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Steven Spielberg was 'consistently turned down' to direct a Bond movie, says now 'you can't afford me'
The "Disclosure Day" filmmaker unsuccessfully campaigned for the job early in his career.
Animals Starves while the Kardashians Miss the Charts Again
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Before we get going, I’d like to offer congratulations to Jonathan Funke, whose suggestion “midflicks” won the poll for what I should call straight-to-streaming films which aren’t big or cinematic enough to go to theaters but seem too expensive for a TV movie. It’s so useful a term, I just used it last week! Now I just need to add this term to my data dictionary! Okay, on to this week’s issue. We’re starting out looking at Netflix/Ben Affleck’s latest crime thriller, Animals. I’ll also look at Disclosure Day heading to Peacock (it did better than you’d remember in theaters...) and a new movie based on toys. Plus, a long-time streaming flop returns for its eighth season...will it finally chart? (No.) Will anyone at Disney care? Probably not. All that, plus another look at new shows landing on streaming on 1-Oct from Reelgood, what streamer hasn’t had a film make the Luminate charts since August, Reacher’s long run on the charts, M_onster: The Lizzie Borden Story’s_ short run, the top shows in 2026 according to Samba TV, all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. And I mean that last part: putting this week’s issue together, I assembled OVER 25 images, most of which are bespoke looks I made just for this report. Really, publishing articles like this takes the work of writing two articles: one is the narrative and the other is making charts/graphs. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the week of October 5th to October 11th, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Film - Netflix’s Latest Star-Studded Thriller Goes For Glory The tempting angle for anyone writing about streaming film this month, like yours truly, is to ask, “Is this why Dan Lin lost his job at Netflix?” Take Animals, the Ben Affleck-starring-and-directing, Artists Equity-produced crime thriller that opened on 9-Oct. (Kerry Washington and Gillian Anderson are also in it.) If it did really well, then one could argue that Lin has another success on his resume. If it underperformed, then it’s another example of a Netflix underperformance this year. So where did Animals fall? Kinda in the middle, but that means it’s more “not a hit” than “big hit”. On Nielsen, it opened to 12.0 million hours, and here’s how that stacks up for 2026 films so far this year: Obviously, that’s not great. It’s both under my 15 million opening bar for “fine” for a Netflix film and 20 million bar for “great” opening. It did a bit better on Samba TV, getting to first place. That’s very, very good, though again, looking at the Nielsen data, it probably means that it was a light week overall. Luminate’s data is a bit closer to Samba TV’s, tied for 17th all time for single weeks since May of 2024: To top it off, no one seemed to like it. It has a 33 on Metacritic and only a 5.7 on IMDb. Both of these numbers could have been impacted by the stories about Affleck’s comments about using AI to make the film. Given the controversy, the film might not have been as bad as the ratings suggest, but it’s also not a bullish sign. All to say…yeah, on net this film isn’t a point in Dan Lin’s favor. At this point, Netflix’s slide has been long enough—going on since February—that I’m almost tempted to lower the bar for what a “hit” is on streaming. Post-February of 2026 or so, it seems like straight-to-streaming films just haven’t hit the same heights as they did from 2022 to 2025. Before we head onto the “Quick Hits” for film, I want to shout out a fellow newsletter whose articles I’ve been loving this year, LA Material, a new LA-based news outlet. For just a highlight of my favorite articles since July... I loved this article on Ghost Town, a group on Venice that clears homeless encampments. As a Los Angeleno, obviously I adore their articles on LA parking issues. Their article on illegal parking tickets got the City Council to address the issue! Also check out their article on people parking in medians. Check out their deep dive on what went wrong with the LA Jazz Festival and how it fell apart, or what’s wrong with USC’s finances. Finally, they wrote up a voter guide on voter guides for the LA General Election. So meta! In search of a city? L.A. Material is an independent news outlet covering the people, politics, culture and glorious chaos shaping Los Angeles. L.A. Material brings you intel on the city you can’t get anywhere else. From exploring how Reddit short stories became Hollywood’s hottest commodity to reporting on the survival jobs keeping entertainment workers afloat. And answering, once and for all, why the AMC Burbank escalator is always broken. Through their newsletters, podcast, videos, events, and member community, L.A. Material is designed to help Angelenos connect to Los Angeles and each other. Sign up now for the free weekday newsletter. Quick Notes on Film Steven Spielberg’s latest film, Disclosure Day, came to Peacock on 9-Oct, and I’ll admit that, after pulling its stats, I did a pinch of a double take. As I wrote throughout my deep, deep, deep dive on summer box office/Obsession/Backrooms/IP/superheroes, oftentimes the film media discusses films as “flops” or “misses” or “hits” without clarifying what they specifically mean. Since Disclosure Day didn’t make $250 million in the US or $500 million globally, it was definitely a disappointment by Spielbergian standards, who is the highest-grossing director of all time, and arguably even more ahead in adjusted grosses. But it did make $245 million globally on a $115 million budget, so it isn’t as big of a miss as I remember. That’s still probably not enough to break even in the theatrical window, when you factor in marketing costs…but it’s close. And it grossed a lot more even in the US than some titles with about ten times more coverage. Anyways, lots of preamble to say this one only did 4.5 million hours according to Nielsen, so it did make the charts, but on the low end. Here’s how it stacks up to other Peacock titles: Apple TV (née +) followed up their “success for them” Mayday with Matchbox The Movie. This one doesn’t look like a success even for them, but at least it’s not a miss. Apple/Skydance clearly tried to take advantage of the success of Barbie at the box office—let’s greenlight all the toy properties!!!—but of course, this didn’t make it to theaters. And it stars John Cena, who, as I argued earlier this summer, NEEDS to get his movies back in theaters. Anyways, this one has mixed-to-bad numbers. It missed the Samba TV and Nielsen charts in its first week, but did make Luminate with 7.1 million hours. That’s just enough to not be an outright miss, and about half what Mayday did earlier this summer. Speaking of Apple Studio’s Mayday, it ended up lasting five weeks on Luminate, which isn’t bad for Apple TV. On Nielsen, it had a three-week run, racking up 13.5 million hours total. Again, like Matchbox, the issue is the budget; I doubt that this viewership earned enough to justify that budget. Also, to be clear, neither of these films are “midflicks”; both should have gone to theaters. Toy Story 5 is not hanging around on the streaming charts on Disney+, so it’s not as leggy as either Zootopia 2 or Moana 2, and definitely not in the same class as Encanto. (It did make all the money at the box office, so Disney is going to be fine…) The Breadwinner on Netflix (from Sony) is down to 3.9 million hours in its third week. It only lasted for one week on the Samba TV charts. Netflix’s Doing Life had a smaller-than-normal binge release curve bounce, only going to 7.1 million hours from 6.0 to start, but it made Samba TV at fifth place in its second week. The Netflix documentary, The Widower: Til’ Death Do Us Part, also had a small binge release curve bounce to 6.5 million hours, but did make a second week on Samba TV. Meanwhile, Netflix’s Unabomber fell off after two weeks on Nielsen—which is not great at all—and Demon Slayer fell off after just one week. Over on Luminate, the two smaller titles The Swan: Behind the Mirror and Kill. Bury. Print both fell out of the Luminate top ten charts. The story of library film at the first of the month is the arrival of the Ice Age films on Netflix. Now, here’s a small example of optimizing your library that even Netflix could do better. Say you want to rent/license a new film series from Disney**.** A streamer could pay a big paycheck and then drop each Ice Age film on the exact same day of the month, the fourth of October. That’s one choice. In contrast, the streamer could have released each film one week apart, and make each one a mini-event for folks watching Ice Age films. Or even roll them out monthly. Netflix opted for the former strategy, and as a result, only three of the films made the Nielsen charts this week. The “Miss of the Week” goes to Tubi’s YA-ish horror film_, R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2_, which didn’t even make the Luminate charts like Tubi films usually do, or, should I say, “used to”? Tubi films, most of which are straight-to-streaming, used to reliably make the Luminate film charts (which only covers straight-to-streaming films), but a Tubi film hasn’t made it since August. The first Pumpkinhead got 1.4 million hours last year according to Luminate. As I wrote about this film before, it seems to be a bit muddled in terms of age: too scary for young kids but probably not scary enough for older kids. Speaking of Luminate, Netflix’s latest doc about a comic (expect more docs about comedians all month), Who Is Martin Mull?, flopped, getting just 200K and 700K hours according to Luminate. Three other film/special misses belonged to Hulu, including a standup special, Jamie Foxx: Take Care of Yourself, Neon’s latest horror film, Hokum, which made $17 million in the US, and a Family Guy Halloween special. (That last one was only 22 minutes, so it’s not a surprise it missed.) Finally, another Netflix standup special missed the charts, Mojo Brookzz: I Know You Lying missed too. I can confirm last week’s misses, most notably Paramount+’s Jackass: Best and Last, MUBI’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and HBO Max’s Evil Dead Burn. Television - I Can’t Visualize Nothing: The Kardashians Story Normally, in the mini-dive essays that open the Streaming Ratings Report, I focus on shows that do well or, at the very least, make the charts. Why? Because as I’ve said time and again, I can’t visualize nothing like, say, the Kardashians’ TV shows. Here’s the TV debuts chart for this week with a missing spot for The Kardashians, whose eighth season just landed on Hulu:
Teen’s video a ‘Breakthrough’ in science communication
Seventeen-year-old Grace Lee from Chula Vista is gaining national attention as a finalist in the global Breakthrough Junior Challenge, an annual competition that invites students to create original videos explaining complex scientific ideas in creative and engaging ways. Founded in 2015, the contest encourages young people to break down advanced scientific theories using imagination and storytelling— “Steven Spielberg meets Albert Einstein,” as organizers describe it. Lee’s submission centers on the principle of least time in physics, a concept that explains why light always travels the path that takes the least amount of time. To bring the idea to life, she used intricate origami characters and stop-motion animation, along with simple at-home experiments, she said. “The fact that light always travels via the path that takes the least amount of time sounds simple at first, but nature is full of surprises,” she said. “This principle is actually very profound and underlies many different fields in physics that seem completely unrelated, from optics to Newton’s laws to Einstein’s theory of relativity.” Also, origami has long been one of her passions and integrating it into her project felt natural. She often makes origami gifts for friends and teaches origami in her school clubs. “A single 10-second scene would take hours to craft,” she said, noting the mixture of stop-motion and post-production editing required to animate expressions and movement. To ensure the science remained accurate and accessible, she spent time reading books and online resources, writing a script, creating a storyboard, and filming and editing repeatedly until the visuals worked.The experiments were among the biggest challenges. To demonstrate water waves, she used everyday household items — “a spatula and an electric toothbrush to vibrate the waves, glass in a baking pan for different depths, and an iPhone flashlight so the waves would be visible.” She also put careful thought into explaining the principle through analogies, including a gingerbread man and a fox. “Analogies and visuals are incredibly important,” she said. “Visual demonstrations allow viewers to see how the science actually works.” Beyond the competition, Lee is deeply involved in science leadership and advocacy. She serves as International President of miRcore, the world’s largest student computational biology organization, with 136 chapters across five countries. She leads a 20-member executive board, organizes outreach connecting schools worldwide, and has helped run workshops at locations including Scripps Research Institute and the University of Michigan. “I used to be intimidated,” she said, but she gradually grew her skills and confidence. “Now I am no longer afraid to use my voice and enthusiasm to bring out the best in others.” Her research experience includes two peer-reviewed papers on asthma and vaping. Misconceptions around vaping, she said, show why clear science communication matters. “Our research shows that there is long-term harm to your lungs on the cellular level that isn’t obvious unless you come down with an illness like the flu,” she said. Lee also founded Full Hearts at Eastlake High School, transforming the small club into one of the school’s largest, with hands-on service projects in partnership with local nonprofits. She continues mentoring younger students to sustain the mission. If she wins the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, Grace hopes the $100,000 science lab prize for her school will expand opportunities for students who have limited access to equipment and hands-on science outside the classroom.
Steven Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day' Returns Atop Weekly U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through Sept. 30
Universal’s Disclosure Day returned atop of the Official Film Chart, the weekly U.K. home entertainment sales chart through Sept. 30, for the first time since reaching No. 1 in August. Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson and Colman Domingo, the sci-fi thriller has been on the sales … Continue reading "Steven Spielberg’s ‘Disclosure Day’ Returns Atop Weekly U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through Sept. 30"
Steven Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day' opens No. 1, while 'Obsession' sensation continues
Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” billed as his first popcorn movie in years, launched with $44 million in domestic theaters. “Disclosure Day” opened largely as expected, collecting $92.9 million worldwide over
Universal's 'Disclosure Day' Rises to No. 1 on U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through Aug. 5
Universal’s Disclosure Day moved up to No. 1 on the Official Film Chart, the U.K.’s weekly home entertainment sales chart, rising two spots in its second week on the chart. The Steven Spielberg-directed sci-fi drama pushed Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu to No. 4 in its second week on the chart. Lionsgate/Universal’s Michael … Continue reading "Universal’s ‘Disclosure Day’ Rises to No. 1 on U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through Aug. 5"
Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, and Steven Spielberg look to the stars in EW's “Disclosure Day” cover shoot —see the photos
See all the pics of the "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" filmmaker and the leads of his new UFO thriller.
Steven Spielberg exposes the truth about his latest extra-terrestrial thriller 'Disclosure Day'
Steven Spielberg is still looking to the stars. The 'E.T.' filmmaker and actors Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colman Domingo, and Colin Firth declassify their mysterious thriller 'Disclosure Day.'
Commentary: ‘Disclosure Day’ underscores a Hollywood marketing dilemma
From "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" to "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "War of the Worlds," a UFO-themed blockbuster from Steven Spielberg has long been a can’t-miss event, and last
“Disclosure Day ”lands out-of-this-world opening weekend with $93 million at global box office
While Steven Spielberg's extraterrestrial drama invades the world, 24-year-old Curry Barker's low-budget horror "Obsession" achieves a rare domestic feat.
Morgan Freeman narrates the glorious rise and meteoric fall of 'The Dinosaurs' in new Netflix series (video)
Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment's 4-part dino-doc arrives March 6
'The Late Show' is ending on May 21. Here's what led CBS to cancel Stephen Colbert, why David Letterman says he's 'pissed off' and who the final guests are.
This week's announced guests include Jon Stewart, Steven Spielberg, David Byrne and Bruce Springsteen.
Steven Spielberg doesn't want to be the first human to meet aliens: 'I would not be the right person'
Steven Spielberg says that he doesn't want to be the first human to meet alien visitors: 'I would not be the right person.'
'Disclosure Day' lands out-of-this-world opening weekend with $93 million at global box office
Steven Spielberg's alien oddity 'Disclosure Day' conquered the world this weekend with a $93 million gross, while the ultra low-budget horror 'Obsession' continues to surge in its fifth weekend in theaters.
Steven Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day' opens No. 1, while 'Obsession' sensation continues
NEW YORK — Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” billed as his first popcorn movie in years, launched with $44 million in domestic theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.
GoFundMe for James Van Der Beek's family tops $2.3 million to help with 'financial strain' following star's death
The donations include $25,000 from Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, and a recurring monthly payment of $2,500 from actress Zoe Saldaña.
Steven Spielberg used Ke Huy Quan to get Harrison Ford out of ‘a bad mood’ on “Temple of Doom” set
Quan wrote in his new memoir that Ford felt like “an older brother” while they filmed the “Indiana Jones” sequel.
Ke Huy Quan Reveals The “Life Changing” Gesture From Spielberg & Lucas When He Was A Kid
Ke Huy Quan was 12 years old when he made Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In his new memoir, Never Say Die, excerpted in Entertainment Weekly, the Oscar-winning actor reveals that producer Georg...
Steven Spielberg reveals his next film is a Western with 'no stereotypes'
The "Raiders of the Lost Ark" filmmaker said that he wants to avoid tropes in his upcoming Western project.
Ke Huy Quan on Receiving “Generous” $100K Residuals Check for ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’
The Oscar winner admitted he "didn’t understand how more money could suddenly appear" after already being compensated for his work on Steven Spielberg's 1984 film.
Gwyneth Paltrow addresses discourse over 'Shakespeare in Love' winning Best Picture Oscar over 'Saving Private Ryan'
Gwyneth Paltrow opens up about the discourse over 'Shakespeare in Love' controversially winning the Best Picture Oscar over 'Saving Private Ryan,' which was directed by her godfather Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg back in alien territory with ‘Disclosure Day’
Spielberg’s latest film about aliens and UFOs, “Disclosure Day,” arrives this week and rates as an excursion into his perhaps favorite field.
Josh O'Connor reveals the 'amazing' advice he got from Steven Spielberg — that was actually a mixed-up text
O'Connor was "so thrilled" with the "E.T." director's unprompted late-night counseling, until it became a "very big joke" on set.
The 14 movies we’re most looking forward to in 2026
We asked the film staff to name the titles they were most stoked for in 2026. They were happy to see the returning likes of Nolan, Spielberg, Gerwig and Wile E. Coyote.
Meet Steven Spielberg's 7 children - including daughter who went into adult entertainment
Steven Spielberg has 7 talented children with several following him into the entertainment industry – read on to meet this showbiz family
Christopher Nolan brings ‘The Odyssey’ to CinemaCon; Steven Spielberg previews 'Disclosure Day'
Christopher Nolan has given theater owners a thrilling glimpse of “The Odyssey” at CinemaCon in Las Vegas | WBBM Newsradio 780 AM & 105.9 FM
Steven Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day' opens No. 1
Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” billed as his first popcorn movie in years, launched with $44 million in domestic theaters.
Aliens exist! Steven Spielberg shows off 'Disclosure Day' extraterrestrials at CinemaCon
Steven Spielberg showed off the first glimpses of aliens from his new UFO thriller 'Disclosure Day' at CinemaCon on Wednesday during Universal Pictures' panel.
Ranked: The World’s Richest Celebrity Billionaires
Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Michael Jordan lead the ranking of the world’s richest celebrity billionaires in 2026, with fortunes built across film, sports, music, and entertainment businesses.
Steven Spielberg finally reveals 1st trailer for new UFO film 'Disclosure Day', and now we're terrified
Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor star in Universal Pictures' eerie alien invasion project coming next summer.
'Disclosure Day' anchor Courtney Grace breaks down that unforgettable ending
Her name is Courtney Grace and she carries Steven Spielberg's sci-fi thriller to its emotional climax. She discussed her experience working on the film.
A UAP Science Advisory Council to the U.S.
On June 12, 2026, Steven Spielberg publicly released his film Disclosure Day while on the same day the U.S. Government disclosed the third…
Spielberg seeks blockbuster comeback with ‘Disclosure Day’
Steven Spielberg began tackling the story for his latest movie, "Disclosure Day," after a rare sequence of two films that fell flat at the box office. He started writing in
For the 2014 film Interstellar, director Christopher Nolan hired Caltech physicist Kip Thorne as his science consultant — and the visual simulations Thorne helped design for the film's black hole were so mathematically accurate that they generated two peer-reviewed scientific papers and became the model for how astrophysicists visualize black holes today
In late 2012, when the American film director Christopher Nolan formally took over the production of a Warner Brothers science-fiction project that had been drifting through Hollywood development since approximately 2005 (originally intended for Steven Spielberg, based on a screenplay concept the film producer Lynda Obst had developed jointly with the Caltech theoretical physicist Kip […]
'Disclosure Day' review: I wish life were like a Steven Spielberg movie
Josh O'Connor and Emily Blunt race to save humanity in this alien thriller.
Steven Spielberg’s ‘Disclosure Day’ opens No. 1, while ‘Obsession’ sensation continues
NEW YORK (AP) — Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” billed as his first popcorn movie in years, launched with $44 million in domestic theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. “Disclosure Da…
Spielberg’s new alien movie asks: Who gets to decide the truth?
In 1977, Steven Spielberg’s "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" imagined contact with aliens as an event inspiring awe. Five years later, "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" envisioned another arrival as a
Review | Spielberg’s return to science fiction, “Disclosure Day” is a bold, messy blockbuster
Steven Spielberg is one of the most prolific directors of all time, so obviously, when he has a new movie coming out, I get incredibly excited. Spielberg’s return to science fiction with “Disclosure Day” is in many ways just what I expected from him, but also was head-scratching in some areas that I thought it...
Steven Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day' opens No. 1, while 'Obsession' sensation continues
Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” billed as his first popcorn movie in years, launched with $44 million in domestic theaters.
What Does the Alien’s Message Mean in 'Disclosure Day'? All About the End of Steven Spielberg’s New Movie
'Disclosure Day,' starring Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor, premiered in theaters June 12. Here's the end of Steven Spielberg's new movie explained.
Steven Spielberg’s career has been an alien crusade culminating in ‘Disclosure Day’
Steven Spielberg has always believed we’re not alone in this universe. With ‘Disclosure Day,’ he may make a believer out of you, too.
One Of Steven Spielberg's Biggest Box Office Flops Is An Underrated Disney Movie
Steven Spielberg is one of the most prolific directors to still be working, and he's known for absolutely stunning films, but not every movie can be a hit.
Olivia Rodrigo's new album, Steven Spielberg's latest UFO film, and “Every Year After” top this week's Must List
James Ellroy's "Red Sheet" and Lena Dunham's "Famesick" round out our picks for the weekend of June 12.
Movie Review: ‘Disclosure Day’ is classic Spielberg
Steven Spielberg's “Disclosure Day” takes the filmmaker back to familiar territory. The film follows Daniel Kellner, played by Josh O’Connor, who’s caught in a conspiracy involving extraterrestrial life. Emily Blunt
“The End of Oak Street” first reviews: Anne Hathaway’s “Jurassic Park” riff hailed as ‘dumb fun done well’
While some critics flamed the sci-fi flick’s obvious Spielberg homage, others heralded it as “what the big studios should be doing right now.”