World Movie News: The Last 24 Hours
Dan Lin exits Netflix, the UK-Ireland chart, Jailer 2’s record weekend, Resident Evil’s China hold, Nollywood’s October record, Richard Riehle is mourned & The Prestige turns 20.
Morning, all. Yesterday I promised you the UK-Ireland chart, and it has landed, and Tuesday also means our weekly lap of the world’s other film industries. First, though, there’s another shoe dropping at Netflix.
Dan Lin out at Netflix: Netflix film chief Dan Lin has been dismissed after almost three years in the job, according to Variety, which says he was let go at the start of the weekend and addressed his teams on Monday. It follows the layoffs of roughly 1,000 staff last week, the shock exit of chief content officer Bela Bajaria and the arrival of Peter Rice to replace her, with Lin’s right-hand man Doug Belgrad and indie film head Sheroum Kim among those already gone. Lin had attended Saturday’s Academy Gala and was at a screening of the magnificent La Bola Negra at Netflix on Sunday evening. He took over from Scott Stuber in 2024. Last week I said it had been quite a week in Los Gatos; it turns out it was two, and Netflix’s earnings are due later today.
UK and Ireland box office: Kitao Sakurai’s Street Fighter topped the weekend chart with £2.3 million from 594 cinemas, a £3,872 average, narrowly beating Forgotten Island, which opened to £1.3 million from 628 cinemas. The Tamil blockbuster Jailer 2 came an impressive fifth with £754,000 from just 230 cinemas, a £3,365 average that’s up on the £728,000 start of the first film in 2023, taking it to about £1.1 million including previews. Also making an impression was the Venice award-winning documentary NAZA, which opened to £173,000 from just 51 cinemas, a £3,395 average and one of the highest of the weekend. The top five took £6.3 million, up 3% on last weekend and 18% on the same weekend last year.
The weekend box office, worldwide: Although still based on a few estimates, this has the worldwide chart for 16–18 October being led by Street Fighter with an estimated $51.2 million, the lowest chart-topping number since mid-September. In second place is the Tamil blockbuster Jailer 2 with $31.2 million from 20 markets, including its huge opening in India, which takes it to $44.5 million since it opened on Thursday. Resident Evil is third with $22.6 million, taking it to $361.2 million worldwide.
Tamil cinema: Jailer 2: Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2 took Rs 199.9 crore (about $21 million) in India over its first four days, which is Kollywood’s second-biggest opening weekend of all time, behind only 2.0‘s Rs 215.25 crore, and makes it the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2026 so far. Bollywood Hungama puts its worldwide total at Rs 325 crore (about $34 million) after three days. The Tamil film industry’s superstars clearly have no plans to go quietly.
China: Resident Evil holds on: In mainland China, Resident Evil stayed number one for a second full weekend with RMB 62.5 million ($9.3 million), taking it to $55.8 million since its 5 October opening. The wider market is quiet after the Golden Week rush, with a mainland weekend total of $26.7 million and a year-to-date total of $4.67 billion, down 29.2% on 2025. Crime drama Traces of Justice remains ahead on cumulative earnings, with $84.6 million.
Nollywood’s October record: In Nigeria, Agbara Nla: The Return held on to the top spot for a third weekend with ₦47.2 million (about $35,000) from 7,656 admissions, down 37%, taking its total to ₦354.6 million (about $267,000). That makes it the highest-grossing October release of all time in Nigeria, Nollywood or Hollywood, ahead of Venom: The Last Dance, which opened in October 2024. Street Fighter opened with ₦35.7 million (about $27,000) from 71 cinemas, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day has passed ₦2.4 billion (about $1.8 million) in its twelfth weekend. Cinemas took about ₦150.7 million (about $113,000) over the weekend as a whole.
The Nordic Council Film Prize: The winner of the 2026 Nordic Council Film Prize is due to be announced today, with Sentimental Value and Hlynur Pálmason’s The Love That Remains among the six nominees. I’ll bring you the result tomorrow.
Richard Riehle, 1948–2026: The character actor died of natural causes on Thursday in Los Angeles, aged 78, and his representatives confirmed it on Monday. He appeared in more than 400 projects over nearly five decades, but most of us know him as Tom Smykowski in Office Space, the product manager who survives a hit-and-run and builds the prototype for the “Jump to Conclusions” mat. His film credits also include Glory, Casino, The Fugitive, Free Willy and Bridesmaids, and he co-starred in the sitcom Grounded for Life. He played Santa Claus in eight different projects, and he started out in the John Wayne film Rooster Cogburn. Rest in peace.
Twenty years of The Prestige: Cheering things up, Christopher Nolan’s twisty magician thriller opened in US cinemas 20 years ago today. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale play rival Victorian magicians, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, whose rivalry escalates from sabotage to something much darker, with Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and David Bowie as Nikola Tesla. It was nominated for two Oscars, for cinematography and art direction. It famously asks the audience whether they’re watching closely, and it’s a film that rewards you for doing so every time.
Birthdays: Danny Boyle, the director of Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire and the upcoming Ink, turns 70 today, and Viggo Mortensen of The Lord of the Rings turns 68. Also celebrating is John Krasinski (47), who directed and starred in A Quiet Place.
That’s all for today.
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