SCREAM tops SPIDEY, thanks to 18-34 year olds
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SCREAM tops SPIDEY, thanks to 18-34 year olds
NETFLIX boosts prices 10%, Bets on Sports docuseries format / IMAGINE looks to sell 70% stake / JUSTIFIED returns to FX
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on MONDAY January 17, 2022.
Where the opening credits for “Peacemaker” on HBOMAX have already taken the crown for the Best 2022 Show Open - Bravo ya’ll 🤜🤛.
ALSO: “Spider-Man” fans - Josh Horowitz did a full dive on his HAPPY SAD CONFUSED podcast with Andrew Garfield giving full details on how he kept the whole“No Way Home” role in the dark… from the shoot through the press leading up. And Including from Josh himself. A fun listen! Also here on SPOTIFY.
PLUS: Given today is a day-off for most of the biz… may not be a newsletter tomorrow if there’s not much to say.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
BOX OFFICE (4-day totals)
“Scream” : $36 Million ($49 Million global)
67% of audience was 18-34 which is weird because I thought GenZ hated going to the movies? 🤔
Also not bad with just a $25 Million budget.
3-day $30 Million total close to “Scream 2” and “Scream 3” totals 20-ish years ago.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” : $26 Million ($704 Million US, $1.63 Billion global)
Its 3-day total ($21 Million) was just a 36% drop.
IMAX gross crossed $100 Million ($60 Mil US, $40 Mil intl)
Beats “Black Panther” ($700 Million) as expected, now 4th highest grossing movie of all time in the US.
“Avatar” is next at $760 Million… and while a stretch - it’s certainly within possibility given there are 0 new big releases the next 2 weekends.
“Sing 2” - $11 Million ($122 Million US)
3-day total was down just 29% from last weekend, even though the movie is now on PVOD
“The King’s Man” - $3 million ($29 Million US)
“The 355” - $2.8 Million ($9 Million US)
ELSEWHERE AT THE BOX OFFICE
“Licorice Pizza” holding around $1 Million, now at $10 Million US total, keeping the 780 theater distribution level.
“Matrix Resurrections” will end its US run barely hitting $40 Million, and International grosses are around $100 Million.
Opened in CHINA to $7.5 Million, projecting a $15 Million total for its run there.
📺 THE TV SET
FX orders “Justified” limited series… extension (?)
We really need to find a name for these things…. as execs are obviously now scanning the 2010 TV listings for programming ideas. #TheDexterEffect
Timothy Olyphant returning, and this is called “Justified: City Primeval”. Story pick up 8 years later… the full paragraph details in the link for the inclined.
Show creator Graham Yost is an Exec Producer… but writing team veterans from the show Dave Andron & Michael Dinner are the showruners on this iteration. Series last aired in 2015. /Variety
DISNEY+ orders “Santa Clause” limited TV Series with Tim Allen
Plot take is “Santa” sets out to find a replacement Santa while preparing his family for a new adventure in life.
Jack Burditt (“30 Rock”, “Modern Family”) will be showrunner, and it’ll shoot this Spring. /Variety
NETFLIX orders Tennis ATP docuseries from the “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” folks
This after they ordered a PGA GOLF series last week.
The Tennis show will follow professional tennis players through their 4 major tournaments this year - can’t wait for the Djokovic detention footage. /Deadline
Per BLOOMBERG - FORMULA ONE TV ratings have risen 40% in the US since “Drive to Survive” debuted in 2018.
ALSO IN TV
“South Park” returns to weekly episodes Wed Feb 2 on COMEDY CENTRAL for the first time since the pandemic. /THR
PEACOCK renews “One of Us Is Lying” for a Season 2. Erica Saleh who wrote the pilot will take over showrunning duties. /Deadline
FOX puts “Next Level Chef” in the post-NFC Championship NFL game on Jan 30, that was previously gonna debut “Monarch”. /Variety
Will Forte returns to SNL this Saturday night, music guest is Italian rock band Måneskin.
A24 hires former HBO exec Nick Hall as Head of TV. A24 produces “Euphoria”, “Ziwe”, “Ramy”, and the upcoming HBO series starring The Weeknd, “The Idol”. /Deadline
💻 THE MEDIA BIZ
NETFLIX raises prices in the US & CANADA
Hey all those “Don’t Look Up” actors didn’t exactly work for guild minimum…. So as of your next pay cycle:
BASIC (1 screen at time in SD): $10/month (+$1)
STANDARD: $15.50/month (+$1.50)
PREMIUM: $20/month (+$2)
Giving your password to your mom is still free. I hope 😳.
Last price increase was about 15 months ago in Oct 2020, but as subscriber growth stagnates… this is the next go-to lever to pull - basically mirroring how the Cable TV biz has operated for decades.
NETFLIX now surpasses HBOMAX as the most expensive streaming service in the US… the same week that HBOMAX is offering a 20% discount.
Either way - makes Ted Sarandos’s 2013 quote all the more prescient:
“'The goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us”.
IMAGINE ENTERTAINMENT looking to sell majority stake at $600-$800 Million valuation
In talks with UK investment firm CENTRICUS to buy 70% of the company.
Grazer & Howard want to keep operational control of the company and this is at the talks phase. /WSJ
IMAGINE is already 51% owned by another investment firm RAINE GROUP so… not sure how all this math will work out. Would assume RAINE is looking to exit with a nice payout - their 51% cost $100 Million back in 2016, making for a sweet 3X to 4X return on investment. #ThanksStreamingBoom!
DIRECTV plans to drop far right-wing network OANN this Spring
Or more accurately… they’re just gonna let their existing deal run out, which will call the network’s ongoing existence into question.
REUTERS reported last year that DIRECTV provides the vast majority of OANN’s revenue via carriage fees (as much as 90%). /Bloomberg
🏦 STOCK NOTES:
DISCOVERY +6% ($31.18), now up over 33% since the start of the year - WARNER MEDIA PR did a master stroke in dropping subscriber info well in advance of the Q4 earning call.
👩💻 NEW TO WATCH:
HULU “How I Met Your Father” - Stream or Add to Your List here
ABC & ESPN NFL Wildcard game - CARDINALS at RAMS at 815p
If you were sent this newsletter or… just kinda found it:
THE WEEK AHEAD
WED - “Too Hot to Handle” Season 3 hits NETFLIX
THU - NETFLIX Q4 Earnings call after the bell, SUNDANCE begins… on your computer.
FRI - “Ozark” Final season pt 1 drops on NETFLIX; “Servant” Season 3 hits APPLE TV+
SAT + SUN - NFL Playoffs continue
🎥 TRAILER HOUSE
NETFLIX“Inventing Anna” limited series trailer - Based on the infamous NEW YORK MAGAZINE cover story/investigation. Fantastic trailer, and Julia Garner looks to be up to something pretty great here. Premieres Fri Feb 11
This SNL faux-trailer parody of “Bel Air” about “Family Matters” was pretty great.
🎧 PLAYING ME OFF
New YE and THE GAME “Easy” - Wherein I’m still the only one who seems to be abiding by the YE official name change thing… but - YE definitely wants to “beat Pete Davidson’s ass”.
Email me anytime - just reply to this email, or connect here on LINKED IN.
And I’ll go put with a keeping a thought to remember and honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
-SEAN MCNULTY
@theseanmac on TWITTER
@TheWakeupNews on INSTAGRAM