The Hollywood Reporter Friday, January 4, 2019

One year ago, Eric Handler was among the many Wall Street analysts who thought that the North American box office — at best — would match the record $11.4 billion collected in 2016. But, as one studio movie after another over-performed and transformed into a watercooler sensation, he and others were surprised to see that domestic box office hit an all-time high of $11.9 billion in 2018. “The lineup looked broad and deep, and while I told investors we remained positive, we certainly didn’t have domestic revenue up 7 percent over 2017,” says Handler. “We’ve never seen a year when three movies grossed more than $600 million domestically.” The boom in the U.S. propelled worldwide box office revenue to a record $41.7 billion. Foreign revenue reached $29.8 billion, a gain…

Digital Euro-Netflix Peak TV’s push overseas spurs a local boom p. 28 ↑ Endorsements Bitcoin Bait Hefty fines may await stars who promote currency p. 30 Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos The Netflix CEO and content chief could see their pay rise to $31.5 million in 2019, according to a Dec. 28 regulatory filing. Tim Cook The Apple CEO suffers a stock sell-off after he cuts first-quarter sales guidance due to weak iPhone sales in China and other emerging markets. James Wan The Aquaman director rules the holiday box office, heading for a $900 million global haul and jumpstarting Warner Bros.’ DC Universe. Kevin Spacey The actor loses his appeal to avoid appearing in person in a Massachusetts courtroom Jan. 7 to face claims of sexual assault. Showbiz Stocks ↑…

A Wrinkle in Time Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of the children’s book topped out at less than $130 million globally. Disney spent north of $125 million to make the film before a hefty marketing spend. Analysts say the movie lost $100 million or more. Mortal Engines The Peter Jackson-produced event pic may be the biggest bomb of the year, grossing just $63 million worldwide to date and likely to lose $125 million-plus for Universal and MRC, say multiple sources. (MRC is owned by Valence Media, THR’s parent). Robin Hood The reboot, starring Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx, is expected to lose about $100 million after earning less than $75 million globally. The pic capped a tough year for Lionsgate, which saw its domestic share slide from 8 percent in 2017 to…

The late Fred Rogers would be proud of the booming box office neighborhood populated by documentaries in 2018. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, chronicling the life and career of the gentle, open-minded kids TV host, quickly became the No. 6 doc of all time, excluding nature and concert pics. It wasn’t the only summer surprise: Ruth Bader Ginbsburg film RBG, opening a month earlier in May, also landed on the top 10 list of best-performing docs. They were followed by Three Identical Strangers and Free Solo. However, one doc voted off the marquee was Michael Moore’s Trumpera treatise, Fahrenheit 11/9. On the narrative feature side, it was a challenging year. The hope now is that indie films opening over the Christmas holiday will be buoyed by the final stretch of…

After having dramatically reshaped the U.S. television market, Netflix is making a big bet on Europe by copying its own playbook: disrupt the landscape by spending billions on original content. In Europe, where the streamer is on track to spend close to $1 billion on original productions in 2019, Netflix has forced local networks to significantly increase the number of originals they produce. But on the continent, Netflix faces the unique challenges of serving a market of more than 700 million viewers split up over dozens of countries, languages and cultures. Not to mention competition in the form of Europe’s powerful public broadcasters, whose programming budget for originals, at close to $17 billion annually, dwarfs what Netflix is willing — or at this point able — to pay European producers.…

Entertainment executives will get a glimpse at the future of content distribution during their annual trek to Las Vegas for CES. The Jan. 8-11 show is set to highlight self-driving cars and 5G. Says MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan, “The focus is more on the delivery of the content, not the creation of it.” THR looks at the trends to watch. SELF-DRIVING CARS Imagine viewing Black Panther while your car drives you to work. That once far-fetched vision will get a bit closer to reality at CES when Audi shows off a tech partnership with Disney for a new type of experience that will allow people to use time spent in their cars in a way they never could before. The reveal will likely spark chatter about how self-driving cars will…