Good morning! OpenAI taps Instacart CEO Fidji Simo for leadership role, where the new Pope stands, and CAA's Maha Dakhil is optimistic about this summer's box office.- Summer Smash. News that President Donald Trump wants to put a 100% tariff on films made outside of the U.S. couldn't come at a worse time for Hollywood, as the movie industry is already trying to climb out from underneath an unprecedented streak of bad luck. Covid-19 shut down theaters and production, strikes prolonged the recovery, and then Hollywood was caught, quite literally, in the middle of the Los Angeles fires earlier this year. At the same time, viewers became increasingly accustomed to watching films from the comfort of their homes, where they can add subtitles and pause to use the bathroom as needed. Despite all the headwinds, one top industry player remains optimistic about what's to come.
Over the past few weeks, something feels like it’s shifting in Hollywood’s favor, says Maha Dakhil, managing director and co-head of Creative Arts Agency's international film group who represents A-listers like Tom Cruise. The recent success of films like Ryan Coogler's Sinners, an R-rated horror film that has become a movie-going event, has reinvigorated the industry, she says. So far, Sinners has grossed nearly $245 worldwide, making it one of the most successful original scripts in years, and it is set to be re-released on IMax screens due to overwhelming demand. Much of the success is being attributed to word-of-mouth from other theater-goers, a major coup.
And then there's the runaway success of A Minecraft Movie, which is nearing a $1 billion box office, and early success for Disney's Thunderbolts. Where industry analysts expected the release of Thunderbolts, a Marvel movie, to steal audiences away from Sinners, both continue to perform well.
"The result with Sinners I think gains a different level of inspiration that is uplifting, and inspires artists and studios and advocates and producers alike to not just keep going, but to go with gusto," Dakhil says. "It's just good for all of us. It's good for the business."
With all of that momentum building, the fledgling summer season—historically Hollywood's most profitable box office period—looks even more promising, with those in the industry hopeful 2025 will be the year ticket sales rebound to pre-Covid levels. Final Destination: Bloodlines is part of a popular international franchise that is tracking well ahead of its release next week, and the Cruise-starring Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning—which Dakhil is, understandably, particularly excited about—is tracking for a franchise-best opening. When Mission Impossible is coupled with the release of Disney's Lilo & Stitch live action, Hollywood could see an extremely lucrative Memorial Day haul.
Past the summer, Dakhil says more deals are being executed and more excitement is building about what's to come. Despite the many headwinds the industry has faced over the past few years—and no matter how many times onlookers say movies are dead—it keeps roaring back.
"You can lean into all the reasons the movie business is over or dying, and then you're just part of fulfilling that prophecy," she says. "Our plan to move forward is to move forward."
Alicia Adamczykalicia.adamczyk@fortune.com
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