☀️ FAST X hits 3rd biggest franchise opening; Specialty still 👎 going into Summer

YOUTUBE undercuts AMAZON in Channels biz / SONY takes Paddington 3 / SKYSHOWTIME sets Originals plans

May 22, 2023

∙ Paid

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 May 22, 2023.

Where I’m freshly back from my side-hustle as an ovation timer in the South of France ⏱️ - hopefully my jet lag isn’t showing.

Although it seems not even Bob Iger sitting next to NBA Commissioner (and rumored DISNEY CEO short-list member) Adam Silver 👀 at the Crypto.com arena on Saturday night could help the LAKERS. Sorry ya’ll - good luck tonight to try and at least pull one out in the series.

ALSO: Don’t worry journalists 👩‍💻 - Zuck is building you a new home! IG is reportedly launching a text-based TWITTER competitor this Summer, according to Bloomberg.

PLUS: “On or around June 27” may be the launch day for PAR+w/SHO, per Cord Cutter News, who cited emails sent by APPLE to some SHO DtoC subscribers notifying them of the change… but I haven’t seen anything else here (and that seems a bit early to me in terms of lead time 🤷‍♂️).

AND: Just a great story of inspiration from the PGA CHAMPIONSHIP this weekend - no, not LIV golfer Brooks Koepka who won it (the Saudis already pay him $100 Million to play golf in a league no one watches)… but rather golfer Michael Block.

Michael is a Mission Viejo, CA golf club pro (i.e. gets paid to give golf lessons to folks) who was just 1 of 20 golf pros who made the cut to play this weekend. He got to play his Sunday round with Rory McIlroy, coming in 15th place, and taking home $288k.

Even better - he made a hole in one! 👏 And I mean literally… right in the hole - no bounce, no roll… just straight in on the fly. (note for Janice: this never happens)

WAKEUP BOX OFFICE CREW:

Kudos to the gang, as 49% of you had Fast X over $66 Million this weekend (the rest was split between the 2 lower options).

IN TODAY’S EDITION:

Fast X posts a solid opening (especially in CHINA), as Mario enjoys the last week of having the family audience to itself… and the Specialty market continues to show little life in my Monday Box Office breakdown.
SONY gets next Paddington pic.
YOUTUBE looks to challenge AMAZON in Channels biz with loss-leading price cuts.
LIV Golf throws in towel on TV Ratings, and more.

“Pay… Your… Writers!”

- BOSTON UNIVERSITY students sporadically chanting at their graduation ceremony yesterday during Zaz’s speech - the Strikegeist newsletter here has some other great pics from grads & the picket line too - impressive showing! The plane flying over with the sign was a nice touch.

HOWEVER: No exit polling was done to ask how many of the graduates pay for their HBOMAX or NETFLIX accounts.

Enjoy that impending June NETFLIX US password sharing crackdown grads! 🎓

AND:

Many Talent Agencies are beginning to rein in expenses, travel and other costs as the strike goes into its 4th week, with potential temporary salary cutbacks on the horizon at some, according to Deadline.

PLUS:

I enjoyed this NY Times read with showrunners Damon Lindelof (Watchmen) and Soo Hugh (Pachinko) on writers rooms, how the writer ‘apprenticeship’ process has changed, and the nature of the Showrunner role in 2023.