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Sean & Chris: Another Victory for Mike & Pam as ‘Weapons’ Hits BigPlus: Why this has been the summer of mid
The demise of Mike & Pam continues to be greatly exaggerated. Weapons, a Warner Bros. release through subsidiary New Line Cinema, overperformed at the box office this past weekend, earning more than $42 million in North America. That’s now the sixth straight Warner Bros. movie to top $40 million during its opening weekend after A Minecraft Movie, Sinners, Final Destination Bloodlines, F1 (which Apple produced, but Warner Bros. distributed) and Superman. “It’s going to be interesting to see how people dance around this because this is what everyone was saying back in March,” Sean McNulty says, noting the pitchforks were out for the Warner Bros. film executives before anyone had data on their 2025 slate. “But as I pointed out, there was a scenario where they could have five or six bangers in a row, and everyone would look really stupid. And, lo and behold, that’s what has actually happened.” Elsewhere in today’s Monday Morning Quarterbacks — with Ankler Media deputy editor Christopher Rosen filling in for Richard Rushfield — Sean and Chris talk about the success of Freakier Friday and the summer’s lack of breakthrough hits other than Lilo & Stitch, plus they try to get to the bottom of why so many movies have underperformed overseas. Make sure you’re subscribed to get notified when Monday Morning QBs go live on Mondays, and download the app, where you can also see all of The Ankler’s team posting on Substack’s social feed, Notes.
Got a tip or story pitch? Email tips@theankler.com. ICYMI from The AnklerThe Wakeup Weapons blows away tracking, Freakier hits its mark The Exec Behind The Studio on Selling Comedy, Originals & Who Gets First Looks Lionsgate’s Scott Herbst had four bids on Seth Rogen’s series, and reveals the one word driving today’s market PSKY, Welcome to Wall St: Analysts Warn of ‘Risk Running This Into the Ground’ They tell Claire Atkinson their worries on Day 1 of the company’s trading on NASDAQ Starz’s New Strategy: Make More, Own More, Go Where the Giants Won’t Scoop! Top execs Alison Hoffman & Kathryn Busby reveal to Lesley Goldberg their post-Lionsgate plan for the first time Brad Pitt’s F1 Jacket Was a $40M Ad Play. Want In? Here’s the New Playbook Hollywood’s top brand whisperers tell Ashley Cullins how integrations are helping finance production and marketing 🎬 Naked Gun, 90-Min. Movies & Hard Truths About Comedy Neglect In Richard’s new Rushfield Rants series: The first big LOL launch in ages means crowd pleasers must return in a genre Hollywood left for dead The TV Shows Disney+, Disney Channel Want Now Pilots are back and more market changes at the Mouse House (and read what Apple, Amazon, HBO Max, Peacock, ABC, Hulu and FX are buying in her full Summer Sellers’ Guide) Jamie Lee Curtis’ Epic 2025: Freakier, Louder, Stronger The Oscar and Emmy winner just had her biggest opening in years, Katey Rich writes, and is an OG influencer for her fellow actors Documentary is ‘Meeting the Moment.’ Now Distributors Need to Step Up TIFF programmer Thom Powers tells Katey about his slate of top nonfiction films 🎧 Apple’s F1 Brand Slam & Disney+’s Streaming Shakeups Yes, Brad Pitt will wear your logo to finance his film 🎧 The Year Julianne Nicholson Broke Bad The Emmy winner and current double nominee for Paradise and Hacks tells Katey about her trips to the dark side 🎧 Stephen Graham’s Emmy Night Plan: A Double-Decker Bus The triple Emmy nominee and Adolescence creator reveals to Katey the backstory of his transformative Netflix smash More from Ankler Media
New from Natalie Jarvey’s creator economy newsletter: Amazon Audio Chief on Wondery 2.0 and Where Podcasts’ Big Money is Headed Jackpot: $2.5M for Classes ‘Shot on My Mac’ (in Just 6 Months!)
Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks: A Stanford Hawaii Murder, Bridgerton x Back to the Future? Yes!
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