The Box Office Podcast

More Minions = Less Money?

With Jeremy Fuster and Max Deering both on holiday, it’s a pretty loose, off-the-cuff and unstructured, even by our standards, episode. With Lisa Laman again offering another round of “financial flashback,” this week’s guest is Nathanael Rice, who just four months ago launched a potential rival to the likes of Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. It’s called Box Office Watch [https://boxofficewatch.com/], and while it’s still getting its sea legs, it’s a visually dynamic and user-friendly offering in the realm of sites stuffed with present-and past-tense box office data. Beyond the brief check-ups on Obsession (now past $400 million), Backrooms (now above $355 million), and Disclosure Day (which held well over the holiday and crossed $100 million in North America), the crux of the conversation is about Minions & Monsters. The main topic of discourse is about why Minions 3 opened so much lower than its predecessors, and whether the “mere” $62 million domestic and $162 million worldwide end-of-holiday total matters for an $85 million flick that should, at worst, still earn 6-7x that worldwide. Otherwise, yes, we spend a few minutes on how Young Washington’s $21 million Fr-Sun debut essentially rescued the Independence Day weekend from an otherwise miserable, under-$100 million domestic total. Oh, and in relation to Supergirl’s unheroic plunge, barely crossing $100 million globally at the end of its second weekend? Well, at least it’ll make more than Masters of the Universe? Recommended Reading… * Scott Mendelson details how [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/obsession-backrooms-saves-june-box-office-after-masters-of-the-universe-and-supergirl-both-flop] this June’s $1 billion domestic total was mostly dependent on the long legs and big bucks of Obsession, Backtooms and Michael rather than on expected tentpoles like Supergirl and Masters of the Universe. * Jeremy Fuster lays out how [https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/movie-theaters-upgrades-box-office-boom-2026/] theaters are responding to and benefiting from the current box-office upswing. * Lisa Laman discusses the history of [https://landofthenerds.blogspot.com/] big animated releases going head-to-head (or spacing themselves out) over the summer movie season. * Ryan Scott ran down this year’s Fangoria Chainsaw Awards [https://www.fangoria.com/2026-fangoria-chainsaw-awards-best-wide-release-nominees/], specifically discussing the films nominated for Best Wide Release horror movie. If you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at Asktheboxofficepod@gmail.com. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/] and Puck News [https://puck.news/author/scott-mendelson/] * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap [https://www.thewrap.com/author/jeremy-fuster/] * Lisa Laman [https://lisalaman.wixstudio.com/lisaportfolio] - Land of the Nerds [https://landofthenerds.blogspot.com/], Dallas Observer [https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/dallas-forths-best-trans-inclusive-bars-and-businesses-21590543] and Looper [https://www.looper.com/author/lisalaman/] * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm [https://www.slashfilm.com/author/ryanscott/], Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/ryan-scott/] and Inverse [https://www.inverse.com/profile/ryan-scott-111725388] * Max Deering - Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/maxwell_deering/] and Action For Everyone [https://open.spotify.com/show/6OWjC2VooChhsCT8UCzDlL] * Nathanael Rice - Box Office Watch [https://boxofficewatch.com/] Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Maybe It's Time to Let The Old Ways Die...

As Bradley Charles Cooper once sang, it takes a lot to change your plans, and a train to change your mind. Yes, Chrissi Michael is back to chat about Supergirl and all the fortune and glory it most certainly did not achieve. Alas, with $40 million in North America and $68 million worldwide as of Monday, this wasn’t quite the upbeat episode we were perhaps expecting up until a month or two ago. Much of the conversation centers on the artistic choices this new DC Studios flick did and didn’t make, making it almost irrelevant to current generations of general moviegoers. Yes, it’s still beyond diabolical that Hollywood waited until near the tail-end of the superhero domination era to start diversifying the DC/Marvel line-ups. No, online troll farms (the ones who do it for money and those who do it for sport) didn’t move the needle among anyone who doesn’t live online. However, it’s beyond odd that Supergirl feels less like the next chapter of a new DC cinematic universe than a (comparatively so-so… Aquaman or Wonder Woman this was not) relic of the prior one. Jeremy Fuster is in London but, like Bill Murray in the 2016 Ghostbusters remake, pops by for an extended, momentum-destroying cameo. That’s a joke, although I forgot to answer the weekend’s intro question about the best comic book superhero movie needle drops. For the record, it’s What’s Up Danger” from Into the Spider-Verse, followed by the cut-to-credits smash-cut to “All the Stars” from Black Panther (so much so that I don’t really care for either of that film’s otherwise harmless credit cookies). Jeremy focuses on the macro implications of a shiny new DC box-office flop in the shadow of Skydance’s attempts to buy Warner Bros. and, presumably, make its properties its own. And he does this while standing next to Big Ben**, like the show-off that he is. That said, between Lisa not watching Amazing Digital Circus and Chrissi not yet getting around to Voicemails For Isabelle***, I’m starting to doubt their commitment to The Box Office Podcast. The other subjects of discourse are: -- The challenges in adapting an acclaimed comic story in which Supergirl was not the arc’s primary character -- Too much Lobo, not enough Comet --Why (most of) James Gunn’s MCU/DC song cues work -- Why today’s youth (understandably) doesn’t give a damn about, in the abstract, comic book superhero movies -- The challenges of and opportunities for comedies (romantic or otherwise) in a laugh-starved ecosystem -- Why horror movies are more relevant to the kids than rom-coms, capers, melodramas or almost any other genre --Apparently, I should be watching Off Campus? And more!! ** Speaking of Big Ben, by sheer coincidence, this Thursday marks the 40th anniversary of the very best Walt Disney animated film of the 1980s, The Great Mouse Detective. Sure, The Little Mermaid is fine, but does that Katzenberg-era smash hit feature TWO karaoke-friendly supervillain songs? Why yes, Aaron, I AM a big fan of big movies that climax with a big fight in Big Ben, which ends with the big bad guy suffering from a fatal case of “too much gravity.” *** Between Voicemails for Isabelle, Minions & Monsters and Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass (which… my god, there were spots where — while sitting in a theater watching it solo — I almost fell out of my chair in laughter), Zoey Deutch is having a very not-so-bummer summer. Recommended Reading… Not doing a recommended reading/listening list this week, if only because (as a consequence of posting this episode earlier after having dropped the last one later in the week) there isn’t much “new” from our participants. That said, as always, if you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, email us at Asktheboxofficepod@gmail.com. * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/] and Puck News [https://puck.news/author/scott-mendelson/] * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap [https://www.thewrap.com/author/jeremy-fuster/] * Lisa Laman [https://lisalaman.wixstudio.com/lisaportfolio] - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer [https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/dallas-forths-best-trans-inclusive-bars-and-businesses-21590543], Pajiba [https://www.pajiba.com/staff/lisa-laman.php], Looper [https://www.looper.com/author/lisalaman/] and Autostraddle [https://www.autostraddle.com/author/lisalaman/] * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm [https://www.slashfilm.com/author/ryanscott/], Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/ryan-scott/] and Inverse [https://www.inverse.com/profile/ryan-scott-111725388] * Max Deering - Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/maxwell_deering/] and Action For Everyone [https://open.spotify.com/show/6OWjC2VooChhsCT8UCzDlL] * Chrissi Michael - c(ine)m(a) studies [https://cmstudiescinema.substack.com/] And if you are able and willing, please consider donating to a GoFundMe related to a Dallas local trying to raise the necessary funds to escape an abusive and homophobic living situation. — URGENT: Help A Lesbian Find Safe Housing [https://www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-help-a-lesbian-find-safe-housing-sadzf?attribution_id=sl:301a53b8-78f9-49c8-b011-03f86165414e&lang=en_US&ts=1782626095&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_content=amp20_t1&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&fbclid=PARlRTSASuCydleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAadXeELQJb1zGZIGR6JSCkYditaaFqhU6bhOyjrDPzfNGRz7RySbfK9ik-t_vg_aem_gDkTI9Mf7WmvKMHwh8T2UQ] Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

To Infinity And Beyond... Again!

With Jeremy Fuster having to bow out for the week, Caroline Siede, she of The AV Club, the podcast Role Calling (each episode is “a five-film retrospective starring an actor they love”), stops by to discuss all things Toy Story 5, with a few brief notes related to Obsession’s ridiculous legs, hopes and fears for Supergirl and last weekend’s other three releases (The Death of Robin Hood, Leviticus and Girls Like Girls). Among the subjects of discourse… * All of the reasons (some less obvious than others) that Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story remains a top-tier artistic and commercial franchise * The miracle that is Jessie, beginning as a supporting character in Toy Story 2 and then almost immediately becoming a co-lead going forward * Why you can’t make a Toy Story movie without Woody or Buzz * Whether any franchise can match Toy Story’s artistic batting average * The value of keeping theatrical IP almost exclusive to theatrical release * How A24 has positioned itself, whether it works each time out, as a genuine brand name for moviegoers * The commercial value of LGBTQIA-friendly movies during Pride Month * To what extent Taylor Swift gave the film a commercial boost or merely hitched her wagon to a preordained blockbuster (and why WB should have offered up Supergirl trailers and TV spots featuring modern music*) * And more…! *Okay, so WB eventually did exactly as hoped, natch… Recommended Reading/Listening… * Scott Mendelson went long on how [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/kids-trying-to-save-box-office-and-hollywood-from-itself] the wave of youth-skewing sleeper hits, alongside older franchise flicks breaking out partially because they are attuned to today’s kids, is reminiscent of the great box office readjustment of 2001. * Jeremy Fuster goes deep into attempts to pitch the federal government (the executive and legislative branches) on a federal film tax credit [https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/can-hollywood-sell-congress-trump-on-federal-film-tax-credit/]. * Lisa Laman offers her picks [https://www.looper.com/2199656/best-neo-western-movies-all-time-ranked/] for the best neo-westerns of all time. * Ryan Scott dug into the commercial failure and complicated post-debut legacy of what is technically the first Black superhero movie (at least of remotely modern times), Robert Townsend’s [https://www.slashfilm.com/2196924/hollywood-first-major-black-superhero-movie-90s-flop-the-meteor-man/]The Meteor Man [https://www.slashfilm.com/2196924/hollywood-first-major-black-superhero-movie-90s-flop-the-meteor-man/]. * Caroline Siede explained, quite correctly [https://www.avclub.com/the-adventures-of-robin-hood-perfect-way-into-classic-movies], I might note, how and why The Adventures of Robin Hood (or, as I call it, the best Hollywood action movie up until, I dunno, From Russia with Love) is the ideal gateway drug to get kids (and adults) into classic cinema. If you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at Asktheboxofficepod@gmail.com (which I finally fixed so that it’ll forward to my personal business email, natch). * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/] and Puck News [https://puck.news/author/scott-mendelson/] * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap [https://www.thewrap.com/author/jeremy-fuster/] * Lisa Laman [https://lisalaman.wixstudio.com/lisaportfolio] - Land of the Nerds [https://landofthenerds.blogspot.com/], Dallas Observer [https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/dallas-forths-best-trans-inclusive-bars-and-businesses-21590543], Pajiba [https://www.pajiba.com/staff/lisa-laman.php], Looper [https://www.looper.com/author/lisalaman/], Autostraddle [https://www.autostraddle.com/author/lisalaman/] * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm [https://www.slashfilm.com/author/ryanscott/], Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/ryan-scott/] and Inverse [https://www.inverse.com/profile/ryan-scott-111725388] * Max Deering - Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/maxwell_deering/] and Action For Everyone [https://open.spotify.com/show/6OWjC2VooChhsCT8UCzDlL] * Caroline Siede - GirlCulture [https://girlculture.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips], The AV Club [https://www.avclub.com/author/caroline-siede] and Role Calling [https://rolecalling.podbean.com/] Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

'Disclosure' Yay!

This won’t exactly be the most hard-hitting critical discussion about Disclosure Day. I probably liked it least among the four of us, and yet my thumb is still firmly pointing upward. Nonetheless, Aaron Neuwith, fresh from a trip to Japan with 2 Black Guys Talk Godzilla co-host Terrance Johnson, returns to the fourth chair to discuss The Furious (since he ended up quoting in the trailer and on the film’s German poster) and — of course — the $44 million domestic/$94 million worldwide opening weekend for Steven Spielberg’s latest sci-fi thriller. The curtain-raiser question is everyone’s pick for their favorite performance in a Steven Spielberg movie, after which the subjects of discourse are… * The $2.75 million domestic and $17 million worldwide debut for The Furious and how that compares to recent overseas action movies and (offhand) the late-90s run of English-dubbed, domestically-targeted Jackie Chan releases. * The big drops for Scary Movie 6 and Masters of the Universe, although obviously one is more problematic than the other. One question is whether we get a Scary Movie 7 before we get a Scream 8. * Whether the social media divisiveness over Disclosure Day will prove indicative of general audiences’ sentiment or merely an online-specific back-and-forth. * How the film was marketed, whether it was or wasn’t indicative of the film itself, while noting that it clearly worked in terms of opening weekend interest. * That a new Spielberg film succeeded on its own terms, right alongside massive overperformances from the likes of Obsession and Backrooms, is actually the best-case scenario. * The usual “Spielberg makes movies good, actually” conversation, which is still always worth reiterating. * Spielberg’s willingness and seeming desire to work with newer and younger onscreen talent. * And more, including opening weekend predictions for Toy Story 5. Recommended Reading/Listening… * Scott Mendelson went long and annoying [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/amazon-cannot-pretend-that-masters-of-the-universe-is-not-a-box-office-disaster] over Amazon, trying to spin Masters of the Universe’s poor box office as an irrelevant trivia point. * Jeremy Fuster noted that AMC’s previously scheduled series of concert films, set for this summer, has been canceled because the box office is so damn healthy [https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/amc-theaters-postpones-concert-events-paris-hilton-maren-morris/] that the theaters don’t need them right now. * Lisa Laman offers her picks for the five most underrated Pixar flicks [https://www.looper.com/2194823/pixar-most-underrated-movies-ranked/]. * Ryan Scott offers a retrospective on one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time, the mostly-forgotten Warren Beatty/Diane Keaton comedy [https://www.slashfilm.com/2193580/warren-beatty-diane-keaton-town-and-country-big-box-office-flop/]Town & Country [https://www.slashfilm.com/2193580/warren-beatty-diane-keaton-town-and-country-big-box-office-flop/]. * Max Deering couldn’t make this episode’s recording, but this week’s Action For Everyone features an extensive interview with [https://open.spotify.com/episode/72QqHLJFVzB1kItVZ2QoEz]The Furious [https://open.spotify.com/episode/72QqHLJFVzB1kItVZ2QoEz]director Kenji Tanigaki [https://open.spotify.com/episode/72QqHLJFVzB1kItVZ2QoEz]. * Aaron Neuwirth and Terence Johnson took a detour with an episode centered on director Shusuke Kaneko’s late-1990s trilogy of [https://2blackguystalkgodzilla.substack.com/p/bonus-episode-the-gamera-heisei-trilogy-1995-1999]Gamera [https://2blackguystalkgodzilla.substack.com/p/bonus-episode-the-gamera-heisei-trilogy-1995-1999]movies [https://2blackguystalkgodzilla.substack.com/p/bonus-episode-the-gamera-heisei-trilogy-1995-1999]. I actually saw (the genuinely awesome) Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris in a movie theater with my parents while visiting Japan in early 1999. Sure, the episode is a delight, but you’re only delaying the inevitable. Dread it, run from it… Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla still arrives all the same. If you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at Asktheboxofficepod@gmail.com (which I finally fixed so that it’ll forward to my personal business email, natch). * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/] and Puck News [https://puck.news/author/scott-mendelson/] * Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap [https://www.thewrap.com/author/jeremy-fuster/] * Lisa Laman [https://lisalaman.wixstudio.com/lisaportfolio] - Dallas Observer [https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/dallas-forths-best-trans-inclusive-bars-and-businesses-21590543], Pajiba [https://www.pajiba.com/staff/lisa-laman.php], Looper [https://www.looper.com/author/lisalaman/], Comic Book [https://comicbook.com/author/lisa-laman/] and Autostraddle [https://www.autostraddle.com/author/lisalaman/] * Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm [https://www.slashfilm.com/author/ryanscott/], Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/ryan-scott/] and Inverse [https://www.inverse.com/profile/ryan-scott-111725388] * Max Deering - Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/maxwell_deering/] and Action For Everyone [https://open.spotify.com/show/6OWjC2VooChhsCT8UCzDlL] * Aaron Neuwirth - The Code is Zeek [https://thecodeiszeek.substack.com/] and We Live Entertainment [https://weliveentertainment.com/author/aaron-neuwirth/] Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Masters of the Scary Circus

As expected, Masters of the Universe became the latest example of “good movie, don’t care” IP adaptation in the tradition of Power Rangers, Transformers One, and (at least overseas) Predator: Badlands. And, as somewhat expected, Scary Movie 6 was a nostalgia-skewing relaunch that successfully played to the kids. At the same time, The Amazing Digital Circus was the latest example of a YouTube-created IP successfully transitioning from streaming to cinema. Luke Y. Thompson, as a lifelong He-Man fan with an encyclopedic knowledge of the nearly 45-year-old franchise, still has much to say about the decades-in-development franchise reboot that ended up with an opening weekend that was barely above the second weekend for Backrooms and the fourth frame for Obsession. Meanwhile, Jeremy Fuster goes long on the frustrating double standard often applied to mega-budget theatrical flops released by “money doesn’t matter” tech giants. At the same time, everyone remembers to give Paramount its Scary Movie 6-specific flowers. Also on the docket is discourse related to Dan Lin’s “filmmakers who want theatrical releases can buzz off” New York Times article, favorite Regina Hall roles, whether the YouTube-to-cinema pipeline will have a quality curve, Jared Leto’s inconveniently excellent performance as Skeletor and my personal annoyance over Masters of the Universe’s false-hope mid-credit cookie. Recommended Reading… * Scott Mendelson discussed the reasons why [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/chris-nolan-the-odyssey-summer-blockbuster-for-adults] Chris Nolan likely had little issue with convincing Universal to let The Odyssey go out with an R-rating. * Jeremy Fuster digs into what companies might be making a play to buy IMAX [https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/deals-ma/imax-sale-potential-buyers-analysis/]. * Lisa Laman notes the four actors [https://www.looper.com/2187909/actors-almost-played-he-man-masters-of-the-universe-movie/] who were previously cast/almost cast as He-Man in various previous unmade iterations of Masters of the Universe. * Ryan Scott kicks yet more sand [https://www.slashfilm.com/2190938/biggest-box-office-flop-all-time-2026-movie-desert-warrior/] in the face of Desert Warrior. * Luke Y. Thompson uses the new “Action Man” figure [https://lytrules.substack.com/p/hasbros-new-action-man-looks-like] to discuss the ins and outs of toys that resemble actors and movie stars. If you like what you hear… Please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at Asktheboxofficepod@gmail.com (which I finally fixed so that it’ll forward to my personal business email, natch). * Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/] and Puck News [https://puck.news/author/scott-mendelson/]* Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap [https://www.thewrap.com/author/jeremy-fuster/]* Lisa Laman [https://lisalaman.wixstudio.com/lisaportfolio] - Dallas Observer [https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/dallas-forths-best-trans-inclusive-bars-and-businesses-21590543], Pajiba [https://www.pajiba.com/staff/lisa-laman.php], Looper [https://www.looper.com/author/lisalaman/] and Autostraddle [https://www.autostraddle.com/author/lisalaman/]* Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm [https://www.slashfilm.com/author/ryanscott/], Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/ryan-scott/] and Inverse [https://www.inverse.com/profile/ryan-scott-111725388]* Max Deering - Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/maxwell_deering/] and Action For Everyone [https://open.spotify.com/show/6OWjC2VooChhsCT8UCzDlL]* Luke Y. Thompson - Mortal Cinema [https://lytrules.substack.com/], TV Line [https://www.tvline.com/author/lukethompson/] and SlashFilm [https://www.slashfilm.com/author/lukethompson/] Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]