Netflix confirms 14 day theatrical run for Knives Out 3

Jack Dunn in Variety reveals that ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ Sets Two-Week Theatrical Release Before Netflix Rollout.

The third instalment in the ensemble mystery franchise featuring Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc will screen in selected theatres globally for 14 days starting November 26 before streaming on Netflix on December 12, 2025.

In 2022, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” played in 600 cinemas for one week one month before streaming.

My take: kudos to Rian Johnson for putting this in his Netflix contract. Could this become their new norm, after Netflix’s success with its two-day KPop Demon Hunter theatrical release?

Netflix scores big by going back to theatres

65 days after releasing the animation on its worldwide streaming platform on June 20, 2025, Netflix has raked in over $19M at the box office with the KPop Demon Hunters Sing-Along Event.

That’s over $11,000 for each of 1,700 theatres over two days.

Further, it has become Netflix’s most watched movie ever.

And the soundtrack has had four songs in the Hot 100’s Top 10.

My take: this is a perfect example of what I call Niche Concentration — in this case, Animation (a niche) multiplied by K-pop (a second niche) multiplied by Musical (a third niche.) You’d think that the audience would diminish each time you add a niche, but there seems to be an inverse effect as the concept becomes increasingly concentrated.

Use Moonvalley Marey on fal.ai

If you’ve been dying to try out Moonvalley, fal.ai has just made it happen.

See Image2Video, Text2Video, Motion Transfer, and Pose Transfer, all at 1080p.

Not cheap, but cheaper than some other ways of getting that shot.

My take: CGI and VFX are being automated, like weaving and typesetting and other lost jobs.

KPop Demon Hunters connections with Canada

Netflix‘s massive global hit KPop Demon Hunters has many connections to Canada.

  1. Co-director Maggie Kang is a Korean-Canadian who grew up in Toronto.
  2. Kang studied animation at Sheridan College.
  3. Ahn Hyo-seop who voices Jinu is Canadian.
  4. KPop Demon Hunters was largely animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks in their Vancouver and Montreal studios.
  5. The film has tax credit money from Quebec, British Columbia and Canada — see the end credits.

Note there will be a KPop Demon Hunters Sing-Along limited theatrical event for one weekend only in the US and Canada on August 23 and 24. See SingKPopDemonHunters.com for more.

My take: kudos to Netflix for bankrolling this production.

Over 70 Canadian Distributors!

Telefilm Canada has just released a report titled “Exploring the Futures of Distribution – Strategic Visions for the Canadian Audiovisual Industry“.

The PDF report by La Société des demains opines, somewhat existentially:

“To resolve distribution issues in a sustainable manner, it is essential to tackle the structural problems throughout the entire value chain, both upstream and downstream of distribution.

My take: this is a fascinating, if depressing, report on the state of film distribution in Canada. The best part, in my estimation, is the exhaustive list of (almost) every distributor in Canada, found in Appendix A on Page 25.

Microdramas coming to North America rsn?

Microdramas are coming to North America, according to CNBC.

Blame it on TikTok, which incited the world’s addiction to vertical video, but short vertical drama revenues overtook motion pictures in China for the first time in 2024.

The BBC is all over this too.

Characteristics of microdramas:

  1. 90-120 seconds in length
  2. 20-100 episodes in total
  3. Vertical video orientation
  4. Low-cost of production
  5. Unknown actors
  6. Target audience: women between the ages of 25 to 35
  7. Lots of romantic comedy, vampire stories, tycoon stories
  8. Fast-paced, over-the-top storylines
  9. Twists or cliffhangers every minute.

The main mobile apps used to consume this content are: ReelShort, DramaBox and GoodShort.

In the CNBC report, Anne Chan, Co-Founder of AR Asia Production says:

“You cannot compare street food to Michelin. Is Michelin food going to take over street food? No, not a chance. But there is an appetite for street food. There is an appetite for Michelin dishes.”

But she forecasts:

“People keep saying, you know, ‘TV is dying.’ It’s not dying. It’s just moving to the verticals, moving to the fragmented viewing. So if people move, you have to move with them, otherwise you’ll be eliminated.”

My take: You could say that TikTok forced Meta to introduce Reels to Facebook and Instagram, and Google to introduce Shorts to YouTube. Does that mean the Chinese love of microdramas is guaranteed to play out in North America too? I hope not. (I did like six-second Vines though.)

Kalshi TV ad made with Veo 3

As seen during the recent NBA Finals:

This 30 second television ad was made by Pj Accetturo, a filmmaker based out of Tampa, Florida. Here’s his full process:

“My Veo 3 viral video process is very simple.

I’ve generated 30M+ views in 3 weeks using this exact workflow:

  1. Write a rough script
  2. Use Gemini to turn it into a shot list + prompts
  3. Paste into Veo 3 (Google Flow)
  4. Edit in Capcut/FCPX/Premiere, etc.

Concept

Kalshi is a prediction market where you can trade on anything. (US legal betting)

I pitched them on a GTA VI style concept because I think that unhinged street interviews are Veo 3’s bread and butter right now.

I guarantee you that everyone will copy this soon, so might as well make it easy and give you the entire process.

Script

Their team give me a bunch of bullet points of betting markets they wanted to cover (NBA, Eggs, Hurricanes, Aliens, etc)

I then rewatched the GTA VI trailer and got inspired by a couple locations, characters, etc.

Growing up in Florida…this wasn’t a hard script to write, lol.


Prompting:

I then ask Gemini/ChatGPT to take the script and convert every shot into a detailed Veo 3 prompt. I always tell it to return 5 prompts at a time—any more than that and the quality starts to slip.

Each prompt should fully describe the scene as if Veo 3 has no context of the shot before or after it. Re-describe the setting, the character, and the tone every time to maintain consistency.

Prompt example:

A handheld medium-wide shot, filmed like raw street footage on a crowded Miami strip at night. An old white man in his late 60s struts confidently down the sidewalk, surrounded by tourists and clubgoers. He’s grinning from ear to ear, his belly proudly sticking out from a cropped pink T-shirt. He wears extremely short neon green shorts, white tube socks, beat-up sneakers, and a massive foam cowboy hat with sequins on it. His leathery tan skin glows under the neon lights.

In one hand, he clutches a tiny, trembling chihuahua to his chest like a prized accessory.

As he walks, he turns slightly toward the camera, still mid-strut, and shouts with full confidence and joy:

“Indiana got that dog in ’em!”

Trailing just behind him are two elderly women in full 1980s gear—both wearing bedazzled workout leotards, chunky sneakers, and giant plastic sunglasses. Their hair is still in curlers under clear plastic shower caps. One sips from a giant novelty margarita glass, the other waves at passing cars.

Around them, the strip is buzzing—people filming with phones, scooters zipping by, music thumping from nearby balconies. Neon signs flicker above, casting electric color across the scene. The crowd parts around the trio, half amazed, half confused.

Process

Instead of giving it 10 shots and telling ChatGPT to turn them all prompts, I find it works best when it gives you back only 3 prompts at a time.

This keeps the accuracy high.

Open up three separate windows in Veo 3 and put each prompt in there.

Run all three at the same time.

3-4 min later, you’ll get back your results. You’ll likely need to change things.

Take the first prompt back into ChatGPT and dictate what you want changed.

Then it will give you a new adjusted prompt.

Let that run while you then adjust prompt 2. Then prompt 3. Usually, by the time you’re done with prompt 3, prompt 1 has its second iteration generated.

Rinse and repeat for your whole shot list.

Tips:

I don’t know how to fix the random subtitles. I’ve tried it with and without quotes and saying (no subtitles) and it still happens. If anyone has a tip, let me know and I’ll add it to this post.

Don’t let ChatGPT describe music being played in the background or it’ll be mixed super loud.

If you want certain accents, repeat “British accent” or “country accent”, etc. a couple times, I’ve found that it will do a decent job matching the voice to the face/race/age but it helps to prompt for it.

Edit

Editing Veo 3 videos is easy.

Simply merge the clips in CapCut, FCPX, or Premiere, and add music (if necessary).

I’d love to know if anyone has found good upscale settings for Veo 3 in 720p. My tests in topaz made the faces more garbled, so I try and cover it with a bit of film grain.

I like to add a compression/bass to the Veo 3 audio because I find it to be “thin”.

Cost and Time:

This took around 300–400 generations to get 15 usable clips. One person, two days.

That’s a 95% cost reduction compared to traditional advertising.

The Future of Ads

But just because this was cheap doesn’t mean anyone can do it this quickly or effectively.  You still need experience to make it look like a real commercial.

I’ve been a director 15+ years, and just because something can be done quickly, doesn’t mean it’ll come out great. But it can if you have the right team.

The future is small teams making viral, brand-adjacent content weekly, getting 80 to 90 percent of the results for way less.

What’s the Moat for Filmmakers?

It’s attention.

Right now the most valuable skill in entertainment and advertising is comedy writing.

If you can make people laugh, they’ll watch the full ad, engage with it, and some of them will become customers.”

The BTS:

My take: high energy, for sure! That’s one detailed prompt for a three second clip.

Canadian movies, by annual box office

In honour of our upcoming Canada Day, I thought it would be patriotic to take a look at the biggest all-time world box office numbers for Canadian movies produced in the last ten years.

See the excellent The Numbers website and their Top Canadian Movies of Each Year listings. The Top 10 by box office from 2016 to date:

Year Movie Budget Box Office
2020 Sonic The Hedgehog $90,000,000.00 $302,452,077.00
2023 PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie $30,000,000.00 $201,739,292.00
2019 The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part $99,000,000.00 $192,306,508.00
2024 Paddington in Peru $75,336,729.00 $192,148,490.00
2023 Insidious: The Red Door $16,000,000.00 $186,258,928.00
2021 PAW Patrol: The Movie $26,000,000.00 $151,403,419.00
2019 Midway $100,000,000.00 $126,787,360.00
2021 The Addams Family 2 Unknown $119,383,236.00
2019 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark $28,000,000.00 $104,793,708.00
2016 Ballerina $30,000,000.00 $96,451,584.00

The Top Ten with Biggest Return on Budget:

Year Movie Budget Box Office Return %
2023 Skinamarink $15,000.00 $2,131,183.00 14208
2023 Insidious: The Red Door (US?) $16,000,000.00 $186,258,928.00 1164
2016 The Witch $3,500,000.00 $40,364,725.00 1153
2017 My Little Pony: The Movie $6,500,000.00 $61,294,644.00 943
2016 Embrace (Australia?) $225,000.00 $1,611,592.00 716
2023 PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie $30,000,000.00 $201,739,292.00 672
2021 PAW Patrol: The Movie $26,000,000.00 $151,403,419.00 582
2016 Race $5,000,000.00 $23,745,772.00 475
2019 The Lighthouse $4,000,000.00 $18,237,527.00 456

Confused by these titles? Paddington in Peru? Movies are international productions now and get certain work done in tax credit-friendly jurisdictions for the money – and the excellent work skilled artists and technicians provide, of course.

CAVCO certifies Canadian movies. The CRA then refunds money to the Canadian producers of these movies, to the tune of millions of dollars. (Wouldn’t it be nice to know which movies Canadian taxpayers are helping fund and for how much? Other than checking the credits, I don’t know of a comprehensive list. But here’s a cost report from BC.)

Is Canadian investment in Canadian movies worth it? Check Cinema of Canada to see how small the Canadian production and box office numbers actually are. And direct employment in Canadian movies is less than 8,500 people. That’s a government subsidy of something like $25,000 per job. (Someone please tell me my math is wrong.)

My take: The Hollywood Reporter recently published a list of The 51 Best Canadian Movies of All Time – now where have I heard that particular number recently? Curiously, I don’t think any of these movies appear on their list.

See Veo Prompt Examples

Google Veo is arguably the best (but most expensive) AI video generator today. And Google Flow is arguably the best AI filmmaking tool built with and for creatives. Want to peak under the hood and reveal the prompts creating the magic? See Flow TV.

My favourites are:

NOTE: Click into a channel and select the Lightbox view. Turn on Show Prompt. Notice how detailed they can be.

My take: I think we’re beyond the “remember, it’s only going to get better” stage.

What filmmakers really want to know on Reddit

Stephen Follows analyzed over 160,000 questions on Reddit to uncover what filmmakers really ask, need and struggle with.

Amazingly, 10 questions accounted for 52% of the total. They are, quoting Stephen:

1. What camera and gear should I buy for filmmaking on my budget?

The search for the “right” camera and kit never ends, no matter how much technology shifts. People want to know what will give them industry-standard results without breaking the bank. The conversation includes price brackets, compatibility, and whether brand or model really matters to a film’s success.

2. How do I start a career in film or get my foot in the door?

This is the practical follow-up to the film school debate. Filmmakers want straight answers about first jobs, entry points, and which cities or skills lead to real work. Many people are looking for pathways that do not depend on family connections or luck.

3. Is film school worth it or do I need to go to film school to work in the industry?

Filmmakers want clarity on the value of a formal degree versus real-world experience. They are trying to weigh debt against opportunity and want to know if there are shortcuts, hidden costs, or alternative routes into the business.

4. Which editing software should I use?

Software choice raises both budget and workflow issues. Filmmakers want to know which tools are worth learning for professional growth. Questions focus on cost, features, compatibility, and what is expected in professional settings.

5. How do I find cast, crew, or collaborators for my film?

Building a team is a constant sticking point. Most low-budget filmmakers do not have a professional network and are looking for reputable ways to meet actors, crew, or creative partners. Trust and reliability are major concerns, as is the need for effective group communication.

6. What is the legal, rights, permits, and music aspect of filmmaking?

Legal uncertainty is widespread. Filmmakers are confused about permissions, copyright, insurance, and protecting their work and collaborators. They want step-by-step advice that demystifies the paperwork.

7. How do I improve as a filmmaker, cinematographer, editor, writer, director, etc?

Self-development is a constant thread. Filmmakers search for the best courses, books, tutorials, and case studies. Clear recommendations are valued and people want to know what separates average work from great films.

8. Is my gear, equipment, location, or crew good enough for filmmaking?

Questions about minimum standards reflect deeper anxieties about competing in a crowded field. People want reassurance that their toolkit will not hold them back and want to know how far they can push limited resources.

9. How do I submit my film to festivals, distribute it, or what happens after my film is done?

People want clear instructions on taking their finished work to the next level. Festival strategies, navigating submissions, and understanding distribution channels are a minefield. Filmmakers want to know how to maximise exposure and what steps make the biggest difference.

10. How do I get feedback or critique on my work?

Constructive criticism is in high demand. Filmmakers want practical advice on scripts, edits, and showreels. They look for honest reactions to their work and advice on how to keep improving.”

My take: my answers:

  1. The camera on your smartphone is totally adequate to film your first short movie.
  2. Make your own on ramp by creating a brand somewhere online with a minimum viable product – you need to specialize and dominate that niche. Or move to a large production centre.
  3. Maybe, if you can afford it and you’re a people person. Otherwise, spend the money on your own films because every short film is an education unto itself.
  4. Davinci Resolve. Free or Studio.
  5. Your local film cooperative. Don’t have one? Start your own.
  6. Google is your friend. Don’t sweat it too much (and create your own music) for your first short festival films. As soon as your product becomes commercial, you need an entertainment lawyer on your team.
  7. Watch movies, watch tutorials, make weekend movies to practice techniques, challenge yourself. Just do it.
  8. See Answers One and Seven. Note: this is an audiovisual medium; audiences will forgive visuals that fall short but WILL NOT forgive bad sound. Luckily, great sound is easily achievable today.
  9. FilmFreeway.com
  10. Send me a link to your screener; I’ll watch anything and give you free notes on at least three things to improve.