Shawn Robbins, currently at Fandango and owner/operator/etc. of The Box Office Theory, stops by for a slightly extended episode, since it’s a triple feature.

First, we talk about the weekend box office, namely Lee Cronin’s The Mummy and Normal alongside a promising platform launch for Mother Mary amid solid holds for Super Mario Galaxy, Project Hail Mary and The Drama. We also, closer to the end, offer up our crystal ball predictions for how Michael might gross in its domestic opening weekend. None of us thinks it will do Bad(ly), but some guestimates might be more Off the Wall than others.

Second, we go long(er) discussing what was seen (Dune Part Three looks spectacular), said (longer windows) and promised (more movies) at last week’s CinemaCon presentations. We share what we liked and didn’t like about each studio’s presentation (including why Scott Mendelson is now comparatively down on Digger) and how it felt like the first “normal” CinemaCon any of us have witnessed in nearly a decade.

Third, with Michael opening this weekend, we took a beat or three to discuss what might break out or break down amid the upcoming summer movie season. Pretty much everyone agrees that Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Toy Story 5 are the preemptive frontrunners and that The Odyssey is among the few that might reach, as Jeremy likes to say, “escape velocity.” But the overall sense of the season is that there are actually enough movies to allow for solid overall grosses even if each would-be tentpole doesn’t secure best-case scenario box office.

Recommended Reading…

* Scott Mendelson is slowly working his way through the CinemaCon punditry.

* Jeremy Fuster (and Casey Loving) go long on something we’ve all discussed since nearly the very first episode, that Jack Black is a butts-in-seats movie star.

* Lisa Laman has finally found an AMC multiplex that she doesn’t despise.

* Ryan Scott notes the one key plot thread amid the second season of Apple’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters that’s essentially cribbed from the 1998 reboot.

* Max Deering tips his hat to Jordan Downey’s The Head Hunter, a very low-budget (around $30,000) hybrid that fuses fantasy with horror while giving each genre comparatively equal footing. Uh… I’m sold.

* Shawn Robbins breaks down the factors that could shape what’s looking like a roughly $70 million Fri-Sun weekend launch for The Mandalorian and Grogu.

If you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe (using a cartoon mallet) with every justified ounce of strength and passion. 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] (which I finally fixed so that it’ll forward to my personal business email, natch).

* 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, Fangoria and Inverse

* Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone

* Shawn Robbins - Box Office Theory

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