SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT

 

Actors don’t just light up the screen — they light up the feed. Social Spotlight takes a look at how today’s stars promote their movies through the platforms that matter.

The round we have an Instagram post from Pokemon star Peyton List....

PREMIERE MAGAZINE #361

 

The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 37 Round 1)

 

Season 37 is officially underway, and I’ll say this much: I’m already more encouraged than I was at this point last season. We’ve got a gigantic family blockbuster carrying the box office, an actual grown-up thriller that respects its audience, and only one film that left me wondering whether the filmmakers ever figured out what movie they were making. Here's The Roundup....

DEADLINE

Thank God for grown-up movies. Seriously. Deadline is exactly the kind of film LRF doesn’t make often enough: smart adults in rooms talking about consequential things, with actual tension coming from information, deadlines, competing interests, and whether anyone can prove what they think they know. Tony Gilroy was obviously a natural fit for this material, and the ensemble is loaded with actors who can make dialogue feel like action. George Clooney, Rebecca Hall, Mark Duplass, John Goodman, Stephen Root — this is a cast built for a movie where people actually have to hold the screen without explosions happening behind them.

And apparently LRF can make political thrillers after all. The studio hasn’t spent much time in this genre, but Deadline makes a pretty convincing argument that maybe it should. You don’t need superheroes or serial killers to create suspense. Sometimes you just need smart people chasing a dangerous story.

POKÉMON

I’m going to admit something immediately: I don’t know Pokémon. I know Pikachu. I know there are approximately eleven billion other creatures. Beyond that, you’re asking the wrong guy. And maybe that actually makes me a useful test audience. Because I enjoyed this movie. Pokémon managed to build a strange, colorful world filled with creatures and terminology I had almost no familiarity with without ever making me feel completely lost. More importantly, it actually felt like a genuine family movie — something kids can get excited about without making every adult in the theater stare desperately at the exit.

There’s adventure, humor, spectacle, and enough personality in the Pokémon themselves that you understand pretty quickly why this franchise has lasted for decades. I still couldn’t name half the things I just watched. But I had fun watching them. That counts.

BOX OFFICE

Well, Season 37 certainly didn’t ease into things financially. Let’s be clear: this is mostly the Pokémon show. That movie did the overwhelming majority of the heavy lifting, but when one film makes that much money, nobody in accounting is going to complain about how the workload was distributed.

After spending most of Season 36 watching major successes repeatedly get undermined by expensive bombs, it’s refreshing to see the studio open a season with this much breathing room. Deadline chipped in a profit as well, which certainly helps. But Pokémon basically walked into Round 1, dumped a truckload of money onto LRF’s doorstep, and said, “You’re welcome.” There are worse ways to begin a season.

THE PASSAGEWAY

I’m not entirely sure The Passageway knew what The Passageway was. Horror? Mystery? Thriller? Apparently the answer was “all three,” except it never committed strongly enough to any of them for the combination to become interesting. That’s the problem.

There’s nothing wrong with blending genres — some of the best movies ever made do exactly that. But each element still has to contribute something. Here, the horror wasn’t particularly frightening, the mystery never became especially compelling, and the thriller elements struggled because I wasn’t terribly invested in discovering what happened next. Then you get to the actual story, which somehow feels simultaneously complicated and underwritten. That's an impressive trick. Mostly, I spent the movie waiting for everything to finally click into place. It never did.

Great poster, though.

RAMI MALEK

I’ve tried. I really have. I just don’t see Rami Malek as a leading man. Obviously, Bohemian Rhapsody was enormous, and Malek won every award imaginable playing Freddie Mercury. Nobody can take that away from him. But at some point, I think we have to separate “starred in a massively successful movie” from “is a movie star.” Those aren't necessarily the same thing.

Malek has an unusual screen presence, which can absolutely work in the right supporting role or with a particularly strange character. What I don’t see is the kind of natural charisma that makes me want to follow him through an entire movie simply because he’s the guy at the center of it. The Passageway needed somebody capable of pulling the audience through a confusing story. Malek never did that for me. Maybe Bohemian Rhapsody was the perfect storm: famous music, famous subject, huge built-in audience, and a transformative performance. Because outside of Freddie Mercury? I remain unconvinced.

DOWNS

I hate to admit this, but.... I don't have enough to complain about. What the hell am I supposed to do with that? This was a pretty solid opening round. Pokémon was a massive hit. Deadline was good. Even the one movie I didn't particularly like, The Passageway, at least gave me a terrific poster to look at.

Usually by the end of Round 1 I've got a list of grievances long enough to fill this column twice. That's not the case so far. That's obviously great news for LRF. It's slightly more concerning for my continued employment.

ON LOCATION (SEASON 37 ROUND 1)

 

Pokémon

- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Deadline

- Washington, DC, USA

The Passageway

- Cork, Ireland

Box Office Breakdown (Season 37 Round 1)

 

POKEMON

Budget: $165,000,000

Total Box Office: $776,788,299

Total Profit: $340,019,100

LRF's first live-action trip into the world of Pokémon became an immediate heavyweight at the box office, nearly reaching $800 million worldwide and generating more than twice its production budget in pure profit. The performance instantly establishes the property as one of the studio's most valuable new franchises.

BOX OFFICE FACT

Star Noah Schnapp now has two major LRF video game franchises on his résumé — playing Ash Ketchum in Pokémon and voicing Link in The Legend of Zelda. The first films in those two franchises have combined to gross just under $1.25 billion worldwide.

GENRE RANKINGS

Fantasy: #5

Adventure: #5

THE PASSAGEWAY

Budget: $33,000,000

Total Box Office: $47,062,055

Total Profit: -$15,100,001

Despite a manageable $33 million production budget, The Passageway failed to find enough of an audience to cover its full costs. The horror mystery ultimately finished more than $15 million in the red, making it Season 37's first financial casualty.

BOX OFFICE FACT

Rami Malek's first LRF appearance since Season 11 is just the second box office flop on his resume - joining The Story of the Assassin, which lost $81 million in Season 8. 

GENRE RANKINGS

Horror: #115

Mystery: #42

Thriller: #123

DEADLINE

Budget: $54,000,000

Total Box Office: $112,721,449

Total Profit: $4,138,247

Deadline more than doubled its production budget at the worldwide box office, but the final accounting left very little behind once additional costs were factored in. Its $4.1 million profit keeps the film technically above water and, more importantly, gives one of LRF's traditionally difficult genres its first positive result.

BOX OFFICE FACT

Deadline becomes the first film classified under LRF's Political genre to turn a profit at the box office.

GENRE RANKINGS

Drama: #93

Political: #1

Thriller: #51

Season 37 Round 1 Total Box Office:

$936,571,803

Season 37 Round 1 Total Profit:

$329,057,346

Round 1 was overwhelmingly powered by Pokémon, which accounted for roughly 83% of the round's worldwide box office and actually generated more profit than the round's final total after The Passageway's loss was factored in. It was therefore an excellent opening round financially, even if the strength was concentrated almost entirely in one release.

Season 37 Total Box Office:

$936,571,803

Season 37 Total Profit:

$329,057,346

Season 37 begins with nearly $937 million in worldwide box office and $329 million in profit, giving LRF an enormous head start compared with the mediocre financial finish of Season 36. One round is far too early to judge the season as a whole, however, and the opening slate was heavily dependent on a single blockbuster rather than across-the-board strength.

SEASON 37 BOX OFFICE STANDINGS

1. Pokémon — $776,788,299 👑

2. Deadline — $112,721,449 ⚖️

3. The Passageway — $47,062,055 💣

LRF TRIVIA TIDBITS (SEASON 37 ROUND 1)

 

Season 37 opens with three very different kinds of production decisions—one blockbuster wrestling with the sheer scale of its source material, one original project simplified for marketing clarity, and one casting change caused by the increasingly complicated demands of franchise filmmaking.

POKEMON
One of the biggest challenges facing the filmmakers of LRF’s big-budget live-action Pokémon adaptation was deciding which creatures to feature from a franchise with hundreds of instantly recognizable characters. Rather than overcrowd the film, the creative team ultimately leaned heavily on classic fan favorites like Pikachu and Charizard, using the most iconic Pokémon as the foundation for introducing the world to a broader audience.

THE PASSAGEWAY
When the project was first pitched to the studio, it carried the considerably longer title The Passageway: A Bone Orchard Mythos. LRF ultimately dropped the subtitle after the marketing department argued that, without an already established franchise behind it, “A Bone Orchard Mythos” was more likely to confuse prospective audiences than entice them.

DEADLINE
Harris Dickinson was originally offered the role of Sam, eventually played by Harry Lawtey, but scheduling and physical preparation forced him to pass. Dickinson was already deep into training to return to superhero shape for the third Atlantis film, due later in Season 37, leaving Deadline to recast the role with Lawtey.

Release: Deadline

 

Deadline

Genre: Drama/Thriller/Political

Director: Tony Gilroy

Writers: Jimmy Ellis & Chad Taylor

Cast: George Clooney, Rebecca Hall, Cailee Spaeny, Mark Duplass, Harry Lawtey, Tim Allen, John Goodman, Anthony Edwards, Mare Winningham, Stephen Root

Budget: $54,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $69,022,105

Foreign Box Office: $43,699,344

Total Profit: $4,138,247

Reaction: An expensive adult drama making any profit  is always a win - even if it is just $4 million.

"Deadline is an intelligent, tightly wound newsroom thriller that understands journalism is often less about chasing villains than chasing certainty. Tony Gilroy directs with his usual precision, George Clooney delivers one of his strongest late-career performances, and Rebecca Hall and Cailee Spaeny provide compelling emotional counterweights. The final act leaves some questions deliberately unanswered, but that's precisely what gives the film its lingering power." - Reggie Coscarelli, San Fernando Valley Sun

"Deadline is gripping for most of its runtime, but its refusal to answer the central mystery ultimately feels more frustrating than profound. Tony Gilroy expertly captures the tension of investigative journalism, yet the screenplay spends two hours building toward revelations it ultimately declines to deliver. Strong performances, particularly from George Clooney and Cailee Spaeny, keep it compelling, but some audiences may leave feeling the film mistakes ambiguity for sophistication." - Joseph Thornton, Mercury News

"Deadline is a confident and atmospheric political thriller that leans into restraint and intelligence over giant spectacle. The dual-newsroom structure is compelling, creating a strong thematic clash between integrity and survival, while the Washington setting feels lived-in and authentic. The story builds tension effectively, even if it opts for a subdued, morally ambiguous resolution rather than a traditional climax. The performances from the whole cast were great with, Clooney, Spaeny and Duplass in particular sticking out to me. With a stronger emotional throughline, this could have easily risen into top-tier prestige territory, but the film, how it was delivered, falls just short." - Jonah Halberg, The Atlantic

Rated R for language, sexual content, and thematic material.