Well, just as I launched The Outside Scoop just *after* the triple-whammy of The Marvels, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds, and Snakes and Wish, I am now finally starting a weekly box office podcast just in time for what could be a month-long drought in terms of “big-deal releases.” Well, fingers crossed for Lisa Frankenstein, Madame Web, and Bob Marley: One Love, but otherwise, at least we’ll have a few weeks to iron out the kinks before Dune Part Two kicks off what hopefully will be a robust March.
And who is “we”? Well, rather than just have me pontificate about the box office for 45 minutes each week, I wanted to try something different. The crux is that it’s me alongside a handful of younger, cooler but no less esteemed, experienced, and knowledgeable box office pundits who I’ve noticed (and in one case worked with for 13 months) over the last decade. To paraphrase the words of a very wise muppet, I am what they grow beyond.
Currently, it will be me alongside Jeremy Fuster (TheWrap), Lisa Laman (Collider and Looper), and Ryan C. Scott (Slashfilm) discussing the week that was in terms of the theatrical ecosystem. If others stop in or (schedules pending) swap out, well, this is a work in progress.
This first episode concerns the grim theatrical fate of Apple’s Argylle. To what extent should the tech giant care about how little money Matthew Vaughn’s action comedy will make in theaters? Can Apple’s “spend $200 million on a big-deal movie and pay a legacy studio to distribute in multiplexes in hopes that a theatrical release will make it look better on Apple TV+” strategy work over the long run? And if we’re dealing with a would-be commercial crowdpleaser, as opposed to a prestige picture with awards season aspirations, is there more “pressure” on the theatrical box office to justify the investment? The answers may astound you!
Other topics include the theatrical peril of an unfortunately slim release calendar (Despicable Me 4 > everything else), why Doug Liman’s Road House remake is heading straight to Prime Video, the artistic legacy of Carl Weathers, and more. This first episode has been edited for brevity and clarity from 82 minutes to 69 minutes. Most of the cuts were self-inflicted “kill your darlings” moments, and we’ll see if I have the time and patience to do that with every episode. It will be audio-only, although the video was recorded, and I may offer up a full audio/video Zoom extravaganza for future episodes.
If you like what you’re hearing, do the usual thing of liking, sharing, commenting and *smashing* (using a cartoon mallet) that subscribe button with every justified ounce of strength and passion. And do check out my guests’ work at their respective home bases. If you want to bother them on social media, well, that’s what Google is for.
Jeremy Fuster - https://www.thewrap.com/author/jeremy-fuster/
Lisa Laman - https://shorturl.at/hlqX8 and https://shorturl.at/mvzK8
Ryan C. Scott - https://www.slashfilm.com/author/ryanscott/
Share this post