The Horror Movie Renaissance

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Featuring award winning craftsmanship from the decorated team of artisans and heartfelt performances from the ensemble cast IGN raays there will never be another show like it for your final Emmy consideration in all categories, including outstanding drama series It is Tuesday, may twenty sixth. Everyone loves IMAax theaters, right? The Hollywood studios certainly do Take a look at a billboard for a big summer movie in L.A. And chances are, IMax is almost as big as the title of the film It connotes theatricality in a landscape where theatricality is harder and harder to come by. and also upcharges, of course, which the studios love But who wants to buy IMAax That's a question I've been thinking about since Thursday, when the Wall Street Journal reported that IMX has been talking to potential suitors about an acquisition of the sixty year old large format film company. IMX is in a pretty interesting place because it's a technology company It doesn't actually own or operate the IiMAX theaters that you go to. It mostly licenses its proprietary format to exhibitors and programs the screens. aboutout seventeen hundred of them worldwide, including about eight hundred in China. So it doesn't have a ton of infrastructure or employees or real estate, all factors that have dragged down traditional theater chains. And unlike the theater business, the premium large format movie attendance is actually growing Last year, PLFs as they're called, that's IMAX and rival formats, they accounted for sixteen percent of US ticket sales, up from thirteen percent in twenty twenty one Because of that growth, the IMAX share price hit forty two dollars in late February. It said around thirty nineents today. went up after news of the sale. And at the same time, IMX is only worth about two billion dollars. So it wouldn't saddle most acquiers with a ton of debt. Still, lots of issues with particular suitors. and now Netflix, one of those potential suitors, is putting David Fincher's upcoming sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in IMax Theaters That's we're getting into today with Luas Sar, Monday guy from Bloomberg. It's the IMAax auction Who the buyers might be and why it all matters. From the Ringer and Puck, I'm Matt Beelaney, and this is the toown Okay, we are here with Lucas Sha from Bloomberg. Welcome back, Lucas. How was New York? Hot and rainy and glorious. Oh nice. You know, you've never lived until you've sat in the rain during a college graduation. It's really the highlight of a weekend. And then the humidity is so bad that when the rain stops, you're still just as wet Well, it was lovely here Had a nice experience in the Dodger game last night. All right, so We're having a pretty decent summer. At the box office so far. You've written about it. I've written about it The movies are back as they say And boom out of nowhere. we get a journal report last week that IMax has decided to sell. Is this just a product out A hot time for box offffice. their stock has been up People are kind of bullish for onece since the pandemic on the future of movies Why is this happening now because of what you just outlined. This is a company that has been formally or informally available or for sale for a few years now. It's not been a good time to sell yourself as sort of a movie business when the larger business has been in crisis or uncertain. Even if IMAax has done better than most because that's sort of those premium format screens are what people go to the theaters for Now that the movie business is is going to have its best year since twenty nineteen, why not see what the market will bear? Yeah, it seems like this was a trial balloon and their stock was Ptty high. was it forty two. I think it's in the thirties at this point but that's why they're doing this, I think, is because they don't know what the future will hold for movies. And can we take a step back? I'm just curious because you gave the introduction on sort of like the movies, great summer. Where do you land on the like this is a great summer that poort tens years ahead and things are back versus This is sort of a one off because we have so many big titles this year and' you're still worried about movies next year. I think it is entirely title dependent. I think the pipeline is finally back to quote unquote normal. And Hollywood has figured out what the post Marvel moovie landscape looks like, not post Marvel, but fewer Marvel, not dominated by Marvel And if these video game adaptations and the nostalgia IP plays and all of this keeps working like it has been We're going to have a big year next year. Shrek five is going to be gigantic next year. And there's a bunch of other titles that are lined up. So I'm not prepared to say that it's going to be a upward into the right trajectory from now on I do think it's sustainable Do you lookook, to your point, the phrase title dependent, anything depends on are they going to keep making good enough movies? haveave they figured out what will work? Are people going to go to the movies enough? because right the issue is gross is are rebounding attendance is still down quite a bit you know, the big concern would be We already had the impact of the Fox Disney merger at the same time as the pandemic. What will the impact be of the Warner Paramount merger? I guess I'd be cautiously encouraged because you see Amazon really committed to trying to make movies work. you see Netflix starting to dab a little more. I know we're going to talk about that later. And if you can offset whatever declines we get from the Warner Paramount merger. Oh, how dare you? They're releasing thirty movies a year How many times does he have to say it? I think I think you could see Amazon and To a lesser extent, Netflix offset some of that U So I'm cautiously optimistic that the business will settle at a somewhat diminished state, but not sort of be in any kind of tailpin. Listen, the best news for the movies right now is not necessarily that a Star Wars movie can you get to a one hundred million even though people don't understand why it's a movie and not a TV show. The best news is that these YouTube filmmakers are grossing big numbers for these horror movies like Markipllier and then we saw it with obsession. The fact thatet we're going to talk about this the call shei. fact that obsession is going up in its second weekend. and we've got backackrooms, another young filmmaker coming out this weekend These are the kind of movies that Hollywood needs to sustain the kind of everyday, every weekend titles. Yeah, most importantly on those, I would say, is we had entered a period with horror where it was really oversaturated. and I think that meant that most of what was working was was sequels. It was you were having a hard time getting new horror to break out. And what you're seeing is, yes, these sort of young filmmakers, many of them born on the internet on YouTube are getting new and fresh horror ideas to work. And hopefully that can extend beyond horror because horror has been one of the few bright spots in the movie business for the last two years. And honestly, the audience being there. I mean, I just published some new data in my newsletter about Gen Z audiences and movies And they like going to the movie theater And that was a big question for years coming out of the pandemic is that O young movie gooers who are trained on whatever movie they want on digital services. even going to want to go to movies. And I think we have the answer to that and it's yes. and specifically in Yeah, well then let's transition back. So That is the question is Who is going to buy IMax? It feels more like a private equity bet to me than a studio bet I agree. If you look at the potential bidders, okay. so you've got You know, it's the technology. you've got the exhibitors, the you know, the theater owners Most of them are still on pretty shaky financial footing. It seems hard to believe that they're going to pull off a deal like this. It would be It would be pretty remarkable if AMC did. M complications there because yes, they have A large number of the IMAX theaters, but they don't have them all. And they would all of a sudden own a company that's programming their rival theaters. Like that's weird And we should be clear about this. IMAax does not own theaters. There's a misconception out there there. When you go to an IiMAax theater IMX is licensing the technology and programming the screens. They have the relationship with filmmakers They have the proprietary tech but they do not actually own the vast majority of their screens. So it potentially fall to one of these exhibitors, but I agree with you. I don't think that they are they are going to do it. If AMC were to do it just in this hypothetical scenario, wouldn't they try to make Wouldn't they try to make IMAax just an AMC product if you want to go and see Sure. IMAax movies, you have to go to an AM It's part of the, you know, their loyalty program is we now are the only place to go see IMAax. Sure. But that's going cost money that they don't have to convert all those theaters. And then you've got the rival theaters punish you who would then launch their own versions and it would be interesting. Yeah. Yeah, which they already have. They I mean, a lot of them have these other formats that they use in theaters and they would have their own version of this and it would become a you know, kind of proprietary thing for each chain potentially But keep in mind that AMC also has other formats as well. And that would potentially be complicating as well. But there are no rules prohibiting a studio like Disney from buying iMAax, correct? No. So let's get into that. Paramount decrees which prevented exhibition and distribution from being under the same roof Those are all gone. We saw Sony by Alamo Draft House a couple years ago. A studio could come in like a Disney Also, do would IMAax even count becausecause it's not a theater It's just a technology. I think they could Yeah, it wouldn't even matter because you're right, It's just technology. but They do own a couple theaters. Yeah And maybe there would be a problem there, but I don't think there would be any moreore. Do you think that Sony now that we've had a couple of years, do you think that Sony regrets buying Almo Draftone? I don't know. I mean have we seen we'd have to ask them about that because has there been a clear benefit Yeah. They would probably say that they have been able to showcase their anime and their other crunchy roll titles and other things like that. and they would say that they're learning about the business. and you know the biggest thing that we've heard about Alamo Draft House is that they now allow you to order on your phone, which people are up in arms about because they don't want that in the theaters. But I don't know the answer to that. So a studio could come in and buy IMax. Why would places like Disney or Universal do this and why would they not? Well, I can't really come up with a compelling reason for why they would Why do they need to own it? Okay, but think about how annoyed Disney is at not getting IMAX theaters for Avengers. They're creating their own fake infinity vision to promote the large format. And if you believe in the future of large format movies and that's where the audience is going Why not? own the biggest brand in that space. I just don't think that you're going spend billions of dollars to buy a company because you miss out on one or two dates a year That's just not a compelling reason for them that Disney for the most part, tells IMX and movie theaters like this is what we're going to do and you take it or you leave it, right? And they usually get their way. Theyre the biggest badest movie studio. But not always, listen, Nolan is getting the screens for his movie this summer at the expense of Spider Man. Sure. Okay. so again Tice a year they lose they lose once to Universal. and you're talking about versus Spiderm Man, which is not even technically I mean, it's partially a Disney movie, but it's mostly a Sony movie. So they miss out once to Universal and once to Warner Brothers. and otherwise they're just fine and they're going to end this year as the highest grossing studio again. I just don't see the up If you haven't seen other than Sony Alamo, which is sort of like a quirky weird deal, if you haven't seen studios buy movie theaters, which actually makes a little more sense, at least for a company like Disney, if you think about them as an experiences company, except it's a terrible business. you're gonna really see them buy this technology that they can use without having to pay a bunch of money anyways. Yeah, they don't need it. If I were them and I fully support the idea that these studios, much like record labels, should actually have been investing in If you are an owner of cable networks, you should have been investing in streaming technology much earlier. If you're an owner of a movie studio, you should probably be investing in different AI filmmaking tools, right? Like whether we think that the Ben Affleck company is real or not, the idea that the idea that Netflix is making a bet on we need to figure out AI filmmaking is the type of bet that a studio be m They' supposed to be at the frontlines of technology when it comes to producing and distributing their movies. They are not when it comes to movies, fundamentally exhibitors and they haven't been in a long time. So why you'd spend a bunch of time or money buying a company that is like a technological layer of exhibition? I don't understand It's just that that is where the growth is. in theatrical Mvie goingo, you are the number one studio You make the kinds of movies that do very well. in IMX. So why not own it and control that experience The problem is you don't actually control it because you don't actually own the theaters where they're being exhibited. you kind of You half own it. Yeah. and I just don't think they would. And the Netflix argument makes even less sense to me. Why would Netflix buy IMX? People are like, o, well, it would be great because they could put their movies in the Netflix theaters. They're already experimenting with Narnia and the Fincher movie And They could just Bow it out and have that be their theatrical component Again They would still be subject to the windowing policies of these chains because that's where these movies are played. So it doesn't really solve that problem that Netflix has Yeah, Netflix has to a little more committed to movie theaters before it contemplates buying a technology for movie theatater. That's why to me, you know, something like a live nation Makes a little more sense. It is't, you know, out of home entertainment comppany. And maybe that would make a little bit more sense for them to kind of get into this premium movie experience But I think most likely it will be private equity or some kind of technology partner that already has a relationship with IMax that wants to come in and own it. orr nothing. or nothing orr like a rich guy, honestly, you get instant access to top filmmakers You want to be best friends with Christopher Nolan? by IMAax. He is best friends with Rich Gelfon, the CEO because they give him something that he really, really wants. All these top filmmakers love IMAax. Would you say they are best friends or that they are professional friends? I said best friends in the metaphorical. Okay. They're not going to cook outs at one another's houses on Memorial Day weekend and No, in the same way that you are best friends with BTS. rightight because you you you interview them a lot and you I've interviewed them once just so we're clear. Well you but their team, youed a lot of high around that team, sureort. Yes Wait Matt, can you explain? let's say Disney bought MAax? Can they reserve IMAax only for Disney movies or no? They could, but it might jeopardize the relationship they have with the theaters that play their movies Um They could prioritize their own movies though. Yeah. That's the whole argument against these studios getting into exhibition in the first place is Do they want to be everywhere? So do you really just want to have your movies in Disney only experiences and limit the footprint or Does that mean you have to open up a bunch more theaters? Yeah. And every movie is a negotiation with the theaters for what your split is going to be And if you are a theater owned by a studio, it might complicate the relationship with rival studios. Yeah. And they might start screwing you and you might have the incentive to screw them it's worked this way for a reason Again, the studios don't like that they don't control the end experience for their customers And if Disney owned theater chain, maybe that experience would be a lot better for their movies. You said Live Nation.m I'm struggling to see Live Nation buying an IiMax. I could I would almost see Live Nation be more likely to buy something like Cosm. that. than IMAax. Yeah. I mean, they're similar though. Well, but IMAax is just a technology play. Again, unless they wanted to open a bunch of IMAax theaters, why does liive Nation suddenly want to be a tech supplier to AMC and Real and all it doesn't seem right Yeah, I mean and the concert films that they're making now with artists, like not a big enough business. To say nothing of the fact that like does Live Nation want to be attempting a major deal while they're in the middle of this antitrust. Oh Well, that's a whole separate thing. Like I don't think they would risk it for IMAags This episode is brought to you by Marvel Television, presenting Wonder Man, starring Yaya Abdul Matine II and Ben Kingsley See what the Guardian calls a triumph of storytelling and a masterclass in acting. now on Disney pllus Wonderman, for your Emmy consideration in all categories, including outstanding comedy series This episode is brought to you by FX's The Lowdown Fr accclaimed Reservation doogs creator, Stterlin Harjo The series stars five time Academy Award nominee, Ethan Hawk as Lee Raybond A self described Tulsa Trussorian whose fixation on the truth tends to create more problems than it solves Gloriously offff Kilter Noir is an AFI television program of the Ye and one of twenty twenty five's most critically acclaimed shows The lowdown is available for your Emmy consideration on Hulu and Disney pllus for Bundle subscribers Snoring, gasping during sleep feeleeling fatigued? askk your doctor about Zepbound, Terzetite, the first and only FDA approved prescription medicine for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea,SA and adults with obesity Zbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, and obesity to improve their OSA. Zbound is approved as a two point five, five, seven point five, ten, twelve point five, or fifteen milligram injection. Zbound contains terzepotide and should not be used with other Terzepetide containing products or any GLP one receptor agonist medicines, it is not known if Zbound is safe and effective for use in children. Don't share needles or pins or reuse needles. Don't take if allergic to it, or if you or someone in your family had medillary thyroid cancer, or if you've had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type two. Tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. Stop abbound and call your doctor if you have severe stomach pain or a serious allergic reaction. Severe side effects may include inflamed pancreas or gallbladder problems Tell your doctor if you experience vision changes before schedule procedures with anesthesia. if you're nursing, pregnant, plan to be, or taking birth control pills. Taking Zbound with a sofhonal urea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and worsen kidney problems. Talk to your doctor. Call one eight hundred five four five five nine seven nine or visit Zetbound. liily d. com All speaking of IMax. Let's talk about the David Fincher move here a little bit because this is something that Fincher did not ask for. You and I both reported that. They Netflix decided that they would like to slot The Cliff Booth movie still untitled, the sequel to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood into that Thanksgiving slot that was reserved for Greta Gerwig. Her Narnia movie is moving to February. So they have these theaters reserved AMC was like Go for it. brring that movie into theaters, Adam Aaron like cannot say enough nice things. about Ted Sorandos who, by the way, that, you know, you know that there that relationship started because Ted listened to Adam on the town in our interview with him And then they started chatting about what they could do together. It's amazing thenen they're going to give it two weeks Hold it for another two weeks Put it on the service, Christmas day or the twenty third and Everybody seems to be okay with it except Regal. which has not said whether they would play this movie. Why do you think Regal is a holdout? Well, because they don't want to smash their window policy for Netflix That was a whole problem in the first place is that the Narnia movie, they did a deal with AMC. Right. But why is why why is AMC okay with it in Regal No That is the question because AMC has decided tactically that getting into bed with Netflix and having a relationship there will ultimately be better for AMC. And the difference this time around is when Netflix did the deal for Narnia IMAax guaranteed that they would give them a thousand theaters, that they would give them a full wide release. There are eighteen hundred theaters around the world that have IMAax Eight hundred of them are in China And they basically said, we will give you at least one thousand them in a tough spot because that requires the involvement of Regal. which has many of these theaters, not all and AMC has way more This time around for the Fincher movie, there is no requirement. And they did that on purpose so that AMC could agree to this and Regal would have no leverage over it. If Regal doesn't want to show the movie Fine. They don't have to show the movie in their IMX screens They can do the release without Regal. So it puts Regal in a really interesting spot they can say we believe in our windows, we're not playing this and leave millions of dollars on the table or they can go along with this and potentially harm their windowing policy that's going to hurt them in the future Yeah. what would you do If I were regal I guess I'd probably show it, but I don't think that this we're not we're not talking about a huge blockbuster here. I don't know. The last one did four hundred million and the Fincher nerds are going to show up. But see, that's the huge difference. Tarantino is one of the on that short list of filmmakers that people go to the theaters to see. David Fincher is not Partly because David Finch has spent the last decade mostly in business with Netflix And so the idea of a spin offff to this movie, I just written by Tarantino. I'm excited to see it and I hope it does well, but I don't think we're tal starring Brad Pitt I don't think we're talking about a movie that if we werere given a proper theatrical release would be a guaranteed hit. I think you're wrong I think it's going to be big. And I think the Super Bowl spot And the marketing that's going to be associated with it will create demand here. I and I think that they are going to do I can't be wrong because I'm not I'm just saying it's not a guaranteed hit. I think it could be, but it's not like but bottom line that so let's say it gets a thousand sccreens, sure. And I'm That's the ten million, fifteen million Yeah like best case. And Reo gets a share of that. It's only a few million they're leaving on the table. Yeah Is that worth blowing up your windows. Or do you believe it's blowing up your windows? Oh, meaning yeah, it's just such a small stunt. No one really cares. Yeah. I don't know It's gonna to get a lot of marketing. This doesn't feel like You know The Narnia thing is like officially a big deal because it's a forty nine day window and it's a proper theatrical release. This feels more stunty Um, it's two weeks. it's, you know, so But this was the original Greta Gerwig deal that we talked at length about Yeah. And this is what seems to be for Netflix. if they can do this every Thanksgiving with one of their big movies Maybe this becomes an annual event. If they can do it with an awardsy movie that they want to give some extra shine and run. Yeah. And more importantly, they want to lure the kinds of filmmakers they want to work with and won't work with Netflix because of the theatrical issue. Right. So and I guess Regal's argument would be we don't want to help facilitate this.'ll show We'll show Narnia because it's a real window, but we don't want to No, it's not it's not because of the Netflix relationship. It's because of their relationship with everybody else Why would the other studios not ask for the same treatment on certain movies? Well, becausecause most of the other studios have committed now to this forty five day construct. Yeah. I mean, that's the answer to that. but I don't know. they could use it as leverage. You're giving Netflix things that you're not giving us So what else are you giving us? R possible. I don't know. You don't seem too convinced. No It's fine to draw a line in the sand. And I'm probably underestimating the ways in which other studios will use it because I know that other studios were pissed about the Narnia thing because at IMAax, why are you giving Netflix you know, this this treatment when they still don't have any interest in your business. And if the Finure movie is really good Maybe it becomes a bigger awards play because it got theaters. I still don't believe Netflix is going to win bestest picture without giving a meaningful theatrical release to the movie. Right. So this one would have no shot. Well, this one would have a better shot than most of their movies. Well, they've had they've been I don' know They've been runner up or three times. I think you're mostly right Yeah they hun her up. They should have won for Roma. If Roma was a real wide theatrical release, Netflix would have won best picture in my opinion. No disrespect to the Greenbook apologists that year, but I think Roma would have won if it had gotten a real theatrical release You should have seen the look on people's faces at that Oscars when Greenbook won. There was a Screw Netflix feeling throughout that that room. Well I don't think Spike Lee was very happy about it Oh, he wasn't alone Lucas in a year Is IMax owned by someone else. I would still bet no U But you know, reserve the right to be wrong as always. I think they will sell. You think they will Yeah. I think they have waited for this moment. And there will be enough interest And the it will be a boring private equity or you know technology partner. it will not be a major studio And it will change hands, maybe be taken private. Well, it would have to be taken private. And I guess unless you're saying another public company buys it Either way, it would cease to exist as a standalone public home Yes. Do you think it will change how many iMAax theaters exist? If it goes private equity? willill we see a boom in IiMAax theaters? I mean, that's the other issue is they should be growing They should be adding more theaters because clearly the demand is there mostost of these theater chains would love it if they're percentage of IMac and large format screens went up. Yeah. I mean, people wantt I don't have a lot I don't No, there of course, yes, the people want there to be more they just don't want to pay for it. They don't want they don't wantan to have to expend the money to build out the theaters. Yeah. I mean, look, the people that should own this technology are the theater owners Much as I said that movie studios should be on the front lines of sort of investing in filmaking technology. and and sort of new talent. Exhibition technology should be what AMC Regal and Cinemark are the best at. And instead, they have this other company that they have sort of this large kind of friendly but occasionally contentious relationship with. I agree. But obviously One of them buying it would create other problems All right, Lucas, thanks very much. Thanks, Bat Today's call sheet is brought to you by Holiday Inn by IHG, the global icon you love, but with a whole new energy and comfort that hits different than before Before we start on the call sheet, some accountability corner from last week, a pretty brutal week for me. I took under on eighty five million for the four day on Mandalorian and Grogu. Final number. ninety eight million Sure. I'm surprised. you usually have your finger on the pulse for movies that kids will like. I know. so I'm surprised even having taken your son that you didn't think this would overperform with families. I don't know what I would say. I regretted that call the second I made it. and you were right. and eighty five was just way too low The NRG number like they just didn't get what kids were into. and the numbers on this show that it was kids that powered it. So. on me. I also whiffed on Colbert, the finale. I predicted it would be between four million And five million live plus same day. viewers, the Nielsen preliminary number was six point seven four million. We don't have the final number yet but it's not going to go below five. So I whiffed on that one too. A lot of people watch Colbert. A lot of people watch Colbert late night. Maybe they shouldn't have canceled it I don't know. There was a whole thing where you know, people wondered if they would just watch the clips and I thought that they would just watch the clips and turns out his fans showed up. It was the number one day episode of the show ever So I don't know how sustainable that The boomers still tune in when they need to. Yeah. Bad week for me. Let's move on. Craig, you and I have not seen obsession yet. Yet. Will you see it? No, I'm not. But honestly, I expect you to see it. This is a young person thing. I know. I don't love horror, but I have been texting my friends who love horror and ask them how scary it is and they said it's right on the fringe. So I might watch this movie Yeah, it's like fatal attraction, but with some gore, right? Sure I think a lot gore, but yes. and made for less than a million dollars, unbelievable this filmaker, Curry Barker and bought at the Toronto Film Festival by Focus Features for fifteen million dollars. He before that got Jason Blum of Blumhouse to come on board as a producer and unbelievable success here opened to seventeen million. secondecond weekend, it goes up by forty percent to thirty two million for the weekend. That never happens. Horror movies in particular tend to drop off after the first weekend. We haven't had a movie that's gone up like this since twenty twenty three and that was Sound of Freedom, which was the Qanon associated movie that opened on fourourth of July and then went up. I mean this thing is an absolute phenomenon at sixty plus million domestic My prediction today is that this is going to blow past one hundred million domestic. The word of mouth is tremendous. Horror is in such a fantastic Th are the glory days of horror. We're going to look back on this era. We were talking about it as being oversaturated a year ago you know, Megan to missed the mark and to Blum's credit, he completely recalibrated and is now going after these young filmmakers with more grassroots kind of digital first ethos And he's succeeding. He's got backrooms coming this weekend. That's going to be huge. also. That's new A twenty four Yes. I think that what is starting to work more, it's not the IP sequelization of horror fil It's like these young creators coming off YouTube. I mean, back in twenty twenty two, it kind of started with that movie talkalk to me, which was created by by the two Australian YouTubers. That movie did like one hundred million on a four million dollars budget. And now we're seeing backrooms with Kane Parsons. We have this movie with Curry Barker. Long legs was sort of a grassroots thing as well. Yes, but people are starting to attach themselves you know, Zach Crager with Weapons to these young horror filmmakers who are making original horror movies. and we are really in, I mean, I agree I mean, it is like every couple months now, there is another huge horror movie that everybody needs to go see It's pretty remarkable. What a windfall to for focus. I mean, I thought I saw that fifteen million dollars price tag that they paid at Toronto. I was like,, that seems like a lot But now it's like free money. I mean, it's unbelievable. and they're going to have sequels forever. They do have sequel rights. Focus has sequel rights to this movie. So What a win for everyone. Good job We're not always crapping on Hollywood. The hat would say we crap on Hollywood. This is This is an absolute out of nowh, huge success. Totally. Horror is really capable of pumping out original movies that people will take a risk to go in and see more than any other genre by a mind And that you and I will not see