The Town with Matthew Belloni The 2026 Box Office Draft
69 snips
Jan 19, 2026 
Lucas Shaw, a Bloomberg entertainment reporter, joins to strategize in the lively 2026 box office draft. They discuss their top movie picks, including Lucas's Spider-Man and Matt's Toy Story 5, analyzing their box office potential. The duo debates the strength of franchises like Jumanji and Moana, while aiming to outsmart each other with risky picks like Dune Messiah. With the added twist of assigning 'bombs' to each other, they navigate the fine line between blockbuster hits and potential flops, all while showcasing their industry insights.
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Draft Rules Force Risk Versus Floor Tradeoffs
- The draft scores movies by worldwide gross minus production budget, creating a strategic game of risk and floor management.
- Matt Belloni and Lucas Shaw emphasize picking a mix of safe franchises and high-upside gambles to win the contest.
Spider-Man Seen As Franchise Bedrock
- Spider-Man is treated as the most dependable blockbuster with massive ceiling based on past $1.9B performance.
- Lucas picks it first expecting franchise resilience despite release date and IMAX screen competition.
Toy Story 5 As Low-Risk Blockbuster
- Toy Story 5 is framed as a near-certain family blockbuster driven by nostalgia and a Pixar release date.
- Matt argues Andrew Stanton's involvement and positive early reports make it a low-risk high-return pick.
