☀️'Venom 3' Stumbles in U.S. but Hits Globally for SONY
'Conclave' adds life to prestige set / World Series' big, not huge ratings start / CA huge tax credit boost proposal
Evenin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LinkedIn here if ya like), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on SUNDAY, October 27, 2024.
Where with the DODGERS up 2-0 on the YANKEES — CA Gov. Newsom is throwing another log on the state’s momentum. 🔥
He’s expected to announce a more than 2X’ing of CA’s production credit program, from $330M a year to about $750M. Of course the state’s legislature has to approve this . . . and it’ll be a slow ramp up and not a one-time 2x+ leap — so we’ll see what the details bring. The 20%-25% tax credit per production rate is not expected to change.
But in true DODGERS spirit — this would put CA ahead of NY’s current $700M annual tax credit program, which is funded through 2034 (Georgia still tops both, usually doling out broadly around $1B a year).
BUT: The winner so far in the World Series is . . . whatever the F the STRAUSS company is! 🤷♂️
That exceptionally egregious 🧢 branding on both sides of every MLB batter’s helmet got more TV screentime than any player or MLB sponsor all weekend . . . and nothing quite says “America’s Pastime” like a German apparel company. Well, at least the MLB only made the deal through the . . . 2027 season. 🤦♂️
Not sure what ya paid STRAUSS . . . or why you have zero other advertising in the games to explain to people who ya are (I initially had to double check that Strauss Zelnick wasn’t making a Hollywood comeback) — but I guess the brand exposure money is well spent. 🤷♂️
OH: World Series game 1 ⚾️ got 15.2M viewers on FOX (including FOX DEPORTES and UNIVISION), the biggest World Series opening game since 2017 (ASTROS vs. DODGERS) . . . but not exactly the number that all of the hyperbolic bluster generated in the sports journalism world last week would have suggested.
Also remember that out-of-home viewing wasn’t counted in the number in 2017 like it is in 2024 — and that UNIVISION was carrying the game for the first time this year too.
But that is way bigger than any NBA Finals game last year (12.3M), and a huge uptick from the past 2 years (+62% and +30%).
L.A. share: 58
NYC share: 37
ELSEWHERE: Get the latest on the NHL’s continued TV audience headwinds this year, plus how the remainder of NBA debuts did last week and more in the SPORTS MEDIA section below.
THEN: We have another revival from the vaults for the big board 🥳 — a sequel to the 1999 Martin Lawrence pic Blue Streak! It’s nice when the voice of the people finally gets heard.
This one is in development at SONY with TV writer Cole Maliska writing a script.
THIS WEEKEND IN JERSEY
A thanks to the folks at the MONTCLAIR FILM FESTIVAL for the invite to come out and host a panel this weekend, and to Scott Shooman from AMC NETWORKS (incl. IFC FILMS), Maggie Pisacane from WME and Dan O’Meara from NEON for a great conversation about the state of the movie business, as well as the 💰 realities for the docs & unscripted market as 2024 rounds out.
AND: A special thanks to Evie McGee Colbert (and her husband Stephen) for what they’re doing for the industry in my home state — not only with this festival but the MONTCLAIR FILM events throughout the year, and also helping with resources to create the next generation of folks who work in this industry in the state of NJ.
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLL
A win for the bears finally! Well, guess I should be less excited about that really. Kudos to the 32% on Venom 3. My fellow optimism middlers were way off.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
