☀️'Sinners' Gives ✋ To The Haters, Box Office Booms
Big Hollywood CEO paydays continue / LGF adds to 'Hunger Games' cast / Fall release date changes
Evenin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya like or email me at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on SUNDAY, April 27, 2025.
Where alas, I still remain undrafted in the NFL (the BROWNS told me it was this 🤏 close between me and Shedeur).
But I gotta say the KNICKS are certainly making life interesting again in NYC this spring, pulling out another win against the PISTONS yet again in down-to-the-wire fashion. See you Tuesday night at MSG, where the KNICKS could take the series (well, I’ll be on my couch writing — but I’ll keep an eye out for Spike and Zaz on my TV).
2024 PAYDAYS🤑: We got plenty! Well ok, not really “we” per se (except for a few select readers), and sadly there is still no cut given for reporting it. But hey — it makes my taxes simpler.
PARAMOUNT: Stock was -29% in 2024.
Bob Bakish: $87M for 4 months of work as CEO, and an additional 6 months as a Senior Advisor to the company
Includes $69M of severance. I mean, do you know how tough the job market is out there? A man’s gotta live.
George Cheeks: $22M
Brian Robbins: $19.6M
Chris McCarthy: $19.5M
Note: This comp is for their work as co-CEOs and also running their individual divisions.
Total comp for 4 execs in 2024: $148M. But as we all know, the real money is in newsletter writing.
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED 2024 COMP PACKAGES:
Ted & Greg: $62M / $60M
Zaz: $52M
Iger: $41M
So looks like the McMuffins are on Bakish at the 2034 Hollywood CEO reunion breakfast.
COMCAST: Stock was -14% in 2024.
CEO Brian Roberts: $34M (hey, your cable bills may go up each year, but Brian keeps it real — he usually takes in a payday in the mid-$30M range each year).
Prez Mike Cavanagh: $28M (down a smidge from last year, and the $40M he made in 2022 when he was CFO for most of the year).
CFO Jason Armstrong: $15M (up from $11M)
TKO: Stock was +80% in 2024.
Prez/COO Mark Shapiro: $32M (up from $16M in 2023)
CEO Ari Emanuel: $18M (down from $65M in 2023 when the company went public, although he also took in $174M from the ENDEAVOR take-private)
The Rock also got $30M in TKO stock compensation. Wow, great deal! Who’s his agent? 🤔
AND: Jon Voight and his manager Steven Paul of SP MEDIA GROUP (which . . . as far as I can tell is that Steven Paul from the PARAMOUNT GLOBAL sale process) are presenting ideas on how to boost U.S. film and TV production to President Trump potentially this week.
According to Bloomberg, ideas include accelerating deductions for TV & film productions and more tax incentives of varying categories — we’ll see if the tariff President wants to engage.
THEN: AI Prompt Engineer was one of the hottest new jobs in the tech field in 2023. The WSJ points out that it’s now essentially obsolete in 2025 . . . basically thanks to the rapid advancements of AI.
So yeah — when the #TechBros keep telling you about all of the jobs AI is going to create, be sure to follow up with “For how long?”
FINALLY: Just highlighting this 60 Minutes piece with the head of GOOGLE’s AI efforts from last Sunday if you missed it.
While yes, folks who work in tech often get their time horizons wrong (see above WSJ piece) — 2025 really does feel like we’re sitting in a moment very similar to, say, 2005-ish.
But instead of, say, a 10-year horizon of change (iPhones, social media, streaming), it could very well be 5 years with AI . . . and by 2030 we may be looking back at 2025 as if it were 2005 in many ways.
All compounded by a President causing record levels of uncertainty on top of it, from the institution where we arguably could use steadiness most. Buckle up.
ALSO OF NOTE: Scott Pelley signed off tonight’s episode voicing strong support for departing series leader Bill Owens, and acknowledged the PARAMOUNT deal as a factor.
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLL
Kudos to the bold 27% on The Accountant 2! 👏
🎥 THE BOX OFFICE
Hollywood proved yet again that “It’s the movies, stupid” when it comes to the box office, as 4 movies did over $20M this weekend.
Also, just going back through the 2010s comps alone — this was the biggest final weekend in April total except for the 2 Avengers pics in 2018-19, and Fast Five in 2011 (not adjusted for inflation, of course).
Lot of numbers to focus on so let’s dive in . . .