DISNEY+ US growth slowing dramatically
AMAZON's new CEO gets $214 Million of stock options on day 1 / LOVECRAFT COUNTRY done at HBO / F9 crosses $500 Mil
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on TUESDAY July 6, 2021.
Where - wait it’s already the 6th?? Can we start every month like this? But a big cheers to two people who probably don’t have a good handle on what day it is right now - Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, who got married on Saturday.
ALSO: The CANNES FILM FESTIVAL begins today, goes through July 17. Really regret whiffing on that goal to learn French in the pandemic right about now. 🙇♂️
AND: NYC holds it’s parade for the healthcare workers on the frontlines of the pandemic, begins at 11a. 🙌
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
BOX OFFICE (4 day totals)
“F9” : $30 Million ($123 Million US, about to hit $500 Million Globally)
“Boss Baby: Family Business” : $20 Million (was also avail on PEACOCK PREMIUM)
The original “Boss Baby” opened to $50+ Million in 2017.
“Forever Purge” : $16 Million
The last “Purge” movie opened to $17 Million in 2018.
“A Quiet Place 2” : $5 Million ($145 Million US)
“The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” : $4 Million ($32 Million US)
ALSO: A24’s“Zola” opened to $2 Million on 1200 screens
SEARCHLIGHT’s “Summer of Soul” took in $800k from 750 theaters (film is also on HULU).
ALSO IN MOVIES
“Downton Abbey 2” moves from Christmas-time release to mid-March 2022. /Deadline
📺 THE TV SET
“Lovecraft Country” one and done at HBO
Creator Misha Green and a writing team worked on creating a Season 2 (first season was based on a book), but sounds like it just didn’t come together to some folks’s liking despite the huge critical and audience success of the first season. /Deadline
BUT: Misha did post this mysterious tweet with an intriguing map for any fans of the show:
NETFLIX cancels 4 comedies
Kevin James NASCAR show “The Crew” (1 season)
Kathryn McPhee / Eddie Cibiran country singer-turned-nanny show “Country Comfort” (1 season)
Fluffy Iglesias’s teacher sitcom “Mr. Iglesias” (2 seasons)
Grad student / bondage dominatrix comedy “Bonding” (2 seasons)
NETFLIX will develop another show with Kevin James. /Variety
ALSO IN TV
Some HBOMAX “Pretty Little Liars” reboot/extension casting news for any #PLL4life folks out there. Will begin shooting late Summer. /Variety
HBO’s “Hard Knocks” will center on the DALLAS COWBOYS this year. 5-episode season Premieres Tue Aug 10. /THR
Nice THR profile on the business that UTA agent Darnell Strom (reps Stacy Abrams, Malala among others) is building there.
💻 THE MEDIA BIZ
DISNEY+ US growth stagnating according to THE INFORMATION
They got their hands on some internal data thru end of June and… looking like DIS+ had only added 1 million US / CAN subscribers from Feb to July, (37 Million to 38 Million). 😳
Globally it looks like they’ll end the 2nd quarter (end of June) with about 110 Million subscribers, up from 103.5 at the start of April according to the report. But the vast majority of that growth is from India, where DIS+ is super cheap, and Latin America, it’s 2nd lowest price/revenue region #ARPU.
For the record DISNEY says the report “does not reflect the performance of the service“. Either way we’ll find out for sure in DISNEY’s earnings call later this month/early Aug.
But - given the first half of the year had 3 huge MARVEL series, and 3 big DISNEY “Premiere Access” movies (Raya, Cruella, Luca)… it seems like DISNEY has attracted most of the families and fanboys they’re gonna get (and is topping out at roughly the same size as HULU oddly enough).
Granted - there’s a lotta new STAR WARS to come starting next year which will likely help, and the first MARVEL Premiere Access movie title hits this month (“Black Widow”), but given DIS+ is only a little over half of the way to NETFLIX… it’s gonna be a long climb to reach their 74 Million tally.
So until they buy out COMCAST from HULU (which may/will likely happen before the 2024 deadline) and can then truly think about combining it into DISNEY+, they’re either gonna have to find a programming solve to reach non MARVEL/Family programming fans (💰💰💰investment) or be content reaching them on HULU. Where… let’s face it - they get more 💰 from ‘em anyway (HULU ARPU: $12/month, DIS+: $4/month).
OF NOTE: DISNEY stock is now basically back where it started 2021, what’s the target for Dec 2021?
New AMAZON CEO Andy Jassy gets $214 Million in stock grants
But I mean… they vest over a 10 year period, so hopefully he can find a way to make ends meet. 🤞
TO NOTE: That $214 number is based on AMAZON’S current stock price so… if you wanna guess $AMZN’s ticker value in 2030 - the floor is yours. /Deadline
ALSO IN MEDIA
The SUN VALLEY Media conference aka “summer camp for billionaires” begins today. BYO knapsack. And private jet. /NPR
🏦 STOCK NOTES:
Fri July 2 was an unsurprisingly quiet day in Media stocks.
👩💻 NEW TO WATCH:
EURO Cup semi-final at 3p on ESPN: ITALY vs SPAIN
TNT “The Match” - Phil Mickelson & Tom Brady vs. Bryson DeChambeau & Aaron Rodgers. No idea why TNT is doing this the day after everyone was off all day with nothing new to watch… but 🤷♂️. Mics are live throughout, and you have to drink every time Brady talks about crypto. Begins at 530p.
NBA FINALS begin: MILWAUKEE vs PHOENIX at 9p on ABC
If you were sent this newsletter or… just kinda found it:
🎥 TRAILER HOUSE
NETFLIX“Beckett” trailer - John David Washington as an American on the run from a conspiracy in Greece after getting into a car accident that kills his girlfriend. Premieres Fri Aug 13.
NETFLIX “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” trailer. Reboot of the 80s classic, headed up by Kevin Smith. First 5 episodes premiere Fri July 23.
AMAZON PRIME “My Name is Pauli Murray” docu teaser - From the directors of “RBG”, about the mid 20th century social justice activist for race and gender equality. Premieres Fri Oct 1.
🕵️♂️ THE WEEK AHEAD
WED - “Monsters at Work” hits DISNEY+; the EURO CUP semi-final - ENGLAND vs DENMARK at 3p on ESPN; NHL STANLEY CUP final game 5 (Tampa up 3-1 on Montreal)
THU - NBA FINALS Game 2
FRI - “Black Widow” day, which should give us a much better handle on how much business the $30 DISNEY+ Premiere Access rental business is actually taking away from theatrical revenues.
SAT - I’ll be working all day. Sorry that one’s just for my calendar.
SUN - EURO CUP soccer Final
🎧 PLAYING ME OFF
New TAYLOR SWIFT x BIG RED MACHINE collab - “Renegade. The guys behind BIG RED MACHINE did production work on T-Swift’s last 2 albums.
Listen to the song here on Spotify or:
If you need new tunes:
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Finishing off the return from the holiday with a Rest In Peace to A-List director Richard Donner, who was behind movies ranging from “Superman” to “The Goonies” to “Lethal Weapon” and the Christmas classic “Scrooged”. He left us yesterday at the age of 91.
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-Sean McNulty
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