“Digger” carries a budget of at least $125 million, with some reports putting it at around $160 million. Either way, it’s a terrible start for the Alejandro Inarritu-directed satire with a domestic opening of $8 million and a global opening weekend of just $20 million, bringing an unceremonious end to Warner Bros.’ 103-year run as it merges with Paramount Skydance this week.

“Digger” has divided critics and audiences alike with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 51% critics and 70% audience, a C+ on CinemaScore and 47% “definite recommend” from PostTrak, the sort of scores that might be the makings of a cult film among cinephiles but are poison to a film’s efforts to attract the theatrical audience needed for a film of this budget level. And for Tom Cruise, who was pegged by awards prognosticators as a potential Oscar nominee, this is his worst opening weekend since the 2007 Robert Redford war drama “Lions for Lambs.”

Despite that, Cruise expressed his pride in “Digger” on social media and his gratitude to the film’s cast and crew in a social media post on Saturday. “I am so honored to have had the opportunity to create this film alongside such talented artists. Thank you to the entire cast and crew for your dedication, hard work, and joy. The experience was truly unforgettable and I’m so proud of what we created,” he wrote.

“Verity,” a thriller starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson that carries a much lower $40 million budget, is earning an estimated $32.6 million from 3,510 locations. From that launch point, the film should be able to get past the break-even point, but it is well shy of the $50 million opening of last year’s Sony-released Hoover hit “It Ends With Us.”

Nor is “Verity” earning reception as strong as “It Ends With Us,” taking a C+ on CinemaScore and a 50% “Definite Recommend” score on PostTrak from an audience that is 78% female and 62% between the ages of 25-44.

It’s an audience breakdown similar to Warner Bros.’ “Practical Magic 2,” which didn’t go far after its $30 million opening last weekend and is just now passing $100 million worldwide with $64.7 million domestic. “Verity,” which is leaving many moviegoers cold with its rug-pull ending, could be similarly frontloaded.

Among holdovers, Sony’s “Resident Evil” is leading with $12.5 million in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to $125 million as it passes $225 million worldwide. It is on pace to pass the $270 million global total of director Zach Cregger’s 2025 hit “Weapons.”

Paramount’s “Heart of the Beast” is in third with $11 million in its second weekend as the Brad Pitt/David Ayer survival thriller continues its climb to break-even with a total of $38.3 million domestic and $98.7 million worldwide after 10 days in theaters against an $80 million production budget before marketing costs.

A24’s “Primetime” is in a virtual tie with “Digger” for the No.4 spot on the box office charts with $8 million in its second weekend, bringing the $15 million drama about the downfall of “To Catch a Predator” to $34 million domestic.

Finally, Universal/DreamWorks’ “Forgotten Island” isn’t getting the legs it needs to escape bomb status with a $7.2 million second weekend with less than $1 million from five new overseas openings. Despite strong critical and audience reception, it now stands with a woeful $38.4 million global total against an $80 million production budget.

More to come…

The post ‘Digger’ Gets Crushed With $20 Million Global Opening at Box Office appeared first on TheWrap.

With $36.2 million domestic and $89.8 million overseas, “Endgame Encore” has pushed the film’s global lifetime gross to $2.92 billion, just passing the same figure as James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi epic. It also pushes the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s franchise gross total going back to the 2008 launch title “Iron Man” to a staggering $35 billion.

And another $2 billion-plus could well be on the way this December with “Avengers: Doomsday” this December, which has already racked up close to $60 million in presales according to theatrical sources. The hype for “Doomsday” helped “Endgame” take back the all-time record, as “Endgame Encore” featured a tweaked ending and three new mid-credit and post-credit scenes connected to the upcoming blockbuster.

As TheWrap reported last week, “Avengers”-mania has also crossed over with efforts across the movie theater industry to renovate their multiplexes, with Cinema United reporting $2.7 billion in refurbishment spending over the past two years.

With its new Infinity Vision campaign, Disney and Marvel Studios have sought to guide moviegoers to other premium formats to watch “Doomsday” on as the film will not screen on Imax for at least the first three weeks of its theatrical run. Several exhibitors have told TheWrap that they have accelerated their plans to upgrade sound systems and projectors to take part in Infinity Vision, as 70% of the presales for “Doomsday” have come through the campaign.

More to come…

The post ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Takes Back the All-Time Box Office Record From ‘Avatar’ After ‘Encore’ Reissue appeared first on TheWrap.

The top 8 theater chains have spent $1.8 billion of that capital expenditure in North America, and $1.2 billion has come over the past 12 months with $840 million of that from the top 8 chains. These refurbishments have ranged from new sound systems — which on average cost $58,000 per auditorium — to new entertainment centers that combine cinemas with other amenities, which cost roughly $45 million to build.

As theaters have tried to bring moviegoers back in the wake of COVID lockdowns, answering common complaints about poor sound and picture quality and lackluster overall experience has been a major goal for multiple theater chains. Regal Cinemas, for example, has updated its auditoriums nationwide with new luxury recliner seats as part of this multiyear CapEx effort, while southern regional chain Santikos Entertainment is in the midst of a major update to the concessions areas at several of its locations.

The refurbishment campaign has been boosted by a strong box office resurgence over the past five months, which has seen the domestic box office hit $7 billion year-to-date and projects a final domestic annual total of $10.5 billion. The refurbishments have also overlapped with Disney’s Infinity Vision campaign for “Avengers: Doomsday,” as several theater owners have told TheWrap that they have prioritized auditorium sound and picture updates so that their locations can be promoted by the studio.

The post Movie Theaters Invested $2.7 Billion in Refurbishments Over Past 2 Years, Cinema United Report Says appeared first on TheWrap.

For motion picture group chair Adam Fogelson, that success came after a turbulent shooting process that included extensive reshoots to remove scenes involving one of Michael Jackson’s child sex abuse lawsuits, which the pop star settled in exchange for this estate pledging to never participate in a depiction of the alleged events involved. The film got plenty of scrutiny in the lead-up to release, but Liongate motion picture group chair Adam Fogelson says that its ultimate success reminded him of something important that he learned long ago as a film exec.

“There are always going to be voices that are going to be loudly shouting at you that you’re making a horrible mistake in almost anything worthwhile that you choose to do,” Fogelson told moderator Sharon Waxman at TheWrap’s business conference TheGrill on Wednesday. “You have to ask yourself: Not only do I believe that this is worthwhile from a business standpoint, but am I willing to stand in front of all of the difficult conversations that are going to happen?”

Fogelson was joined at TheGrill by AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron and Regal Cinemas CEO Eduardo Acuna for a panel discussing the rebound of the box office in 2026, which is on pace for a $10.5 billion-plus domestic annual total. Aron said he didn’t doubt for a second that this rebound would come, believing that once the quantity and quality of movies in theaters increased — which has been the case with summer films ranging from “Obsession” to “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” — that moviegoers would return.

“Movies have been central to the American fabric of culture for more than a century. And yes, COVID was a lousy thing, and in many respects devastating. But I didn’t think it was going to change the fact that people have loved going to movie theaters forever and ever,” Aron said. “It’s our job — the three of us, both representing studios and fellow circuits — to make sure that a century from now, people still love going to movies.”

Acuna said he wasn’t quite as free of doubt as Aron, but says he’s been heartened by the strong turnout of younger moviegoers for films like “Backrooms,” noting that there was an overestimation of how much Gen Z is interested in spending their time watching Twitch and YouTube to the detriment of theatrical.

“The best thing that I read lately was that we as humanity have reached the peak of our digital consumption. We just ran out of hours. You’re sleeping, you’re going to school and you’re in your phone the whole day. And these young people … they want to physically be with others, have a communal experience somewhere. And there’s literally no cheaper way to do that than going to a movie,” he said.

The panel was also asked about their thoughts on the Paramount-Warner merger, which Aron has repeatedly supported. Acuna said that, despite his previous skepticism over the merger, he is “cautiously optimistic” that Paramount can pull its weight in terms of theatrical output and revenue support.

“Consolidation is not always a good thing, and it had to be scrutinized, and it was. And I think (California) Attorney General Bonta did a great job of that. Cinema United did a great job of opposing it at the beginning. I was vocal at the beginning saying consolidation is not ideal, but at some point you have to look at real-world alternatives. There wasn’t that many and I was just very concerned with dragging this out very long,” he said. “So I’m happy that instead of having to pay ticking fees or having to spend on really expensive litigation, that we can actually go back to making movies and help the industry.”

Fogelson added that another reason for optimism for theaters comes from outside the major Hollywood studio system, pointing to the rise of studios like A24 as well as the success of true independent films like Markiplier’s self-distributed horror film “Iron Lung.”

“I can tell you that virtually every movie that Warner Bros. or Paramount — separate from their giant IP — that they made in the last few years, we and other studios were bidding on those projects, and I think those projects would find a home elsewhere if they weren’t making them,” he said. “So I am very comfortable, even with this merger, that the flow of product, the quality of product and the box office that will come from it will be more than enough to have this business healthy for the future.”

The post Lionsgate Motion Picture Chair on ‘Michael’ Success and Ignoring Critics ‘Shouting at You That You’re Making a Horrible Mistake’ appeared first on TheWrap.

But as it approaches release this Friday, its opening weekend outlook might be best described with a line from the film rumbled by John Goodman, who plays the loudmouth President of the United States: “Gentlemen, we find ourselves in one dildo of a pickle.”

In the runup to release, independent projections for the opening weekend of “Digger” have not exceeded $20 million, running below the $22 million that Warner Bros.’ Best Picture winner “One Battle After Another” opened to last year. Theatrical sources told TheWrap that with three days left before release, presales for the opening day of “Digger” are roughly half of what “One Battle” earned up to this point.

Warner Bros. is projecting a $12-15 million opening with the hopes that Cruise’s lead performance will fuel legs that will last through the awards season.

But critics will not be a boost as they are firmly divided on “Digger,” with some praising Cruise’s lead performance and the film’s biting satire while others are panning it for its dead-on-arrival humor. At time of writing, the movie has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 50% with 127 reviews logged. While TimeOut critic Philip De Semlyen said he “lapped up every bonkers moment,” TheWrap critic William Bibbiani eviscerated it as “self-adulating claptrap.”

Like “One Battle After Another,” Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!,” Warner Bros. spared no expense to allow Iñárritu to fulfill his cinematic vision. Every dollar of the $125 million budget is on the screen as the film features VistaVision cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki, lavish production design, detailed costume and makeup design to turn the photogenic Cruise into the balding, unsightly Digger Rockwell, an animatronic half-dead cat and a loaded A-list cast.

For months, Warner Bros. has positioned “Digger” as one of their awards plays alongside December’s surefire box office hit “Dune: Part Three,” with particular hopes of landing Cruise his fourth acting Oscar nomination. To that end, much of the marketing has centered around him, including a teaser that offered the first public glimpse of him as Digger that began with a montage of his most famous performances from “Top Gun” and “A Few Good Men” to “Mission: Impossible” and “Jerry Maguire.”

But whereas “Sinners” proved to be a lucrative bet on talent, and “One Battle After Another” at least became director Paul Thomas Anderson’s highest grossing film ever with $213 million worldwide, “Digger” would need immense box office legs just to match “OBAA,” let alone reach half of the global total of Iñárritu’s career best release “The Revenant,” which made $533 million in 2015.

With the bad buzz piling up, Warner Bros. is steering into the skid, posting quotes from critics that range from “insufferable” to “magnificent” and urging moviegoers to “Decide for Yourself” in an ad released after several days of social media discussion from critics and timed to the dropping of the film’s review embargo.

At a time when moviegoers have proven to be very selective when choosing what to buy tickets for and have the option to “decide for themselves” to wait until a polarizing film comes out on streaming, that marketing might not get many beyond the most devoted cinephiles to give “Digger” a try in theaters.

But if they do, audiences will be in for several surprises that have been well hidden by the film’s marketing campaign and which dramatically recontextualize the apocalyptic story seen in the trailers, a choice that Iñárritu and Warner Bros. made to maximize the impact of those big reveals for moviegoers.

Some critics have already revealed these twists in their dissection of the film, but how those unaware of it react when they see it unfold will be key to the film’s word-of-mouth.

“Digger” is also coming out at a time when several other films are crowding different, adult-driven lanes at the box office. For conservative audiences who won’t care for Iñárritu’s more liberal-minded commentary, there’s the Brad Pitt survival thriller “Heart of the Beast.” Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil,” while suffering a 60% second weekend drop thanks in part to competition from “Avengers: Endgame Encore,” is still a well-reviewed horror film for anyone looking to get in the Halloween spirit early.

There’s also Amazon MGM’s “Verity,” the latest Colleen Hoover adaptation starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson, which is expected to take the No. 1 spot this weekend thanks to strong female turnout with an opening weekend of $35 million-plus.

And for the prestige film lovers who would make up the core audience for “Digger,” there’s A24’s “Primetime,” a film that “Digger” is also pacing behind in presales, and Amazon MGM’s “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” which stars Mahershala Ali and is currently in limited release with a nationwide expansion to come in October.

Usually when there are this many films dividing up the overall moviegoing populace, there’s at least one movie that gets squeezed out. If “Digger” becomes that film, it will join a slew of pricey Warner misfires in 2026 like “The Bride!,” “Supergirl” and “The End of Oak Street” as the studio turns to a Q4 slate that are likely to end the studio’s slump.

But of course, DC’s “Clayface” in late October and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s “The Cat in the Hat” in November are likely to be inherited by Paramount as the merger will close mere days after “Digger” hits theaters.

The post Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Is In a Box Office Pickle as Warner Bros.’ Final Release as a Standalone Studio appeared first on TheWrap.

In addition to co-writing and directing the film, Barker will also star alongside co-writer Cooper Tomlinson as a pair of fraudulent paranormal investigators who end up way over their heads when they are called upon by a frightened family to deal with actual ghosts plaguing their house.

Bryce Dallas Howard, Aaron Paul and Violet McGraw will also star in the film, which will be co-produced by Blumhouse-Atomic Monster. Focus Features, which acquired “Obsession” out of TIFF last year, will handle domestic distribution with Universal managing the international release.

“Anything But Ghosts” is joining what is set to be a loaded start to next summer’s box office season, which will get a big lead-in with Sony Pictures’ adaptation of the video game classic “The Legend of Zelda.” “Anything But Ghosts” will also share the first weekend of May with Lionsgate’s “The Resurrection of the Christ — Part One,” Mel Gibson’s sequel to “The Passion of the Christ.”

This is also the second Blumhouse movie slated for release next May, joining the eighth installment of the franchise that launched the horror studio, “Paranormal Activity.” Paramount has set that film for release on May 21 ahead of a Memorial Day weekend that will be headlined by Disney/Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: Starfighter.”

“Obsession” has made Barker into one of the hottest names in horror, setting records for the highest-grossing film in Focus Features’ history and the highest-grossing festival acquisition of all time with $519 million grossed worldwide against a $15 million acquisition price and a $750,000 budget.

Tomlinson, who starred in and co-produced “Obsession,” is Barker’s longtime creative partner, as the pair got their start with the YouTube sketch comedy channel “That’s a Bad Idea,” after which their production company is named.

The post Curry Barker’s ‘Anything But Ghosts’ Locks May 2027 Release by Focus appeared first on TheWrap.

In the last 10 years, only one Pitt-starring film failed to clear $100 million at the box office, 2022’s coarse (and divisive) Old Hollywood ode “Babylon.” Even “Allied,” the 2016 Robert Zemeckis romantic drama starring Pitt and Marion Cotillard, grossed $120 million worldwide.

And Pitt’s hits are big. Take a look at these global totals:

• “F1” (2025) – $634 million
• “World War Z” (2013) – $540 million
• “Troy” (2004) – $497 million
• “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (2005) – $497 million
• “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (2019) – $394 million
• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008) – $334 million
• “Inglourious Basterds” (2009) – $322 million
• “Bullet Train” (2022) – $239 million

That’s to say nothing of the supremely popular ensemble “Ocean’s” movies.

Pitt is not just a draw across different genres — from actioners to sports movies to romantic dramas — but he’s a proven bankable star across decades, hitting a high just last year with Apple’s “F1.” The 62-year-old performs exceptionally well internationally, and he uses his status to flit between blockbusters and more personal projects like Ridley Scott’s “The Counselor” or Andrew Dominik’s “Killing Them Softly.”

He arguably has a better track record of hits than Matt Damon or George Clooney, putting his box office performance closer to Leonardo DiCaprio’s or Tom Cruise’s when taken beat-for-beat. He’s top tier of the top tier.

All of this to say, “Heart of the Beast” getting off to a slower start is likely not cause for concern for Paramount. The film, which finds a stranded Pitt and his dog trying to make it out of the Alaskan wilderness alive, earned strong reviews from both critics and audiences, and it’s the kind of movie that feels poised to perform exceptionally well on PVOD. So even with an $82 million budget, its chances of recouping are solid.

It’s one of two big Pitt movies out this fall, with the next coming in November with “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth,” the David Fincher-directed, Quentin Tarantino-written continuation of Pitt’s Oscar-winning role from “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Netflix is making “Cliff Booth” its first-ever IMAX release with a special two-week engagement.

Now, on to the rest of this week’s Reel to Real column as we tackle “Avengers: Endgame Encore” leading the box office, what happens to the creative community under Paramount-Warner Bros., Jeffrey Katzenberg’s AI animation ambitions and more.

And if you want this column as a newsletter in your inbox every Monday morning, go to “Newsletters” in your WrapPRO account settings.

Box Office: ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Adds $86 Million Worldwide From ‘Encore’ Reissue

On a weekend when all the films in the box office top 5 cleared $10 million, Marvel Studios was king with a 2019 title in re-release – “Avengers: Endgame Encore.” Remarkably, the film took in $26 million domestically and $86 million worldwide.

The domestic total is just a touch above the $25.5 million grossed last year by the 20th anniversary re-release of “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” and brings the lifetime total of “Endgame” to $884 million domestic and $2.88 billion worldwide.

Taking second is Sony’s “Resident Evil” with $23.3 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $103.4 million. While the arrival of “Endgame Encore” may have led to a sharper 61% drop despite the strong reception for Zach Cregger’s horror film, it should still be a solid theatrical success as it moves past the $100 million mark.

Filling out the rest of the top 5 is a trio of new releases: A24’s “Primetime,” Paramount’s “Heart of the Beast” and Universal/DreamWorks’ “Forgotten Island.” Of the three, “Primetime” is in the best place to turn a theatrical profit with a reported $15 million budget before marketing, while the other two face a more uphill battle with production spends of $80 million.

But it is “Heart of the Beast” that narrowly leads the bunch with a $20 million domestic and $50 million global opening from 3,435 locations. Domestically, the film will have to leg out with its core audience of white moviegoers over 35, predominantly in rural states. Reception for the film is strong with an A- on CinemaScore and PostTrak scores of 74% “definite recommend” and 90% overall positive.

“Primetime” is just behind “Heart of the Beast” with a $19.1 million opening from 2,874 screens. It remains to be seen how word-of-mouth will affect the legs of “Primetime,” as the film’s critical eye towards “Predator,” host Chris Hansen and true crime TV in general may have put off some moviegoers who thought they were getting a more straightforward biopic about the show. The film had a B+ CinemaScore.

But what is clear is that despite the film’s subject matter and 2000s setting, “Primetime” is being driven by Gen Z, with an audience that is 69% under the age of 30, showing both the drawing power of lead star Robert Pattinson and A24’s success in building a core fanbase of young cinephiles.

Then there is “Forgotten Island,” which, despite excellent critical and audience reception, is sputtering out of the gate with an opening weekend of just $12.8 million from 3,548 locations.

Those who have seen “Forgotten Island” have raved about it, giving the film an A on CinemaScore and excellent PostTrak scores of 81% definite recommend and 96% overall positive. But with this start, any legs that come from such strong word-of-mouth would likely only get it close to the break-even point, making this title the latest example of Hollywood struggling to get audiences to buy into original theatrical animation even with rave reviews. – Jeremy Fuster

The Spotlight

As David Ellison aims to wrap up Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery in the coming weeks, what does the merger mean for creatives in the industry? Lucas Manfredi and Jeremy Fuster spoke with insiders about the layoffs to come. Read the full story here.

New Releases 

Katzenberg Is All-in on AI: Jeffrey Katzenberg tells Sharon Waxman that he plans to launch an animation studio that will use generative AI to make films.

The Best Picture Race So Far: Steve Pond offers his initial predictions for what gets into the Best Picture Oscar lineup at this stage.

M. Night Shyamalan Looks Back: The filmmaker got candid with TheWrap’s Drew Taylor about his most underrated film, working with Bruce Willis on his last “real” movie and more.

Quiet on Set: “The Love Hypothesis” star Lili Reinhart says her decision to make TikToks on set initially got her in trouble — then it became a cornerstone of the Amazon film’s marketing.

Skywalker Lives: Jon Watts, the filmmaker who directed the first three Tom Holland Spider-Man movies, will direct “Star Wars: Episode X.”

Concession Stand

Chris Hansen’s review of “Primetime” isn’t as vitriolic as you might think.

Exclusive: Ebon Moss-Bacharach is Kelso in “Heat 2.”

Sabrina Carpenter is Ginger Rogers and Margaret Qualley is Adele Astaire in Tom Holland’s Fred Astaire biopic.

The next “Saw” movie has a director.

The documentary “NAZA” will stream for free on The Guardian’s website after its international rollout.

Robert Eggers will next direct a “Romeo & Juliet” adaptation. Can Shakespeare’s classic get even darker? We’re going to find out.

Streaming Corner

• Filmmaker Brad Bird opened up to TheWrap about his unique world-building in his retro-futuristic noir animated film “Ray Gunn,” which Netflix will release in December. The director reveals his inspirations for the project, and how he feels about it not getting a wide theatrical release.

What I’m Watching

There’s a new documentary produced by Rachel Maddow on Peacock that offers a fascinating — and at times disheartening — look at a shocking war between a small family-run newspaper and local law enforcement in a rural Oklahoma county. Called “Kill. Bury. Print.,” you may recall the events at the center of the film, in which a commissioner and sheriff were caught on tape allegedly plotting to murder the reporter who’d been writing negative stories about the sheriff. Much has rightly been written about Trump’s actions against coverage he deems negative, but this shines a light on the trickle-down effect those actions have had on establishments elsewhere in the country.

The post What Is Brad Pitt’s Box Office Power? appeared first on TheWrap.

The Glendale, Calif.-based animation studio, run by Margie Cohn, a smart, decisive leader, had been on an unparalleled run, releasing some of the best films in the company’s 30+ year history, from “The Wild Robot” to “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” and finding commercial success to accompany critical acclaim. “Forgotten Island,” an original fantasy adventure comedy that leaned into the mythology of the Philippines and sported an irreverent, mixed media visual aesthetic, looked to continue this upward trajectory.

DreamWorks and Universal were bullish about the movie, screening an unfinished cut at CinemaCon in Las Vegas earlier this year and surprising audiences at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival this summer, where it received a rapturous response. A full-scale marketing campaign rolled out, including a San Diego Comic-Con panel, branding deals with the popular Filipino fast food chain Jollibee and a premiere at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, the first film to ever debut at the cutting-edge new space.

The early buzz had Universal so optimistic that there were quiet discussions around sequels and potential theme park attractions, even at a time when most original animated films have performed middling at best at the box office, and no such title has cleared $500 million worldwide in nine years.

Instead, “Forgotten Island” landed at the box office this weekend with one of the Top 5 lowest opening weekends in DreamWorks Animation history: $13 million domestic and $20.6 million worldwide from 35 international territories. All against an $80 million budget before factoring in an extensive marketing campaign and the aforementioned promotional events.

The disastrous launch underlines a serious issue facing the broader animation industry: how to get people to show up for original animation. Without successful original animated films, there can be no new franchises, which are key to the overall strategic goals of these mega media companies. The film still has 37 countries awaiting release, including the United Kingdom, Germany and France alongside much of Europe, but it still faces an extremely uphill battle.

For comparison, director Joel Crawford’s previous DWA film, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” earned an $18 million 5-day Christmas weekend opening in 2022, going on to leg out massively through the lucrative holiday corridor to $186 million domestic and $480 million worldwide. But that film had the advantage of its connections to the beloved “Shrek” franchise along with coming out at Christmas.

We’ve also seen original animation recover from a sluggish start thanks to post-release buzz before. Pixar’s “Elemental” turned a $29.6 million domestic opening — the lowest to that point after inflation adjustment for Pixar — into a $154 million domestic run and a 5.2x multiple.

Even with a slightly higher domestic multiple than “Elemental,” “Forgotten Island” would be looking at a final domestic total somewhere between $65-80 million. And unlike that Pixar film, which grossed a hefty $54.8 million in South Korea and cleared $10 million in 10 other countries, “Forgotten Island” only reached No. 1 this weekend in the Philippines — the country where the film is set -— where it earned a $1.5 million opening that topped even the premiere of “The Odyssey” in that country, but is hardly the foundation for a box office comeback.

It may be too much to ask word-of-mouth for a film with this low of an opening to spread across continents and language barriers, although that buzz is positive and there’s only one other animated film opening in October, Laika’s PG-13 dark fantasy “Wildwood.”

But the more likely outcome is that “Forgotten Island” recoups its costs and turns a small profit through premium on-demand and other post-theatrical revenue sources. While cost-conscious families will turn out for sequels like “Toy Story 5” because they feel confident they will get their money’s worth for four or more movie tickets plus concessions, they are reticent to spend that money on an unfamiliar title. Universal insiders have told TheWrap that it has seen strong PVOD revenue for DreamWorks films like “The Bad Guys 2” and “The Wild Robot,” and the same could happen for “Forgotten Island” when it hits home platforms closer to Thanksgiving.

What went wrong

It will be several weeks before Universal does a proper post-mortem to figure out exactly why the rave reviews in the lead-up to release failed to even get “Forgotten Island” to meet tracker projections of a $15-17 million domestic opening. But it is possible that some of the qualities that made the film so enjoyable for those who did see the film turned into hurdles for selling the film to the uninitiated.

For one, there’s the movie’s teen millennial protagonists, Jo and Raissa, a quirky duo who bond over their mutual love of Filipino folklore who are shown in the film’s emotional opening act to be social outcasts, even when Raissa becomes the pride of her family for getting into Caltech.

Goofy slapstick with college-age female protagonists isn’t necessarily a turnoff for audiences. “KPop Demon Hunters” had plenty of that. But along with the silly hijinks, the members of Huntr/x were also pop stars who performed multiple earworms over the course of the film, from a genre that is popular among today’s kids and teens.

Who, exactly, was the target audience in the “Forgotten Island” marketing? Trailers leaned on the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s references that populate the film like the Simple Minds song “Don’t You Forget About Me,” and it’s possible that its more millennial-skewing humor failed to draw interest from a good chunk of Gen Z teens and Gen Alpha kids.

But while the opening weekend of “Forgotten Island” was skewed more towards millennials than other fall animated films, it wasn’t overly so. Nearly a quarter of the audience was under the age of 18, with 46% 18-34 and 31% over the age of 35. And among moviegoers under 25 surveyed by PostTrak, the film had a 93% overall positive score.

By comparison, “The Wild Robot” had an under-18 opening weekend share of 28% with 34% 18-34 and 37% over the age of 35 with audience scores nearly identical to “Forgotten Island.”

So where else might have Universal’s campaign fallen short? When you look at the critical and audience reviews for “Forgotten Island,” one of the common points of praise is how the film shows the depth of Jo and Raissa’s friendship. Beyond the over-the-top, sometimes cringy bonding moments, there’s an emotional montage where the two spend much of their childhood with Jo’s beloved grandmother, who encourages them to stay true to their offbeat selves.

It’s a key early moment that pays off in the film’s tense climax when all of Jo and Raissa’s memories of their friendship are at risk of being lost, but that emotional anchor to their friendship is nowhere to be seen in the film’s first trailer, which played in front of summer films like “Toy Story 5” and “Minions & Monsters.” That trailer also only skimmed over how Jo and Raissa must make a choice about whether to sacrifice their memories of each other to be returned home by a catlike demon named Batiba, who is barely seen in the marketing but is key to the film’s plot.

In a positive review for IndieWire, film critic David Ehrlich noted that one drawback for “Forgotten Island” is that the movie is so “overstuffed” with jokes, creatures and fantasy concepts that it “makes it difficult to understand the basic principles of its plot” even as its core themes of memories and friendship see it through. It’s possible that Crawford and Mercado’s deep, relentless worldbuilding of Nakali, while enjoyable for those who bought a ticket, didn’t lend itself to an easy explanation that could fit into a two-and-a-half-minute trailer.

The original animation struggle

DreamWorks is far from the only studio struggling to make original animation work in theaters. Pixar’s “Elio” made just $154 million in 2025; Disney’s original musical “Wish” underperformed in 2023 with $255 million worldwide while Disney’s 2022 sci-fi adventure “Strange World” was a bomb with $73 million; and DreamWorks has been here before with 2023’s “Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken,” which bombed with a global haul of just $43.2 million.

So should they all be banished to streaming with the hopes of landing another “KPop Demon Hunters”-like phenomenon?

If these studios want a property with a chance to break out, the streaming path is less likely to work. Netflix’s “Leo” and “Swapped” were streaming hits but left little cultural footprint (a sequel to “Leo” is only just now materializing), and streaming releases are no guarantee of success, as disappointments “Ultraman: Rising” and “Nimona” can attest.

Pixar’s “Hoppers” was a very modest success earlier this year, grossing $390 million against a $150 million budget, but that’s still a far cry from 2010s Pixar originals like “Brave” ($539 million in 2012), “Inside Out” ($859 million in 2015) and “Coco” ($823 million in 2017).

Illumination had its own modest original success in 2022 with “Migration,” which made $300 million worldwide. But that also paled in comparison to the 2016 franchise-spawning hits like “The Secret Life of Pets” ($875 million) and “Sing” ($639 million.)

In short, effectively selling animated movies that don’t have an easy IP hook is something that nobody in Hollywood has figured out how to do in this new era. But it is essential to figure out, as these studios are in desperate need of the next “Frozen” or “Toy Story” or “Shrek” or even “KPop Demon Hunters” to launch new franchises that keep them relevant to new generations.

Perhaps Disney will solve this puzzle with Pixar’s spring 2027 original offering “Gatto,” about a cat living in Italy. If not, there’s not much else that Pixar, DreamWorks and the rest of Hollywood can do but keep trying.

Because while “Shrek 5” and two more “How to Train Your Dragon” live-action remakes are on their way, no studio can mine their pre-COVID glory days forever.

The post Rave Reviews, But Just a $20 Million Global Opening: Is There Any Hope for ‘Forgotten Island’? | Analysis appeared first on TheWrap.

The fire erupted Saturday morning in the hours ahead of the shopping center’s opening, per local outlet AM Costa Rica. Only employees and members of the gym on-site were at the location before evacuations began. Per a source with knowledge of the fire, no injuries have been reported and specialized engineering teams are investigating the cause of the blaze.

The fire primarily impacted the third level of the building, which mostly houses Nova Cinemas, a children’s play area and other gaming and entertainment businesses. Local firefighters contained the blaze to about 1,000 square meters, managing to keep roughly 5,000 square meters of the commercial center unimpacted.

Grupo Zeta, the company that owns the shopping center, has reportedly announced that parts of the shopping center were reopened to the public on Sunday.

No plans have been announced regarding a possible timeline for reopening the Nova Cinemas location. Despite this, online ticketing services for screenings remain available to access on the venue’s website as of this report.

Nova Cinemas Curridabat, including its digital Imax auditorium, first opened in 2017. The other Costa Rica Imax auditorium is housed at another Nova Cinemas location in the San Jose province, roughly 19 kilometers away from the Curridabat venue. There are more than 1,800 Imax screens operating worldwide.

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“Endgame Encore,” which features a modified ending and new post-credit scenes to set up the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday,” earned $11.2 million from 3,060 locations on Friday as industry estimates project a $26 million weekend for the film. That will bring the Marvel film’s lifetime domestic gross to $884 million and bring it within $100 million of the all-time global box office record held by “Avatar.”

Sony/TriStar’s “Resident Evil” is No. 2 with $23.8 million in its second weekend, dropping 60% from its $60 million opening. “Endgame Encore” may be peeling away general audiences despite the strong early reception for Zach Cregger’s horror film, but the film is still pacing to be a theatrical success for Sony as it passes $100 million domestic and $200 million worldwide this weekend.

A24’s “Primetime” and Paramount’s “Heart of the Beast” are in a narrow race for the No. 3 slot, with industry estimates giving “Primetime” the edge with an $8.5 million opening day and a $20.5 million weekend from 2,874 locations. “Heart of the Beast” took a $7.4 million opening day from 3,435 locations as it is headed for a $20 million opening.

“Primetime” stars Robert Pattinson as “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen in a surrealist, dramatized take on the NBC show’s rise and fall in the mid-2000s. While Pattinson’s performance has received Oscar buzz and “Primetime” has received generally positive critical and audience reception, its more incisive look at the show and true crime television in general has turned off some who were expecting a more straightforward biopic as the film has earned a B on CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes scores of 87% critics and 82% audience.

Still, while “Primetime” isn’t being received as strongly as other new releases, it will be a theatrical success for A24 as it carries the lowest production budget of the bunch at a reported $15 million.

“Heart of the Beast,” a more straight-laced survival thriller starring Brad Pitt as a Special Forces vet stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with his combat dog, has gotten stronger audience scores including an A- on CinemaScore and RT scores of 87% critics and 95% audience. But with a much higher $80 million budget, it will have its work cut out for it trying to turn a theatrical profit over the course of October.

It will be even more of an uphill battle for “Forgotten Island,” which earned a mere $4.3 million from 3,548 locations and is now heading for an $11.5 million opening that is among the lowest ever for DreamWorks Animation, just a few steps above the studio’s all-time low of $5.5 million for “Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken” in 2023.

This is in spite of very strong reviews from critics that have given the film a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score and rave reception from those who have seen the film, including an A on CinemaScore and PostTrak scores of 82% “definite recommend,” the audience poll’s highest rating, and 96% overall positive.

“Forgotten Island” will have a staggered overseas release and little family/animated competition in October aside from Fathom/Laika’s more adult-skewing PG-13 offering “Wildwood.” But with an $80 million budget, even the 4x multiple of DreamWorks’ “The Wild Robot,” which opened to $35.7 million domestic in September 2024, wouldn’t be enough to turn a theatrical profit. With this start, “Forgotten Island” would have to defy the post-COVID struggles plaguing all of original theatrical animation just to break even.

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