☀️WBD Q4 Earnings reveal what’s coming as Int’l Streaming Growth freezes
PAR sets Ryan Reynolds comedy / HBOMAX orders IT series prequel / Clooney sets new TV Deal at Taylor Sheridan's home
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect here on LINKED IN if ya like) and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on FRIDAY February 24, 2023.
Where the upcoming Season 4 of Succession will be its last. Place your bets on which show Janice (and everyone else in Hollywood) will be flabbergasted that I haven’t seen an episode of next.
AND: Harvey Weinstein will likely spend the rest of his life in prison (if there was any doubt before this), getting an additional 16 year sentence in his LA rape trial yesterday.
THEN: OZY MEDIA founder Carlos Watson was arrested on Fraud charges, which come with a minimum sentence of 2 years. His former OZY partner Samir Rao already has agreed to plead guilty to Fraud. The company shut down in October 2021 after the NY Times shed light on what was going on there.
PLUS: Early tracking is putting WB’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods opening at $35 Mil to $40 Mil on March 17 - the first pic opened to $53 Mil in April 2019 - but still a ways to go and we’ll see what some late MARCH MADNESS promo can do. Then again it’ll also be competing for attention with the tournament all weekend so… 🤷♂️.
ALSO: RIRI will perform at the OSCARS, performing “Lift Me Up” from BP2.
POLL: A Friday Wakeup Poll crew warning - A bear is on the loose, and he’s on a bender.
Tracking has it opening to $15 Mil - $17 Mil… but some think as much as $20 Mil isn’t out of the question.
IN TODAY’S EDITION:
A #medianerd🤓 dive into the latest WBD insights, from subscriber numbers to Advertising trends (#notgreat), to better than anticipated streaming $$, and what lies ahead for the rest of Q1 and Q2.
#funfact: WBD described 60% of HBO content on HBOMAX as “hardly being viewed” (wouldn’t be surprised to see more ‘purging’ of content in 2023).
Guillermo Del Toro sets next NETFLIX pic.
Ryan Reynolds sets next PARAMOUNT pic.
Clooney makes deal at House of Taylor Sheridan.
HBOMAX goes prequel for IT
TV/Streaming Upfronts sched is finalized
The Weekend Preview of all that’s new to watch and stream (with links) and much more on a busy Friday.