The complicated new math of films distributed by obscenely wealthy streaming companies where it hardly matters if a $55 million flick like Zendaya’s Challengers makes a rate-of-return profit on theatrical alone. What is the “success” point for these “theatrical as PR for streaming” movies in terms of making the distributors happy with the box office results? How good (or bad) is a $15 million opening for a film like Challengers amid the current status quo compared to the mid-2010s when studio programmers were in a healthier place?

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