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
Danielle Allen, a liberal scholar who engages seriously with conservatism, is highlighted as a nuanced voice beyond the typical "moderate" label. A recent analysis reveals that just 25 literary agents represent half of all authors shortlisted for major U.S. literary prizes this century, underscoring extreme concentration in the publishing field. The post also references renewed attacks on Sigmund Freud, framing him as a controversial figure in contemporary cultural criticism.
Taylor Swift unveiled a surprise music video for her song "Elizabeth Taylor," stitching together iconic film scenes and archival footage of the late star. The video, released exclusively on streaming platforms, channels royalties to the Elizabeth Taylor estate, underscoring a...
Sony Pictures Television’s ‘Jeopardy!’ aired its first YouTube‑only episode, featuring creators like Monét X Change, Rebecca Black and Brennan Lee Mulligan. The digital spin‑off preserves the show’s classic gameplay while targeting the platform’s younger, creator‑centric audience.
International film production hubs are outpacing pure tax rebates as the primary draw for Netflix, Amazon and Warner Bros. Discovery. While many Ibero‑American territories still tout high incentive percentages, executives now prioritize regulatory predictability, fast permitting, reliable payments and robust local...
Peter Friedlander, the former Netflix head of U.S. scripted series, took over Amazon’s global television division in October and has spent six months untangling a bloated, post‑Salke organization. So far he’s only greenlit a reboot of MGM’s *Robocop* and a...
A federal judge has reinstated crucial funding for public broadcasters PBS and NPR, averting an immediate cash crunch. Meanwhile, DISH Network's parent company is pursuing a $31 billion debt refinancing to stave off bankruptcy risk. Roku announced a new mobile app...
The Coalition hinted that Gears 6 was already being evaluated before the E‑Day reveal, according to JD voice actor Liam McIntyre’s Twitter comments. McIntyre confirmed the studio had discussed a sixth installment but chose to pursue a new direction with E‑Day. The...
MusicAtlas has launched the Robin Film Grant, offering a $1,000 cash award to filmmakers who license a track discovered through its AI‑powered Robin search tool. The grant runs from April 1 to May 15, with the winner announced on June 1, and is...
$100M with 30 people MarketBeat does $50M/year with 19 employees... @MediaKing thinks he can get to $100M with 30... "To go from a million subscribers to two... you don't actually produce more content. You just don't need more people." Scalable media businesses aren't...
The FT reported earlier this month that the Trump administration is considering forcing Tencent to divest certain gaming assets over security concerns. The notion that gaming assets, particularly mobile gaming assets, could be useful in user-level profiling is not implausible; recall...
Dave & Buster’s reported a challenging Q4, with same‑store sales down 3.3% and adjusted EBITDA falling 12% to $111.4 million, resulting in a $39.8 million net loss. Despite the weakness, traffic trends improved, driven by a 7% rise in food and beverage...
Speaking of Mario, Yoshi and friends, #Universal's sequel #TheSuperMarioGalaxyMovie is opening TODAY at US #BoxOffice, hitting 3.821 theatres, which is less than #TheSuperMarioBrosMovie’s 4.025 theatres on its WED Opening Day back in 2023, due to #ProjectHailMary & #HOPPERS still performing...
Independent journalists Marisa Kabas, Katelyn Burns, and Kat Tenbarge have launched a 30‑day newsletter bundle through the new Trustfnd platform, letting readers access all three publications for a single $8.50 payment—about half the cost of buying them separately. Trustfnd bridges...
The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah’s largest newspaper and a nonprofit since 2019, will eliminate its digital paywall in May 2026, making all new stories free. Current digital subscribers will be converted to $10‑per‑month donors, retaining exclusive benefits such as commenting...
HYBE announced a $100 million paid‑in capital increase for its U.S. arm, HYBE America, acquiring 10 million new shares. The infusion is intended to smooth operations of the e‑commerce and label businesses, which posted $19 million revenue and a $12 million net loss in...
Independent filmmakers are urged to abandon supply‑side pitches and adopt demand‑side thinking to tap the $22 trillion pool of alternative assets that largely bypass indie cinema. Producer Daren Smith illustrates the shift by securing a $1 million equity commitment for his upcoming...
The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous Cox Communications ruling, which bars liability for internet providers unless they actively induce infringement, is now being leveraged by Elon Musk’s X Corp to seek dismissal of a music‑publisher copyright case. X’s lawyers argue that...
The WICT Network and TVNewsCheck announced a media partnership to amplify thought leadership across media, entertainment, technology, sports and gaming. TVNewsCheck will promote WICT’s flagship events—including the Leadership Conference, Signature Awards Luncheon, Stanford Senior Executive Summit and new AI Summits—to...
The news sector is undergoing a rapid transformation as digital platforms reshape distribution and revenue models. TikTok’s algorithmic reach is pressuring traditional outlets, while independent creators launch their own video operations and newsletters with minimal overhead. Legacy brands such as...
Sprinklr and CreatorIQ have integrated their platforms, linking CreatorIQ’s Creator Graph with Sprinklr’s social media reporting environment. The unified system lets brands view creator, organic, and paid performance side‑by‑side, enabling clearer revenue impact analysis. It also allows direct activation of...
Nexon announced two new entries in its Dungeon & Fighter franchise at a Tokyo Capital Markets Briefing: Dungeon & Fighter Idle, a casual, mobile‑first title slated for launch later this year, and Dungeon & Fighter Classic, a modernized revival of...
The Quincy Jones estate sold a large portion of his music rights to HarbourView Equity Partners, which included an interest in Michael Jackson’s albums: Off The Wall, Bad, and Thriller. Jackson’s catalog is believed to be one of the most valuable...
Grammy‑winning singer‑songwriter Sara Bareilles has signed with talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). The deal adds a multi‑award‑nominated composer, performer and producer whose catalog includes over three million albums, 15 million singles and 3.5 billion global streams. Bareilles is currently developing a musical adaptation...
Disney and OpenAI announced a $1 billion partnership in December to let users generate videos featuring Disney icons via OpenAI’s Sora text‑to‑video tool. On March 24, OpenAI abruptly shut Sora, leaving the deal unfulfilled and igniting criticism from creators and the Writers...
Seattle‑based Rec Room announced it will cease operations on June 1, 2026, ending a decade‑long run that attracted more than 150 million players but never turned a profit. The shutdown follows a 2025 layoff that cut half the staff and reflects broader...
The line between creator‑driven channels and traditional streaming TV is blurring as both adopt event‑driven tactics. Mark Rober’s 12‑video‑a‑year model shows low‑frequency, high‑impact releases can generate water‑cooler buzz on YouTube, while the Sidemen combine daily short‑form clips with premium, Hollywood‑style...
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Psychedelic Games secured a $3.5 million funding round from PUBG publisher Krafton, esports org FlyQuest, and Arbitrum Gaming Ventures to develop its new MOBA, Golden Tides. The studio deliberately avoided traditional venture capital, opting for strategic partners that can contribute operational...
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s Endgame extraction shooter, originally a campaign‑locked mode, is being released for free on Warzone as of April 2, 2026. The 32‑player, squad‑based experience pits teams against zombies and boss‑type Guild members on an expanded Avalon map, with...
The piece argues that writers should stop asking literary agents about their communication style during the initial call, known as "The Call." It explains that such questions merely mask deeper anxieties about response times and power imbalances, without adding value...
Macro: music-tech consolidation; Key: WMG buys Revelator to bolster distribution, rights & analytics; Risk: integration execution/valuation mismatch; Insight: buy WMG on pullbacks. — Viktor Kopylov, PhD, CFA More insights: t.me/si14Kopylov
Netflix’s live‑action adaptation of *One Piece* debuted at number one in multiple international markets, but its U.S. performance lagged behind domestic hits like *Love Is Blind: The Reunion*. With roughly 66.7 million U.S. subscribers—about 20 % of Netflix’s global base—the American viewership...
CoinPoker has unveiled CoinRewards, a $1.5 million‑per‑week incentive program that splits $1 million to cash‑game leaderboards and $500,000 to splash pots. The system features two‑hour leaderboard cycles, daily 15 % guaranteed returns, and full reinvestment of micro‑stakes fees. Launched after a record‑breaking March...
The E.W. Scripps Company’s local‑channel portfolio was pulled from Comcast’s Xfinity platform after a retransmission‑consent agreement expired. The blackout affected WSFL‑39 in Miami, WHDT‑9 in West Palm Beach and other Scripps stations nationwide. The dispute surfaced during the Florida Panthers’...
Grammy‑winning rap duo Salt‑N‑Pepa filed a 71‑page appellate brief urging the Second Circuit to reverse a district‑court dismissal of their lawsuit against Universal Music Group over the ownership of their 1986 master recordings. The duo contends the lower court applied...
CTM Outlander, a joint venture between Dutch CTM and US Outlander Capital, announced the acquisition of the master recording catalog of American singer‑songwriter Matt Simons. The deal covers Simons’ six albums, including the 2015 breakout hit “Catch & Release” (Deepend...
Ultra Europe has named Viagogo and StubHub as official "open distribution" partners, allowing fans to buy face‑value tickets directly on these platforms. The partnership aims to curb inflated resale prices after Viagogo’s history of legal penalties, including a AU$7 million (≈$4.6 million)...
Spotwise.ai announced a $450,000 pre‑seed round led by Outlast Fund, with participation from BADideas.fund and 500 Global. The funding will accelerate development of its agentic AI platform that combines broadcast monitoring, analytics, and sales automation for media companies. The solution processes...
A cross‑party group of UK MPs, backed by YouTube, has urged Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to add the creator economy to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2026 framework. The sector generated about $2.8 billion (≈£2.2 bn) in 2024 and supports 45,000 jobs,...
#Disney has dropped the Japanese poster of #ToyStory5 to announce that the sequel secured a JUL 3 release date locally, two weeks after its U.S. debut. #ToyStory is Hollywood’s #2 most successful animated franchise in #Japan’s #BoxOffice, only below #Frozen. #ToyStory4 alone...
Paramount Appoints Allie McLarty as Senior VP of Global Communications for Studios https://t.co/efdsvdRIAI via @variety
h8games, after early premium failures and a costly lawsuit, pivoted to hyper‑casual development and scored a breakout hit with Helix Jump, amassing over 800 million downloads. Leveraging that momentum, the studio partnered with SayGames to transition into hybrid‑casual, launching Little Farm...
⚡️ Disney Brings Back Discounted Partial Day Tickets at Walt Disney World ⚡️ Earlier today, Disney announced “Walt Disney World Announces ‘After 2pm’ Summer Ticket Offer,” with discounted 2-day and 3-day tickets for entry after 2 pm... $DIS https://t.co/BpHx809SVO
audiobooks basically function the way streaming albums should have been set up to function, if the music industry had been concerned about obliterating its own ability to turn a profit 20 years ago
Billion Dollar Boy’s AI‑driven platform Companion now includes a Creator Payments feature, built with Lumanu’s financial infrastructure. The tool consolidates onboarding, tax compliance and payout distribution into a single dashboard, handling up to 14 administrative actions per creator. An accompanying...
Nexstar and Tegna Claim They Can’t Fully Comply With Court Order Halting Merger Because Certain Actions ‘Cannot Be Undone’ https://t.co/t0tEGLpZam via @variety
WideOrbit unveiled WO Aurora, a cloud‑powered evolution of its radio automation platform, offering cloud, on‑premise or hybrid hosting. The system introduces Web Studio, a browser‑based interface that lets on‑air talent log in from any device and use the Live Mic...
Shutterstock has launched a dedicated app inside OpenAI’s ChatGPT, allowing users to search, preview and license images, video, music and sound effects without leaving the conversational interface. The integration taps into one of the world’s largest rights‑cleared media libraries, turning...
The broadcast radio and television sector is wrestling with accelerating cord‑cutting while streaming consumption soars, leaving the broader industry with a Zacks rank of #192 and a 37% drop in 2024 earnings estimates. Companies that have diversified into over‑the‑top (OTT)...
TV 2 and Amedia have formed a joint venture to offer Norwegian football broadcasting rights from 2026 to 2034, using a shared streaming platform. The partnership combines TV 2's national reach with Amedia's extensive local newspaper network and its Direktesport...
Nexon unveiled Mono Lake, an end‑to‑end AI platform trained on billions of player sessions, to inject contextual intelligence into every development decision. CEO Junghun Lee said the system will free engineers from routine coding, letting them focus on creative problem‑solving....
