Know What's Happening in Entertainment
Know What's Happening in Entertainment
Super Mario Galaxy film targets $200M+ opening weekend
Nintendo and Illumination are positioning the upcoming "Super Mario Galaxy" movie to open with more than $200 million domestically over the Easter holiday weekend. The strategy leans on the franchise’s multigenerational appeal and a family‑focused release window, with analysts citing the 2015 "Avengers: Age of Ultron" $191 million opening as a benchmark.
Also developing:
By the numbers: K-Love seeks FCC approval to acquire WFCC
The 2026 Oscars marked a historic shift: none of the ten Best Picture nominees were primarily shot on Hollywood soundstages. Productions now span New York, Louisiana, the U.K., Canada, Europe, and South America, reflecting a migration toward lower‑cost locations. Los Angeles film‑shoot days dropped from 36,792 in 2022 to 19,694 in 2025, and roughly 41,000 workers exited the regional workforce between 2022 and 2024. Legacy studios are responding with mergers and asset sales rather than reinvesting in the local cluster.
David Ellison, Skydance Media chief and son of Oracle co‑founder Larry Ellison, is spearheading a merger that would combine Paramount and Warner Bros. into a single entertainment powerhouse. The deal, valued at roughly $30 billion, promises up to 30 theatrical releases...
Former Fox broadcaster Piers Morgan has turned his YouTube channel, Uncensored, into a growing media platform. The channel now boasts over 4.3 million subscribers and recently secured $30 million in funding to launch new shows and hire talent, including a former MSNBC...
The 2026 World Cup will feature mid‑half hydration breaks to protect players from extreme heat, and broadcasters like ITV are planning to sell ad space during these pauses. Rather than traditional commercial slots, the network is testing split‑screen and picture‑in‑picture...
The Economist: “‘Main melody’ films, as big-budget productions carrying nationalist propaganda are known, are in a rut. Such titles were once blockbusters, topping the box office every year between 2017 and 2023, except 2019. Those days are now gone.” https://t.co/kCR1KEu0O6
Sad for those who have lost a job. Daily infotainment really has been eaten alive by YouTube and Tik Tok. Yet, people have a tendency to focus on areas that really can’t be and not the ones that really are...
ByteDance has halted the international launch of its AI video generator, Seedance 2.0, after facing cease‑and‑desist letters from Disney, Paramount and Skydance over alleged copyright infringement. The tool, released in China a month ago, sparked viral videos that mixed celebrity...
Black and Latino listeners are among the fastest‑growing podcast audiences, pushing the medium ahead of talk radio in spoken‑word share. Yet creators from these groups rarely own their shows, with distribution and monetization dominated by Apple, Spotify and YouTube. Latina...
Blade & Soul Heroes, NCSOFT’s collectible action MMORPG, will cease global operations on June 16, 2026, just six months after its September 2025 launch. A final March 17 patch will deliver the remaining Hero Ryun and unlock all pending in‑game...
Talent agency 22 has denied allegations by Australian singer Sophie Monk that it improperly withheld over $500,000 in earnings. Monk is suing for $544,683 in unpaid commissions, interest and fees, while the agency has filed a cross‑claim for $124,000, alleging...
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr used social media to warn broadcasters that stations spreading what he calls “fake news” about the U.S. bombing of Iran could face license renewal challenges. He emphasized the FCC’s public‑interest mandate and suggested that non‑compliant stations...
Hulu has cancelled its planned *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* reboot starring Sarah Michelle Gellar after the pilot failed to meet internal standards. The project, ordered a year ago and directed by Oscar‑winner Chloé Zhao, featured a script by the Zuckerman sisters and...
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp used The Players Championship press conference to outline a streamlined schedule of 21‑26 elite events, including playoffs and a major‑level team competition. He hinted that looming NFL media‑rights renegotiations are prompting the Tour to become...
Self‑publishing a book in Australia typically costs between $1,500 and $10,000 AUD, depending on the level of professional services chosen. Core expenses include editing, cover design, formatting, ISBN/metadata, printing, distribution, and marketing. Queensland Book Publishers is highlighted for its transparent,...
College football’s lack of All-22 film is sparking frustration among broadcasters and analysts. While the NFL has provided a silent, wide‑angle All‑22 view to Pro subscribers for over a decade, the collegiate game remains without a comparable product. Media personalities...
Customer satisfaction is paying off for #Hoppers which will rule the #boxoffice over Oscar wknd. $7.1M 2nd FRI going to about $29M for 2nd wknd giving Pixar pic a drop of just 37%. Domestic cume will climb to $87M in 10 days,...
"Some of the new investors have ties to the administration: --> Larry Ellison, a co-founder of Oracle, is friendly with Mr. Trump and is backing the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by his son, David Ellison, the chief executive of Paramount -->...
The Los Angeles Angels have bought Main Street Sports Group’s 50 percent stake in FanDuel Sports Network West, gaining full ownership of the regional sports network. The deal eliminates the bankruptcy‑related uncertainty surrounding Main Street and allows the Angels to launch an...
Spotify and SeatGeek teammed up to let users discover live events tied to the artists they listen to. Personalized recommendations and notifications surface events across Spotify, directing users to SeatGeek’s platform to compare options and purchase official tickets. Participating venues include SeatGeek’s...
Twitter will never be a serious platform for creators if the higher ups manually tweak payouts It's not structurally set up to be one anyways, but still...
Forbes’ 2025 highest‑paid actors list placed Mark Wahlberg third with $44 million, sparking confusion because he appeared in only one theatrical release, *Flight Risk*. The bulk of his earnings came from two streaming projects—*Play Dirty* for Prime Video, reportedly paying $25 million,...
Friday the 13th #BoxOffice - FRI MAR 13: $8M - #RemindersOfHim $7.1M - #Hoppers $4.4M - #undertone $2.6M - #Scream7 $1.2M - #GOAT $650k - #TheBride $545k - #WutheringHeights
New romance #RemindersOfHim opened to $8M on FRI incl pre-shows. CinemaScore is a B while RT aud score is faring better with 89%. Opening wknd #boxoffice looks on track for about $19M beating out last pic based on Colleen Hoover novel,...
Paramount Skydance’s pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery creates a merged studio aiming to release up to 30 films in 2027, with 26 theatrical titles already slated. The slate leans heavily on established franchises such as Godzilla‑Kong, Superman, Sonic the...
New horror pic #undertone kicked off its release with Friday the 13th launch of $4.4M incl THU pre-shows. C CinemaScore here and RT aud score of only 54%. Opening wknd #boxoffice might get to around $8M.
some scoops in here: -Things got so bad between Will Lewis and Matt Murray that Matt told Will he was out -Jeff Zucker+Gerry Cardinale explored a deal for The Post in 2023 -Will Lewis lashed out at his execs after Bezos sent him...
Emerald Fennell’s 2026 adaptation of Wuthering Heights has amassed $220.2 million worldwide, placing it second among this year’s releases after China’s Pegasus 3. The film earned $80.3 million domestically and $139.9 million overseas, a 74 % premium for international markets. It has now overtaken the...
Redbird’s Gerry Cardinale and Jeff Zucker expressed interest in buying Washington Post in 2023, per @nytimes: https://t.co/v5fCZ26uuf
On a somewhat related note, read a $PSKY analyst report this week with FY30e DTC revenues at ~$30 billion, with non-content expense at ~$3.8 billion. By comparison, when Netflix revenues reached ~$30 billion (FY21), total OpEx was ~$6.2 billion, with...
The NFL is demanding a 50‑60 percent increase in its broadcast rights fees, targeting a new minimum of $3 billion per year from Paramount, the CBS parent. A 50 percent hike would push CBS's current $2.1 billion annual fee past the $3 billion...
Mega Crit Games’ Slay the Spire 2 sold three million copies within its first week of early‑access launch, making it the biggest rogue‑lite debut on Steam by peak concurrent players. Community manager Demi reported over 25 million runs completed, a figure that likely...
Comedian Larry David is launching a new sketch comedy series on HBO, officially titled “Larry David’s America”. The show will feature a cameo by former President Barack Obama, marking a rare political figure’s participation in a comedy program. At the...
The article argues that generative AI is reshaping fandom from passive consumption to active co‑creation. Gen Z and Gen Alpha now view fan engagement as creation, demanding immersive, 24/7 experiences. Partnerships such as Disney’s deal with OpenAI let fans generate...
Meta unveiled new creator tools that streamline reporting of impersonators and introduced stricter guidelines for what qualifies as original content on Facebook. The updates include a central dashboard where creators can flag duplicate reels, and Meta reports that original‑content views...
NBCUniversal announced the cancellation of Access Hollywood after its 30‑season run, simultaneously pulling the plug on The Steve Wilkos Show and Karamo. The moves mark the studio’s complete exit from first‑run syndication, following the earlier decision to end The Kelly...
Psyop has named Dotti Sinnott executive vice president of studio, adding a seasoned production and studio‑management leader to its senior team. Sinnott will direct studio operations, production pipelines, and creative development while overseeing Psyop’s global network of partner studios. Her...
NBCUniversal announced it will cease first‑run syndication of four long‑running shows—Access Hollywood, Access Live, The Steve Wilkos Show and Karamo—signaling a retreat from a shrinking daytime market. At the same time, Peacock unveiled an AI‑generated version of Andy Cohen to...
The NFL has begun talking to Paramount/CBS Sports about a new deal. I'm told the current bid-ask spread midpoint is about 50-60% higher, and in return, the NFL would simply lift its current 2029-30 opt out and keep the CBS deal...
The “physical window” has arrived. Sturgill: “We have already had what those that follow charts refer to as the biggest first week of any album in my entire career…and first week technically just started today. https://t.co/Nf3MPZx68q
John Rice, CEO of JAM Media, warned that the traditional broadcaster‑centric model for preschool animation is becoming obsolete as platforms cut budgets and demand more audience ownership. He highlighted the need for studios to build direct relationships with children and...
Paramount Skydance Buying Out Tyler Perry’s Stake in BET+; Streaming Service to Be Phased Out and Content Merged With Paramount+ https://t.co/Q19beETCv4 via @variety
Netflix was going to cancel the show and Phil wanted to keep doing it. Ergo, YouTube. https://t.co/S6fVQvk4QH
A Fourth Pillar report shows 86% of global fixed‑income investors intend to boost music‑royalty and IP holdings, with deal flow rising to more than one transaction per month per investor. The surge is driven by streaming‑enabled globalization, richer data, and...
Everyone is looking for work as AI proliferates. A sobering look at the state of gaming from @jasonschreier https://t.co/ihXWMQ5psR
Nielsen Will Delay March ‘Gauge’ Report After Streamers Fret Over Audience Declines https://t.co/2GLpF6AZCD via @variety
At Streaming Media Connect 2026, Philo and Roku executives discussed how contextual data drives brand‑safe CTV advertising. Philo, a lean MVPD with just 11 ad‑operations staff, relies on programmatic workflows and granular tone signals—such as happy versus sad moments—to match...
🚨🏈 CNBC reporting BIG increases coming to existing NFL broadcasters as we talked about last week on The LightShed Podcast https://t.co/xVYAmLvGDq
New: NBC is ending "Access Hollywood" after 30 years, as it stops producing first-run syndicated TV. "Karamo," "Steve Wilkos" also canceled.
Embark Studios announced that Arc Raiders has removed several AI‑generated voice lines and replaced them with recordings from professional actors. Studio head Patrick Söderlund described AI as a production aid for testing dialogue, not a substitute for talent. The company...
Fox Sports shattered World Baseball Classic pool‑play viewership records, delivering an average 3.17 million viewers – a 183% increase over 2023 – with the Italy‑USA upset becoming the most‑watched telecast on FS1. ESPN posted its strongest men’s college basketball season in...
