Blumhouse Has Handled The M3GAN 2.0 Flop Perfectly

Welcome to MovieNewsPro for Tuesday, July 1st. Here's what you need to know.

🎬 Today's Take

While the industry is talking about the success of Apple's racing hit F1, another big story flooding Hollywood's zone is the disastrous box office for Universal's M3GAN 2.0. This was a film that was initially expected to open at $40 million. Then $30 million. Then $20 million. When the results came in, the movie actually clocked in at just $10 million—disappointing for a film that was perceived as a potential franchise starter (with possible spin-offs).

So how is Blumhouse (the production company behind the movie) handling the disappointment? Instead of hiding, founder Jason Blum immediately reached out to the industry's leading reporter, Matt Belloni, and:

a) admitted it was a misfire, and
b) discussed how his company deals with setbacks, and what others can learn from them.

You can listen to Jason Blum's talk with Matt Belloni here. In today’s world of media spin and alternate PR realities, this is pretty much unheard of, and genuinely one of the most refreshing things I’ve heard in the biz.

Kudos to Jason Blum and his company for acting like normal human beings who are grounded in reality. While many in the business prefer doublespeak and hype, having a studio head come right out and be honest and forthright is not only endearing, it’s the right business move for the long haul.

🎥 Movie News

Oaktree Capital is buying Filmrise! The group plans to merge it with Shout! Studios, and the combined entity will be called Radial Entertainment.(ScreenDaily)

The Jay Duplass directed film, The Baltimorons (love that title) has won the narrative feature audience award at the Nantucket Film Festival. (Variety)

The first trailer for Christopher Nolan's film The Odyssey was leaked online. (Deadline)

Neon has announced it will distribute director Chloe Domont’s A Place In Hell domestically. The film stars Michelle Williams, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Andrew Scott. (IndieWire)

Stop me if you've heard this one before. Reportedly Donald Trump and Paramount are in advanced talks to settle the 60 Minutes lawsuit. (New York Times)

📈 Movie Stock Index

Market Close: Tuesday, July 1st, 2025
Total Value: $110,096.68
Today's Change: -$444.37 (-0.40%)
Total Gain/Loss (Since 05/12/25): $10,096.66 (10.10%)

Another down day for the movie stock index, as we lost $444.37 (-0.40%). Streaming tech company turned indie distributor Cineverse rose (8.16%) sharply. Paramount gained (2.02%) and Apple ticked up slightly (1.29%) on strong F1 box office numbers. AMC dropped (-9.03%) massively today, as theater numbers for the summer have been unimpressive. Warner Brothers Discovery dropped big on heavy volume suggesting either options trading or institutional repositioning.

Disclaimer: The MovieNewsPro Stock Index is a virtual index - there are no actual funds invested. Sector index total value dollar amounts are based on an initial hypothetical investment of $100,000 on May 12th, 2025. MovieNewsPro and/or its publisher may own stock or have interest in the companies mentioned. We are not licensed investment advisors and our information should not be used as investment advice. Invest wisely.

🏆 Upcoming Film Festivals

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czechia - July 4-12
FID Marseille, France - July 8-13
Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland - July 8-13
New York Asian Film Festival, US - July 11-27
Golden Apricot International Film Festival, Armenia - July 13-20
Fantasia International Film Festival, Canada - July 17-August 3
Jerusalem Film Festival, Israel - July 17-27
New Horizons International Film Festival, Poland - July 17-27
Waco Independent Film Festival, US - July 17-20
Burgas International Film Festival, Bulgaria - July 19-25
Malaysia International Film Festival, Malaysia - July 19-27
Cinema Rediscovered, UK - July 23-27
Comic-Con, US - July 24-27
Woods Hole Film Festival, US - July 26-August 2
BlackStar Film Festival, US - July 31-August 3

📺 Watch This Tonight

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Directed by Rob Reiner
This one goes to eleven.

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Disclaimer/Transparency
MovieNewsPro is a film industry news monitoring service. All stories have been previously reported elsewhere and are not exclusive stories to MNP. All information is believed to be accurate at the time of reporting. MovieNewsPro uses a full array of technology to gather information, including machine learning, automation and artificial intelligence throughout its business monitoring, editing and reporting process.