Top Hollywood Talent Opposes Warner‑Paramount Mega‑Deal
New this morning: A-listers that are in business with Warners and Paramount have signed an open letter opposing their mega-deal. --The signers include Dune 3 director Denis Villeneuve, DTF St. Louis star Jason Bateman, director JJ Abrams, who has a deal with Warners. More:
Former Hollywood Powerhouse Michael Ovitz Returns as UMG Chairman
WaxWord: Here’s a name Hollywood thought was long gone: Michael Ovitz. Once the most powerful man in the industry, he left 20 years ago after burning too many relationships. Now at 79 he wants back in… as the chairman of...
Hollywood Stars Rally Against Paramount‑Warner Merger
Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Stiller, Kristen Stewart and 1,000-Plus Hollywood Names Oppose Paramount-Warner Deal in Open Letter: ‘Block the Merger’ https://t.co/1uGZPIVoSq
Warren Brands Amazon-MGM $40M “Melania” Deal as Bribery
Elizabeth Warren Calls Amazon MGM’s $40 Million ‘Melania’ Bid ‘Bribery in Plain Sight,’ but Studio Says It Did Nothing ‘Improper’ https://t.co/lHn0OlZupf
Snap‑Perplexity Deal Valued at 7% of 2025 Sales
Curious indicator for the Snap / Perplexity deal. Perplexity’s $400MM payment to Snap (undisclosed mix of cash / equity) would have represented ~7% of Snap’s 2025 sales. Snap noted in Q4 earnings that the integration had been delayed due to...
NBA's Woes Trace to Overpaid Media Rights Deals
On some level I think the NBA’s problems stem from the league getting overpaid for media rights because streamers were desperate for content and agreed to uneconomic deals, which made the owners rich and reduced the financial pressure on them...
AI Agents Shift Focus From Feature Sales to Relationships
AI agents don't kill software. They kill the economics of selling features as standalone subscriptions. This is the vinyl-to-streaming moment. Spotify didn't kill music. It killed selling individual albums. Do you own the relationship, or a format? https://t.co/6OgcfsIlHh
Paramount and WB Film Slate Depends on Budget, Not Limits
There is nothing crazy about a combined Paramount and WB releasing 30 films a year. It’s a choice. It’s not some impossible act of endurance. Easier for WB to go to 20 and Par with 10 because of WB divisions....
Streaming Bonuses Apply to Just 4.4% of Shows
Three years ago, Hollywood labor unions pushed for members to get streaming bonuses for hit shows. Last year, only 4.4% of programs would have qualified. Most of them were on Netflix. https://t.co/yCM7k2EnGb https://t.co/thdvInkmYh
Fewer Releases, Shorter Windows Keep
Glad to see @PDergarabedian pushing back a bit on the relentless negativity of some writers. 20% fewer releases by Majors and the extreme overly shortened window - now being eased by U - are the only clear reason why the...
Festivals' PRO Agreements Let Artists Cover Songs Live
That's literally not how it works at all. If it was no one could sing a song live without express permission from creators As long as the venue (Coachella in this instance) has agreements with the PROs ASCAP, BMI and SESAC...
Summer $4B Box Office Hinges on Multiple Mid‑Tier Hits
"Achieving the $4 billion summer, which would be “back to normal” by most standards, is going to rely on the other 12 movies each chasing $100 million domestic as well as the 30-40 other $1 million+ releases, the dozens more...
Best Box Office Quarter
Box office buzz: Best quarter in five years fuels hopes for Hollywood comeback @seekingalpha The full round-up from us at @wallsthorizon by @christinelshort https://t.co/ngUwIEjPh2 https://t.co/ct8xRTD35h
Modest $8M Opening Keeps $18M Film Viable
The Will Packer-produced 'You, Me & Tuscany' opened with $8 million, an underwhelming figure but not a disaster for an $18 million flick that ran into unexpected genre competition.
Box Office Down 16% as New Hits Rise
WKND #BoxOffice Chart ▶️ #SuperMarioGalaxy still has high score ▶️ #ProjectHailMary cracks $250M ▶️ #YouMeAndTuscany debuts in 4th Top 10 at $120.7M, down 16% from last year when Minecraft held #1 spot. See full wknd chart at: https://t.co/H9rtcx7IlP.
WNBA Secures Seven Broadcast Partners, Expanding Media Reach
The WNBA has seven league rights partners, it’s kind of wild—ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock, USA, Amazon, CBS, Ion, NBA TV
The Drama Holds 38% Second
#TheDrama puts up strong -38% hold in second weekend with $8.7M as domestic cume stands at $30.8M https://t.co/YWGqRqSiFw
NFL Must Secure Media Deals Before September Kickoff
New pod: MoffettNathanson's Michael Nathanson on what the NFL must do to lock in its next round of media deals ahead of September’s kickoff—and what’s at stake if it doesn’t. https://t.co/HlGcniYsuv
Fox Sports App Ends 2026—Switch Platforms Now
Fox Sports App Shutting Down May 2026: What to Do On Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV https://t.co/9pqX8e2YGJ via @TVAnswerMan
Reviving FaZe: Replace, Rebuild, or Quit CS?
If you were the FaZe GM and you were tasked with bringing the team back to its former glory what's your play? Replace 1 Replace 2 Completely rebuild Abandon Counter-Strike
Platforms Profit From Both Attention Hijacking and Recovery
Platforms charge companies to hijack our attention, then charge us to reclaim it. A very elegant way to monetize both the problem and the fake solution. YouTube perfected the art of monetizing both the interruption and the escape. #AI #Advertising #AttentionEconomy...
Ticket Sales Alone Mislead; Shows Profit From Ancillaries
I hate when idiots try to explain music some music business outrage that is in reality a nothing burger. Yes, on ticket sales many shows “lose money” but after you add in other revenue streams, food, drink, parking, upgrades, merch...
Inside Gaming's Future: Matthew Ball's Weekend Interview
A good read for the weekend. My interview with Matthew Ball about the state of gaming. https://t.co/qG2odUvOqC
Audiobooks Costly, Recoup Slowly; Avoid Amazon‑Exclusive Royalty Shares
Author Truth about audiobooks 1. They cost a lot to be made. $200-$600pfh (per finished hour) on average. Depending on your style- single, duet, or dual narration and how many narrators. 2. Unless you already have a midsize following it...
Cardi B’s Festival Fees Jumped From $70K to $400K
In 2018, Cardi B was paid $70k per weekend to do Coachella. She spent over $300k+ on production and staging. She saw it as an investment. By 2019, she regularly got $400k+ to perform at different festivals. Cardi B’s rates are likely...
£10/Month Tool Beats DIY, Frees My Time
Wait.... I run a pub… I don’t have time to be a full-time content creator 😅 I’m paying £10/month… (founder price btw 👀) and it’s outperforming when I did everything myself 🙌 AND I got my time back ✨
Amazon Seeks to Shift Super Bowl to Streaming
Amazon wants the NFL to sell them the right to take the Super Bowl off of free broadcast TV and put it on Amazon’s streaming service. What do you think ? https://t.co/LZ6A9JmyIV
One Synced Library Unlocks Belief in Your Music
Sync Plug Of The Day 9 ☕ All it takes is 1 sync music library to believe in your music ↴
Earned $777.77 Fortnightly, Total $56,960 Since August
X Creator payments I have earned on average $777.77 per fortnight since the creator payments were set up in August 2023. A total of $56,959.62. And today $939.07. Thank you for reading my contributions and thank you @X. All stats here: https://t.co/bcelr1jUhU
Rom‑com “You Me And
Issues for #YouMeAndTuscany with just $3.1M Friday, weekend in $8M range Rom-coms just don’t sell like they used to
6M Impressions, $300 Payout: Quality Beats Virality
Well I got 6 million impressions in 2 weeks and got $300 payout 😂 It's more than impressions. It's also based on verified user engagement. I just post mostly educational content & charts though. Quality for those who find it useful. But...
Ohtani's $125M Sponsorships Eclipse Salary, Join Legends
I wrote about Shohei Ohtani's sponsorship deals. Recently went to Tokyo and couldn't walk a block without seeing his face. In 2026, he'll make $125m on sponsorships (vs. $2m salary), reaching endorsement heights only seen by Tiger, Roger and MJ: ...
Instagram Plus Adds Multi‑audience Story Lists for Creators
Instagram confirmed it is testing Instagram Plus, a premium subscription that would include multiple audience lists for Stories beyond Close Friends, rewatch count insights, and the ability to view Stories anonymously. The multi-audience lists feature, which previously appeared for some...
Four Surprising Threads Creator Trends From March
We track data from 2,000 Threads creators every month. Here are 4 findings from March that surprised me.
Packer Profits From Remake Formula, Tokenizing Black Leads
Rrom ‘Obsessed’ in 2009 until ‘Little’ in 2019, Packer found fortune and glory producing remakes, rehashes and genre approximations but with Black leads as added value. https://open.substack.com/pub/scottmendelson/p/you-me-and-tuscany-will-packer-producer-rip-off-dont-remake/
Box Office Success Shows Audiences Shape Hollywood Production
Why the Box Office for ‘You, Me & Tuscany’ Matters: ‘Audiences Have the Power to Dictate What Gets Made in Hollywood,’ Says Producer Will Packer https://t.co/sopQKivUzh via @variety
Disney to Cut 1,000 Jobs Across Marketing, Media
Friday afternoon scoop with @adamchitwood: Disney Layoffs of 1,000 to Begin Next Week Across Marketing, Awards and Publicity - including brands like Hulu, FX, ESPN, ABC News and Marvel. https://t.co/zT6twu2kWU
Monsta X's 'Unfold' Projected Top 35 Billboard Debut
According to final industry projections, Monsta X's 'Unfold' is predicted to debut in the Top 35 of the Billboard 200 with about 20,500 units (over 19,600 from album units and nearly 1k in streaming-equivalent albums) It would be Monsta X's fourth...
BTS's ARIRANG Holds Billboard No.1 for Third Week
📈📈📈 According to final industry predictions, BTS will spend a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 'ARIRANG' with more than 126,000 units earned (about 74.5k from album units, over 50k from streaming-equivalent albums, and almost 2k...
AT&T's Pricing Blitz Signals Cable's Metric Demise
.@ATT just declared total war on cable's primary growth engine. Their radical pricing shift proves an immediate need for revenue and signals the death of traditional industry metrics. Here is the competitive reality. 🧵🚨
Send Help Bows After 70 Days, $94M Worldwide
Another WINTER darling saying goodbye at US #BoxOffice is #20thCenturyStudios’s horror #SendHelp. The film directed by #SamRaimi starring #RachelMcAdams & #DylanOBrien leaves theatres after 70 days & a 64.7M lifetime US run, after grossing 1k over 35 theatres on 10th &...
Neon Acquires Korean Thriller ‘Hope’ Starring Fassbender, Vikander Pre‑Cannes
Neon Buys Korean Thriller ‘Hope,’ Starring Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, Ahead of Cannes Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/Iah7jrQhe2 via @variety
Margot Robbie's Wuthering Heights Wraps with $240M Global Earnings
Speaking of theatre owners’ favorite bankable star #MargotRobbie, her steamy #WutheringHeights ends its theatrical run after 56 days in theatres at US #BoxOffice, with a 84M lifetime US run, after grossing 8k on 8th and final THU over the last...
High Subscriber Count, Low Views Reveal Fake Followers
So let’s talk about Brandon Davis’ YT channel with roughly 100K subs How do your videos only have 3K or fewer views with that number of subs? That’s a brutal 2-3% subs-to-view ratio My channel has FAR less subs but routinely does 15-20%...
ChatGPT’s $100B Ad Goal Demands Precise Product Discipline
How can ChatGPT reach $100BN in advertising revenue? "If my reverse-engineered input assessments are anywhere near what OpenAI used in its model to project $100BN in annual advertising revenue, then the team faces a formidable challenge, albeit one that is surmountable...
Beginner's Guide: Turn TikTok Views Into Real Income
How To Make Money on TikTok in 2026 (For Beginners) WATCH HERE 👉 https://t.co/TZ69rPuITw TikTok is still one of the biggest opportunities to make money online in 2026 but most beginners are going about it the wrong way. In this video, I break...
Epic's Disney Shooter Raises Concerns over Half‑baked Releases
Scoop: Epic is working on a Disney extraction shooter Ahead of its slated Nov launch, employees say they're worried about Epic's pattern of "Version 0.5" releases -- a challenge they say may have hurt adoption for the Epic Games Store, mobile...
Transparency Beats Secrecy: Hail Mary's Rocky Strategy Wins
The marketing hype isn't catching on at all yet... I actually think there's an interesting thought regarding modern marketing - they're keeping it all secret & hidden (obviously). Whereas Project Hail Mary's choice to put Rocky front & center and not...
Coachella’s Evolution Shows Festivals Thrive over Decades
Coachella 1999: • 25k tickets for $50 each • One weekend, two-day event • Lost $1M+. Almost bankrupt. Didn't return till 2001. Coachella 2026: • 250k ticket sold for $649+ each • Two-weekend, six-day event • $150M+ ticket revenue Music festivals are a long game.
Top Director Cuts Ties With Agent Who Launched Her
Why would one of the hottest directors in Hollywood bail on the agent who helped get her there? This is why ⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/dxU95e8QOI