Michael’s life and how that contributed to his rise to fame outside of just songs? If you do, then you will be disappointed.

If I were to judge Michael (2026) based on the entertainment scale and the experience I had listening to his songs performed in pure IMAX. I say it’s a solid three out of four stars.

If I were to judge Michael (2026) on standing on it’s own as a biopic and extended look of perhaps the most famous pop singer of all time. I say it’s a in-the-middle two out of four stars.

I guess if I were to combine both ratings. It would average around to a two and a half out of four stars.

Make of all that what you will!

Other comments:

  • Sorry that this took me a while to upload! I was busy for the past week with attending a wedding and covering from a mild cold! I have plenty of more pieces in the works for next month and onwards! Be on the look out for all of those!

Top 10 Biggest 2026 Summer Movies- Box Office Predictions

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We are approaching May, which means we are officaly enterting the summer movie season! The time of the year where the big blockbusters of the year are front and center in movie theaters everywhere now that the kids are out of school! Because of that, it’s time to do a list of what I believe will be the top highest grossing films of the summer!

With Hollywood continuing to struggle in the movie theater business post-covid, only God knows how many more summer movie seasons await. Although, theaters have been picking up great momentum in the box office as of late with the likes of Project Hail Mary and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, it’s unclear how long they will be able to carry that momentum throughout the rest of the year and even the future.

I think the 2026 summer movie season will give a big indication as to whether or not Hollywood is still recovering from the post-covid era of struggling to get people’s butts into theater seats or will this be the beginning of a resurrection for summer movies! We can only cross our fingers and hope for the best!

And considering I’ve been seeing multiple people put their own predictions of the top 10 biggest summer movies in terms of profit, why not throw my own hat in the ring and do my own list of this?! Keep in mind, these are the movies that I believe will be the highest grossing of the summer, not the ones that I desperately want to be at the very top. This list is not a matter of anticipation or movies I think will be objectively the best, this is a list of the movies that I believe will be the most to least successful in terms of the top 10 movies of the summer.

Also, this is a ranking based on box office numbers worldwide and NOT domestic. That list would be harder and more complicated for me to judge. This is how I feel the box office numbers will hold for summer movies WORLDWIDE from late April to mid August. Could I be dead wrong on every single one of these? Absolutely! But hey, it’s fun to be able to make predictions, right?!

And yes, I am throwing Michael in there. Even though it’s a movie that’s coming out in April, I think that gives up more “summer movie season kick off” vibes than The Devil Wears Prada 2. Just like how Infinity War and Endgame gave off more “summer movie season kick off” vibes….than whatever the heck released in the first week of May in 2018 and 2019!

Time to jump right in and put my predictions on what I believe will be the top 10 highest grossing films of the summer!

10.) Supergirl

Release Date: June 26th

Box Office Projection: $350+ Million

It’s very difficult to find any positive signs here. From it’s questionable release date to it’s lackluster trailers to it’s already nightmare PR, Supe’s cousin will have a hard time finding any sort of audience in the theaters come June. Even Jason Momoa won’t be the selling point that DC is hoping he will be. Unless the quality of the film ends up being nothing sort of stellar, with Elemental-like legs to help pull it through, I expect Supergirl to be one of the more heartbreaking bombs of the summer, falling into the same “female-led movies made for men” wheelhouse with 2024’s Furiosa and last summer’s Ballerina. Mr. Gunn and company better hope that Man of Tomorrow delivers next summer or else this new DC Universe might just be over before it even got a chance to settle in, (and that’s not even mentioning the GIANT elephant in the room that’s about to swallow Warner Bros Discovery up).

9.) The Mandalorian & Grogu

Release Date: May 22nd

Box Office Projection: $400+ Million

Who in their right minds thought that Star Wars’ first trip back to cinema since 2019 should involve an extension of a streaming series that ended three years ago and peaked in quality over five years ago?! With the near non-existence marketing and a very vague plot synopsis, The Mandalorian & Grogu looks more in-line with the The Clone Wars animated film from 2008 than any of the “official” Star Wars films (And that’s totally NOT because both films where originally meant to be several episodes of their own respective shows and JUST so happens to have Jabba the Hutt’s son in it). The good news is that it will have two weeks to itself, including Memorial Day weekend, before having to go up against any real competition, and if the budget is tight enough, it won’t need to make a fortunate to avoid a Solo: A Star Wars Story-level financial disaster. It looks harmless enough with the fan favorite characters from the Disney era in Mando and Grogu at the forefront, with the G.O.A.T. Sigourney Weaver thrown in there for good measure. If this doesn’t make any noise once June rolls around, it might be up to good old Ryan Gosling to salvage what’s left of the Star Wars IP come this time next year with Star Wars: Starfighter.

8.) Discourse Day

Release Date: June 12th

Box Office Projection: $475+ Million

This could easily come back to burn me later on down the road but every summer, there’s always tends to be one original film that’s able to break out at the box office in ways that nobody expected. Last year, that film was F1. This year, I can see Discourse Day being that film. Maybe it’s because it’s a Steven Spielberg film and the whole “Are aliens real or not?!” question that the film is asking has become strangely relevant in recent months (Thanks, Obama!), but I can see this shocking everyone in amazement to at least edge around the half billion dollar mark. This film’s potential level of grand success is all about the timing of it’s release and if the word-of-mouth is able to be on the level of Project Hail Mary. Films like Sinners, K-Pop Demon Hunters, and the two others I mentioned has shown that audiences are indeed hungry for more original stories/experiences on the big screen, the solid quality just needs to be there. And if the quality is there, don’t be surprised to see Discourse Day defying every expectation this summer.

7.) The Devil Wears Prada 2

Release Date: May 1st

Box Office Projection: $625+ Million

If there’s one thing we should all learn by now, it’s to NEVER underestimate the power of women. Films like Barbie, Wicked, and last winter’s The Housemaid has shown that the ladies will ALWAYS show up in drones to see films in theaters that are specifically made for them. The original Devil Wears Prada turns 20 years old this year and has gained a MASSIVE cult following throughout the past two decades. With the return of the OG cast of Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, it’s strong marketing, and massive trailer hype/viewership, I fully expect The Devil Wears Prada 2 to kick off May on a high note and be the big film to beat next month.

6.) The Odyssey

Release Date: July 17th

Box Office Projection: $750+ Million

To be sure, a film like this making at least 750 million dollar signs in this day and age should be seen as a MAJOR accomplishment! There is no other filmmaker working today other than Christopher Nolan that could generate this level of excitement with a project like this! However, I don’t see The Odyssey being on the same level as Oppenheimer (which made $975+ million in 2023), as it won’t have the “Barbenheimer” hype attached to it despite it tackling a more “universal” story. Not to mention, the potential loss of its IMAX screens after it’s first two weeks due to Spider-Man: Brand New Day could greatly affect repeated viewings for its theatrical release! Christopher Nolan is perhaps the one director working today to where his name attached to a film alone will guarantee box office success (Every film that Nolan has directed since 2008’s The Dark Knight has been able to achieve this mark, even Tenet in 2020, A.K.A. the covid year!) and The Odyssey should be no exception! However, the road to doing Oppenheimer level numbers will be much tougher for Mr. Nolan this time around!

5.) Moana (2026)

Release Date: July 10th

Box Office Projection: $800+ Million

Moana is undoubtedly one of the most popular Disney brands right now, with the original animated film being the most streamed movie ever on Disney Plus and its sequel making a billion dollars just over a year ago! What will likely hold this live-action remake back other than the crowded family summer movie season is its lack of nostalgia factor! Live-action remakes like The Lion King (2019) and Lilo & Stitch (2025) were able to be the billion dollar grossers they did BECAUSE of the nostalgia attached to those films, which gave kids enough time to grow up, become nostalgic for the original animated Disney classics, and have raised kids of their own to share the theatrical experience with! Moana (2026) will be coming out at a time where the original animated film won’t even be fully 10 years old yet (It released in November 2016 btw) and just a year and a half after its animated sequel came out! It will still be a big success since the Moana brand is still strong but the lack of the nostalgic hook will prevent this from making a billion dollars!

4.) Minions & Monsters

Release Date: July 1st

Box Office Projection: $850+ Million

Since 2010, Illumination Animation has been able to crack the code on how to make crowd pleasing animated flicks for young kids, forcing their parents to take them to the movie theaters every other summer to see the newest Despicable Me and Minions movie that comes out. In regards to the installments that have come from this franchise post-covid, Minions: The Rise of Guru was able to make $940+ million in 2022 and Despicable Me 4 made $971+ million in 2024! Due to a much more crowded summer than in 2022 and 2024, having to compete with other family flicks such as the one-two Mickey Mouse punch of Toy Story 5 and Moana (2026), I do expect Minions & Monsters to take a decline as well, in a similar way that last summer’s Jurassic World: Rebirth was a slight decline with the other Jurassic Park/World movies. Even if this one ends up being slightly inferior to it’s predecessors and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie isn’t the $1.5+ billion juggernaut I predicted (Silly me!), Illumination and Universal should be eating just fine with their animated feature films in 2026!

3.) Michael

Release Date: April 24th

Box Office Projection: $950+ Million

I don’t care if the pre-sales numbers have been iffy thus far and the behind-the-scenes drama will put a giant raincloud throughout the press release, THIS is one that I can see being a global phenomenon. Michael Jackson is no doubt the most popular musician of all time, gaining worldwide appeal from all across planet Earth. With the high trailer numbers and the multiple generations of fans that MJ has gained throughout the course of several decades, there should be no reason to doubt his annual biopic will be a huge theatrical success. If the legs are strong and it ends up pleasing the masses enough, I can see Michael topping Bohemian Rhapsody as the highest grossing musical biopic of all time. This seems like the kind of film that will get people who don’t go to theaters anymore off their couches, similar to the likes of Top Gun: Maverick and Barbenheimer. Even though this film will be released in April, this will likely be seen as the true kick-off to the summer movie season of 2026!

2.) Toy Story 5

Release Date: June 19th

Box Office Projection: $1.1+ Billion

Although I was harsher on this one in my initial box office predictions earlier this year, this has grown on me quite a bit in recent months. To compare the box office numbers of the last two Toy Story movies, Toy Story 4 made $1.073+ billion about nine years after Toy Story 3, which made around $1.066+ billion. That’s less than a seven million dollar increase between these two films despite being nearly a decade apart! However, with it’s iPad storyline being very timely and the trailers seeming to promise a more traditional Toy Story adventure than Toy Story 4 did, I can see Toy Story 5 surpassing the previous film just enough to take the crown as the big family film of the summer, even from Disney’s own Moana (2026). Even if the film stumbles in quality or ends up being a punching bag on the internet like Toy Story 4 became after it’s release, there will still be plenty of kids and families that will go see this film in theaters to make it at least flirt with the billion dollar mark!

1.) Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Release Date: July 31st

Box Office Projection: $1.3+ Billion

Even in an era where superhero fatigue is at an all-time high, Spider-Man will ALWAYS be a box office draw no matter what! Him and Batman have proven themselves to be perhaps the lone superhero IPs that can still draw box office hits in the most uncertain times of the genre, at least if the successes of 2021’s No Way Home ($1.9+ billion), 2022’s The Batman ($772+ million), and 2023’s Across the Spider-Verse ($690+ million) is anything to go by. And NO, this will NOT be a No Way Home box office juggernaut but that should be expected considering this will (likely) not have the nostalgia of the good old days with William Dafoe and Tobey Maguire attached to it. I expect similar numbers to Far From Home (which made $1.1+ billion high off the heels of Avengers: Endgame), if not a bit more. Between the additions of notable Marvel characters such as The Punisher, Hulk, and whoever the heck Sadie Sink is suppose to be playing along with there being a decent amount of time since the last Spider-Man movie came out to build hype (No Way Home turns HALF a decade old this year btw!), Brand New Day will stand proud as the #1 film of the 2026 summer movie season, proving Spidey can defy ANY realms of superhero and Marvel fatigue!

1.) Spider-Man: Brand New Day- $1.3+ Billion

2.) Toy Story 5- $1.1+ Billion

3.) Michael- $950+ Million

4.) Minions & Monsters- $850+ Million

5.) Moana (2026)- $800+ Million

6.) The Odyssey- $750+ Million

7.) The Devil Wears Prada 2- $625+ Million

8.) Disclosure Day- $475+ Million

9.) The Mandalorian & Grogu- $400+ Million

10.) Supergirl- $350+ Million

As for other movies that missed the list:

  • Masters of the Universe (2026)
    • $325+ Million
      • I went back and forth between Supergirl and Masters of the Universe for the #10 spot but I went with Supergirl because I believe superheroes still have more appeal with Gen Z and Millennials than Masters of the Universe has with baby boomers. Even if the quality is on the level of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves like I expected to be given it’s Travis Knight taking the wheel here, He-Man just doesn’t seem like a popular brand in the year 2026. I wouldn’t be surprised if this film ends up losing Amazon quite a bit of money.

  • Mortal Kombat II
    • $175+ Million
      • Even if the first film was a bomb in 2021 (when half of movie theaters around the world will still closed), Mortal Kombat II should do quite well, with it being giving a more proper theatrical release and the trailers promising to deliver the goods the fans wanted that they didn’t get from the first film. Even if it will do numbers closer to Five Nights At Freddy’s than Minecraft, Mario, or Sonic, I don’t think WB will be too upset with the box office results. I only wonder if it was wise to delayed the picture from it’s original fall release from last year.

  • Scary Movie (2026)
    • $200+ Million
      • If Scary Movie is able to be on the same level of quality as last year’s The Naked Gun, then I can see the sixth entry riding the successful wave of Scream 7, opening the doors opening for more raw horror/politically incorrect comedies for the immediate future.

  • Evil Dead Burn
    • $50+ Million
      • Evil Dead Burn will likely end up being as buried and forgotten as ME3AN 2.0 was last summer. Again, what is it with these horror films getting the most bizarre release dates imaginable?!

  • Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie
    • $150+ Million
      • This will prove that Paw Patrol is still….a thing that exists for kids. But, it’s also coming out at the tail end of summer and when kids start going back to school so….yeah.

  • Jackass: Best and Last
    • $100+ Million
      • Johnny, please take us ALL home with Jackass: Best and Last! Just take us all home!