☀️ WB AT CINEMACON: Reading the Tea Leaves Into 2027/28
PAR gets sequel to NEON pic / DC sets new ‘Superman’ co-star / DISNEYFOX sets Schwarzenegger for romance pic
Mornin! 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 Wednesday, April 15, 2026.
Where did you guys know Jersey rules? 💪
New Jersey is the only state where TV & movie production filming was up considerably in both filming count (+45% YoY) and production spend (+37%) in Q1, according to PRODPRO.
But, CA still leads the way in spend — NJ is only #5 in total spend size — so, as always, don’t get too high on yourself there, Jersey.
The Q1 numbers:
CA: $1.48B (+2% YoY, -14% in filming count)
NY: $871M (flat, -14% in filming count)
GA: $370M (-5%, -11% in filming count)
IL: $253M (flat, +2% in filming count #ThanksDickWolf)
NJ: $211M (+45%, +37% in filming count)
Ashley Cullins also took a good look at the state of tax incentives #punintended in her Dealmakers column this week (also, uh, remember to get your taxes in today).
AND: The Tribeca Fest is opening with Questlove’s HBO doc Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial VS That’s the Weight of the World) on June 3.
OH: NJ TRANSIT will charge you $100 to take the train from Penn Station to MET LIFE Stadium and back for the World Cup games this summer. The usual price for other events? About $13.
And you say U.S. hotels are slashing rates as demand is coming up short, eh?
ALSO: Sen. Cory Booker will hold a “Spotlight” hearing on the WARNAMOUNT deal today. David Ellison was invited but won’t be able to attend due to a family funeral.
BTW: The open letter opposing the WARNAMOUNT deal now has well over 2,000 signatures.
AH: Ted Sarandos did come out for CINEMACON . . . ish — he met with the heads of the major movie theater chains on Sunday night, according to The Wrap.
YES: DISNEY is definitely laying off about 1,000 people starting this week, centered in the marketing & brand divisions, but also hitting studios, TV, ESPN, product & technology and certain corporate groups.
MARVEL alone is cutting about 8% of its staff.
SPEAKING OF: The Q2 layoff train just keeps growing . . . SNAP is cutting 16% of staff, or about 1,000 folks, due to AI, and the BBC is cutting up to 2,000 jobs.
YAH: AMAZON is spending $11B on a satellite operator called GLOBALSTAR to help its reportedly behind-schedule STARLINK rival, LEO. Good thing that NFL deal is the one not up for re-negotiation!
GLOBALSTAR is the service that also powers the satellite coverage backup features on iPhones, putting AMAZON and APPLE in business here.
UH HUH: OPENAI is now planning the advanced business model of “pay-per-click” to its advertising business pricing approach, according to The Information.
PLUS: Sydney Sweeney and AMERICAN EAGLE are launching a new ad campaign that . . . well, let’s just say they’re taking a new approach.
THEN: Here’s Lin-Manuel Miranda’s casting sheet for his next musical adaptation, Octet.
🎞️ CINEMACON 2026
WARNER BROS: Movie Tonnage, Aged Cruise, Epic ‘Dune’ . . . and don’t forget our 2025! 🙏
So, who knew Patton Oswalt joined WB PICTURES? Hope he survives the WARNAMOUNT consolidation. 😬 Not too surprising that there was no mention of, uh, ya know, on stage.
Yes — while Mike & Pam, Jeffrey “Oscar” Goldstein (gotta love a man walking out on stage in a gold suit) and Peter Safran made on-stage speeches, Patton was enlisted to serve as emcee for the night, and he brought a good, loose vibe to the presentation.
A presentation that, I think, is still going on — its length was certainly one of the biggest remarked upon reactions I got from all folks afterward.
Part of that was time spent once again diving into the 2025 that was . . . now nearly 4 months into 2026, although given that when Mike & Pam took the stage a year ago — everyone in the press section was writing them out of their jobs . . . they certainly get the pass.
But I think we put the Han Solo carbonite seal on WB 2025 talk from here on out.
Jesse EhrmanSo, let’s take a look at:
What 2026 / 2027 (and 2028) has in store — a pretty diversified slate, even if a couple of genres are still missing, as the studio is full steam ahead.
Clearly newly added 2nd Prez of Production Michael Ireland is being put to work quickly alongside other Prez Jesse Ehrman.
The key messages from Mike & Pam for what’s ahead in the next 2-3 years.
A bunch of new dates for movies on a growing slate.
Some more awards, of course:
Biggest Question Mark
A look at the Cruise non-IP numbers 💰
Best Thing I Saw
Biggest Mic Drop Moment
FIRST UP:
An announcement!