The all-new Hollywood Reporter offers unprecedented access to the people, studios, networks and agencies that create the magic in Hollywood. Published weekly, the oversized format includes exceptional photography and rich features.
Within minutes of the actors strike ending on Nov. 9, Ryan Reynolds was making plans to get back to London and the set of Deadpool & Wolverine, one of the many movies shut down in mid-July when the walkout commenced. He and director Shawn Levy were determined to make their July 26 release date, which they were able to accomplish. For other tentpoles, it was too late, and they would ultimately decamp to 2025. Toward the end of the strike talks, studio chiefs were accused of being disingenuous when saying their 2024 release calendars were in danger every day the four-month strike dragged on. Now the impact of those warnings is coming into view. Without the usual parade of tentpoles, including a Marvel superhero pic to kick things off over…
Michael Showalter In the battle of high-profile streaming movies, the director’s Prime Video rom-com Idea of You tops Jerry Seinfeld’s Netflix title Unfrosted on Nielsen’s chart. Jennifer Turner Sony Pictures Television is shuttering its TriStar TV banner, with its exec vp exiting as the division is folded into the larger Sony group. Robert Thomson As The New York Times battles OpenAI, the News Corp chief instead takes the cash from the tech giant ahead of similar deals by Vox Media and The Atlantic. Sally Buzbee The Washington Post’s top editor is replaced after three years at the Jeff Bezos-owned paper, which enlists Telegraph editor Robert Winnett for the role starting after the election. Showbiz Stocks $8.24 (+6.2%) WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY (WBD) The company hiked the subscription price on the ad-free…
Broadway had been making progress toward a recovery, but that momentum has been halted. Overall grosses for the 2023-24 season were down about 2.5 percent compared to the previous season, reaching $1.54 billion compared to $1.58 billion a year earlier, data from trade group The Broadway League shows. Compared to the 2018-19 season, the last full season before the pandemic, grosses were down 17 percent. Even if viewed as largely flat compared to last season, that spells trouble for the industry, given the rising cost of producing a show. “Every year our expenses go up at least 5 percent, if not more, because we so outpace inflation,” says Ken Davenport, producer of the Neil Diamond musical A Beautiful Noise. “So flat is terrible.” One of the factors industry insiders cite…
For the six months ended December 2023, viewership at the low end … HEART OF INVICTUS VIEWS 300K Premiered Aug. 30, 2023 While the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, was part of a Suits library that racked up huge numbers all summer, this docuseries produced by Archewell, her company with husband Prince Harry, went by without notice. The series follows athletes in the Invictus Games, a competition founded by Harry for wounded, injured and sick soldiers and veterans. THE NETFLIX CUP VIEWS 700K Premiered Nov. 14, 2023 Its first live sporting event, a golf match involving PGA Tour pros and Formula 1 drivers, at the site of the latter’s Las Vegas race, was hyped — and lightly watched, with only 700,000 views worldwide for its live debut and the six…
Deal of the Week Alejandro Monteverde delivered Angel Studios its top hit ever with Sound of Freedom, one of 2023’s biggest theatrical success stories with more than $250 million at the global box office. Now, the faith-based outfit has signed the director to a rich overall deal with some curious terms, including the purchase of a multimillion-dollar home for him. According to Angel Studios SEC filings that lay out the terms of the deal, Monteverde, 46, has inked a 10-year agreement with the faith-based studio that will see him direct five to 10 theatrical films. It comes during a time of industry contraction that is seeing traditional Hollywood companies jettison expensive overall deals. But this pact comes with some interesting stipulations. The potential films from Monteverde will have to be…
Shanghailanders (MAY 7, SPIEGEL & GRAU) BY Juli Min AGENCY UTA Vaguely reminiscent of Expats, Min’s story takes readers into the world of a wealthy Shanghai businessman and everyone in his orbit — his driver, his nanny, his wife and three daughters who are simultaneously enjoying the perks and paying the emotional price of being among the 1 percent. Tehrangeles (JUNE 11, PANTHEON) BY Porochista Khakpour AGENCY WME This piercing satire follows a deliciously outlandish Iranian American family riding out the early months of the pandemic in their West Los Angeles mansion as their dreams of becoming reality TV stars — and the last vestiges of their collective grip on actual reality — start to slip away.…
