Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on MONDAY June 6, 2022.

Where… can someone seriously explain to me why we’re doing this…👇 and why there will be a 2nd league of “Spring Football” next year (XFL)?

I get that the “math” might work for NBC & FOX (+ FS1) on the approx 800k viewers the USFL games are averaging… but seriously - this is embarrassing for a sport on national TV. Football rec leagues get bigger crowds.

from my couch, which had more people on it than were at this game (pardon the Summer glare)

AND: Anyone with a take on why DISNEY+ is promoting the heck out of the Giannis Antetokounmpo origin story movie “Rise” during the NBA FINALS but choosing not to premiere it until… June 24 🤔 - I’m all ears (note: even if the Finals goes all 7 games it’ll end the 19th).

It’s a streaming movie that people could go watch after a game or add to their list immediately… not a theatrical release you’re looking build “intent to see” - so I’m a mix of these whenever I see the ads 🤯🤔🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️.

Kudos @NETFLIX for timing the new Sandler pic “Hustle” perfectly this Weds 👏.

PLUS - SAD NEWS / HAPPY NEWS :

📽 THE SILVER SCREEN

BOX OFFICE

“Top Gun: Maverick” : $86 Million ($292 Million US, $549 Million global)
- Weekend-to-weekend drop was 32% :
  - The Lowest 2nd Weekend drop for a $100 Million+ opener since… ever. “Shrek 2” came close in 2004 with 33%.
- This is Tom Cruise’s biggest US movie… ever.
- Audience grew younger as the kids take the buzz from the olds for once… 49% were under 35 years-old, +4% vs opening weekend.
- IMAX & “Premium format screens” were 33% of the gross.
  - IMAX alone was still 13% of US $$… (IMAX avg is about 8-10%)
  - All IMAX screens go to “Jurassic World” this Friday… which is now facing a much more formidable challenger this Friday than UNI was likely expecting.
    - Even a 50%-ish drop would mean a $45 Million competitor.
“Doctor Strange…” : $9.2 Million ($389 Million US, $910 Million global)
- Weekend to weekend drop of 42%.
“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” : $4.5 Million ($22 Million US)
- A 63% drop, not unexpected for a hard-core fanbase movie in week 2.
The Bad Guys” : $3.3 Million ($87 Million US)
- Still a very slight 24% decline
“Downton Abbey: A New Era” : $3 Million ($36 Million US)
- Still another big 48% drop
- Will slightly exceed its $40 Million budget with the US gross (minus rev shares with theaters).
- Now avail for $20 PVOD home rental
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” : $2 Million ($60 Million US)
- Still an incredibly slight 17% drop from last weekend

ELSEWHERE AT THE BOX OFFICE

NEON’s Cronenberg pic “Crimes of the Future” 🔪 opened to $1.1 Million from 773 screens for an eh $1400 per screen average… as the Specialty space continues to be challenged post-covid except for “Everything Everywhere…”.

“Jurassic World: Dominion” 🦖 got off to a $55 Million headstart in Int’l markets this weekend, including $18 Million in MEXICO (33% of the total), which was UNI’s biggest opening weekend there ever.

PLUS:

Anytime you still see chatter / headlines about “The total box office is still down from 2019 / xxxx period in the 2010’s…” - know this is overwhelmingly due to lack of product… and NOT the “people don’t like going to the movies as much anymore” sentiment this chatter is continually trying to suggest:

The post-Memorial Day weekend in 2019 opened 3 films (a “Godzilla” pic, “Rocketman” and “MA”) plus had week 2 of “Aladdin”.
This 2022 equivalent weekend had 0 new wide releases… and was only down 31% vs 2019.

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📺 THE TV SET

NBA FINALS audience did not return

Apparently the Game 1 CELTICS-WARRIORS audience was the lowest in 15 years (except for the past 2 covid years), with 11.9 Million people watching on ABC & ESPN2 combined last Thurs.

Out of home viewing may lift this a bit… but it’s the smallest audience for an NBA FINALS game featuring Steph Curry ever, and about 11% below the 2019 WARRIORS-RAPTORS opener. /SportsMediaWatch

ALSO IN TV

HBOMAX cancels “Raised by Wolves” after 2 seasons. /Variety
HBO bringing James Marsden for “Westworld” Season 4. /THR
DISNEY BRANDED CONTENT & NAT GEO Marketing head Janyata Jenkins is departing after a year and a half. No word on next destination. /Deadline

COUPLE OF CASTING NOTES:

NETFLIX adds Sarah Silverman to Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” pic. She’ll play the sister of Bradley’s Leonard Bernstein character. /Deadline
PEACOCK adds Lil Rel Howery & Dasha Polanco to Rian Johnson’s “Poker Face” detective series with Natasha Lyonne. /Deadline

💻 THE MEDIA BIZ

JUST A FEW THINGS

NY TIMES does a look inside the first month at CNN with Chris Licht at the helm.
Peter Chernin-backed Digital Food content brand FOOD52 laid of 15% of their workforce, and the remaining content & creative team have been moved to a 32 hour work-week. /Digiday
CLUBHOUSE lost 4 senior leaders this spring, as downloads fell 80% from first half of 2021 to first half of 2022. Departures were the heads of News, International, Community and ‘Brand Evangelism & Development’. /Protocol
The advertising business cut 2400 jobs in May according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Just gonna leave that there for those who also get the significance, even though it’s a broad gov’t supplied #. /AdAge
It’s APPLE WWDC day so you’ll be seeing headlines later today, possibly including further ad-tracking limitations in the next iOS. 📱

🏦 STOCK NOTES:

ROBLOX -10% ($30.00)

ROKU -9% ($87.28)

AMC THEATERS -6% ($12.45)

BUZZFEED +6% ($3.76)

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👩‍💻 NEW TO WATCH:

HBO “Irma Vep” with Alicia Vikander - Apparently this is a limited series and not a movie like I thought this whole time… well anyway it premieres at 9p

HULU “Maggie” (former ABC sitcom) - no link avail

NETFLIX “Bill Burr Presents: Friends Who Kill” - STREAM HERE

🕵️‍♀️ THE WEEK AHEAD

TUE - “Everything Everywhere All at Once” hits PVOD $20 home rental

WED - “Ms. Marvel” hits DISNEY+ as the service launches in 41 mostly Middle Eastern countries.

Adam Sandler’s hoops pic “Hustle” hits NETFLIX

THU - “Queer as Folk” hits PEACOCK

FRI - “Jurassic World: Dominion” hits theaters. and our hearts.

SAT - Belmont Stakes on NBC

SUN - INDIA’s IPL Cricket League rights auction begins… with the DIS+ total subscriber count 👀 with keen interest.

🎥 TRAILER HOUSE

APPLE TV+ “Loot” series trailer - Maya Rudolph as a newly-divorced woman who gets $87 Billion in the settlement… and finally has to run the foundation she’s apparently had all along. This definitely feels like it could be a “White Lotus” for Summer 2022, funny spot! PREMIERES FRI JUNE 24

FX “What We Do In the Shadows” Season 4 teaser - PREMIERES TUE JULY 12

🎧 PLAYING ME OFF

New PANIC! AT THE DISCO “Viva Las Vengeance” from their new album.

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-SEAN MCNULTY

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TOP GUN has greatest Week 2 hold for a $100…