☀️Box Office has 2nd Worst 2023 Wknd; HBO Sunday Woes Emerge
Daytime TV hits pause at last minute / A24 makes TIFF pickup / SONY PICS exec rank changes
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 Sept. 18, 2023.
Where I’m taking the NY GIANTS’ biggest comeback since 1949 yesterday as a sign that this week will begin a tide turn in Hollywood from the deep morass of 😫 that we’re in at the moment.
Although… let’s get at least one positive sign prior to Thursday night, when the GIANTS play the 49ERS on TNF mmmkay 😳.
PLUS: MGM’s American Fiction with Jeffrey Wright took the coveted People’s Choice prize at TIFF this weekend, the directorial debut of Cord Jefferson (writer on Succession, Watchmen). Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers came in 2nd.
A24’s Dicks: The Musical took the prize in the Midnight category.
Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe took the prize in the Docu category - it’s a profile of children’s entertainer Ernie Coombs.
THEN: The Drew Barrymore Show, Jennifer Hudson Show and The Talk have suspended their returns to the airwaves today. The Kelly Clarkson Show is still TBA on a plan… although with questionable celeb guest availability - may not be the ideal way to promote the show’s shift to NYC (‘Broadway month’ may need to go on for some time).
AND: Olivia Rodrigo added more dates to her tour 👇, including additional shows in NY and LA, although pre-registration for tickets closed yesterday (they go on sale Weds).
THEN: Some of Hasan Minhaj’s stories in his stand up are more “inspired by a true story” vs. “based on a true story” - and said true story… may not have actually happened to him, according to a new New Yorker profile.
ALSO: Just a return to a little Monday inspiration - I caught up with this recent NY Times piece about a recently divorced guy serving a 4-year probation sentence for selling drugs just as Covid hit… who chose to turn to his dormant creative side, and began making street icon miniatures (think ICE machines, bodegas, newspaper kiosks etc - his work is really impressive!).
He has now built an in-demand (and lurcrative) career as an artist, getting several thousands of dollars 💰 for his pieces.
Just a reminder- it’s never too late to try something you’ve always thought about doing… and you don’t need to wait for some sort of ‘permission’ to do so!
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE RESULTS:
Kudos to DISNEY for (barely) silencing the haters like myself, coming in at the top end of tracking this weekend.
IN TODAY’S EDITION
The strikes are giving the ‘Sunday is HBO’ some real problems - as HBO cancels their 2nd headlining Sunday Night series in 3 months, with 2 of their other big guns retired in May… and an upcoming 6 week gap in new Original Series on Sunday nights - a look at what’s ahead for TV’s most prestigious brand.
Box Office has a weekend to forget on the whole… as DISNEY poured the gas on Creator ads this weekend during the NFL hoping for a fire (the good kind) this weekend, and folks await the #ExorcistEra of October.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
