Latest / Studio Signal / Studio Signal — Week Ahead, Sunday, September 27, 2026
Transcript
- Jon Watts is officially stepping into the Star Wars universe to direct the first film of a brand-new trilogy. And A24 proves once again that original thrillers can print money as Robert Pattinson's Primetime over-performs at the box office. --- It is the Sunday edition of Studio Signal, I am Kai Rivers, and we are diving into the weekend box office actuals and everything you need to watch in the week ahead, supported by Harkins Capital. Lucasfilm is making a massive move to stabilize its cinematic universe. We just learned that Spider-Man director Jon Watts is officially attached to direct the first film in a brand-new Star Wars trilogy, working from a script by Simon Kinberg. If you are tracking Disney's slate strategy, this is a glaring signal. After several start-and-stop film announcements over the past few years, Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm are leaning on absolute, proven, multi-billion-dollar hitmakers. Watts helmed the Tom Holland Spider-Man trilogy for Marvel and Sony, meaning he knows exactly how to manage massive visual effects budgets, intense studio oversight, and rabid fandoms. He also co-created the upcoming Star Wars Skeleton Crew series, so the internal relationship is already rock solid. With Daisy Ridley expected to return as Rey, this film is tasked with carrying the Skywalker Saga into its next era. Disney needs a guaranteed theatrical win, and Watts is arguably the safest pair of hands in Hollywood right now to deliver it. Meanwhile, on the international IP front, Toho is aggressively pushing its biggest asset. Over the weekend, the highly anticipated Godzilla Minus Zero had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival. This is the direct sequel to the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One, and early reactions confirm a major detail. King Ghidorah is officially the primary antagonist. For Toho executives, this is a masterclass in franchise escalation. Minus One was a critical and commercial phenomenon that proved there is a massive global appetite for serious, character-driven Kaiju films. By immediately introducing Ghidorah, the franchise's most iconic and destructive villain, Toho is maximizing the theatrical event value. They are not slow-playing the universe, they are capitalizing on the momentum right now to cement Godzilla as a premium global theatrical draw, completely independent of the American MonsterVerse. Moving over to the estimated weekend box office numbers, we have a fascinating battle between franchise nostalgia, revitalized horror, and original star-driven storytelling. First up, Disney is proving exactly why their vault is their greatest weapon. The theatrical re-release of Avengers: Endgame Encore is projected to pull in around twenty-six million dollars this weekend. For studio executives, this is the ultimate low-cost revenue generator. Disney is using this re-release to bridge the gap and hype up the audience ahead of Avengers: Doomsday. By putting their biggest property back on premium large format screens with a few minutes of new footage, they are printing pure profit while effectively running a two-hour theatrical commercial for the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Battling it out for the top spot is Sony's Resident Evil reboot, which is holding incredibly strong in its second weekend, looking to land between twenty-five and thirty million dollars. Following a massive sixty million dollar opening last week, this hold is a huge validation for Sony. They handed the reigns to a true horror auteur, Zach Cregger, and he managed to make the film accessible to mainstream audiences while satisfying hardcore gamers. This proves that video game adaptations do not have to be massive, bloated blockbusters. A sharp, terrifying, mid-budget approach can yield incredible return on investment. But the most important industry story is sitting at number three. A24's Primetime just opened to an impressive estimated nineteen point two million dollars. Directed by Lance Oppenheim, the film stars Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen in a dark, psychological thriller about the making of the reality series To Catch a Predator. Here is why every distribution executive needs to look at this number. Primetime was produced on a budget of just fourteen and a half million dollars. It is already profitable in its first three days. Robert Pattinson is having a massive year, and his ability to draw younger demographics to non-franchise films is staggering. A24 continues to crack the code on theatrical distribution, proving that if you market an original, provocative concept correctly, audiences will absolutely show up. You do not need a two hundred million dollar budget to win the weekend. Looking ahead to the coming week, we are tracking a few major catalysts. First, keep your eyes on the fallout from the Zurich Summit regarding the push for a U.S. federal film incentive. Over the weekend, film financiers and executives were deeply engaged in discussions about a newly unveiled bipartisan proposal for a federal tax credit. For physical production executives, this is the holy grail. Right now, productions constantly chase state-by-state or international tax rebates, shifting billions of dollars in crew payroll to places like the U.K., Canada, or Australia. If a federal incentive actually gains traction in Washington, it would fundamentally restructure how Hollywood budgets its films, potentially bringing a massive wave of physical production back to American soil. This is a space we will be watching very closely. On the live broadcast front, the W.N.B.A. Playoffs are dominating the sports media landscape this week. We have talked endlessly about the explosive viewership growth the league has seen this year, but now we are entering the monetization phase. Networks are treating these post-season games as premium, tier-one inventory. If you are an ad buyer or a network executive, this week is the ultimate stress test to see just how high you can push advertising rates for women's basketball. The cultural momentum is undeniable, and the broadcast rights for this league are rapidly becoming some of the most valuable assets in sports media. Finally, we are seeing some brilliant cross-pollination strategy from N.B.C. Universal. Saturday Night Live just kicked off its fifty-second season, and the premiere heavily featured appearances by New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson alongside a performance by the global pop group KATSEYE. In a fragmented media landscape, N.B.C. is using the late-night institution as a powerful promotional engine to amplify their sports relationships and digital music partnerships. It is a reminder that live, communal television still holds massive cultural weight when leveraged correctly. As we head into Monday, here are the key questions the industry needs to answer. Will Disney officially plant a flag and announce a release date for Jon Watts' new Star Wars film, or are they keeping their theatrical calendar flexible? And can highly profitable, mid-budget films like A24's Primetime maintain their theatrical legs against a tidal wave of franchise re-releases? If you want this level of industry intel at your fingertips every day, head over to studiosignal-dot-app. That is the Sunday wrap-up. I am Kai Rivers, have a fantastic rest of your weekend, and I will be back tomorrow.