☀️AMC NETWORKS beats Q4 $ expectations, but core Cable biz continues to fade away
M. Night sets new home at WB / HBOMAX orders JJ Abrams series / DISNEYFOX sets Rami Malek to lead thriller
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect here on LINKED IN if ya like) and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on FRIDAY February 17, 2023.
Where as someone who has seen a career’s worth of Film Marketing promotions… I gotta say - this is new: a cocaine-based video game.
The cartel at the UNI Marketing group has cooked up a Cocaine Bear, 1980s-style video game called “Cocaine Bear: The Rise of Pablo Escobear” - a title which… as someone who just used 2 drug-world terms in one sentence to describe it, I can’t be mad at.
And yeah - it’s pretty much what’s on the tin (link here): a PacMan-style game where you’re the “Escobear,” navigating a maze to eat people… all while constantly doing cocaine to keep up your “energy”. And your 1980s film career.
Can’t wait to see what UNI comes up with for Super Mario Bros in April.
ALSO: Your next round of SNL hosts… (note for Janice - Travis Kelce is a football player on the KANSAS CITY CHIEFS).
AND: A Rest in Peace goes out to longtime Baseball announcer and All-Star MLB catcher Tim McCarver, who died at 81-years-old yesterday.
OK Friday Wakeup Box Office club: Ant-Man! It was tracking around $120 Million for the 4-day a few weeks ago, but the latest numbers put it around $110 Million (3-day at $95 Million-ish).
Previous 2 pics opened to $57 Million and $76 Million 3-day totals. Let’s split the tracking and place your bets.
IN TODAY’S EDITION:
A dive inside the AMC NETWORKS numbers - another company pumping up Licensing/Library sales in Q4 to help the overall business numbers… whose core Cable Tv Bundle reliance continues to crumble.
And another company where ‘Streaming is the future’… but we’re not going to tell you much about the current business fundamentals. A #medianerd🤓 finale for the week.
Mike & Pam set a new home for M. Night at WB PICTURES.
The MLB Commish has some ideas for what he’d like to do when if DIAMOND SPORTS GROUP (aka BALLYS SPORTS NETS) goes bankrupt or welches on their payments.
JJ Abrams gets his first series order at HBOMAX.
PENN GAMBLING now owns 100% of BARSTOOL.
Exec news at LIONSGATE, UTA, and JONESWORKS.
The weekend preview of all the new things to stream and watch plus some recommended #goodreads, and more.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
