Scott Mendelson | Substack: The Outside Scoop

I wish that Coyote Vs. Acme had either opened a bit lower or a bit higher. Had it debuted closer to $10 million, there’d be no debate as to whether the film was a circumstantial commercial success.

If this isn’t quite the finale of the 2026 summer movie season, it’s certainly the climax, as the nearly shelved and eventually sold-off Coyote Vs. Acme debuted to rave reviews and exactly the kind of below-expectations box office that made Warner Bros. skittish in the first place. And yes, the film got a wide theatrical release, which is a victory unto itself. However, once again, Internet conjecture is not representative of the real world.

- 95 minutes - Rated R (for… uh… take a wild guess) - Directed by Jean-François Richet - Written by Lindsay Michel and J. P. Davis - Produced by Marc Butan and Jason Statham - Starring Jason Statham, Annabelle Wallis, Roland Møller, Jason Wong, Arnas Fedaravicius and Adrian Lester - Cinematography by Brendan Galvin - Edited by David Rosenbloom - Music by Marcus Trump - Production: MadRiver Pictures, Punch Palace Productions - Opening August 21 via Lionsgate Expendables 4 is not a good movie.

It is very much a kind of good news and/or bad news Friday at the domestic box office. Yes, Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Universal’s The Odyssey are still dominating the competition. However, those two mega-movies will gross $68 million (-53%) and $23 million (-27%), respectively. That will represent just 58% of the weekend’s estimated $158 million domestic total.

Netflix just announced it will be sending its animated Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to theaters ahead of its streaming debut. The modern-day revamp of Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel will focus on a handful of economically imperiled teens, led by Charlie (Kit Connor, but not playing THAT Charlie), attempting to break into the factory of the recently released-from-prison chocolate mogul (Taika Waititi).

- 99 minutes - Rated PG-13 for “some strong violent content, bloody images, some strong language and suggestive material” - Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell - Produced by J. J.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day indeed joined Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home in the “daily $100 million losers club” and the “weekend $200 million losers club.” It earned $43 million on its second Friday, or $125 million less than its $168 million opening day. It nabbed a $145 million second weekend gross, which is $215.5 million below its record $360 million Fri-Sun debut. Sitting alongside two prior MCU movies that eventually cleared $800 million domestically isn’t exactly a demerit.

In Friday box office news not directly related to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Odyssey entered its fourth weekend in theaters by crossing $1 billion worldwide. And it earned another $8.82 million (-38%) on Friday, bringing its domestic cume to $438 million. We can expect a $30.5 million (-40%) fourth-weekend gross, a drop on par with Oppenheimer’s fourth weekend (-35%) with nearly double the raw weekend gross amid Spidey-sized competition.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day earned $43 million on Friday, dipping 75% from its $168 million opening day (including $72 million in previews), and setting the stage for a likely $145 million (-60%) second-weekend gross. That will give it $655 million domestically after ten days. Yes, this latest Tom Holland and Zendaya-starring Peter Parker picture has joined No Way Home and Avengers: Endgame in the “earned more than $100 million less on its second Friday than it did on its first Friday” club.

- 102 minutes - Rated R (for “sexual material, language and brief nudity”) - Directed by Will Gluck - Written by Travis Braun - Produced by Will Gluck and Jacqueline Monetta - Starring: Monica Barbaro, Callum Turner, Maya Hawke, Julia Fox, King Princess, Ben Marshall, Ziwe, Molly Ringwald, LeVar Burton, Okieriete Onaodowan, Este Haim, Nicholas Braun, Quintessa Swindell, Michelle Hurd, Charlie Gillespie - Cinematography by Yaron Orbach - Edited by Tia Nolan - Music by Este Haim and Christopher...