Howdy, folks!
At long last, Oscar season is over. And if you loved both “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners,” it was hard to be upset with the outcome. Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterful epic took home six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, while Ryan Coogler’s also masterful horror film scored four wins, including Best Original Screenplay for Coogler, a historic win for DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw and the stunner of the season, Michael B. Jordan for Best Actor.
Both movies are deeply American stories about the world we live in right now. Both were hits — “Sinners” grossed $369 million at the worldwide box office and “One Battle” made $210 million. And both were part of Warner Bros. Pictures heads Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy’s year-long bet on singular filmmakers with unique visions, backed by robust budgets. A bet that paid off big time.
That the two biggest winners of the night were bona fide hit movies is something of a detour for the Academy, which aside from “Oppenheimer” in 2023 has leaned towards indies or smaller critical darlings over the last several years when it comes to Best Picture winners. Whether the general public cared enough to tune in won’t be known until the ratings arrive, but as overall Oscars viewership has dwindled and the telecast gets ready to move to YouTube in 2029 — something is going to change — this year’s ceremony felt like a feast for all, movies beloved by critics and audiences alike winning left and right. Even “Weapons” won!
At such an existential time for the movie business, I call that a win. Audiences turned out in 2025 for big, bold original films, and the Academy rewarded those movies in kind.
The wrinkle, of course, is that Warner Bros. — inarguably the biggest winner of the night — is due to be sold to Paramount in a matter of months, should regulatory hurdles be crossed. It’s worrisome to many that the major studio that had the resources and wherewithal to back such original visions on a big canvas for mass audiences could potentially be unrecognizable in a year.
Uncertainty lingers. Will Mike and Pam get to keep doing what they’re doing under David Ellison’s ownership? Will WB’s big wins spur other studios to take similarly risky bets on original projects? Is Timothée Chalamet on the hunt for a prestige ballet or opera-centric movie right now to finally get his Oscar?
For a moment, at least, there’s much to be happy about. On a night when Michael B. Jordan and Paul Thomas Anderson and Jessie Buckley and Ryan Coogler won Oscars, it was pretty much impossible not to smile.
Box Office: ‘Hoppers’ Holds Strong With $28.5 Million Second Weekend
Disney/Pixar’s “Hoppers” got off to a good start last weekend, but it needs weeks worth of legs to be a proper box office hit. So far, it’s getting just that.
The Daniel Chong-directed animated film earned $28.5 million in its second weekend domestically, dropping just 37% from its $45.3 million opening to give it a total of $86.8 million domestic and $164 million worldwide.
Domestically at least, “Hoppers” is well on pace to pass the $154 million of fellow Pixar title “Elemental” to become the highest-grossing original family film since the pandemic. Overseas is another story, as it is doing respectably with $77.9 million and a Chinese release still to come, but may have a tough time matching the $342 million international haul of “Elemental.
As for newcomers, Universal’s “Reminders of Him” is off to a good start with $8 million grossed from 3,402 locations on opening day, putting it on course for a $19 million opening weekend against a reported $25 million budget.
The latest adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel after the breakout success of Sony’s “It Ends With Us,” “Reminders of Him” was projected before release to match the $13.6 million opening of Paramount’s “Regretting You” last October. Critics have been mixed with a 56% Rotten Tomatoes score, but Hoover’s fans are leaning positive with an 89% audience RT score and a B on CinemaScore.
In third is A24’s horror film “Undertone,” which was acquired by the indie distributor in a low-seven-figure deal and is already a hit with an industry estimated $10 million opening from 2,570 locations. But the audio-based film about a paranormal podcast host who faces a dark threat she can only hear isn’t being well received by audiences, with a C on CinemaScore and a 54% RT score.
– Jeremy Fuster
The Spotlight
Universal made waves last week when it announced it would be expanding its theatrical windows from a 17-day minimum to a 31-day minimum, effective immediately. And in 2027, that minimum will expand to 45 days. It’s welcome news for theater owners, who have a case of “I told you so” after arguing for years that longer theatrical windows are not just better for theaters, but for home entertainment revenue as well. Jeremy Fuster spoke with several theater owners and experts about what Universal’s big move means for the industry. Read the full story here.
New Releases
Is Everybody Happy?: TheWrap’s awards expert Steve Pond breaks down last night’s Oscars in the only analysis you need to read today.
BFD: Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s historic win as the first female Best Cinematography recipient, for her work on “Sinners,” was an Oscar moment to remember.
Going It Alone: Drew Taylor had a candid chat with “Amphibia” creator Matt Braly about how his Sony animated film fell apart and why he’s going indie.
SXSW Reviews: We’ve got fresh reviews out of Austin for “Ready or Not 2,” Vince Vaughn gangster flick “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice,” Jason Segel/Samara Weaving action comedy “Over Your Dead Body,” coming-of-age gem “Brian” and more!
Fun Read: Every Oscar-nominated Diane Warren song ranked.
Landis Out: That Max Landis “G.I. Joe” screenwriting gig didn’t last long.
Concession Stand
Steven Spielberg says he may finally be making a Western.
Bradley Cooper is the top choice to write, direct and star in WB’s “Ocean’s 11” prequel.
The “KPop Demon Hunters” sequel is officially a go at Netflix with the original directors returning.
After starring in the HBO DC series “Lanterns,” Aaron Pierre will reprise the role in James Gunn’s “Man of Tomorrow.”
Billie Eilish + Sarah Polley + “The Bell Jar” = Must-see movie.
Streaming Corner
- The Alan Ritchson sci-fi actioner “War Machine” was a huge hit for Netflix last weekend, scoring 39.3 million views and topping the charts for the most-watched movie on the streamer, but did you know it’s also a Lionsgate movie? I spoke with Lionsgate Motion Picture Group President Erin Westerman about why the studio decided to take the project to Netflix, and how Lionsgate decides which films it wants to take out to the streaming market.
What I’m Watching
I checked out Sony Pictures Classics’ “Nuremberg” since it was surging on Netflix, and James Vanderbilt’s drama about the Nuremberg Trials — starring Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring — is pretty compelling, especially as it relates to the rise of antisemitism over the last several years. Shot by Dariusz Wolski too. A solid addition to the “Dad Movie” catalogue.
