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 Thursday, July 16, 2026.
Where so far this week, the number of WARNAMOUNT lawsuits is matching the number of NETFLIX deals for YOUTUBE shows.
Welcome to the entertainment business in mid 2026.
Yes, PSKY got its 3rd lawsuit this week as a group of PSKY shareholders filed a lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court against the WBD acquisition, saying the Ellisons struck an illegal deal with Trump for approval of the merger — citing claims around making sweeping changes at CNN, and reports of giving Trump / his causes up to $20M worth of linear ad time as part of the 60 Minutes settlement.
Essentially, the group alleges these kinds of moves were breaches of fiduciary duty, creating “enormous financial and legal risk” and long-term legal exposure for the company. Especially, ya know, if the makeup of Congress should change soon.
PARAMOUNT is basically calling this old news that has already been addressed and cleared.
Oh right, NETFLIX — the company set its 3rd YOUTUBER deal of the week, this time adding new episodes from Nick DiGiovanni on NETFLIX the same day as on YOUTUBE (matching their Good Mythical Morning and Alan’s Universe deals this week).
And it’s only Thursday! 🤞
PLUS: The state AG case has been reassigned to Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, who is also overseeing the preliminary injunction from the PAR+ streaming consumers case. The request for a temporary restraining order from the state AGs will still be heard in court on Friday.
SO: Danny Boyle’s young Rupert movie Ink will open Venice this year on Sept. 2. STUDIOCANAL financed the pic and will release it in some int’l territories, although U.S. rights haven’t been sold yet.
- The NYFF is opening with the North American premiere of James Gray’s Paper Tiger from NEON on Sept. 25.
- TIFF added some more special presentations, including AMAZON MGM’s Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother and Love of Your Life from Rachel Morrison, as well as Cate Blanchett’s Alpha Gang.
PHEW: The 5 #bigbanks made a collective $49B in profits in Q2, +39% YoY. But, ya know, as Jamie Dimon put it: “We just don’t know how long it’s going to last,” so please don’t add extra taxes on our multi-million-dollar NYC apartments.
BUT: I mean, it’s not like people who might save your life one day in an NYC ambulance can’t afford to live in NYC on $18 an hour, so the system is totally fine.
OH: Locally here in the tri-state, OPTIMUM’s NEWS12 TV network is laying off dozens of journalists as it shuts down coverage devoted to the Bronx, Brooklyn, Westchester and Connecticut, and focuses on its Long Island and NJ operations.
AH: As Trump railed against NY’s new AI data center moratorium, his own backyard in Palm Beach County indeed shot down the new AI data center proposal in a 5-to-1 vote yesterday.
DON’T WORRY: The American brand is doin’ great! Just wait until the ranch dressing bump from the World Cup gets factored into the next poll.
AND: Gotta love that the MLB Home Run Derby winner Jordan Walker made more money by winning that event ($1M) on NETFLIX this week than he’ll make all year playing for the CARDINALS (he’s up for a contract arbitration after this season).
ALSO: ARGENTINA and SPAIN will be battling for $51M of prize money on Sunday in the World Cup final . . . although the loser still gets $43M.
- A total of $871M will be paid out to all participating teams, essentially 2x the amount from 2022 (the number of teams playing increased by 50% in this edition).
- FOX and NBCU paid roughly $1.1B for the U.S. TV rights alone, plus FIFA has a lot more 💰 coming from several int’l partners and sponsors (whose names were not on the stadiums where the games were played).
FINALLY: A happy NETFLIX earnings report day to all who celebrate. Welcome to Q2 season.
WAKEUP Box Office Prediction
The Odyssey looks to be $90M to $100M for many folks (or $80M+ if you’re being conservative — Oppenheimer opened at $82M). Although if it catches the right wind in its sails, over $100M is certainly not out of the question.
Basically — the IMAX/PLFs are selling out(although good news — the 2 a.m. IMAX screening in Times Square still has some seats). So, will a decent contingent of folks just wait for seats to open up on future weekends and dent the opening mojo a bit?
I still like $100M to $105M here myself, and good luck to us all.
NYC Theater Reco
I don’t get to see much theater in NYC (evening newsletter writing doesn’t make much time for seeing plays), but I had the opportunity to check out a new relationship dramedy set over time at the Cherry Lane Theater last night called Shifters, which was really fantastic.
Very well-acted with a funny, creative script and sharp direction. Currently playing at the Cherry Lane through August.
🎥 The Silver Screen
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