Strictly Business Daily Variety – Box Office: ‘The Running Man’ Stumbles as ‘Now You See Me’ Conjures the Win; Focus Features Chief Peter Kujawski on Moviegoing and Fandom Psychographics
Nov 17, 2025
Brent Lang, Variety's executive editor and box-office reporter, examines the surprising success of 'Now You See Me' and the struggles of 'The Running Man.' He shares insights into audience reactions and studio strategies that shape film performances. Joining him is Peter Kujawski, Chairman of Focus Features, who discusses the future of theatrical moviegoing and the innovative use of psychographics to target diverse adult audiences. They also explore the lessons learned from Focus Fest and how box office revenue is reinvested to foster groundbreaking films.
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Box Office Surprise: Lottery Weekend
- Now You See Me, Now You Don't outperformed expectations while The Running Man underperformed domestically and especially internationally.
- The contrast highlights unpredictable weekend dynamics and varied franchise resonance across markets.
Shrinking Windows Hurt Legs
- Movies are losing their multi-week endurance at the box office and dropping far faster than before.
- Brent Lang attributes this to shortened release windows training audiences to wait for streaming.
Lionsgate Needs a Commercial Rebound
- Lionsgate's Now You See Me win matters because the studio has struggled with mid-budget films.
- A string of commercial hits could revive Lionsgate's valuation and M&A appeal.
