Culture Crave Newsletter — #14 🍿

Hello readers! Welcome back to the Culture Crave newsletter 📩

It’s been over a year since we published, as we decided to focus on building our social accounts, which have now grown to over 2M followers across all platforms. With that foundation in place, we're excited to bring the newsletter back!

Expect a few of these a month going forward, packed with our original graphics, breakdowns, and even some interviews.

We’d also like to welcome Cade Onder, who will be helping write these going forward ✍️

Thank you for the support 🤝

— Zach Williamson

The evolution of Shrek

The first trailer for Shrek 5 debuted this week, and some fans seem a bit divided over the updated character designs. DreamWorks has gradually evolved the look of its characters over the years — remember Puss in Boots: The Last Wish? Great film. We personally think the discourse is a bit overblown, but you can take a look above at how the beloved animated characters have evolved since their debut in 2001 and decide for yourself 🟢

Obsession’s crazy box office run

Obsession is the mega-surprise hit of 2026. The horror film was independently produced for $750k, acquired by Focus Features for $15M, and has gone on to make over $300M, making it one of the most profitable films in Hollywood history. Director Curry Barker has now signed a reported eight-figure deal with Universal for an upcoming original horror film, due to its success 💰

Live-action Star Wars box office ranking

Star Wars returned to the big screen after a seven year absence, but unfortunately, it wasn’t the explosive comeback some were hoping for. The Mandalorian and Grogu is the lowest grossing live-action Star Wars film in history right now, and it’s hard to imagine it surpassing Solo: A Star Wars Story at this point. Next up for the franchise is Star Wars: Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Shawn Levy 💥

Steven Spielberg’s highest-rated films

The Odyssey will consume IMAX screens soon

The Odyssey will be the first film in history shot entirely on IMAX 70mm film, a format that offers unparalleled image quality, resolution, and scale.

The image above shows just how much more of the frame you'll see in IMAX 70mm compared to a standard theater screen.

Only ~40 theaters worldwide will be able to present the film in its full IMAX 70mm format 🎞️

Godzilla Minus Zero details

Toy Story remains the highest-rated franchise ever on Rotten Tomatoes

The evolution of Scooby-Doo

Netflix recently released its first look at the titular dog in its upcoming live-action Scooby-Doo series. If you are thinking to yourself “Wow, CGI has gotten really advanced, he looks so real,” it’s because that is an actual real dog. It remains to be seen if he will talk like in the cartoons, or if he will just be a dog that hangs out with the gang 🐕

Notable PlayStation upcoming console exclusives

PlayStation is cooking up a lot of great games with new titles from Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, Sony Santa Monica, and other great studios all on the horizon. We noted several of the console exclusives, but there are a number of other major titles on the way, including PlayStation’s heist game, Fairgame$ 🎮

Highest-selling video games ever

The Witcher 3 has been steadily climbing the charts as one of the best-selling video games of all-time. Despite being over a decade old, the game will likely sell even more copies next year. CD Projekt Red recently announced that a new story expansion for the game will release next year and will tie-in to the studio’s next game, The Witcher 4 ⚔️

The state of the Avatar franchise

The Avatar franchise is in a strange place right now… The only thing we have to add is we agree with the OG cast. Release Aang: The Last Airbender in theaters! 🍿

DOJ approves Paramount buying Warner Bros., but it’s not over yet

The Department of Justice has approved of Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, but New York, California, and various other states are looking for a way to team up and block the deal ❌

Other big news stories

And finally, let’s end this week’s newsletter with a quick recap of some of the biggest headlines.

• Xbox is reportedly planning a major ‘reset’ under newly appointed CEO Asha Sharma that could result in significant layoffs and the closure or sale of studios including Ninja Theory (Hellblade), Double Fine (Psychonauts), and Compulsion Games (South of Midnight). Game File reports that Ninja Theory's next game, Senua, was revealed just a week or so back in part to attract potential buyers ahead of a possible sale, spinoff, or shutdown.

• Spider-Man: Brand New Day got a new trailer, and Savage Hulk is BACK, Spidey now has organic webs, and more. Watch it here.

• The Batman Part II is officially up and running, after years of delays and releases October 2027. James Gunn’s Superman follow-up, Man of Tomorrow, is also filming in parallel for a June 2027 release. This will be the first time in history that both DC franchises release a film in the same year.

• Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, and Ice Cube are all returning for 24 Jump Street. It’s been so long since the last one, they joked they’re skipping 23 Jump Street.

• Jordan Peele has reportedly finished a script for his fourth film

• Dragon Ball artist Toyotarou released a new illustration of Old Man Goku.

• George Lucas has a voice role in the Minions movie and is a huge fan of the franchise. His new Museum looks incredible as well.

• Team USA has advanced to the Round of 32 at the World Cup — LFG 🇺🇸

That’s all for this week. Hit the subscribe button if you enjoyed it 🤝

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