| SOME SEE WAYS THAT THE LEVEL OF OUTPUT COULD BE FEASIBLE FOR A COMBINED PARAMOUNT & WARNER BROS. STUDIO |
What a difference a year makes.
Last year at the start of CinemaCon, we were questioning the existence of theatrical after a dead first quarter.
This year, the domestic box office stands at $2.26B, the first time that it’s ever been since 2019, +23% over the same Jan. 1-April 12 period a year.
But there’s agita in the air, that these great boom times of box office and 45-day window extensions are barreling toward an apocalypse, and that’s all because of the looming Paramount-Warner Bros merger, which is expected to final before Q4 this year.
Why worry? Paramount CEO David Ellison has continually promised 30 films a year and that he’ll keep Warner Bros and Paramount separate.
Despite Ellison’s reputation for being pro-theatrical and pro-filmmaker, the problem is that few can make his math work when it comes to the P&A sustainability and dating of movies. >>>Exhibitors Split |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
'Mario' Keeps Scoring At The B.O. - The Super Mario Galaxy Movie minted $153M WW this weekend, sending its running global cume to $629M. It is the second highest-grossing movie so far in 2026 after China’s Pegasus 3 ($645M). Currently, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the third highest-grossing film based on a video game of all time globally (behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie and A Minecraft Movie ). >>> Stateside Total
'Paddington' On Broadway? - Sonia Friedman, lead producer with StudioCanal and Eliza Lumley of Paddington the Musical , winner of seven Olivier Awards on Sunday night, including Best Musical, reveals to Deadline that she’s hoping to have the show up and running in New York in 2027. “I’d like it to be next year to keep the momentum going,” Friedman tells Deadline's Baz Bamigboye. The transfer will be expensive, Friedman notes. And she would know, having been a producer on high-end shows like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Stranger Things: The First Shadow. >>>Read The Column
Hello Sunshine Previews TV Slate - With the second season of Apple TV and Hello Sunshine’s The Last Thing He Told Me drama series drawing to a close, Deadline got to chat with Lauren Neustadter, President of Film & TV at Reese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine, about more upcoming shows — book adaptations and not — as well as films in the works. >>>Q&A
'Ride Along 3' Revs Engine - We are hearing that Ride Along 3 is in early development at Universal with stars Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, director Tim Story, and producer Will Packer all in early discussions to return. >>> Daniel Gold Penning Screenplay |
Like Judy Greer’s Quinn Campano says in the final moments of The Last Thing He Told Me Season 2’s finale, there may be some “loose threads to tie up” following the sophomore season of Hello Sunshine and Apple TV’s drama series, based on Laura Dave’s book of the same name and its sequel, The First Time I Saw Him.
Season 2’s closing episode ends with Quinn officially taking the reins of her father Frank’s (John Noble) shady business dealing in organized crime. She sits down and smells a cigar her dead father left behind at his desk and then dials the mysterious “Cleaners” which ends up being Maris (Michael Hyatt) at the U.S. Marshall’s office. Maris is the mole who works for the Campanos, and Quinn hints to her that their work with Hannah Hall (Jennifer Garner), Owen Michaels (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Bailey (Angourie Rice) may not be over. Cue Olivia Rodrigo’s “obsessed.”
“That was a real surprise. We didn’t know if they would end up leaving [that scene] in, and I love that Apple is leaving it in because it feels like a potential nod to a third season, which would absolutely thrill me,” star and executive producer Jennifer Garner told Deadline of that cliffhanger ending. >>>Read The Interview |
ExclusiveThe recurring cast of Netflix's Poser is growing by four, with the addition of Jaime Ray Newman (The Hunting Wives), Jessie Cohen (Mank), Tess Paras (Doc) and Candace Allen (General Hospital).
ExclusiveJonathan Pryce and Downton Abbey star Penelope Wilton are teaming on an ITV drama about a woman who survived a joint suicide pact with the love of her life and was subsequently arrested and charged with his murder.
ExclusiveImani Lewis (First Kill) and Laya DeLeon Hayes (The Equalizer) have attached to star in Pure, the debut feature from writer-director Natalie Jasmine Harris. |
QUOTABLE
"We're back where we started" - Issa Rae on diversity backsliding in the entertainment industry
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MORE NEWS
✉︎ JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, David Fincher and Denis Villeneuve are just a few of the 1,000-plus names who have signed on to an open letter opposing Paramount‘s proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, calling the transaction one that will “threaten the sustainability of the entire creative community.”
🛑 Days after four women including a former staffer, accused Eric Swalwell of rape and other misconduct, the cable news-friendly Congressman has faced up to political reality and essentially ended his bid to be California‘s next governor.
⛰️ The integration of CBS and Paramount cable assets under George Cheeks, Chair of TV Media, continues. After BET Studios in December became a label of CBS Studios, the same is now being done with Nickelodeon Animation Studios, which also will function as a label within the David Stapf-run TV studio going forward.
🔍 The latest to declare as a comedy for the 2026 Emmy race is Prime Video’s Young Sherlock. The action mystery drama has comedic undertones. Young Sherlock joins several other new hourlong shows with substantial dramatic quotient that also are being submitted as comedies this year.
📺 About an hour after 60 Minutes did a segment on Pope Leo and U.S. cardinals opposing Donald Trump's Iran war and immigration policies, the president posted a Truth Social tirade about the Holy Father. In a rare and perhaps unprecedented attack, Trump called Leo “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.” |
| OBITUARIES
🕯️ John Nolan, the actor whose resumé includes The Dark Knight Rises and Person of Interest, has died. He was 87. The uncle of Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, his death was reported by the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald on Saturday. 🕯️ Asha Bhosle, the legendary Bollywood playback singer whose voice was immortalized on more than 2,000 films, has died. She was 92. 🕯️ Dolly Martinez, who appeared in the tenth season of TLC's My 600-Lb. Life, has died at the age of 30. 🕯️ 2026 Deaths Photo Gallery
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| ON THE RADAR
Wed - CBS unveils 2026-27 schedule
Thu - CinemaCon wraps; Netflix earnings; Beef S2 debut
Sat - Deadline Contenders TV: Docs; Eddie Murphy receives the AFI Life Achievement Award; NAB Show begins
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Don't Cry For Her - Rachel Zegler poses with her Best Actress in a Musical Award for Evita at the Olivier Awards |
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