The Box Office Podcast

A Failure of Soft Powell

Longtime film writer, movie reviewer, entertainment journalist, and author Marya E. Gates is this week’s extra-special guest. Considering this relatively barren weekend for new releases, it would have been deeply ironic had this (among other things) expert in the realm of silent cinema arrived on a week with little to talk about. The good news is that while Hollywood mostly took the week off (again), the 105-minute episode is nonetheless packed with tangents, digressions and the usual chaos you’ve come to expect. We’ve got anecdotes from the world of film marketing, discourse about whether Sony’s “send these movies to Netflix” gambit might still have boosted the Sony Animation brand, and debates as to why How to Make a Killing likely never had a chance, even if it had received a wider, higher-profile release. Included is also a conversation concerning Jacob Elordi’s budding stardom, during which our guest (quite accidentally and indirectly) drops the most vulgar line of the show. The question of the day is everyone’s favorite Elvis Presley song, as Max Deering finally sees Return to Silent Hill and tries his best to explain why his current home country (The Netherlands) is apparently gripped by Roarball fever. Recommended Reading… * Scott Mendelson discusses whether [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/goat-sony-box-office-animation-pixar-disney-illumination-netflix-cvovid]GOAT [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/goat-sony-box-office-animation-pixar-disney-illumination-netflix-cvovid]is the start of a new era [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/goat-sony-box-office-animation-pixar-disney-illumination-netflix-cvovid], or at least a return to the early 2010s era, for original animated films. * Jeremy Fuster investigates the chilling possibility [https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/wuthering-heights-box-office-films-for-women/] that films for/from/about women might actually have a future in the COVID-era box office recovery. * Lisa Laman discusses, well, “Please, Keep Letting Directors Talk About Movie Theaters And Projection Formats. [https://landofthenerds.blogspot.com/]” * Ryan Scott argues that the marketing for Lucasfilm and Disney’s The Mandalorian and Grogu implies that, well, “Begun, [https://www.slashfilm.com/2104103/star-wars-sequel-trilogy-nostalgia-here-not-bad-thing/]Star Wars [https://www.slashfilm.com/2104103/star-wars-sequel-trilogy-nostalgia-here-not-bad-thing/]sequel trilogy nostalgia has. [https://www.slashfilm.com/2104103/star-wars-sequel-trilogy-nostalgia-here-not-bad-thing/]” * Max Deering kinda-sorta takes center stage in the latest Silent Hill [https://open.spotify.com/episode/2WlDgHtdMw23U0x1D3rcYS]-centric episode [https://open.spotify.com/episode/2WlDgHtdMw23U0x1D3rcYS] of Action for Everyone. * Marya E. Gates has written almost everywhere about almost everything entertainment/movie-related, but for now, just buy her book Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Directors in Their Own Words [https://www.rizzoliusa.com/book/9780847846610/]. As always, if you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe. 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], Looper [https://www.looper.com/author/lisalaman/], Comic Book [https://comicbook.com/author/lisa-laman/] and Autostraddle [https://www.autostraddle.com/author/lisalaman/] * Ryan Scott - SlashFilm [https://www.slashfilm.com/author/ryanscott/] and Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/ryan-scott/] * Max Deering - Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/maxwell_deering/] and Action For Everyone [https://open.spotify.com/show/6OWjC2VooChhsCT8UCzDlL] * Marya E. Gates - Roger Ebert [https://www.rogerebert.com/contributors/marya-e-gates], Cool People Have Feelings Too [https://oldfilmsflicker.substack.com/] and much more [https://maryaegates.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]

Wuthering Fights!

Longtime journalist and podcaster Jordan Crucchiola guests on this week’s episode as the gang discusses the reception and commercial performance of Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights. Well, she eventually skips out at around the halfway mark since she hadn’t yet seen the other new releases amid a crowded President’s Day weekend. Still, the remaining four of us (Scott, Lisa, Jeremy and Max) have much to say about the differing fortunes for the other movies. To wit… Max hashes out the complicated issues related to casting Jacob Elordi as “not quite a white guy” Heathcliff, which Jordan notes that white filmmakers (even women) can find themselves in a lose/lose scenario when telling stories about or in conversation with race-based inequities. Scott explains why, in a rare exception, he finds himself indifferent to the outcry over this specific would-be whitewashing, as Jeremy notes that the film is another instance of disproportionately hyperbolic online response skewing the more middle-of-the-road real-world buzz. There’s a lot where that came from, but once Jordan sneaks away, the gang gets down to “real business,” including whether $35 million is exceptional or merely pretty good for Sony’s original GOAT. Jeremy argues that the lowered ceiling remains an issue, while Lisa argues that the sky-high results for non-sequel animated films from the early 2000s to the late 2010s might have been a momentary fluke. Everyone agrees that Crime 101 cost too much and grossed too little, and they all have opinions about what Amazon is or isn’t up to regarding its theatrical plans. Finally, everyone gives a modest hat tip to the “could have been so much worse” debut for Good Luck, Have Fun Don’t Die while noting that at least some subjective disappointment over Wuthering Heights’s mere $38 million Fri-Mon domestic debut was about hyperbolic expectations and an unexpected plethora of healthy competitors and holdovers. In the long run, it’s arguably better for the big tentpole to open a little smaller alongside healthy competition rather than having the entire theatrical ecosystem depending on the official big would-be blockbuster pulling the best-case-scenario box office. Apologies, but I’m running behind, so no “recommended reading” for this week. That said, if you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe. 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], 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/] and Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/ryan-scott/] * Max Deering - Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/maxwell_deering/] and Action For Everyone [https://open.spotify.com/show/6OWjC2VooChhsCT8UCzDlL] * Jordan Crucchiola - Feeling Seen [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/feeling-seen/id1593299703], Vulture [https://www.vulture.com/author/jordan-crucchiola/] and NPR [https://www.npr.org/people/g-s1-20111/jordan-crucchiola] Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Little Movies That Could

In what was a needlessly barren weekend in terms of new releases from major studios, the newbies and the smaller distribution outlets picked up some of the slack. So, for the occasion of what was technically Super Bowl weekend, Chrissi Michael, content strategist by day and box office nerd by night [https://cmstudiescinema.substack.com/?utm_source=global-search], returned for the fourth time as she attempts to stake her claim as the Steve Mart… err, uh… Emma Stone of The Box Office Podcast. Among the subjects of discourse… * Jeremy and Max don’t say jack s**t since neither of them could make it. * Scott, Lisa and Chrissi dissect Send Help’s staying power. * Lisa notes the sheer volume of semi-regular small-scale/indie releases. * Chrissi offers a critical deep dive into Charli XCX’s The Moment * Scott notes the surprising muscle shown byVertical and Bleecker Street * Lisa argues that Solo Mio again shows that rom-coms can still work. * Chrissi demonstrates that she’s far too committed to the Box Office Podcast. * Scott accidentally makes Dracula sound much better than it actually is. * Everyone engages in way too much Wuthering Heights pre-release chatter. * And more! Apologies, but I’m running behind, so no “recommended reading” for this week. That said, if you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe. 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], 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/] and Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/ryan-scott/] * 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/] Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Inherent Vyce

In his long-awaited debut in the revolving (or fifth?) fourth chair of The Box Office Podcast, long-time film pundit and action film expert Vyce Victus pops in presumably/theoretically to discuss the latest Jason Statham joint. And while we find enough time to discuss Shelter’s place in the Statham canon, as well as tipping our hat to Ric Roman Waugh as a regular director of high-quality “dad movie” action flicks, most of the chat is taken up by Scott, Jeremy, Max and Vyce taking stock of Markiplier’s genuinely impressive DIY accomplishment, the unto-itself aspirational launch for Sam Raimi’s Send Help and what a $7 million debut for Amazon’s $40 million Melania does and doesn’t mean for life, the universe and everyrhing. Lisa couldn’t make it, but… well… something-something post-credit cookie… Apologies, I’m behind schedule, so no “recommended reading” this week. 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/], 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/] and Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/ryan-scott/] Max Deering - Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/maxwell_deering/] and Action For Everyone [https://open.spotify.com/show/6OWjC2VooChhsCT8UCzDlL] Vyce Victus - Action For Everyone [https://open.spotify.com/show/6OWjC2VooChhsCT8UCzDlL] Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

An Hour With... Paul Feig

I’m not thrilled that Lionsgate has already dropped The Housemaid onto PVOD, even if I’ll note that A) it got a now (kinda-sorta) standard 47-day window and B) it’s probably going to lose a bunch of screens and get steamrolled by Wuthering Heights the weekend after next anyway. This was recorded right as Lionsgate announced that the Sydney Sweeney/Amanda Seyfried/Brandon Sklenar-led flick had passed $300 million worldwide, partially on the strength of James Cameron-worthy holds in North America and especially overseas. Considering the decades of conventional wisdom arguing that Hollywood movies for women and/or minorities don’t travel overseas, well, it’ll top $200 million internationally over the next week. It’s no secret that I came out of CinemaCon 2025 declaring that the sizzle reel for The Housemaid was the best promotional item I had seen in Las Vegas that week and that the erotic thriller/psychological melodrama was #2 on my 2025 must-see list after Avatar: Fire and Ash. However, even being cautiously hopeful as to its commercial potential, even I wasn’t so optimistic as to expect the $35 million, R-rated old-school genre flick to pull the kind of domestic ($121 million) and worldwide (around $316 million) grosses that would have been aspirational even a generation ago. Anyway, to mark the special occasion, Paul Feig was nice enough to stop by to discuss how he made a crowdpleasing, buzzy adult-skewing genre flick. While we are as vague as possible, I would still argue that, yes, this conversation contains spoilers for The Housemaid. Meanwhile, the other areas of discourse include… * How Feig uses the test screening process for good rather than evil * How his lifelong interest in comedy and thrillers intermingle * Whether Hollywood will ever stop treating female-skewing successes as (my words, not his) exceptions to the rule or “flukes”? * What repeatedly stabbing Sandra Bullock in the leg taught him about playing laughs and gasps against each other * Why, he’d now prefer only to direct theatrical films * How the reception for his old(er) movies like Ghostbusters and Last Christmas can change when they are (re)discovered years after the initial SEO-friendly discourse. * Is he actually directing Mamma Mia 3? * And more! I hope it is as enjoyable to listen to as it was to record. In the meantime, the following Box Office Podcast episode will drop on Thursday morning, and I’m planning on another “paid subscriber chat” on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. PST. 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, 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], 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/] and Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/ryan-scott/] * Max Deering - Fangoria [https://www.fangoria.com/authors/maxwell_deering/] and Action For Everyone [https://open.spotify.com/show/6OWjC2VooChhsCT8UCzDlL] Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe [https://scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]