Family Friendly Movies Remain In Demand, But Success Is Hard To Predict
Karate Kid: Legends' slow start makes How To Train Your Dragon a crucial test for Universal.
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It's Monday, June 2nd. Here's what's happening.
🍿 The Big Picture
The box office success of both A Minecraft Movie and Lilo and Stitch proves that family friendly films remain in demand. The somewhat sluggish returns of Karate Kid: Legends ($21 million over the weekend) may give some pause, but one has to wonder who that particular film is aimed at: child or parent (some might say the latter). The upcoming How To Train Your Dragon release (June 13) will try to find that sweet spot, making this an interesting release for Universal.
🎥 Extra Coverage
At press time, Disney was reportedly laying off hundreds, the majority in the TV & film divisions. The moves were seen as part of an overall cost cutting measure. (Deadline)
The stakes couldn't be higher for the July 11th release of Warner Bros.' new Superman film - not just for the DC library, but for the superhero genre in general. (TheWrap)
Tudum, a live celebration of all things Netflix, has been receiving mixed reviews. (Variety)
Michael, the Lionsgate Michael Jackson biopic from director Antoine Fuqua, has pushed back its release to 2026. 22 days of additional photography are now in the works. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Lilo and Stitch continues to roar, blowing away all expectations at the box office ($280 million domestic as of Friday). The film wasn't even supposed to go to theaters, it was originally a Disney+ property. (New York Times)
📈 MNP Stock Index
Market Close: Monday, June 2nd, 2025
Total Value: $108,458.75
Today's Change: -$552.31 (-0.51%)
Total Gain/Loss (Since 05/12/25): $8,458.72 (8.46%)
Pure play streamers (Netflix and Roku) advanced today, while theaters (AMC, Cinemark, Imax, Marcus) declined. Horror studio/streamer Cineverse had a great day, closing up 6.29%.
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🏆 Film Festivals
SXSW London, June 2-7
Lighthouse International Film Festival, US - June 4-8
New Media Film Festival, US - June 4-5
Sydney Film Festival, Australia - June 4-15
Tribeca Film Festival, US - June 4-15
Guadalajara International Film Festival, Mexico - June 6-14
Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market, France - June 8-14
American Black Film Festival, US - June 11-15
Provincetown International Film Festival, US - June 11-15
DC/DOX Film Festival, US - June 12-15
Monte Carlo Television Festival, Monaco - June 13-17
Transilvania International Film Festival, Romania - June 13-22
Bentonville Film Festival, US - June 16-22
CineEurope, Spain - June 16-19
📺 Watch This Tonight
My Neighbor Totoro (1998)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Cat bus! Surreal, hypnotic and heartwarming, My Neighbor Totoro is as good as animation gets.
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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.
