☀️BARBENHEIMER nabs 4th Biggest Box Office Wknd Ever, with big IMAX assist
DIS talking to Sports leagues re: ESPN investment / Q2 Earnings Week 1 preview / SPOTIFY ups prices
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 July 24, 2023.
Where it’s estimated 18.5 Million folks bought movie tix for just the top 2 films this weekend #Barbenheimer, the biggest top slot(s) tally since Spider-Man: No Way Home a year and a half ago. Also - 4 films grossed (almost) $20+ Million each.
Man, it’s really too bad “people” just want to watch movies at home after the pandemic.
ALTHOUGH: These will be the last 2 films for the foreseeable future with real, fully star-driven Marketing campaigns. After all, HOLLYWOOD does love nothing less than shooting itself in the foot…
BUT: I’ll be my usual foolish pragmatic optimist self in putting forth the notion that this undeniable example of what’s possible when you combine Original Ideas + the Studio system + Hollywood star power will be further motivation for the ‘Traditional Studios’ to get back to the negotiating table #NoActorsNoPromo.
Re - NEXT SUMMER: This notion gaining traction that Studios will not “have a Summer” next year if the SAG strike continues into the Fall… 🙋♂️ - um first… they may not have a Fall!
If you think MGM moving Challengers from Sept to the end of April is an outlier, yeah not so much.
In which case, Studios may actually have a Summer next year! It would just be full of previously-scheduled Fall and potentially Holiday season movies. How many Studios will drop a $100 Millin to $200 Million film this year with… no stars avail to promote it? All due respect to the directors involved.
Aquaman 2 will work just as well in May as it would have in December.
PLUS: I think TWITTER is now called X… or something. Either way I’ll still only spend 5 minutes a day on it. Err. Weekdays only.
ALSO: Just me 🙋♂️or was it really nice to NOT have an inbox full of “alerts” on a COMIC-CON weekend?
AND: A congrats to Brian Harman on his decisive win at the British Open, his first Golf major tournament title (on a very wet UK Sunday).
Correction on a correction: NETFLIX does not let you add 1 member outside of your household with a Standard subscription… you have the option to pay to add 1 member outside of your household (but just 1, and 2 if you’re PREMIUM).
For the record - here is the current language on the website re: the benefits of the Standard plan, which… to me, could use a polish:
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLL Results:
Kudos to the 23% of Bulls in the voting body!
IN THIS EDITION
#Medianerd🤓 will be in full effect as Q2 Earnings Season has its first full week… so, a lot number & earnings report breakdowns ahead.
A Q2 Earnings preview of what to expect this week, and some questions that analysts should be asking.
FWIW: The major Ad Agency holding companies did not report great numbers at the end of last week.
The full Box Office breakdown, from the latest questionable Specialty numbers to the #Barbenheimer breakdown, and the DISNEY pic whose narrative keeps changing as time goes on.
DISNEY reportedly explores ESPN’s “strategic partner” option that no one was thinking of, and more.
SPOTIFY confirms price raise.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
