☀️NETFLIX vs. Studios: Summer Movie Showdown
A24 gets 2 new film projects / More bad Q1 #cordcutting news / 'Cobra Kai' returns in uh, 3 parts 🤷♂️
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LinkedIn here if ya like), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on THURSDAY, May 2, 2024.
Where our national nightmare is finally over . . . so get that perfect clapback TIKTOK video of yours set to Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” handy, as UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP and America’s favorite bad boy social-media platform TIKTOK have signed a new deal (no terms/details avail as of yet).
Richard — I look forward to your next TT post, no doubt set to the perfect song from the Paul Anka canon in the days ahead.
PLUS: Here’s your latest poll indicating it takes people forever to find something to watch on streaming (before the same people tell us there’s “nothing new” to watch anymore 🙄) — this one puts the search at over 6 minutes, although granted, the study was done by uh, the advertising side of a cable company (COMCAST ADVERTISING) 👀.
BUT: It just lends further credence to the reports around what I think is a very smart strategy of DISNEY+ adding old-fashioned linear streaming channels at some point this year.
AND: Et tu, anime? SONY’s CRUNCHYROLL is also doing a price hike — the Mega Fan tier is now $12 a month (+$2) and the Ultimate Fan tier is now $16 (+$1). The base Fan tier will stay at $8 a month (and it also has a free, ad-supported tier with lesser programming volumes) — these are the first price hikes in 5 years for the service.
THEN: NETFLIX is breaking the final season of Cobra Kai into . . . three parts. NETFLIX, come on buddy — whaddaya doin’ here? July 18, November 28 and TBA 2025? Just go weekly on something, it won’t kill you.
ALSO: L.A. is now just one loss away from being totally eliminated from both the NBA and NHL Playoffs.
Meanwhile here on the East Coast, Michael Rubin (CEO of FANATICS) may not be using his money to improve MLB uniform quality this season . . . or find a way to make more Caitlin Clark jerseys available before, uh, August (seriously — how is this not possible??), but he did buy 2,000 tickets to tonight’s KNICKS vs. SIXERS game 6 in Philly because, uh, too many KNICKS fans showed up to the last game in Philly in the series ☹️.
I’m still trying to understand how there are even 2,000 tickets left available for an elimination NBA Playoff game in a city that considers itself on the list of real American pro basketball towns 🤯 . . . but I digress — at least Michael is putting them toward a deserving group 👇.
But L.A. — as a New York sports fan with plenty of experience here — I recommend just thinking about all of that free time you’ll have in your schedule! Maybe use it here 👇
WAKEUP BOX-OFFICE POLL: Summer Movie Edition!
We’re kicking off summer 2024, whose box office is already projected to be $1B lower than 2023, with UNI’s The Fall Guy at $30M to $35M . . . and well, anyone kinda wishing we had a MARVEL movie for the very first time so far this year?
Note: Deadpool & Wolverine was set for May 3 until the strikes pushed it to July.
Outside of 2020 and 2021, there has been a MARVEL pic on this summer kickoff weekend since the GW Bush presidency (the late 2000s Avengers pics technically jumped the gun a weekend earlier in late April, but still):
MI: 3 was the last non-MARVEL pic to kick off the summer in . . . 2006 (pandemic 2020/21 excepted).
And yes, even that movie made more money in 2006 dollars alone ($47M) than The Fall Guy will likely do this weekend.
But hey, we should at least top 2005’s entry, Kingdom of Heaven ($19M).
And uh, the 2021 comp (Wrath of Man at $8M)
Optimists have Fall Guy potentially hitting $40M, and maybe Ryan’s Beavis & Butt-head assist this week will put it over the top — so let’s see what yer thinkin’:
IN TODAY’S EDITION:
Taking a look at what’s ahead for the NETFLIX and theatrical summer movie seasons shows . . . an abundance of familiarity. In NETFLIX’s case, it’s even down to a familiar feel for the dates the films are scheduled. See what’s ahead for schedules and the battle for originality.
A24 seemingly comes in hot on a bidding war for a new project, as they add 2 new ones to the roster, plus AMAZON keeps adding to the slate.
Get the latest tally of #cordcutting with ALTICE adding to the mix and more.
COME HANG WITH The Ankler x Backstage on Monday May 13 in L.A.! RSVP here:
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
NETFLIX Films Summer Bonanza, 2024 edition! We really hope you liked 2023 . . .
Here’s what America’s favorite streaming service has on tap for summer movies this year . . . and why it may feel quite familiar.