Good morning: In today’s edition of The Industry, we look at:
Universal’s Day, Fox’s Stew, and Tarantino’s Chocolate.
Let’s go!
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Universal takes one step to saving the Hollywood box office.
They have committed to keeping their films exclusively in theaters for a minimum of 5 weeks. And by 2027, for 7 weeks.
This is a big step up from their exclusive release timelines last year:
3 weeks - 12x releases
5 weeks - 2x releases
6 weeks - 1x release
In fact, out of all the major studios, Universal was the only one that didn’t have a single film exclusively in theaters for 45 days.
That 45-day window has been seen as a gold standard metric for ensuring studios commit to exclusive theatrical releases. Paramount has guaranteed that upon its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, it will commit to releasing all their films in theaters for a minimum of 45 days. Although much of the industry remains skeptical if that is feasible.
These studio commitments would help offset a seismic drop, in the box office. US total yearly box office numbers are down 22% since pre-COVID:
$8.9bn - 2025
$8.75bn - 2024
$9.04bn - 2023
$11.3bn - 2019
Universal has done well at the box office each year, ranking as the third-highest earning studio with $3.89bn worldwide and $1.79bn domestic in 2025.
Universal is working with two of the biggest directors on their summer releases: Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan. So there’s no doubt that this commitment will draw more talent.
Although the caveat is that their commitment doesn’t include Focus Features.
For More:
Universal’s biggest film releasing in theaters is Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day. Here’s the new trailer.
One of the projects that will make it into theaters for Universal’s extended window? Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic: A rags-to-riches story about a Vegas trailer park woman turned media mogul. With 101 Studios (Yellowstone, Landman, The Madison) producing.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Fox orders two seasons of Stewie, a Family Guy spinoff.
Netflix will release three Brazilian soccer docs ahead of the World Cup.
Booksmart co-writer/director Susanna Fogel is making a Netflix romcom-thriller.
Netflix is developing a Frida Kahlo series.
Disney promotes 25-year veteran Paul Roeder to SVP and COO.
Premeditated Productions extends its Amazon MGM deal for five years.
Netflix greenlights KPop Demon Hunters 2
Kumail Nanjiani joins Josh Hartnett in action-thriller All Day & All Night.
Aaron Pierre’s Green Lantern will appear in DC Studios’ Man of Tomorrow.
Quentin Tarantino presents RZA’s revenge thriller One Spoon of Chocolate.
Annapurna launches an international TV division.
Roadside Attractions acquires Cookie Queens.
Fremantle reports $2.36B in 2025 revenue, down 9.4%.
BBC is developing Musk: The Next Chapter.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Stewie Magic School Bus. That seems to be the idea behind Fox’s new Family Guy spinoff, Stewie. The series, which has been ordered for two seasons, follows Stewie who is forced to attend a boring school, only to discover a device that can take him anywhere in time and space. Thus making his lessons more interesting. Sounds like it will be a naughty Magic School Bus.
This is the second Family Guy spinoff after The Cleveland Show, which ran for 4 seasons from 2009-2013.
We love the idea of Stewie-centered show. He’s a pain in the ass, smart ass who’s alltogether lovable because of his literal baby face. Say cool.
It is the World Cup year after all. Netflix is releasing a trio of Brazilian soccer docs just ahead of the legendary tournament:
Ronaldinho: The One and Only
A three-part doc that follows the titular soccer star in his everyday life
Premieres Apr. 16th
USA 94: Brazil’s Return to Glory
The story of Brazil’s history-making fourth World Cup win
Premieres May 7th
The Root of the Game
Set against São Paulo’s largest soccer tournament giving behind-the-scenes looks at the competition
Premieres Jun. 8th
Beyond documentaries, Netflix and Brazil have a long working relationship particularly on soccer-centered projects (i.e. Diego Luna led Mexico ‘86), so in between games the streamer may be the place to be.
Tidbits:
Susanna Fogel, the writer and director behind Peacock’s Ponies, is working with Netflix on new romcom feature Primal. The film will follow an introverted teenager who while on a remote trip becomes deeply involved with a mysterious man who follows her back home. The Booksmart (2019) writer has won numerous awards for both her film and TV work, currently serving as an EP on another Netflix project, the Little House on the Prairie remake.
A Frida Kahlo Netflix series is in development, directed by Gabriel Ripstein (Narcos) and Patricia Riggen (Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan). Based on Claire Berest’s novel Rien n’est noir, the series will follow Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s relationship during a time of political turmoil.
Disney has promoted 25-year veteran Paul Roeder to SVP and COO under incoming CEO Josh D’Amaro. Roeder will now be responsible for leading PR strategies and communications across their worldwide offices overseeing both internal engagement and media relations. He will begin his new role next week.
Premeditated Productions (Fourth Wing series adaptation) signs a 5-year deal with Amazon MGM. This is an extension of their previous agreement. They’ve got over a dozen productions set up with Amazon, including many best-selling books. Their highest-profile project is Fourth Wing, about a college for dragon riders. That project is now on its second showrunner with no word on shoot dates.
Mini Tidbits:
Finneas will score Netflix’s Beef (S2). Finneas is a rare genius whose understanding of creating multi-layered tracks is unrivaled. It’ll work well with the tone of the show.
Independent Artist Group (clients: Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson, Gary Oldman, Regina Hall) is bumping Kris Heller (Client: Oscar-nominated Delroy Lindo) to partner.
Untitled Entertainment (clients: Julianne Nicholson, Kate Hudson) is being joined by Nancy Gates (Michael J. Fox, Sandra Oh), who will become a partner.
Renewals:
CBS’ Marshals (for S2)
Greenlight:
Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters 2
Dir: Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans (original directors)
The directors also signed a multi-year writing and directing pact.
BET’s OG Stories
Creator/Host: Damon Dash
BBC’s The Traitors and Celebrity Traitors
Series will run on BBC through 2030
Trailers:
Hulu’s Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair
4 part revival series
Release: April 10
Elsewhere Films’ Steal This Story, Please!
Takeover
Cast: Quavo, Billy Zane
Release: May 8
Vertical’s Desert Warrior
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Ben Kingsley
Release: April 24
The School Duel
Release: April 24
Netflix’s Big Mistakes
Cast: Dan Levy
Release: April 9
Netflix’s Thrash
Cast: Phoebe Dynevor, Djimon Hounsou and Whitney Peak
Release: April 10
First look:
HBO/BBC’s Half Man
Creator: Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer)
Release: April
Release dates:
Sony Pictures Classics’ Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass
Cast: Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm, John Slattery
Release: July 10
AMC’s The Vampire Lestat
Release: June 7
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Kumail Nanjiani joins the cast of action-thriller All Day & All Night. The film will be directed by Tommy Wirkola (Violent Night) and stars Josh Hartnett, with Nanjiani set to play a bank robber.
The story follows a bank heist that goes terribly wrong, forcing the crew to keep a failing television show on air long enough to plan their escape.
These guys as bank robbers?! Hartnett can play the psycho over the top (Trap, Fight or Flight) with Nanjiani playing meek and deadpan like he did in Silicon Valley and the action-comedy Stuber (2019, trailer), where he played an unsuspecting Uber driver caught in the middle of a police chase.
Green Lantern joins DC Studios’ Man of Tomorrow. Aaron Pierre, who plays the young stoic Green Lantern John Stewart in HBO’s Lanterns, will join the cast of Man of Tomorrow – the sequel to James Gunn’s Superman.
This is the first time in James Gunn’s DC cinematic universe that two members of the Justice League’s Big Six (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman) will appear on screen together.
We can hope to see Green Lantern and Superman team up for the first time in the history of the DC cinematic universe. It would be interesting to see Aaron Pierre’s disciplined Green Lantern play off the sweet ingenuity of David Corenswet’s Superman.
Tidbits:
Transporting you back to the 90s. Jennifer Jason Leigh (Single White Female) is cast in Amazon MGM Studios’ thriller crime series Bishop, set to play John Malkovich’s sister. While she has worked mostly in film, this will mark back-to-back series appearances for the actress, following her scene-stealing performance in the latest season of FX’s Fargo as an imperious CEO. Amazon is looking at an early 2027 premiere for Bishop.
Patton Oswalt is getting dazed. He joins Netflix’s In a Holidaze, a romcom led by Rob Lowe (Parks & Recreation) and Maddie Ziegler (My Old Ass, Dance Moms). No word on Oswalt’s role. Ziegler will most likely play the directionless 20-something who finds herself in a time loop, reliving the same Christmas over and over again. Jackie Sandler also joins the cast.
Netflix’s sequel series A Different World sees the return of Jada Pinkett Smith as the outspoken Lena James (scene). She isn’t the only Hillman College alum returning to campus, with Smith joining actors Kadeem Hardison and Jasmine Guy who are also reprising their roles. Focused on the next generation, the show is currently filming in Atlanta.
Mini Tidbit:
Hamish Linklater (Midnight Mass) joins S2 of Amazon Prime’s Ballard – a spinoff of Bosch. Linklater will play Chris Alexander, a mysterious figure whose charismatic exterior hides a dark ambition. We hope to see Linklater again as a character with enigmatic presence, something he excelled at as Father Paul Hill in Midnight Mass.
German DJ turned actor Flula Borg (The Rookie, Pitch Perfect 2) is joining the 4th season of Sylvester Stallone’s led Tulsa King. In the Paramount+ and Taylor Sheridan series, Borg will play a powerful tech billionaire.
FESTIVALS AND DOCS
U.S.-Ukraine co-production Immortal Flowers was met with lots of love at its premiere at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival’s industry awards. Taking home the top prize in the Docs in Progress section, the film explores the controversial underground rave culture in Ukraine.
Yellow Veil Pictures (Gasper Noe’s Lux Æterna, The Ice Tower w/ Marion Cotillard) takes North American sales on Grind.
Synopsis:
Four interconnected stories center around the gig economy, hustle culture, and evils of late-stage capitalism.
This is very much in the vein of Yellow Veil’s thoughtful genre picks that get a little gory.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Quentin Tarantino gets back in the RZA business. He is lending his name to present One Spoon of Chocolate (trailer), written, directed, and produced by RZA (composer: Kill Bill 1 and 2).
The film will follow Unique, a veteran and an ex-convict, go toe-to-toe with the local gang and sheriff as he investigates the mysterious disappearance of a young man.
The film premiered at Tribeca in the Escape from Tribeca section. With Tarantino stating:
“Old-school, foot-to-ass, Revenge-a-matic!”
The film will be distributed by 36 Cinema Distribution, a distribution company also created by RZA.
We loved the rapper’s previous feature, The Man With The Iron Fists, which was stylish, a tad derivative, and had a stacked cast (trailer).
Tidbits:
Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures has launched an international TV division, hiring former New Regency executive Ed Rubin to lead the effort. The hire is one of many, marking another step in the company’s ongoing mission to rebuild globally and domestically. Stutz producer Chelsea Barnard and Matthew Budman (Amsterdam) were brought on as co-heads of U.S. film for Annapurna.
Roadside Attractions picks up Cookie Queens. The film is EP’d by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and premiered at Sundance and is now playing at SXSW. It’s a doc about the $800M Girl Scout Cookie season. Michael Dweck (Gaucho, Gaucho, The Truffle Hunters) produces. It’s an interesting pickup for Roadside, which usually does stuff that tilts a little more in the action or physiological thriller genre fare like The Surfer, Fuze, or Dust Bunny.
Mini Tidbits:
An ancestor of cosmetic royalty, Danielle Lauder’s Act 4 Artists, a new finance and production outfit, is launching with the premiere of Will Ropp’s high school comedy Brian at SXSW this week. The company will prioritize financing and developing feature films from emerging filmmakers.
Oscar-nominated producer Stacey Sher joins actors Jenna Ortega and Taylor Russell to produce 3000 Pictures’ remake Single White Female. A frequent Tarantino collaborator (Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained), Sher most recently worked with A24 on the unexpected horror success Heretic (2024). There is no word on how closely the new Single White Female movie will resemble the iconic 90s original.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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