☀️H’wood Super Bowl Ad Report; Feb. Box Office ❤️ Low-Budget Films
AMAZON doubles down on ‘Melania’ / Lots o’ theatrical date shuffling / #BigTech owns Super Bowl
Evenin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya like or email me at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on SUNDAY, February 8, 2026.
Where it has been 0️⃣0️⃣2️⃣ days since we’ve had a white supremacist communication from the Trump administration (just a couple of weeks after the last one, when DHS’s ICE took down its social post using a white supremacist anthem).
Although, to be fair, I’ve been watching a football game for about 4 hours, so I may not be up to date on the latest.
Man, aren’t “staffers” the worst? 🙄
ALSO: Here are your DGA Award winners.
WAKEUP BIG GAME POLL
Nice to see Wakeup readers pretty much mirroring the KALSHI odds. Who needs prediction markets?
Kudos to my fellow 67% for making a smart choice, seeing through the PATRIOTS’ relatively easy regular season schedule, and beating a BRONCOS team without its quarterback to get to the big game.
The SUPER BOWL Ads
First, sadly, no athletes got inspired by Travis Kelce’s “Tony Manero” look from last year, so alas, that was one and done (granted, it didn’t work out too well on the field).
Man, I really hope Taylor let him keep that outfit after the engagement . . .
NEW JERSEY: 1 FOR 2
2 people from New Jersey appeared before the game. 1 of them is allowed back into the state at any time (nice performance, Charlie Puth).
The other guy can GFY.
Seriously, Jon Bon Jovi — we get you’re a PATRIOTS fan now 🙄 . . . but, introducing the Patriots . . . at the Super Bowl? Good thing Bon Jovi is playing MSG on the summer tour and not METLIFE in Jersey. You’re now dead to Jersey — and yes, we know you named an album after us.
As for Boston — the fact that you had a former New Jersey icon introduce your team is just 🤯. No wonder you lost.
This is like Matt Damon introducing the GIANTS. A sad, sad state of affairs all around.
Ok — onto the ads!
NBC’s overhyped sports month certainly didn’t get off to a great start this weekend
I think we’re all still wondering what Mariah Carey was doing on Friday night, which was followed today by Lindsay Vonn’s horrific skiing accident, and then a pretty boring football game. So, it’s all on you next weekend, NBA All-Star game!
Thankfully, I didn’t watch any of the Super Bowl ads as they were dropped last week so that they would be a surprise today — ya know, like in the olden days.
If I had, I may not have watched this game at all.
Here’s a breakdown of:
How much time Hollywood bought vs. previous years.
How much time NBCU gave itself
The big advertising buckets this year — and just how much #BigTech dominated.
What that “All-American” halftime show looked like, and more.
