Latest news with #July2025
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Will ‘Superman' Fly High Or Stay Grounded This Summer Movie Season?
With just three weeks until writer-director James Gunn's Superman soars into theaters on July 11th as the first superhero would-be blockbuster of 2025 summer movie season and the official live-action kickoff of the DCU. Superman hit tracking this week, and early estimates were sort of all over the place. But will Superman fly high or stay grounded this summer movie season? David Corenswet stars in "Superman." Source: Warner The early tracking for Superman ranges from $90-125 million, or $125-145 million, depending on who you ask (the studio points to the lowball numbers). So $125 million is either the high end or low end, and $112 million threads the needle. WBD and DC Studios are sticking to the conservative lower-end predictions, while other tracking and press lean toward the higher range, or at least where the overlap exists. That's why you see competing tracking estimates depending on which media you pay attention to, and why some is lower (again, trying to hedge bets and not get expectations so high that a good opening creates an impression of being 'low'). My current numbers suggest it'll probably open around $120-130 million domestic, with a lowest end of about $100 million and a high end swinging way out to $150 million. This is just domestic box office, remember, without international box office figured in. Forbes Superman Returns (Again) - How James Gunn's Reboot Defines DC's Future By Mark Hughes Where it winds up depends on word-of-mouth over the weekend. So watch the Friday night grade it gets at Cinemascore — A or a A+ grade suggests it will land closer to the higher end or exceed it, and A- grade probably means it'll hit closer to the middle, and anything lower means the low end of expectations. Once we have the weekend numbers, then we can look at the audience grades and how much competition there is for the same demographics in the first two weeks, and from that we can tell what the final multiplier will be — The final multiplier is simple, it just means you look at the total opening weekend box office and then multiply it by a number to get the final box office at the end of it run. For example, if a movie opens at $100 million and has a final multiplier of 3x, that means it's total gross at the end of it theatrical run is three times the amount that made on opening weekend, or in this example $300 million. So if Superman opens to $120 million domestically, then a 3x final multiplier would hypothetically mean it finishes its theatrical run with about $360 million domestic. We need to find out what the final multiplier will be, and as I said that depends on audience word-of-mouth and competition. The Cinemascore grade helps a lot here. Generally speaking, the higher the grade the higher the final multiplier. With a B+ grade for example, you might expect a near 2.5x final multiplier. With an A+ grade, you could get anything from a 3.3x to 4x final multiplier. It's obviously not exact, but it gives you a pretty fair idea of the range. My own moderate guess right now is that Superman will open to $120 million domestic, anywhere from $100 million to $150 million overseas, and with an A audience grade. And I'm currently estimating an opening between $220 million worldwide to $270 million worldwide, with the sweet spot being $245 million, give or take a few million. Forbes New 'Superman' Trailer Hopes To Inspire Audiences To Look Up Once More [Updated] By Mark Hughes If those numbers hold up, including the A grade I'm predicting, then the final multiplier would be anywhere from a low-end 3x to high-end 3.7x is my guess. And that translates to about $660 million to $999 million in total global box office by the end of Superman's theatrical run (I don't expect that high-end number, honestly). The mid range is roughly $830 million. Then we need to consider the competition, and that's where a big secondary question is gonna hold a lot of sway. Jurassic World: Rebirth open a week earlier, and it's probably going to be the biggest film this summer if it's even halfway good. This film should wind up in 2025's final top tier of earners, with Avatar: Fire and Ash undoubtably taking the crown while the rest fight it out for the remaining top spots on year-end charts. Smurfs opens a week later, and while I don't think this one is going to be a runaway animated blockbuster hit to the tune of Disney and Pixar releases, it'll still be successful. I expect $400 million-$500 million, but I haven't done all of my math on this one yet. Then comes Fantastic Four: First Steps two weeks after Superman opens, as probably the biggest relevant challenger. It's going to be a big film, regardless of which of these superhero movies winds up with the biggest numbers for the year. There's a wide range on this MCU franchise-starter, anywhere from $750 million range if it has a softer play, to possibly making a run at $1 billion if it delivers the Marvel goods and plays more like the studio's typical big summer releases. Superman shares some key target demographics with each of those above films, the most important being superhero movie fans and families. Which means week by week, there will be varying forms of competition for some of Superman's key demos. The Jurassic Park sequel will cut into some of the general mainstream audience, particularly those looking for popcorn spectacle, and lots of action fans. Smurfs will, of course cut into the younger audiences and family audiences, but it remains to be seen just how much this will wind up mattering across July (where Superman will make the vast majority of it box). Fantastic Four is the movie that most targets the same audience demographics as Superman . Coming in two weeks later, it has the potential to eat more into Superman's weekly holds. But as we have seen in the past, audiences are also more than willing to reward multiple big movies that are in theaters at the same time, if they're good. In fact, if they're good enough, often times movies like this will make audienced so happy that they go out to see the other films as well, actually boosting one another's box office instead of suppressing it. But that's a magical situation we can't really count on or gauge with our numbers, so it's just something to keep in mind as an unexpected hypothetical. Forbes Box Office Predictions Summer 2025: 'Superman,' 'Jurassic Park' And More By Mark Hughes I don't expect any magical outlier scenarios here. It appears inevitable that some audience will drop off from Superman once there's another superhero film on the market. The question is how much all of these films (opening a week before Superman , a week after, and two weeks after) suppress Superman's potential box office. If as I suspect Jurassic Park is the biggest film of the summer, the second-biggest of summer should wind up being one of these superhero movies. I'm inclined to give Marvel the edge, because history suggests they have it. But we are in very different times, so it's hard to say for sure. As much enthusiasm as there is for Superman , it's undeniable that audiences mostly turned against DC's brand for a while, so we'll find out if viewers are ready to give DC another shot, or if people instead take a wait-and-see approach. A wait-and-see approach could potentially be a problem for Superman , because anything longer than about 10 days of waiting and it becomes increasingly more likely those audiences will decide to see the Marvel movie in theaters and catch DC on streaming. I'm not saying this will be a big portion of audience, I just think it's relevant enough that I'm inclined not to expect Superman to finish at the highest end of potential, unless we see opening weekend and second weekend numbers pointing in that direction. That's not saying it won't do well, since I do think it will be a huge hit in one of the years biggest blockbusters. Taking all of this together now, I think we are looking at maybe 15-20% suppression rate of demographic attendance across Superman's second, third, and fourth weekends. So I am currently guessing it will finish somewhere between about $600 million and $800 million worldwide. But this is still early, so as we enter July the data will get better and we'll have enough pre-sales and awareness data to make much better predictions. The two big unknown factors on which it will all hinge are, as I said, Fantastic Four's performance, and the 'Krypto factor.' That awesome dog could wind up being so popular and pull in many people who otherwise wouldn't have shown up, and could be a breakout star with kids in the audience. That's the sort of thing that we can't gauge yet, but if it happens, then it introduces a much better chance of a rising tide lifting all boats toward higher end of potential. If anyone can deliver that, it's James Gunn. His track record (box office and qualitatively) speaks for itself, and I think everything we've seen from this movie so far looks like everything Superman needed in order to have a chance at reaching his full box office potential. If the movie delivers on the promise of the trailers and is as good as early scenes look, then it's bound to succeed — because if it doesn't, then frankly I don't even know what you could possibly do with this character that audiences would show up for anymore. As long as Superman does at least $700 million, DC Studios and Warner Brothers are going to be happy. Anything north of that, and they're gonna be ecstatic. Forbes Counting Down And Ranking All 11 Superman Movies From Best To Worst By Mark Hughes Anything less than $700 million, though, and it starts to look even more similar to what happened last time than it already does. I don't expect this type of outcome at all, but if it happens, then I would guess it's because Jurassic Park is so immensely popular it keeps eating the box office, plus Fantastic Four shows up and picks up where Jurassic Park left off by owning too much of the box office as well. Meanwhile, Smurfs overperforming even a little bit and generating a moderate equivalent of 'Minions fever' among younger kids would make it into a long haul competitor as well. If all of this happened, and if audience disinterest in DC movies continued to linger too much, and if Superman itself was actually not as good as the trailers look, and if as a result the film is front loaded with fans and interested parties getting those advance tickets (thus causing a big drop off week to week after a huge debut, akin to Batman v Superman having a record-setting worldwide opening weekend but then falling off the cliff at the box office each subsequent weekend, then I think Superman would in this scenario wind up at the lower end of potential. In this obviously HIGHLY unlikely series of negative events piling up, Superman would probably wind up finishing somewhere in the $500+ million range. That's not good, to be sure, but the reason even this train wreck scenario still gets it to a non-trainwreck number (again, the last nine DCEU releases in a row across five years each failed to reach $400 million except the Aquaman sequel that limped across that threshold) is because those advance ticket numbers, it's online footprint, and the related overindexing demographic data all suggest enough interest to put the right number of the right butts in seats. But technically, if everything went bad enough, and the movie absolutely sucked, and if some huge economic disaster took place nationwide, then it could certainly flop to the tune of something like $350 million-$400 million. It happens sometimes, more so recently, as we've seen. Hopefully, though, it's clear how unlikely all of that is. If we walk backwards from here, then it starts to become more clear that the context and theatrical marketplace is all primed for the arrival of Superman . Putting up $700 million, after the past nine years of DCEU films struggling to reach $400 million, would signal a reversal of fortunes for WBD's plans for a larger shared universe of their most valuable stable of characters. Forbes 'Superman' Soars In His Best Film With 4K 40-Year Anniversary Release By Mark Hughes While I do think it would've perhaps been a bit wiser to wait an additional year to put even more distance between Superman and the previous DCU, it's also impossible to predict what the future holds in store – another pandemic? worse economic pain? a war? social and political unrest? Any of those, or all of them combined as the unfortunate situation may be, could lurk around the corner. Audience tastes also change, and technology moves forward in ways that could disrupt everything even more (AI is increasingly adopted into filmmaking, more than most of the public and even folks working in Hollywood seem to grasp yet, and it will only increase in the coming months and year). So my own sense that it would've been best to let the DCEU memories fade more, I also expected The Batman: Part II to release this year or next, and without that there's more reason for DC to want and need Superman sooner instead of later. Fans should rest easy that all signs, even from a conservative reading, point to this movie doing well enough to be successful, even if that success is only moderate compared to expectations and hopes. A bad scenario, while possible, would more likely look like about $500 million worldwide gross and involve enough external factors to call it a mulligan, especially if reviews and audience scores are good, and if The Batman sequel and other DC projects are shaping up well. Of course, as the days and weeks progress, I will continue fine-tuning my estimates and have more solid final numbers before opening weekend arives. More likely is that Superman is catching the mainstream global public's attention in a way he hasn't for a long time (although the fantastic Superman & Lois series was sort of proof of concept that a more earnest and relationship-driven approach was a winning formula). While I do currently expect Marvel to win the superhero match up this summer, I don't think it's at all a sure thing and I think with Krypto's help Superman definitely has a fair chance to score an upset victory.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Boston Side Events lineup at TechCrunch All Stage with Fidelity Private Shares, Women Tech Meetup, Prepare 4 VC, and more
Get ready to amplify your TechCrunch All Stage 2025 experience with the electrifying lineup of Side Events taking Boston by storm during the week of July 13–19. As the countdown to TC All Stage begins, we're thrilled to share our Side Events lineup, where you can foster meaningful connections within the vibrant Boston tech community. Whether you're a seasoned industry pro or a budding entrepreneur, our Side Events promise an unforgettable week filled with networking opportunities, innovation showcases, and engaging conversations. So mark your calendars, secure your spot, and dive into the excitement of TC All Stage Week like never before! Quick Side Event disclaimers: Hosted by: Palm Venture StudiosTime: 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET The startup life can be a lonely journey — this is a night to come together, have some fun, and remember you're not alone in riding the roller coaster of building. Just founders sharing real stories and the lessons they learned the hard way. – Drinks and food– Networking– Real founders, real stories Hosted by: WithumTime: 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET Kick off TechCrunch Boston with Withum, UBS and a dynamic group of founders for a fast-paced, 30-minute fireside chat for tech founders. We'll cover what matters most right now, from an economic update to breaking down QSBS stock, equity structures, and insights from the proposed One Big Beautiful also hear directly from startup founders as they share lessons learned, growth strategies, and how they're building in today's evolving landscape. Join us for candid conversation, real takeaways, and meaningful connections with fellow tech entrepreneurs in a high-energy, founder-first setting. Start your TechCrunch Boston experience with an impactful fireside chat covering today's economic climate, QSBS, equity insights, and real-world advice from startup leaders. Hosted by: American South Asian Network (ASAN)Time: 5:15 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. ETJoin us for an engaging evening of networking, insightful discussions, and cultural celebration. Connect with South Asian entrepreneurs, creatives, and professionals, and explore the vibrant contributions of the South Asian community across various industries. More details on our registration page! REGISTER HERE Hosted by: Women Tech Meetup, Techstars, Puzzle, and Venture LaneTime: 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. ETBoston! Calling all women in tech, allies, friends, and partners! Join our Women Tech Meetup: Raising on Your Terms, hosted by Techstars and Venture Lane, as an official Side Event of TechCrunch All Stage. Enjoy complimentary drinks and snacks, engaging conversations, networking, and a beautiful venue Additionally, we will host a panel discussion on fundraising, venture capital, and the challenges that female founders face on their journey to building successful companies, along with strategies to overcome them. Agenda listed on our registration page. REGISTER HERE Hosted by: Puzzle and Fidelity Private SharesTime: 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. ETCome hungry. Leave inspired. Building a startup is a wild ride — so let's hit pause and and connect over great food and even better company Join us for our special breakfast as a Side Event of TechCrunch All Stage, designed for founders navigating the highs and lows of scaling, fundraising, and everything in between. Co-hosted by Puzzle and Fidelity Private Shares. Swap lessons learned and insider tips, biggest wins and toughest challenges, as well as fresh perspectives with fellow founders who truly get it. REGISTER HERE Hosted by: Prepare 4 VCTime: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. ETThe Breakthrough Summit is the grand finale of the Prepare 4 VC Breakthrough Program — a 10-week founder acceleration journey that pushes beyond theory into transformative action. This isn't a demo day. This is a celebration of resilience, growth, and traction. You're invited to witness 10 bold, ambitious founding teams as they take the stage to share:– Their pitch-ready ventures.– Personal breakthrough moments.– Traction gained through the program.– The next big leaps they're preparing for. All framed by the powerful community of mentors, investors, and partners who made it possible. REGISTER HERE Hosted by: Onshape by PTCTime: 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. ETJoin us for our next Happy Hour event with early-stage founders, top investors, and engineers shaping the future of product design. Hear from Jon Hirschtick and John McEleney, co-founders of SolidWorks and Onshape, in a panel session on building, scaling, and fundraising for venture-backed startups. Plus, hear firsthand from AWS on how to build scalable, secure infrastructure for your startup. Whether you're in Boston for TechCrunch All Stage or building your breakthrough product, you won't want to miss this! REGISTER HERE Hosted by: Æthos FoundationTime: 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. ETJoin our ecosystem for an evening of guiding society towards AI that truly serve humanity, and for drinks. An entrepreneur, a professor, and a public servant walk into a bar… Come see whether they walk out with a new understanding of what makes AI responsible. Æthos has built AI startup hubs in Boston and Berlin over the past year around a mission to construct strong practical norms for ethical AI. We bring together start ups with leaders from government, big tech, academia, and investment to build these norms. The usual place, unusual people: the best minds Boston has to offer on July 16th. REGISTER HERE Hosted by: Remotesome and DeelTime: 5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. ETUnlock the secrets to building high-performing teams and scaling your startup with confidence. Join us for Scaling Teams Efficiently — an exclusive event bringing together leaders from top venture capital firms and growth-stage startups to share their unfiltered experiences on what truly drives success after funding rounds. You can find more info on expectations, agenda, etc., on our registration page. REGISTER HERE Hosted by: Northeastern University College of Arts, Media and DesignTime: 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ETPlease join us for this engaging panel discussion with local thought leaders about best practices to engage with universities to empower business growth. After the panel, there will be an opportunity to network with fellow founders, university representatives, and students. Please come prepared for a lively discussion with an open mind and lots of questions! REGISTER HERE
Geek Tyrant
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Trailer For Jamie Foxx and Robert De Niro's Action Thriller TIN SOLDIER — GeekTyrant
Here's a trailer for a upcoming action thriller titled Tin Soldier , which stars Jamie Foxx, Robert De Niro, Scott Eastwood, and John Leguizamo. With a great cast like that, you might expect a good movie, but this looks super generic! I'm not sure how they pulled that casting off! The synopsis for the film reads: 'Jamie Foxx will put you under his spell in this cult compound extraction thriller. The Bokushi preaches to hundreds of war veterans, drawn to the promise of protection and purpose under him. 'Surrounded by his devout military-trained followers, he has built an impenetrable fortress & amassed an arsenal. After several failed infiltration attempts, the government – in the form of operative Emmanuel Ashburn – recruits Nash Cavanaugh, an ex-special forces asset, who was once a disciple of The Bokushi. 'Nash agrees to use his vulnerable past & insider knowledge of the enigmatic leader to finally get revenge on the man who took everything from him, including the love of his life.' Tin Soldier is directed by Brad Furman (The Take, The Lincoln Lawyer, Runner Runner) and it's set to be released direct-to-streaming in the UK on July 23rd, 2025.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marvel unveils new Fantastic Four popcorn bucket – and it gives us our best look yet at the titular team's ship Excelsior (AKA the one that's not in Thunderbolts*)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Move over, Galactus! Marvel is clearly hoping fans can stretch their budgets to two popcorn buckets when seeing The Fantastic Four: First Steps, now that it's unveiled a new design centered on Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards. Not only does the second bucket offer up some cool retro lettering, Richard's elongated arms, and our best look yet at the superheroes' suits, we also get a great glimpse at Excelsior, the First Family's ship. Due to its 'F4' emblem and similar silhouette, many assumed that their spacecraft was the one spotted in the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene, but Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige later squashed the theory. "Their ship is the Excelsior, and there is a Fantastic Four ship entering the MCU... But I'm not sure they're the same ship," he told Empire Magazine (via Culture Crave). On the bucket, the differences are clearer, particularly when it comes to the boosters and landing legs. Consider us intrigued! Also starring Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Vanessa Kirby, The Fantastic Four: First Steps releases on July 25, 2025. The titular team are set to face off against Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) and Galactus (Ralph Ineson) in the flick, though it's no surprise we should expect some multiversal shenanigans, too, given the fact that they're clearly not on the same timeline as Captain America, Yelena Bolova, and the rest of the MCU's big players currently. While we wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows on the way, as well as our guide to how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
TechCrunch
a day ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Cathy Gao's bringing the real playbook to TC All Stage
Growth-stage fundraising is picking up speed again, but it's not the same game it used to be. At TechCrunch All Stage 2025 on July 15 in Boston, we're bringing in someone who knows how the rules have changed and how to win in today's market: Cathy Gao, partner at Sapphire Ventures. Gao has backed breakout startups like Culture Amp, Gem, Sword Health, and EliseAI. She's sat on both sides of the table as an investor and operator. At Gusto, she helped scale post–Series B. Now, she's helping founders cut through the noise and land deals in an increasingly competitive environment. Don't miss Cathy's insights. Register before June 23 to save up to $210. This isn't theory. This is what's working now. In her session 'The New Rules of Growth-Stage Fundraising: How to Win at Raising a Series C & Beyond,' Gao will unpack how GenAI is driving a resurgence in later-stage funding — and why most founders still miss the mark. She'll break down what top-tier investors are really looking for in today's deals, how to sharpen your pitch, and where to focus if you're raising in the $30M+ range. If you're scaling a breakout AI company or just trying to stay relevant in this high-stakes landscape, this is the tactical session you don't want to miss. TC All Stage is one day. But what you learn will power your scaling. TechCrunch All Stage 2025 kicks off July 15 at Boston's SoWa Power Station, powered by Fidelity Private Shares. It's a full day of founder how-to, hard-won lessons, and high-impact conversations with the people actually writing the checks at every stage of scaling. Bring your cofounder. Your head of finance. Your future term sheet. Just don't miss Cathy. Register now to save up to $210 before the June 22 deadline at 11:59 p.m. PT.
