☀️4 Films top $25+ Mil as MEG, TURTLES beat expectations
College Football's Friday to Remember / Q2 Earnings Week 3 preview / Meg 2's huge CHINA factor, as BARBIE crosses $1 Bil
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LinkedIn here if ya like), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on MONDAY Aug 7, 2023.
Where ya gotta say… Zava Lionel Messi came in hot to the MLS… and has immediately lived up to the hype, with 7 goals in 4 games (all of which INTER MIAMI has won since he arrived).
And you definitely don’t need to know a damn thing about football soccer to see that this is 🤯.
🙋♂️: When is too soon for… a certain global tech-backed Streaming service to start negotiating for the US PREMIER LEAGUE TV deal that ends in 2028? Asking for a friend.
ALSO: As I’m sure you saw, FOX CORP the USWMNT lost in the World Cup yesterday… so hopefully FOX has some other programming options for 5am to fill in the next few weeks. Although a kudos to the 1.35 Million people in the US who watched their match with PORTUGAL last week in the 3a to 6a daypart.
PLUS: A Get Well Soon goes out to director James Wan, who had an emergency visit to Cedars Sinai late last week for an undisclosed issue, but according to his IG, he is on the mend.
AND: Lesli Linka Glatter was re-elected as Prez of the DGA.
THEN: AMAZON/MGM’s Emerald Fennell pic Saltburn will open the LONDON FILM FEST on Oct 4.
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLL Results:
The shark ate the bears…
And the Ninja Turtles also silenced the Box Office expert haters… but kudos to the 17% of you who took the over $42 Million on the 5-day!
IN TODAY’S EDITION
This week’s Box Office breakdown, with promising openings and signs ahead for both Meg 2 and TMNT… just very different signs for the two of them.
Meg 2 in particular has a huge CHINA factor.
And yes, Barbie hit $1 Billion in 3 weeks… and yes, people who cover the business are still hating on it saying “Well… ya know… uh, we’ll see if it can catch Super Mario.” The amount of veiled negativity on this movie still astounds.
A look at what’s ahead for College Football in 2024 - sorry West Coast… get ready for a lot of 10am College Football now too - and what’s behind it all 💰.
Q2 EARNINGS WEEK 3 PREVIEW:
#Medianerd🤓 is at it once again all week… so you’ll get breakdowns of all of the below Q2 Earnings Reports and the insights to know from the top execs themselves on Earnings Calls this week, starting with PARAMOUNT and FOX tomorrow AM.
LATER TODAY:
PARAMOUNT
Well… WBD’s Q2 Advertising numbers certainly don’t bode well for this call, but we’ll see!
As PAR+SHO (and accompanying price raise) happened at the very end of the quarter, little change to note here financially, but we’ll see how they report Sub numbers.
Although PAR gives very little insight into their Streaming business fundamentals, increasingly so (no more PLUTO user numbers this year), so probably not much there… other than the total global numbers they usually give.
But they do give a total Streaming 💰 loss, so once again - will anyone ask them when they plan to get to Streaming break-even?
Also the latest effects from #cordcutting on Affiliate Revenue.
We’ll also see how much Free Cash Flow has been ‘freed up’ by the strike here.
TUES AM:
NY TIMES
Digital Advertising snapshot, and of course subscriber numbers
FOX CORP
Next in the TV Advertising & #cordcutting woes, plus FCF bumps from having no Fall scripted schedule.
TUES PM:
ENDEAVOR
Obviously Ari’s comments on the strikes will be closely watched, as will the numbers at WME 👀.
Probably not much on the UFC/WWE thing, other than still expecting the deal to close by end of year.
AMC THEATERS
Adam Aron is nothing if not entertaining.
WED PM:
DISNEY
If you’re not up to speed here on what’s on the line here by now, I got nothin’ for ya.
LIONSGATE
Their STARZ-LGF split is now just a month and a half away so… we’ll see if there are any more details to note here 🤷♂️.
Also STARZ sub number updates, and we’ll see how many more library licensing deals they’ve been able to sell to keep the big money coming in.
THU PM:
#MediaNerd🤓 (mostly) signs off for Q2 Earnings Season 2023! Although still a few stragglers to come (DISH, NEWS CORP etc).
FRIDAY:
May need to be a little “me time” day.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
FIRST: Oh that Ryan Gosling…
He sent Greta Gerwig a group of “Ken” dancers and “Barbie” dancers to her uh, pilates class to wish her a Happy Birthday.
