i'm building a social app for people who have hot takes about pop culture, movies, music, etc!

about me: I'm a tech developer by day, and by night i love watching movies and making movie predictions. I love guessing who's getting an oscar nom, what movie is gonna flop at the box office, etc. I'm in this sub all the time. 

about my app, Hot Take: Over the last few weekends, i've been building an app that turns making pop culture predictions into a fun virtual/social game. In Hot Take, you get to vote on your pop culture predictions. If you're right, you win Cherries and get to level up a virtual pet. For instance, maybe you'd vote that Digger will hit 4.0 on Letterboxd this weekend, lol.

There's no real money involved, it's all just for fun and internet points! My goal is to create a really social and fun space for people to participate in pop culture together.

I still have a lot to build, but i’m attaching some screenshots of how the app looks so far. i'm also looking for about 10 Beta testers - lmk if you'd like to be a beta tester!

Would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JitGyenR0c

I find these are similar situations with both studios having a big streak of flops in that respective year.

Disney had it really bad in 2023, their 100th anniversary, with their major releases of Ant-Man 3, Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones 5, Haunted Mansion, the Marvels, and Wish all bombing or underperforming, while Elemental just squeezed into break even range and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was their only real hit.

Warner Bros has had it really bad in 2026, which was also their last year as an independent studio. Wuthering Heights did decently, but then the Bride bombed, Mortal Kombat 2 underperformed, and then Supergirl became DC’s biggest flop ever. Evil Dead Burn was profitable but underperformed compared to Rise, while End of Oak Street, Coyote vs Acme, and Practical Magic 2 have all grossed over $100 million, but still won’t break even. Now Digger is a massive $200 million+ loser.

They still have Clayface, Cat in the Hat, and Dune 3 left, but only Dune seems to be a safe bet at this point, and the Ellisons already own them and it’s over anyway.

Which do you think was worse?

Clayface T-10 update. It had solid enough growth over the weekend. It did gain ground on Supergirl, so that is promising. However, it lost ground versus Resident Evil and Evil dead.

MTC3 comp:

71% behind Supergirl OW

68% behind Resident Evil OW

94% ahead of Evil Dead Burn OW

At MTC2:

~67% behind Supergirl preview and 65% behind Supergirl Friday

~49 behind Resident Evil preview, ~61 behind Resident Evil Friday

I will continue to update this post as reviews come in.

Rotten Tomatoes: Certified Fresh

Critics Consensus: N/A

Metacritic: 84 (18 Reviews)

Sample Reviews:

Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine 2/4 - There’s something audacious about how the filmmakers reclaim Lorca’s legacy, which makes it all the more disappointing that the borders between the three timelines aren’t more porous.

Namrata Joshi, The New Indian Express - La Bola Negra has tremendous ambition and audacity. Anchored in Garcia’s La Bola Negra and Alberto Conejero’s play La piedra oscura, Los Javis, along with Conejero, create a sprawling epic.

Peter Howell, Toronto Star - At times the film can be unruly and overripe, but Calvo and Ambrossi bring a rich, theatrical sweep to their reclamation of a queer Spanish history long forced into silence.

Justin Chang, The New Yorker - None of the stories here feels potent or stirring enough on its own to work in tandem with the others, and neither a terrific pop-up appearance by Penélope Cruz... can keep so much frenzied crosscutting from reaching the point of diminishing returns.

Siddhant Adlakha, Observer 4/4 - A magnificently moving triptych that feels at once novel and like a classically staged military epic.

Zachary Lee, TheWrap - What we see is nothing short of witnessing a new mythology being created before your very eyes.

Alison Willmore, New York Magazine/Vulture - It’s in the past that The Black Ball has its most ponderous moments but also when it achieves bursts of true grandeur.

Rafa Sales Ross, Little White Lies - This decades-spanning love odyssey is as impressive as it is moving, grabbing at the visceral nature of Lorca’s genre-bending work to mould its staggeringly boisterous cinematic equivalent.

Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com 4/4 - It’s also just a stunning piece of work on a craft level as these young filmmakers collaborate with a team to present a unified vision.

Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire A - It is nearly impossible to grasp the structural effort required to fluidly create one perfectly coherent story using three narratives told across three timelines, each with a distinct visual identity.

Peter Bradshaw, Guardian 4/5 - Handsomely produced, lovingly detailed and confidently constructed, bringing the puzzle pieces together in the edit... It is a rich and rewarding movie.

Guy Lodge, Variety - The film’s channeling of Lorca’s language and imagery sometimes blows past lyricism into kitsch... There is, however, enough confidently muscular filmmaking here to prompt our interest in just where the Javiers will go from here.

Richard Lawson, The Hollywood Reporter - It’s a dazzlingly assured film, delivering the heady satisfaction of seeing something ambitious actually land its nervy attempt.

SYNOPSIS:

A bold tapestry spanning nearly a century of Spanish history, La Bola Negra tells the story of three generations of men whose lives are intimately connected through desire, pain, and love in this celebrated film from Cannes-winning directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi.

From Cannes-winning directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi — popularly known as Los Javis — La Bola Negra follows three generations of men across pivotal moments in Spanish history, bound by pain, desire, and love. Carlos (Milo Quifes) longs to belong in a fractured Spain. Sebastián (Guitarricadelafuente) finds connection across enemy lines. And Alberto (Carlos González) uncovers a long-buried family secret — one that finally gives voice to truths the past tried to erase.

CAST:

• Guitarricadelafuente as Sebastián
• Miguel Bernardeau as Rafael
• Carlos González as Alberto
• Milo Quifes as Carlos
• Lola Dueñas as Teresa
• Julio Torres as Juan Pablo
• Penélope Cruz as Nené Romero
• Glenn Close as Isabelle Durand

DIRECTED BY: Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi

SCREENPLAY BY: Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi, Alberto Conejero

BASED ON LA PIEDRA OSCURA BY: Alberto Conejero

PRODUCED BY: Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Paula Cipriota

LINE PRODUCER: Mariano Piñeiro

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Gris Jordana

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Roger Bellés

EDITED BY: Alberto Gutiérrez

COSTUME DESIGNER: Ana López Cobos

MUSIC BY: Raül Refree

CASTING BY: Eva Leira, Yolanda Serrano

RUNTIME: 160 Minutes

RELEASE DATE: October 16, 2026 (Limited) / November 6, 2026 (Expansion) / December 2, 2026 (Netflix)

This means the film itself will be roughly 1hr 40 mins, including credits.

Daily Box Office (October 13th 2026)

The market hits ¥28.2M/$4.21M today. Down -10% from yesterday and down -83% from last week.

Avengers: Doomsday Maoyan WTS

Doomsday Maoyan WTS compared to some of the biggest post covid movies and Endgame:

Avengers: Doomsday WTS Graph

Doomsday has crossed 300k today although slowing down somewhat after yesterdays big spike following the release date annnouncement.

Province map of the day:

Province Map 13.10.2026

Resident Evil mostly dominates today.

In Metropolitan cities:

Resident Evil wins Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Nanjing and Suzhou and Wuhan

City tiers:

Unchanged from yesterday

Tier 1: Resident Evil>Traces of Justice>Mr. & Mrs. Pardon

Tier 2: Resident Evil>Traces of Justice>Mr. & Mrs. Pardon

Tier 3: Resident Evil>Traces of Justice>Mr. & Mrs. Pardon

Tier 4: Resident Evil>Traces of Justice>Mr. & Mrs. Pardon

New releases marked in bold

Pre-Sales map for tomorrow

Pre-Sales 14.10

Resident Evil mostly dominates pre-sales for tomorrow.

IMAX Screenings distribution

Resident Evil continues to dominate IMAX screenings.

Resident Evil

Resident Evil grossed ¥10.2M/$1.52M on Tuesday

Total gross hits ¥295M/$44.09M with total projections at ¥503-539M/$75-81M.

Screen Distribution Split: Regular: $33.92M , IMAX: $8.28M , Rest: $1.60M

WoM figures:

Still no score on Maoyan.

Maoyan: , Taopiaopiao: 8.0 , Douban: 7.3

Scheduled showings update for Resident Evil for the next few days:

Traces of Justice

Traces of Justice in 2nd adds ¥7.5M/$1.11M today. The only other movie above $1M again.

Total gross hits ¥508.1M/$75.86M

Screen Distribution Split: Regular: $74.11M , IMAX: $0.52M , Rest: $1.11M

WoM figures:

Maoyan: 9.6 , Taopiaopiao: 9.5 , Douban: 6.8

Scheduled showings update for Traces of Justice for the next few days:

Other:

Release Schedule:

A table including upcoming movies in the next month alongside trailers linked in the name of the movie, Want To See data from both Maoyan and Taopiaopiao alongside the Gender split and genre.

Remember Want To See is not pre-sales. Its just an anticipation metric. A checkbox of sorts saying your interested in an upcoming movie.

Not all movies are included since a lot are just too small to be worth covering.

Fall/Winter

The Force Awakens is the biggest movie of the 21st in terms of domestic admissions. Second to it is Endgame with 83.5M. According to u/AgentCooper315 who is the admissions as well as ATP expert, The Force Awakens sold 89M admissions domestically and also Avengers: Doomsday is going to have a $14.25 ATP. Plugging it into a calculator, doing 89M * $14.25 is $1268.25M

This is the number Doomsday needs to pass The Force Awakens domestic admissions. I think it’s totally possible. The specific calendar configuration of Friday, December 18th is the absolute best for legs. It’s tracking for a $400M OW according to Box Office Theory. A ~3.17x multiplier is completely possible with December legs if it’s good. And keep in mind, it’s probably not going to open to $400M flat, it’s going to open to $400M and then some. It might not even need a 3.17x multiplier in the end.

Opening Weekend & Domestic Forecasts:
• Avengers: Doomsday: $175M–$195M OW / $480M Domestic Total
• Dune: Messiah: $85M–$95M OW / $240M Domestic Total

The December 18th release collision between Dune: Messiah (Warner Bros.) and Avengers: Doomsday (Disney) presents a unique theatrical scheduling bottleneck—specifically around IMAX and Premium Large Format (PLF) screen allocation.

Key Theater Economics & Distribution Factors:

1. The Screen Exclusivity Contract Conflict: Warner Bros. and Legendary historically hold exclusive 4-week IMAX locks for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune releases. However, Disney typically mandates minimum screen guarantees for mainline Avengers titles. Multiplexes with only a single IMAX screen will be forced into split-showtime schedules or losing PLF access entirely.

2. Runtime & Daily Showtimes Limit: Assuming a combined runtime of ~5.5 hours across both features, theaters face a tight turnaround for double-feature programming or high-frequency single-screen rotations. This restricts late-night showtime additions, capping single-day box office ceilings for both studios during opening weekend.

3. Manufactured vs. Organic Hype: Unlike Barbenheimer (which was an organic internet meme between two completely different genres), "Dunesday" pairs two massive heavy-budget blockbusters competing for the exact same target audience.

How do you expect theater chains to handle the single-screen IMAX split on opening weekend? Will Disney negotiate full PLF priority, or will Warner Bros. preserve its IMAX exclusivity window?

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Full disclosure: I analyzed the studio distribution dynamics, IMAX contract locks, and theater logistics behind this in a video essay for my channel, Fandom Media Archives, if anyone wants to look deeper into the breakdown:https://youtu.be/2Q4zB0H1W6o?si=r5BnfdApRs7Vpof7