Studio Mandates 2026 — Sony, Universal, Focus, and Lionsgate: PG-13 Horror, Epic Romance, Directorial Palate Cleansers, and 'Familiar Surprises'

Happy Friday, folks!

I’d like to begin with a note of kudos to Universal and Christopher Nolan, who have decided not to screen The Odyssey for so-called influencers, who, I assure you, don’t move the needle in any way, shape, or form. Most of them are annoying industry parasites whose reviews can’t be trusted because they’re largely bought and paid for.

I hate to be accused by the kiddos of “gatekeeping,” but it’s high time that studios abandon this practice and get back to screening their films for professionals who show up to reckon with a piece of art, not take photos of the screen for clout.

Anyway, last night, I paid to see Jackass: Best and Last, and I fucking loved it. I was smiling from ear to ear pretty much the entire time. No one has sacrificed more for their art than Johnny Knoxville and Co. For 25 years, they’ve laid their bodies on the line for our amusement, and I can’t thank them enough for making me laugh over and over again since I was a teenager. They did it with the dumbest shit imaginable, and it worked because it was clear how much love there was among that group of merry pranksters. See this movie!

I haven’t seen DC’s Supergirl movie, and to be honest, I’m not so sure that I will in the wake of the terrible reviews. I have to say, I think this humbling experience will serve as a valuable lesson for DC boss James Gunn, not that I think he’s to blame, since he didn’t write or direct Supergirl and has stayed out of the marketing. But ultimately, he’s responsible for this comic book universe.

I do think that DC’s Clayface movie is going to be a giant hit this fall, so Gunn’s instincts will prove right on that front, especially at such a modest budget level. However, I fear that the takeaway from Supergirl will be a decision to focus strictly on the Big 3 going forward — Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, who is almost definitely being played by Adria Arjona in Man of Tomorrow, Maxima rumors be damned.

But that’s Tomorrow. Today, I have the latest pages from the 19-page document listing Studio Mandates for this summer — a pretty interesting document that I’ve been sharing in its entirety.

Now, I want to be clear about a few things: this is an external document compiled by an agency or management company, and I’m presenting these entries pretty much exactly how they are in the document, with a few formatting and content tweaks based on reporting. That said, I’m “sharing” this stuff more than I am “reporting” it, and I offer my own analysis below as well.

Keep in mind that studio mandates change week-to-week, if not day-to-day, but generally speaking, this document has been spot-on, based on the feedback I’ve received.

Up next will be the town’s major indies — A24, Arena SNK, Artists Equity, Fifth Season, Legendary, Miramax, Studiocanal, Working Title — and the series will conclude with a bang — Amazon MGM, Amazon AI Creative Studio, United Artists, Apple, and Netflix. We’ll see if I break that last entry up into two parts, which would be a very Hollywood thing to do…

However, today, I focus on Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Focus Features, and Lionsgate, which is coming off its biggest box office hit ever in Michael.

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