'Superman' Review: A Mixed Bag That Nonetheless Works When It's Not Saddled With Launching the DCU

Happy Monday, folks! So, what did everyone think of Superman?

Over the weekend, Bloomberg reported that Legendary is looking to buy Lionsgate now that the studio has separated itself from Starz. To me, this makes sense on paper, as it would unite two of Hollywood’s smaller buyers and give Legendary access to Lionsgate’s IP. I don’t know what the asking price is, but for Legendary and Lionsgate to survive against deep-pocketed streamers, a team-up of sorts may be necessary, though it would mean one less buyer within the industry.

Speaking of buying, I swear I’m not trying to be an asshole, but I’m not buying this first look at HBO’s new Harry Potter series. I don’t care enough about the Harry Potter franchise to be invested in the show, but the network’s new Boy Wizard is giving major Rachel Maddow vibes. Simply put, this is not a good photo, and HBO was crazy to have released it.

The Harry Potter series will debut in 2027, but before that, you’ll be able to feast your eyes on Christopher Nolan’s big-budget adaptation of The Odyssey. In fact, theaters in Texas and Arizona are already pre-selling tickets to 70mm IMAX screenings of the movie, which doesn’t come out until next July. This is a real “big dick” move from Universal, IMAX, and Nolan, and personally, I love their audacity. Don’t forget that roughly 20 percent of Oppenheimer’s $975 million global haul came from IMAX screenings, and Nolan is filming the entirety of The Odyssey in the large-scale format.

It was a slow news day today, though the Emmy nominations arrive in the morning, and I’ll make sure the next newsletter includes my hour-long chat with director Uwe Boll, who had some… interesting things to say about the industry when we spoke over the weekend.

Tonight, you’ll read about my review of James Gunn’s Superman, as well as my analysis of its box office performance, and why I’d call the film’s opening good but not great, and far from the home run the trades are positioning it as.

There are also items about the new release date of Colleen Hoover’s Verity movie, the CAA agent who is moving into management, the YouTube who just hit 200,000 subscribers, the trailer for Taron Egerton’s Lionsgate thriller She Rides Shotgun, the nepo baby making waves at Hulu, and the latest cast additions to Legendary’s Street Fighter, David Fincher’s follow-up to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Luca Guadagnino’s Open AI movie, and Ryan Murphy’s Love Story series on Netflix.

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