This is a kind of half-and-half in terms of The Box Office Podcast. It’s technically an hour-long conversation with Bruce Nash, owner of The Numbers, as he prepares to release the site’s first-ever full-year market forecast. However, Jeremy Fuster and Lisa Laman were able to jump in amid this mid-week pre-Thanksgiving chit-chat, so it’s a bit of both worlds.

In the 60-minute discourse, we discuss Nash’s site and why it’s better or different from all other sites of its nature. Among other things, unlike its chief competitor, it didn’t set itself on fire six years ago, in terms of data availability and usability, for no good cause. The core topic is what we all think may or may not happen in the 2026 theatrical calendar year.

Everyone agrees that even the rosiest predictions, for the theatrical ecosystem as a whole, are predicated on Warner Bros. *not* being swallowed up and stripped for “Batman-or-bust” parts by whichever suitor wins this most egregious season of The Bachelor. Lisa wins the “quote of the episode” award, which I just made up right now, when she declares (paraphrasing) that we need “fewer mergers and more movies.” I’d put that bumper sticker on my car in a heartbeat.

However, at least from the start, 2026 will get a boost from Avatar: Fire and Ash and a busy January slate that looks closer to 2023 than 2024. The bad news is that there aren’t many titles with even the potential to be a breakout overperformer on par with Barbie or Inside Out 2. However, Chris Nolan’s The Odyssey seems the most likely such candidate by default. The good news is that most 2026 releases may perform as well as hoped (or better) with the bonus of Michael and Mortal Kombat II juicing the overall revenue totals for the first half of the year.

There’s plenty of that kind of punditry and analysis, some of it more serious (At what point do we accept that the consistent “This year will be back to normal!” drumbeat is a mirage?) than not (the key circumstance by which Mortal Kombat II could post Avatar-level grosses). Still, we do our best not to make Mr. Nash spend the duration thinking to himself, “Oh god, what have I done?”

No recommended reading, but I completely forgot to link to the GoFundMe Lisa mentioned two weeks ago, specifically for the slew of journalists laid off from Vibe following a merger with Rolling Stone. For those able and willing… go *here*.

As always, if you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected]. The regular Box Office Podcast episode, discussing the Thanksgiving box office, should drop within the next 24 hours..

* Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News

* Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap

* Lisa Laman - Dallas Observer, Pajiba, Looper, Comic Book and Autostraddle

* Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm and Fangoria

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