07/05/2026

LYFE THURSDAY | MAY 7, 2026

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Malaysian Paper

/thesundaily /

W HEN Hollywood’s summer movie season kicked off last Friday, cinema owners were counting on the high-heeled women of The Devil Wears Prada 2 instead of cape-wearing superheroes to draw audiences to the cineplex. For the past two decades, the first weekend in May featured a superhero movie or other high octane adventure on the big screen. Walt Disney had planned to release Avengers: Doomsday in the slot this year but swapped in Prada 2 , a comedy starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, when the filmmak ers needed more time on the Marvel film. The move is expected to pay off with a strong opening for Prada , box office analysts said. It also coincides with a decline in box office power for action flicks, according to an analysis of US and Canadian box office receipts by TD Cowen analyst Doug Creutz. In 2025, Creutz said Superman , F1 and other action or adventure movies accounted for 35% of ticket sales from the top 100 films. That tied for the lowest share since 2010 and marked the third year in a row in the mid-30% range. Disney’s Marvel superhero movies and Universal’s Fast & Furious racing films, among others, attracted large audiences to cinemas in the 2010s. As recently as 2022, action movies brought in 56% of domestic box office dollars, lifted by Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick . The number of action films sent to cinemas has remained steady at about 25 annually for more than a decade. Part, but not all, of the sales decline may be related to lower quality, Creutz said. But even films

Cape to couture: New film era?

o As 2026’s popcorn movie season starts, action, superhero flicks loses coveted box office punch to family, horror shows

Day and The Mandalorian and Grogu (Star Wars) , as well as Marvel’s delayed Avengers: Doomsday , which is scheduled for December. The last Avengers movie, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame , generated US$1.9 billion (RM7.5 billion) in global ticket sales to become the second-highest-grossing movie of all time. Prada 2 could make a case for more genre diversity at theaters, said Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics for ticket seller Fandango and Box Office Theory founder and owner. He expects the film will bring in at least US$70 million in domestic ticket sales this weekend, providing a strong start to the summer season that runs through Labour Day and typically accounts for 40% of the year’s box office dollars. “I guarantee there are a lot of people hoping it’s the new normal. It doesn’t have to be just one genre that launches moviegoing into a very lucrative season,” Robbins said, noting a desire for more films outside the action genre.

with positive reviews from critics pulled in fewer box office dollars than in years past, he said. “It appears audiences are no longer eager to see even good superhero films today as they were pre-pandemic,” Creutz said in a research note. Family films, by contrast, are on the rise, as are horror films. Recent hits have included Lilo & Stitch , Zootopia 2 and The Super Mario Bros Movie . Cinema owners said genre popularity is cyclical. The key to success, they said, is a wide range of movies throughout the year, reported Reuters. “We need more dramas and comedies. They say nobody goes to dramas or comedies anymore. It’s because they aren’t actually making anything (in those genres) to go to,” said Greg Marcus, president and CEO of The Marcus Corporation, the operator of the fourth-largest cinema chain in the US. And action movies still pull in crowds. Box office analysts are bullish on summer releases, including Spider-Man: Brand New

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is kickstarting this year’s summer movie season.

EVENTS LISTING

Makers & Co Mother’s Day Market Date: May 7–10 Time: 11am–10pm Venue: The Campus, Ampang Entry fee: Free Makers & Co presents a Mother’s Day market featuring more than 50 local vendors, including housewives, working mothers, small business owners and mother-daughter duos. The four day event includes curated gifts, dance and live keroncong performances, personalised poetry sessions, mother-and daughter workshops, children’s activities, health and wellness support for mothers and a Story Booth sharing personal reflections on motherhood.

Charles Yang Reloaded Date: May 16 Time: 8pm Venue: Petronas Philharmonic Hall, KLCC Entry fee: RM249–RM499 Grammy Award-winning violinist Charles Yang returns to the Petronas Philharmonic Hall for a pop crossover concert with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Gerard Salonga. The programme features classical crossover interpretations of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Hotel California, Blackbird, Thriller and Billie Jean , with Yang also performing vocals on songs including Fly Me To The Moon and A Change Is Gonna Come .

Never Stand Still Date: May 22–24 Time: 8.30pm (May 22–23), 6pm (May 24) Venue: KongsiKL, Kuala Lumpur Entry fee: RM25–RM55 Choreographer Zulkarnain Zuber presents Never Stand Still , a contemporary dance production featuring four interconnected works on movement, pressure, family dynamics and urban exhaustion. Performed by Ask Dance Company members, interns and guest artists, the production marks the company’s first mixed-bill work staged in the unconventional performance space of KongsiKL.

I’m a Mum!? Date: May 10–July 12 Time: 12pm–7pm Venue: Cultprint by Zach Studio, George Town Entry fee: Not specified Cultprint presents I’m a Mum!?, a solo exhibition by Red Hongyi that traces a personal journey from pregnancy to the first 30 days of postpartum confinement. The exhibition explores early motherhood through works made with muslin, thread, needles and buttons, using these everyday materials to reflect care, labour and the changing sense of self after childbirth.

Roadkill Date: May 9–June 7, 2026 Time: 12pm–6pm (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays) Venue: The Back Room, Kuala Lumpur Entry fee: Free The Back Room presents Roadkill, the first formal solo exhibition by Kuala Lumpur artist Silas Oo. The exhibition features ten ultra-fine line drawings based on roadkill encountered on city streets, with animal remains reimagined through car parts to examine death, fear and the uneasy overlap between machine and flesh.